The moon was high in the sky, the mountain wind was howling, and a few wolf howls could be vaguely heard in the distance. Ma Dai led ten elite soldiers to the top from the back mountain.
The back mountain is a cliff, with a very deep gorge below. The cold wind blows, making people tremble, but the soldiers are not afraid. They take out their hooks and climb up through the big trees on the cliff.
One of them didn't even need a rope. He was like a spiritual ape, jumping left and right, climbing on vines, and disappeared from everyone's eyes in the blink of an eye.
Ma Dai shook his head and sighed. Liu Qi's command was indeed full of talents. All these so-called roosters and dog thieves were used by him. He was indeed a benevolent person.
When we were approaching the top of the mountain, a protruding rock blocked the way. Just when everyone was in a dilemma, several ropes hung from the cliff. Everyone grabbed the ropes and climbed up.
Shi'a had been waiting on the edge of the cliff for a long time, letting the mountain wind blow, and remained motionless as if he had taken root, showing a quite heroic demeanor.
Ma Dai cupped his fists and said, "Thank you!"
Shi A waved his hand and smiled: "From now on, we are all colleagues, no need to be polite!"
There are three felt tents on the top of the mountain, which are lower and simpler than the tents at the bottom. There is only a path from the bottom of the mountain to the mountain. Nothing happens in the camp, and the soldiers on the mountain sleep more peacefully, snoring one after another.
Ma Dai hid in the bushes and carefully observed his surroundings. He saw a row of stone walls built on the mountainside in front, which could not only block the wind, but also push down the cliff to resist the enemy at critical moments.
The sentries were having sweet dreams, but they never imagined that Ma Chao and his party would pass by here, and some people would even climb up the mountain from the cliff behind the mountain.
Shi'a jumped up lightly, walked to a nearby tent, used a dagger to open the curtain, and just when he put his head to check the number of people, he suddenly let out a muffled groan and somersaulted back.
Seeing him staggering, Ma Dai quickly held him up and asked in a low voice: "Have you been discovered?"
"No... no!" Shi A suppressed his face and flushed, gasped for air, retched several times, then fanned his nose and said: "It stinks, it really stinks!"
Ma Dai was startled, frowned and said, "How many people are there?"
"Four!" Shi A pulled out a black scarf from his arms, put it on his face skillfully, and said: "The short one has stinky feet, start from the tall one."
Ma Dai nodded slightly, hesitated a little, and cut off half of his clothes to cover his mouth and nose. The others didn't understand why, but they all followed suit.
The ten people were divided into three teams and quietly approached the tent. Ma Dai grabbed the tent curtain and shouted: "Kill!"
The ten people moved in unison, bent down and rushed into the tent. Under the bright moonlight, a few cold lights flickered.
The snoring in the tent stopped abruptly as the sound of the blade cutting through bone and flesh came.
"Ugh-" Then there was a sound of retching, and everyone rushed out again. Some people vomited their dinner on the spot.
Ma Dai ran to the edge of the woods, tore off his clothes and took a deep breath. These guys stunk more than bedbugs, and even the cloth covering them couldn't block the unspeakable smell.
"His grandma, this is worse than poison!" Shi A patted his chest, walked over and asked, "Is it time to give the signal?"
Ma Dai waved his hand and signaled Shi'a to take action. He was still holding a breath in his chest and was speechless for a moment.
Shi A came to the edge of the cliff, found the beacon tower's torch, lit it, and turned twice in the direction of the valley.
Ma Dai also called on everyone to prepare again. Just waiting for the lanterns on the mountainside to fall, they would kill from the mountain and eliminate the defenders on the mountainside.
As soon as everyone gathered around, they saw that the lantern had fallen, burned immediately, and turned into ashes in the night wind in the blink of an eye.
"Charge!" Shi'a moved quickly, pressed against the stone wall, turned over, and landed lightly on the mountain road.
"Wait a minute!" Ma Dai looked at the shaking stones and suddenly had an idea. He turned around and told everyone: "Push it to the stone wall!"
Several people stepped forward and exerted force at the same time. The stone wall three to four feet wide collapsed, and the large stone fell with a crash, carrying dust and hitting the platform on the mountainside.
"This -" Shi A's eyes widened, and Cao Jun on the mountainside was buried under rocks.
"Go down the mountain!" Ma Dai shouted, leading everyone to rush down the mountain road.
At this time, a fire was already burning in the camp. Seeing the lantern signal, fires were set everywhere in the camp. Ma Le had been waiting beside the fodder next to the stable. In an instant, the sky turned red and the camp was bright.
Pound, who was ambushing in the forest, rushed out with his troops, cut off all the reins, snatched the mounts, drove the horses out, and headed straight for the rear camp.
Suddenly, Shichengguan was in chaos, with fireworks filling the air, people shouting and neighing, and countless horses galloping around in the light of the fire, neighing with their heads held high.
Ma Chao went straight to the gate of the camp, and with a big gun sweep, the defenders who were sleeping with their arms folded were killed. He opened the fence and rushed in first, heading straight for the panicked horses.
The Qiang people who were awakened did not respond at all. Some of them were still sitting on the bed in a state of daze, before they were rushed in and chopped down by soldiers who looked like wolves and tigers.
The Qiang soldiers who hurried out of the camp panicked and ran to the stables. For them, being without a mount was like missing two legs, making it difficult to move.
But at this time, the whole camp was running wild, and they hurriedly came to grab the horses. At this moment, a man rode up and killed him, with a big gun dancing, and screams were heard. The figure even flew into the air, like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable.
The Qiang people were so killed that they fell on their backs and ran around in disorder. A few who had grabbed their mounts were aroused and roared and rushed to intercept them. They were knocked off their horses after just one move.
"Xiliang Ma Chao is here, everyone will die tonight -"
Ma Chao sat on his horse, fired his gun and shouted loudly. The sound shocked the surrounding areas. The Qiang people were immediately frightened and looked at the unruly figure under the firelight in disbelief.
Ma Chao was powerful in Xiliang, and even more famous among the Qiang tribe. He earned the title of "Mighty General" by virtue of his martial arts. Wherever he went, all tribes obeyed him.
The Dangxiang tribe had always held a grudge against their chieftain who was killed by Ma Chao due to a martial arts competition. This time, they were provoked by Han Sui and wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge. They never dreamed that Ma Chao, who had been trapped for two months, would appear here.
With just a name, all the Qiang people were dumbfounded, lost all fighting spirit, and fled in all directions. Ma Chao rode forward, but before he could catch up, there was a howl of ghosts and wolves.
At this time, many people had grabbed their mounts, especially the few Ma Chao guards who followed them and urged their horses to charge, running back and forth in the light of the fire, no one could stop them.
The Qiang people were already frightened, screaming and falling to the ground. Some people knelt down and begged for mercy. But at this time, Ma Chao was like a murderous god. His iron gun swept over them mercilessly, and some people flew into the air.
With months of pent-up anger and the force of thunder, the Qiang soldiers stabbed with spears and fled in panic, completely falling into despair.
In just half an hour, Shichengguan returned to calm again. Thick smoke and the smell of blood drifted away in the night wind. Everyone gathered on the mountain road and looked at the corpses on the ground with indifferent expressions.
"Happy, I haven't drawn my sword so happily in a long time!" Xu Shu wiped the sword dry and ordered: "When the enemy sees the fire, they will send people to check, each with two horses, and immediately collect supplies and retreat."
Ma Chao wrapped a piece of cloth with a gun, dipped it in the blood of the Qiang people, and wrote eight characters on the two pillars at the entrance of the village: Blood debt must be paid with blood, the murderer, Ma Chao!
