Yanmen Pass, August 16, noon.
The scorching sun beat down on the city walls, the bricks and stones baking so hot they could nearly cook an egg. Xia Huai'an stood atop the gate tower, gazing out at the dense mass of the Beidi army beyond the pass, his brows tightly knitted.
For three days, the Beidi had not attacked, and today was no exception. They merely arrayed themselves in formation two hundred paces away, neither advancing nor retreating. Their tents stretched endlessly like dark clouds, their campfires burned day and night without ceasing, and thin wisps of cooking smoke drifted upward, carrying the tantalizing scent of roasted meat to torment the famished nerves of the defending garrison.
Chapter 234