Chapter 35: Defensive Fortifications

  The robbers traversed mountains and rivers, and were ambushed by the village militia along the way. By the time they rushed into Luoxia Village, the entire village was engulfed in a sea of flames and smoke, with torches, thick smoke, and burning houses everywhere. The village was desolate, with no signs of villagers anywhere.

  "Search! Search carefully!" One of the robbers, with a thick beard and a gleaming golden curved knife, was shouting angrily. He was tall and sturdy, with brown hair and thick eyebrows, his eyes wide open. He was standing at the front of the robber gang, and he was Lain Snow, the leader of the Robber Gang in Mount Luo Feng, a cruel and brutal man who had led the robbers to attack the Imperial grain convoy at the foot of Mount Luo Feng.

  Layne Snow had several people on both sides, their faces were also extremely angry, among them was a young golden woman, wearing a bright cloak, holding a long sword, staring angrily at a young man beside her.

  "Luo Si, as the leader of the Cliff Peak bandits, you have brought bloodshed to the nearby mountain villages, burning and killing without mercy. It is all because of you that our entire Luo Feng Mountain bandit army has suffered its greatest defeat in history. You..." She said angrily, her long sword quickly pointing at Luo Si beside her, ready to...

  "Leya, I..." Los's figure flashed and quickly dodged the long sword in her hand, coming to Leyn's side, wanting to speak but hesitating, with a very frightened expression.

  "Leya, my daughter, stop being foolish. Those were my orders, don't make things difficult for Los." Lain explained, at this time Los's face had returned to calm, a hint of cold intent flashing in his eyes.

  "Father, you just protect him then, humph!" Layla sheathed her long sword, turned around and stormed off with her back to her father, Lain Snow.

  At this moment, a robber who was shot through the chest from behind with a crossbow bolt came running over, his chest still bleeding profusely. His face was filled with a terrified and panicked expression. Not far in front of the troops, he fell to the ground with a thud. He grasped at the grass with both hands, struggling to move forward, the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth still gushing out continuously. Behind him, a chaotic sound of footsteps could still be heard in the distance.

  "Captain, Captain, it's not good! The brothers were ambushed by the villagers during the search, and... those imperial soldiers' crossbow bolts are too abnormal, the brothers suffered heavy casualties, please..." He looked up at Laine with his head raised, speaking breathlessly and struggling to move his entire body forward, the will to survive kept him going until the end. However, when he crawled to a location not far from Captain Laine, what awaited him was a huge black axe.

  "Ah!" A miserable cry had just faded away, and the scene returned to calmness. Those robbers who had retreated in a hurry continued to rush forward frantically because Los, the leader of the robbers on the precipice, was holding up a bloody head, which was that of the robber who had come back to report. If it were desertion in battle, the crime would not be limited to this.

  Luo's handsome face wore a cold smile, but at this time Lain smiled back, greatly appreciating Luo's actions.

  "Alright, Los, I'll send you another thousand brothers. Make sure to raze Luoxia Village to the ground." Laine said.

  "Thank you, Captain! I will definitely complete the task!" Ross said solemnly.

  More than 2,000 bandits under Los's leadership charged forward with a fierce momentum. Looking at the gradually disappearing back of Los, Laine narrowed his eyes and sneered coldly.

  "Father, you... what do you mean?" Leya's heart was filled with confusion, he came to Lain's side and asked in puzzlement.

  "Hahaha..." Lain smiled but didn't answer, gazing deeply at Leila beside him, his daughter. He then waved the golden curved knife in his hand, symbolizing the leader of the bandit army, pointing forward.

  The war horn has sounded, and more than 3,000 bandits have formed six phalanxes, advancing slowly with uniform steps.

  At this time, Los was furious and frustrated by the temporary defensive fortifications built in Luoxia Village, which had been under siege for a long time but still couldn't be taken down, making him anxious and uneasy, yet unable to come up with a solution.

  Over a thousand brothers who followed Los have been killed or wounded, and now there are less than three hundred people left. They were originally on the offensive, but now they are on the defensive and have no power to fight back. However, the more than a thousand brothers assigned by General Lane are useless, ignoring his orders and staying at the rear of the team, holding shields and watching.

  The so-called defensive works of Luoxia Village are a row of temporary wooden stakes over 10 feet high, which just block the waist and cross the relatively narrow grassland between two mountain peaks. There are also dozens of tall arrow towers nearby, which can be said to be a heavily guarded fortification that rises from the ground.

  The village was shrouded in thick smoke, which provided a perfect opportunity for their crossbow arrows. The hail of arrows caused heavy casualties among the bandits. The range of the imperial soldiers' crossbows made it difficult for the bandits to advance even half a step. Although they formed a defensive phalanx with sturdy shields, the penetrating power of the crossbow arrows was terrifying.

  The defensive fortifications of Luoxia Village are still under construction, and three defense lines have been formed. Behind them is a vast highland, forming a natural defense line. Emily, the village chief, is leading the villagers to do the final cleaning work there, including arrow towers, catapults, giant logs, rocks, etc.

  The troops led by Rain, numbering over 300, along with more than 100 village boys, defended against the bandits' attack. The entire defensive line was three miles long, with most members concentrated in the middle section, where the bandit army was densely packed.

  After a shower of arrows, Los and his men were at a standstill, but the large army led by General Laine was advancing, putting them in a dilemma.

  What Los said with such conviction was that he would take down the defensive fortifications of Luoxia Village, but now if he were to return empty-handed and humiliated, it wouldn't be a matter of saving face, but rather a matter of life and death.

  "Detestable! Lane would have me dead, xxx, how could I have been so blind? Alas! Intelligence is often the victim of its own ingenuity, and it has brought me nothing but suffering!" Ross was overcome with grief.

  At this moment, the expression of Rain, who was on the defensive wall, was not much better. The number of crossbow arrows was rapidly decreasing, and the advantage of the imperial soldiers would soon be gone. He was also worried, feeling anxious and uneasy in his heart, pacing back and forth, deep in thought.

  The crossbow arrows carried by the Imperial soldiers were specially made by the border guards and those blacksmiths, with long and extremely sharp arrowheads, having a long range and strong penetration power. If they were equipped with ordinary arrows, their range and attack power would be greatly discounted, not even comparable to the power of a longbow. However, among these people, only a handful could use the longbow.

  "Captain Raine, look!" A sudden shout from the soldiers broke into Raine's thoughts, and he looked up to be stunned!