Chapter 95: Sun County Governor's Special Contribution

He Lingchuan felt a pang of regret; he hadn't practiced at all, and this shot was exceptionally accurate.

He had already crossed the second line of carriages and was hiding behind one, firing these arrows from only about ten steps away from Meng Shan.

Of course, those were Meng Shan's steps.

For his next arrow, he aimed for Meng Shan's knee, precisely where Commander Xiao had struck him earlier.

Unfortunately, his aim was off this time; the crossbow bolt hit the thick armor, failing to even pierce a single plate.

He decided to fire another arrow.

It still didn't even scratch him.

But Meng Shan was successfully enraged.

More importantly, he remembered that his primary duty was to breach the formation. Commander Xiao was too difficult to kill, so he should focus on completing his objective first.

Seizing the moment while Commander Xiao was forced back, Meng Shan spun around and charged toward the second line of carriages.

Mud and water splashed everywhere. He Lingchuan even felt the carriage he was prone on tremble.

"Get out of the way!" the squad leader nearby urgently ordered.

Everyone scattered.

With a sharp crack, the carriage toppled, and its contents spilled out.

With a furious roar, Meng Shan actually lifted the carriage high over his head and hurled it into the river!

At that moment, a green light pulsed powerfully around him.

"Holy cow!" Seeing this, He Lingchuan turned and ran, but didn't forget to fire his last arrow over his shoulder as he fled.

His timing was particularly devious: he fired precisely when Meng Shan's hands were occupied throwing the carriage.

Other Great Wind soldiers shared his idea, and arrows rained down immediately.

Meng Shan immediately ducked.

Already red-faced and thick-necked, he resembled a turtle retreating into its shell, and most of the arrows harmlessly struck his heavy armor.

However, two arrows found their mark: one in his neck and one near his eye.

Yet Meng Shan didn't fall. He executed a powerful leap, immediately followed by a ground-shattering shield bash.

Another group of Great Wind soldiers collapsed.

"Stop jumping," He Lingchuan muttered, his heart pounding. "This guy isn't a frog; why is he so bouncy?"

A few more leaps, and he'd be past the trap!

Fortunately, this move didn't seem to be something he could use at will. Meng Shan resumed striding forward, preparing for a charge.

Getting hit by him meant a grim fate; He Lingchuan was living proof of that.

However, he had only taken three steps when a sharp metallic snap suddenly echoed from the ground: "CRACK!"

Meng Shan felt an agonizing vice clamp his leg, the pain searing him. He couldn't stand and immediately tumbled forward.

As he landed with a roar of pain, the ground itself shook, as if buckling under his weight.

"He's hit! He's hit!" The soldiers cheered joyfully, and He Lingchuan let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Governor Sun."

Meng Shan looked down to see his calf clamped firmly in a giant bear trap.

He racked his brain but couldn't fathom how such a device could appear on a battlefield.

These were actually part of Governor Sun's personal supplies: four bear traps, each over three feet in diameter, originally meant for hunting massive bears. Such bears could weigh over twelve hundred pounds, with thick hides and immense strength, so the traps designed for them were the largest and most powerful.

The Great Wind army had specifically buried them two *zhang* behind the second carriage line, covering them with a thin layer of mud and leaves, and marking them with a discreet grass signal only their own soldiers would recognize. In the dim light of the battlefield, it was almost impossible not to step into one.

This was He Lingchuan's cunning tactic.

As powerful as Meng Shan was, he was still human. The trap instantly shattered his leg bone.

Encased in nearly two hundred *jin* of heavy armor, he couldn't stand. He could only writhe on the ground, howling in agony, his cries echoing across the battlefield.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan finally felt a great sense of relief.

"Fill the gap!" the squad leader ordered, directing his men to reposition carriages and close the breach in their defensive line. Any sporadic enemy charges during this time were swiftly dealt with.

Meng Shan clearly held significant prestige among the Baling army. His collapse and pained cries instantly shattered a large portion of their morale.

The Great Wind army's opponents immediately weakened.

Already stronger than individual opponents due to the Ancestral Tablet's enhancement, the Great Wind soldiers now found the disparity even greater, making it easier to dispatch their foes.

The battle line slowly shifted back, even pushing the enemy back towards their first carriage line.

If this breach could be sealed, all of the Baling army's previous efforts would be for naught.

Just then, an archer on the riverbank suddenly pointed and yelled, "Enemy reinforcements! They've arrived!"

No sooner had he spoken than the Baling army's rear sounded a horn, signaling an attack.

Commander Xiao dispatched an opponent with his spear, then called out, "How many enemy forces are there?"

"Eight hundred! No, at least a thousand!"

The enemy's reinforcements had arrived first. Commander Xiao's face was grim. He gestured for the soldiers in the rear to emerge from cover and clear out the enemies within the first carriage line first.

The carriages here were nearly destroyed and needed to be repositioned.

Trying to work under enemy fire was an incredibly difficult task.

He Lingchuan, being injured, remained behind the second carriage line and asked another wounded soldier, "Why aren't they releasing the Bewitching Heartworms to help us?"

Bewitching Heartworms, or "Three-Corpse Worms" as everyone called them.

"Huh? What did you say?" The wounded soldier squinted at him. "What are those? Never heard of them."

*Hmm, do these Great Wind soldiers not even know about the Three-Corpse Worms?* He Lingchuan had no way to explain and could only give a dry chuckle. "Nothing, nothing, I must have been mistaken." But he wondered privately if Commander Zhong and General Hong were treating the Three-Corpse Worms as such a secret weapon that even their own soldiers weren't aware of them.

So, in the end, they would have to rely on themselves.

The Great Wind army had barely finished deploying their defenses when the enemy tide surged forward.

***

Less than half an hour later.

The riverside slope was thoroughly stained with blood; barely an inch of muddy ground had escaped untouched.

Of the three lines of carriage defenses, the first two had been completely destroyed, leaving only the last one stubbornly intact.

He Lingchuan and the others had all retreated behind the third defensive line. This was the Great Wind army's final stand, their very survival depending on it, which fueled the exceptionally fierce attacks and defenses from both sides.

The enemy had also cleared out the archers on the riverbank, turning it into their own strategic high ground.

Arrows raining down from above severely disrupted the Great Wind army.

Such an isolated and hopeless situation was truly despair-inducing.

One man, his lips cracked and his face numb with exhaustion, mumbled, "Where are the reinforcements? Where are *our* reinforcements?"

The enemy's reinforcements had arrived, but theirs were still nowhere to be seen.

Commander Xiao, too, was heavily wounded, with a fresh graze near his eye that exposed raw flesh. It was from a stray arrow shot from above the riverbed, which had nearly cost him an eye.

"They will come," he said coldly. "Hold your sword tight, and if you ask one more question..."

He didn't finish his sentence because a broken spear, hurled from behind the carriage, struck the man directly in the chest—

The man never had a chance to speak again.

Hu Min raised his hand and fired an arrow back, also through the carriage, avenging the man.

Hu Min was too close to the carriage. He Lingchuan picked him up from the ground, moved a few steps, and leaned him against a stone.

Hu Min nodded to him. "Thank you," he said. "I'll remember you."

He Lingchuan smiled back, but knew that would be impossible.