From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 434 Vulnerable

The disaster has lasted for nearly two months.

Although this year's harvest will certainly be a total loss, what is more terrifying than natural disasters is man-made disasters.

Especially recently, a force has emerged among the disaster victims, attacking government offices and other groups of victims to replenish their ranks with soldiers and manpower. In a short period of time, their numbers have ballooned from over two thousand to eight thousand.

In particular, the leader named Peng Kuo called himself "Standing Heavenly King". A few days ago, he broke through "Wanyang Prefecture" in one fell swoop and killed three thousand government soldiers, and his prestige has soared ever since.

The autumn wind was bleak, and outside Pingliang County, everything was desolate.

The long city wall stood in the afterglow of the setting sun, its shadow covering the city gate and the sturdy battlements. The soldiers standing on the wall felt their legs go weak.

Because less than three miles away, a troop was steadily approaching them.

Everyone's heart was pounding, and many wanted to abandon the city and flee. But their families, their parents, wives, and children, were still inside.

And not far away, a group of overseers with dark faces, holding longbows high, were scanning everyone's heads.

Anyone who dares to retreat without a fight will be killed on the spot!

Gongsun Fu wore an ill-fitting suit of armor, gripped a steel sword tightly in his hand, and stared ahead.

He was the county magistrate of Pingliang County, and the county magistrate fled overnight yesterday.

Now, the reputation of that Heavenly King Peng Kuo is so great that he can even break through the prefectural city. Their Pingliang County is just a lower county with a population of less than 80,000, and its defenses are pitifully weak.

Although Gongsun Fu despised the county magistrate's character, his most important task now was to defend Pingliang County.

He had already sent men in several groups to request support from nearby prefectures and counties.

The imperial army has not yet arrived, and we can only rely on the local prefectures and counties to save ourselves. If the prefectures and counties can unite, even a temporary force of ten thousand men would be enough to wipe out Peng Kuo.

However, the flow of information between different regions is currently poor, and there is a lack of a central figure to unite the strength of all prefectures and counties in one place, making it easy for Peng Kuo to defeat them one by one.

"Gentlemen, I don't want to say anything either."

"If Peng Kuo breaches the city gates, we will surely have no way to survive."

"However, if the people in the city are allowed to abandon the city and flee, how many will be able to survive the turmoil and upheaval?"

"Our only chance of survival is to defend the city! Defend Pingliang City at all costs!"

“I have already sent people to the state for help. Only by keeping the enemy here can we gather everyone’s strength to completely wipe out Peng Kuo’s bandits.”

Gongsun Fu tightened his grip on his knife. He didn't say anything to boost morale, because everyone was well aware of the current situation.

Only by letting Peng Kuo know that Pingliang County is not an easy nut to crack will the other side withdraw its troops.

This is everyone's only chance of survival.

"rumble."

The troop outside the city was getting closer.

As they got closer, the people on the city walls gradually came into view of the troops outside the city.

This is a team that looks loose and disorganized, but every single one of them has a wolf-like glint in their eyes.

Seeing the beast-like glint in those people's eyes, Gongsun Fu suddenly recalled a sentence his teacher had said during a casual conversation in school when he was a child.

The gentleman said that if beasts ate people, then the way they looked at people would be different.

At that moment, Gongsun Fu suddenly felt that the people in front of him were like beasts that had devoured people.

Standing at the very front of this group was a middle-aged man nearly eight feet tall. Compared to the others around him, he was clearly several sizes larger.

Because of the distance, Gongsun Fu couldn't see the person's face clearly, but he could see the scar that ran diagonally across the person's cheek, like a blood-red centipede lying on the other person's face.

Perhaps sensing that someone was staring at him, the person suddenly raised his head, and his black iron eyes flashed with a deep and fierce light, like an abyss in the night, cold and ruthless.

"Peng Kuo!"

Gongsun Fu knew that this person must be Peng Kuo, who was known as the "Standing Heavenly King." In the past month or two, he had become a figure who could stop children from crying.

"Charge with me!"

A hint of excitement flashed across Peng Kuo's face. The wound on his face seemed to have never healed, and now the deep gash looked like a blood-red mouth added to his face.

He roared and charged out like a wild beast.

The city wall of this ordinary county town was only a little over three zhang at its highest point and less than two zhang at its lowest point, and many parts of it were made of adobe bricks, which he didn't take seriously at all.

"Fire arrows!"

When Gongsun Fu saw that Peng Kuo was about seventy paces away, he immediately ordered all the archers to fire their arrows.

Although he was a civil official who passed the imperial examination, he actually grew up in Yuanling County, where schools not only provided cultural education but also martial arts training.

Although he focused his main energy on studying the classics, he also learned some methods for strengthening his body and how to coordinate battle formations.

Arrows rained down, and many of the soldiers were immediately hit. After all, many of them were unarmored and would not be able to withstand the arrows directly.

"boom."

But the next moment, Peng Kuo seemed to have transformed into a ferocious beast. He actually grabbed a long sword and used both hands and feet to rush up the city wall in a few steps.

"How can it be!"

Gongsun Fu was shocked. There were many people in the school who were good at martial arts, but not many of them could climb over this city wall that was several feet high.

Wasn't Peng Kuo an ordinary disaster victim before?

As soon as Peng Kuo rushed onto the city wall, a cruel smile appeared on his scarred face. With a sudden sweep of his long sword, five archers in front of him suffered exaggerated wounds on their chests, blood gushing out, and they died in the blink of an eye.

His move succeeded, and the morale of the chaotic troops below the city immediately soared. Even when facing a rain of arrows, they remained excited and showed no fear in their eyes.

On the other hand, the officers and soldiers' ranks instantly fell into chaos.

Peng Kuo's face was already ugly, and now, with those horrifying scars, he looked exactly like a demon god walking among men.

Anyone who sees it will feel a bit intimidated.

Peng Kuo merely let out a sinister laugh and charged into the ranks of the officers and soldiers like a hungry wolf.

He was incredibly fast and strong; a single strike could often take several lives.

The city wall was extremely narrow, and when faced with such an evil god, the crowd instantly huddled together, pushing and shoving each other, letting him slaughter them.

Outside the city walls, the rebel soldiers' attacks grew increasingly fierce.

They quickly set up ladders, climbed the city wall, and fought with the government soldiers.

The defense forces that Pingliang County had painstakingly organized proved utterly ineffective against Peng Kuo's chaotic troops.

Blood continued to flow out from the cracks in the city wall. Some of the maple trees planted inside the city, which were still somewhat green, turned completely red overnight after being stained with blood.

(End of this chapter)