Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 396 - 240 The Beginning of War_4

Chapter 396: Chapter 240 The Beginning of War_4

"You motherfucker...

"Are you sick in the head, climbing up on the rooftops for no reason!"

Li Hongyun felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart, just like when you play hide-and-seek, thinking you found a perfect spot, only for some lunatic to somehow find you shortly after hiding.

Why would any normal person think to look here!

But at this moment, Li Hongyun had no other choice, so he just lifted his crossbow and shot an arrow at the Jin soldier.

With a "puh" sound, the arrowhead plunged into the soldier’s throat.

He cried out "hehe" twice, grabbed the arrow at his throat with a backward hand, but ultimately tumbled down from the roof.

This, however, had exposed Li Hongyun’s position.

The Jin soldiers rampaging below, engaged in the savage rampage of killing and plundering, discovered there was still resistance hidden within the city and immediately encircled Li Hongyun’s location.

Li Hongyun, with no other option, could only swing his broadsword and barely managed to kill two Jin soldiers trying to climb onto the rooftop, but before long, he was shot into a sieve by arrows from the soldiers below.

...

Back to the starting point once again.

"I’m not satisfied, let’s go again!"

Li Hongyun was pissed, it seemed his usual luck was not on his side this time.

He was discovered by the Jin soldiers without even getting a glimpse of Wanyan Sheng.

Although Li Hongyun was starting to feel that this assassination plan was a bit unreliable with a low chance of success, he still thought it was worth a few tries.

What if he gets lucky?

Just like when he assassinated Emperor Yanling, although he felt it was a long shot, he still succeeded in the end.

Li Hongyun contemplated that he should search the small town again for a more suitable hiding spot and observe the movements of the Jin soldiers to choose a better timing for an ambush.

After refreshing his innate abilities, Li Hongyun embarked on another trial.

...

A small village in the northwest of the capital.

Dozens of bloodthirsty Jin soldiers, armed with sabers or spears, barged in.

Behind them, a leader-like officer mounted on a warhorse watched what was about to unfold, even showing signs of impatience.

"Hurry up, kill all the men, abduct all the women, take the grain and valuable goods, we don’t have much time!"

He waved his hand as if shooing away flies buzzing over food.

"What are you doing!"

A villager who had come out on watch was stunned for a moment, then the next second, a Jin soldier’s saber was thrust into his belly and twisted.

His body fell to the ground, intestines spilling out, and the Jin soldier continued into the village without a second glance.

Kicking in doors, they killed the men, tied up the women to take away; if there was enough time, they would indulge their beastly lust, if not, it didn’t matter, for these Jin soldiers, such opportunities were plentiful.

Searching through barns and cellars for the villagers’ hidden grain and silver, or beating the villagers to find out where they hid their belongings.

Zhao Haiping had discussed this issue with Wang Fang in the military camp and only guessed half right.

He thought if Wanyan Sheng commanded the Jin soldiers to march day and night towards the capital, then, despite their brutality, they wouldn’t necessarily plunder the villages along the way too much due to the strict military orders.

But what he didn’t expect was that, perhaps for the Jin, plundering was part of their campaign all along.

Barbarians like the Jin clearly understood the concept of "living off the enemy’s land." For them, kidnapping people, stealing grain, and pilfering valuables inside enemy territory were integral parts of their military strategy.

Thus, although the main forces of the Jin soldiers were continuously moving south, smaller groups were being sent out along the way to start pillaging nearby.

It was like casting a wide net, covering the entire north of the Qi Dynasty, swinging the butcher’s knife and loosening the noose at these common folk.

However, just as another Jin soldier was about to kick open a door, what caught his eye wasn’t a panicking woman or child, but a chain flung straight at him!

"Jin dogs! Come meet your fate!"

The thick iron chain lashed out against a Jin soldier, sending him flying backward.

A Green Forest outlaw burst out from a room, the very same "Mountain-River-Encompassing Iron Chain" Cui Zhiyong who had previously met with Huo Yunying at the ruined temple.

Seeing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in the eyes of the panic-stricken villagers: "Hero!"

Yet Huo Yunying, perched atop the roof, could only slap her forehead in helpless frustration.

Such a pain!

I knew it, that weapon you’re using doesn’t look like something a decent person would wield!

If it had been a sword, then lying in wait inside the room, there might have been a good chance to take out this Jin soldier with a single strike. But this iron chain, while visually impressive, fell woefully short in terms of the result.

Seeing that the Jin soldier was not dead, the surrounding outlaws all roared with rage and charged at him!

Huo Yunying was utterly speechless.

As expected, you can’t rely on these Green Forest men...

She had formulated a very thorough plan: this was a wealthy household in the village. The Jin soldiers would certainly think there were valuables here and come to loot.

Therefore, Huo Yunying had arranged for these Green Forest outlaws to lie in wait around the place.

When the Jin soldiers broke through the door, the outlaws lying in ambush would kill him, thereby drawing more Jin soldiers.

When more Jin soldiers arrived, the previously hidden outlaws could rush out and launch a surprise attack, wiping them out in one fell swoop.

With the advantage of surprise, coupled with Huo Yunying’s own archery skills, taking out seven or eight Jin soldiers in one go should be no problem.

Then, by seizing the opportunity to rally the villagers, there might be hope of saving this small village.

But the plan, though well-crafted, crumbled to pieces in an instant the moment it was put into action.

Huo Yunying slightly regretted not insisting next time, no matter how much "Mountain-River-Encompassing Iron Chain" guaranteed his abilities, to not let him take up position inside.

But at this point, there was no turning back, as the appearance of the outlaws had already drawn the attention of the Jin soldiers, dozens of whom were now gathering in their direction!

"Forget it, let’s fight!"

Since things had escalated to this point, Huo Yunying had no other choice but to hope that these Green Forest braves really did have some skill and could beat back the Jin soldiers with superior martial arts.

Even if it wasn’t possible to kill all the Jin soldiers, driving them away could at least buy some time for the villagers to escape.

"Kill the Jin dogs!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, the Green Forest outlaws charged forward, with "Poison Hand Judge" Zhu Tuo running the fastest, targeting a tall Jin soldier armed with a long spear straight ahead!

Long spears indeed had a clear advantage in formation battles over other weapons, but this was a small-scale combat with less than ten people on each side, and their positions were very scattered. Furthermore, with years of experience wielding his Judge Pen, Zhu Tuo had considerable understanding of such a weapon, so the likely outcome would be...

Huo Yunying couldn’t help but fantasize slightly about what might happen in the next few seconds, but soon, the cold reality brutally shattered his illusions.

Watching Zhu Tuo charge, the Jin soldier thrust his first spear.

Zhu Tuo, who indeed had some skill, swiftly dodged the spear tip and continued to press forward.

The other Green Forest warriors couldn’t help but praise, "Good! Nicely bridged the gap to the spear!"

In their view, managing to close in beyond the tip of a long weapon generally meant a halfway success.

But to everyone’s surprise, the Jin soldier swiftly retreated a step back, and with a quick flick of his wrist, the spear tip was repositioned several feet away.

Then, with a light flick of his right hand, the spear tip dipped and instantly aimed at Zhu Tuo’s thigh.

With a "thud," the spear penetrated!

Before Zhu Tuo could even get close, his thigh was pierced with a spear, and he let out a cry of despair.

Clear for all to see, the Jin soldier’s face broke into a disdainful smile.

Is that it?