Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 37 Blockade, Ambush

Twenty hours after the Battle of Yongji Pass ended, the soldiers burned down all the illegal buildings outside the fortress and returned after taking more than a thousand heads.

Those campsites were just makeshift tents made of branches, not even sheds. They were piles of branches less than a person tall, the kind used for wilderness survival. They would burn down in an instant, but this cut off the last chance for the other side to regroup.

As for the watermelon-sized heads hanging from the soldiers' waists, they were even more eye-catching. If we disregard the battle situation and examine the value of these thousand-plus heads from the court's perspective, the soldiers' achievement in collecting these heads surpasses that of the two thousand seven hundred and fifty heads taken in the city defense battle. This is because the larger heads are visually more striking than the smaller ones.

The reason for this is that during the defensive battle, those who scaled the walls and minced meat were all small men; while during the pursuit battle, because the small men were inconspicuous and scattered too nimbly, Wu Fei's soldiers were not willing to waste their time and chased after the slow-moving big men to stab them, resulting in the number of big men's heads reaching as high as 60%.

Of course, in judging merit, Wu Fei still had to attribute the primary credit to the laborers who fought in the fortress battle, as the difficulty of battle formations and pursuits is different. In order to build this "economical and practical force," Wu Fei, as the commander, could not deny their contributions.

However, when reporting to the imperial court, Wu Fei absolutely had to report all of them as kills in battle! — Wu Fei's report would definitely emphasize: the enemy did not flee, they fought to the last man, and our army won a bloody victory! The finely gleaming heads sent were all those of the most vicious and ruthless people!
But does the imperial court still have the capacity to fulfill its promises of reward?

Wu Fei felt that his current hoarding of heads was like the US Treasury bonds in the late stages of his previous life—it seemed increasingly unlikely that they could be fully redeemed. If the court couldn't pay the blood reward, then he would have to take on more of his "duty" and "share the burden" for the court.

…The dividing line between generations of loyal and virtuous officials…

Let's continue to monitor the ongoing impact of this battle on southern Xinjiang. The number of heads captured during the pursuit, combined with the large men who died in the previous fortress battles, is nearly a thousand. This has essentially wiped out the elite of the barbarian forces south of Lingjiang.

The bloodshed Wu Fei inflicted on Southern Xinjiang had a far greater impact than Wu Hanluan's "sweep" of the snake-people tribe years ago.

Wu Hanluan's suppression of the Serpent People had limited deterrent effect on other tribes. These tribes continued to encroach on the territory left behind by the declining Serpent People and still harbored rebellious intentions towards the Great Yao in the north. In this battle, Wu Fei broke the legs of each of the powerful tribes in the southern border.

Wu Fei had previously set his sights on becoming a "little father to all ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang," and now he has taken the first solid step, mastering the discipline that only a father can provide.

When the soldiers, covered in blood and dust, returned to the fortress, Wu Fei told them to rest quickly, because there was still work to be done. The tactical pursuit was over, but the strategic pursuit was not yet complete.

To insiders, Wu Fei's performance in this battle was like filling out homework; every step was meticulous and the rhythm was just right.

For example, Wu Fei planned to fight the siege of Yongji Pass for only two days, which was just the right amount of time. If it went on for too long, the corpses piled up below the fortress would rot and generate plague, giving evil magic a chance to be used.

Now all the soldiers under the city wall began to deal with the corpses. The soldiers tied the corpses with ropes and put them into the carriages of the wooden ox and flowing horse to complete the transport.

Instead of transporting the corpse outside the checkpoint to be buried, the wooden ox and flowing horse carried it towards the city gate. However, instead of transporting it to the inner city, they dragged it directly along the side gate of the barbican to the mountain connected to the checkpoint, and after divination, they chose a dangerous cave and threw it in!
With each trip, the vehicle unfurled its sails for leverage, found a spot, and began dumping the bodies, filling the mountain caves as if they could never be filled. This was because, with the movement of the mountain's soil, these caves were completely empty within a day.

The mountains on both sides of Yongji Pass were so lush and green, they seemed to be smacking their lips, as if this offering was very delicious.

At midnight, Wu Fei and the flag bearers of the main camp were divining in the city. A cold wind howled in the mountains, and on the silk map, the mountain ranges that had received offerings displayed streaks of cold light.

This is the pulse of the earth's veins on Jinji Ridge. Now Wu Fei knows that "Taoist magic" can do many miraculous things in this world. Although he still doesn't know the principles, he is no longer surprised by such things. Although he is still very curious, he is no longer afraid.

“The mountains in this world are alive,” Wu Fei concluded. “The entire planet may be inhabited by life, but unlike carbon-based life, it may be life composed of dark energy and dark matter.”

When the earth's veins fluctuate, the orientation of caves in some mountains will change. If one enters by mistake without proper divination, one will encounter endless mazes and eventually perish within the earth's veins. However, if the divination is accurate, a shortcut to quickly cross the mountains can be found, allowing troops to traverse thousands of miles by utilizing the mountain's flow.

All the passes in the Great Fortress are built in places where the mountain energy is obstructed, and then the mountain range is connected and linked together through fortresses. Fortresses have the function of controlling the power of the mountain range.

Regarding the "mountain god" system of this world, Wu Fei did not want to deny his previous scientific views, so he followed Einstein's hypothesis of "physical constants" and assumed that in addition to the presence of life in visible matter, life also existed in dark matter on this planet. However, when he tried to verify this with the system, it still said the same old thing: "Don't discuss physics in history class."

Returning to the present, after completing the divination and statistics, Wu Fei stared at the lines representing the underground veins, searching for a blocking point. He threw out the Wu Family Army flag, which was caught in the gale and floated up the mountain. The mountain seemed to receive the flag, and the flag was firmly planted on the evil acupoint, fluttering in the wind.

Behind Wu Fei, the wooden ox and flowing horse chariots, already adorned with blades, and the armored soldiers following behind were ready.

Meanwhile, the entrance to a cave on Yongji Pass, which had previously been blocked by a boulder, was now cleared. With the opening of the evil acupoint, troop chariots and horses began to enter, and the pursuit began. The old uncle on the city wall walked over, now wearing armor, and ran to the position where he was leading Wu Fei's horse.

Wu Fei naturally couldn't let him lead his horse, so he could only agree to the old uncle's request to fight alongside the army.

However, the old man was overjoyed to hear this and said he wouldn't make things difficult for Wu Fei; he could simply beat the drum for the men in this battle.

…The tunnel journey begins, six days later…

The perspective shifts to the other side, where Jamud, a direct disciple of the Li Huo Sect in the Southern Frontier, now looks dejected. Behind Jamud are the troops who fled with him, including mandrills, crocodile-skin tribe warriors, and powerful spear throwers. Of course, their numbers are small; each unit is reduced to only a third or a quarter of its original strength. He can only gather less than 150 large men, while the other 700-odd are smaller.

These were all gathered together by him using Gu worms; the other troops had already scattered to who knows where.

Before launching this Black Tide attack, the sect anticipated that "Yongji Pass would not be captured." However, this was merely a hypothetical scenario. The Da Yao garrison remained trembling inside Yongji Pass, witnessing the Black Tide ravage the entire area surrounding Yongji Pass, while the sect took the opportunity to insert its influence into the southern tribes of Yongji Pass.

Jamud recalled how he changed his target: After crossing the Lingjiang River, Kuroshio was initially surprised by the Wu family army's "gardening" tactics when he first encountered them. He was astonished by how bold and flexible this large-scale gate-guarding force was.

Therefore, he had no choice but to target the Wu family army that had broken through the border.

Indeed, in his eyes, Wu Fei's troops were not very strong. As long as he surrounded and killed them, he could teach that Da Yao border general a lesson. But as he chased them, they ended up at Yongji Pass.

Upon arriving at Yongji Pass, he originally intended to block the gate, but since the various tribes of the Black Tide stayed up all night, he could only attack the pass.

Looking back, Jamud realized that every step he took was out of necessity. This fueled his resentment.

Of course, the Black Tide's losses are nothing. These Southern Frontier lackeys were going to die anyway; their purpose in coming here wasn't to fight, but to use the war to feed their bronze coffin! Originally, they tried to feed it with the tribes north of the Lingjiang River, but now, they're using the Black Tide leaders at the pass. As long as they can transport the bronze coffin back to Cloud Cut Valley, that will be a great achievement.

As the most accomplished and favored third-generation disciple of the Li Huo Sect, Jia Mude was even envied by many senior second-generation disciples. However, his exceptional talent and the sect's deep affection for the patriarch made him the chosen one to lead the army this time.

Just as he reached a hill, Jamud suddenly stopped. He sniffed and sensed a malevolent aura!
He looked towards the hill, and suddenly birds took flight. Jamud understood, and ordered the southern tribes who followed him to huddle together in formation. Oh, the so-called formation ability simply meant standing closer together.

However, it was too late; this was an ambush. On a nearby high hillside, wooden oxen and flowing horses, each with a single wheel and four mechanical legs, formed a neat row and charged down the slope with terrifying momentum. As the chariots descended halfway down the hill, the follow-up troops also lined up in neat rows and pressed forward.

Jamud saw griffins floating in the sky, while a person stood in the direction of the banner. "That guy doesn't have a mount?!" This was Jamud's first impression upon seeing Wu Fei.

The wooden ox and flowing horse made their first impact at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, which is about the speed of a bus. The barbarians, who had not yet formed their formation, were dragged along like waves, while the front of the vehicle, covered with blades, splashed out waves of blood.

As it charged into the alien tribes of the southern border, the enormous sails began to unfurl, and a fierce wind rose around the entire chariot, giving it new momentum. The chariot then broke through the formation and charged up the opposite slope, preparing for the second round of attack.

A splatter of blood appeared on Jamud's fair face. His expression was blank; he was utterly stunned. The entire team, almost entirely unprepared, had been wiped out by this attack, nearly a hundred men being slaughtered. Then, trembling, he pulled a talisman from his hand and pressed it onto the bronze coffin beneath his body.

…The Legion and the Taoist sect faced off… Wu Fei was constantly mobilizing the command flags and guiding the airflow in the valley to start the six teams of wooden oxen and flowing horses (a total of twelve) at full speed.

This valley provided almost perfect space for the chariots to perform, and their chariots were heavy. Ordinary chariots couldn't knock away monsters like mandrills that could use stalagmites as weapons, but this time, the large steel wheels at the bottom of the sailing chariots crushed the mandrills' skulls.

Just as Wu Fei was directing the chariot, his third aunt pointed out, "That green cypress coffin on the other side is about to undergo a strange change."

In the center of the fleeing, crushed enemy ranks, the bronze coffin clanged and rattled as if in a riot. The patterns on it turned like a combination lock, and then signs of Transformers appeared.

Wu Fei immediately ordered the chariots to ignore the Qing Tong coffin and instead crush the rest of the troops. The reason for using the word "crush" is that the original Southern Frontier group was like a lump of dough, but after being crushed by the chariots, it has become flattened dough, spread out across the valley.

Wu Fei asked his third aunt, "Is that the 'magical tool for raising Gu' that you mentioned?"

Third Aunt nodded understandingly, her eyes looking hungry and wanting food.

If Wu Fei hadn't known her thoughts were deeper than the sea, he might have actually been fooled. This girl has changed her tactics lately.

After Wu Fei waved his command flag, the army began to move, forming an impenetrable wall around their central army formation. He wasn't yet familiar with charging into enemy lines, so he had learned his military tactics from Zhuge Liang.

Meanwhile, the bronze coffin had already transformed. On the hollowed-out bronze structure, the entire coffin had transformed into a three-headed, six-armed person. In fact, the coffin itself contained a three-headed, six-armed person whose head and arms were the same size as a normal person's. However, each head emitted blood-red energy, and this energy was contained and controlled by a structure the size of a television set. Upon closer inspection, this hollowed-out structure was also head-shaped, like three wire hoods around the coffin's head.

The entire bronze coffin, after transforming, stood a full three zhang tall! There was no doubt that this was a colossal war machine of the giant soldier level, and the person (corpse) inside the coffin was the one piloting this giant mech.

The corpse was clearly cut into pieces; the head, hands, and legs, like severed lotus roots, were embedded in the giant soldier's three heads and six arms.

On the battlefield, the giant soldier clattered and thudded towards Wu Fei's formation. If this giant soldier had soldiers accompanying him, it would have been quite a threat. However, at this moment, all the other small and large soldiers in the Southern Frontier had been chased away by the chariots to within two hundred paces, leaving only this giant soldier walking alone towards Wu Fei's massive army formation.

In the army formation, the old man's drumbeats also became more rapid.

"Protect the general!" The armored soldiers in the front row, wielding long weapons, stepped forward in unison, forming a dense formation. They gripped their halberds tightly, and their battle aura created a wall of menace.

Wu Fei looked at his loyal soldiers, while simultaneously observing the giant bronze statue ascending the hillside. Watching its every step and the tremors on the ground, Wu Fei knew what was happening.

The giant soldiers of this world, however, are actually inferior to the "great fortune" of their previous life in terms of their power system. The great fortune of carrying steel coils in their previous life is a numerical anomaly in this world. No matter how densely packed a formation of people was, they could be driven through it because it was solid steel, and its power system was over 500 horsepower. But the giant soldiers of this world, taking the golden bull as an example, are actually powered by a system that can be pulled by eight horses, and this bronze coffin in front of them is probably even less powerful than eight horses. Furthermore, most of the giant soldiers are hollow; the golden bull is made entirely of wood, and this bronze giant is the same—it looks huge, but it's actually hollow.

Wu Fei examined its hollowed-out bronze structure. A halberd could definitely pry open the bronze structure, though its internal, strange energy might repair it afterward. In other words, a whole squad of halberd-wielding soldiers could stop this giant weapon.

In the past, the reason why giant soldiers appeared so powerful in siege battles was because they also contained a high concentration of malevolent energy! Malevolent energy has a corrosive effect.

Wu Fei could easily see that the bull's horns were destroying the city wall as easily as smacking tofu. It wasn't because the horn material was particularly strong or the power was particularly fierce, but because the malevolent energy was turning the bricks and tiles of the city wall into a mess.

……

Just as the bronze giant soldier charged to within fifty paces of him...

Wu Fei reached behind the horse and pulled out a musket with a shaft wrapped with a lot of reinforcing ribs.

This is a firearm specially made by Wu Fei for himself. Its bullet is made of copper, meaning it has been enchanted. — This isn't because he can't shoot from horseback, but because he feels that a musket is more cost-effective.

Wu Fei's gun was an enlarged and thickened version, a full three meters long. Two iron supports popped out from the front of the barrel, resting steadily against it. Wu Fei's armor also displayed a structure known in this world as "Yanjia Technique," with support frames springing out from his back and anchor points appearing on his calves, ready to transfer the recoil to the ground. This was taking the "ingenious and ingenious" art of firearms to its pinnacle.

Facing the bronze doll emitting a strange smell, Wu Fei muttered, "Let's see how much ranged damage I have." He casually inserted a magazine containing five bullets strung together into the black iron magazine. Each bullet was as thick as an egg.

The bullet was pushed into the chamber by the steel rod. The "thunder" and "lightning," representing yin and yang respectively, converged in the chamber, completing the ignition. As the trigger was pulled, the muzzle suddenly spewed fire, and Wu Fei's body shook violently. Fine dust from his armor was kicked up, creating a detached dust "afterimage" on his body. A plow mark appeared on the ground beneath his feet. The bipod on his back was inserted half an inch!
Wu Fei aimed at the torso encased in the center of the bronze doll. Well, at such close range, it was impossible for him to aim accurately. According to his common sense from his previous life, his bullet, which could create a fatal cavity in an elephant, would definitely cut the torso in the coffin in two.

In fact, the bronze coffin's structure was crushed like a soda can by a bullet, forming a two-meter-deep dent, and it was emitting strange white wisps of steam. Clearly, the bullet's kinetic energy was distributed by the bronze structure! Even so, it still nearly killed the thing.

Wu Fei's expression revealed a cruel smile: "Eat my Thunder Rocket!" He pulled the bolt, the copper cartridge case fell, and then pulled the trigger again.

The gun was imbued with terrifying malevolent energy. After the bullet gathered the malevolent energy, Wu Fei fired a second shot, hitting the same spot where the bronze puppet had been hit before.

With a whoosh, even hundreds of meters away, the leaves trembled at the sound of gunfire.

Third Aunt withdrew her gaze from the bronze figure and turned to look at Wu Fei. — She knew of Wu Fei's stubbornness.

Wu Fei believed that his "essence, energy, and spirit" were unbalanced, making it difficult for him to cultivate the "non-dualistic method," so he could only take the unorthodox route of accumulating evil energy on external objects.

However, Aunt San had no idea that Wu Fei's "unorthodox" system had come to this point.

Wu Fei put away his gun, the bipod on his back, and the hoe on his foot. While his aunt was pondering the magnitude of the "unorthodox" Taoist technique, Wu Fei humbly replied, "Strange tricks and frivolous skills."

At this moment, the soldiers lined up in front of the position roared and charged towards the fallen bronze puppet.

…Switch to the victim's perspective…

Jamud knelt on the ground, looking at the bronze puppet that was pinned to the ground by dozens of long spears and could not move, while he himself was being trampled by boots and eating mud. The fire ox he was riding had been stopped bleeding by the "life-saving talisman" and had been carried back.

"Thunder rocket?!" Jamud choked on another mouthful of dust, commenting on Wu Fei's shooting at the bronze puppet: "Too fast, 70% faster than a cannonball."

Just as he was lost in thought, the boots that were pressing down on him came loose. Clearly, the soldiers had made way for the newcomer. Before he could gather his strength to jump out, he was firmly held down.

"Yes, that's him. Yes, he's always been a pretty boy." Jamud looked in the direction of the queen's voice and saw a snake monster three zhang long. Oh, to be precise, it was a snake woman who had escaped her wild ways through the "Spirit Awakening Pill." She was currently comparing him to a portrait.

Jamud, who was not yet thirty, looked up at the snake woman, who smiled, then suddenly grabbed his neck and hissed, "I really want to devour you alive!"

At this moment, Wu Fei, who was a few dozen steps away, paused and smiled when he heard the snake-turned-Xiao Qing threatening his prisoners.

However, a few seconds later, Wu Fei realized something crucial and looked thoughtful.

(End of this chapter)