Chapter 46 of 100

Chapter 46

20 min read4,878 words

According to common sense, the small village of River Bend, without even a city wall, let alone the rolling logs and stones used for defending the city, the over a thousand unarmed civilians were just a dish, to be devoured at will!

Xia Shanhu was having a beautiful dream, but when his men rushed to the city wall, the scene that unfolded terrified him. Stones and logs rained down from the city wall, causing the people below to scream and howl in pain. At least twenty bandits fell off their horses. A few unfortunate ones were trampled to death by their own men's horses before they could even get up.

Xia Shanhu's face turned green with anger, and he roared, "What's going on? What's going on? How do they have so many stones? Can they quarry and get stones in the middle of winter?"

His men replied with a mournful face, "Boss, they're not stones, they're ice blocks!"

"Ice blocks?"

"That's right, Boss. One of the brothers brought one back for you to see!"

Xia Shanhu took it with a stern face and indeed, it was an ice block. However, this ice block was different from ordinary ones; it was filled with branches, half frozen inside and half sticking out, making it look like a hedgehog. When this thing fell from a height, it could not only crush people but also cause fatal or serious injuries if hit by the branches.

Xia Shanhu's eyes blazed with fury, and he gritted his teeth, "I've roamed Liaoxi for over ten years. Can a small village like River Bend stop me? Tell the men to attack fiercely, I want to see how long they can hold out!"

...

On the city wall, Zhang Ke tightly gripped the hilt of his sword. Seeing the bandits charging forward with a roar, he couldn't help but sneer. The idea of using ice blocks to defend the city came naturally after using them to build the city. Since capturing Liu San, the men, women, and children of River Bend were all mobilized.

Freezing ice blocks was not difficult; even children could do it. Zhang Ke specifically instructed to insert branches to increase the lethality. For survival, human potential is boundless. With the Xifeng River nearby, River Bend had no shortage of water. Over a thousand people worked for a day and a half, freezing about fifty to sixty thousand ice blocks.

They also got creative, not just with ice blocks but also with rolling logs. They placed thick branches in molds, sprinkled water, and froze them like ice lollies, producing logs weighing two to three hundred pounds in two to three hours.

Four sturdy soldiers carried them together and threw them at the places with the most bandits.

Bang!

A bandit's head was smashed to pieces, and even his horse was broken in half, falling to the ground with a scream.

"I killed someone, I killed someone!"

Ma Biao suddenly shouted excitedly. When the bandits charged, everyone on the city wall was on edge, especially the newly trained soldiers who had received less than two days of training. They might never have even killed a chicken before, and now they had to kill people, which was like forcing a duck to climb a tree.

Zhang Ke knew he was pushing them too hard, but he had no choice. To survive, they had to fight to the death! On the first throw, many people closed their eyes and threw the ice blocks.

Once the first step was taken, everything became natural. Especially when they saw the bandits, who looked like demons, being knocked down, their morale soared.

"Don't just stand there, hit them hard!" Zhang Ke shouted loudly.

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers responded excitedly.

The ice blocks fell like hail, and none of the bandits below could escape. The heavily injured fell off their horses and couldn't get up, while the lightly injured had heads full of bumps. In less than a quarter of an hour, the bandits left behind over twenty corpses and a pile of wounded, fleeing in panic.

"Ha ha ha, we won!"

Qiao Fu jumped up excitedly, while Yue Zixuan still felt a bit disappointed and couldn't help but say, "I thought this Xia Shanhu was something, he's just a fool."

Zhang Ke smiled slightly, "Don't underestimate the enemy. They were caught off guard the first time, but the next attack won't be so easy. Everyone must be extra cautious, and no one should be complacent!"

Zhang Ke's judgment was correct. About half an hour later, the bandits attacked the city wall again. The bandits in front carried long ladders, and the cavalry followed closely behind, getting closer and closer.

Qiao Gui and Qiao Fu were both eager. They commanded the archers, and among the new soldiers, about fifty knew how to use bows, having picked up some skills from living with the Tartars. However, the bows were rather poor. Besides the strong bows used by Qiao Fu and Qiao Gui, there were only fifteen long bows, which could shoot about fifty steps.

"Brother Ke, the archers haven't even fired yet, let us go!"

"Wait!" Zhang Ke stopped Qiao Fu with a wave of his hand, saying sternly, "Wait a bit longer, don't rush to play all your cards!"

With Zhang Ke's order, the archers temporarily retreated. At this point, the bandits had already rushed to the city wall and set up their ladders.

"Attack!"

The soldiers on the city wall picked up ice blocks and threw them down.

Suddenly, the cavalry behind the bandits all stopped, and the front row of about twenty men drew their bows to a full moon.

"Trouble!"

Zhang Ke quickly shouted, "Quick, get down!"

Many soldiers hastily threw away their ice blocks and crouched down, but some were still a bit late. One soldier was holding an ice block when an arrow hit his neck, and another pierced his chest. Blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell to the city wall without a word.

Two other soldiers were also hit by arrows and fell to the ground.

"Quick, carry the wounded down!"

Zhang Ke shouted loudly, and the mood on the city wall quickly turned somber.

It was their first time on the battlefield, and they didn't understand the meaning of death. They thought they could drive away the bandits as easily as the first time, but seeing the casualties, they became hesitant, and fear showed in their eyes.

The bandits outside, however, were jubilant, continuously shooting arrows at the city wall. Dozens of musketeers also started firing. Although their muskets had limited lethality, the loud noise severely dampened the new soldiers' morale.

Two soldiers suddenly stood up and threw the rolling logs. Just as they were about to duck, a lead ball flew in and hit one soldier in the chest, creating a fist-sized wound, and he fell to the city wall, clearly dead.

"Ha ha ha, the young soldiers on the city wall are no good, everyone charge up, once we break the village, the women are all ours!"

"Damn it! You can shoot arrows, but let's see how good I am!"

Qiao Fu suddenly stood up, drew his bow, and aimed three arrows at three archers. Looking at the bandits below, he felt as if he were facing a pack of wolves, and a strange feeling surged in his heart.

"Die!"

The three arrows shot out like meteors, fast and fierce. Even Qiao Tieshan, who was commanding on the other side, was startled; he didn't know his son had this skill!

In a flash, the three arrows pierced the throats of three bandits, who fell to the ground in disbelief.

This move terrified the bandits outside. The archers and musketeers looked at each other in fear. At this moment, Qiao Gui seized the opportunity and, along with a dozen brothers, shot a dense rain of arrows, hitting five or six archers, who fell with screams. In the cold weather, the injured quickly lost their strength and became colder, writhing in pain. The other bandits showed no sympathy.

Bandits are the most pragmatic; they wouldn't waste time on those who couldn't be saved!

"Good boy, worthy of being my son!"

Qiao Tieshan shouted excitedly, and with a fierce swing of his saber, he split the head of a bandit who had just climbed onto the city wall. The two halves of the body fell to the ground.

The bandits' archers were suppressed, and the soldiers on the city wall finally regained their fighting spirit. Yue Zixuan swung his saber, cutting down two bandits, covered in blood, like a madman.

Wu Boyan also clenched his fists. He didn't have Yue Zixuan's skills, but he remembered Qiao Tieshan's teachings.

"Brothers, raise your spears!"

Ten soldiers instinctively raised their wooden spears. In front of them were three fierce bandits who climbed onto the city wall. Seeing these young boys with wooden spears, the bandits couldn't help but laugh.

"Little brats, still nursing, get out of here!"

Wu Boyan's palms were sweating, and a surge of blood boiled in his chest. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Stab!"

Ten spears were thrust out, crooked and trembling. In the past two days, they had practiced this move hundreds of times, to the point of boredom, but when it came to the real thing, their hands still trembled. Even Wu Boyan wasn't confident if they could handle the bandits.

Thud!

The sound of the spear piercing flesh made Wu Boyan's eyes widen in excitement. His spear tip had pierced a bandit's chest. The bandit, trying to avoid the other two spears, had inadvertently run into Wu Boyan's spear.

Wu Boyan wouldn't let this opportunity slip. He pushed forward with all his strength.

"Kill!"

The wooden spear pierced through the chest, and blood spurted out like an arrow. The bandit screamed, cut the wooden spear with his knife, but he was already at the edge of the city wall and fell down.

The other two bandits couldn't dodge. One was hit by three spears, and the other by two, both dying instantly. The new soldiers only lost three wooden spears and had two soldiers sprain their ankles!

Wu Boyan was so excited he couldn't close his mouth. This move really worked!

"Brothers, stab!"

"Stab!"

...

The excited shouts echoed, and the soldiers quickly learned to stand together, thrusting their spears in rows. Despite their inexperience and weakness, this was a completely different way of fighting.

The bandits were fierce and skilled, but on the narrow city wall, they couldn't fully utilize their skills and were forced to retreat by the long spears. Gradually, fear showed in their eyes, and some even retreated to the ladders!

Seeing the young soldiers like little tigers, Zhang Ke finally smiled. Although this progress was somewhat forced, at least they had grasped the key to survival on the battlefield.

"Kill!"

Zhang Ke drew his samurai sword and cut down three bandits in a row, shouting, "Pour water!"

"Yes, sir!"

Dozens of strong men rushed forward, holding wooden basins filled with ice water, and poured them over the bandits climbing up.

The bandits who were drenched screamed in pain and rolled off the ladders.

"Try this!"

Large ice blocks the size of basins were thrown down, smashing the bandits' heads and chests!

Finally, the bandits couldn't bear it anymore. They left behind fifty to sixty corpses and retreated in disarray.

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