Chapter 189: This Is A Ruthless And Heartless World
When arriving at the Qingshui River Eddy Bay, it was already a very mature camp.
Sitting in the shade of the trees resting were spearmen, the kind who could wield three-zhang-long spears; such people were generally served by those with broad shoulders and thick waists. Originally meant to deal with Gui Fang ox cavalrymen, now there were fully eighty here.
On a hillside, two dragon crossbows were being set up. This thing was also called Dragon’s Fury on the battlefield. It was said that Huo Qubing personally improved the Great Yellow Crossbow, mounting three Great Yellow Crossbows forward and backward on a single platform to fire one crossbow bolt. It was said to have astonishing power; even Gui Fang mad ox knights could not withstand a single strike from the dragon crossbow.
On a farther hillside, six albatrosses were crouching. The knights beside the albatrosses held iron spears over three zhang long. This thing was specially used for hurling from high altitude; even a massive albatross could carry only one at a time.
Over a hundred thunder smoke beasts were quietly lying on a sun-facing slope, eating dry grass now and then. The cavalrymen had removed their armor and were lazily lying on the grassland basking in the sun.
Yun Ce also saw Liang Kun, who was leading people from the Yun Clan Villa in setting up snares one after another on a gentle slope…
After Cao Kun arrived, the generals all came to report one after another. After hearing their reports, Cao Kun looked at the sun and ordered: “In half a time, the albatrosses will strike first, using iron spears to kill the elephant pigs. The thunder smoke beast cavalry team will enter Eddy Bay to lure the elephant pigs away from the depths of Eddy Bay to our preset battlefield. Traps will hinder the elephant pigs’ steps, and Dragon’s Fury will snipe them. At that time, the scout team must quickly cross the Qingshui River and quickly search Eddy Bay.”
After issuing the order, Cao Kun had no intention of asking others’ opinions, even though this team was formed collectively.
Yun Ce felt that Cao Kun’s approach was fine. Since it was confirmed that Cao Kun was the leader, they had to obey orders to avoid multiple orders causing trouble.
Every team had a leader, and Yun Ce undoubtedly became the leader of the thunder smoke beast cavalry team, responsible for entering Eddy Bay to provoke and lure the elephant pigs to chase after the albatross team attacked the elephant pigs.
1 This was almost the most dangerous task. After all, the albatrosses were flying in the sky; as long as they didn’t fly too low, the elephant pigs could do nothing to them.
1 As for the dragon crossbows and such equipment, they were behind layers of traps and snares. Even if the elephant pigs charged out and the dragon crossbows couldn’t kill them, they would have enough time to mount horses and flee.
1 Early Spring Month had finally come. Earth energy was rising in wisps under the sunlight, and the distant Qingshui River was flowing slowly, just with a bit more water than in winter. In a few more days, when the ice and snow on the high mountains melted, the river would fill the river channel. It was said that some fish originally living at the Qingshui River mouth would trace upstream along the Qingshui River and eventually come to the lake at the Qingshui River source to spawn.
1 After these fish spawned, they would all die off, becoming a feast for the wild beasts on the wasteland.
1 “Graaaw—” The albatrosses’ calls in high altitude were somewhat shrill. Soon after, Yun Ce saw over a dozen stones suddenly flying up from flat ground, smashing toward the albatrosses in the sky.
1 The stones had fierce force, but soon after reaching the air, as the force applied to the stones dissipated, they all fell to the ground one after another.
1 The albatrosses kept undulating, the stones kept flying up. After the time of one incense stick, the stones flying into the sky became fewer and fewer, and the stones also flew lower and lower. It seemed the elephant pigs had no strength left.
1 Cao Kun, waiting for Yun Ce and the others to set out, suddenly said to Yun Ce: “Have the elephant pigs run out of strength?”
1 Yun Ce shook his head: “I think this is a stratagem.”
1 Cao Kun nodded: “Damn it, since when did elephant pigs start knowing stratagems?”
2 Yun Ce cautiously said: “I think it’s related to the thing in Eddy Bay.”
2 Cao Kun frowned: “You think the thing in Eddy Bay can make elephant pigs smart?”
2 Yun Ce sighed: “What I saw on 《Hundred Beasts Catalog》 describes elephant pigs very differently from this group.
2 《Hundred Beasts Catalog》 says this thing has a massive body, bloated and sluggish, fond of water grass, with calls of ‘du-du’, stupid and unaware of self-defense; juvenile meat is fresh and fatty, delicious, but once mature, the meat is hard as iron stone and inedible.
2 Yet these elephant pigs here not only know to throw stones at flying birds but also know stratagems.”
2 Cao Kun turned to Cao Ling: “Issue the order: have the albatrosses descend in altitude to lure the elephant pigs to keep throwing stones. After three times, iron spear attack on the juveniles!”
2 As Cao Ling waved flags of various colors, the six albatrosses circling in the sky cried out a few times and indeed began spiraling downward. When the albatrosses flew to an altitude reachable by stones, they suddenly pulled up, shooting straight into high altitude.
2 As Cao Kun predicted, another pile of stones swiftly flew into mid-air, just a moment slower. By then, the albatrosses had already reached high ground.
2 “After the albatrosses’ third strike, you set out.”
2 Yun Ce nodded, acknowledging the order, then watched the sky tensely with the specially selected fifty-two thunder smoke beast cavalrymen. As soon as the albatrosses began hurling iron spears downward, it would be time for them to quickly enter Eddy Bay.
3 After the albatrosses probed twice, the stones flying into the sky became fewer. During the albatrosses’ third descent, they became exceptionally swift. When Yun Ce saw an iron spear shooting from the head position of an albatross plummeting almost straight down, Yun Ce urged his red date horse, shouted “Go!”, and took the lead into Eddy Bay territory.
3 Cao Kun was very satisfied with Yun Ce’s resolute execution of his military order. He said to Cao Ling: “We retreat and wait for them to lure out the elephant pigs.”
3 Cao Ling said lowly: “There’s still a bluebird hiding in the forest. If things go wrong, Eldest Son can ride the bluebird to leave.”
3 Cao Kun angrily said: “How can a general flee without fighting?”
3 Cao Ling repeatedly begged forgiveness, which finally calmed Cao Kun’s anger, though he still glanced twice in the direction Cao Ling pointed.
3 Yun Ce rode into Eddy Bay. Merely five days apart, the appearance inside Eddy Bay had changed greatly again. The vegetation here was even sparser; some tall trees had been uprooted by elephant pigs, their tender branches gnawed clean, leaving only some thick tree trunks.
3 “This means these elephant pigs’ change hasn’t been long; if there’s change, it’s recent.” Doggy’s voice sounded in Yun Ce’s head.
3 The red date horse’s hooves lightly stepped on the exposed sandy gravel ground. Just as it was about to step into the red mud ground near the Qingshui River, the red date horse suddenly stopped, its front hooves raised high, kicking twice in the air ahead, hind legs shifting twice, and when landing again, its buttocks were facing backward.
3 Not only the red date horse was startled; other thunder smoke beasts were too, behaving even worse. Some thunder smoke beasts even began shitting and farting, refusing to take another step forward.
3 Hearing elephant pigs’ miserable cries constantly from ahead, Yun Ce dismounted the red date horse, patted its ear before leaving, and proceeded on foot with two javelins.
4 Before leaving, Cao Kun didn’t say this cavalry was under his command, so he could only do what he needed to do, without consulting those cavalrymen or teaching them how.
4 The lead cavalryman gritted his teeth, left ten cavalrymen mounted and still, and like Yun Ce, led the other forty cavalrymen carrying javelins, slowly walking deeper into Eddy Bay.
4 The red mud ground was even lower in terrain. Standing at the edge of the sandy gravel ground, Yun Ce could see the elephant pig herd fleeing in panic under the albatrosses’ attacks.
4 Two juveniles were running toward Yun Ce’s side under the cover of seven adults. Seeing this, Yun Ce said to the cavalry leader beside him: “You kill the first one, I’ll kill the second. Remember, after killing the first juvenile, run fast and don’t stop.”
4 The cavalry leader incredulously looked at Yun Ce like a fool. Having been a soldier for years, it was his first time meeting a noble like Yun Ce who volunteered to be the rear guard for everyone. Naturally, he wouldn’t refuse and heavily nodded: “General, take care too.”
4 Yun Ce smilingly agreed and flickered past forward. In moments, he was already a hundred meters away.
4 Seeing Yun Ce’s running speed, the cavalry leader’s face twitched. He said to his companions: “When the first juvenile arrives, everyone attacks collectively. Regardless of the result, we leave immediately.
4 I’m worried that if we run slow, we’ll become their rear guard.”
4 This kind of thing where when encountering wild beasts, you don’t need to run faster than the beast, just faster than your companions, was no secret in the military; everyone knew it.
4 Yun Ce let the first elephant pig pass. While flickering past in mid-air, he hurled the javelin from his left hand—this time, he truly used all his strength.
5 The javelin thudded fully into the juvenile’s massive body, the entire javelin embedding into the elephant pig juvenile. The running elephant pig juvenile’s front leg suddenly buckled, rolling twice on the ground before weakly lifting its head, calling ‘du-du’ twice to the adult elephant pigs behind, then powerlessly dropping its head.
5 Yun Ce’s strike had pierced the elephant pig’s heart, leaving it no chance to struggle.
5 The first juvenile Yun Ce let pass, in a rumbling mad charge, was suddenly struck by forty javelins, each embedding over half a meter into its flesh. Though pierced like a porcupine, it still struggled forward staggeringly until Yun Ce’s second javelin went straight from its rear into the hilt. This elephant pig, struck heavily again, finally crashed to the ground.
5 Seeing their child killed by ant-sized things, the adult elephant pigs could no longer care about the albatrosses harassing them in the sky and charged cooperatively toward Yun Ce’s position.
5 Yun Ce ran extremely fast, constantly overtaking the earlier-running cavalrymen. When he reached his red date horse, the second-fastest cavalry leader was still over a hundred meters from his thunder smoke beast.
5 Yun Ce let out a long breath, preparing to wait for the cavalry leader to arrive and flee together.
5 Chapter One, two more chapters.
