These were fire arrows. Ten thousand troops were naturally not enough to confront the vast Shang Army led by King Zhou head-on, but raiding the camp, harassing the enemy, destroying provisions and weapons, then retreating unscathed amid the confusion was still quite simple.
The Zhou Army's archers lit their torches, then nocked their arrows and drew their bows. A mass of fire arrows whistled toward the tents in the Shang Army's camp.
Before long, flames lit up the camp. The first few tents struck by the fire arrows were already burning fiercely.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Put out the fire!"
The shouts of Shang soldiers soon rang out. Figures swarmed through the camp as countless men rushed back and forth to fight the flames.
The Shang Army reacted much faster than expected. The attackers had thought the fire would inflict heavy losses while the enemy slept, but instead, the Shang soldiers responded immediately.
Lei Zhenzi, however, did not dwell on such minor details. Abandoning all concealment, he took the Golden Cudgel in hand and shouted, "Follow me! Charge in while they're in chaos!"
The Shang camp was now in utter confusion, and King Zhou was somewhere inside. Even if Lei Zhenzi could not readily kill him, capturing him alive would still make the raid worthwhile. Naturally, Lei Zhenzi intended to strike amid the turmoil.
"Kill!"
"Charge in! Capture the immoral tyrant alive!"
At Lei Zhenzi's command, the Zhou soldiers surged forward. With the flames raging and the Shang soldiers caught off guard, they attacked the central camp.
Although the Shang Army had begun fighting the fire immediately, the flames had claimed all their attention. They had not anticipated troops charging into the central camp and failed to organize an effective defense, allowing Lei Zhenzi's soldiers to reach its vicinity with ease.
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