A special thank you to all my patrons.
The List of My "Wandering Reader":
-Davis Nguyen
-Cain
-Goha21
-Jacob Mooe
-HADES
-Varun Madhu
-Aziz Makda
-Gonzalo Sumalavia
-JWolf
-kevin Williams
-Shadow260802
-MIKE
-KD2001
-merp.
-Jose Carrillo
-Derek M
You can read 50 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
Retreating did not mean turning around and fleeing in disarray. Instead, it involved a slow, orderly withdrawal in stages. A chaotic, unorganized retreat often led to confusion among the troops, whereas a disciplined fallback ensured the safety of the ranks.
First, the cargo carts slowly turned around one by one. Then, the Cui family's guards retreated alongside the carts, followed by Fei Qian, Huang Cheng, and the other armored soldiers bringing up the rear.
After retreating a fair distance, the road finally widened somewhat.
Fei Qian glanced at the sky. Though it was still early, he gave the order to set up camp.
The situation ahead was unclear—they could not advance, nor was retreating a practical option. The best course of action was to temporarily settle here and wait until the circumstances became clearer before making further decisions.
Bandits?
The White Wave Bandits?
This was the border between Henan Yin and Hongnong Commandery. Whether they retreated or advanced, the next village was still some distance away. If they were ambushed in such a place, even calling for reinforcements would likely be too late.
But why would there be bandits in a place like this?
Moreover, these outlaws had the audacity to target the official Han army—their boldness was truly extraordinary...
This time, Huang Cheng and his men were not only wearing their original armor but had also donned the standard military robes of the Han army.
Obtaining armor would have been difficult—after all, a full set was quite valuable, and since Fei Qian had no official military assignment, requisitioning armor would have been troublesome.
However, thanks to the Huang family's resources, Huang Cheng and his men had already been equipped with armor when they left Jingxiang. Fei Qian had only needed to requisition some inexpensive standard-issue Han military robes from the armory. Given that he held an official position, this was not a problem.
Thus, for this mission transporting Cai Yong's collection of books, Huang Cheng and his men were dressed in Han military robes, while the Cui family's guards remained in civilian attire. At a glance, it looked like a unit of regular soldiers escorting a group of auxiliary troops transporting goods.
The problem might lie precisely in this...
Hongnong territory!
Fei Qian cursed inwardly, a surge of anger rising in his chest. These people truly dared to do anything!
After retreating, Huang Cheng observed that the road remained quiet, but he couldn't shake his unease. He approached Fei Qian and said, "Young Master Fei, should we send a few men ahead to scout?"
Fei Qian thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No need. Have the Cui family send two or three guards back to report that we've encountered remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels and request reinforcements."
"Yellow Turban remnants?" Huang Cheng was puzzled.
Fei Qian nodded, then motioned for Huang Cheng to step closer and whispered a few words.
Huang Cheng sucked in a sharp breath, staring at Fei Qian in disbelief.
"Better safe than sorry. Let's proceed this way for now. It's getting late—we should make preparations."
××××××××××××
"They've retreated! Commander, what should we do now?"
The man addressed as "Commander" turned and slapped the speaker so hard he staggered. In a low, furious growl, he snapped, "Damn your mother's feet! Call me 'Chief'! One more mistake, and I'll beat the shit out of your skull!"
"Y-yes! Comman—Chief!" The man barely corrected himself in time and forced a smile. "Chief, if they don't come, all our preparations will be for nothing!"
The self-styled "Chief" (who was actually a military captain) frowned at the dry grass bundles, logs, and boulders they had prepared on the ridge. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he spat, "Damn their cunning!"
The troops below had clearly decided not to advance today—they were already setting up camp. If they waited until tomorrow, not only would it be uncertain when the convoy would move, but if another unit arrived from Luoyang...
Their advantage would vanish entirely!
Should they retreat empty-handed?
The thought was unbearable. Moreover, returning with nothing would be hard to explain!
The captain spat in frustration and barked, "Go fetch Er Gouzi, Heizi, and Dachazi! Tell the rest to take turns resting. We'll strike tonight—damn them all!"
××××××××××××
Night fell swiftly.
Silence enveloped the surroundings, broken only by the chirping of insects and the distant rush of the Yellow River's waters.
Fei Qian's camp was set up near a large protruding rock by the riverbank. With limited manpower, they couldn't construct a proper fortified camp like a regular army. Instead, they formed a defensive barrier by arranging the carts against the rock, leaving the horses to lie in the center.
The campfire inside the cart barrier had died down, leaving only faint embers glowing in the dark.
It seemed everyone was resting—even the sentry atop one of the carts was slumped lazily...
Dark figures crept forward in silence. One of them nocked an arrow, drew his bow, and took aim at the sentry. With a soft twang, the arrow flew, and the sentry collapsed without a sound, tumbling off the cart.
In an instant, dozens of shadowy figures rose from the ground, hunched low, their blades glinting coldly as they closed in on the cart barrier from all sides...
Then came several sharp cracks—someone had stepped on a layer of dry twigs scattered across the ground. The sound was unmistakable in the dead of night.
As if triggered by a signal, over twenty fire arrows suddenly shot down from the top of the rock, embedding themselves in the ground. Whatever they struck ignited instantly, setting the dry kindling ablaze and illuminating the dozens of attackers in the firelight!
Several raiders frantically tried to stamp out the flames, only to find them unquenchable. Their clothes caught fire, and they shrieked, scrambling away to pat out the flames. Chaos erupted...
In an instant, the tables had turned—light and shadow had reversed!
Bathed in firelight, the attackers could no longer see where the arrows were coming from, leaving them defenseless. Almost immediately, agonized screams rang out as several men fell to arrows shot from the darkness.
With a collective roar, the illuminated raiders charged recklessly forward, hoping to overwhelm the cart barrier through sheer numbers and force close-quarters combat.
Yet after barely a dozen steps, some of them inexplicably collapsed, howling in pain...
"Watch out for caltrops!" someone shouted. The attackers slowed, using their swords and spears to sweep the ground ahead, trying to clear the hidden spikes.
But even so, more men suddenly cried out, clutching their legs in agony—they had stepped into something else...
The charge had now lost all momentum.
"Archers! Fire! Loose fire arrows!" The raider captain, seeing the situation deteriorating, urgently ordered his rear archers to retaliate with flaming arrows, hoping to suppress the defenders atop the rock and within the cart barrier.
But before the archers could loose more than two or three volleys, another group of twenty armored soldiers—who had silently flanked them—burst from the darkness with a battle cry, cutting into the archers' ranks. Caught off guard, the archers screamed and scattered in panic...
The raider captain, furious and alarmed, bellowed orders and led a dozen men wielding ring-pommeled swords toward these armored soldiers slaughtering his archers.
Dashing forward, the captain lunged at the lead armored warrior, raising his blade high with both hands for a vicious downward slash aimed at the neck...