Dragon Canon

Before Wei Yuan arrived, Fang Hetong had relied on the walls to keep himself safe, and his bow and crossbows to catch the enemy unawares. This forced the Liao to abandon their forces and enter the village on foot. The Liao was weaker if they weren’t on horseback, and a timely Establishing Merit temporarily boosted the militia’s strength to that of a regular frontier army. Besides that, everyone was fighting with all their might and even sacrificing their lives to push back the Liao cavalry. That was the only reason they were able to repel the invaders again and again.

But tonight, Wei Yuan’s surprise attack had netted them eight kills and even the squad leader’s head. This was the only time they had properly routed the enemy.

This was also the first time Wei Yuan had fought against the foreign races for real. The mountain giant he had faced during the minor exam was just a cripple, and his seniors were supervising the battle. His life had never been in danger. Naturally, the pressure he felt between now and then was completely different.

Although the Palace of Absolute Beginning had established a tight defense line across the two commanderies, the Liao were hardly puppets that they could manipulate at will. They moved like the wind and struck wherever they chose. The Palace’s defenses prevented Avatar-stage enemies from invading and slaughtering at will, but Dao Foundation stage adversaries could still appear at any moment. If someone was really unlucky, they might even encounter a powerful foe who was in the late-stage of the Dao Foundation stage. Should such a clash occur, the only recourse was to send a distress signal and hold the line until reinforcements from the Palace showed up.

But of course, not every outpost was as frail as Wei Yuan’s. Some outposts looked vulnerable on the outside, but really harbored formidable strength. They were capable of devouring even enemies in the late-stage of the Dao Foundation stage whole. With hundreds of outposts lined up across the two counties and no real way of finding out which ones were truly weak, not even the Liao barbarians dared to test their defenses lightly.

As for the possibility that a large force might sneak past their defense lines and launch a devastating surprise attack… such an assault could never happen while a True Lord was keeping watch.

Meanwhile, Fang Hetong had recovered enough strength to produce a pill bottle. He hesitated for a long time before pouring out a pill and consuming it. It was clear from his pained expression that it wasn’t an easy decision. Then, he summoned a couple men with strong bodies and normal eyesight to haul the dead bodies back into the village. As a Liao warhorse would automatically return back to where they came from once their master had died, there were only two horse corpses outside.

While the militia soldiers were hauling the bodies, Fang Hetong and Wei Yuan were standing watch on the walls. In fact, this was a highly risky endeavor. If another Liao scout cavalry squad showed up, it was entirely up to their mood whether they would shoot the defenders guarding the walls, or kill the militia soldiers hauling the bodies for revenge. But despite the risks, none of the men Fang Hetong had ordered to carry the bodies looked resentful or unwilling.

It took eight men to carry the two warhorses. A Liao tribesman took four men to carry as well. It took a fair amount of time and energy before the dozen or so men were finally able to haul the bodies back to the village.