If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

"Quick! Take as much as you can!"

In the wind and snow, Hou San's hands trembled, yet he was surprisingly quick, frantically shoveling the scattered silver and copper coins into the sack.

Tie Niu, relying on his strength, carried a whole bag of fine white flour that hadn't been stained with blood on his shoulder, while also lifting a bundle full of dried meat with his other hand.

"Sergeant, we can't fit any more!" Hou San shouted urgently as he tied the sack shut.

"Walk!"

Xu Qingshan held the bow to cover the retreat, without any hesitation.

On the battlefield, you can't bite off more than you can chew; survival is the most important thing.

The four men, carrying supplies, trudged through ankle-deep snow and quickly retreated from the dark alley.

At this point, Blackrock Fortress had been completely transformed into a living hell.

Flames shot into the sky from the north wall, and thick smoke billowed out.

The barbarian cavalry had completely dispersed, brandishing their scimitars and looting throughout the fortress.

Desperate cries, the clanging of weapons, and the neighing of warhorses mingled together.

Those seasoned veterans who usually bullied new recruits were as vulnerable as lambs to the slaughter when faced with the truly ferocious elite of the Black Wolf Division.

Occasionally, a few blood-soaked rout soldiers would rush toward the inner fortress, only to be mercilessly shot down by arrows from the inner fortress walls—Chen Baihu had sealed off everyone's escape route in order to protect himself.

Xu Qingshan led his team along the shadows of the walls, avoiding the main roads, and using the familiar terrain to navigate through the cluster of earthen houses.

Soon, the familiar dilapidated courtyard came into view.

Three long and one short.

As soon as the knocking sounded, the heavy courtyard gate was immediately pulled open a crack.

"Fast forward!" Xiao Hongluan whispered.

The group filed in. As soon as Tie Niu entered the courtyard, he slammed the flour and dried meat he was carrying onto the ground, collapsed onto his backside, and gasped for breath.

Hou San knelt down in the snow, clutching the half-sack of silver tightly to his chest, tears and snot streaming down his face: "We survived... Corporal, we're back alive!"

The latch fell back down, and the door jamming bar was firmly stuck.

The women in the courtyard came to greet them, and their faces turned pale when they saw the men covered in blood and smelled the strong stench of blood.

"Are you all alright?" Shen Qinghe asked, her voice trembling slightly as she held up a steaming bowl of brown rice soup.

"I won't die." Xu Qingshan took the hot soup and drank it all in one gulp. He felt a warm current flow down his throat to his stomach, dispelling the chill in his bones.

Qin Yuenu immediately stepped forward and quickly checked the condition of the veterans.

Apart from the cracked tiger's mouth from the iron bull's fall and some scrapes from Hou San's several falls, there were no new injuries.

"Bandage it up, the medicine is ready." Qin Yuenu turned to get a clean strip of cloth.

"It's not time to catch your breath yet."

Xu Qingshan handed the empty bowl to Shen Qinghe, his gaze sweeping across the room, his voice as cold as ice: "The bodies in the alley will be discovered soon, and they will soon be sneaking over us along our retreat route."

Upon hearing this, the faint sense of relief that had just risen in the courtyard vanished completely.

"Sergeant, what should we do? Although the wall has been reinforced, it can't stop the barbarians from charging in!" Zhou Laoqi gripped his bloodstained scimitar tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

"We have to stop it even if we can't." Xu Qingshan walked to the center of the courtyard. "Have you set up Bai Zhi's trigger thorns and barbed wire?"

"The outer perimeter of the courtyard wall, behind the main gate, and several blind spots where people might try to climb over the wall are all covered up." Bai Zhi bit her lip, holding the simple mechanical crossbow in her hand. "If they dare to force their way in, they'll be lucky to escape with their lives."

Just then, Xiao Hongluan, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward.

She grabbed the wooden gun beside her, her eyes revealing the fierce and murderous aura of a daughter of a military family.

"Xu Qingshan, if the barbarians form a battle array and charge through the gate, you can't possibly handle it all by yourself." Xiao Hongluan looked directly into Xu Qingshan's eyes. "Leave these four to me, I'll form a battle array and block the gate!"

Looking into her determined gaze, Xu Qingshan didn't waste any words and nodded decisively: "Alright! This door is yours. Tie Niu, Zhou Laoqi, Hou San, and Xiao Qi, from now on, the four of you will follow her orders!"

Although the four veterans were somewhat unaccustomed to being ordered around by a woman, Xu Qingshan's authority had been established, and they immediately responded in unison.

"Iron Ox is the strongest, he'll stand at the front and be the spearman!"

Xiao Hongluan, unfazed, quickly got into character, shoving Tie Niu directly behind the courtyard gate. "Zhou Laoqi, experienced as ever, stand on the left for cover; Hou San, quick-witted, stand on the right to fill in any gaps. Xiao Qi, hide in the back, responsible for passing weapons and torches. Remember, don't stab randomly. Listen to my commands, form a tight gun formation, retreat when the enemy advances, and thrust when the enemy is exhausted!"

The military family's strength was on full display at this moment. Under her command, the four previously panicked veterans began to resemble the elite border troops.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Suddenly, the suffocating sound of horses' hooves echoed through the snow outside the courtyard.

Immediately afterwards, a series of chaotic footsteps surrounded the entire courtyard.

"Wu-li-wa-la!"

A few rough, barbaric words rang out from outside the courtyard wall, carrying undisguised murderous intent.

The barbarian pursuers have arrived.

Xu Qingshan did not stand in front of the door, but quietly climbed up a pile of firewood on the side of the courtyard wall.

He crouched in the shadows, holding the powerful bow across his knees, looking down at the commotion outside the courtyard.

More than twenty heavily armored infantrymen from the Black Wolf tribe, carrying heavy tower shields and scimitars, were gathering outside the courtyard gate.

The resistance on the outer wall of Blackstone Fortress had been largely broken down. This squad was specifically there to follow the trail of blood and eliminate Xu Qingshan, this "outlier".

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a barbarian soldier kicked the wooden gate, causing snow to fall and the gatepost to creak under the weight.

"Bang! Bang!"

The impact grew increasingly violent.

"Stay calm! Don't panic!" Xiao Hongluan stood behind Tie Niu, gripping the back half of the wooden spear with both hands, her eyes fixed on the constantly trembling courtyard gate.

click-

The already dilapidated wooden door finally succumbed to the immense force and shattered, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Rush!"

The barbarian soldiers outside let out a strange cry and tried to squeeze into the courtyard, holding up their tower shields.

The moment the first leather boot stepped into the courtyard.

"prick!"

Xiao Hongluan shouted angrily.

Tie Niu's eyes widened, and he exerted force from his waist and abdomen. The spear in his hand shot out like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, using the crack in the wooden door to thrust forward fiercely.

puff!

The spear tip cleverly bypassed the tower shield's defense and pierced directly into the unsuspecting barbarian's thigh.

"what!"

The barbarian soldier screamed and staggered, his foot unfortunately stepping on a trigger spike buried in the snow.

The mechanism snapped open, and two nailed wooden wedges instantly pierced his feet, pinning him to the spot.

"Pull back the spear! Thrust again!"

Following Xiao Hongluan's calm command, Zhou Laoqi and Hou San attacked simultaneously from both sides, their two curved blades slashing down along the edges of the shields, directly severing the barbarian soldier's arm.

The tight gun formation and treacherous traps instantly caused the barbarian soldiers who tried to rush into the courtyard to suffer heavy losses.

The barbarian soldiers in front fell to the ground and howled in pain, while the barbarian soldiers behind were blocked at the entrance, unable to advance or retreat.

"Now!"

Xu Qingshan, hidden on the woodpile, suddenly turned cold, his bowstring taut like a full moon.

Whoosh!

The armor-piercing arrow, carrying the whistling sound of death, shot down from above, passing precisely through the gap between the two tower shields, and piercing the throat of a barbarian elite in the back row who was giving orders.

[Slayed one elite barbarian.]

[Military merit +2.]

[Improves blood circulation.]

The cold system notification sounded again, and the warm current within Xu Qingshan's body surged even more.

Without pausing for a moment, his fingers flew, and the second and third arrows shot out in quick succession.

Each arrow was like an invitation from the Grim Reaper, constantly calling out the barbarian soldiers who were trying to bypass the main gate and prepare to climb over the wall.

Screams echoed from outside the wall.

With Xu Qingshan secretly carrying out "ghost harvesting" and Xiao Hongluan providing frontal gun defense, the situation was dire.

These twenty-odd well-equipped barbarian infantrymen were blocked outside the dilapidated courtyard gate and could not advance an inch!

"Such strong suppressive power..."

Zhao Lihua and Aman, hiding behind, looked at Xu Qingshan, who was like a god of death, and Xiao Hongluan, who was calmly giving orders, with their eyes full of shock.