Chapter Thirty-Seven: Eccentricity

  With renewed vigor, the attack was launched again, but all that was gained was a field of corpses, the wailing of the wounded, and an even thicker smell of blood in the air.

  Another defeat, another heavy casualty, Chen Jialang's drumming hand stopped in mid-air, his mouth agape, unable to believe what he saw and heard was real.

  Is this the invincible team that has won every battle in the clan wars? Where is the indomitable spirit that never yields? Are they going to let others slaughter them and then flee back with their tails between their legs?

  With a loud crash, amidst the frightened and terrified eyes of hundreds of brothers, the drum in Zhangsun's hand fell to the ground, raising dust that mixed with the thick smell of blood and lingered for a long time.

  What was shocked was not only the Chen family, but also the Zhao and Wang families.

  Those two families, having witnessed the Chen family's twice furious and powerful attack, ended up with such a result. The leaders of the Zhao royal family stood with their mouths agape, staring blankly at the bloody battlefield, watching the militia who were still wailing and rolling on the ground, with only fear in their hearts and cold sweat on their backs. The militiamen following behind them had lost all enthusiasm for shouting and cheering, replaced by two streams of trembling, unable to hold onto the knives and guns in their hands.

  This is an asymmetrical battle, this is slaughter, a one-sided slaughter, which makes everyone feel powerless from the heart.

  The two families of Zhao and Wang, after their initial fright, couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

  Zhao family leader said in a low voice to the Wang family elder: "Old brother, it seems that we villagers can only support clan feuds, but how can we attack cities? I think this is not a battle, this is sending us to our deaths."

  "Isn't that right, this thief's bow and arrow are so formidable? The range is so far, it's almost comparable to a small crossbow, it's not something we can counter at all." Wang's family still had lingering fears about the arrow rain, and when he said this, he involuntarily took two steps back, as if standing here was also within the range of those giant arrows.

  "Just these two rounds have already caused nearly two hundred casualties in the Chen family. If we go up, it will only increase the number of casualties."

  The head of the Wang family looked at the leader of the Zhao family with his eyes, then turned around to look at the two families' militiamen, each facing the tragic situation on the battlefield was pale and trembling, where was there any fighting spirit left?

  The Zhao and Wang families' village braves are no match for the Chen family. The Chen family's sons have all been through many battles between families, and their bones are filled with a spirit of good bravery and ruthlessness. They are also accustomed to life and death. As for these village braves, they are usually just tenant farmers or small people on their own farms, or some strong vagrants. Originally, they were all living stable lives as small people who rose with the sun and set with the sun, but because of the chaotic times, vagrants rose up everywhere, and in order to protect their homes and property, they had no choice but to put down their hoes and pick up knives and guns. However, they relied on the fortifications to deal with small groups of vagrant bandits, and as for those big bandits, they had long since secretly made deals with them. During holidays, they would inevitably have to offer sacrifices to the mountains, but what about this kind of battle?

  Originally thought that this time the Zhang family was surrounded, thinking that the Zhang family wall was high and deep, with more than a hundred village braves, several hundred relatives and children, the bandits would definitely hit their heads and shed blood here, and they would gather with other people from several Liangbao villages, use the tiger's might to disperse the bandits, and win. But who would have thought that when they arrived, the bandits had already taken down Zhangjiabao, leaving them facing high walls and strong crossbows.

  Since Zhang's family has been destroyed, there is no point in continuing to fight against the bandits, so they all have the idea of retreating and protecting themselves.

  "Old brother, this family is finished, whatever we do now is useless, I think..." Wang Zhuang's master cautiously approached and tentatively said.

  "My brother said that it's already come to this, and doing anything more is useless. Only... " He glanced secretly at the still fuming Chen family's eldest grandson with his eyes. "Only if we withdraw our men, I'm afraid the Chen family won't let up. After all, the Chen family has many people and their power can't be underestimated. If they turn against us, it'll be hard to clean up the mess."

  "In fact, it can be said that Chen's family is indeed powerful, but after this battle, nearly 200 of their 500 disciples have been killed or injured. It's likely that they've suffered a significant blow to their morale and won't be able to bully the surrounding villages like they used to." The words carried a hint of schadenfreude.

  Indeed, the Chen family in this area has colluded with the wealthy and powerful Zhang family, relying on their own hundreds of years of refined martial arts to bully and oppress the surrounding villagers and landlords, who can only swallow their anger. Now that the Zhang family they relied on has been destroyed, the Chen family is also severely damaged under the command of their proud and undefeated eldest grandson. This is all because of the loss of their elite forces, so how can't the people who have suffered from their arrogance feel secretly delighted?

  "What does Wang brothers mean?" Zhao head also stretched his head over and asked in a low voice.

  "The bandits are too powerful and have occupied Zhangjiabao, this is no longer something that we local militiamen can handle. We should withdraw our troops and report to the higher authorities, let them decide what to do next. After all, suppressing bandits and capturing thieves is still a matter for the government."

  "Brother Wang is right, let's go then." Zhao Zhuangzhu couldn't wait for the Wang family to suggest this and agreed with a sigh of relief.

  As the two leaders made their calculations, the country warriors who had been trembling with knives and guns for a week suddenly let out a low cheer, showing how much this decision had won people's hearts.

  "But we should retreat, shouldn't we inform the Chen family? This formality still needs to be followed." Zhao Zhuangzhu was a cautious person and always wanted to handle things in a way that would not offend anyone.

  When King heard that he was in a great hurry, you good man thought it was impossible to offend anyone, but didn't know that your retreat itself had already offended many people.

  Look at Chen Jia's eldest grandson, who has already turned red-eyed. If he knew you wanted to withdraw the troops, he would be the first to deal with you. At that time, he hurriedly said in a low voice: "I think Chen Jia's eldest grandson has lost his mind. If we really inform him of the withdrawal, wouldn't he take out his knife and meet us? We'd better quietly withdraw and find an opportunity to apologize later."

  Zhao Zhuang raised his head to take a look, and indeed it was the case. Zhangsun looked like an enraged tiger at this moment. If he went forward now, there would definitely be no good outcome. It's better to slip away quietly.

  He nodded and summoned his own militiamen to prepare for withdrawal.

  But these militiamen didn't have any discipline to begin with, and now they've been scared out of their wits by this massacre. How could they possibly carry out a quiet retreat? Standing here, their hearts had already flown back home to hide, and as soon as they heard the order to retreat, they let out a cheer and took off in disarray.

  The two families of Zhao and Wang were calculating here, while on the other side, Chen Jiaolong's grandson was bleeding in his heart at this time, violently jumping like a mad tiger.

  After two wars, not only did he not gain any benefits, but he also lost nearly two hundred brothers. This made him, who had never suffered such a setback before, feel unbearable. Moreover, this war was related to his own future. The current patriarch is already old, and the day of handing over power is not far away. Among the new generation of brothers, there are many who are eyeing the patriarch's throne, but the position of the next family patriarch is something that he must obtain, and he cannot afford to make any mistakes.

  But now not only have they lost the lives of Zhang's family, but also suffered heavy casualties. If that unshakeable position in the clan is no longer there, wouldn't those brothers take advantage of the situation and overthrow their biggest enemy, the successor to the clan leader? How could this not make him anxious?

  It's now a situation where one has to ride the tiger, regardless of how many family members and children are lost, they must break through Zhangjia Fort. Avenging others is minor, but finding back face and stabilizing one's own position is true.

  But this time, I couldn't just watch as the Zhang family brothers fought to the death. The casualties from the clan's internal strife over the years had never been so severe that it would hurt our own family's vitality. Even if we were lucky enough to take down the Zhang family fortress, with such heavy losses, it wouldn't be easy to report back to the clan leader.

  It is now impossible to take down Zhangjiabao alone, and it is necessary for the other village warriors who are watching from the sidelines to come forward together to avenge my sister's husband's killing of his father and son.

  But looking at other village heroes, they were all timid and shrinking, without the idea of fighting to the death. What method could be used to entice them to fight to the death with him?

  At this time, the brother who was shot in the arm suddenly pulled his hand and whispered: "Brother, look quickly."

  "What?"

  "The two village heads of Zhao Wang were whispering to each other there, seemingly with some unusual movement."

  As he turned his head to look, he saw the village heads of Zhao Wang's two villages talking in low tones, and those villagers also looked around nervously, suddenly bursting into a low murmur of cheers.

  Chang Sun was impulsive, but not stupid. After a moment's thought, his face changed greatly, and he realized that the Zhao royal family wanted to retreat because they sensed something was wrong. He immediately gave orders: "Brother, keep an eye on the current troops, I'll go forward and reason with the two Zhao kings, and turn them back."

  That brother once again pulled back the eldest grandson who had already mounted his horse, and said in a low and urgent tone: "Brother, you must not be careless. I think that both families of Zhao Wang have already had the intention to retreat. If you go alone and the negotiations fall through, it will be a situation where we will lose everything."

  "What should we do then, according to your opinion, brother?" This was the first time that Chang Sun, who had always been autocratic and decisive, asked for someone else's opinion. The two blows had also made him lose some of his self-confidence.

  His brother saw that the elder brother was willing to listen to his advice, and he was overjoyed in his heart. He whispered: "I think it's better this way, brother. Just go and talk to those two families of Zhao Wang about the conditions. First, emphasize the importance of unity and mutual protection, and then offer them generous benefits. Only by doing so can we persuade them to join us in our progress and turn around the current unfavorable situation."

  "What's the big deal if I'm being thrifty? But where is this huge profit?"