Chapter 1750 - 556: Diverting Water to Block the Path, A Belated Realization
Chapter 1750: Chapter 556: Diverting Water to Block the Path, A Belated Realization
Rustle... Rustle...
To the east, about seven or eight kilometers from the northern exit of Bone-Eroding Path, lies a large lake roughly three kilometers in diameter.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
On the western shore of the lake, raging fires burn, and among the flames, thousands of people are frantically using iron chisels and giant hammers to destroy the ice surface.
In the extreme cold environment of Ice Abyss, it’s almost impossible to find flowing water like the Xing River or White Tiger Pond, where the surface is surely covered with thick ice, often more than ten meters thick. Without Cold Resistance Level strength, not only is breaking through impossible, it’s even difficult to leave a mark on the ice surface.
If you only look at one person, it’s not much, but when thousands act simultaneously, the situation is completely different. The crucial thing is that the bonfires on the ice surface are clearly used to melt the thick ice. When combined, the speed at which the ice surface is cut becomes quite considerable.
At this moment, the hardened ice on the lake surface is covered with cracks, and the outer areas even have large-scale fissures appearing, ice blocks starting to sink, and the underlying living water is slowly becoming visible.
Not only are there people on the ice surface, but there are also tens of thousands of people lined up along the western lake shore, digging a small river channel two meters wide. The eastern end of the channel is right next to the lake, with an improvised dam built from piles of logs and boulders in the middle. On the east side of the dam, the water level continues to rise, while on the west, laborers are still working.
"East Mountain Lake—there’s surprisingly such a good location here. The water in this lake comes from the underground river within the Moao Mountain Body. They originally converged underground into the main vein of that underground river, flowing southeast. We’ve temporarily blocked the east side, so the water can only accumulate in the lake, causing the ice to crack quickly. It’s not just bonfires and manpower. It should also be caused by the lake bottom’s water source continuously rising, something the ice can’t withstand!"
Xiang Liang stands atop the dam, watching the eastern lake surface crack more rapidly, as the water level seemingly rises visibly. His pupils flash with excitement.
"Time is still a bit tight. It’s already been half an hour. Breaking the ice shouldn’t be a big problem, but the channel still lacks about a kilometer, taking at least another quarter hour. Can the fires set by the commander really stall Cai Qiu’s army for that long?"
Despite showing agreement at Xiang Liang’s words, Chen Ping’s expression remains somewhat pessimistic as he watches the progress of channel construction on the west side.
In the prior debate, when others couldn’t provide any insights, Xiang Liang eventually offered an effective suggestion, naturally making him the central figure, with everyone acting according to his plans.
The rebel army’s primary mission is to intercept Cai Qiu’s army, at least delaying them long enough for the Xia Army to catch up.
There’s no hope in direct confrontation. During the great battle south of Bone-Eroding Path, even 230,000 elite Xia soldiers plus 150,000 of Earth-Digging Realm could barely intercept. Relying on their tens of thousands from Earth Digging Realm to block Cai Qiu’s army is unthinkable.
If direct confrontation isn’t possible, other strategies must be devised.
The best way to intercept a large army is, of course, to change the geography. To alter the terrain on a large scale, aside from manpower chopping wood, the forces of water and fire can also be used. When Xiang Liang first proposed this idea, Chen Ping immediately thought of the siege of Jinyang.
Under Xiang Liang’s command, they brought in the person most familiar with Bone-Eroding Path’s surroundings from the rebel army. It was the rebel elder named Su Lie who informed them about East Mountain Lake.
Block the other exit of East Mountain Lake, dig a temporary channel on the west side to divert water, while at the northern exit of Bone-Eroding Path, tens of thousands of laborers are accelerating the digging of a massive river channel twenty meters wide.
It must be said, this method has remarkably high feasibility.
The northern exit of Bone-Eroding Path is just over a hundred meters wide. As long as the thirty-meter-wide river channel is successfully dug, and water diverted in, Cai Qiu’s 150,000 troops will have no choice but to wade through the river.
Even building a bridge won’t work since they’ve already chopped all the trees inside the valley entrance and set them ablaze. Retreating multiple steps, even if Cai Qiu finds trees, would the rebel army on the far side really let them build a bridge?
Nevertheless, this strategy is not without its flaws.
Time is the biggest issue.
The time left for the rebel army is exceedingly limited, just half an hour. In that time, the rebels must first chop wood to set roadblocks; set fire to burn the valley entrance; dig a massive river channel 5 meters deep, 30 meters wide, and 100 meters long outside the exit; block the other side of East Mountain Lake and build a dam on the west side to retain water; then dig a channel eastward from the valley entrance to divert water, covering a distance of seven to eight kilometers.
These five tasks, under normal circumstances, would take ten to half a month each. When Xiang Liang first proposed them, it seemed impossible to the others.
Nevertheless, Xiang Liang’s words—determination overcomes all, solutions always exist—motivated everyone to proceed.
The tools were readily available, and manpower counted by tens of thousands, with more laborers constantly arriving. Xiang Liang barely divided the workforce, simply allocating the laborers randomly into five groups, each responsible for a task. Tens of thousands strong, within half an hour, they were nearly finished.
But "nearly finished" isn’t sufficient. The final, and most critical task is to fill the broad channel at the valley entrance with water—this is the most crucial step in intercepting Cai Qiu’s army. Failing at this renders all prior efforts pointless.