Chapter 58

This tribe was significantly larger than the previous one, with more tents, hay stacks, and livestock. Most importantly, in the center of the tribe, over a hundred young and strong men and three to four hundred elderly, women, and children were gathered together, which greatly hindered their attack.

"Lord, what are they doing?" Pan Feng pointed to an old man in the middle of the crowd, who was wearing peculiar clothing, jumping around, and making strange sounds.

"Perhaps he is their tribe's shaman?" The Xiongnu people believed in shamanism (the term "shaman" comes from Tungusic and Indigenous languages, and at this time, these shamans might have had different names, but the meaning was the same). They believed that shamans could communicate with ancestral spirits or deities through dance, drumming, and singing. Li You looked at the shaman in the center of the tribe, who was drumming and performing a mysterious dance, while the surrounding Xiongnu people were prostrate on the ground with solemn expressions. He said to Pan Feng, "Perhaps they are praying to their deities?"

Li You's guess was soon confirmed. After the dance, the shaman turned to face the Xinli tribe's people, his chin trembling, his teeth chattering, his eyes tightly closed, and his body shaking, showing an extremely painful expression!

"The deity has descended!" Someone immediately placed a brazier in front of the shaman to guide the deity. The shaman suddenly stopped drumming, his body shaking violently, which was a sign that the deity had possessed him. The shaman suddenly opened his eyes, a glow flashed in them, and he spoke in a voice that did not seem human, "Descendants of the Xinli tribe, what do you want from me?"

"Because it has not snowed for a long time this winter! If this continues, the ewes will not give birth to lambs, the mares will not give birth to foals, and the children of the Xinli tribe will not be able to grow up safely! Therefore, we have disturbed the ancestors to bring us snow!" An elder in the tribe prostrated on the ground and prayed to the ancestral deity with a reverent tone, "The Xinli tribe is willing to offer sacrifices to the ancestors!"

"Sir, the shaman's ritual will take a long time. We can take this opportunity to attack!" Tang Yifu, who had been in the Han dynasty for a long time, had replaced his reverence for shamans with worship of deities like Donghuang Taiyi, so he did not think it was a big deal to interrupt the shaman's ritual!

"Hmm! But those people are right in the middle of our charge! We need to carefully plan our route!" The Xinli tribe's people were right in the center of the tents, and no matter which direction they attacked from, they would run into them. This was a significant obstacle for Li You's plan.

The best option would be to choose the weakest point of defense, so they could burn the hay stacks and tents in the shortest time possible. But which direction should they attack from? There was no wind, otherwise, the upwind direction would be the best choice!

Hmm, maybe I can use this! Li You suddenly remembered the talent skill he had learned from Chen Qingzhi—Eagle Eye! This skill seemed perfect for this situation! Hopefully, it will trigger the 10% chance this time!

Li You took a deep breath, brought up the tiger talisman interface, and used the Eagle Eye skill! The Eagle Eye icon, which had never responded before, suddenly lit up. A red arrow appeared in his vision, starting from the left flank of the Xinli tribe and extending to the right flank!

Ah! Is this the greatest weakness in the enemy's formation as indicated by Eagle Eye? Li You focused his gaze and saw that the route pointed to by the arrow was where the most elderly, women, and children of the Xinli tribe were located, and this area was surrounded by the most hay stacks and tents! Attacking from here would at least burn half of the Xinli tribe's hay!

This skill is truly powerful! Unfortunately, the trigger rate is too low! If it could be triggered 100% of the time like Chen Qingzhi's, it would be an incredibly strong ability!

"We will attack from there!" Li You pointed to the position indicated by the Eagle Eye skill. "General Pan, you lead twenty elite soldiers without torches and use your great axe to clear a path for us! Tang Yifu, you and I will be responsible for setting the fires! Do you understand?"

"Yes! I understand!" Pan Feng, a veteran general who had served under Han Fu for many years, found this task completely manageable. His face was filled with excitement; for him, wielding a great axe in battle was much more enjoyable than setting fires!

"Let's go!" The three of them left quietly and returned to the main force, quickly assigning tasks. Pan Feng led twenty men with swords and spears, while the other Han soldiers lit their torches. They led horses with muffled hooves and followed Li You to the position indicated by the arrow, then mounted their horses.

Li You looked back and saw that all the Han soldiers were ready. He signaled to Pan Feng, who shouted and raised his great axe, charging toward the Xinli tribe from a distance of one li!

"What's that sound?" The thundering hooves interrupted the Xinli tribe's ceremony. The shaman opened his eyes wide, looking in the direction of Pan Feng's attack, and let out a terrified cry.

The distance of one li was covered in an instant by the galloping horses. Before the Xiongnu people could get up from the ground, Pan Feng's great axe was already swinging at their heads!

Pan Feng and his twenty elite soldiers cut through the gathered Xiongnu people like a knife through tofu, easily dividing them into two parts and opening a path for the rear forces.

Li You and Tang Yifu led the remaining fifty soldiers like a whirlwind, throwing torches soaked in oil onto the hay stacks that the Xinli tribe had painstakingly collected. Flames rose and thick smoke billowed...

Over fifty torches rained down on the surrounding hay stacks. Before the Xiongnu people could react, the Han soldiers had already charged through their ranks.

"Men! Follow me and attack again!" Li You drew a torch from behind and pointed in another direction, shouting. Over seventy Han soldiers charged again, setting more hay stacks and tents on fire.

Li You threw a torch onto an unlit hay stack and reached behind for another. At that moment, he noticed that the shaman, who had been revered and knelt to by the entire Xinli tribe, was lying in a pool of blood, decapitated! From the marks on his body, it appeared that he had been killed by Pan Feng's axe during the first charge!

Sigh, that's really the case! Li You looked at him with sympathy. Superstition truly can be fatal! If you hadn't made such a big commotion and been such an obvious target, you might not have died so early!

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