Chapter 699 There Will Be a Turnaround
Zhang Fengyi, upon seeing Li Daoxuan's half-human, half-iron body, was momentarily stunned, completely bewildered.
But as a commanding general, she had no time to be a curious child on the battlefield.
She gestured towards the bandits surrounding the stone house: "Eliminate them all!"
The White Pole Soldiers roared, charging forward as one.
Their white pole spears struck in unison, and the bandits couldn't withstand even a single clash, instantly collapsing. Some died, others fled, and the entrance to the stone house was quickly secured.
The White Pole Soldiers swiftly encircled and protected the stone house.
The fifty Gao Family Village militia accompanying them quickly surrounded Li Daoxuan, taking out new clothes and a fresh cloak to cover the half-human, half-iron parts of his body.
With that, Li Daoxuan finally looked normal.
Zhang Fengyi, astute and focused, didn't mention his unusual appearance. "Master Xiao," she said, "what do we do now? Do we escort the women and children from this house and fight our way out?"
"Understood!" Zhang Fengyi replied.
Without a word of wasted breath, she waved her hand: "Form ranks!"
The White Pole Soldiers swiftly formed a formidable spear formation.
A thousand white poles stood upright, exuding fierce martial intent.
Inside the house, the women and children stared in astonishment at the scene outside. "Government soldiers!"
"Government soldiers actually came to save us!"
"Do government soldiers even rescue common folk? Could these be imposters?"
Just then, Li Daoxuan, now properly dressed, stepped inside and smiled reassuringly at them. "Don't be afraid, everyone. We will definitely get you out of here safely."
"Great hero!"
"Thank you, great hero!"
For some reason, Li Daoxuan's words filled them with an inexplicable sense of security.
Outside the village, the bandit army began to appear. A large banner unfurled, the characters "Zijing Liang" strikingly prominent.
Then another banner rose: "Blue-backed Wolf!"
And another: "Hand in the Clouds!"
"Diamond Drill!"
"Roll on the Ground!"
"New Arrival General!"
"One Piece of Iron!"
"Red Wolf Horse!"
"Flying Grass!"
...
Zijing Liang truly lived up to his reputation as the greatest chieftain among the current rebels. Almost half of the former thirteen factions and seventy-two bandit routes had pledged allegiance to him. When his full might was displayed, banners truly covered the sky.
Even the blind Geguofei, supported by his men, was brought back to join the encircling army. Standing sightless beneath his own banner, he roared, "I'll kill you all! I *will* kill you all!"
"What the hell, Geguofei, are you shouting at *me*?" the Blue-backed Wolf snapped.
"Huh? Brother Wolf? My apologies, I can't see. I'll turn around."
He turned, and continued his curses: "I'll skin you alive and pull out your tendons!"
"Your spit's all over my face!" Zijing Liang roared, enraged. "You want to skin *me* alive and pull out *my* tendons? Are you trying to rebel?"
Geguofei froze. "..."
"Boss... over there... that way..."
His subordinates finally turned him in the right direction. Geguofei bellowed at the White Pole Soldiers' spear formation: "You're all doomed!"
Zijing Liang, his face dark, waved a hand: "Attack!"
Masses of bandits slowly advanced from all directions towards Houjia Village.
Inside the house, the women and children were too terrified to even breathe.
Zhang Fengyi's palms grew sweaty.
The White Pole Soldiers' palms also grew sweaty.
Even the fifty militia soldiers felt their palms grow slick.
Only Li Daoxuan seemed unfazed. He stood on the highest rooftop in the village, arms spread wide, in a posture of embracing the heavens, and sang loudly: "Sing a song of eternal ages, share a lifetime of endless mountains, righteousness will never fall... Come, fight!"
"Charge!"
"Kill!"
The bandits surged forward with a fierce momentum.
The first to engage, naturally, were the Gao Family Village arquebusiers.
Though only fifty strong, these men could generally fire one shot every ten seconds, unleashing three hundred bullets per minute. Such a barrage was comparable to a Ming army unit of five hundred arquebusiers of that era.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
As gunshots rang out in quick succession, the leading wave of hardened bandits immediately fell.
However, the bandit forces this time were overwhelming. Nearly thirty thousand were combat-ready, with another twenty thousand "scum" soldiers cheering them on from behind, making a total of fifty thousand.
The fifty arquebuses of Gao Family Village were nowhere near enough to shake their morale, not even by an iota.
The moment they entered bow range, the seasoned archers of the White Pole Soldiers unleashed a volley of arrows. At the same time, the border troops and garrison soldiers among the bandits began to draw their bows and return fire.
Arrows whizzed past each other in mid-air, silently exchanging curses before plunging into the opposing ranks.
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound of arrows striking shields grated on the nerves.
Zhang Fengyi scanned the surrounding situation, her heart sinking. "Master Xiao," she said, "though we've managed to rescue the women and children thanks to your valiant efforts, it seems... we might not get out of this alive."
Li Daoxuan lit a hand grenade, flung it away with a casual toss, and instinctively covered his ears. "General Zhang," he said, "don't be so pessimistic. A turning point is just around the corner."
"But, the situation before us..." Zhang Fengyi began.
"Hm? What did you say?" Li Daoxuan asked, his hands still over his ears. "I can't hear you."
Zhang Fengyi was speechless. "..."
"They're closing in!"
"Spear formation!"
The White Pole Soldiers swiftly extended their white pole spears, their entire formation bristling like a hedgehog, countless sharp points thrusting outwards.
The bandits, encircling them from all sides, crashed into the spear formation.
Shields desperately fended off spear tips, while their own long spears jabbed at the enemy.
The close-quarters combat was brutal, with many soldiers falling almost instantly...
Naturally, even more bandits fell.
The White Pole Soldiers were exceptionally well-trained; the bandits couldn't compare.
Although some border troops were mixed among the bandits, they hadn't properly trained their formations together. Wielding their spears haphazardly, they couldn't unleash much of their true fighting power.
A chaotic frenzy of clashing spears ensued, interspersed with the close-range roar of the militia soldiers' arquebuses.
Li Daoxuan's grenade soared over the front ranks of spear-wielding soldiers, landing amidst the bandit formation behind them, scattering men and horses in a fiery blast.
A smirk played on Zijing Liang's lips. To him, this was nothing but a trapped beast's struggle. The White Pole Soldiers had no hope. Given the overwhelming difference in numbers, no matter how much she struggled, they wouldn't escape his grasp this time.
Just then, a scout raced over. "Boss, boss! A government army unit has appeared in the northwest, flying a banner with the character 'Wang'!"
"Wang?" Zijing Liang mused. "Which Ming general around here bears the surname Wang?"
"They don't seem to be anyone important, only about a thousand soldiers."
Zijing Liang laughed. "So, government reinforcements have come to save the White Pole Soldiers, eh? Hah! Blue-backed Wolf, take your men and deal with these new arrivals."
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