Chapter 1301: A Torrential Downpour

"Hmm... Oh..."

The exchange between the man and the bat was not easily understood by others.

Dong Rui turned to He Lingchuan and said, "It flew over Shizhoutou and saw cooking smoke. Soon, the garrison there will be eating."

"They're eating a big meal already?" Wan Qifeng shook his head. "That's ill-advised."

"Inside Shizhoutou City, both civilians and soldiers have suffered greatly. It's understandable that Yang Meng feels for his troops," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "The balance between not being merciful when commanding troops and loving them like sons is difficult to strike."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Dong Rui asked, puzzled. "How is it ill-advised?"

He knew that Shizhoutou City had long run out of food, and even rats and ants had been hunted down. What was wrong with cooking and eating the grain they had just received?

"Yang Meng is too impatient," He Lingchuan explained. "If their enemy weren't Magistrate Liu, lighting fires and feeding the troops might make the enemy think the city had ample provisions, making the siege hopeless, and they might withdraw. However, Magistrate Liu knows Shizhoutou inside out. He'll only assume Yang Meng and his men have exhausted their supplies and are preparing for a desperate last stand. Therefore, tonight, the area outside the city will definitely be on high alert."

Dong Rui understood. If the enemy was prepared, could it still be called a surprise attack? "That Yang fellow is still too green! But wait, why did you send him grain then?"

"Whether we send grain or not, it won't change tonight's outcome. Let Shizhoutou's troops eat their fill so they have strength for the fight tonight." He Lingchuan smiled slightly at him. "You are the one who will influence the battle."

Dong Rui puffed out his chest, encouraged by his words.

"How much longer until it takes effect?"

"Soon," Dong Rui said, looking up at the horizon where the moon had already risen. "After dark, I suppose."

That evening, Magistrate Liu ordered his entire force to prepare for action.

This order had been given for three or four consecutive days, so much so that some soldiers' first reaction upon hearing it was not to stand at attention, but to yawn—they hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.

A soldier had just tightened his belt when he suddenly doubled over with agonizing stomach pain, coiling up like a shrimp.

Oh no, it was... it was coming on strong!

He immediately ran outside, not bothering with what his comrade was saying to him.

One, two, three, four, five...

After running about ten steps, still far from the latrine, he couldn't hold it anymore. He glanced around, saw a tent nearby, and began fumbling with his belt as he ran.

Damn it, why did I tie it so tight? Now it's impossible to undo!

Before he finished cursing, his rear relaxed, and his crotch felt warm...

His eyes went black:

It was over.

A general happened to step out of a tent and saw him squatting there, instantly enraged. "Are you looking for death?"

No sooner had he spoken than two passing patrolmen suddenly bent over, clutching their stomachs and groaning. One of them vomited directly onto the ground, splashing the general's boots.

Their symptoms were not isolated incidents.

Soon after, Magistrate Liu received an urgent report:

"Sir, this is bad! Over a hundred people in the camp are suddenly suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhea!"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liu immediately sent for army doctors, ordered an inspection of the food and water, and prohibited all eating and drinking within the army.

His measures were undoubtedly correct, but within a mere hour, the number of people in the camp suffering from vomiting and diarrhea still surged, as if the illness could be transmitted through the respiratory tract.

As mentioned earlier, the location of Magistrate Liu's army latrines was inappropriate. Now, with four or five hundred people suffering from diarrhea simultaneously, where would they find the time to queue for the toilets?

Those who could rush outside the camp to squat down were considered quite civic-minded; most people, having just vomited, didn't even have time to unfasten their trousers before suffering a massive bowel movement.

The wind direction had changed again that night. Before long, the entire camp was filled with a sour, putrid stench, so foul that even healthy individuals, like Magistrate Liu, couldn't help but feel nauseous.

He quickly took out some odor-blocking scented beads and fastened them to his waist, finally shielding himself from the horrifying "bio-attack."

Shadows flickered throughout the camp. The careful order Magistrate Liu had meticulously built was now utterly gone.

"Give them medicine, quickly!" Magistrate Liu roared in fury. "It must be that Yang fellow poisoning us! Are the scouts and camp gate guards still capable? If not, replace them immediately! And send more men to keep a close watch on Shizhoutou's movements!"

The orders were given, but whether anyone carried them out was another matter; at least two of his own messengers were missing.

A dozen breaths later, several medical officers finally arrived. "Reporting, Sir, the water is poisoned! Although the camp's water is drawn from a flowing stream and has been boiled, the source of the poison must be connected to the water body, which is why it's a continuous supply..."

He was explaining why they hadn't tested the water for poison beforehand. It was common knowledge that flowing water was not poisonous.

But the terrain here, well...

"What did I just say?" Magistrate Liu had no patience for further explanations. He grabbed the leading medical officer by the collar and roared, "Make an antidote, quickly!"

Yang Meng stood atop the city wall, facing the night wind, gazing at Magistrate Liu's large camp in the distance.

The garrison within Shizhoutou City had long been ready for action.

The message from the Dragonhead Mask said that tonight, as the wind rose, changes would occur outside the city. The hundreds of jin of grain he provided were a strong show of sincerity, so Yang Meng assumed this hint was true and dispatched more scouts after nightfall.

What kind of changes would befall Magistrate Liu's camp tonight?

An archer on the city wall suddenly reported, "Sir, there are figures scurrying in the enemy camp. I've counted two guards on duty outside the camp who have left their posts and run into the bushes... Oh, another one just ran in; that makes three now."

Figures running, going into the bushes?

Was there trouble?

Yang Meng immediately became fully alert.

"What about the men we sent out?"

Unfortunately, they didn't have the assistance of bird demons, otherwise it would be easier to discern the enemy's situation.

As he was burning with anxiety, the garrison's scouts finally slipped back after a quarter of an hour to report:

"A sudden outbreak of malaria has occurred in the enemy camp. From generals to soldiers, everyone is suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, so severely that they don't even have time to run out of the main camp and are defecating on the spot." He had just seen several pale, exposed figures in the outer bushes before even getting close to the enemy camp, accompanied by a look of immense relief on his face.

Yang Meng was overjoyed. "How many people are sick?"

"The chaos in the camp makes it hard to count, but at least several hundred."

What were they waiting for? Yang Meng let out a long laugh. "Brothers, follow me out of the city to kill the enemy!"

Magistrate Liu's army also lacked elemental energy, making them very vulnerable to various epidemics and poisons.

Having had a rare chance to eat their fill that evening, the garrison had both strength and morale. As soon as the city gates opened, they charged towards the opposite hillside with shouts!

The distance between the two sides was sufficient for the garrison to pick up speed, warm up with a run, and simultaneously unleash a volley of flaming arrows.

Magistrate Liu urgently ordered a defense.

However, his hundreds of men were in such a state of debilitating diarrhea that they appeared to be a chaotic multitude. They couldn't even stand up straight. Their original formations were depleted, and even after scrambling to put together two temporary units to meet the attack, people kept dropping out mid-way, clutching their stomachs.

Fighting like this, how could there be any morale? How could there be any bravery?

When the two sides clashed, Liu's army barely resisted for less than a quarter of an hour before collapsing, partly because their leading general was also unwell.

Even if Magistrate Liu could command with brilliant tactics, it would be difficult to reverse the decline.