「The following day, at high noon.」
"My Lord, this is terrible! Something terrible has happened!"
Li Ye rushed into the Lord's Residence, a panicked look on his face.
"Li Ye! What has you in such a panic?"
Xiao Jing frowned at the flustered Li Ye.
'Li Ye was one of the first refugees to join Wild Mountain Village. He wasn't particularly capable, with a Combat Power just over 20, barely making him Tier Two. In the village now, his strength didn't even rank in the top ten. Still, Xiao Jing had promoted him to be the village's security officer, a move to appease his 'old retainers'.'
'But it seemed he was still too young and needed more experience. A man who panicked so easily couldn't be trusted with great matters.'
"The Yellow Turban bandits... the Yellow Turban bandits are here! There are at least a thousand of them!"
"A thousand Yellow Turban bandits?!!"
Xiao Jing was surprised. Although his expression grew tense, he remained largely composed. He asked calmly,
"Where are the bandits? Where did you see them? At the village entrance? In the mountains?"
Xiao Jing's composure had a calming effect on Li Ye, who collected himself and replied,
"We spotted them while on patrol in the mountains. It looks like they're searching the area for villages. It won't be long before they find our valley!"
"Let's go! Muster the troops! Lead the way!"
Xiao Jing grabbed his weapon, summoned Zhou Cang—who had just returned from garrison duty—and led the Wind Cavalry, hastily following Li Ye to the mouth of the valley that served as the village gate.
Wild Mountain Village had been developing for some time. Although Xiao Jing hadn't paid much attention to the construction of military buildings, Guo Yun was extremely focused on it.
Ever since Xiao Jing and Ye Mengmeng had found the 'Fortress' blueprint in that mountain cave, Guo Yun had taken full advantage. He had built a large stockade at the valley entrance, tailored to the terrain. He had erected wooden palisades, set up barricades and pitfalls, and had even gone so far as to construct two arrow towers.
Spurred by the news of the Yellow Turban bandits, the main wooden gate was shut tight. Over a dozen of Wild Mountain Village's Yong had volunteered, gathering behind the palisade to stand guard over the valley.
These Yong were formed from the earliest refugees who joined the village. They were led by Li Ye and were normally only responsible for maintaining peace within the village.
But upon hearing that the Yellow Turban bandits had come, these Yong had eagerly taken up arms and rushed to the stockade at the valley mouth to defend their home.
[Commander]: Li Ye
[Unit]: Wild Mountain Village Yong (12)
[Strength]: Unranked (Average Combat Power: 3.9+0.4)
[Number]: 12
[Average Proficiency]: Recruit (Level 8~23)
[Morale]: 7 (Max 10, high morale)
[Upkeep]: 200 copper/month, 1.5 units of grain/day
[Active Traits]: Strength in Unity (Combat Power +0.4 (10%), slight morale boost, provided by Li Ye)
[Description]: Wild Mountain Village Security Yong Force
The Wild Mountain Village Yong were trained from common folk. Their strength wasn't high, but they were 'cheap.' Their monthly upkeep was only 200 copper, far lower than the puppet-type units who often cost 200 per week.
However, although the upkeep was low, the death benefits for them were quite costly.
'Therefore, compared to the Yong trained from commoners, he much preferred using those puppet-type units.'
'Their strength wasn't high—a Combat Power of just 4.3. They were no match for his Soldier Terracotta Warrior units, but they were more than sufficient for day-to-day peacekeeping in the village.'
'But even though these Yong were the weakest unit in his forces, they were still far stronger than the average Yellow Turban bandit.'
His gaze turned to Zhou Cang at his side, and the Soldier Terracotta Warrior unit under his command.
[Commander]: Zhou Cang
[Unit]: Wild Mountain Village Soldier Terracotta Warrior Unit
[Strength]: Tier One (Average Combat Power: 12.3)
[Number]: 200
[Average Proficiency]: Recruit (Level 12~33)
[Morale]: 5 (Max 10, average morale)
[Upkeep]: 200 copper/week
[Active Traits]: Rally (Stamina Recovery +20%, slightly increases speed of gathering routed troops, provided by Zhou Cang)
[Description]: Wild Mountain Village Regular Army Unit
'A full force of over 200 soldiers, plus Zhou Cang's leadership... Even if the number of Yellow Turbans doubled, they couldn't possibly break through his village's defenses.'
'The reason Xiao Jing had made such a show of force was that these Yellow Turbans seemed to be searching the valley with a specific purpose. It suggested that his village's location had already been compromised.'
Before long, a force of over a thousand Yellow Turban bandits appeared outside the valley entrance, carrying yellow banners and marching with an aggressive air.
The bandits had yellow scarves tied around their heads or shoulders, and their faces were fierce. They had likely plundered the surrounding villages, because unlike typical rebels, these Yellow Turban Soldiers weren't sallow-faced and emaciated.
The few Yellow Turban Soldiers at the vanguard were even clad in iron armor and mounted on warhorses, and their weapons looked to be of high quality.
'Iron armor, warhorses, and masterwork weapons... these aren't things just anyone can get their hands on.'
'Where did these Yellow Turbans get this equipment?'
A flicker of doubt crossed Xiao Jing's mind, and his expression turned grim. It seemed these Yellow Turbans had come specifically for Wild Mountain Village.
Seeing the heavily guarded stockade in the distance,
the Yellow Turban sub-commander, who was carrying a large ghost-head saber, stopped in his tracks, his face a picture of shock and suspicion.
"Damn it! Weren't they supposed to be just some tiny mountain village? They've got more damn soldiers than I do!"
"That fucking Zhao family set me up!"
The Yellow Turban sub-commander raged.
One of his subordinates immediately piped up, "Boss, what now? Are we still attacking?"
"'Attack? Attack my ass! You! Find a few fast runners and go ask the Grand Commander for reinforcements!'"
The Yellow Turban sub-commander verbally tore into the man who'd spoken up, his gaze fixed uncertainly on the distant stockade.
'From that stockade, he could feel a presence whose power was no less than that of their Grand Commander.'
'And those soldiers... they were no simple grunts!'
"'What a fucking setup. The Zhao family... you dare to screw me over? Just you wait. After the Grand Commander takes Shanwu, I'll make you regret this!'"
"'Everyone else, make camp on the spot!'"
Less than a hundred paces from the valley mouth, Xiao Jing watched in amazement as the Yellow Turbans began to make camp right in front of him...
'This... were they truly that ignorant of warfare, or was this just utter contempt for his forces?'
While Xiao Jing was dumbfounded, he refused to let this opportunity pass. "Commander Zhou, are you confident you can rout the enemy and show these Yellow Turbans what you're made of?"
"My Lord, it will be an easy task. They are nothing but a mob of clay chickens and pottery dogs!"
Zhou Cang glanced at the Yellow Turbans outside the stockade, a trace of disdain in his eyes. "I only need 100 Soldier Terracotta Warriors! Watch me crush the enemy!"
"Excellent. I will hold the line and support you, Commander Zhou!"
He selected 100 Soldier Terracotta Warriors and mounted the warhorse Xiao Jing had gifted him.
Then, Zhou Cang showed the Yellow Turbans the true meaning of a valiant general.
Leading the unit of Soldier Terracotta Warriors, Zhou Cang charged out first. He himself was the tip of the spear, plunging violently into the Yellow Turban bandits.
Any Yellow Turban bandit who dared block his path was cleaved in two by a single stroke of his blade. Blood sprayed everywhere. His unstoppable, malevolent aura was that of a world-ending demon!
The Yellow Turban bandits had been busy setting up camp. At the sight of Zhou Cang's terrifying, demonic aura, their courage instantly faltered and their morale plummeted. Seeing this, the sub-commander scrambled to organize his men.
"Hold the line, hold the line!"
"'Money! Rations! Women! Hold the line, and it's all ours!'"
Though the Yellow Turban leader's shouts managed to stabilize his soldiers' morale, their formation remained a chaotic mess—a world apart from the orderly, well-trained Soldier Terracotta Warriors.