DDT - Chapter 59
Chapter 59: General × Little Emperor (14)
The two donned their battle armor, their fiery red war cloaks fluttering behind them.
Each mounted a horse, long spear in hand and sword at their waist, radiating a heroic aura. To ensure nothing went wrong, Chi Junluo had nearly a thousand elite soldiers follow on horseback, ready for battle. Each soldier carried a bow and arrows and wielded a greatsword, looking incomparably valiant.
Chi Junluo gave a simple speech, clarifying the objective of this bandit extermination mission. The soldiers' spirits rose, and they shouted "The Zhenbei Army will be victorious!" several times before setting out with General Chi and the mysterious youth by her side.
To avoid revealing their movements, Chi Junluo chose not to take the main road, instead leading Yi Han and the soldiers along a forest path. Although the old forest was rarely traveled, the "thump, thump, thump" of the army's hooves on the withered branches and fallen leaves was still a stunning sound.
The march continued for two days.
Two days later.
At this moment, the bandits of Zhangbei Mountain were preparing for winter. That's right—their so-called preparations consisted of going down the mountain to plunder grain.
The departure of the Fourth Prince's army had taken almost all their food. The remaining several hundred bandits had survived for over a month by eating their livestock daily. The once-abundant livestock that Zhangbei Mountain had accumulated over the years was now nearly depleted. The bandit leader, who had been lazy for a long time, finally had no choice but to lead his underlings down the mountain.
The first to suffer was the Zhang Family Village, the closest settlement to Zhangbei Mountain. The bandits grabbed their weapons and swarmed down the mountain, cursing and swearing. Only a few abducted women and girls were left in the stronghold to tend the fires and cook, along with some half-grown children running around with their butts bare.
Every day, two villagers from Zhang Family Village stood guard not far from Zhangbei Mountain, watching for any movement from the bandits. When they saw a large group of armed bandits swarming down the mountain, the two villagers were terrified. They took to their heels, their feet slapping against the ground as they ran back to the village, shouting, "The bandit chief is leading his men down the mountain again! Everyone, get ready!"
News of the bandits' descent quickly spread through Zhang Family Village. Despair appeared on the villagers' faces. Winter was approaching, and they had only just harvested the grain from their fields a few days ago. Now, they would have to hand it all over.
To prevent their homes from being senselessly destroyed by the unscrupulous bandits, the villagers had no choice but to carry their sacks of grain out to their doorsteps, stacking them neatly. Of course, each family also secretly hid some grain inside to survive the difficult winter ahead.
Half the bandits carried longswords, while the other half pulled carts. The bandit chief rode arrogantly at the front, brandishing his greatsword with impressive flair. Soon, the group of bandits arrived at Zhang Family Village. Every door was shut tight, and the villagers hid inside, not daring to breathe loudly. They listened quietly to the sound of the bandits loading the grain onto the carts, their hearts bleeding with pain, yet they dared not voice their anger.
The bandit chief found the village head's house with practiced ease. He kicked open the main gate and strode in arrogantly.
The village head and his wife were huddled in their room, trembling. Hearing the courtyard gate being kicked open made them jump in fright. A few moments later, with a bang, the small wooden door to their room was also kicked open. The bandit chief glanced at the couple, walked brazenly over to sit opposite them, and gulped down the plain water on the small table. After drinking, he let out a long breath and said in a coarse voice, "Village Head, long time no see. Today, this great king has made a special trip to your home to visit my father-in-law and mother-in-law. After all, that daughter of yours was quite a treat. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Hearing news of his daughter, the village head's eyes looked as if they would spew fire, but faced with the powerful bandit chief, he ultimately didn't dare to lash out.
"The little wench was quite stubborn. It took this great king a whole month to break her! Hahaha, I even let my brothers have a taste of your daughter."
"She was a good taste, but it's a pity. A perfectly fine girl has been driven into a daze. She's no fun anymore. If she weren't pregnant, perhaps this great king would have brought you her head today! Hahahaha!"
Listening to the bandit's inhuman words, the hearts of the village head and his wife were bleeding! Their daughter was only sixteen! How could she have been defiled by this damned bandit chief?!
The thought of all the suffering their daughter had endured made the couple want to vomit blood from rage!
"You… you… you…" The village head gasped for breath, unable to form a complete sentence. His wife quickly patted his back to help him breathe.
After flaunting his deeds to the couple, the bandit chief continued, "You are the head of this village. I want you to prepare ten girls for this great king by next month. I don't care if you have to trick them, snatch them, or steal them. I just want to see the girls. If I don't see them next month, then there's no need for your Zhang Family Village to exist anymore. Hahaha!"
With that, the bandit chief got up and left the village head's house. The village head's chest heaved with anger, while his wife wept silently. After a long moment, the village head suddenly grabbed the cup the bandit chief had drunk from and smashed it violently on the ground, shattering it into pieces.
"This dog of a bandit! I swear I'll make sure he dies without a complete corpse!" The village head's eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenched into tight fists.
This time, the bandits not only plundered Zhang Family Village, but several surrounding villages were also unable to escape. The bandits' carts were filled to the brim with grain. Only then did the several hundred bandits leisurely head back towards Zhangbei Mountain, completely unaware of what awaited them.
The Zhenbei Army arrived at Zhangbei Mountain just after noon. The thousand-strong army waited stealthily in the woods on the back side of the mountain. Chi Junluo dispatched a fifty-man squad to sneak up the mountain and scout the situation at the bandit stronghold to formulate an attack plan.
To Chi Junluo and Yi Han's surprise, the scouting party returned with news that the entire bandit stronghold was occupied only by a few sick, weak individuals and women. Everyone else was out. Chi Junluo's eyes lit up. This stronghold would be taken without any effort.
Taking advantage of their absence, Chi Junluo and Yi Han led the army and captured the Zhangbei Mountain stronghold with ease. They tied up the few remaining bandits and made them kneel in the main hall, while the abducted women were guarded in several large houses. The women's faces were filled with terror, not knowing what new group of bandits had taken over Zhangbei Mountain. They had suffered so much inhuman treatment, and many were even pregnant. Their eyes were completely numb, as if they no longer cared about their fate.
Yi Han and the others didn't need to guess what these poor women had been through. Their hearts filled with rage. Yi Han caressed his long spear, secretly resolving to kill a few more bandits later to avenge everything the common people had suffered.
The sun began to set in the west. The bandits returned triumphantly, their carts laden with grain. The clouds in the sky were dyed crimson by the sunset.
As the bandits gradually approached Zhangbei Mountain, the bandit chief even began to sing loudly.
As they neared the foot of the mountain, the loud singing came to an abrupt halt. The bandit underlings behind him didn't know why, wondering why their boss had suddenly gone silent. Only the two bandits next to the chief witnessed the entire event. A sharp arrow flew out from the forest ahead, piercing straight through the bandit chief's neck.
Blood gushed out. The bandit chief reached up in disbelief to clutch the arrow in his throat, then tumbled from his horse.
"Ahhhh!!!" The young bandits beside the chief let out terrified, piercing screams. The leader of Zhangbei Mountain was dead, just like that. In an instant, the bandits at the foot of the mountain fell into disarray.
In the forest, Yi Han lowered his bow with a stern expression. Chi Junluo couldn't help but applaud. "Clap, clap, clap." "Lincang is truly worthy of the name. Your archery is first-class!" Chi Junluo appropriately showered him with praise.
Seeing the bandits below fall into chaos, Chi Junluo came back to her senses and shouted to the troops behind her, "Zhenbei Army, hear my command! Fire!"
The bandits at the foot of the mountain were still reeling from their leader's death when they suddenly heard the "swish, swish, swish" of arrows cutting through the air. Countless arrows flew towards them. Unable to dodge in time, the bandits were struck and fell to the ground. The remaining bandits clustered together warily and began to retreat, moving away from the range of the archers in the forest. Seeing that the remaining bandits were about to escape, Chi Junluo ordered the Zhenbei Army to charge.
The soldiers of the Zhenbei Army put away their bows, mounted their horses, and charged out of the forest in pursuit. Not to be outdone, Yi Han rushed to the very front. Chi Junluo shook her head slightly and spurred her horse to follow.
By now, Yi Han was quite familiar with mounted combat. The long spear in his hands was formidable. He charged into the group of bandits, killing many with just a few sweeps and thrusts. Yi Han despised these bandits, so he naturally left no one alive. He was completely different from the Yi Han who used to dry-heave at the sight of a corpse.
Chi Junluo followed behind him, a look of approval in her eyes. The little emperor had grown a lot in the past two months.
The one thousand professionally trained soldiers of the Zhenbei Army quickly surrounded the several hundred third-rate bandits, leaving them no room to escape.
The bandits were completely annihilated.
Chi Junluo ordered the few dozen remaining bandits to be tied up. She had the Zhenbei Army soldiers take the plundered grain and head straight for the nearby Zhang Family Village.
In Zhang Family Village, every household's gate was still shut tight. A couple of braver families had just opened their doors when they heard the neat sound of horse hooves from the village entrance, frightening them into shutting their gates again.
Chi Junluo and Yi Han led a few soldiers into the village. Seeing the tightly shut gates, they felt a bit helpless and headed straight for the village head's house as they remembered it.
After opening the door to welcome Chi Junluo and Yi Han, the village head still hadn't processed it. The Zhangbei Mountain bandits who had plagued them for years were gone, just like that. Just today, he had been threatened by the bandit chief, yet before the day was over, the chief was dead. The joy came so suddenly that the old couple burst into tears, kneeling on the ground and thanking Chi Junluo and Yi Han profusely.
With the village head's call, every household in Zhang Family Village quickly opened their gates. People walked out in disbelief. When they went to the village entrance and saw the bandits kneeling on the ground under the torchlight, the villagers finally believed that the Zhangbei Mountain bandits were no more.
The villagers all knelt to express their gratitude. After Chi Junluo forcefully pulled them to their feet, she announced that the bandits would be left for the villagers to deal with themselves. She also sent people up the mountain to bring the women down.
The Zhenbei Army summoned the surrounding villages, had them reclaim their grain, and then prepared to withdraw.
As for the bandits' children, the iron-blooded general, holding to the principle of cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots, had the older ones tied up and executed as well. The children of the abducted women were left for the women and their families to decide their fate.
They set fire to the Zhangbei Mountain stronghold. The villagers from the several surrounding villages insisted on giving them a large amount of grain and livestock. Only then did the Zhenbei Army successfully complete their mission and return to camp.
Yi Han seemed to be in a good mood, clearly relieved of a great burden. What he didn't know was how great an impact this bandit extermination would have on the Zhenbei Army, or rather, on General Chi Luo.
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