Chapter 40: Clan Battle Royale

  (The first one has arrived, give flowers, give collection)

  Zhao Zhuang was threatened by a young whippersnapper who pointed at his nose, and he was so angry that he gritted his teeth and said "You dare!" Then he took a step forward, and all the young men in the clan behind him drew their swords and guns and stepped forward with the master.

  Chen Jialang's grandson was forced by Zhao Zhuangzhu and involuntarily took a step back, increasing the distance between him and Zhao Zhuangzhu.

  Zhao Zhuang's master raised his face and laughed loudly, turning his head to the disciples following him: "We don't want to bother with this ignorant little brat. We won't accompany this muddled guy. The big road is under heaven, each going their separate way, let's go."

  The young men in the clan responded with a loud promise, following closely behind the master of the manor, and walking quickly back to where they came from.

  Chen Jialang's grandson was furious, his whole body trembling with rage, his face ashen. If he really let this Zhao family thug go, not only would he lose the support of several hundred men, but also the chance to avenge his sister by taking down Zhangjiabao. Moreover, if he spared the Zhao family, the Chen family's influence would be looked down upon by the surrounding villages. Most importantly, if he failed to complete this task, his position within the clan would plummet, and he would no longer be able to command absolute obedience. His future as the head of the clan would also be ruined, which was an outcome that could not be allowed under any circumstances.

  "Brothers, if that old scoundrel dares to retreat one step further, kill him without hesitation!"

  "Yes." Over a hundred Chen family disciples raised their battle knives and responded loudly, for a moment the atmosphere was filled with murderous intent, and the air seemed to chill.

  "No, no, everyone, don't ruin the hundred-year harmony between the two villages for the sake of a dispute over dignity." The leader Wang was so anxious that he jumped up and down, running back and forth between the two sides to mediate.

  But the Chen and Zhao families were originally at odds, now they are both in a situation where they cannot back down, who would still listen to his advice?

  "Old fellow, take another step and try?" This is already a rogue's words.

  "What can I do if the young master is so arrogant?" The landlord of Zhao Village was also tough, and at that moment, he drew out his big knife and strode forward with large steps. His sons and followers also shouted and brandished their knives and guns as they followed behind him.

  The Chen family cavalry surrounding the Zhao family shouted and cursed, waving their weapons to block them, and the two groups of people and horses were mixed together, shouting and cursing continuously.

  As the situation spiralled out of control, a fierce battle was about to erupt. At that moment, Wang, the leader, couldn't care less about anything else and flew forward to intercept the two groups in the middle, making repeated bows and bitter smiles as he pleaded: "Everyone put down your swords and guns, let's talk things over slowly, quickly put down your swords and guns!"

  "You little scamp, how dare you! Do you think I'll let you off so easily?" The Zhao family head shouted indignantly, puffing out his chest and glaring.

  "The old man is too arrogant, if we don't teach him a lesson, won't the oath of mutual protection among the villages become a joke? If such situations arise in the future, who will still sacrifice themselves to save others? I'm thinking about everyone's future." The eldest grandson of the Chen family also shouted with righteous words.

  Wang the leader was in a difficult situation at that time, but he couldn't say anything. After all, Zhangsun was young and vigorous, and still had to persuade Zhao Zong to put down his anger. After all, the owner of Zhao Zhuang was old and stable, and easier to talk to.

  At this point, he hastily pulled Zhao Zong's arm and begged bitterly: "Zhao Lao Yuanwai, you are a veteran who has gone through wind and rain. All misunderstandings and mistakes will be settled with Chen Jiazu in the future. Now is the time when external enemies are watching, how can we afford to make the same mistake as that young whippersnapper at this critical moment?

  This remark reminded Zhao Zhuangzhu that with a great enemy in front of him, he hadn't even had a chance to fight yet, and now there was internal strife. This was indeed untimely and inappropriate. Moreover, at his age, he was arguing with a young boy over a trivial matter. No matter what the reason, it would be embarrassing to talk about it. Considering the bigger picture, he angrily swung his whip and said: "Let's put this aside for now, but tell that kid that Zhao's militia is only responsible for waving flags and shouting slogans, we won't fight to the death. Even if we take down Zhangjia Fortress, I won't want a single penny from him."

  Wang's leader felt a sense of relief in his heart, settling this matter would be a good start, and he hurriedly ran over to persuade Chen Jia's eldest grandson, hoping that this not-too-high condition could be accepted by the Chen family.

  Chen Jialang's grandson was indeed reckless and arrogant, but he still had some sense of what was important. Under Wang Touling's repeated gentle persuasion, he regained his composure and agreed to let the matter drop.

  At this moment, the leader of the Wang family finally let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that this internal conflict had been perfectly resolved and he had also achieved his goals.

  Just as everything was about to take a turn for the better, a horse suddenly neighed, followed by a shrill and mournful cry. Everyone present was stunned by this cry. The neighing of war horses and the cries of men were common on the battlefield, but what was fatal was that it came too abruptly and inopportunely.

  Time seemed to have solidified, and the entire battlefield was quiet except for the distant wails that came from afar, it was truly quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

  The shrill and mournful cry was like dropping a huge thunderbolt on the already tense and fragile nerves, instantly shattering them. The recently eased hostile scene immediately lost control, everything returned to irreversible chaos and meaningless slaughter.

  It was unclear who struck the first blow, but with a shout, the enraged villagers from both sides charged at each other with knives and guns drawn. The long-standing grudge between the Chen and Zhao families, combined with the anger that had just been suppressed, erupted like a volcano, and the young men from both families immediately threw themselves into a frenzied and deadly melee.

  The slaughter between ethnic groups, no one is right or wrong, the armed conflict triggered by the tribal leaders, can be said to be for the benefit of their own tribe or survival, but how many selfish thoughts are mixed in, no one knows, even if they know, it's also helpless.

  The infighting among the younger generation, that was brought to the battlefield by the clan leader, they were under tremendous pressure from the clan's power and did not gain any benefit from this meaningless infighting. They were just insignificant specks of dust in the thousand-year-old clan system, nothing more than puppets controlled by their clans, merely fighting for the sake of the clan's survival and propagation. Here, there was no right or wrong.

  The Zhao family was originally divided into two factions under the Chen family's reward, with only over a hundred relatives and younger brothers following Zhao Zhuang. In this inexplicable massacre, facing the Chen family's elite cavalry, they were immediately at a disadvantage. However, the Zhao family's younger brothers continued to fight desperately under their leader's command. One group fell, and another group instinctively rushed forward, using knives, guns, teeth, and lives to pull down one Chen family member after another from their horses, chopping them into minced meat. At that moment, the entire battlefield was filled with the sound of shouting, screaming, and clashing weapons.

  The Chen family took advantage of the war horse's superiority, launching a thrilling and bloody massacre from a high position. In no time, only a few dozen injured Zhao family members were left standing on the battlefield, desperately fighting to protect their clan leader.

  Not far away, the Chen family's infantry, who had been waiting in array, saw that a fight had already begun here. How could they think so much? At that time, they shouted and rushed to assist with knives and guns. The addition of more than 300 fresh soldiers made the Zhao family's children fall into a desperate situation. Looking at it, before long, the Zhao family's power would be annihilated.

  Those who had left the Zhao family's village militia, seeing the outbreak of war, were at a loss and stood on the edge of the battlefield, not knowing what to do. Originally, when they saw their old master in distress, several hot-blooded men remembered their old master's care and wanted to rush forward to help. However, with the addition of Chen Jia's fresh troops, their original master had already been defeated, and the situation was hopeless, so they didn't have any intention of lending a hand.

  Over a hundred Zhao family village militiamen slowly retreated towards the Wang family village militia formation, which had over three hundred people, hoping to get some protection.

  But at this moment, a Chen family youngster with bloodshot eyes suddenly rushed over on horseback and stabbed a villager wearing a Zhao family armband.

  With just this one move, the hundred or so militia immediately erupted into chaos. Some of the militiamen, seeking self-preservation, brandished their swords and guns to fight back against the cavalryman, while others, like headless flies, let out a shout and directly charged into the Wang family's main camp, causing the Wang family militiamen to shout and stir up a commotion.

  Chen's cavalry cut down two of Zhao's village braves, but one of them was caught off guard and stabbed by several long spears, immediately being chopped into minced meat by the enraged villagers.

  The battle on that side was nearing its end, and Zhao Zhuang saw that the situation was hopeless, so he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, drop his big knife, shout "surrender", give up resistance, thinking that this way Chen's family would spare his life. According to the rules of clan feuds, once one side admits defeat, both sides stop fighting, and then sit down to discuss terms. Who would have thought that Zhang Sun had already made up his mind to wipe out fifteen of them? He waved his hand: "Cut the grass and eliminate the roots, kill them all."

  The Chen family's sons immediately swarmed up, knives and guns raised, and in an instant they chopped the remaining dozen or so Zhao family members who had given up resisting into mincemeat.

  Unfortunately, Zhao Zhuangzhu died inexplicably in the midst of a clan feud, submerged in the accumulated resentment of thousands of years.

  At this time, the Chen family's sons and younger brothers gathered their swords and guns, turned around, and suddenly saw that their own brothers who were chasing and killing the remaining Zhao family members had been killed. Without waiting for Zhangsun to speak, they immediately let out a shout and rushed here, with bloodshot eyes, fiercely chopping their swords and guns towards all enemies who were not their own brothers, and another massacre began.

  Zhao's village warriors bravely faced the enemy, but with fewer men and having lost unified command and momentum, they fought desperately against Chen's forces while constantly squeezing into Wang's formation, hoping to gain protection from them. However, Wang's village warriors were completely unaware of which side to help and didn't care about either party, each one frantically waving their knives and guns in an attempt to protect themselves.

  Now King Wang can only jump and shout, he can't control either side. Looking at the battlefield situation, if Zhao's remnants are allowed into their formation, they will definitely be misunderstood by Chen's family. At that time, the battlefield will be filled with blood and flesh, who can still explain clearly? Is there even time to explain?

  At that time, he shouted loudly at his own brother: "Quickly, quickly stop Zhao's village brave outside the formation."