Chapter 71: Questioning
The Northern Liao’s light arrow measured three chi in length and weighed one catty. Its conical arrowhead was fused seamlessly with the shaft. The heavy arrow measured four chi in length and weighed ten catties. It featured a triangular-bladed tip with serrated edges. The armor-piercing heavy arrow also boasted a triangular-bladed tip, but without serrations. It weighed fifteen catties. Finally, the swift-wind arrow—the only mystic artifact in their entire arsenal, and each scout cavalryman carried only one—could fly for five hundred zhang once loosed. Beyond that range, its destructive power equaled that of an armor-piercing heavy arrow.
An ordinary Liao cavalryman possessed just enough mystic power to activate the swift-wind arrow one time. That was why a pocket of mystic energy was usually sealed within the arrow beforehand. When it was time, they could simply activate the arrow and loose it immediately.
By the Palace of Absolute Beginning’s standard, the swift-wind arrow was just a crudely-made, one-time-use mystic artifact. However, this weapon gave every Liao cavalryman the ability to unleash an attack that was equal to that of a mystic artifact.
Finally, Wei Yuan picked up a bow and gave it a tentative pull. It was far heavier than a human’s bow and easily weighed tens of catties. It also had two bowstrings. Most human long bowmen would not be able to draw a Liao bow in full, and ordinary soldiers would struggle to draw it in any capacity.
Even with his physical strength, it took him a bit of effort to fully draw the Liao bow. Roughly speaking, it would probably take around one thousand and two hundred catties of force to draw it in full.
After personally inspecting the Liao’s armaments, Wei Yuan finally understood exactly how difficult it was to repel the foreigners. If not for Fang Hetong’s leadership, two or three Liao cavalrymen would be all it took to slaughter these three hundred peasants to the last.
Suddenly, Wei Yuan turned around and stared at a bunch of men carrying axes. They stopped beside the Liao corpses before hacking away at their necks. The Liao of Vast Sea boasted thick, large bones. Despite swinging their axes with all their might, it still took the peasants a dozen or so swings to cut through the neck bones and chop off their heads.
“What are you doing?” Wei Yuan asked.
A man beside him answered, “A Liao barbarian’s head can be used to exchange for silver in the cities. It’s worth a tael of silver each!”