Ant-like Assault (Seeking Collection!)

War smoke rose abruptly.

Though Da Qing Village had long prepared, the village militia still gasped when they saw the enemy.

People!

Dense crowds of people!

Nearby villagers—men and women, old and young, sick and frail—were all driven forward by the Hu people in an ant-like assault.

The villagers were all from the same area; many knew each other. Seeing relatives and friends holding wooden clubs and stones, faces numb, herded forward, a stir ran through the earthen wall of Da Qing Village.

"These Hu people are truly insane!"

Wang Qiao and his son Wang Yin watched with eyes wide with fury, cursing loudly, while casting glances of reluctant admiration toward Wu Ming.

"Anyone who tries to charge up, kill them all! Remember, you're not just fighting for yourselves—you're fighting for your parents, your wives, your children..."

Wu Ming, accompanied by Qin Hu and a few fierce and malevolent young men, had taken on the role of the Supervisory Team.

Earlier, he had plainly told the Village Chief that the Hu might drive the surrounding villagers forward in an ant-like assault, and suggested strict control over the entire village: gather the elderly, women, and children together, conscript all able-bodied men into the militia, and establish a Supervisory Team to suppress any unrest.

Because Wang Qiao had yielded the position, this thankless, resentment-breeding role naturally fell to Wu Ming.

"No... Uncle!"

"Er Niu..."

"It's me, Little Stone..."

Urged on by the Hu, over a hundred nearly unarmed villagers shuffled forward. Both attackers and defenders wept openly.

"Loose arrows!"

Wu Ming's face was cold. Suddenly he shouted: "If the village falls, do you think any of us will survive?"

"Loose!"

A sparse volley of arrows rained down from the earthen wall. Screams erupted below; many scattered and fled.

"Kill!"

With the sound of hooves, dozens of Hu cavalry finally appeared before Wu Ming.

The Hu wore leather jackets, carried quivers on their backs, and rode at a gallop, longbows and curved sabers at their sides.

Seeing the refugees flee, the leading Hu shouted, drew his bow and nocked an arrow from horseback, pulled the longbow to a full moon, and suddenly released.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bone arrows flew crosswise; the fleeing were shot dead on the spot.

The rest were herded back together, readying for the next wave.

"Haha... kill! Kill! None of the dead are our grassland people anyway. The more others die, the better..."

Amid the Hu's wild laughter, several columns of war smoke rose in the distance—a few riders, then a dozen Hu cavalry, bringing wave after wave of captives.

The Hu shouted, laughed, and even casually tortured men and abused women, without the slightest concern.

"Animals!"

Such scenes made Wang Qiao gnash his teeth.

As the second wave of villagers, driven like ants, began their assault, both those on the wall and below had tears in their eyes, choked with silent sobs.

"I... I can't. My third uncle is still down there!"

A half-grown kid held a stone in hand but couldn't bring himself to throw it, crying out.

Slap!

A whip lashed hard, leaving a bloody welt across his back.

Wu Ming's hysterical roar came: "What are you standing there for? Throw it!"

The youth's hand trembled, and the stone fell.

The surrounding villagers gritted their teeth and killed without mercy. At the same time, many resentful gazes fixed on Wu Ming.

"See that? Now you know why your father didn't want you doing this?"

Wang Qiao whispered to Wang Yin: "Otherwise... we'd be the ones in the crossfire right now."

Wu Ming knew well that he had sown deep trouble.

But he only needed to hold out for seven days, then he could leave. So he faced it all without fear.

This wave of assault lasted until nightfall. Corpses littered the ground around Da Qing Village—a gruesome sight.

Even the village's stored arrows, logs, and bricks had been heavily depleted. More harrowing was the toll on the militia's stamina and morale.

The bright moon hung in the sky, but faint weeping echoed from within the village.

"Young Master Wuming, this concubine has brought you a meal."

On the earthen wall, Wu Ming was intently observing the surroundings. Seeing that Huang Ying, a mere woman, dared to come to this Shura Field, he was somewhat taken aback.

"This concubine... thought that Young Master Wuming hadn't eaten or drunk all day, so I came specially..."

Huang Ying's face flushed slightly as she raised the food box in her hand.

"Thank you..."

Inside the food box were a few steamed buns, some dried meat, and a flask of wine. Wu Ming didn't stand on ceremony; he took them out at once and wolfed them down.

Huang Ying, on the contrary, had mustered her courage to come up earlier. Now, standing atop the city wall and seeing the corpses strewn about below, she couldn't help feeling dizzy, and her eyes reddened slightly: "These people are so pitiful!"

"The mortal world is like a dream, and we too are perhaps still within that dream..."

Wu Ming, having eaten his fill, suddenly spoke.

"Then this concubine hopes this nightmare can wake up soon!"

Huang Ying suddenly asked: "Does Young Master Wuming have a way to save these innocent people outside?"

"My strength falls short; what can be done?"

Wu Ming shook his head: "I know Miss Huang Ying may be very sad right now, but please remember one thing: even with a kind heart, you must only do what you are capable of. Otherwise, you will only bring disaster upon yourself and those around you..."

Huang Ying seemed lost in thought as she said: "Is that like yesterday, when you saved this concubine?"

"Exactly!"

Wu Ming paused, then said: "Yesterday, I was confident I could save you, so I naturally acted chivalrously. Just like today, if I could fight a hundred alone, or even ride out single-handedly to slay the Shaman Witch, I would have done that good deed long ago. But unfortunately, my strength doesn't reach that far—what can be done?"

"This concubine understands..."

Huang Ying curtsied to Wu Ming, then suddenly said: "Today, the Hu cavalry suffered no losses at all, while our morale has taken a heavy blow. In this concubine's view, we probably can't hold out for more than three days..."

"And... that Brother Qin Hu seems to have his own plans..."

"Let him be..."

Wu Ming was silent for a moment, then said: "Has Miss Huang Ying ever thought about what our Main Quest is? And why the word 'choice' is so emphasized?"

"Could it be..."

Huang Ying gasped.

"That's right. Our mission is merely to survive—that's all!"

A faint smile curled at the corner of Wu Ming's mouth: "It seems the Hu won't launch another night raid. I wonder if Miss Huang could find Qin Hu to relieve me, and also help me with one more favor?"

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Hu cavalry kept driving every villager they could find in the vicinity forward, launching ant-like assaults on the walls, consuming the defenders' stamina in wave after wave.

By the time all the nearby people had died, nearly a thousand corpses lay beneath Da Qing Village, and the dozens of surrounding villages had become empty.

Compared to this, Da Qing Village's original moats, obstacles, and even stored weapons were mostly depleted. The Village Militia had also suffered casualties. More critically, the blow to morale was devastating.

Now, the true test was only beginning.

"Loose arrows!"

Arrows flew like rain!

Once the refugees were all dead, the Hu cavalry, no matter how unwilling, had to take the field themselves.

Wave after wave of arrows fell upon the earthen wall's top, only to be blocked by wooden shields. Dozens of Knights dismounted and charged forward, climbing up.

"Kill!"

At this moment, Wu Ming, Qin Hu, and a few Village Militia Leaders, clad in leather armor and wielding Hundred Refinements Steel Sabers, led the other militiamen fighting on the front line.

Only these Body Refinement Realm experts of the third or fourth tier could barely rely on the terrain to hold off the Hu Tulu Warriors' attacks.

"Watch the blade!"

Wu Ming's expression was resolute. Facing a Hu warrior's charging slash, he didn't flinch. He braced his shoulder and met the blade head-on. The blow left a deep gash in his leather armor, and the pain cut to the bone, but the steel saber in his hand shot out like a venomous dragon from its lair, running the Hu Squad Leader in front of him clean through.

The Hu were impoverished; some even used bone arrowheads, so they naturally had few good suits of armor.

Wu Ming, however, was wearing Da Qing Village's finest hidden stock—the blood and treasure Old Man Wang Qiao had painstakingly accumulated over the years. With the added advantage of high ground, he held a clear edge.

[Killed one Tulu Warrior, gained 100 minor merits!]

The Main God Hall's prompt echoed faintly in his ears, but Wu Ming couldn't be bothered to pay it any mind.

If he couldn't survive, what use was hoarding merits?

"Everyone, clear out! Watch me!"

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out. Wu Ming looked over and saw Wang Yin advancing in full gear, wielding an Eighteen-foot Serpent Spear and wearing a suit of iron armor. He swept through the Hu like a God descending to earth, and Wu Ming's heart skipped a beat.

This suit of iron armor was the true hidden treasure of Wang Qiao's armory!

In ancient times, iron was costly, and this kind of full-body armor consumed terrifying amounts of material, requiring even more astonishing craftsmanship.

To say one suit of armor was worth half of Da Qing Village might be an exaggeration, but it was more than enough to match half of it.

With Wang Yin's True Qi Realm cultivation and the iron armor, he was practically a human-shaped killing machine!

Slaying gods when gods stood in his way, slaughtering Buddhas when Buddhas blocked his path, the Hu finally abandoned several corpses and retreated like a receding tide. The militiamen on the wall burst into cheers, worshipping Wang Yin as a hero.

"Look!"

But then, a startled cry shattered the mood.

A Village Militia pointed not far away, his face full of shock.

"Huh?"

Wu Ming squinted his eyes and saw that among the Hu people's ranks, a suspicious figure had suddenly appeared—one wearing a mask, with a red drum hanging at his waist.

"Wolf God Heaven grants us strength!"

That Hu man in the Antler Mask roared, slapping the Dharma Drum at his side.

Thump! Thump!

The low drumbeats struck at everyone's heart, making Wu Ming's chest feel slightly tight. But the Hu people cheered loudly, their wounds beginning to stop bleeding. Some lightly injured ones even tore off a bloodied scab, revealing fresh, tender skin beneath—healed without medicine!

"Damn. Mass minor healing?"

Wu Ming silently cursed, mentally naming the enemy's skill. Wang Qiao, however, screamed as if someone had choked his neck: "It's a Shaman Witch! A Hu Shaman Witch... what sins have we committed, to run into this?"

"Charge! The children of Wolf God Heaven never fear!"

The Shaman Witch's dull Pupils shifted. He took the Dharma Drum in hand and beat it continuously, a faint ring of blood-red light emerging and spreading outward.

The Hu people bathed in the light shouted, brimming with energy and morale as they charged. In contrast, the men on the earthen wall were terrified, their spirits sinking to the lowest point.