Chapter 38: The Turtle in the Urn
There are only two more chapters left for the story of eliminating bandits, and the battle scene of defending the border town is about to begin. Please continue to support Qiankun! As for the plot details being too simple, Qiankun will pay attention to it later and unify the refinement of each chapter. Thank you to readers who have given their opinions, thank you! Hehe, after saying so much, I'll take this opportunity to ask for votes and flowers, even bricks and water are fine, can help Qiankun sober up, haha!
Please go ahead and provide the text you'd like me to translate. I'll return the translation in English.
With a "whoosh", the crossbow bolt in Stronghold's hand had already been fired, whizzing towards Lain.
"Haha......" Lain chuckled, lightly waving his long sword. With a 'ding' sound, the flying arrow shot straight into the grass, its feathers still quivering slightly.
At this time, Laine was three hundred meters away from the bandit army, and besides, these fake crossbows had greatly discounted their power, easily dodging the arrow attack.
"Raines, get back here, these bandits won't follow the rules of the battlefield, hurry..." Russ panted as he arrived by his side, pulling him to retreat into the defensive fortifications.
Trained in anger, flames spouting three feet high, throwing away the crossbow, wielding a curved knife, shouting loudly, the attacking horn sounded one after another, urging the entire team to advance quickly.
These robbers formed a complete defensive formation, with the first three rows of robbers all holding shields, each row having more than fifty people. They advanced cautiously forward, and did not speed up due to the urgent sound of the horn.
"Brothers, charge! I'll give you a hundred gold coins for every enemy killed, no matter if they're dead or alive! Anyone who retreats will be beheaded on the spot!" Trajan swung his curved blade wildly, roaring with madness and kicking at several slow-moving bandits beside him.
The temptation of money is great, the marching degree of the bandit army has increased greatly, and the momentum is high. The defensive formation at the front of the entire team is rapidly advancing forward.
Rein stood on the high platform of the defensive wall, gazing out at the distant bandit army, now numbering nearly four thousand strong, a sea of black that stretched as far as the eye could see. Except for several hundred who surrounded their leader, Trane, all were madly rushing towards this place. The vanguard had formed a shield wall, impenetrable and advancing with incredible speed.
At this time, the soldiers' crossbow arrows were almost exhausted, and the long-range arrow rain attack was no longer effective. If the distance got closer and closer, the imitation crossbows and arrow branches of the bandit army could be used, which would put them in a disadvantageous position for defense.
"Captain, we've run out of crossbow bolts and the bandits are getting closer. Shouldn't we..." Just then, Rus rushed over, his face and beard dripping with sweat, a black military sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, looking flustered as he asked.
"Go!" Raine thought for a moment, fully armed, holding a shield and a military sword, and quickly walked down the simple stairs.
"Brothers, assemble... emergency assembly, prepare for battle!" Russ shouted quickly.
The bandit army's troops are getting closer and closer, the archers and crossbowmen hiding behind the shield defense formation begin to shoot frantically at the walls, forming a sky full of arrows, putting the villagers on the defensive fortifications in a state of defense, and the situation of the archers on the wooden arrow tower is also extremely difficult.
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
“……”
The robbers were in high spirits, all shouting loudly...
Suddenly, the defensive wall formed by the trunks of trees over a dozen feet high collapsed with a loud crash, creating a gap over a dozen feet long. The robbers rushed forward in a frenzy, charging wildly ahead.
Facing these bandits were the imperial soldiers, who formed a phalanx formation with their long spears and guns, slowly advancing forward. The bandits at the front were unable to stop their charge, being pierced through by the soldiers' long spears and guns, accompanied by waves of mournful cries, the scene was filled with a bloody atmosphere.
The infantry defensive formation formed by the soldiers, with the left and right wings being the villagers armed with bows and arrows. The close-range arrow rain caused heavy casualties among the robbers who had just rushed in, making this place a purgatory on earth.
Imperial soldiers in the front row held square shields that were as tall as a person and continued to push forward, wielding long spears and other weapons through the gaps in the shields with great attacking advantage.
"Ah……" Another wave of miserable cries, the two sides of the breach in the wall suddenly appeared with a wooden gate made of sharp-headed stakes, slamming shut, once again forcibly separating the bandit group from the middle. The bandits who entered the defensive fortifications became fish in a barrel, waiting for them was the fate of being slaughtered.
The robbers outside the wall began to frantically crash into the thick tree trunks that formed the wall. After they destroyed the wall, what was presented before them was a bloody scene, and at this time there were still shadows of imperial soldiers and villagers who had retreated to the second line of defense fortifications, more solid arrow towers, and the outer wall below was densely packed with sharp stakes.
The bandit legion suffered over a thousand casualties, yet the front still faced the same defensive formation, their eyes fixed tightly on Legion Leader Trajan.
The bloody battlefield made Trajan even more furious, losing his mind, waving his curved knife, roaring, giving orders, continuing to attack, the bandits looked at each other, still staying in place, without any movement.
For survival, for money, for greater benefits, these robbers gathered at Luo Feng Mountain to form a powerful army, but without life, all of this is nonsense.
"Colonel Traien, the brothers have suffered heavy losses. The village of Luoxia has Imperial soldiers assisting them, and these soldiers all have the Empire's branding on their wrists. They are all 'cannon fodder' soldiers, they're all desperate men who have been through a hundred battles... We shouldn't increase unnecessary casualties... Besides, why do we need to attack Luoxia Village?" A bald-headed bandit with a scar on his face stood up beside Traien and began speaking excitedly.
"Dirk, what do you mean? Are you thinking of quitting?" Traien glared at him with narrowed eyes, his eyebrows furrowed from time to time, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he spoke sternly.
"Commander Trahern, our brothers from Tiger's Leap have followed you for many years, just to be able to survive in this chaotic world. But... are you still going to insist on your own way? Must you push all of us to the brink of despair? Must..." Dekar started speaking excitedly once again.
These robbers are all focused on the situation, and their fate is decided in a moment of hesitation. Advance is death, retreat can still have a glimmer of life, garrison Luo Feng Mountain, nourish vitality, rise again from the east mountain.
At this time, Trajhon burst out laughing, occasionally nodding his head with a smile on his face, staring at the scar-faced bald brother Dek beside him. He was the leader of the strong thieves in the Luofeng Mountain Tiger Cliff area, and most of the more than 1,000 strong thieves who died in the charge just now were his subordinates, which is also why he stood out to persuade.
"Haha, good brother, you're right..." Trayne laughed, putting away his curved knife and quickly coming to Deke's front, tightly embracing his shoulders, looking around at the other bandits.
Their faces were as pale as frost-bitten eggplants, speechless with grief, the bloody scene, corpses scattered all over, they looked numb and devoid of any will to fight.
