Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 80 Experience
The Great Jing Dynasty had more than thirty armies, with its border garrisons considered elite. Even these troops would crumble if they suffered 30% casualties on the battlefield. Ordinary armies with weak fighting capabilities, under complete suppression, would crumble even faster.

The band of mountain bandits attacking Peijia Village might be able to rob wealthy households, but they would be utterly vulnerable on the battlefield.

Pei Qinghe raised her long sword: "Charge with me!"

Pei Yan was the first to shout in agreement: "Kill!"

The second to rush to answer was Gu Lian. She had only practiced for a little over half a month and couldn't be considered skilled, but she was exceptionally fierce. Wielding her long knife, she pounced forward, caught a bandit who was turning to flee, and stabbed him through the chest with a "thud," blood splattering onto her lips, a hot, metallic taste filling her mouth.

Gu Lian, killing for the first time, felt no fear, only exhilaration. She continued to chase after him, knife in hand, so excited that she didn't even notice the bandits rushing towards her.

Pei Qinghe, with keen eyes and ears, killed the bandit with a single blow, and casually warned Gu Lian: "Don't let yourself get carried away!"

Gu Lian licked the blood from the corner of her mouth: "Yes."

This was the first time Feng Chang had experienced such a scene. His heart trembled, and his legs felt weak. Seeing Gu Lian becoming increasingly ferocious, Feng Chang steadied himself, gritted his teeth, gripped his long knife, roared, and cleaved off the head of a bandit.

Pei Jia and Pei Yi had seen battles before, but this was the first time they had killed someone themselves.

Doctors Zhao Haibao and others were assigned to key positions in the village, so that they would have to fight desperately if the bandits stormed into the village.

Fang Datou had spent over a decade in the military and was intimately familiar with such bloody and brutal battles. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet mastered the left-handed sword technique, and Pei Qinghe had ordered him to stay and guard the village. He lay prone on the roof of a thatched house, constantly cursing Scarface Wolf's ancestors.

Scarface, despite knowing defeat was inevitable, still didn't run. He grinned maliciously, gripped his longsword, and charged forward to fight to the death.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a cold light as she drew her knife and engaged in battle with Scarface Wolf.

Old Fan, who died, was right. Scarface Wolf was more skilled than Black Bear, and his swordsmanship was extremely fast, with one strike after another like a sudden storm.

Pei Qinghe's longsword moved even faster, using speed to counter speed, and in no time, several deep bloody gashes were left on Scarface Wolf's body.

Scarface, enraged, did not dodge or parry, but instead thrust his long sword straight at Pei Qinghe's chest, displaying a ruthless willingness to die together with her.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed, and she changed the stance of her longsword, clashing the two swords together with a sound that made one's teeth ache.

Scarface grinned maliciously and continued to fight desperately.

Pei Yan was chasing the bandits, with no time to look back. Pei Yun, perched in a tree west of the village, calmly drew her bow and shot down the bandits fleeing from the village. Beside Pei Qinghe, only Mao Hongling remained.

Mao Hongling suddenly swung her spear, piercing Scarface's back. Scarface, in excruciating pain, hesitated, his sword momentarily frozen. Pei Qinghe seized the opportunity, thrusting her blade into Scarface's chest.

Scarface Wolf lay on the ground with his eyes wide open in death, filled with resentment.

With Scarface Wolf dead, the bandits of Wolf Fang Stronghold were utterly terrified and lost all will to fight, fleeing in complete disarray. Defeat was inevitable; the only question was how many bandits would survive tonight.

There was no time for idle talk on the battlefield. The two women exchanged a glance and then went to hunt down the bandits together. Pei Yun leaped down from the tree and led more than twenty people to block the bandits' path.

Several bandits, instead of turning and fleeing, rushed into Peijia Village, attempting to fight their way out.

Pei Jia, Pei Yi, Fang Datou, and their men finally came in handy. They led a group of refugees wielding wooden sticks to surround several bandits. The sticks fell swiftly, beating the unfortunate bandits to death.

Pei Xuan's innocent and adorable voice rang out: "Cut off their heads."

Then came Pei Feng's voice: "Beware of someone faking their death."

A group of children, around seven or eight years old, each holding a knife, forcefully chopped off the heads of the bandits. Some of the children, being weaker, managed to chop off heads more than a dozen times, as if they were chopping radishes.

The refugees felt a chill run down their spines at the sight.

A few drops of blood splattered on Pei Xuan's cute round face. She wiped them away with her sleeve and said regretfully, "Cousin Qinghe forbade us to go out and kill bandits. Otherwise, I would have killed at least two." Pei Feng, always determined to win against Pei Xuan, never gave up despite repeated defeats, and never admitted defeat in words: "I would have killed three!"

Pei Xuan scoffed, "Why don't you go throw up first!"

Pei Feng's handsome face turned deathly pale, whether from nausea or anger. Hearing this, he glared angrily at Pei Xuan: "You're bullying me again! Waaah!"

He turned around and vomited all over the floor.

Pei Xuan grinned broadly.

The old women, including Madam Lu, also came out of the thatched hut, each carrying a weapon. In Pei Family Village, no one was idle; in times of crisis, everyone was ready to take up arms and fight.

Madam Lu rushed to her beloved grandson's side, patting Pei Feng's back anxiously: "Feng-ge'er, why are you vomiting like this?" She then glared at Pei Xuan: "Don't laugh!"

Madam Lu had a bad temper and a foul mouth, so the children didn't like her. With her cousin Qinghe around, Madam Lu could at least vent her frustrations.

Pei Xuan wasn't afraid at all. She made a cute funny face and led the girls to do their chores.

After vomiting, Pei Feng coolly told his grandmother, Madam Lu, "I'm fine." Then he led the boys and chased after them.

The bricklayers hiding in the granary, listening to the screams and cries of battle outside, trembled with fear: "Liu Shan, do you think Miss Pei Liu can hold off the bandits?"

Among the six major bandit strongholds in the Yanshan Mountains, Scarface Wolf was infamous, ranking even above Black Bear. They had all heard of Scarface Wolf's fearsome reputation; how could they not be terrified?

Liu Shan was also very scared, but managed to squeeze out a few words: "Don't be afraid, everyone. Sixth Miss is very powerful and will definitely be able to drive away the bandits. Our young master has never done a losing business."

The bricklayers felt a little relieved.

They stayed awake until dawn, when finally the granary door opened.

After a night of fighting, Miss Pei, covered in blood, appeared at the door and smiled in the morning light: "Come out!"

……

More than 130 bandits were killed, and more than a dozen seriously wounded were also killed, leaving five survivors. About 30 or 40 people escaped into the mountains.

Pei Yan said with some regret, "I wanted to lead people into the mountains, but unfortunately my cousin Qinghe wouldn't allow it."

Pei Qinghe glared at her: "The mountains and forests stretch endlessly; you can climb trees and hide in caves. Once you get into the mountains, who knows how many people will die. What's on your neck? Can't you use your brain for a second?"

Pei Yan was covered in dirt and didn't dare to say a word.

There are always casualties in war. Last night's battle was a great victory for Peijia Village, but they also suffered several casualties.

Dr. Bao's thatched hut became busy again.

The Pei women, who had fought all night, either applied medicine and bandaged their wounds or rested. The refugees dug a deep pit and carried the corpses to bury them.

The five survivors were locked in an empty room.

Pei Qinghe went inside for half a day, then came out with a few pages of paper. He calmly ordered, "Chief Feng, bury them as well."

After entering the room, Feng Chang vomited once.

Pei Qinghe called Pei Yun over: "Cousin Yun, go to the Beiping Army and deliver this letter to General Meng."

(End of this chapter)