Chapter 4: Leaving the Frontier (4)

It was the Moadao—true Moadao!
The bandits in the rear, horrified by their comrades’ fate, panicked and tried to turn their horses to retreat. But a large number of other bandits rushed forward from behind, colliding with those trying to flee. In an instant, chaos ensued—people and horses tumbling, horses neighing, people screaming.
Under Pu Dachui’s leadership, the Moadao warriors advanced step by step, denying the bandits any chance to regroup and escape. They were utterly enraged; from the intensity of their attack, it was clear their goal wasn’t just to loot goods. They intended to kill—not only to steal but also to slaughter! Though most of these soldiers had never been to battle and came from gentle families, they were far from lacking courage! If you insult me, I’ll retort! If you hit me, I’ll slap you back! If you want my life, I’ll send you to the underworld! With their massive blades raised high and swung down with ruthless force, they could easily take a life.
Dou Qing took on the role of temporary commander of the Moadao warriors. As one of the few veterans in the Zhuque Regiment, he had witnessed the power of the Moadao formation in battles against the Turks. If deployed properly, three hundred Moadao warriors could hold off thousands of Turkic cavalry. Any flesh and blood would turn into pulp before these blades!
“Forward! Slash those bastards!”
Dou Qing roared as he raised a Moadao and swung it diagonally from the right. A bandit about to mount his horse felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Turning around, he saw his arm fly into the air, blood gushing out.
“Ugh!”
The bandit felt nauseous, collapsed to the ground, and began vomiting violently.
“Try to run?”
Dou Qing delivered another strike, splitting the bandit in two from waist to waist, ending his suffering.
The open space in front of the cargo city had turned into a hellish slaughterhouse. It was a one-sided massacre. Under the command of a few simple slogans, the new recruits unleashed their bloodthirsty instincts, swinging their long knives wildly and claiming lives.
Blades flipped, blood sprayed everywhere. Soon, severed limbs, heads, and intestines covered the ground, with cries of pain filling the air.
“Things are bad—let’s flee!”
Seeing the situation was lost, the bandit leader didn’t want to lose everything here. He quickly whistled, signaling the others to retreat.
But Pu Dachui wouldn’t give them a chance to escape. Swinging his massive hammer, he charged into the chaotic ranks of the bandits. With his incredible strength, his dozens-of-pounds black iron hammer moved like magic through the crowd, searching for prey.
“Don’t run, you scoundrel! Prepare to take my hammer!”

Pu Da Chui saw a bandit who had fallen off his horse trying to escape and immediately chased after him. The dozens of pounds of iron hammer struck the bandit’s vest, shattering his spine! The sound of broken bones was terrifying, and the bandit collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, blood gushing from his mouth as his body convulsed uncontrollably.

“Run toward the river valley, cross the river by force—don’t engage them!”

The bandit leader glanced westward and made up his mind. After saying that, he mounted his horse and fled westward. Seeing their leader escape, how could the other bandits still have the will to fight? They scrambled onto their horses and followed their leader westward. In the face of the halberd warriors, any cavalry was nothing but meat for cutting!

However, though the halberd formation was extremely powerful, it wasn’t good at pursuit. With one rider per person, it was easy for them to shake off these halberd warriors!

“Gather around me! Ignore those cavalry—charge forward!” the bandit leader roared. They had already lost nearly a hundred men in this attack. If they continued to fight, more would surely die at the hands of the halberd warriors. Though it was painful, to preserve their strength, he had to abandon his comrades trapped in the enemy camp.

Some bandits who were still fighting against Zhou Wuze’s cavalry saw this and sought opportunities to break through. More and more bandits gathered around their leader, forming a wedge as they rushed toward the western river valley.

Zhou Wuze’s cavalry was too few. Even if they gathered together, they couldn’t stop the bandits charging like a spearhead. Some arrogant new recruits charged forward shouting, but they were knocked off their horses by the speeding bandits and trampled into pulp.

“Damn it! If you’ve got guts, don’t run!” Pu Da Chui knocked down a bandit beside him and roared at the fleeing bandits.

These bandits were light cavalry with few men. Even if his own men mounted their horses, it would be hard to catch up to them, especially since the horses were in Zhou Wuze and Zhang Yanji’s hands!

“Sigh!” Pu Da Chui gritted his teeth and angrily threw his dark iron hammer to the ground.

“Brother Da Chui, don’t chase! The colonel ordered us to clean up the battlefield—no pursuit allowed!” Dou Qing rushed up from behind, shouting loudly.

“I damn well want to chase! But can I catch up?” Pu Da Chui retorted angrily before turning toward Dou Qing.

What happened next was simple. The isolated bandits, seeing that the situation was hopeless, surrendered, lying on the ground waiting for the soldiers’ judgment. Their lives no longer belonged to them; whether they could survive depended entirely on the mood of the officers before them.

“Tie them all up and interrogate them thoroughly!”

Under the protection of Xianyu Yucheng and his elite guards, Li Kuo stepped forward to inspect the battlefield. The scene before him was utterly brutal, causing the young man to frown continuously. Everywhere there were severed limbs and corpses from both sides. A thick smell of blood filled the air, making one feel nauseous.

“Order someone to clean up the battlefield and bury our comrades!”
Li Kuo let out a long sigh and shook his head.

This was his first battle under his own command, and it turned out to be so bloody! Life was so fragile in the face of war—just a spear, a slash of a sword, or an arrow could easily end a living life.

Were those really bandits? Bandits who ignored the goods but went on a killing spree against the guards? Bandits with such strict discipline and strong execution ability? It was all too suspicious; the young man couldn’t understand or even dare to imagine it.

“Captain Li, how is the situation?”
Guan Yuyuan, along with several elders from the merchant caravan, stepped forward to inquire about the battle results.

“Most of the attacking bandits were defeated by the Mo Dao formation. The remaining bandits fled toward the western valley. I didn’t send anyone after them—they can’t be caught!”
Li Kuo shook his head and said with a bitter smile.

“The western valley… They’re trying to escape to Longyou!”
Guan Yuyuan repeated those words silently, then suddenly his eyes flashed with determination as he revealed the truth.

“Longyou?”
The young man was also shocked. West of Chiling lay the territory of Longyou. Normally, after attacking merchant caravans, bandits would hide in the vast Qinling Mountains and emerge later to sell their loot. Could it be that in their panic, these bandits were recklessly charging around in search of a way to survive?

“They must know we’re heading to Hexi!”
Guan Yuyuan calmed himself down and said solemnly, “This attack was just a probe. There will likely be more fierce battles ahead!”

“What? Brother Guan, there are still bandits ahead! Damn it, who have we offended that these ungrateful wretches are after us?”
Chen Bala, standing nearby, turned pale with fear and kept complaining.

“Shut up! With all these military officers protecting us, there’s no need for you to worry!”
Guan Yuyuan sharply interrupted Chen Bala’s complaints.

“We’ll need to be more careful ahead. After passing Shanggui City, we still have thousands of miles to travel to reach Hexi. Further west are continuous mountains with few inns or settlements. If we follow the Luomen River and cross Qiuchi Mountain and Yuanlu Mountain along the southern route, it’s a bit smoother, but it’s a much longer detour.”
A young man dressed in dark green silk, with a black headscarf, gazed at the distant peaks and sighed.

Note 1: Qiuchi Mountain and Yuanlu Mountain are both mountains in southern Longyou. Traveling to Hexi from this direction is clearly a longer route.