Chapter Sixteen: Blood War (Three)
To the friend who made the cover for me, I'd like to thank you here, but can you change it for me? No matter how I look at it, the cover is still from Three Kingdoms, and there's even a Cao character on the flag in the back. Anyway, I'm very grateful to you.
Besides, I don't plan to write Ten Steps of Arrogance anymore. The operation is too bleak and many people are not satisfied. I myself can't hold on any longer. As for the afterword of Iron Blooded Hero, I will post it in the related works of Jiang Ye later because Iron Blooded Hero has already been completed and the remaining chapters cannot be posted after the revision on Starting Point.
A hail of arrows shot over, Zhao Shi didn't hesitate, he flipped his body and had already gotten off the carriage, and at the same time pulled down a young man from Zhaojia Village who was beside him. Several arrows shot into the place where they had just been, nailed to the wooden carriage board, making a dense humming sound. A few people around them were not as alert as him, instantly becoming hedgehogs, without even having time to let out a miserable cry before turning into corpses.
But more and more people have bows and crossbows in their hands, these civilians may be using them for the first time, but the crossbow is simple to use, known as the firearm of the cold weapon era, it's just that due to range and accuracy issues, as well as manufacturing costs, it hasn't completely replaced the longbow, but what this thing has in common with firearms is that it doesn't require much training, even a child can use it, so when these civilians hold them, they are also very powerful.
At this time, one hundred and fifty bows had been distributed, these civilians were afraid in their hearts, but since they could not escape, on this battlefield where it was either you or me who would die, they could not help but bring out all their courage to fight for survival.
Just as the arrow rain had just passed, another row of crossbow arrows shot down, and more than a dozen Western Xia soldiers fell to the ground on the slope of the earth mound. The two sides came and went, with blood splashing everywhere, and every moment there were lives disappearing here. The civilians' mouths emitted fearful howls, while desperately operating the hand-held crossbows, accompanied by the mournful cries of the wounded, as well as the sound of arrows piercing the air, instantly turning this small earth mound into a hell-like place.
Ye Lizi's face was twisted in a fierce grimace, an arrow had pierced his shoulder, but this man was truly ferocious and brave. With a loud, inhuman howl, he forcibly pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. Generally speaking, such behavior would not occur on the battlefield, as veterans knew that being shot by an arrow wasn't fatal, but pulling it out immediately would cause excessive blood loss and render one unable to fight. However, on the ever-changing battlefield, every move made by the commander was crucial to the entire army. The surrounding Western Xia soldiers saw their commander's ferocity and bravery, which greatly boosted their morale. They followed closely behind him, charging forward in a swarm, disregarding the hail of arrows raining down from above. In just a few breaths, they reached the grain carts.
Ye Lizi let out a loud roar, raised the wolf-toothed club in his hand high, and slammed it onto the carriage. With a loud crash, splintered wood flew everywhere, and the camel cart, which was not very big to begin with, was smashed open by him. Six or seven people hiding behind it cried out in alarm as they were hit by flying splinters of wood, their faces covered in blood. Two others who failed to dodge were swept away by the flying wheels, instantly breaking bones and tendons, and fell to the ground.
Not far away, Zhao Shi saw a giant man rushing in from the opening like a humanoid tank. His eyes narrowed and he suddenly thought of a word that he had only seen in books before, which flashed through his mind at this moment. Compared to the frail bodies of people in his previous life, the people of this era were too strong, but one person's power could be so great that it still made Zhao Shi feel shocked.
But this was not the time for careful observation, as a gap appeared in the vehicle array, and instantly more than a dozen Western Xia soldiers rushed in, like wolves rushing into a flock of sheep. As soon as they made contact, several civilians were cut down to the ground. The hill was already small, and hundreds of people crowded together, making it seem very narrow. Now, with the Western Xia troops constantly charging in, it became even more chaotic, like a pot of porridge. People at the front wanted to run back, but those at the back were driven forward by the Imperial Army soldiers to block the gap. There were cries of "father" and "mother" amidst the chaos, although it was messy, this way, the small gap was completely blocked. Although people at the front continued to fall to the ground in front of the Western Xia troops, those at the back could not stop their footsteps forward, and they squeezed the Western Xia troops into the gap. The battle had reached this point, and it was a spectacular sight. The Imperial Army officers and soldiers behind were also stunned, these people had been through battles, but it was also the first time they saw such a scene. However, at this moment, they could not afford to think too much, or someone would turn around and be killed by a knife. The Protectorate Army suffered heavy losses this time, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, they would keep the Western Xia troops outside, and they would not show any mercy.
In the chaos, Ye Lizi's head and face were also hit several times, his body was already stained with blood, and with a swing of his weapon, someone would be smashed to spit out blood. He didn't expect that a small grain transport team would be so difficult to defeat, and he was anxious in his heart. The situation below was unknown, if it continued like this, even if they won, the mighty Iron Hawk of Western Xia would have fought such a miserable battle, and even if they annihilated the Qin army in front of them, it would still be a joke when spread out.
At this thought, he suddenly became violent and the wolf-toothed club in his hand danced like a wheel, heavily thrusting into the crowd of people. These strong men were no match for him, and immediately fell down in a heap. Several people were even smashed by him and flew up, landing on the periphery already unrecognizable as human, clearly dead.
The sturdy weapon clashed with his wolf-toothed club, but it was as light as paper and instantly broke off and flew out. The bodyguards around him also desperately protected his left and right, like a sharp knife inserted into the crowded formation of civilians, suddenly blood rained down, and a bloody path was cleared out.
Just as the Western Xia soldiers were about to cheer and advance, Ye Liqi suddenly stumbled, his leg hit by a crossbow bolt. His legs softened, and he knelt down on the ground, halting the momentum of the charge. The guards beside Ye Liqi were shocked and immediately wrapped him tightly in their midst. As Ye Liqi looked through the gap in the crowd, not far away, the Han boy was handing over his bow to a companion behind him, but his icy gaze never left Ye Liqi's body. Their eyes met for an instant, and both of them flinched.
Ye Lizi's eyes suddenly turned red, and he let out a loud roar, "Get out of the way!" He broke off the crossbow arrow on his leg, pushed away the bodyguards beside him, and with one stick, knocked down two enemy soldiers in front of him. With big strides, he charged towards Zhao Shi.
The people gathered around Zhao Shi were all from the fifth team, and although they couldn't hide their panic, they seemed more calm compared to others. This was inseparable from Zhao Shi's performance. After engaging with the Western Xia army, Zhao Shi first distributed bows and crossbows to everyone, built a car wall around the small hill, and directed them to avoid the enemy's sharp edge. With an orderly and unhurried tone, not a single person panicked. Several Western Xia soldiers had already died at the hands of this young team leader. From the start of the battle until now, his team was the most intact, with only two people injured out of fifty. As the saying goes, "the general is the backbone of the army." With their team leader being so calm and composed, these new recruits to the battlefield were less panicked, gathering around Zhao Shi, some loading crossbows, others shooting arrows, much stronger than those who were rushed into battle and lost their lives in chaos.
