Chapter 32: Fierce Battle!

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Cao Tian reacted swiftly, immediately tracking down the two brothers from the Liang Family Martial Arts Hall who were stationed here, and proposed a joint collaboration by invoking his status as a minor flag officer of the Jailer Ministry.

In his view, the solution to dealing with this rebel army was remarkably simple: to capture the rebels, one must first capture their leader!

To directly capture and slay the rebel leader amidst the chaotic ranks!

Without a head to guide them, the remaining rebels would be nothing more than a leaderless rabble, bound to scatter in all directions.

Hearing this, the two Liang brothers exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "Even if Lord Cao had not spoken up, we two brothers already intended to lend a hand. That rebel leader has the blood of our Liang family on his hands, and blood debts must be paid in blood!"

The news of Liang You's death had already traveled back to the Liang family, and though the brothers did not know precisely who had killed him, blaming it on the leader of the rebel army was bound to be a safe bet!

The two parties struck an accord almost instantly.

They immediately retrieved their weapons, prepared to execute the decapitation strike!

It was also fortunate that the minor flag officers from the Jailer Ministry who had sought out Li Chang'an a few days ago had acted in secret assassination, so Cao Tian and the two Liang brothers knew nothing of the matter.

Otherwise, to speak nothing of a decapitation strike.

By this time, they would have long since been scared out of their wits, fleeing as far away as possible.

...

As the rebel army drew closer, though the private soldiers within the Yan family estate felt a sense of trepidation in their hearts, they still leaned out and loosed flight after flight of sharp arrows.

Their archery was by no means exceptional, but at such close range, even if they had closed their eyes to shoot, there was a high probability of hitting a mark.

Furthermore, arrows were devastatingly lethal against soldiers wearing no armor.

After a single volley, over a dozen rebels collapsed, most of them merely wounded, while only a few unfortunate souls were struck in vital areas, dying on the spot.

The soldiers who were struck tumbled to the ground, turning into stumbling blocks for the soldiers behind them, which caused the rapidly charging rebel army to fall into a brief state of chaos.

Outside the estate, dust blotted out the sky.

Witnessing this, the private soldiers who had initially been full of trepidation all felt their spirits lift, and even the fear in their hearts dissipated by quite a bit!

War is a violent gene carved into the very bones of humanity!

Before the fighting begins, both contending sides might find their military morale unstable due to various factors.

But once the fighting starts and blood is drawn.

The violent elements hidden in the depths of human genes are activated, and under the influence of adrenaline, even the most honest and cowardly person in daily life will hysterically hack out with the long saber in his hand!

Seeing that the timing was perfect, a discharged veteran leaning over the perimeter wall in charge of commanding raised his voice and bellowed, "Draw your bows, nock your arrows! For every rebel killed, Master Yan rewards one tael of white silver!"

The scent of blood mingled with the dust, hanging as heavy as pressing dark clouds.

The private soldiers were stimulated, the hot blood in their hearts thoroughly ignited, and the archers once again drew their bows and nocked arrows.

"Creak!"

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

It was another volley.

The number of arrow feathers was even greater than the last volley.

The rebels had only just reordered their formation, and seeing a new wave of arrows flying toward them at this moment, they could not help but all reveal expressions of terror.

If it were not for the elite troops at the front being sufficiently fearless of death, still leading the vanguard forward, the rebel army would likely have fallen into utter chaos by now.

Seeing this situation, Li Chang'an, who had originally been rushing in the middle of the ranks, let out a sigh and murmured, "As expected, an army without spiritual faith, without rigorous training, and without a strong organization is just a rabble!"

The advantage he had secured for the rebel army was already large enough.

He had only wanted to ease off a bit at the final threshold, to give the rebels a chance to train and show their mettle.

—Yet he never expected that merely facing a single volley from the private soldiers, a crowd as vast as the rebels would actually throw themselves into disorder!

With this kind of combat capability, to say nothing of rebelling against the Demonic Qing Court, they probably couldn't even sort out the landlords around Fengzhou.

However, while the rebel army's poor combat capability was outside Li Chang'an's expectations, thinking carefully about it, it was actually within the realm of reason.

After all, though Wang Su was quite capable, his true profession was ultimately that of a Daoist priest, not a general leading troops into battle!

To ask him to seek immortals and inquire of the Dao, perhaps he could answer a thing or two, but to ask him to straighten out an army, was that not entirely forcing a man beyond his depth?

After this battle ended, a thorough rectification from top to bottom would be absolutely necessary!

With his mind mulling over the subsequent operations, Li Chang'an stamped a single foot against the ground and leapt upward, his whole person appearing midair like a great Roc spreading its wings.

"Retract!"

Li Chang'an flicked his sleeves lightly, and the inner qi within his body blasted outward, forcefully blowing this entire volley of arrows into complete disarray!

Witnessing this scene, which could well be called a miracle, every single member on the rebel side grew ecstatic!

"Taiping! Taiping!"

The crowd shouted in unison, and their originally panicked emotions calmed down.

Taiping was the name Li Chang'an had chosen for the rebel army, meaning the wish for 'Peace Under Heaven'. Though this reason could not yet gain the recognition of all rebel members for the time being, at the very least, it had become a spiritual pillar in the hearts of some.

They were not rebelling; they were doing it for peace under heaven!

...

Within the Yan family estate, when Cao Tian and the two Liang brothers witnessed this scene, their expressions all turned somewhat peculiar.

Never in their wildest dreams had they thought Li Chang'an would consume his inner qi to such an extent for a flock of mud-legged peasants!

Especially the two Liang brothers, who could not help but speak out, "Does he not fear running out of inner qi and being chopped into mincemeat by the chaotic army?"

Without a doubt, in the eyes of the three of them, such behavior was akin to carrying a lantern into a latrine—seeking death!

The three exchanged glances, their eyes all bearing a hint of coldness and mockery.

Cao Tian, leading the group, immediately commanded, "Keep shooting arrows, do not stop! Shoot as many as there are, let us see how many volleys his inner qi can block!"

Hearing his command, the private soldiers atop the high wall began to shoot arrows toward Li Chang'an like madmen.

And Li Chang'an welcomed all comers; no matter how many arrows there were, as long as he felt they posed a threat, they would be deflected away by his inner qi.

A rare few that managed to land could not threaten anyone either.

Amidst the crowd, looking up at Li Chang'an who resembled a deity in midair, Xiong Er's gaze burned brightly, his eyes filled with emotions of adoration and longing.

He adored the strong.

And he adored even more a strong person like Li Chang'an, who could step forward at a critical moment to protect the weak!

Taking a few deep breaths, his blood ran scorching hot all over his body, and he charged out ahead of the pack, roaring as he spoke, "The leader is using his arts to block the enemy for us! Everyone, charge!"

Hearing his roar, the rebel morale suddenly exploded, and the human tide poured toward that high wall recklessly like a swarm of locusts.

The private soldiers still wanted to fight back, but every time they hurled various projectiles, they were all blocked by Li Chang'an through various means. Compounded by the fact that a gap had already been blasted into the courtyard wall by the cannons, the private soldiers, whose numbers were already much depleted, simply could not hold back the tide-like assault of the rebel army.

The rebel army streamed in through the gap in the wall, breaking into the grand gates and deep courtyards of the Yan family mansion.

By this point, having lost the geographical advantage, the private soldiers were in all probability finished. The rebel army, possessing an absolute numerical advantage, could drown the three hundred-plus men halfway to death even if each person just spat once.

Seeing this situation, Li Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief.

If after exerting so much effort, the rebel army's first battle still failed to win beautifully, then he might as well throw away his pride and remove his own name from the community of transmigrators!

Just then, three figures darted out from the courtyard. They paid no heed to the rebel army beneath their feet, but instead came charging directly at Li Chang'an with murderous intent.

A chilling smile brushed across Li Chang'an's lips as he cracked his knuckles and stretched, muttering, "And here I was wondering if you pack of cowards had turned tail and run. Couldn't help but march yourselves right to my doorstep after all, could you?!"

...