Chapter 30

The young wild boar gradually approached the pitfall.

Zhengliang watched the young wild boar with tension, silently praying it would turn back. However, against his wishes, the young wild boar eventually ran onto the pitfall. Seeing this, Zhengliang was about to shout and take action, but suddenly realized that the young wild boar did not fall in. Zhengliang let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the branches covering the pitfall were strong enough to support the weight of the young wild boar. But he wondered if even adult wild boars would not fall in. This made him worry.

But the arrow had to be released, and soon the wild boar reached the narrow section. Zhengliang shouted, "Act!" and immediately ran to the agreed blocking point. The people behind him followed closely. The three old hunters, who had been lying in wait near the fence, quickly lifted a fence and rushed to the designated location. The ashigaru on both mountaintops also began to move.

Everything happened in an instant. The wild boars quickly realized they were surrounded on three sides. "Snort..." the largest wild boar let out a long warning call, and its bristles stood on end. The wild boars were clearly frightened, and several adult wild boars rushed toward the pond. The two fastest ones stepped on the pitfall, and with a "crack," they fell in, emitting cries of pain, clearly impaled by the bamboo spears in the pit. The two adult wild boars following closely behind quickly changed direction and rushed toward the steep slope. With another "crack," they also fell into the pit. At this point, the pitfall near the pond was fully exposed, blocking the wild boars' escape route.

"Form the line!" Zhengliang shouted as he reached the designated blocking point. The 12 ashigaru with long spears immediately formed two rows behind the fence that the three old hunters had just set up. The other old hunters were moving another fence and dry grass to the designated location. The fence was placed at the edge of the last pitfall leading to the wild boars' den.

The wild boars, realizing their escape routes were blocked, panicked. Some immediately tried to escape up the steep slopes. "Crack, crack," more branches broke, followed by the cries of the wild boars. Two adult wild boars and a young one fell into the pit.

Seeing no way out, the wild boars went into a frenzy. The largest wild boar let out a loud "snort," and the herd gradually calmed down. The three largest wild boars turned around, their bristles standing on end, their eyes red with anger, and their tusks gleaming.

"First row, crouch!" Seeing the wild boars' actions, Zhengliang, holding a long spear, knew they were about to charge and shouted, "Everyone, raise your spears!" "Swish," 14 spears, each over 4 meters long, were raised, their tips pointing straight ahead.

"Snort" The three male wild boars then charged at the fence. The hooves of the 12 wild boars pounded the ground, making it seem as if the earth was shaking.

"Hold your ground!" Seeing some ashigaru clearly frightened, Zhengliang shouted, "Prepare!"

The wild boars came closer, their red eyes growing larger in the sight of the people. "Snort..."

"Thrust!" Soon, the wild boars, with tank-like bodies, charged at the fence with a roar. Zhengliang, seizing the moment, shouted and thrust his spear forward. He felt a powerful force surge through his arms, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the spear.

"Rip," "crack," "ah" ... Instantly, the cries of the wild boars, the sound of wood breaking, and the screams of people mixed together. Zhengliang glanced to the side and saw two ashigaru lose their spears and fly backward, lying on the ground groaning.

"Damn, how strong is this beast!" On the other side, Shida Guangzong, who had faced the wild boar's charge head-on, had his spear broken. He got up, cursing, and picked up a spear from a fallen ashigaru.

Most of the 20-centimeter-long wooden spikes on the fence had broken or fallen off, barely able to withstand another impact. The three wild boars continued to ram the fence, though the two thinner males were severely injured, and the large male was also badly hurt, but their momentum did not diminish. The fence, fixed to the ground, was in danger of being knocked over.

"Quick, don't aim for their heads, aim for their eyes and lower abdomens!" Zhengliang shouted. Wild boars' heads are incredibly hard, used for digging. The people immediately followed his instructions.

"Crack" At this moment, the fence finally gave way under the impact. Fortunately, the three male wild boars also turned to run back, preparing for a second charge.

"Quick, scatter to the sides, to the second fence! To the dry grass!" Zhengliang shouted. The ashigaru immediately scattered to the sides, and the old hunters quickly brought up the last fence. The ashigaru reformed their line behind the fence.

"Light the fire!" As soon as all the dry grass was piled on the broken fence, Zhengliang ordered it to be set on fire. Instantly, white smoke rose from the grass pile. "Fire arrows, cast nets," Zhengliang ordered the archers on the slopes to attack.

"Snort..." Accompanied by several pig calls, the wild boars charged again, this time almost all of them. The three bloodied male wild boars led the charge, followed by four adult wild boars, and then the more scattered young ones.

"Come on!" Zhengliang knew the decisive moment had arrived.

"Hold your ground!" Zhengliang knew that neither the wild boars nor they could retreat. If they retreated further, they would cross the last two pitfalls on either side, creating gaps that the wild boars could use to escape along the less steep slopes.

"Snort..." The three male wild boars first charged through the burning fence and rammed the second fence.

"Thrust... pull back... thrust..." Feeling the approaching stench, Zhengliang tightened his grip on his spear and continuously shouted commands to the team. "Squish, squish," the two exhausted male wild boars finally fell in front of the fence, pierced through the abdomen by several spears.

"Ha..." The ashigaru, having calmed down after the previous battle, followed Zhengliang's orders, thrusting forward and shouting to boost their morale.

The fire grew stronger. An adult wild boar, to avoid the fire, rushed to the side, "crack," and immediately fell into the last pitfall on the right, emitting cries of pain. The bristles of two other wild boars caught fire, and they ran around wildly. One fell into the pitfall, and the other ran back. The archers on the mountaintop, seeing this, rushed down and cast a fishing net, trapping the wild boar, then charged with bamboo spears and killed it.

"Ah!" A cry of alarm came from the right. A wild boar had forcefully rammed the right fence, breaking it open, creating a small gap between the steep slope and the fence. The wild boar took the opportunity to escape with two young ones. The ashigaru behind the fence, caught off guard, were knocked down and screamed.

"Quick, follow me!" Shida Guangzong immediately rushed over, trying to push the fence back to close the gap.

"Snort..." Zhengliang, who was paying attention to Shida Guangzong, suddenly heard a wild boar call, as if right next to him. He quickly focused and looked ahead.

"Damn!" Zhengliang was stunned by the scene. The largest wild boar was about to make a powerful leap, attempting to jump over the fence. "When did wild boars learn to jump hurdles?"

"Charge!" Zhengliang shouted, raising his spear and rushing forward. The scene seemed to freeze for a moment. The gleaming iron spearhead, the wild boar's open mouth from its roar, and its long tusks formed a close-up in the air.

"Snort," "squish" The two finally met in mid-air. The wild boar's cry was cut short as the long spear pierced through its mouth. "Crack," the wild boar, suddenly encountering resistance, paused in mid-air, and its 300-pound body fell onto the fence, causing it to collapse instantly.

"Snap" The wooden handle of Zhengliang's spear broke, and "rip," Zhengliang was thrown to the ground, sliding along the ground, his clothes torn by the bushes.

"Lord?"

"Your Highness?"

Several cries of alarm rang out. Zhengliang rolled twice before stopping, feeling dizzy. The people quickly reacted and rushed to Zhengliang.

"Quick, don't worry about me. Kill that wild boar!" Zhengliang, regaining his composure, shouted loudly.

"Ah!? Lord is mighty!" The ashigaru, noticing the severely injured and dying large wild boar, cheered and rushed to it.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Shida Guangzong, drenched in sweat, thought of the many warnings from Dōgō Heiji before the mission and knew that the survival of the domain depended on this new and unusual lord. If anything happened to the lord...

"Cough... cough" Zhengliang panted, "Ha ha, Guangzong, do you think your lord is so easily injured? Quickly, clean up the scene. I need to rest for a moment." In fact, Zhengliang felt completely drained, his hands trembling slightly.

"Yes, Your Highness" Confirming that the lord was unharmed, Shida Guangzong breathed a sigh of relief but did not leave. He ordered his men to clean up the scene and stood guard beside Zhengliang, feeling guilty for forgetting Dōgō Heiji's warnings in the heat of the moment. Although the lord was unharmed, he was injured, and he would surely be scolded by his old friend upon return.