Chapter 183 - 182: Getting Reinforcements
"Enemy attack..."
"Form up! Form up now!"
The shrill blast of whistles, the roar of officers, the clang of drawing blades, the terrified cries of the laborers...
All sorts of sounds mingled together, shattering the night’s tranquility.
Feng Zhan drew his saber with a CLANG, leaped onto the roof of a mule cart, and barked, "What’s the panic? Crossbowmen, forward! Long Spear Soldiers, set up barricades! Laborers, fall back to the inner circle! All Martial Artists, guard the mule carts!"
The orders given, the well-trained County Soldiers, though startled, did not panic and quickly followed his commands.
The Crossbowmen rushed to the perimeter under the cover of shields, where they loaded their Crossbow Mechanisms with cold Crossbow Arrows.
The Long Spear Soldiers used the mule carts as support to form a crude spear wall.
The conscripted Martial Artists drew their weapons and took up key positions between the mule carts and the Crossbowmen.
The sound of footsteps grew closer, like dull thunder rolling across the earth, making hearts pound with panic.
The official army on the perimeter, though startled, remained orderly. Being well-trained, they quickly tightened their formation. The Long Spear Soldiers formed a line, their spear tips a forest of steel. Behind them, the Crossbowmen calmly raised their Crossbows and pulled the triggers.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...
The first volley of Crossbow Arrows fell like a sudden downpour, accurately striking the figures rushing madly out of the darkness.
At such close range, the power of the Crossbow Arrows was terrifying.
The rebels at the very front fell in droves like harvested wheat, their screams ringing out as they collapsed. Torches dropped to the ground, and the momentum of their charge was brutally halted.
"Hold the line! Crossbowmen, fire in volleys!"
Feng Zhan commanded, his face exceptionally grim in the flickering firelight.
After the initial panic, the official army, relying on their superior equipment and training, withstood the surprise attack and even seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
The bodies of the rebel army piled up around the camp’s perimeter.
"Useless!"
From the rear of the rebel army came a furious roar.
A path suddenly opened in the rebel ranks, and under the firelight, a young man on a magnificent black horse emerged from the crowd.
He looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his face pale, but his eyes were filled with terrifying, bloodshot veins.
His gaze swept around, carrying a morbid excitement and an undisguised air of perverse brutality.
He carried a Thick-Backed Ghost Head Saber, its blade glinting with a cold, sinister light in the firelight.
Feng Zhan forced himself to remain calm, tightened his grip on his saber’s hilt, and called out, "Who goes there?"
The red-eyed youth’s lips curled into a cruel arc. His voice was hoarse. "You’re a dead man. What’s the point in knowing? Hand over the tax silver, and maybe we’ll be merciful enough to leave your corpses intact!"
"Insolent!"
Feng Zhan was so furious he laughed. "The Court’s tax silver is not for petty thieves like you to covet!"
"You’re courting death!"
The red-eyed youth’s eyes blazed with malice. "You dog official! You think this pile of scrap metal can stop me?!"
With a wild roar, he dug his heels into his horse’s belly and charged the official army’s formation, all by himself.
"Protect the Captain!"
Several personal guards and nearby Qi Realm Martial Artists rushed forward to intercept him.
But the red-eyed youth’s Saber Technique was savage, his strength astonishing. Under the swings of his Ghost Head Saber, no one could withstand a single blow.
A Martial Artist at Qi Realm Perfection raised his saber to block, but with a loud CLANG, he was sent flying, saber and all, and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Spirit Realm! He’s in the Spirit Realm!"
Someone screamed in terror.
Feng Zhan’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
He himself was only at Qi Realm Perfection. How could he possibly contend with a Spirit Realm expert?
Seeing the red-eyed youth smashing through their ranks with unstoppable momentum, he hastily retreated while shouting, "Stop him! Work together to stop him!"
Several other Qi Realm Perfection Martial Artists around him braced themselves, drew their various weapons, and formed a small battle formation, barely managing to tie down the red-eyed youth.
But it was clear they were struggling to hold on, and their situation was perilous.
Just then, another long cry echoed from the rebel army’s ranks.
Another figure shot forward like a phantom, his Body Technique nimble, the flash of his sword like a viper’s tongue.
"Xiao Zhong! Ye Buping!"
Feng Zhan’s heart sank completely.
Both rebel leaders were here!
He stared intently at the battle. Seeing Xiao Zhong send another Martial Artist flying with his saber, about to completely shatter their defensive line, an extremely complex look flashed in his eyes.
He suddenly pulled a dark cylinder from his robes, aimed it at the fiercely fighting Xiao Zhong and Ye Buping, and pressed the mechanism.
SHOO SHOO SHOO...
A dense, scalp-numbing sound of something slicing through the air erupted.
Countless Pear Blossom Needles, as fine as ox-hair and glinting with a faint blue light, shot toward the two men like a torrential downpour, blanketing the area.
"You dog official!"
Xiao Zhong and Ye Buping’s expressions changed drastically. They cursed and hastily retreated.
Seizing the opportunity, Feng Zhan shot forward, dashing toward a dimly lit, weakly defended part of the camp’s perimeter.
Several of his trusted men followed without hesitation, cutting down ordinary rebels who tried to stop them and plunging into the dark wilderness without a backward glance.
They moved so fast that by the time anyone reacted, Feng Zhan’s figure had all but vanished.
Only his parting words drifted back faintly over the sounds of battle, indistinct: "I’m going to the Commandery City for reinforcements! Hold your ground! If you hold on, we can win!"
Those words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of all the official soldiers and Martial Artists still fighting for their lives. They were stunned.
’Hold our ground?’
’Wait for reinforcements?’
Their commander had run off. How were they supposed to hold on?!
"The County Captain... ran away?!"
"He... he actually abandoned us and ran?!"
"Fuck, the official took off!"
Cries of alarm and furious curses erupted from the struggling troops.
With their backbone gone, morale collapsed at a visible rate.
Every man feared for himself, their will to fight gone. The situation instantly took a nosedive.
If the rebel army’s assault hadn’t been so relentless, some men would have likely scattered and fled on the spot.
"Hahaha! Your cowardly dog of a captain ran off, so what’s left for you to defend? Brothers, kill them all! The silver will be ours!"
Xiao Zhong swung his saber to shake off the last few Silver Needles, laughing wildly as he watched the direction Feng Zhan had fled.
Ye Buping also sneered, the flash of his sword becoming faster, like the Grim Reaper harvesting lives.
Xiao Zhong’s sinister eyes swept over the chaotic official army. He sneered, "Let’s end this quickly, before more complications arise!"
The two of them held back no longer. Their auras exploded outwards, and the pressure of their Spirit Realm Cultivation spread like a physical force, stifling the breath of the surrounding Qi Realm Martial Artists.
They moved like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep, completely tearing apart the already crumbling defensive line.
At this critical moment, a figure shot out from the ranks, as fast as a phantom, his target the smug Xiao Zhong and Ye Buping. It was Chen Shouye.
The Immovable Vajra Bright King Technique circulated within him at an unprecedented speed, a faint golden Gang Qi swirling around his body.
His right hand bent into a Hand Seal, and a vast, fierce aura imbued with the Buddhist Sect’s True Meaning of Demon Suppression suddenly erupted.
The Wisdom Fist Seal.
Chen Shouye’s Hand Seal carried an immense force, striking straight for the center of Ye Buping’s back without any flourish.
The savage grin on Ye Buping’s face instantly froze. A fatal sense of crisis made the hair on his neck stand up.
He had never expected such an expert to be hidden among this flock of lambs waiting for slaughter.
In his haste, all he could do was swing his sword back to block.
BAM!
A dull thud, like striking tanned leather, exploded outwards.
Ye Buping felt an irresistible force surge toward him. His longsword bent violently, letting out a mournful cry.
His chest felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. His blood roiled violently, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood with a WRETCH.
He was sent stumbling backward, crashing into two rebels and knocking them over before he could barely stabilize himself, his face a mask of utter shock.