Chapter 128: Reinforcements

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Everyone was suddenly stirred into a frenzy, shouting the same slogan and waving the crude weapons in their hands.

Qi Jun was moved by the sight as well. Planting his feet firmly, he clasped his hands toward the people below the walls and shouted, “If all the people of Great Liang could be like this, then when the Qiang invaders assault our land, we shall fight with all our strength today and swear to live or die together with Peaceful Qiang!”

On the eastern wall of Peaceful Qiang, Xu Sheng and some of the villagers had inflicted considerable casualties on the attacking Qiang companies with their catapults. But against the Qiang pouring forward like a rising tide, their small force was utterly incapable of holding them back.

The Qiang soldiers soon reached the foot of the walls and began setting up ladders to climb them. In the distance, a large contingent of Qiang cavalry led by Bodo also appeared.

Xu Sheng knew that the city’s defenses were about to collapse at the slightest touch. With bloodshot eyes, he drew his saber with grim resolve, preparing to spend the last shred of his strength in battle.

After hurling out another pile of stones, the villagers gathered around Xu Sheng, ready to face the final moment alongside him.

“Retreat! Hurry, retreat!”

At that moment, a familiar voice reached Xu Sheng and the villagers from nearby. Xu Sheng froze for a moment, then turned toward the sound in astonishment. Sure enough, Deng Fang was racing along the wall toward them.

“Come on, retreat with me!” Deng Fang panted as he ran up to Zhang Wei and punched him. “It’s not your time to die yet, boy! There’s no need to make a last stand here. Hurry and follow me back!”

“Brother Deng, what are you doing here? Brother Jun told us to…” Zhang Wei was still dazed by the order to retreat.

“Have you lost your mind? Do you really think the handful of you can stop the Qiang? Do you have to throw your lives away for nothing?” Deng Fang rolled his eyes and raised a hand as though to strike him. “Brother Jun sent me to tell you to retreat with me to the northern wall!”

On the western side, Zhang Wei and the others also received Liu Biao’s notice and withdrew in time, before the Qiang could climb onto the walls.

Almost simultaneously, the Qiang captured both the eastern and western gates of Peaceful Qiang and poured into the city from either side.

For a time, the Qiang soldiers streaming into the city were like bloodthirsty wolves breaking through a sheep pen. Grinning savagely and shrieking wildly, they raised their curved sabers and chased down the townspeople.

Peaceful Qiang once more sank into a hell of blood.

The Qiang cavalry under Bodo galloped down the streets without restraint, heading toward the center of the city. According to plan, once he joined up with another contingent of Qiang cavalry led by his deputy commander, they would launch a final assault on the remaining defenders in the north and south, completely occupying the city.

“Do not waste time plundering the Liang people. Hurry to the northern wall and surround the remaining enemy!”

Bodo was determined to capture alive the Liang commander on the wall—the man who had nearly killed him beneath the bombardment. He lashed out several times with his whip, ordering the Qiang cavalry behind him to quicken their pace toward the north.

At the same time, the Qiang soldiers Bodo had left outside the city launched an assault on the section of wall defended by Qi Jun and the others. Under cover from Qiang archers, masses of Qiang infantry charged toward the walls with roaring cries.

Although the power of the cannons terrified them, their hunger for slaughter and plunder forced them to suppress their fear.

Standing atop the wall, Qi Jun was already consumed by grief and hatred at the miserable cries of the townspeople drifting from afar. When he saw the Qiang outside the city taking advantage of the chaos to attack once more, fury flared within him.

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“Liu Fuyuan, aim properly and blast the bastards to hell!”

“Yes, sir!” Liu Fuyuan answered in a deep voice. With practiced movements, he swung the cannon and adjusted its angle. When the Qiang soldiers entered range, he lit the fuse and fired the last shell.

The shell, carrying the defenders’ fury, screamed from the barrel and roared toward the enemy.

The instant the Qiang soldiers saw the black projectile flying from the wall, terror seized their hearts. The horrific scene of the earlier bombardment flashed rapidly through their minds.

“This is bad! The Liang are launching their heavenly thunder again! Scatter! Run—”

The charging Qiang soldiers hastily halted. The courage they had painstakingly gathered vanished at once, and they turned and fled in terror, howling as they went.

“Boom!”

The shell struck the ground with a thunderous explosion. Several Qiang bodies were hurled into the air amid the smoke and dust. The soldiers near the blast were thrown to the ground by the shock wave, while the wounded, still clinging to life amid the heap of corpses, clutched their ruined bodies and cried out in agony.

“Lord Feng, Uncle Kui! Take advantage of this moment and break through!” Qi Jun knew that the cannon blast had thrown the Qiang formation into chaos. This was the best opportunity to escape.

“County Commandant Qi, there is no point in defending this city any longer. Why must you—” Feng Qinian clasped his hands toward Qi Jun, his eyes filled with regret.

“As the county commandant, I must remain with the city. Lord Feng, say no more. Leave at once!” Qi Jun returned the salute, his eyes filled with determination. “There are still two explosive packs here. You and Liu Kui take one each. If the Qiang pursue you, they may help you defend yourselves.”

Feng Qinian gratefully accepted an explosive pack. He glanced at Deng Fang beside Qi Jun and saw that Deng Fang’s eyes were just as resolute. He therefore said nothing more, merely nodding before hurrying down from the wall and climbing into his carriage.

“Sir, I…” Holding the explosive pack, Liu Kui bowed solemnly to Qi Jun, his expression conflicted. He knew that under the circumstances, this parting might well be forever.

“Uncle Kui, bring everyone home safely. You all came here because of me. I cannot let Dongling Village be wiped out because of this.” Qi Jun patted Liu Kui on the shoulder and spoke softly.

Liu Kui’s heart ached unbearably. For an instant, he wanted to remain behind and fight this final battle alongside Qi Jun, Liu Biao, and the others. Qi Jun’s words weighed heavily upon him.

When the gate opened, Feng Qinian’s carriage and several county soldiers rushed out. The Qiang immediately realized that the defenders were attempting a breakout. Yet, wary of the defenders’ heavenly thunder, they did not dare pursue them and block their path.

The Qiang archers fired a few symbolic whistling arrows, then watched as Feng Qinian and the others fled eastward. Soon, however, they discovered that a small number of defenders still remained on the wall. After reorganizing themselves, they once again summoned their courage and advanced in a scattered formation.

“Brother Jun, what do we do now?” Deng Fang looked at the Qiang infantry gradually closing in outside the city, then at the townspeople surging toward them in a desperate attempt to escape the cavalry’s looting. His voice was urgent.

Liu Fuyuan, Liu Biao, and the other county soldiers also gathered around Qi Jun, but Qi Jun said nothing. His mind raced.

Their ammunition was exhausted. The dozen or so men remaining had nearly spent all their strength, and every one of them was wounded. With only a crowd of townspeople armed with farming tools, they had virtually no chance against the fierce Qiang soldiers.

“Biao, Fuyuan, and all the county soldiers here—follow me and set up barricades to hold back the Qiang cavalry. Deng Fang, you, Zhang Wei, and Xu Sheng open the gate and lead the townspeople out in a charge!”

After thinking rapidly, Qi Jun made his decision. He intended to use the narrow streets and alleys to delay and impede the Qiang cavalry, covering the townspeople’s escape.

In his heart, he had already prepared himself to die.

If his body could hold the enemy back for even a little while, more of the townspeople might have a chance to escape.

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In Qi Jun’s eyes, such an exchange was entirely worthwhile. He had chosen to remain in this dead end precisely so that he could save a few more townspeople.

“No! Brother Jun! If we are brothers, then we die together!” Deng Fang understood immediately. Qi Jun was trying to leave him the greatest chance of survival by ordering him to lead the townspeople out.

“There’s no time for this nonsense! Obey my orders!” Qi Jun seized Deng Fang by the collar and roared.

“We drank together on the city wall. I, Deng Fang, will never crawl away and live today!” Usually respectful and obedient toward Qi Jun, Deng Fang now reacted in the opposite manner. He violently shook off Qi Jun’s hands and spoke in a trembling voice thick with tears.

“Brother Deng is right. If we die, we die together. How could brothers abandon one another in order to survive alone?” Zhang Wei and Xu Sheng grew anxious as well. They clasped their fists and spoke in unison.

“Lord Qi, Lord Feng and the others have come back!”

A county soldier on the wall suddenly cried out, drawing everyone’s attention.

“They’ve come back? What in the world is Feng Qinian thinking?” Qi Jun froze, unable for the moment to understand why Feng Qinian, who had gone to such lengths to break through the encirclement, had turned back.

Had the Qiang driven them back? Qi Jun’s heart sank sharply. If that was truly the case, then perhaps every one of them would perish here today.

Braving the stray Qiang arrows, he hurried up onto the wall and looked in the direction indicated by the soldier. Sure enough, Feng Qinian’s carriage was racing toward them in the distance, and behind it followed an army.

“Reinforcements! They’re reinforcements!”

A county soldier cried out in delighted surprise. In an instant, the sacred flame of hope sprang to life in every heart.

The forest of towering spears and the military banners faintly visible within the approaching army seemed to confirm it. In the next moment, a rain of arrows shot from the formation toward the Qiang outside the city told them unmistakably that these were the reinforcements they had desperately awaited.

Qi Jun rubbed his eyes. Tears had blurred his vision.

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