Wu Shuangren didn't press the matter, but simply said to Fan Yu, "General Fan, let's set off now."
Fan Yu: "Okay."
It's less than five li from the garrison to Mist Hidden Mountain.
The large group marched towards Mist Hidden Mountain. After walking for a quarter of an hour, the terrain ahead gradually opened up, and large rice paddies spread out in the dim light of the day, with frogs croaking in the paddies.
Several villages are scattered along the edge of the fields, and the distant barking of dogs can be heard.
A little further ahead, you can vaguely see two villages enclosed by stone walls.
The two villages are built side by side at the foot of the mountain, one on the left and one on the right, like two gates that firmly block the only way up the mountain. The stone walls are more than ten feet high, and there are martial monks guarding the platform behind the walls with weapons.
The gate to the manor was tightly shut, and barricades were lined up in front of it, blocking the road.
Fan Yu reined in his horse and pointed ahead. "Those two manors are where the warrior monks of Mist Hidden Temple are stationed."
Instead of hiding in the mountains, the enemy stayed in the village, waiting for Wu Shuangren to arrive with his troops to fight a battle!
130. A powerful offensive! Unstoppable momentum!
As dusk fell, Mist Hidden Mountain resembled a colossal beast crouching in the darkness, with two villages at its foot glowing with firelight, like the beast's two eyes.
Wu Shuangren was not surprised that the warrior monks of Mist Hidden Temple would choose to guard the manor at the foot of the mountain rather than choose to go up the mountain to defend it to the death.
There is only one mountain path. If all the enemy troops retreat up the mountain and hold their ground, even if Wu Shuangren leads 10,000 men, it will be very difficult for him to break through!
However, precisely because there is only one mountain path, if all the people from Mist Hidden Temple retreat up the mountain, it would be tantamount to walking into a death trap. Wu Shuangren cannot attack up the mountain, but he can also prevent the enemy from descending.
Even if you set the mountain on fire, the people on that mountain will only be left to die!
Therefore, from the moment Wu Shuangren led his men to attack, the people of Mist Hidden Temple only had two choices—
Either take the initiative and Wu Shuangren in a decisive battle in the wilderness.
They could either defend at the foot of the mountain and wait for the Mount Liang forces to arrive before launching a counterattack.
In retrospect, Mist Hidden Temple chose the latter.
Wu Shuangren in his horse, ordered the entire army to halt and rest on the spot, and instructed each battalion to distribute rations and water bags, and to feed the horses some fine feed.
But both people and horses were only allowed to eat until they were half full, and they could only drink a small amount of water.
The order was given, and dry feed, water bags, and fodder were distributed. The militiamen sat on the ground and ate bread with water.
Guo Jiwang approached Wu Shuangren and said to him, "We're going to attack tonight!"
Wu Shuangren had actually guessed it, which is why he hadn't ordered the camp to be set up earlier.
Guo Jiwang: "If the Mount Liang forces are fast enough, they can reach the walls of Yi Prefecture City by tomorrow night, so we don't have much time left. Attacking tonight has two advantages: first, the archers inside the village can't see their targets clearly at night, making it difficult to hit them; second, we only attack one village, so the other village can't see the situation clearly and won't dare to come out to support us at night."
After listening, Wu Shuangren nodded. "Okay, let's fight tonight!"
He went to find Fan Yu and told him about his plan to attack that night.
Fan Yu frowned. "There are at least a thousand martial monks and archers in this manor; they are well-prepared. If we launch a direct assault, we'll only be able to overwhelm them with lives. Unless a master leads a small elite force to breach the manor gates from the inside..."
"Leave the tough challenges to me!"
Wu Shuangren replied without hesitation, "I need the general to lead your personal guard cavalry in shifts to patrol and fire around the manor, thus tying down the manor's defenses."
Fan Yu stared at Wu Shuangren for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, my men can fire from the perimeter, but they won't charge directly into the stronghold!"
"Can."
Wu Shuangren only needed the enemy's cavalry to provide a distraction; he didn't expect the enemy to actually risk their lives to attack.
More than half an hour later, both the man and the horse had eaten and drunk water and had rested.
Wu Shuangren ordered two large battalions of militiamen, dressed in leather armor and carrying shields, to approach the village on the left.
The village was surrounded by barricades, and many traps for horses had been dug in the ground. The area had to be cleared before the cavalry could ride freely.
In the darkness, two large groups of militiamen, shields in hand, slowly approached the village.
The bowstrings twanged, and dozens of arrows flew from the top of the wall, their arrowheads striking the shields with a thud. The militiamen charged forward, braving the arrows, cutting the ropes on the chevaux-de-frise with their knives, dragging away the wooden frame, and filling the pit with the soil bags they carried.
About half an hour later, the area around the manor was cleared.
Only a few militiamen from the two battalions were hit by arrows, but none of the injuries were fatal.
As the militiamen withdrew, Fan Yu nodded to Song Qi.
Song Qi drew his saber and shouted to the hundred or so guards behind him, "Mount up!"
More than a hundred guards mounted their horses, divided into three teams, and took turns approaching the manor.
They ran back and forth outside the archers' range, circling the village.
Once the opportunity was found, he suddenly accelerated, using the speed of his horse to rush closer, then drew his bow and launched an arrow. The arrow flew from the horse's back, tracing arcs as it landed behind the manor wall.
After firing a volley of arrows, the cavalry immediately withdrew, and the next cavalry unit charged in to continue firing, and so on.
The warrior monks on the wall also fired arrows in return, but they couldn't see clearly in the dark, and the cavalry moved too fast, so most of the arrows missed. Occasionally one or two arrows hit, but they were blocked by the lamellar armor on Fan Yu and his personal guards, so there were no casualties.
Wu Shuangren watched the confrontation from the sidelines and learned a lot.
For example, it is obvious that the range of the mounted archers like Fan Yu is not as good as that of the foot archers on the wall. This is because it is difficult to draw the bow with full force on horseback, and the bumpy ride adds to the difficulty. Therefore, mounted archers mostly use 'soft bows', while foot archers can use 'hard bows' with greater bow strength and longer range.
The advantage of mounted archery lies in its high mobility, allowing it to maintain the initiative at all times.
Fan Yu's personal guards can all be considered elite, not only skilled in archery and horsemanship, but also with excellent distance control.
These guards charged forward wave after wave, hurling arrows and exhausting the enemy's arrows, physical strength, and Mental Power within the village.
Seeing that the time was right, Wu Shuangren ordered his personal guards, "Go change into your armor!"
A moment later, he changed into infantry armor, and Xu Yu and the thirty-eight selected guards also changed into infantry armor.
Fan Yu's expression was priceless upon witnessing this scene.
Damn it, the local militia's equipment is actually better than our own government troops!
Wu Shuangren, along with Xu Yu and his guards, mounted their horses and galloped towards the manor ahead.
Like the cavalry before them, they first circled around and fired arrows, then suddenly charged straight towards the gate on the west side of the manor!
At the same time, Fan Yu ordered all his personal guards to ride horses and charge towards the manor, creating the illusion that everyone was attacking the manor from all directions at the same time!
On the other side, at Guo Jiwang's suggestion, Xu Jing led the remaining militiamen to line up and march in neat steps toward the north side of the village.
Torches lined the front lines, iron spears formed a forest, and shields stood like a wall!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thousands of people stomped their feet with force, the sound like heavy drums, striking the hearts of the warrior monks in the village.
"Kill--"
Under Xu Jing's command, several thousand militiamen suddenly shouted, and the huge sound wave tore through the night sky!
Inside the manor, the warrior monks guarding it were already on edge and extremely tense. When they suddenly heard the deafening sounds of battle, they were all horrified.
"Hurry over there!"
The sounds of battle were coming from the north, so the monks in the village almost instinctively sent reinforcements to the north.
Under the cover of this commotion, Wu Shuangren and his personal guards were less than a hundred paces from the manor gate.
The warrior monks on the wall shot arrows at them, the bowstrings twanged in unison, and the arrows flew straight at them!
An arrow struck Wu Shuangren squarely in the breastplate, bouncing off with a thud, while several other arrows grazed past his ears.
Fifty steps.
Thirty steps.
Wu Shuangren pulled out the repeating crossbow hanging beside the saddle and pulled the trigger towards the wall.
His personal guards did the same, each with a crossbow in hand, aiming at the top of the wall. Hundreds of crossbow bolts swept across the wall, and two monks who were peeking out to shoot were unable to dodge in time. They were shot in the face and fell off the wall with screams!
The arrows shot from the wall paused abruptly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity Wu Shuangren hung the repeating crossbow on the saddle, drew his spear with a backhand, aimed the spearhead at the gate of the manor, and hurled it fiercely.
The spear pierced the air, nailing into the door panel, its shaft vibrating with a hum!
Immediately afterwards, Wu Shuangren stood up on his horse, holding a long-handled sword in his right hand. He leaped forward, stomped on the spear shaft with both feet, bending the iron shaft downwards, and used the momentum to spring up, soaring like a black eagle towards the top of the manor gate!
He reached out with his left hand, grabbed the crossbeam at the top of the door, and with a push, flipped himself over. The moment he landed, he rolled to dissipate the momentum, the whole movement flowing smoothly.
The stone walls and gates, over ten feet high, were no match for skilled martial artists.
Of course, entering the manor is only the beginning; the difference between a fierce general and an ordinary warrior lies in whether he can truly establish himself there!
As soon as Wu Shuangren landed, the surrounding monks immediately attacked him.
Several blades flashed almost simultaneously, some aimed at the head, some swept across the waist and ribs, and some stabbed at the thighs...
Wu Shuangren neither dodged nor evaded, Traits onto a martial monk, his broadsword sweeping across, the blade cutting through the night!
Clang—
With a few sharp sounds, sparks flew from the armor on Wu Shuangren's body as the monk he had locked onto fell with a scream. He didn't stop, switching targets and turning to continue his horizontal slash. Before the second monk's blade could even reach him, his wrist was severed by the blade, and the severed hand and the blade flew away together.
The third monk thrust his blade at his back, but the tip slid off the armor plate. Wu Shuangren turned and slashed, the blade grazing the man's neck.
He killed three people in one go, unstoppable!
The surrounding monks continued to charge forward, but Wu Shuangren did not retreat; his eyes pierced through the armor, fixed on his next target.
Aside from attacks aimed at his head, he completely ignored the other attacks, focusing solely on relentlessly slashing at the person targeted by the Traits.
Most of these attacking monks were weaker than Wu Shuangren, and their Traits couldn't provide any additional enhancements. However, Wu Shuangren was wearing infantry armor, which gave him a significant advantage, so the fight was still a complete rout!
Among the monks were also experts. One of them wielded an iron rod as thick as his wrist and smashed it down on Wu Shuangren's head with a powerful, splitting motion. The iron rod tore through the air with a shrill, mournful sound!
Wu Shuangren dodged to the side, but the iron rod grazed his breastplate and slammed heavily into the ground, creating a crater and sending clumps of dirt flying.
Before the iron rod could spring back up, Wu Shuangren wielded his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) and slashed horizontally at the opponent's neck. The opponent promptly raised the iron rod upright in front of him, forming an iron wall, demonstrating the masterful skill of the staff technique.
Clang!
The blade collided with the iron rod, causing the rod to vibrate violently with a hum. A shockwave traveled through the rod to the opponent, numbing their hands and making it difficult for them to grip the rod for a moment.
With a flick of Wu Shuangren, the blade, using the spot where it had struck the iron rod as a fulcrum, rotated half a circle and thrust straight forward.
The change of move was too fast. The opponent was affected by the shockwave and reacted half a beat too late. The blade pierced through the leather armor and went straight through the heart!
More martial monks attacked from the surrounding area, Wu Shuangren turned to his next target.
After the Traits is upgraded, he can defeat a Fourth Rank martial artist like Bai Jinhuan in about ten moves, but he may not be able to kill him.
Now that his Internal Skill cultivation has surpassed the threshold of the Seventh Rank and reached the Sixth Rank, and he is wearing infantry armor, he can kill Fourth Rank martial artist who is only wearing leather armor in three to five moves!
Standing firm like a rock amidst raging waves, Wu Shuangren stood tall in the crowd before the gate!
Soon, Xu Yu also climbed in.
Upon landing, two monks raised their swords to strike. Xu Yu let out a low roar and swung his broadsword in a wide arc, sweeping the two monks away along with their swords!
Judging from the power he displayed, Xu Yu seems more like First Rate master!
Immediately afterwards, three bodyguards who had practiced Internal Skill and were quite skilled also jumped in.
Wu Shuangren, along with three personal guards, formed a small circle, protecting Xu Yu in the center.
Go and lift the bolt!
Wu Shuangren roared.
Xu Yu gave a low shout and rushed to the door bolt.
This door bolt is over ten feet long, as thick as a person can hug, and weighs over five hundred pounds. Normally, it takes several martial monks working together to lift it.
Xu Yu put down his longsword, bent over, braced his right shoulder against the door bolt, and raised his hands upwards with force, causing the veins on his neck and arms to bulge!
"Ah--!!!"
With Xu Yu roar, Xu Yu slowly lifted the door bolt by himself and then slammed it to the ground!
Dust rose up, and the ground shook.
Xu Yu turned around and pushed open the manor gate. The door hinges turned with a dull thud, and the heavy gate slowly opened.