Chapter 125: The Battle on the Hillside (Part One)

Page 1 of 3

“Ready.”

“Ready.”

The shouts came one after another.

The more than thirty drivers seemed to be cheering themselves on, or perhaps encouraging one another. They had not yet faced a direct threat to their lives, but the danger hanging over them was still palpable. Outside the convoy stood a band of bandits who might very well slaughter them all. They were men who had suffered defeat on the eastern battlefield.

The drivers had every reason to believe that the bandits charging up the slope were bloodthirsty demons. Otherwise, they would not have set their sights on the merchant caravan, and the several escort guards sent ahead as scouts would not have lost their lives.

Some of the drivers began climbing onto the wagons. Working with the men beside them, they lifted thick tree trunks more than a yard long, carried them over the wagon rails, and laid them flat atop the cargo boxes.

Because time was short, even though the drivers were sweating profusely from exhaustion, they managed to prepare only a little over forty makeshift logs. Yet when they pushed those logs onto the wagons and sent them rolling into view of Wang Qing and the others, who were desperately urging their horses up the slope, the sight clearly left them stunned.

“Release!”

Li Shan had leapt from his horse and was clinging to the side of a wagon. Judging that the two sides were now less than eighty paces apart, he slapped the cargo box before him and roared the order at the drivers.

Trembling with excitement, the drivers exchanged glances with their companions. At the silent signal between them, they shoved the logs forward with perfect coordination.

A succession of heavy thuds immediately rolled down the slope.

“Archers, aim for the leader in the battered armor!” As the logs began to descend, Ding Li had no time to consider how effective they might be. He turned and shouted to the escort guards and caravan defenders, all of whom had already drawn their bowstrings taut. Then he shouted to the twenty-five escort guards carrying hand crossbows, “Brothers from the escort bureau, fire only when you’re sure of your aim. We won’t have many chances, so don’t waste them!”

Without waiting for a reply, Ding Li turned back and pulled the trigger once more.

A succession of bowstrings twanged, and the returning arrows were almost drowned out by the thunderous rumble of the logs crashing down the slope. The arrows fired moments later flew over the rolling timber and struck the bandits climbing uphill. Several of those hit in the chest screamed and fell from their horses.

At a distance of less than eighty paces, the bandits—who wore no fine armor for protection—might not have faced a hundred percent chance of death, but the fatality rate still exceeded thirty percent. The rate of crippling injuries was at least ninety percent. Almost anyone struck by an arrow would lose the ability to remain mounted and continue fighting.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

“Dodge! Dodge those damned logs!”

Wang Qing could no longer spare any attention for the stray arrows he had been evading all along. Cursing the others inwardly for their stupidity, he shouted angrily, “Jump over them! They can’t have many more! Just jump over them!”

Suddenly, Wang Qing sensed another danger nearby. As an endless series of sharp twangs from hand crossbows rang in his ears, he threw himself toward the ground.

His unfortunate mount had no way of understanding what he intended. The instant Wang Qing left the saddle, several bolts struck the warhorse almost simultaneously. It reared and gave a string of anguished cries. As its forelegs came down, several late-arriving bolts pierced its body. At last, it could no longer remain standing. Its weakened limbs could not support its massive, wounded frame, and it slowly collapsed to one side.

Even so, its enormous eyes remained fixed on Wang Qing, who had rolled to the ground nearby.

“This fellow is pretty quick on his feet.”

Ding Li patted the Qin crossbow in his hand and drew another bolt from beside him. There was a trace of admiration in his voice.

Hei Zi nodded in agreement and laughed. “Indeed. This isn’t the first time he’s escaped. That fellow has an incredible amount of luck.”

The more than forty rolling logs had not even completed a full wave of attack, yet they proved astonishingly effective at halting the bandits’ charge. Combined with the timely assault of the archers and crossbowmen concealed behind the convoy, they brought the bandits halfway up the slope to a sudden standstill.

The effect was especially pronounced after Wang Qing lost command. The bandits began to falter and scatter. After all, they had already realized that the sporadic arrows raining down from ahead were deadly.

What allowed the bandits to stabilize their formation was Wang Qing’s timely direction, along with reinforcements led by Zhang Wu close behind them.

Unlike the cavalry at the front, Zhang Wu’s reinforcements were mostly infantry. The makeshift logs rolling down the slope posed little threat to them.

Moreover, at Zhang Wu’s loud urging, dozens of men soon surged to the front carrying wooden round shields. Among them were several gleaming iron shields. The descending arrows struck them with a clatter. The wooden shields were pierced through by the powerful shafts, which lodged straight in the boards, but their bearers had no time to worry about it. They continued charging forward with their shields raised.

“Keep up! Move faster! Press forward!”

At this point, Zhang Wu had not yet become a target for Ding Li and Hei Zi. But as he waved his weapon and shouted orders halfway up the slope, he immediately drew the full attention of both men.

Then Zhang Wu turned and encouraged his followers loudly. “Press forward! Prepare to counterattack! The first man to reach the top will be richly rewarded!”

The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Wu felt a tremendous force slam into him. As he was knocked from his horse, two exceptionally sharp sounds tore through the air in quick succession.

The impact of hitting the ground was unpleasant, but Zhang Wu was filled with overwhelming relief. He twisted around to look back at where he had just been. One of his trusted aides, who had been riding directly behind him, had already been struck by an arrow and killed.

“Watch yourself. This is a battlefield. I don’t have time to look after you.”

Wang Qing, who had tackled Zhang Wu to the ground at the crucial moment, quickly rose. He paid no attention to the fresh tears scored across his armor and tossed the warning over his shoulder without expression. Then he turned and chased after the shield-bearing soldiers.

“Th—thank you.”

Although the two men often quarreled, Zhang Wu could not entirely ignore the debt he owed for having his life saved. Watching Wang Qing’s departing back, he moved his lips several times before finally forcing a word of thanks from his dry throat.

“Spread out! Keep your distance! Spread out first, then increase your speed and charge again!”

After taking several more shots, Wang Qing turned his horse obliquely and advanced toward the slope. At the same time, he shouted reminders to the cavalry whose mounts had been startled.

“Get your horses moving first! Don’t charge recklessly! Build up speed, then charge again! Evade them! Evade them! Draw their attacks and lure them away!”

Before long, Zhang Wu led his infantry forward and reduced the distance between the two sides to less than fifty paces. He then led the counterattack against the escort guards and caravan defenders behind the wagons.

Although they were a group of wandering bandits and looked battered and disorganized, nearly every one of them still carried a short bow.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

The successive counterattack of more than a hundred men instantly formed a continuous rain of arrows above the convoy. The barrage was sparse, but its suppressive effect was unmistakable.

Ding Li and Hei Zi, who had been firing openly from atop the wagons, were especially exposed. They had no choice but to stop shooting, turn, and leap down for cover.

“Brother Li, they haven’t even sent half their men up yet.”

When Ding Li reached him, Li Shan quickly poked his head out to glance beyond the convoy. He looked anxiously at Ding Li and lowered his voice with a worried sigh.

“They’re already less than forty paces away. What do we do now?”

“Brother Li, don’t worry. It won’t be so easy for them to reach us.”

Ding Li was far calmer. Hei Zi was the same. After hearing Ding Li’s words, he nodded slightly and added, “That’s right. At thirty paces, even the shields they’re carrying will be easy to pierce.”

With that, Hei Zi suddenly turned and appeared between two wagons. His sharp gaze swept across the scene before him and immediately fixed upon a target. He shifted the hand crossbow slightly, then pulled the trigger.

A crisp twang rang out.

“Bang!”

A bandit who had been grinning with mingled excitement and delight suddenly felt a tremendous force slam into the arm holding his round shield. His eyes widened in disbelief. As his body was hurled backward toward the direction from which he had come, he lowered his gaze as far as he could, trying to see the wound in his chest.

But the cold object that had just entered his body drained away all his strength. He could not even find the power to keep his eyes open.

“Crossbowmen, take careful aim. Don’t waste your opportunities!”

Li Shan had witnessed the entire scene. Excited, he immediately shouted toward the escort guards.

The difference between bows and crossbows was fully revealed at that moment. A crossbow relied on mechanical force, while a bow depended on the wielder’s strength. No matter what emotions affected the person holding it, the force of a crossbow’s shot remained essentially constant. A bow, however, was influenced by the condition of the person drawing it.

Just moments earlier, one of the Zhang Clan Trading Company’s defenders had apparently fired in haste—or perhaps out of fear when confronted by danger. His arrow had not only failed to pierce the bandit’s round shield; it had struck the shield weakly and then drifted uselessly to the ground, causing no meaningful harm.

By comparison, the hand crossbows wielded by the escort guards possessed far greater power. So long as they could aim properly, there was little need to question their lethality.

Within thirty paces, exactly as Hei Zi had said, the wooden round shields offered no protection at all. Even the few rare iron shields among the bandits were treated with extreme caution at such a distance. The men carrying them had to advance carefully, shrinking almost their entire bodies behind the metal plates for fear that a stray arrow might take their lives.

Judging from the situation, the bandits’ assault had not only been halted; under the fierce counterattack from those behind the convoy, they were even beginning to show signs of defeat.

Yet Ding Li and the others behind the wagons did not dare relax for an instant.

Everyone understood that the bandits before them were not the only enemy they faced. They represented merely half of the attackers—and not even half.

This book was first published on 17K. Support the official release for the earliest authentic version!

Page 3 of 3