Chapter 17: Blood War (4)

  Zhao Shi's eyes were fixed on the burly man who was approaching him with a ferocious expression, slowly drawing out his horizontal knife. However, he had no confidence in winning in a face-to-face fight. Firstly, this body was too young and the other person's enormous strength was indeed intimidating, making him feel completely outmatched. Secondly, this kind of chaotic battle was something he had never encountered before, with too many unexpected factors at play. Once they clashed, even if he only got hit once, given the medical standards of this era, he estimated that he would either die or lose half his life.

  But he wouldn't back down, his blood had a natural warrior gene, whether in past life or this era, he was confident that he was the best fighter. The taste of fresh blood and the deafening battle cries had made his killing spree go crazy, this strange yet somewhat familiar feeling was like an addiction, making him unable to stop.

  Out of the blue, Shang Yan Zu suddenly pulled him into the team, "Go and block them." Shang Yan Zu shouted loudly while pulling Zhao Shi to continue retreating. Zhao Shi struggled a few times, but unfortunately, he was now small and weak, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free from Shang Yan Zu's firm grip.

  Several people immediately came forward, most of whom were villagers from Zhaojia Village. They had some kinship with each other and were used to being in harmony with each other in their daily lives. Although they had never seen such a bloody scene before, they couldn't help but feel extremely frightened in their hearts. However, at this moment, the crowd wouldn't let the youngest, Zhao Shi, be in the front. As soon as Zhao Shi retreated, the crowd immediately protected him in the middle, with over ten young men blocking the outside and several holding crossbows, firing a volley in the direction of Ye Liqi.

  Ye Lizi was also lucky, and the three bodyguards beside him were shocked. They immediately surrounded him to protect him. Under the hail of arrows, all three were instantly turned into hedgehogs.

  These bodyguards were all old soldiers who had followed Ye Lizi for a long time, although they were of different ranks, but in their daily lives, they were like brothers. Who would have thought that today on this small hill, the casualties would be so heavy? This also has a lot to do with Ye Lizi's underestimation of the enemy. If he had defeated the 600 infantrymen at the foot of the hill first and then used bows and arrows to suppress the grain transport team on the hill, they might have won this battle. But it's not surprising that he didn't do so. Firstly, the two armies met hastily, and the enemy was just a grain transport team, while Ye Lizi led the elite Iron Hawk Troop. With his personality, he naturally chose to launch a strong attack. What he didn't expect was that this time, the leader of the grain transport team was a woman, but her uncle was a great general who guarded the river and held military power. The 200 cavalrymen were the elite troops from the river, and it could be seen from their equipment that they had crossbows, which were expensive to produce and required a lot of time and effort, and only the elite troops could have them. What Ye Lizi didn't expect even more was that there were so many crossbows in this small grain transport team, and the civilians who came into contact with them could also fight to the death without retreating. As the battle became more intense, the casualties of the Iron Hawk Troop under his command became heavier and heavier. It's reasonable that he became anxious, and it's not surprising that they suffered losses in this way.

  The words had gone a bit too far, but Yeli Zhi didn't have time to think about that now. Seeing three of his personal guards fall to the ground with their eyes wide open in death, he let out an angry roar like a wounded beast.

  He grabbed a dead body of a close guard and put it in front of him, like a mad bull rushing out. These militiamen had not received regular training, so they naturally did not have any concept of volley fire. This would be a fatal flaw on the battlefield at ordinary times, but at this time, in such a melee, it showed its greatest power. The Western Xia soldiers following behind Ye Lizi were shot down again, and even the body that Ye Lizi blocked in front of him was pierced by several crossbow arrows, one of which grazed his shoulder, bringing up a bloody flower.

  Still a few steps away, Ye Liqi let out a loud roar and slammed the corpse in front of him to the ground, knocking down five or six militiamen who were caught off guard. The people behind them cried out in surprise, revealing the difference between regular troops and militiamen. When the people in front fell down, no one followed up from behind, and the others retreated several steps in a daze. The originally intact circle suddenly appeared with an opening. Ye Liqi, who had fought many battles, would not let go of such a good opportunity in front of him. He took a few steps forward, and his wolf-toothed club, stained with fresh blood, swung out horizontally, instantly sweeping away two people. With a backhand blow, he smashed another person's head into a bloody pulp. In an instant, he had already charged into the crowd.

  Standing in the crowd, Zhao Shi's heart, which had been stirred up by the killing and bloodshed, gradually calmed down. However, he looked around with some confusion, and saw that everyone around him was from his own team, their faces filled with fear. He knew that these people were all terrified, as could be seen from their expressions and trembling hands and feet. But why weren't they running away? Especially the people from Zhaojia Village, who were all gathered tightly around him. That fierce man was just a few steps away, but couldn't rush over. The young fourth son of Zhao Lao San's family came forward, wildly swinging his weapon - if it could be called that - and was knocked to the ground with just one blow, half his body covered in blood, motionless on the ground. Zhao Jincai came forward, his head flying off his neck like a ball, blood spurting high from his throat. His second brother let out a painful cry and rushed forward, only to be punched and sent flying, landing right in front of Zhao Shi, spitting out mouthfuls of blood, his chest caved in, but his eyes fixed on him with a hopeful gaze. It wasn't until Shang Yan Zu came up beside him and whispered something in his ear that his eyes slowly lost their luster...

  The color of blood was so familiar, but a strange emotion emerged in the midst of this chaotic killing spree. He didn't know what this feeling was, but it made his underlying desire to kill even more intense. However, he immediately snapped out of it, reminding himself that this was a battlefield. A long time ago, an instructor had told him that on the battlefield, perhaps hot blood could make one braver and fearless, or fear could make one more cautious. But all these would lead to losing calmness, and losing calmness would reduce one's chances of survival to the lowest. Calm judgment, calm action - this was the essential quality of a qualified warrior. These seemingly clichéd words had saved his life countless times at critical moments.

  Putting aside the unfamiliar thoughts, he looked out at the scene before him. In just this short moment, the situation on the battlefield had become extremely dire. The sounds of slaughter from below the small hill grew louder, and it was likely that the Imperial Guards were still fiercely resisting. However, on top of the hill, through the gap, the enemy poured in like a swarm, and it was impossible to block them. The militia had already fallen into disarray, with those in front constantly falling back, while those behind were driven forward, trampling each other, resulting in heavy casualties. Perhaps if the enemy took just one more step forward, they would be able to break through the thin defensive line formed by the militiamen, and the outcome that followed would be a foregone conclusion.

  As for this Western Xia general in front of him, he was like a madman, blocking these dozens of people at the side of the chariot, and no one could stop him.

  Zhao Shimiao's eyebrows jumped a few times, and with a strong push, he opened up the commercial Yan Zu beside him. His body was short and drilled out of the team. Shang Yan Zu exclaimed, stretched out his hand to pull, but where did it come from? In a hurry, "Dog son, hurry up and protect Shi Tou, he went up." While shouting, followed by going up.