Chapter 140: Sudden Rain (Part Ten)

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Wooden stakes lined the alleyways of the western city district, each embedded with countless featherless arrows. Several young knights lay lifeless atop the wooden barricades, their blood flowing down and swiftly washed away by the rain.

Before the barricades, at least seven or eight ruffians lay dead, with several more wounded by arrows, struggling and wailing in the mud.

A fierce exchange of fire ensued on both sides of the barricades, with the outcome already decided.

Aside from casualties among the ruffians, not a single armored cavalryman from Mayi suffered more than minor wounds. Yet many of the young knights defending the barricades had fallen, unable to hold their ground, and were forced to retreat.

The sight of blood and lost lives ignited a fire in the usually cowardly ruffians’ eyes. They shouted for heavy logs and, under the command of the Mayi cavalry, began battering the barricades with them.

The barricades trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.

Within the nearby homes, the sound of crashing wood finally triggered piercing cries.

Sun Donkey’s face bore a streak of blood—a feathered arrow had grazed his cheek. Standing behind those battering the barricades, veins bulging on his neck, he screamed hoarsely, “Aren’t you hungry? Damn it, break down this barricade! Capture this place, and everyone will get rich! Make a name for yourself, and we’ll all go surrender to Governor Wang!”

With Sun Donkey’s raspy encouragement, the barricades trembled and finally shattered. The debris behind collapsed into a chaotic slope, splashing rainwater that drenched everyone’s heads and faces. Yet all were frenzied now. A shirtless man wearing only tattered trousers let out a heart-wrenching yell, brandishing a straight sword as he climbed the slope. An arrow flew and struck him in the throat. Amid the rain, blood spurted more than a foot from the wound.

The man tumbled down. Some ruffians regained their senses and began to retreat in disorder.

Sun Donkey, standing at the breach, brandished his sword and cursed loudly, “Fortune favors the bold! Damn it, if you retreat again, I’ll cut each of you down!”

As Sun Donkey tried to rally the troops, a Mayi cavalryman stepped forward. The veteran leader smiled calmly, “These Shenwu young knights are tougher than expected...”

Beside him, another cavalryman drew his sword and pointed at Sun Donkey. “You! Lead the charge! If you retreat again, I’ll be the first to cut you down!”

Sun Donkey faltered, forcing a sycophantic smile toward the Mayi cavalry, only to meet cold, indifferent eyes.

With their discipline broken, the ruffians’ savage instincts had been unleashed by plunder. Their superior equipment gave them overwhelming power in this empty Shenwu county. All of this transformed these Mayi cavalrymen into beasts.

In that instant, Sun Donkey understood: to them, he was nothing more than an ant. Killing him would be as trivial as slaughtering a chicken.

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Sun Donkey turned, grabbed a broken wooden plank, and screamed hoarsely, “Damn it, let’s fight Zhong Iron Arm to the death!”

With his rallying cry, he led the charge. The ruffians, seeing no way back, red-eyed, surged forward through the breach.

Within the gap, the Shenwu young knights gripped their softened horn bows, arrows clenched between their teeth, drenched but unwavering, eyes fixed on the breach.

If the Mayi cavalry and ruffians had been driven into bestial fury, these knights were fueled by sheer bloodlust born of desperation.

The Han’s tradition of chivalry and righteousness, though battered by centuries of chaos since the late Jin dynasty, still endured in these borderlands where wind and frost were relentless.

Sun Donkey was the first to appear, followed by a mass of black-clad ruffians waving all manner of weapons, their garb ragged, yelling and howling to bolster their courage, ready to flood out.

Zhong Iron Arm released his arrows, ten or so remaining knights doing the same.

The rain was torn asunder by the volley; a dozen arrows found their marks in the crowd. Though the horn bows’ power was halved by the downpour, at such close range against unarmored ruffians, each arrow pierced deeply.

Screams erupted as seven or eight ruffians fell on the spot. Yet the momentum was unstoppable. The mass of ruffians surged over the barricade breach, jostling and pushing forward.

Zhong Iron Arm dropped his bow and arrow, seized a garlic-head iron club, and shouted, “To the death!”

With a roar, he waded into the ruffian horde, swinging the iron club. The first few ruffians were struck down with broken bones and shattered sinews, their screams filling the air. The remaining knights rushed in just behind him, blades flashing as they carved a bloody storm.

At the breach, the two sides became a tangled melee. Though outnumbered, the knights held firm. The ruffians’ tight cluster hampered their fighting, causing them to push and shove against each other. Dozens fell at the breach in a heap.

Amid flying weapons, half of the knights were soon wounded or fallen. Those still standing bore deep gashes, bleeding so profusely that even the rain struggled to wash it away. Yet they fought fiercely, refusing to yield an inch.

Zhong Iron Arm’s iron club whirled relentlessly, having shattered countless bones. His body was riddled with wounds, some deep enough to reveal bone, blood flowing freely. The iron club grew heavier with each strike, but he pressed on, laughing breathlessly.

“Is that all you’ve got? I could fight you all day!”

After the knights blazed a bloody path through the ruffians, armored Mayi cavalry finally appeared at the breach.

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These Mayi cavalrymen did not draw their swords to join the fray but calmly leveled their heavy crossbows, aimed deliberately, and fired.

At such close range, a hit meant a transparent hole in the body. The dense crowd left no chance for misses. Whether the bolts struck knights or ruffians was a matter of luck, and the cavalry cared little.

Each twang of the crossbows sent someone crashing heavily to the ground. The muddy water at the breach slowly turned red.

Eventually, the ruffians pulled back to the flanks, no longer daring to linger near the breach. Those remaining were mostly wounded, panting heavily with weapons in hand, fearfully eyeing the armored reapers standing there.

Zhong Iron Arm and four or five remaining knights, battered and bleeding, huddled together, despairing at the scene before them.

The Mayi cavalrymen conversed lightly, holding their crossbows. Bolts struck the ground near Zhong Iron Arm’s group, as if waiting to see when they would finally collapse and beg for mercy.

The leading veteran cavalryman grew impatient and barked, “Enough playing around! Since it’s come to this, the western city is prosperous—let’s slaughter them clean! We won’t be able to report back to Governor Wang anyway; better to surrender to Duke Tang! Before we go, let’s have some fun!”

The cavalrymen laughed in agreement, gazing at the layered residences of the western city district, hearing the cries of the people. Their eyes glimmered with bloodlust as they drew their straight swords.

Watching all this, Zhong Iron Arm closed his eyes, knowing all was irretrievably lost.

A sharp sound pierced the air, ten times louder than any arrow’s whistle.

The leading veteran cavalryman turned in alarm to see a horse spear violently shaking midair, stirring the rain like a dragon’s flight.

In the next moment, the spear struck the veteran cavalryman, piercing his armor and body, lifting him before plunging him into the ground. His eyes widened, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled desperately on the spear’s shaft.

Beyond the rain, Xu Le appeared, hands empty, advancing steadily.

Behind him stood rows of armored and armed villagers from the Xu family manor.

All the Mayi cavalrymen recognized their foe.

This was the Xu family militia who had brought them ruin beneath Tíngbīng Mountain, now pursuing them all the way to Shenwu County!