The smoke of war suddenly rose.
Although Daqing Village had already prepared, when the village guards saw the enemy, they still couldn’t help but gasp in horror.
People!
Dense crowds of people!
Many nearby villagers, regardless of gender or age, even the old, weak, sick, and disabled, were all driven forward by the Hu people to attack the village like swarming ants.
The villagers were all from the same area, and there were acquaintances among them. Seeing relatives and friends holding sticks and stones, their faces numb, being driven forward, an uproar immediately broke out on Daqing Village’s walls.
“The Hu people are truly heartless and shameless!”
Wang Qiao and his son Wang Yin were furious, cursing loudly, while glancing at Wu Ming with a hint of admiration.
“If anyone tries to rush up, kill them all! Remember, you are not only fighting for yourselves but also for your parents, wives, and children…”
Wu Ming, at this moment, was acting as an overseer force together with Qin Hu and several fierce-looking youths.
Earlier, he had clearly stated to the village head that the Hu people might drive the surrounding villagers to swarm the walls, and suggested immediate strict control throughout the village—gathering the elderly, women, and children together, enlisting all able-bodied men into the village guards, and establishing an overseer force to suppress any unrest.
Because of Wang Qiao’s refusal to take the role, this thankless and unpopular task naturally fell to Wu Ming.
“Don’t… Uncle!”
“Er Niu…”
“I’m Xiao Shitou…”
Under the Hu people’s urging, more than a hundred nearly unarmed villagers slowly advanced, and both sides, attackers and defenders alike, were in tears.
“Fire arrows!”
Wu Ming’s face remained cold, suddenly shouting loudly: “If the village falls, do we still have our lives?”
“Fire!”
A sparse volley of arrows rained down from the earthen wall, immediately causing screams, and many fled in all directions.
“Kill!”
With the sound of galloping hooves, dozens of Hu cavalry finally appeared before Wu Ming.
The Hu warriors wore fur coats, carried quivers on their backs, rode swiftly, with longbows and curved sabers on either side.
Seeing the refugees fleeing, the leader of the Hu let out a shout, immediately drawing his bow from horseback, pulling it taut like a full moon, and then releasing.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Bone-tipped arrows flew across, and those fleeing were immediately shot dead.
The remaining ones were forcibly driven back together, preparing for the next wave of the attack.
“Ha! Kill! Kill! After all, these are not our grassland people. The more others die, the better…”
Amidst the wild laughter of the Hu people, distant smoke signals rose into the sky, and soon several riders appeared—followed by dozens more—bringing waves of captives with them.
Many Hu warriors shouted and laughed, even wantonly killing men and abusing women without any concern.
“Beasts!”
Such a scene made Wang Qiao and others clench their teeth in anger.
As the second wave of villagers began their attack, both atop and below the walls were filled with tearful silence.
“I… I can’t do it. My uncle is still down there!”
A teenage boy holding a stone couldn’t bring himself to throw it, crying out.
Crack!
A whip landed harshly on his back, leaving a bloody streak.
Wu Ming’s hysterical roar came: “What are you hesitating for? Throw it!”
The boy shuddered, and the stone fell downward.
The surrounding villagers gritted their teeth, began attacking, while many resentful glances were cast toward Wu Ming.
“See that? Now you know why I didn’t let you take this role!”
Wang Qiao secretly whispered to Wang Yin: “Otherwise, we would be the ones in this hot seat now!”
Wu Ming naturally knew he had sown much hatred.
But he only needed to hold out for seven days before he could leave, so he faced everything fearlessly.
…
This wave of attack finally dispersed as night fell, and around Daqing Village, the ground was now littered with corpses, a horrifying sight.
Even the village’s stored arrows, logs, bricks, and stones were greatly depleted, and more alarming was the toll on the guards’ physical and mental endurance.
The bright moon still shone above, while within the village, cries echoed softly.
“Master Wuming, I’ve brought you some food!”
On the earthen wall, Wu Ming was intently observing the surroundings. Seeing Huang Ying, a mere woman, daring to come to this battlefield, he couldn’t help but feel surprised.
“I thought you hadn’t eaten all day, so I specially came…”
Huang Ying blushed slightly, lifting the food box in her hand.
“Thank you…”
Inside the box were some steamed buns, dried meat, and a pot of wine. Wu Ming didn’t hesitate, took them out immediately, and began eating voraciously.
As for Huang Ying, who had bravely come up earlier, now standing on the city wall and seeing the corpses below, felt dizzy and her eyes reddened: “These people are so pitiful!”
“The world is like a dream; we are also within it…”
After finishing his meal, Wu Ming suddenly said.
“I hope this nightmare can end soon!”
Huang Ying suddenly asked: “Master Wuming, do you have any way to save these innocent people outside?”
“Unable to help, what can one do but sigh helplessly?”
Wu Ming shook his head: “I know you may feel heartbroken now, Miss Huangying, but please remember, even with a kind heart, one must act within one’s capabilities, or else it will only bring disaster to oneself and others…”
“But it’s like yesterday, when you saved me?”
“Exactly!”
Wu Ming was startled, then said: “Yesterday, I was confident I could save you, so I acted chivalrously. Just like today, if I could single-handedly defeat a hundred enemies or even alone kill the shaman, I would have done so long ago. Unfortunately, my strength is insufficient. What can I do?”
“I understand…”
Huang Ying bowed to Wu Ming, then suddenly said: “Today, the Hu cavalry suffered no losses, while our morale has greatly declined. In my opinion, we may not last another three days…
“And… Brother Qin Hu seems to have his own plans…”
“Let him be…”
Wu Ming was silent for a moment, then said: “Miss Huangying, have you thought about our main mission? And why the word ‘choice’ is emphasized?”
“Could it be…”
Huang Ying gasped.
“Exactly, our mission is simply to survive… nothing more!”
A faint smile appeared on Wu Ming’s lips: “It seems the Hu won’t launch a night attack tonight. Miss Huang, could you find Qin Hu to relieve me and help me with another favor?”
…
Two days passed quickly.
The Hu cavalry continued to drive every villager they could find nearby forward, swarming the walls and exhausting the defenders’ strength in large numbers.
When there were no more nearby villagers to send, Daqing Village below was already littered with nearly a thousand corpses, and dozens of miles of villages were emptied.
Compared to this, Daqing Village’s original moats, obstacles, and even stored weapons were already half-consumed. Casualties had occurred among the village guards, and more critically, morale had suffered a severe blow.
At this point, the real test had just begun.
“Fire arrows!”
Arrows rained down like rain!
Once the refugees were dead, the Hu cavalry had no choice but to take the field themselves.
Wave after wave of arrows fell upon the top of the earthen wall, blocked by wooden shields, while dozens of riders dismounted and charged forward, climbing up the walls.
“Kill!”
At this moment, Wu Ming, Qin Hu, and several village leaders were wearing leather armor and holding tempered steel blades, leading the other guards in the front line.
Only these experts at the Physical Body Cultivation Stage of the third or fourth level could, relying on the terrain advantage, barely resist the attacks of the Hu warriors.
“Take this!”
Wu Ming’s face was firm and calm, facing a Hu warrior’s charge and slash without flinching. He shrugged his shoulders, actively meeting the blade. A deep mark was left on his leather armor, the pain piercing his bones, but the steel blade in his hand shot out like a venomous dragon, piercing through a Hu squad leader.
The Hu people were poor, some even using bone-tipped arrows, naturally lacking in good armor.
As for Wu Ming, he wore the best gear Daqing Village had to offer, the accumulated treasure of Old Man Wang Qiao, and with the advantage of height, naturally had a significant edge.
[Defeated a Tu Lu warrior, gained 100 minor merits!]
The prompt from the Temple of the Main God faintly echoed in his ears, but Wu Ming had no time to pay attention anymore.
If he couldn’t survive, what use was there in accumulating more merits?
“Step aside, watch me!”
Suddenly, a loud shout came. Wu Ming looked up and saw Wang Yin charging forward, wielding an eight-foot spear, wearing iron armor, sweeping through the Hu warriors like a descending god, making Wu Ming’s heart skip a beat.
This set of armor was the real treasure hidden in Wang Qiao’s armory!
In ancient times, iron was expensive, and full-body armor required a terrifying amount of material and exquisite craftsmanship.
One set of armor might not be worth the entire Daqing Village, but it was certainly worth half of it.
With Wang Yin’s martial cultivation level and the iron armor, he was practically a human killing machine!
With the might to slay gods and heroes, the Hu warriors finally dropped several corpses and retreated like a tide. The village guards on the walls erupted into cheers, worshipping Wang Yin like a hero.
“Look!”
But soon, a scream broke this atmosphere.
A village guard pointed into the distance, his face full of horror.
“Hmm?”
Wu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and saw a suspicious figure suddenly appear among the Hu ranks—a masked individual with a red drum hanging at his waist.
“Wolf God Tian grants us strength!”
The Hu warrior with antlered mask roared, pounding the drum at his waist.
Boom! Boom!
The deep drumbeats seemed to resonate in everyone’s hearts, making Wu Ming feel a slight discomfort in his chest. The Hu warriors, however, cheered loudly, their wounds beginning to stop bleeding. Some lightly wounded warriors even tore off bloodied scars, revealing fresh, pink skin—they had healed without medicine!
“Damn! Group healing of minor wounds?”
Wu Ming mentally cursed, assigning a name to the enemy’s skill. Wang Qiao, on the other hand, screamed in terror as if his throat had been pinched: “It’s a shaman! A Hu shaman, what sin have we committed to face this?”
“Advance! The children of Wolf God Tian will never fear!”
The shaman’s wooden pupils flickered, taking the drum in hand and continuously beating it. A faint red circle of light appeared, spreading outward.
The Hu warriors enveloped in the light shouted loudly, full of energy and morale, launching another charge. In contrast, the defenders on the earthen wall were terrified, their morale plummeting to the lowest depths.
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