Chapter 58: Barbarian Tide
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: AntiGod
A crimson gleam flashed through. While riding on Crocottas and charging forward, a cavalryman of Yulin Army simply waved his arm, as two rangers who just struggled their way out from a pile of rubbles immediately fell back off with a miserable cry. The longsword sliced through their throat, nearly chopping off their head entirely. Their blood burst out and shoot to a distance of few feet away. Soon, a pool of sticky blood had gathered on the ground.
The cavalryman let out a pleased laugh loudly, then spat on the road beside him disdainfully.
Just in this brief moment of tilting his head, a barbarian hunter who was hiding underneath a collapsed canopy and holding a palm-sized crossbow in his hand suddenly let out a hideous laugh and shot out a tiny prickle. The three inches long prickle that was as thin as a human hair traveled the distance of twenty feet and hit right onto the cavalryman's exposed neck. The prickle was smeared with the venom of Flower Widow Spider uniquely to Meng Mountain. The cavalryman's body stiffened, mounted on his Crocottas and continued charging forward for nearly hundred feet before he suddenly thrown out a mouthful of black blood and fell off to the ground.
"One hundred gold coins are in my hand now!"
The barbarian hunter who succeeded in killing the enemy clicked his tongue pleasedly. However, right when he was about to get on his feet and move to another place to lay in ambush, three pure steel bolts came whistling through the canopy, piercing through from his back and forcefully nailed him to the ground.
Two cavalrymen of Yulin Army rode over in top speed, thrusting two lances and poking through the canopy, bringing the dead body of the barbarian hunter in midair. They then swung the heavy lance and knocked the dead body over hundred feet away. The body was broken into three parts when it finally fell back to the ground.
"Damn scumbag!" After killing the barbarian hunter, two cavalrymen stared at the body of their peer with their eyes filled with a flame of anger. The first Heaven battalion of Yulin Army, an army who claimed to have the strongest combative strength in the Lu Kingdom, actually suffered causalities in Little Meng City, which was a mere remote place? If this news were spread, it would be a great disgrace to the dignity of the Yulin Army.
The extremely angered cavalrymen of Yulin Army was about to continue to march forward, but suddenly, a dozen soldiers from city guard charged out from a leaning restaurant on the roadside while howling and yelling. In a near insane manner, they leaped and jumped on the back of Crocottas, surrounded the two cavalrymen of Yulin Army and greeted them with a messy attack.
As most of the buildings within the city had collapsed, the place was filled with piles of rubble everywhere. Before the two cavalrymen could put out any response, they were thrown to the ground by these rampaged city guards. It was a pity that two elite soldiers of Yulin Army, who possessed the cultivation base of more than thirty years, were chopped into meat paste by a dozen of city guards who only had the cultivation base of fewer than ten years.
The sudden loss of their master had made the two Crocottas frenzied. With all their strength, they forcefully thrust their front claw forward.
Shrill cries immediately filled the air. Five soldiers of city guard had their chest and abdomen ripped apart by Crocottas and were killed on the spot. Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers quickly chopped off the head of two cavalrymen, brought them together and scurried away from the scene. Two heavy spears of ballista shot out from a half-collapsed archery tower on the road side, piercing through the body of two Crocottas and knocking them back a dozen of feet.
Figures bathed in blood and fighting fiercely could be seen everywhere. Furious and ear-splitting battle-cries lingered in one's ear, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood. The reflection of blade and swords dazzled one's eyes.
More than one hundred thousand surviving civilians of Little Meng City, carrying either mild or severe injuries, had engaged themselves in a fierce and violent battle with Yulin Army who breached the city.
If it were any other city of Lu Kingdom, when there was an army of over six thousand Crocottas cavalries breaching into the city, what they faced would be a horrifying slaughter. And the battles Yulin Army went through had also given them such experience. However, Little Meng City was completely different. The civilians and soldiers of Little Meng City didn't collapse into a rout.
Little Meng City was located in the remotest, most desolate piece of land within the Lu Kingdom, and flourished because of Meng Mountains. All the people who lived here were the boldest, most desperate among all citizens of Lu Kingdom. Basically, one couldn’t find a good and honest person here. Every single one of them could wield their blade and spear to fight their life against the enemy. Anyone found here was a villain who earned their living on the edge of blades. Even for those prostitutes who carried out their business in some dark alleys, when the time was right, they wouldn't mind taking a side business of murder for gain.
This was an odd city of violence, a city born from the bloody desire for money.
If those cavalries of Yulin Army were six thousand fierce tigers, then the civilians and soldiers of Little Meng City were a pack of one hundred thousand hungry wolves, the ones who were pushed into the hopeless situation by the order of slaughtering them all. Yet, every single enemy, including Luo Kedi and Ma Liang, had treated the people of Little Meng City as a herd of one hundred thousand tame sheep!
Slaughter, an endless slaughter... Everyone in Little Meng City, regardless they were civilians or soldiers, man or women, they were all carrying weapons in their hand, immersing themselves in a rampages emotion and locking those cavalries of Yulin Army in a fierce battle. If they risked their life and killed an enemy, they would be rewarded with one hundred gold coins; if they didn't risk their lives, they would be killed by the enemy!
Just in a brief moment after they entered the city, Yulin Army had lost around three hundred soldiers.
Fifteen minutes later, another five hundred soldiers were killed.
Half an hour later, the Crocottas cavalries of Yulin Army who entered Little Meng City had recorded a death toll of one thousand eight hundred soldiers, and were left with less than four thousand soldiers who could still fight.
The rain of bolts from Mo Machines had killed over fifty thousand people of Little Meng City, and another fifty thousand were injured. But after paying the price of sacrificing over five thousand people, the remaining one hundred thousand people of Little Meng City had killed one thousand eight hundred soldiers of Yulin Army. They had fiercely bit off a big chunk of meat from this formidable army.
Wu Qi forcefully slapped on his forehead while cursing under his breath. "Wu Qi, you're such a pig!"
The incredible intelligence that originally belonged to Le Xiaobai had instantly concluded the cause and effect of the battle. Indeed, Yulin Army possessed an overwhelming advantage in their overall strength, yet Wu Qi had neglected the essential quality of the people in Little Meng City. This was a group of ferocious villains, the people who had buried their root firmly among the savage barbarians! They were one hundred thousand villains, not one hundred thousand kindhearted civilians. Surely they could withstand the attack from a few thousand elite cavalries!
In addition to that, there were so many rangers in Little Meng City, so many barbarian hunters, and so many private guards hired by those merchants.
When Ma Liang brazenly declared the order of slaughtering the entire city, every single person in Little Meng City had been forced to tie up on the same rope. Driven by the will of surviving, a mere six thousand cavalries of Yulin Army was nothing to them! Also, not to forget the extravagant reward announced by Wu Qi! Killing a cavalryman of Yulin Army would get them the reward of one hundred gold coins. This alone was more than enough to let any ranger or barbarian hunter unleash ten times of their normal combative strength.
Wu Qi cheered and then yelled out loudly, "Seal off the city gate and trap this damn Yulin Army in the city! Haha, as long as they are trapped inside, those on the outside will not have the courage to shoot their bolts again! My men, block them off. Don't allow any one of them to flee out from the city!"
No one was stupid. After they heard what Wu Qi said, the people of Little Meng City immediately understood the situation. These cavalrymen of Yulin Army were the best hostage. As long as they were locked up in the city, both Luo Kedi and Ma Liang outside the city wouldn't order the Mo Machines to keep shooting. Although they had lost over one thousand Crocottas cavalries, they could still find some excuse and cover the truth. But if the entire first Heaven battalion of Yulin Army was annihilated in this place, then even Princess Yingchuan and Lord Baishuo couldn't withstand the flame of anger coming from the monarch of Lu Kingdom.
Once they had held these damn Crocottas cavalries captive, those Mo Machines would never shoot another bolt.
Wu Qi shouted again, "I'll also purchase Crocottas with a high price! I'll pay you two hundred gold coins for every live Crocotta! My men, capture Crocottas alive and you'll be rewarded with two hundred gold coins!" A bright gleam shone through Lu Chengfeng's eyes. Two hundred gold coins for one Crocottas? This was definitely a worthwhile deal! He even started to imagine the look of his personal guards when all of them were riding on Crocottas.
Outside the city, Luo Kedi and Ma Liang were standing, gazing at one another with a deadly pale face. Their bodies were shivering violently. The situation of the battle had turned beyond their control. Even if their head was chopped off, they would never expect things to develop into the current state.
A mere Little Meng City had actually trapped the first Heaven battalion of Yulin Army, an entire battalion of elite soldiers! Were they having a nightmare right now?
With a blank mind, Luo Kedi raised his trembling right hand in the air, then shouted out loudly, "By the order of Princess Yingchuan, breach Little Meng City, slaughter every single person and leave no survivors. Make them follow the footstep of little Marquis! I want all Mo Machines to reload with full bolt cartridge and prepare for the assault!"
Ma Liang forcefully kicked on the ride of Luo Kedi and yelled at him with a hoarse voice, "Are you crazy? Our men are still inside the city! If all of them are killed, we'll have to face death as well!"
The entire first Heaven battalion of Yulin Army was wiped out in Little Meng City? Just as Wu Qi had expected, both Ma Liang and Luo Kedi, including Princess Yingchuan and Lord Baishuo behind them, none of them could bear this responsibility.
Luo Kedi fell back and sat on the ground, murmuring under his breath, "What should we do? What should we do? It is finished, we're doomed! How did this battle come to this stage?"
Ma Liang was frustrated as well, as he totally couldn't come out with any counter measures. His body was shivering, and could only stare blankly at Little Meng City, watching helplessly at how his men fought a desperate battle.
All of a sudden, a noise of iron drumbeat was heard from afar.
After the first drumbeat, it was followed by rolls of drumbeats that throbbed like a raging tidal wave.
Immediately after that were countless menacing noises of horns. They either sounded sharp, or sonorous, deep or hoarse, interweaving into a dreadful sound wave that struck terror into one's heart. Accompanied by the deep noise of drumbeat which carried a strong craziness and anger, the savage tune reigned this piece of sky and earth.
The sky suddenly turned dark. A huge flock of gigantic birds was seen shooting out from within Meng Mountains and flying above Little Meng City. The flock consisted of more than three thousand gigantic eagles and vultures. Figures of short and wizened bird barbarians could be seen riding on the back of these giant flying beasts.
Dust soared up high into the sky. From many parts of Meng Mountains around Little Meng City, a frightening amount of barbarians sprinted their way through the woods like a fierce tidal wave, approaching equally fast.
On the east, a group of more than ten thousand barbarians was herding a vast flock of large beasts and charging forward. At the foremost of these ten thousand barbarians and countless large beasts, more than thirty barbarian beast warriors had their bodies enshrouded in flame, leading the parade and striding with big steps.
On the west, a group of more than ten thousand barbarians who had the visage like some evil ghosts, was charging forward together with a chilly wind. These barbarians were surrounded by a vast ocean of poisonous bugs. Some were spiders as large as a water urn, some were venomous pythons as thick as a bowl, and some were centipedes with the length of three to five feet. No one could really tell how many ferocious poisonous bugs were rolling within the vast ocean of bugs.
On the north, it was a group of more than ten thousand barbarian riders who rode on horned bulls, and they had prepared to charge forward. Surprisingly, every single one of these barbarian riders was clad in an armor which looked identical to the custom-made armor of Lu Kingdom. It was obvious that such armors and weapons were not something that these barbarians could produce themselves.
On the south, a few dozens of barbarian leaders clad in beast skins and some bird feathers decorated on their head were wielding all kinds of lower grade magical items in their hand, leading a group of more than fifty thousand barbarian warriors and charging forward. While making their way through, they kept striking on a few hundred iron drums, blowing a few thousand horns and making all kind of noises.
Zhang Hu and Hu Wei, both veterans of Little Meng City, immediately cried out loudly, "Oh heavens! Barbarian tide! And it is more frightening than any of those before!"
Lu Chengfeng's face turned dreadfully pale. The bad had just turned to worse, a great calamity was coming to Little Meng City!
On the other side, Wu Qi suddenly laughed out loud. "Excellent! Luckily we have Luo Kedi and his men holding on the outside!"
Rising up his energy, Wu Qi let out a thunderous roar immediately. "By the order of Mayor, open up the city gate and let those Yulin Army get out of Little Meng City!"
Lu Chengfeng, Zhang Hu, and Hu Wei were startled, and their face suddenly turned extremely ruddy.
There were eighty Mo Machines deployed at the outside, what should they be afraid of?