A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

The guards escorting the grain carts immediately abandoned their supplies and ran back as soon as they saw the bandits appear.

Lin Lang was also taken aback, and his brows furrowed.

When they previously ambushed the government troops, the enemy fought back fiercely.

This time, the other side didn't even engage in combat with them.

"Fourth Master, it seems those government troops are afraid of us!"

The brothers behind him laughed loudly and began to seize the supplies.

But Lin Lang felt it wasn't that simple.

Before he could react, he heard the sound of orderly hooves coming from afar.

Oh no! We've fallen for their trap!

Lin Lang immediately realized that this was a trap.

"Run! There's an ambush!"

Lin Lang shouted loudly.

But the next moment, hundreds of Zhenbei Army cavalrymen appeared before them, and even more government troops emerged from the woods, surrounding Lin Lang and his group from all directions.

Lin Lang finally understood that the vanguard battalion's previous successful sneak attack was not because they were good, but because the government troops deliberately let them win in order to make them arrogant and lure them into a trap!

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

Lin Lang roared and turned to run into the woods.

The soldiers of the Zhenbei Army immediately charged forward and quickly surrounded the people of Qingfeng Village.

Although the people of Qingfeng Village were fierce and brave, they were no match for the regular army.

Screams rang out one after another as people from Qingfeng Village fell in droves.

Lin Lang brandished his machete and fought desperately, trying to carve a bloody path through the enemy lines. However, the Zhenbei Army gave them no chance whatsoever. Even though Lin Lang's skills were in no way inferior to those of the government troops, he still couldn't break through.

His men fell one by one, and the number of people around him dwindled. Of the nearly three hundred brothers, only about a hundred remained.

"Fourth Master, hold on!"

His men stood firmly in front of him.

"Damn it! Let's fight these scoundrels!"

Lin Lang gritted his teeth and led the remaining hundred or so men toward the woods.

With great difficulty, he finally led dozens of remaining soldiers to find the horses they had hidden there and quickly fled towards Qingfeng Village.

On the wall of Qingfeng Village, Xu Yuan stared uneasily in the direction below the mountain.

A moment later, Lin Lang was seen riding a horse, with only about ten men behind him, fleeing back towards the gate of the village.

Seeing the panicked look on Lin Lang and the others' faces, Xu Yuan immediately realized something.

Sure enough something happened!

"Open the gate of the village quickly."

Xu Yuan immediately gave the order.

"Brother, the government troops are right behind us."

Lin Lang shouted loudly, finally escaping back to Qingfeng Village, and hurriedly ordered the gate to be closed.

The next moment, the pursuing Zhenbei Army cavalry also arrived at the gate of the stockade. Seeing that the gate was closed, they stopped their pursuit.

"Release the arrows!"

Xu Yuan gave the order.

The Zhenbei Army, responsible for the pursuit, did not linger in battle. Seeing that the bandits were about to retaliate, they immediately turned their horses around and left the area.

After an unknown amount of time, the shouts of battle from the foot of the mountain finally ceased.

Xu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the main force of the government troops had not pursued them. He then came to Lin Lang's side with a furrowed brow.

At this moment, Lin Lang had only forty or so remaining soldiers behind him, almost all of whom were injured.

Seeing this scene, Xu Yuan didn't know what to say.

I've tried to persuade him so many times, but Lin Lang just won't listen.

As expected, pride comes before a fall.

Lin Lang slumped to the ground, too ashamed to face anyone else. He could only pull the arrows out of his body and bandage them up simply.

He looked at the dozens of remaining soldiers before him, his face ashen.

Three hundred brothers went out in a grand procession, but less than fifty returned, suffering a loss of nearly half their strength.

Inside Qingfeng Village, the atmosphere was deathly silent; no one spoke, and the previous arrogance and conceit had vanished.

Only now did they finally realize that the supplies and provisions they had successfully seized from the government troops were nothing more than bait laid out by the government troops to lure out the main force of Qingfeng Village.

When they were dealing with the Zhao family army, they defended Qingfeng Mountain, and the Zhao family army attacked for months without being able to break through. They thought the government army was nothing special. But now, facing the Zhenbei Army, they realized what a real regular army was.

"Big brother, what do we do now?"

Lin Lang looked up at Xu Yuan, his tone less arrogant.

"You go inside and heal your wounds first; leave this to me."

Xu Yuan simply sighed and ordered his men to carry Lin Lang away.

Before Xu Yuan could deploy his next plan, the sound of orderly hooves came from the direction of the mountain road.

Before long, a neatly marching team appeared outside Qingfeng Village.

At first glance, this army of several hundred men was well-equipped, and a chilling aura emanated from them.

Everyone in Qingfeng Village was shocked.

The government troops in front of them were completely different from those they had fought before.

"Listen to me, everyone, get to the stockade and defend!"

Xu Yuan immediately shouted.

The government troops outside the village began to line up, looking as if they were about to attack.

At this moment, Xiao Yunling, the commander of the Yun Battalion, personally rode his horse to the front of the column.

With a wave of her hand, the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army immediately dispersed, surrounding the entire Qingfeng Mountain.

"We're doomed, we're surrounded..."

"What should we do? There are only so few people in the village, we can't possibly hold it."

"I knew I shouldn't have listened to the fourth leader. Now look what's happened, we've brought the government troops here!"

The people of Qingfeng Village on the stockade wall panicked instantly upon seeing this scene, their faces turning pale.

"Shut up! Pick up your weapons! If the government troops dare to attack, we'll slaughter them all!"

Xu Yuan personally took up his sword and went into battle.

The government troops will not give them any chance to breathe; after surrounding the mountain, they will surely launch a fierce attack.

Sure enough, not long after, bugle calls came from the foot of the mountain, and the Zhenbei Army's attack began.

Several siege ladders were erected on the stockade wall. The soldiers of the Zhenbei Army braved the rain of arrows and climbed up the ladders. Their shields blocked most of the arrows, and they were all fearless.

The people of Qingfeng Village put up a tough fight, but they were far inferior to the Zhenbei Army in both combat skills and equipment. The defensive fortifications on the village walls were quickly breached, and the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army climbed the walls and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the people of Qingfeng Village.

Screams rang out again, and the blood on the stockade walls accumulated more and more. The people of Qingfeng Village were forced into retreat, unable to withstand the fierce attack of the Zhenbei Army.

What made them even more desperate was that the sound of horses' hooves came from afar again. The reinforcements of the Zhenbei Army had arrived, and their numbers had increased by several hundred. The densely packed government troops surged toward Qingfeng Village, and the breach in the village wall grew wider and wider.

"Brother! The village can't hold out any longer!"

Someone shouted loudly, only to be cut down by a soldier of the Zhenbei Army.

Looking at the scene before him, Xu Yuan knew that Qingfeng Village was completely finished.

When Lin Lang finished treating his injuries and saw the scene before him, he was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

"Let's go! Retreat through the secret passage! The stronghold can't be defended anymore!"

Xu Yuan shouted the order, a hint of despair in his eyes.

Lin Lang had already lost most of Qingfeng Village's main force.

If we continue to hold out, we'll only be heading towards death.

Lin Lang snapped out of his daze, his eyes filled with regret. He quickly caught up with Xu Yuan, leading the remaining few dozen confidants, and ran towards the back mountain.

The secret passage in the back mountain was dug when Qingfeng Village was established. Only a few people knew about it, and it was left as a backup plan.

As for the fate of their brothers behind them, they no longer cared.

Now the entire Qingfeng Village has fallen into the hands of the government troops...