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Chapter 53 Ambush in the Valley, The Prodigy of the Xiang Family (Please continue reading)
"There's an ambush! Get hidden!"

Bai Xuan's roar rang out almost simultaneously with the sound of arrows piercing the air.

However, for these civilian laborers who had never seen battle, the warning came too late.

"Puff puff!"

With the dull thud of arrows piercing flesh, the laborers fell in droves, like harvested wheat.

Chen Ye's reaction was even faster than that of Captain Bai Xuan.

He first shouted, "Quickly hide behind the grain cart!"

Then he darted behind a huge rock by the roadside.

His shouts jolted the panicked laborers awake. They scrambled to hide behind the grain carts, as if from a dream.

These grain carts were specially made and extremely sturdy, capable of withstanding a hail of arrows.

The first wave of arrows came quickly and went quickly.

But in just that short time, twenty or thirty people had already been lost.

Those who survived collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, their eyes filled with terror.

No one dared to show their face, fearing that a cold arrow would pierce their head at any moment.

Bai Xuan leaned against a grain cart, his face ashen.

He knew beforehand that the situation at the front was not going well, but he never expected that the situation had deteriorated to this extent, with enemy troops even appearing in the rear.

Fortunately, he glanced around and found that the dozen or so veterans who had always followed him were safe and sound, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

These men had followed him for many years and were brothers who had gone through thick and thin together. Although they were now old and had injuries, their fighting instincts were ingrained in their bones, so this scene did not frighten them.

"Prepare cover!" Bai Xuan ordered in a low voice.

These men quickly linked several grain carts together end to end, forming a makeshift defensive line. Then, they each found their firing positions, drew their bows, and aimed their arrows directly at the valley entrance.

Chen Ye, hiding behind the boulder, took in all of this, and his opinion of Bai Xuan rose even higher.

Remaining calm and composed in the face of danger, and giving decisive command, this man is no ordinary squad leader.

At the same time, Bai Xuan squinted and stared intently at one end of the valley, saying in a deep voice, "Arrows are very precious. Even if they can be recovered, there will be losses. So, when dealing with us laborers, they will definitely not be willing to use too many. They will definitely rush down to fight in close combat."

Sure enough, just moments after he finished speaking, a series of chaotic footsteps came from one end of the valley.

Immediately afterwards, nearly a hundred soldiers wielding swords and knives surged in from the valley entrance, like a turbid current, heading straight for them.

Strangely, these soldiers attacked from only one end, while the valley entrance at the other end was empty, as if deliberately leaving them a way out.

Upon seeing this, some laborers' eyes lit up with hope, and they instinctively tried to flee in the deserted direction.

"Anyone who dares to make a move will be killed without mercy."

Bai Xuan's loud shout rang out just in time, startling the restless laborers so much that they dared not make any further moves.

Bai Xuan knew very well that the other side was surrounding three sides but missing one.

This is a tactic used on the battlefield to drive away flocks of "sheep".

The side without the ambush may seem like a way out, but if they actually flee in that direction, they will inevitably fall into a second ambush. Once their formation is disrupted, they will be lambs to the slaughter.

Bai Xuan's eyes were as cold as iron as he raised his longbow and aimed at the soldiers opposite him.

The moment the soldiers charged within a hundred paces, he abruptly released the bowstring.

"Om-!"

The bowstring trembled, and an arrow shot through the air like a meteor!

The burly man at the forefront still had a ferocious smile on his face, but the next moment, an arrow pierced his eye socket with precision, penetrating his entire skull. The enormous force sent his body flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground. He twitched twice and then fell silent.

One arrow, and he's dead!
Seeing this, the remaining soldiers felt a chill run down their spines, and even their charging speed slowed down.

Bai Xuan had been waiting for this opportunity. He threw away his longbow, drew his sword from his waist, and let out a deafening roar.

"Brothers, the only way out is ahead, follow me and charge out!"

Instead of defending or fleeing, he led his dozen or so veterans in a fierce counter-charge against the nearly one hundred soldiers.

Put yourself to death and survive!
This move completely caught the soldiers off guard. In the ensuing chaos, the two streams of people collided violently.

Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the tearing of flesh filled the air.

Although the dozen or so veterans were outnumbered, their makeshift formation was like a solid rock, and no matter how the soldiers attacked, they could not budge it an inch.

At the same time, Bai Xuan shouted to those behind him, "Drive forward!"

These provisions cannot be lost; in critical moments, these sturdy grain carts are the best mobile bulwark!

Meanwhile, on a hillside not far from the valley, a young general dressed in black armor was quietly watching all of this.

When he saw Bai Xuan kill the enemy with a single arrow and then decisively lead his troops in a counterattack, a hint of approval couldn't help but show in his eyes.

"This person is no ordinary person; he must be a veteran of many battles."

"General, what do we do now?" the adjutant beside him asked.

"What else can we do?" Xiang Qing said calmly. "Since we've run into them, we can't let them leave."

Their team was ordered to harass enemy lines and gather intelligence.

This valley was a carefully chosen ambush location; he intended to easily wipe out the grain transport team and seize the supplies.

Unexpectedly, the opposing team's captain turned out to be so formidable.

"Since we can't capture them, let's burn them all."

When he said this, Xiang Qing's eyes remained completely still, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

A general must be decisive when necessary, must not be greedy for merit, and must not be sentimental like a woman.

This was an ancestral instruction from his Xiang family's military treatise, which he always kept in mind.

"Pass down the order: set fire to the valley and roll stones! We must annihilate this entire force in the valley!"

"Yes!"

At Xiang Qing's command, the ambushing troops on both sides of the cliff immediately sprang into action.

Torches were lit one by one, and along with fodder soaked in grease, they were thrown into the valley.

The dry valley was instantly engulfed in flames, which, aided by the wind, spread rapidly, billowing black smoke into the sky and obscuring the view.

At the same time, the soldiers worked together to push huge rocks off the cliff.

"Boom!"

The boulder rolled down with a deafening roar, crashing to the ground and scattering debris everywhere; its power was terrifying.

Bai Xuan and his group, who had just broken through an opening, were instantly forced back.

Flames soared into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and boulders blocked the road.

A formidable enemy lies ahead, and a dead end is behind.

Looking at the hellish scene before him, even a veteran like Bai Xuan, who had been through countless battles, couldn't help but reveal a trace of despair in his eyes.

Am I really going to die here today?

Chen Ye, who was hiding behind the boulder, also had a furrowed brow.

He hadn't expected the other party to be so ruthless, leaving no survivors.

The fire grew larger and larger, the surrounding air became scorching hot, and the thick smoke made it almost impossible to breathe.

The ground beneath their feet trembled as the boulders rolled down.

If we keep hiding, we'll either be burned to death or crushed to death.

A solution must be found.

Just then, because the thick smoke obscured his view, Xiang Qing, who was on the hillside, subconsciously took a few steps forward and came to the edge of the valley in order to see the results of the battle.

In this way, his figure was clearly exposed to Chen Ye's view in the firelight.

(End of this chapter)