That night, Lu Ye and Wang Hu spent the time in fear and trepidation. Being in the bandit camp, they had no idea how the others would deal with them.
The guards at the entrance completely ignored the two prisoners, occupied only with chatting among themselves.
One guard spoke with great excitement about which village they had breached in the past few days, seizing plenty of grain and several big fat pigs. He said if they could just get a pig's tail to taste, it would be wonderful...
The other guard drooled, saying he heard the landlord's wife and Miss had skin as white and tender as could be, and touching them felt even smoother than pork belly...
They also mentioned that recently, envoys from several other bandit leaders had been coming and going, saying that perhaps if they joined forces, they would attack the County Town. The County Town had plenty of grain and many beautiful women...
Then the two sighed, saying it was a pity the Old Great King was gone. Otherwise, relying on the Old Great King's charisma, they could have easily gathered several groups of Men and Horses, and breaching the County Town would not have been difficult. Everyone would not be trapped in this broken mountain hollow.
Lu Ye listened intently from inside the woodshed.
He roughly understood that this Old Great King had died, and the new Leader's strength was not as great as before; they had not yet developed to the point of relying on raw strength to attack cities and breach camps, or to stir up the world.
It was just unclear why this group of bandits was considered such major bandits and fearsome outlaws in the ears of the Government authorities.
The two soldiers at the door had limited Information, repeating the same things about white buns and white-skinned women.
There was nothing new, and after hearing it so much, it became annoying.
The two could only sit cross-legged in the woodshed, waiting in vain. As it turned out, they waited for neither Commander Du nor that "Female knight-errant" Miss.
The bandits paid no attention to the two, and no one brought them water or food; it seemed they had been forgotten!
Fortunately, Lu Ye and Wang Hu were used to hunger and had hidden a few meat patties on their persons.
Hungry, the two first took out one meat patty to share.
Wang Hu: "Eldest brother, Commander Du wouldn't go back on his word and have us both killed as sacrificial servants, would he?"
Lu Ye lacked confidence, so the two shared another meat patty.
Wang Hu: "Eldest brother, if we brothers are really going to die tomorrow, can't we at least die with full stomachs?"
So, the two simply ate the remaining meat patties and then laid their heads down to sleep.
The next day, the sound of horns blared in the camp, and they could hear a noisy sound outside.
The door of the woodshed was opened, and the guards entered and roughly dragged the two out.
They saw that "Female knight-errant" Miss riding a horse outside, surrounded by several burly, fierce-looking older women protecting her.
One of the women threw two broken wooden shields onto the ground.
The "Female knight-errant" Miss said coldly.
"Pick them up. If you want to join my camp, you must perform a meritorious deed!"
"Aren't you looking to submit a Letter of Submission? Today I will give you the chance."
After saying this, the Miss actually turned her horse around and left with the older women.
Lu Ye and Wang Hu picked up the shields in a daze and were pushed forward by the guards.
They saw a crowd in the Open Ground of the camp, numbering several hundred, all of them Male Adults in ragged clothes and thin as skeletons.
The guards pushed Lu Ye and Wang Hu into the crowd. Lu Ye looked around and discovered that some had a crimson red complexion and excited expressions, while others had trembling lips and shaking legs.
There were a dozen armored Cavalry, leading a hundred infantry holding broken Saber and Shield to maintain order.
Another dozen infantry entered the crowd holding a pile of wooden sticks, distributing one to each person.
Lu Ye weighed the wooden stick in his hand; it was crooked, and the head had been crudely sharpened, far worse than the wooden sticks he had carefully sharpened before.
Everyone around had a "wooden spear" in hand and wore cloth clothes. By comparison, he and Wang Hu were better off having an extra broken shield.
There were also many empty Sacks and long ladders placed on the Open Ground.
A horn sounded.
The crowd shouldered the long ladders and took the Sacks, setting off with the Cavalry Team. They left the mountain and wandered for an unknown amount of time, stopping once on the road to rest, where each person was given a piece of coarse grain bun to replenish their strength.
Then someone commanded them to fill the Sacks with soil and carry them on their backs as they moved forward.
Fortunately, Lu Ye and Wang Hu were holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, so they were not assigned this bitter task.
After walking a short distance forward and turning a corner, a village appeared in front of them.
This village was surrounded by an Earthen wall, with trenches dug in the ground. Villagers were keeping watch on the Earthen wall. Seeing the large group of Refugees surrounding them, they immediately began beating gongs and drums. Inside the village, it was chaotic, with a heart-rending crying sound.
A bandit with the appearance of a Leader rode his horse in front of the crowd and shouted loudly.
"You are all servants who want to become infantry! You are all husbands who want to fill your stomachs!"
"By the order of King Chuang, as long as you survive three battles, you can be promoted from servant to infantry!"
"Either breach this village, or die!"
"Anyone who dares to retreat, kill kill kill!"
"Now, charge for me!"
The sound of horns rang out.
A huge shout erupted from the crowd. Lu Ye and Wang Hu were moved involuntarily, surrounded by the crowd as they charged forward.
He only now understood why that Miss had given him and Wang Hu two broken shields. On the Battlefield, relying on these shields meant having one more life than others!
The chaotic crowd charged forward without any formation.
A gong sounded on the Earthen wall of the village opposite, and immediately a dozen Arrows were shot out sporadically.
As Lu Ye was running, he saw the refugee in front of him suddenly let out a scream, get hit in the head by an arrow, and fall to the ground dead.
He hastily raised his shield over his head.
Wang Hu leaned over, panting heavily.
"Eldest brother, stay behind me."
He took a few steps forward, blocked in front of Lu Ye, and raised his wooden stick, ready to charge.
Who would have known that when the crowd saw their Companion shot dead by arrows from the village, they suddenly panicked. Like seawater receding, they all turned their buttocks and fled.
Wang Hu didn't react in time and charged forward a few more steps, only to find there was no one around him.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
His wooden shield was immediately struck by several arrows.
Lu Ye hastily pulled him back to retreat—everyone else had run away, so wouldn't it be a waste for the two of them to charge up?
In the rear, facing the crowd that had fled and retreated.
The bandit Cavalry and infantry immediately swung their blades and shot arrows, slaying the fleeing people who were running at the front!
The Leader's eyes were crimson red as he swung his blade and roared.
"Anyone who dares to retreat will die!"
"Charge for me!"
He spurred his horse, leading the Cavalry to charge forward. The infantry followed with shouts, and upon reaching the crowd, they began hacking and slashing without a word.
The crowd was terrified and could only turn around and charge again.
Lu Ye pulled Wang Hu, and the two ran in the middle of the crowd, neither at the front nor at the back.
This time, the village shot out even more Arrows, but it could not stop the surging crowd.
Many people in front were carrying Sacks. When they reached the trench dug in front of the village, they immediately threw the Sacks in and hurriedly tried to turn and retreat.
But the crowd was squeezed into a mass with no formation at all. The refugees behind pushed against each other, and these refugees who had just thrown down their Sacks were directly squeezed into the trench.
The trench the village dug was not deep, but it was filled with sharp Wooden Stakes. Many refugees who fell in were penetrated by them, letting out screams.
With Cavalry and infantry suppressing them, the crowd kept surging forward. People were constantly squeezed into the trench, and dozens disappeared from the ground instantly; their bodies and the Sacks together leveled the trench.
Lu Ye followed the flow of people across the trench. At one point, he seemed to step on several people's heads, and there were people underfoot letting out heart-rending screams, but he couldn't care about that.
He followed Wang Hu closely, crossed the trench, and saw the Earthen wall of the village was only about a zhang high.
The refugees set up the ladders.
Many people roared and charged up, clutching their wooden sticks.
Behind the Earthen wall appeared many of the village's able-bodied men. Knowing the consequences of the village being breached, they swung the blades and swords in their hands, or even farm tools like rakes and forks.
A man who looked like a landlord and gentry also stood on the Earthen wall, waving a Long Sword to boost morale.
Puff, puff, puff, puff!
Blood bloomed. The first wave of refugees who climbed the long ladders and reached the Earthen wall fell to the ground screaming.
However, the second wave of refugees charged up again.
After a few rounds of pulling and tugging, a layer of human meat—some alive, some dead—was soon spread out at the base of the long ladders. Besides the refugees, there were also a few unlucky villagers who had been killed or dragged off the Earthen wall.
Lu Ye and Wang Hu were swept along by the crowd until they reached the base of the long ladder.
Wang Hu let out a roar, stepped on the ladder, and charged up. Lu Ye followed Wang Hu, his eyes crimson red.
He tilted his head; Wang Hu's shriveled buttocks occupied most of his Line of Sight, while the remaining small portion was filled with the villagers shouting and battling on the Earthen wall. The tools in their hands flashed with a deadly cold glint, which was particularly piercing.
Thump!
Wang Hu, who was battling in front, suddenly let out a cry of pain.
His body fell straight down.
Lu Ye only had time to use the shield in his hand to push and cushion the fall, preventing Wang Hu from falling head-first.
Wang Hu's body fell before his eyes in an instant. He was almost knocked off as well, and the shield in his hand fell with him.
By the time Lu Ye managed to steady himself on the ladder, his Line of Sight had suddenly become clear.
He didn't know when it had happened, but he had been pushed to the very front line.
Time seemed to have frozen.
On the Earthen wall, the villagers had ferocious expressions, their facial features twisted, as they held sticks, rakes, and forks, striking at every vital point of Lu Ye's body.
Lu Ye felt as if the malice of the entire world was upon him; everyone in front of him wanted to kill him.
And his good brother Wang Hu, who had supported him all the way, had fallen below, fate unknown.
He blinked, and everything before his eyes was covered in a hazy blood red.
Immediately, a roar of unwillingness erupted from his chest cavity.
"I want to live..."
Lu Ye used all his strength to thrust the wooden stick in his hand upward...
✦✦✦