The will of heaven is unfathomable!
Hearing the screams around him and seeing Xiao Yu’s corpse lying at his feet, Wu Ming gritted his teeth tightly.
In times of chaos, human lives are worth less than dogs.
Under the survival mission of the Temple of the Main God, how could there be any room for slack?
Earlier, if the enemy’s arrow had deviated slightly, it might have been him lying dead.
“Kill all the Han people!”
The hooves drew closer. The barbarians were unmatched in mounted archery. Although there were only ten riders, their arrows fell like rain, suppressing all defenders on the city wall, no one daring to raise their heads. The barbarians had actually reached the earthen ramparts.
One of the riders, who looked like a squad leader, shouted loudly, leaping from his horse. Using both hands and feet like an agile great ape, he climbed the wall in a few quick moves, his face with an eagle nose and deep-set eyes, twisted into a hideous grin.
In the flickering firelight, the totemic war paint on his face seemed to twist and writhe, the dark blue runes appearing ready to devour someone.
Swish!
A crescent-shaped arc of green light appeared in his hand. With a sweep of his saber, several village defenders’ heads flew off, the scene extremely bloody, making the surrounding defenders’ legs tremble involuntarily.
“If we hadn’t received our intelligence and been on guard, a village like this would fall with just one charge…”
Wu Ming sighed deeply, watching more barbarians rushing forward. He gave a meaningful glance to Qin Hu and others who were still stunned: “Let’s go!”
In this moment of crisis, if they didn’t demonstrate their worth, when else would they?
Moreover, if Daqing Village were truly breached and the barbarians proceeded with their massacre, surviving for seven days would become a joke.
“The barbarians want to open the gates. Don’t let them succeed!”
This was what Wu Ming thought, and what he did. Immediately, he targeted a barbarian who had just climbed up, shouted loudly, and rushed to engage him.
Peng!
His opponent was a bearded giant. Without even looking, he slashed with his saber, the angle strange, the force vicious, and the move extremely concise and efficient.
Wu Ming inhaled deeply, suddenly lowering his body to dodge the slash, then exchanged punches with the barbarian.
When their energies collided, the bearded man’s expression changed. Holding his saber, he launched three more slashes in quick succession, each strike vicious beyond measure, full of military style.
“His strength is great, at least equivalent to a third-level physical cultivator with his tendons and bones resonating!”
Martial cultivation begins with calming the mind, followed by refining the skin and muscles, then the tendons and bones. A higher level is cultivating the internal organs.
Wu Ming was clearly at the fourth level of physical cultivation, an internal strengthening expert. Not only his tendons and bones, but even his internal organs were refined. Even so, he dared not use his flesh and blood to resist the enemy’s saber.
His face was solemn, his feet swift as wind, dodging two slashes. He exhaled deeply, his abdomen caving in, avoiding the last slash that would have opened his chest.
This exhalation was truly terrifying. Wu Ming even felt his strong lungs couldn’t bear it, a burning sensation filling his chest, before he suddenly threw a punch.
Bang!
The punch, filled with unreserved force, struck the cavalryman’s head, sending him crashing down from the wall.
[You have killed a barbarian cavalryman, earning fifty minor merits!]
Almost at the moment the cavalryman fell, Wu Ming heard the mechanical voice of the Temple of the Main God in his mind.
“Ahh!”
At this moment, a scream came. It turned out Huang Ying and Kang Shouli were in trouble.
A barbarian grinned and charged forward. Kang Shouli, at the second level of physical cultivation, looked at the ferocious enemy, his courage vanished. He stood frozen, his head severed, causing Huang Ying to scream sharply.
Among the village defenders, Wang Yin’s face was grim as he fought with the previous squad leader, Turu Warrior, exchanging punches and kicks with loud impacts. The rest of the group had completely lost their nerve, huddling around Wang Qiao, making Wu Ming feel like cursing.
He glanced at Qin Hu. The young man, with a grim face, was wielding a steel saber from somewhere, engaged in fierce combat with a barbarian. Seeing this, Wu Ming sighed inwardly, took a few quick steps, rushed behind the barbarian facing Huang Ying, and threw a punch.
Unexpectedly, this barbarian was prepared. Suddenly turning his head, he slashed downward, the blade light covering Wu Ming.
Feeling the emptiness of a missed strike, the barbarian’s face showed surprise. Wu Ming then grabbed his collar, lifted him upside down, released and tightened his force, and slammed him down.
Pom!
With a loud noise, this person collided violently with the wall, his neck twisted at an odd angle, his head half-caved in, obviously dead.
“Tha… Thank you, Master Wu Ming, for saving me!”
The violent scene left Huang Ying stunned for a while before she stammered.
“No problem… Just doing what I could…”
Wu Ming casually replied, then saw Old Man Wang Qiao shouting loudly. Two rows of village defenders scattered, revealing something that made his eyes twitch, almost cursing out loud.
“Dare to target Daqing Village? Get them!”
At Old Man Wang Qiao’s roar, several village defenders clad in leather armor and wielding high-quality hundred-refined steel sabers charged forward with formidable might—each at least at the second or third tier of physical cultivation.
Another group was even more ferocious, actually pulling out several longbows to aim, including even a crossbow!
“Crossbows? Armor? Isn’t possessing these considered treason in any dynasty?”
Seeing these powerful weapons appear, even Wu Ming’s forehead broke out in cold sweat.
He clearly knew that in this world, not only were the high-level martial forces astonishing, but even the regular forces far exceeded those of ancient times in his previous life.
Indeed, upon seeing this formation, the leading barbarian Turu Warrior’s expression shifted. He shouted a few words, no longer entangled with Wang Yin, and swiftly leaped down from the wall.
The surviving barbarians quickly retreated, then more arrows flew from the darkness.
“Want to escape? Ask me first!”
At this moment, Wang Yin was bloodthirsty, suddenly grabbing the crossbow, using the firelight, aiming at the base of the wall, and pulling the trigger.
Weng weng!
The bowstring snapped like thunder! The powerful mechanical force moved, even like thunder on flat ground, making Wu Ming’s ears buzz.
Pu!
The Turu Warrior had just landed on his horse when the arrow followed, the powerful kinetic energy piercing through his chest and embedding into the horse’s back!
One arrow, two birds!
Seeing their leader fall, the remaining trembling barbarians lost heart. Qin Hu seized the opportunity, directly cutting his opponent’s neck with a saber, a slight smile appearing on his face.
Curses from the barbarians below came, followed by more arrows.
The village defenders on the earthen ramparts also gathered their courage, shouting curses and shooting wildly into the darkness. After a long time, the noise gradually quieted down.
…
The morning of Daqing Village was shrouded in a sorrowful and solemn atmosphere.
Inside the ancestral hall, villagers surrounded the coffins, their eyes red, women and children weeping bitterly.
Wu Ming, Qin Hu, and Huang Ying collected the remains of Kang Shouli and Xiao Yu, their hearts equally heavy.
“Last night, I must thank you all for your help!”
Wang Qiao, his arm bandaged, came to greet Wu Ming and the others: “Please rest assured, we will properly handle your companions’ remains…”
Needless to say, Wu Ming and Qin Hu’s performance last night left a deep impression on Old Man Wang Qiao.
After all, two martial artists at the third or fourth level of physical cultivation were absolute experts in Daqing Village, probably the only ones besides Wang Yin who could resist.
“Thank you, Leader Wang, for your kindness!”
Wu Ming’s eyes were slightly red: “But the barbarians are cruel, they certainly won’t stop here… We must prepare in advance!”
He knew in his heart that he might not fear close combat with ordinary barbarian cavalry, but if he had to engage them in mounted archery on the plains, he would be slaughtered.
Just talking about hand-to-hand combat, a Turu Warrior was enough to make him worry.
Compared to that, he must stand together with Daqing Village to have a chance to survive.
“How could I not know? Last night was merely a vanguard! The barbarians usually attack with at least a hundred men…”
Old Man Wang bitterly smiled, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Wu Ming naturally knew what he wanted to say, directly saying: “I can write a letter, but there must be barbarian scouts around Daqing Village now, I’m afraid…”
This made Wang Qiao’s heart sink, helplessly saying: “What should we do? What should we do…”
Needless to say, although this person had some scheming ability, he had lived in peace for a long time. Suddenly facing bloody warfare, this reaction was already quite good.
But no matter what he thought, Wu Ming definitely wouldn’t agree to anything.
After all, it would be a miracle if he could really call for reinforcements!
However, the situation was different now. Even if Old Man Wang noticed something wrong, could he push them, the few strong fighters, away?
Moreover, he probably wouldn’t dare to openly state the truth, cutting off the last hope of the entire village.
Like a drowning person clutching at straws, even the last straw must be desperately grasped.
Wu Ming’s mouth curved into a slight smile, saying: “I know the barbarians are cruel, inhuman. Some measures must be prepared against!”
…
Not far from Daqing Village.
Inside a temporary camp.
Dozens of barbarians stood solemnly, gathered before a shaman wearing a deer-horn mask, dressed in black and white robes, with a blood-red drum hanging at his waist.
In front of these people were several bound and kneeling barbarians, looking dejected. They were obviously the cavalry who had attacked Daqing Village the previous night.
“The Wolf God protects us!”
The shaman suddenly spoke: “According to the grassland customs… your squad leader died in battle, your entire squad should accompany him in death!”
His eyes under the deer-horn mask showed no fluctuation, but these prisoners trembled.
“Go! Your lives will be inherited by us, we will wash that disgraceful place in blood!”
The shaman stepped forward, grabbing a prisoner’s hair, a golden dagger appearing in his right hand. He suddenly slashed the prisoner’s throat.
The artery was cut, blood gushing out in large amounts. It seemed like an illusion, but the blood-red drum at the shaman’s waist appeared even redder…
“A Ligou! Go, erase that village from the earth!”
The shaman’s voice was mysterious, his eyes looking at the camp surroundings. There were piles of grain sacks and large groups of innocent Han prisoners…
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