Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 7 Thoughts, Enjoyments, Fears, and Tolerance

The battle for the granary raged from late afternoon until early evening (3 PM to 7 PM), but the truly difficult part ended before sunset. After that, it was a matter of rotating shifts, maintaining a tight defense to block the camp's exits and prevent the snake people from escaping.

In the camp, the kitchen lit a fire to cook rice cakes. After rinsing the rations with well water, the food was immediately delivered to the soldiers who were catching their breath and resting after the retreat. For a time, the camp was filled with the smell of fish and rice, as well as the aroma of salted vegetables, rice noodles, and cooking fires.

Wu Fei has played a crucial role in organizing and grouping the various battalions over the past two months.

According to the Wu Family Army's training methods, the groups are divided according to the four cardinal directions: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui. When Xuan Chong first arrived, he thought this was too naive, but later he learned that it was a summary of empirical evidence.

Xuan Chong: Grouping is for mobilization, and mobilization requires flags. If it were numerical flags, these farmers wouldn't understand them. Only the eight basic hexagrams of divination can serve as flags, so that the soldiers in each group collectively know that their own battalion has received orders to go into battle. It's similar to how General Yuan trained his troops; those wearing straw sandals and cloth shoes could react quickly, but those wearing "left" and "right" couldn't.

Right now, the soldiers, who have been divided into groups, are taking turns using the drill ground during breaks in college military training. They are either sitting and resting in their own camps or standing and preparing to take turns on the field at the command of the flag.

The camp was not very spacious, and the teams entered and exited the battlefield, which was twenty zhang wide, in turn, like a multi-cylinder engine taking turns compressing.

This rotation of soldiers kept the frontline fighters constantly energized. The more energized they were, the more precise their attacks became, resulting in fewer casualties. And fewer casualties led to higher morale.

In the final stage, the snake-men fight like cornered beasts, clinging to their last breath in a desperate struggle, slowly wearing down the snake-men's strength, making them the most stable force.

Xuan Chong, having been a troublemaker in junior high, knew all too well how physically demanding fighting was. He had to be careful to dodge punches while swinging his fists, avoiding blows to his nose and eye sockets. Five minutes was manageable, but after a while, he was breathless, seeing stars, and experiencing a metallic taste in his nose. If his opponent still had the upper hand, he could only crouch and cover his head in defense.

As for the fierce generals in ancient biographies who could fight on horseback for fifty rounds, it wasn't just their great strength, but also their incredible endurance.

In this world, Wu Fei had witnessed his uncle charge into battle for an hour in his memory. Before the battle, before he donned his armor, his uncle was all muscle, with a beer belly around his waist. After the battle, back in his tent and removing his armor, he was like a steam furnace, a ring of white steam spreading out, and then his whole body was covered in sweat as if he had been soaked in water. The fat around his waist was gone. Only after eating a large plate of meat and rice noodles and taking a nap would the fat return to his body.

Taking to the front lines personally is the most direct way for a general to boost morale. As long as the general is on the battlefield, even if the soldiers' morale is low, they will stubbornly hold on to their last breath and not be defeated.

Xuan Chong himself does not currently possess the ability to "charge into battle," and he lacks the physique to achieve the dynamic balance of "muscle" and "fat" that Wu Hanluan possesses.

Oh, and at this point the system also provides an exercise plan, which is "radio gymnastics," and its effect is to coordinate body balance.

Xuan Chong felt this was the model of modern sports. Compared to ancient times, most manual labor in modern work has disappeared. Furthermore, high-energy foods are readily available. With chocolate and sugary drinks in their pockets, who would want to gain weight? But this is ancient times!

It is worth mentioning that, despite some minor complaints, Xuan Chong did not go against the system in his exercise routine, nor did he indulge in excessive eating like his uncle, because the system would "deduct credits."

Xuan Chong had no idea what the consequences of "deducting credits" would be, but he did it anyway. It was like walking down a dark path at night, where the system indicated that the "credit" route was in the illuminated areas. As for the other, unlit areas, out of resistance to the unknown, he would occasionally tentatively extend his foot to explore, but ultimately he never took a step.

…Thoughts…

In the final stages of the battle, the peasant soldiers took turns fighting, while Wu Fei remained on high alert, judging when the snake people would launch their final counterattack and assessing the state of his own side.

The laborers here in Wufei are all muscular but lack fat, so their condition will rapidly decline after engaging in battle. They lack endurance.

As Wu Fei watched the soldiers below shouting and advancing, he couldn't help but imagine himself wielding weapons on the front lines. He could even hear each person's breathing and heartbeat, and he could imagine the rate at which their "stamina bar" dropped as they thrust their spears, and how many more times they could thrust with their initial full strength.

Wu Fei is now gradually able to empathize with the soldiers' exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Wu Fei could also imagine the extent of muscle exhaustion among the snake-men after continuous battles. No, Xuan Chong could even feel the increasing soreness in their arms as they wielded their stone axes. He knew even better than the snake-men themselves how many more breaths they needed to catch before they could launch a last-ditch counterattack.

Because of this imagination, Wu Fei seemed to be able to foresee the future, and he knew exactly how many of his peasant soldiers would be lost in the snake people's death throes after he committed his troops! Therefore, he chose to fight a fierce battle and wait for the snake people to snap their last thread of resistance.

A flash of blue light flickered in Wu Fei's pupils. Then, Wu Fei saw it: after twenty breaths, the snake-man on the left could no longer hold on. After a final, fierce counterattack, his movements were utterly powerless; he didn't even flinch at the blades and was stabbed to death. Immediately afterward, another snake-man, about two body lengths away, did the same.

The snake-men's last gasps of resistance erupted in turn, like a series of firecrackers, crackling and popping.

Compared to exploding all at once, exploding them separately, that is, one dying explosion after another, is easier to deal with.

Based on this rhythm, Wu Fei predicted what was about to happen and nodded: "That's about right." He waved his command flag, ordering multiple reserve teams to move forward, especially in front of the first wave of snake-people who were preparing to "exchange lives."

As Wu Fei had predicted, just before the first snake-man unleashed its final, desperate attack, he ordered the arrival of a squad of fully-equipped warriors to take its place. As the snake-man's final blow was blocked, the five warriors, their morale soaring, charged forward in formation, spurred on by the thunderous drums. One spear pierced the snake-man's arm, where it was holding a stone axe, while two other spears pierced its abdomen and throat. The snake-man's final struggle was ineffective, and it ultimately died a painful, curled-up death.

Then came the second, and the third. With the bows, crossbows, and halberds perfectly coordinated, the snake-men's last bit of splash was precisely dispersed by the slaps.

In the end, the snake-man surrendered. After the snake-man wizard's mount, the spiny dragon, was stabbed down, the snake-man wizard with a white dot between his eyebrows committed suicide with a small dagger.

Xuan Chong picked up the pure gold dagger, its sapphire appearing almost alive. He glanced at it, then used his sword to pry the gem off. He smashed the dagger into small pieces and stuffed them into his pocket. Unbeknownst to Xuan Chong, the mesmerizing sapphire's radiance clung to his hands.

However, it only clung to the gem for a fleeting moment, like a fly being flicked away, before being bounced back into the gem. The blue light within the gem tried to continue, but the gem instantly cracked open, and the blue light was extinguished like a candle flame.

Xuan Chong only felt the system pop up briefly, then seemed to stretch before returning to its previous state.

…enjoyed…

Torches rose in the camp, like blinking eyes, mocking the prey in its cage. Meanwhile, Xiao Qing's long, thin tongue savored the blood.

The resistance of the Ye Chao clan had ended, but in many dead-end strongholds, some individuals still resisted. Xiao Qing, crossbow in hand, targeted certain enemies she recognized. Just as the dying snake-men she had her eye on were about to break through the encirclement and use their sledgehammers to escape, a small crossbow bolt would pierce their bodies, draining them of all strength, as the bolt was coated with venom left over from the "Feast of the Mad Snakes" spell. Suddenly weakened, the snake-men, before collapsing, let out a desperate scream as they faced the approaching spears and lances.

To Xiaoqing, it was so beautiful. But she wasn't satisfied with that. As the battle in the camp ended, she followed the pursuing team outside the camp.

After a volley of arrows, the tree stump ahead was riddled with arrowheads, and the snake-man slithered back into the bushes, leaving behind several twisted, S-shaped trails.

Looking at the serpentine paths in the grass, marked with bloodstains and torn snakeskin, Xiaoqing smiled, but her eyes were brimming with tears.

As a survivor of a clan wiped out, seeing my enemy fall into even more tragic despair, I find the enemy's struggle the most beautiful dance, and I feel as if my whole body is soaked in sweet honey.

Xiaoqing hoped that the bloodstains on the ground could linger for a longer period of time.

But in the end, after the exhausted snake-man was caught in a series of barbed nets, this delicious trap finally came to an end.

…what I fear…

Zhao Tu brought all the snake-men prisoners to the drill ground. Amid the cheers of the peasant soldiers, he cut off the heads of the captured snake-men and their corpses like an executioner, distributing them to the various battalions like pork.

Zhao Tu explained to Wu Fei that this kind of killing was a method of training the "madmen" with a balance of tension and relaxation. Previously, these soldiers were only able to obey orders by being strongly suppressed, but suppression cannot last forever and must be balanced. If these soldiers are not allowed to release their pressure now, their pent-up violence will eventually erupt uncontrollably.

Wu Fei couldn't help but stare at the heads of the people who had been sacrificed to the flag in his camp before the battle. Back then, the farmers were as silent as chicks, but now, those farmers on the drill ground holding up the heads as if they were holding up the World Cup, it all seemed like a different world.

As Wu Fei's Xuan Chong suddenly felt that he was not a person of this world, he opened the system and muttered: "In the past, they (the peasant soldiers) obeyed Zhao Tu because they had never killed anyone, so they were afraid of Zhao Tu who killed without blinking an eye. But now that they have fought in this battle, they suddenly realized that they can also kill without blinking an eye. So Zhao Tu is now using this behavior, using 'I can lead you to kill' to lead this group of peasant soldiers to a bloodthirsty tide."

System: "Congratulations, initial mission complete. You have gained initial control of this army."

Wu Fei: "Can't you give me some useful information? With this army's situation, it's fine for fighting outside, but if one day the imperial court drags it into the Central Plains and it encounters a siege, then every battle will be a massacre to vent their anger."

System: "Hmm, are you thinking of ruling the world?"

Having his thoughts exposed, Wu Fei immediately changed the subject: "What do you mean? The Wu family has served the imperial court for generations, and we are extremely loyal."

…accommodation…

While Wu Fei was guarding the granary, his uncle was building a perimeter around it.

At this moment, high on the mountain, Wu Hanluan's banner stood firmly atop the peak. The army, like a long snake, coiled up on the mountain, awaiting the general's orders and the activation of the earth's veins.

It's no secret that karst caves in the Hundred Thousand Mountains can be used for troop transport. Locals can quickly travel to the foot of a mountain hundreds of miles away using the earth's veins, meaning that Wu Fei's earlier perception of "changes in spatial distance" was real, not an illusion.

The winged tiger beneath Wu Hanluan's brows furrowed slightly, its tail slapping the ground like a whip. Soon, a monkey with a hairy face and a thunderous mouth emerged from beneath the ground. This was a member of the Blue-faced Golden Tamarin clan. After crawling out, it held the intelligence and looked at Wu Hanluan obsequiously, but it was also frightened by the winged tiger and dared not approach.

At this moment, the Taoist priest with the blue hair bun beside Wu Hanluan—the same Taoist priest who had spied on Wu Fei's warehouse situation a dozen days ago, let's call him Master Xian—walked to this "Tu Xingsun," swept away the dust with his whisk, and then pinched a "hair" on the back of his neck and pulled it sharply. Oh, not a hair, but a wriggling thread. Master Xian skillfully placed this thread into the transparent wine gourd he carried. This wriggling thread instantly dissolved in the wine, transforming into divination data.

Master Xian bowed to Wu Hanluan and said, "General, this is one of the six servants I brought from Meishan, Hongyuan. He is skilled at detecting underground water veins and has probably brought you good news."

Wu Hanluan praised, "So it is the valiant warrior Hong. Please rise." — In the Southern Frontier, Wu Hanluan was known for his tolerance. Whenever internal conflicts arose among the various tribes of the Southern Frontier, he would "timely" show his benevolence and mediate, and even take in some fugitives from other tribes. He combined kindness and severity, truly a good "benevolent father" to the various tribes of the Southern Frontier.

After receiving the data from Daoist Xian's divination, Wu Hanluan opened the silk map in front of him and input the divination data of Yin and Yang. On the silk map, a line quickly formed in the mountain range. This line was inside the mountain, which was the same line that Wu Fei had previously explored. However, strangely, as the divination was performed, a bulge appeared on this line. The bulge grew larger and larger, while the lines around the bulge became thinner and thinner, as if the space in the passage had been squeezed into a "tumor".

Wu Hanluan pointed a finger at the drumhead, while another finger traced runes on the command flag, and soon the four flags began to flutter in the wind.

He ordered the entire army: "The underground gate is about to open. Prepare to enter the ground to intercept it."

The soldiers, who were marching in formation on the mountainside, soon discovered a tunnel on the side of the mountain. The tunnel seemed to appear suddenly. They were then led into the tunnel by various cavalry units. At first, it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. After walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up, and a whole underground hall appeared before them.

This peculiar underground world is what the local mountain people call "Da Dong Tian" (Great Cave Heaven), a wondrous world that one suddenly enters after passing through an unknown "ghost wall" (a maze of walls and ghosts) in a cave.

The earth's veins will create stagnant and dangerous burial sites as they fluctuate, and divination can be used to deduce these sites. Military strategists can then use this method to suddenly lure their army underground, or they can engage in a "battle of interception" with an enemy who also possesses this skill.

……

Meanwhile, on the snake people's side, the snake people shaman was leading thousands of snake people through the ley lines when suddenly they sensed movement within the cave. Immediately afterward, the line that had been flowing like a thin stream within the ley lines merged together in the darkness. Once everyone's senses returned, they were no longer moving in a long, single line along the narrow cave, but rather clustered together like an ant marching in a death spiral.

This spatial shift greatly surprised many snake-people who had never witnessed the Earthly Fiend Transport Technique. What horrified them even more was the sound of war drums coming from the other side of this suddenly opened cavern.

The cave was filled with the sound of war drums, and sand and water droplets fell from the cave in response to the drumbeats. The surrounding stalactites transformed into reliefs of human heads and swords and spears.

As the serpent-man shaman gazed at the stalactites around him, which had been twisted into reliefs and murals, he inexplicably felt that the bones of his army would also become part of these reliefs.

(End of this chapter)