Chapter 117: One Against Hundred

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Lei Qing injected a stream of pure Fighting Qi into his body to seal his blood vessels. Then, he used a small knife to slice open his flesh and extracted the jade slip. Upon looking at the arrowhead, he saw it was made from wolf teeth.

“It really is the wolf-tooth arrow commonly used on the prairie.” Xianyu Bao leaned over and said with a solemn expression, “Boss, hurry and reinforce. Although Wula Village has many people and strong numbers, the Prairie Horse Bandits would not dare to attack unless they were confident.”

“How many troops are there?” Lei Qing used Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi to stop the scout’s bleeding and stimulated his entire body to help him recover some spirit.

“About two to three hundred horsemen,” the scout said with difficulty. “They have already surrounded Wula Village. They are shooting burning arrows from a distance and killing everyone they see.”

Lei Qing raised an eyebrow. There were actually two to three hundred Prairie Horse Bandits? Since he learned that he would be stationed at Yehe Town, Lei Qing knew that he would likely have to deal with Prairie Horse Bandits.

So, he had collected a lot of intelligence and information on this subject. In the Huer Prairie, there were many nomadic ethnic groups, divided into countless tribes of various sizes. Although there was a Royal Court, they basically governed themselves independently.

The prairie people lived where the grass grew. They were mostly composed of herdsmen who made a living by raising livestock. Just like in other places, there were honest and law-abiding people, but there were also those who disliked productive work and preferred to plunder everywhere.

Due to differences in culture and ideology, those Prairie Horse Bandits did not feel that robbing others was wrong. To them, it was as natural as wolves eating sheep.

Their warlike nature meant that most of them possessed decent combat skills, especially in horsemanship and archery. Their cavalry tactics were the very foundation of their livelihood.

Lei Qing looked at his own troops, including the twenty borrowed Black Iron elites and three Bronze team generals. The total was only 290. Among them, only about one hundred had truly endured bloody battles and were brave fighters.

More than half of the troops were villagers who had just put down their hoes and responded to his call. Although the people in this northwest land were fierce and these were carefully selected good candidates,

they had not undergone extensive training to forge military discipline and strength. They could only be considered a ragtag group. Don’t let their leather and iron armor and weapons fool you; they looked imposing. But once the battle started, they wouldn’t even understand military orders. They would either rush up in a chaotic mess or, when the situation turned unfavorable, drop their helmets and armor and flee.

Lei Qing had to think it through carefully. After all, sending these hard-recruited soldiers into the battlefield without training was practically murder.

“Boss, what are you still considering?” Although Xianyu Bao was rough around the edges, he was a passionate man. Seeing Lei Qing frowning in thought, he thought he was afraid, so he said angrily, “If you won’t go, I will. I’ll take a few Personal Guards to save them.”

“Idiot.” Lei Qing’s eyes sharpened. “Do you understand military discipline and orders? Did I say I wouldn’t save them? Even if we save them, we must consider tactics first. Otherwise, rushing up in a chaotic mess is just joking with the lives of your brothers. I will record this matter for now. When we reach Yehe Town, you will receive thirty strokes of the military bamboo.”

“Yes, yes. As long as you, Boss, don’t stand by and watch the village be slaughtered without acting, I am willing to accept the punishment.” Xianyu Bao’s thoughts represented almost the views of most people from the northwest.

“Someone,” Lei Qing said after briefly tending to the scout, “take him down for treatment and take good care of him. Since they are still attacking, it means the village has not fallen yet.” Speaking of which, he took out the map of the area near Yehe Town and started examining the local terrain. His expression was very solemn. Marching troops and fighting battles was not like street brawling.

A defeated army collapses like a mountain; once they suffer a setback, it could involve the lives of countless brothers.

The Lei Family’s other family rules were not too strict, but matters related to the military were such that every family member was forced to study them desperately. Because if these things were not learned well, once they went to the army to lead troops and fight, they would only end up filling the battlefield with their brothers’ lives.

Lei Qing’s intended path when he was at home was to join the Tianlan military system. His uncle, the current clan leader, could allow young Lei Qing to be a playboy who liked to play and move around, but he would absolutely not tolerate him not studying military affairs. This was also the reason why the Lei Family, although no longer as glorious as their ancestors, still stood firm.

“Brother Zhou Han, sorry to trouble you to personally go and scout to confirm the enemy’s numbers and other intelligence.” Lei Qing said to a lean man dressed in black leather armor.

Zhou Han, a Mid-stage Bronze, nicknamed Raven. He was a capable assistant lent to Lei Qing by Xiahou Huan and one of the most outstanding scouts of the Iron Cavalry Regiment, specifically organized by Lei Qing to form a scout unit.

Raven was a type of communication bird commonly used across the Pan-Continent. It was fast, flew stealthily, and transmitted intelligence very reliably.

Getting this nickname showed how outstanding Zhou Han’s intelligence scouting abilities were.

“Young General, there is no need for such politeness. The Main Command ordered me to help you, so now I am your subordinate. I will obey all orders. Moreover, I am gratified that you are so unwilling to advance rashly, are cautious, and value intelligence.” Zhou Han smiled, dismounted, and directly used his Traceless body movement technique to depart.

For a scout of his level, within short distances, once he activated his body movement technique, he was faster and more stealthy than riding a horse.

Of course, the reason Zhou Han helped so readily was twofold. First, it was the order of Xiahou Huan. Second, Lei Qing had been very polite and respectful to him. He never missed out on any banquets, drinking, or entertainment for guests like them.

Otherwise, Raven Zhou Han would definitely have refused the order. After all, the orders they received were to help Lei Qing build an army and form a core group, not to fight battles for him.

“Brother Cheng Xiao, your personality is steady and profound. I will trouble you to lead ten Black Iron veterans and 130 new recruits to ambush in this Canyon. Wait for my whistle as the signal. After shooting a volley of arrows, immediately charge out to kill. Do not engage in long-range combat with the enemy. We are not as good at archery as the Prairie Horse Bandits.”

Lei Qing was instructing a white-faced man of High-stage Bronze ability, also a team general borrowed from Xiahou Huan. This Cheng Xiao was not weak in strength; his personality was steady, introverted, and he didn’t like to talk. After getting along for a little over a month, Lei Qing found him to be very reliable and serious in his work.

“Young General, I have been to this Canyon; it is a good place for an ambush.” Cheng Xiao did not agree immediately but frowned and raised a doubt, “But this place is more than thirty li from Wula Village, and it is in the completely opposite direction of the prairie. How can Young General be sure that the group of Prairie Horse Bandits will come to this Canyon?”

“I am not a god, so naturally, I cannot be sure.” Lei Qing said calmly, “It’s just that if our more than a hundred new recruits fought the Prairie Horse Bandits in an open area, it would be extremely disadvantageous. Rather than letting them die or be injured in vain, it is better to pick a battlefield with the most favorable conditions for an ambush. What I can do is try my best to lure or drive them into our ambush point. If things do not go as planned, I would rather you take the new recruits and stay there quietly without participating in the battle. Saving Wula Village is indeed important, but I also don’t want more than a hundred new recruits to lose their lives to the hands of the Prairie Horse Bandits. Brother Cheng Xiao, everything over there relies on you. Pay attention to shield defense.” Because he had long anticipated dealing with the archery-skilled prairie people, Lei Qing had spent money to prepare a batch of shields. With shields, losses could be greatly reduced.

Cheng Xiao relaxed his brows and understood Lei Qing’s thoughts. His face became even more solemn. He cupped his hands and said, “Young General, you respect the lives of your subordinates. Cheng Xiao admires you. So rest assured, I will try my best to lead them and minimize casualties.”

Cheng Xiao took the order with 140 people and left.

The remaining 150 or so were mostly Lei Qing’s old team from Fierce Tiger Ridge. They had fought battles with him and been trained. It wasn’t fair to say they were elites, but at least they had seen blood and had experienced much. In battle, they were still quite brave.

Moreover, the most important thing was that these 150 people all rode armored warhorses and wore full iron armor that was not cheap. At least in appearance, they were a rare elite force in the world.

Even the elite units of the Iron Cavalry Regiment looked slightly inferior to them at first glance. After all, how could the wealth of the Iron Cavalry Regiment compare to the Li Chamber of Commerce? The war armor Lei Qing obtained was worn by the Personal Guard Iron Armor Army of the Li Clan. They had money and were willing to invest heavily in this.

These iron armors were also equipped with white capes. Not only did they look imposing, but their defense was also first-rate, making it difficult for ordinary arrows to pierce them. The warhorses under their hooves were also very excellent. With scales covering them, the survival rate of the warhorses was greatly increased.

For an iron-armored cavalryman, the most feared thing was for his warhorse to suddenly die on the battlefield. Then he would be calling to the sky without answer and calling to the earth without response.

Among these 150 iron-armored cavalrymen, there were more than 30 Black Iron-rank individuals. Apart from speed, they far exceeded the Prairie Horse Bandits in all other aspects. In a frontal confrontation, against two to three hundred horse bandits, the win rate was extremely high. The things that needed to be considered were reducing the level of casualties and not letting the Prairie Horse Bandits execute guerrilla tactics.

“Xianyu Bao.” Lei Qing was not so polite to Xianyu Bao, as he was his direct subordinate. He called him by name, “You lead all the remaining people and extra horses to bypass this line quickly. Rush to Wula Village with fierce momentum from the direction of Yehe Town and the prairie. Our strategic intention is to force the Prairie Horse Bandits into the ambush point as much as possible. You are an old soldier; you should know how to do it.”

“Yes, Boss.” After hearing the order, Xianyu Bao asked again in confusion, “What about you, Boss?”

“Me?” Lei Qing chuckled and waved to Zuo Qianqian, “Qianqian, get on my horse. We are going to fight side by side again. This time, it’s two to three hundred mounted archers. Are you afraid?”

Zuo Qianqian’s face lit up with joy. She jumped nimbly onto the back of Lei Qing’s warhorse, hugged his waist tightly with both hands, and said happily, “Brother Lei, it’s been a long time since I rode a horse with you. Wherever you go, Qianqian will follow. Don’t mention two or three hundred people; even if it were a thousand troops and ten thousand horses, Qianqian would not be afraid.” Seeing that her agility had become even more capable, it showed that she had never relaxed her own cultivation.

Her aura was already vaguely approaching the level of Bronze-rank.

“No way?” Xianyu Bao’s eyes were about to pop out: “You… you want to take this delicate little girl to take on two to three hundred people alone?”

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