Fletcher's Descent into the Abyss Chapter 250

At three quarters past the hour of Chou, dark clouds covered the moon.

After the cavalry was reorganized, they withdrew the front team and replaced them with the elite troops who had charged for the first time. The torches they raised suddenly went out, and the drums that had been beating all night also stopped. The outside of Duanzhou City suddenly fell into darkness. Without the torches, the archers on the wall could not see the other side of the moat. The scouts climbed up the only remaining watchtower, stepped on the railings with courage, and stretched their necks to patrol from high above.

"Can't see clearly," Tan Shao, sweat dripping from his temples, gestured to the wall, "It's too dark!"

The fierce attacks of the cannon and catapults also stopped. Apart from the scattered sound of horse hooves, no more news could be heard from the city. The garrison soldiers stepped lightly in this rare silence, as if they were afraid of disturbing something. They stood up in their respective positions, with a premonition of the coming storm.

The garrison troops in the passage began to withdraw, dragging the bodies they had cleared to make way for the Jinyi cavalry. Clear water was poured on the bluestone slabs, flowing over the horses' hooves, dispersing the strong smell of blood.