Chapter 165: The Soldiers Arrive
Gao Chuwu didn't answer Xing Honglang's question. He dared not interrupt the rhythm of their playful arguments; once broken, he'd lose count of how many jabs they'd exchanged. Instead, he simply turned his head and sprinted towards the gully entrance, the only point where the slope offered a path upward.
Just moments before, "Two Fools" and "Wind Bear" had successively charged up this very slope. This gave the bandits behind them a surge of hope, and they pushed through the rolling logs from either side, desperately scrambling up the incline.
Suddenly, a furious roar echoed: "Chuwu, slow down a bit!"
The bandits looked up to see a man even more formidable than a bear standing on the slope. Clad in Two-Plate Armor, he stood at the crest, arms spread wide, an imposing presence that seemed to steal the very breath from their lungs.
One bandit charged forward. *Clang!* His blade struck Gao Chuwu's Two-Plate Armor.
Gao Chuwu retaliated with a punch that sent the bandit flying backward, tumbling down the slope. The other bandits immediately realized it: this fellow's martial arts skills were clumsy, but his brute strength was astonishing.
"Attack his lower body! The Two-Plate Armor doesn't protect the legs!"
Another bandit rushed up the slope, his saber slashing towards Gao Chuwu's shin.
Gao Chuwu struggled to cope, on the verge of being struck, when a figure flashed beside him. It was Xing Honglang. With a swing of her left hand, she parried the bandit's rusty saber with a sharp *clink!*
Xing Honglang cursed loudly: "Are you an idiot? Why are you punching them when you have a spear? What are you even doing?" It was only then that Gao Chuwu suddenly remembered he had a long spear, forgotten on his back.
He quickly reached back, unslung the spear, and swept it horizontally towards the charging bandits. "Daniu, catch! I'm throwing wine jars over!"
This fellow had no discernible spearmanship to speak of; he'd only learned a few simple "sweeps" and "thrusts" from Cheng Xu over a few days. But his immense power and heavy blows were undeniable. The sheer force of his sweeping attack sent the bandits recoiling in fear.
Retreating on the steep slope, one misstep sent them tumbling, rolling down and knocking over the bandits behind them.
Those behind continued to press upward, but Gao Chuwu swung his iron spear left, then right, then swept it horizontally. With such terrifying power, he wielded the long spear, making it impossible for anyone to stand within several meters of him.
Unable to breach the slope, the bandits became targets for the salt smugglers perched on the gully's cliffs. With rolling logs crashing down from both sides, the gully echoed with agonizing screams.
Their morale shattered!
No one knew who yelled "Retreat!" first.
The remaining bandits turned and fled.
Seeing this, the salt smugglers erupted in cheers: "We won again!"
Xing Honglang grinned, glancing at the retreating bandit army, then at the body of "Two Fools." *Good,* she thought. *Vengeance is mine. This battle wasn't for nothing. Heheheh.*
Gao Chuwu burst out laughing: "Chuwu, your brain is as slow as a pig's!"
Xing Honglang: "???"
Gao Chuwu declared: "Our fifty rounds of bickering are done. Time to go back."
With that, he turned and dashed away, his massive strides kicking up a gust of wind, vanishing in a flash.
The veins popped on Xing Honglang's fists. "The next time I see that idiot, I'm going to beat him black and blue without a word!"
Meanwhile, Cheng Xu was busy rolling logs down the hillside.
"Overturn Mountain Moon" actually had a brain. This time, he hadn't sent his main force up the mountain. Instead, he dispatched only a few hundred bandits, who would run a short distance, then duck behind rocks, slowly advancing up the mountain as if playing hide-and-seek.
This method of advance was slow, and few men were involved in the attack.
But it didn't matter. There weren't many people on the mountaintop; he'd gleaned that from the shouting match earlier.
As long as two or three hundred men charged up and engaged those at the summit, the defenders wouldn't be able to drop any more massive logs. Then, his main forces could quickly ascend, and victory would be his.
Besides, he still had "Wind Bear" and "Two Fools" leading the gully flanking force. As long as their maneuver succeeded, it would achieve the same effect.
No need to panic at all. Take it slow!
How could his eight thousand strong army possibly lose?
Cheng Xu watched the bandits timidly inching up the mountain, chuckling inwardly. *These two or three hundred cowards hiding behind rocks, hoping to reach the summit? The moment you enter crossbow range, my men—my many men—will unleash a volley of crossbow bolts upon you...*
He was still formulating his perfect strategy when Gao Chuwu came bounding back, his strides long. "Instructor He, I'm back! Our fifty rounds of bickering are up."
Cheng Xu replied, "Oh, rejoin the ranks then."
Gao Chuwu announced: "On my way back, I saw soldiers approaching from the mountain path to the south, far in the distance!"
Cheng Xu let out a surprised "Oh?" before quickly realizing. *The new Military Inspector, Fang Wushang, has arrived. This freshly appointed inspector is quite diligent, isn't he? It seems he just received word of the bandit army entering Chengcheng County from this direction, and he's rushed straight here.*
*This man is quite audacious, braver than I am.*
He glanced at the armor worn by the militia, thinking: *My men in armor? That's a capital crime of rebellion. Fang Wushang must not see this. I might as well let him fight this battle.*
General Cheng Xu waved his hand, shouting loudly: "Everyone, cease fire! Retreat immediately!"
Everyone froze for a moment.
Padi Tu grumbled: "This rabbit was just getting warmed up! If we retreat now..."
Cheng Xu kicked Padi Tu, sending him sprawling. "When I give an order, you're only allowed to say 'Yes, sir!' No other nonsense!"
The others quickly responded: "Yes, sir!"
Padi Tu, once again serving as an object lesson, lay pitifully on the ground, not daring to get up.
"Retreat, retreat, retreat! Oh, and tell Xing Honglang's unit to fall back with us."
Soon, Cheng Xu's unit and Xing Honglang's forces met up. Xing Honglang had clearly also spotted the approaching soldiers, so the retreat came as no surprise to her. She merely chuckled. "Let's not pull back too far. We'll fall back, watch the show, and if the soldiers can't hold them, we'll have to step in again."
Cheng Xu nodded, pointing towards the small hill west of Zhengjia Village. "Fall back behind that slope and hide to watch the show."
The group quickly retreated to the western slope, where jagged rocks and withered trees grew haphazardly, making it an ideal hiding spot, difficult for anyone to discover.
The moment they withdrew, the Heyang bandits climbing the slope instantly perked up. "No more rolling logs or boulders smashing down from the mountain!"
"Hahahaha, they've run out of logs!"
"Charge! Charge! Faster!"
The Heyang bandits took off at a full sprint, desperately charging up the slope.
Meanwhile...
The new Military Inspector, Fang Wushang, was also roaring: "Charge! Charge! Charge! Do you hear the battle cries ahead?"
"The militia is already fighting the bandits! We must get there as fast as possible!"
Behind him, over a hundred government soldiers also broke into a furious run towards the sound.
Just then, the first wave of bandits reached the top of the slope!
Without the threat of rolling logs or boulders, the foremost group of bandits quickly scrambled to the crest, immediately spotting the thriving wheat fields of Zhengjia Village.
"Huh? There's wheat fields here?"
"Wheat fields..."
The bandits strode forward, charging into the wheat fields.
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