Shaman Witch (Seeking Recommendations!)

The Will of Heaven is unfathomable!

Listening to the screams around him, and Xiao Yu lying dead before him, Wu Ming clenched his teeth.

In a chaotic world, even men are worse than dogs.

Beneath the survival mission of the Main God Hall, how could he afford to slack off?

If that arrow had been aimed just a little differently earlier, he might have been the one dead.

"Kill all the Han people!"

The hoofbeats drew closer. The Hu people were unmatched in mounted archery. Though only ten riders now, their arrows fell like rain, suppressing the entire walltop. With no one daring to raise their heads, the Hu charged right up to the earthen barricade.

One Hu, looking like a Squad Leader, bellowed and leaped from his horse. Using hands and feet like an agile great ape, he scrambled up the wall in a few moves. His eagle-beaked, deep-eyed face twisted into a sinister grin.

In the flickering, uncertain firelight, the painted totems on his face warped and writhed, the dark green Runes seeming to hunger for flesh.

Shwish!

A crescent-shaped arc of cyan light appeared in his hand. Where the curved blade passed, the heads of several Village Militia flew off. The scene was brutally bloody, making even the surrounding militiamen's legs go weak.

'If we hadn't gotten word and prepared, a village like this would've fallen in one charge...'

Wu Ming sighed at the sight. Seeing more Hu swarming up, he shot a glance at the still-dazed Qin Hu and the others. "Let's go!"

At this moment of crisis, if he didn't show his worth, when would he? Not to mention, if Da Qing Village was truly breached and the Hu massacred everyone, surviving seven days would become a joke.

"The Hu want to open the gate—don't let them succeed!"

Wu Ming thought this and acted on it. He locked onto a Hu who had just climbed up, shouted, and tangled with him.

Thud!

The Hu he faced was a burly man with a bushy beard. Without a second glance, he swung his curved blade in a single strike—angled oddly, fierce and ruthless, yet utterly concise and efficient.

Wu Ming took a deep breath, dropped his whole body low to dodge the slash, and traded a punch with the Hu.

As their force clashed, the bearded Hu's expression shifted. Gripping his curved blade, he followed up with three rapid slashes—swish, swish, swish—each one vicious and military in style.

"Strong strength—at least a Body Refinement Realm triple, Muscles and Bones unison expert!"

Martial arts began with Heart Settling, then the tempering of Skin and Flesh, then Muscles and Bones. The next level was the Inner Strength Realm, forging the five viscera and six bowels.

Wu Ming was now a Body Refinement Realm quadruple, an Inner Strength Realm expert. Not only his Muscles and Bones, but even his internal organs were tempered. Yet even so, he dared not let his flesh meet the enemy's curved blade.

His face was grim. His feet moved like the wind, dodging two slashes swiftly. He exhaled deeply again, his abdomen sinking inward, barely evading the third slash aimed at splitting his chest.

This breath was terrifyingly long. Wu Ming even felt his strong lungs strain under the strain, a burning sensation rising. He punched out without reserve.

Bam!

The fist, carrying unrestrained force, struck the cavalryman's head, smashing him off the wall.

[Killed one Hu cavalryman. Obtained 50 minor merits!]

Almost the moment the cavalryman tumbled down, Wu Ming heard the mechanical voice of the Main God Hall in his mind.

"Ah!"

A cry of alarm came then. Huang Ying and Kang Shou Li were in trouble.

A Hu charged up with a sinister grin. Kang Shou Li, at Body Refinement Realm double, saw the ferocious Hu, his courage drained, and stood frozen. He was beheaded in one stroke, drawing a sharp scream from Huang Ying.

Among the Village Militia, Wang Yin's face was like still water as he tangled with the earlier Squad Leader, Tulu Warrior, exchanging blows with thudding sounds. The rest of the group had completely lost their nerve, huddling around Wang Qiao off to one side, making Wu Ming want to curse.

He glanced at Qin Hu. That kid's face was like still water, wielding a steel saber he'd gotten from somewhere, locked in a fierce fight with a Hu. Wu Ming sighed inwardly, took a few quick steps, and came up behind the Hu facing Huang Ying, throwing a punch.

But the Hu was ready. He spun and slashed, a blade of light descending.

The hollow, powerless feeling told Wu Ming the strike missed. A flicker of surprise crossed the Hu's face, then Wu Ming grabbed him by the scruff, lifted him, released and tightened his force in an instant, and slammed him down.

Boom!

In the loud noise, the Hu met the wall in a close embrace. His neck bent at a grotesque angle, his head half-caved in. He was clearly dead.

"Th... Thank you, Young Master Wuming, for saving me!"

Such a violent scene left Huang Ying stunned for a long moment before she stammered.

"No trouble... just what I could do..."

Wu Ming said casually, then saw Old Man Wang Qiao shouting orders. Two rows of Village Militia parted, revealing several objects. His eye twitched, and he nearly cursed aloud.

"Daring to set your sights on Da Qing Village? Let's go!"

At Old Man Wang Qiao's angry roar, several Village Militia in Leather armor, holding finely made Hundred Refinements Steel Sabers, charged forward. They moved with fierce authority, at least Body Refinement Realm double or triple martial artists.

Another squad was even more brutal. They pulled out over a dozen longbows and took aim, and among them was even a Crossbow!

"Bow and Crossbow? Armor? In any dynasty, private possession of these is rebellion, isn't it?"

Seeing such big weapons appear, even Wu Ming broke out in a cold sweat.

He knew clearly that this world's high-end martial power was astonishing, and even its conventional force far surpassed the ancient times of his past life.

Sure enough, at the sight of this setup, the lead Hu, Tulu Warrior, changed expression. He shouted a few words, stopped tangling with Wang Yin, and quickly leaped down from the wall.

The surviving Hu people fell back, and soon arrows flew again from the darkness.

"Trying to leave? Ask me first!"

Wang Yin, now bloodshot with killing fury, suddenly snatched a crossbow and, by the light of the flames, pulled the trigger toward the base of the wall.

Buzz!

The bowstring snapped like thunder! The powerful mechanism recoiled with a force that rumbled like a thunderclap from flat ground, making Wu Ming's ears ring.

Thud!

That Tulu Warrior had just landed on his horse when the long arrow followed. The immense kinetic energy not only pierced straight through his chest but also buried itself deep into the horse's back.

One arrow, two kills!

Seeing their leader fall, the trembling Hu lost all courage. Qin Hu seized the opportunity and cut his opponent's neck clean through with a single stroke, a faint smile flickering across his face.

Curses rose from the Hu below, along with a few more arrows.

The village militia atop the earthen wall, their courage rekindled, shouted back and fired wildly into the darkness. The clamor dragged on for a long while before gradually settling into silence.

At dawn, Da Qing Village was shrouded in grief and solemnity.

Inside the ancestral hall, the villagers gathered around the coffins, eyes red. Women and children wept without cease.

Wu Ming, Qin Hu, and Huang Ying had laid out the bodies of Kang Shou Li and Xiao Yu. Their own hearts felt as though heavy stones were pressing down on them.

"Thank you all for your help last night!"

Wang Qiao, his arm now bandaged, came to greet Wu Ming and the others. "Rest assured, Young Master. We will see to it that your companions' coffins are properly cared for..."

There was no denying it—Wu Ming and Qin Hu's explosive performance the night before had left a deep impression on Old Man Wang Qiao.

After all, two warriors at the third or fourth level of the Body Refinement Realm were absolute experts in Da Qing Village. Aside from Wang Yin, no one here could match them.

"Thank you for your kindness, Village Chief!"

Wu Ming's eyes were slightly red. "But the Hu are ruthless. They won't let this go... We must prepare early."

He knew well enough. Against ordinary Hu cavalry, he might not fear close combat. But if they tried to play horse archers on the open plains, it would be a slaughter.

Even in hand-to-hand fighting, a single Tulu Warrior was enough to give him a headache.

Under the circumstances, sticking with Da Qing Village's forces was the only way to have any real chance of survival.

"Do you think I don't know that last night's raid was just a vanguard? The Hu never send fewer than a hundred men when they make a move..."

Old Man Wang smiled bitterly, hesitating as if he wanted to say more.

Wu Ming knew exactly what he was driving at and said directly, "I could write a letter asking for help. But right now, there are bound to be Hu scouts around Da Qing Village. I'm afraid..."

These words made Wang Qiao's heart sink. He floundered, at a loss. "Then what can we do? What can we do..."

To be fair, the man had some cunning, but he had grown soft in peacetime. Faced with the brutal reality of war, this reaction was already decent.

Still, no matter what he thought, Wu Ming wasn't about to promise anything.

After all, if he could actually summon reinforcements, that would be a miracle.

But times had changed. Even if Old Man Wang Qiao sensed something was off, could he really afford to push away their only able-bodied fighters?

Besides, the man probably wouldn't dare speak the truth outright and snuff out the last hope of the entire village.

A drowning man will clutch even at a straw.

Maybe, deep down, Wang Qiao was still desperately deceiving himself.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Wu Ming's mouth as he said, "I know well how savage and inhuman the Hu can be. There are some measures we simply cannot afford to overlook..."

Not far from Da Qing Village.

Inside a makeshift camp.

Several dozen Hu stood in solemn silence, gathered before a Shaman Witch wearing a deer-antler mask, a robe of black and white, and a blood-red ritual drum hanging at her waist.

Before her knelt several bound, dejected Hu prisoners—clearly the cavalrymen who had attacked Da Qing Village the night before.

"The Wolf God's blessing watches over us!"

The Shaman Witch spoke. "By the laws of the steppe... your Squad Leader died in battle. Your entire squad must be buried with him!"

Her eyes behind the deer-antler mask seemed utterly devoid of emotion, but the prisoners trembled uncontrollably.

"Go now. Your lives will be inherited by us. We will wash that place of shame in blood!"

The Shaman Witch stepped forward, grabbed one kneeling prisoner by the hair, and produced a golden dagger in her right hand. She slashed it across his throat.

The artery severed, blood gushed out in thick streams. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the blood-red drum at her waist seemed to grow even more vivid...

"Aligu! Go. Erase that village from the earth."

The Shaman Witch's voice carried an eerie tone. Her gaze shifted to the camp's surroundings, where sacks of grain were piled high—along with large numbers of innocent Han captives.