Behind the fence, the crossbowmen stood side by side with weapons in hand, looking at the darkness in the distance with the help of firelight while waiting. Sanqiu held the ax in both hands tightly and stood close to Wang Wenzuo. If he was destined to die, he would rather die with his master. In his life, this Tang warrior treated him best, far better than his previous Baekje master.
"The Baekje bandit is coming!" Wang Wenzuo shouted.
The crossbowmen pointed their crossbows in the direction of the enemy, and the firelight shone on the square arrows, shining with a cold light.
"Don't panic!" Wang Wenzuo tried his best to make his voice sound calmer. He could feel something moving through the snow and climbing up from the dark and slippery slope. "Don't panic!" he repeated again. Then, he saw a head wrapped in black cloth protruding from under the slope, and hurriedly shouted: "Let--!"
The crossbow arrows flew out, and the crossbowmen hurriedly retreated to the back row to unload their crossbows. The archers behind them stepped forward and shot out the second row of arrows. Although they could not see clearly, the screams and screams kept coming. The sound of the corpse sliding on the slope made Wang Wenzuo breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sanlang, do you feel something is wrong?" Han Changlue came over from the side. He was only in his early thirties, but already half of his hair was bald. He was short and stocky. He was Wang Wenzuo's deputy: "I heard that there was a lot of noise, but the barbarians seemed to have a lot of people. Not much!”
"Not bad!" After being reminded by his companions, Wang Wenzuo also discovered that although the enemy was making a lot of noise, there were very few arrows and spears fired, which was in sharp contrast to its momentum.
"Would you like me to take a few people out to test it out?" Han Changlue asked eagerly. He was an excellent knight, especially one who was very good at spearing on horseback. He couldn't hold back for a long time.
"Heiblondong can't see anything clearly, so why rush?" Wang Wenzuo rejected the deputy's suggestion without hesitation: "The barbarian's behavior is a bit strange, tell the archers not to shoot arrows randomly!"
Soon after, the Tang Army's camp gradually calmed down, as if it had been agreed, and the Baekje people also calmed down. There were only occasional drums and whistles, and both sides were waiting for dawn.
Although it was long, the night finally passed, and the eastern skyline took on a faint cyan color. Wang Wenzuo shook his cloak, and there was a thin layer of snow on it. He could hear his teeth chattering. He stood up, moved his hands and feet, and looked around.
Han Changlue was feeding horses not far away. About a dozen steps away from him, several people were slaughtering a mule. This unlucky beast was shot by a spear thrown by the attacker last night and would definitely die. He turned to look outside the fence and saw dozens of blue-gray thick smoke rising from the woods on the opposite hillside. It should be that the Baekje people were keeping warm. For them, last night would only be more difficult.
"Wang Huochang!"
Wang Wenzuo turned around and saw a thin man named Cui Hongdu. He was the best archer Wang Wenzuo had ever seen. He had good eyesight and steady hands. His bow was drawn as smooth as Huzhou silk. He could easily hit fifty. Apples on a tree stump meters away. He nodded to Wang Wenzuo: "The head of the group asked you to come over. We have something to discuss!"
"Thank you!"
Wang Wenzuo took the cup and drank the liquid inside. The burning sensation made him feel comfortable all of a sudden.
"Want another drink?"
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo gratefully handed over the empty cup again. Liu An took a spoonful from the earthen pot on the fire and said with a smile: "Light wine with ginger slices added. It is best to drink it when it is heated. It’s cold!”
"It would be better if I add an egg!"
"Add an egg?" Liu An was stunned when he heard this, and said with a dumb smile: "Sanlang, you really know how to enjoy it, you are worthy of being a son of aristocratic family, okay, if we can go back alive this time, we will definitely add an egg to you when we treat you to a drink! "At this point, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared: "Saburo, I have just counted, there are nearly two hundred thick smoke on the surrounding hillsides. According to a bonfire with twelve people, there are no less than two thousand thieves. . The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. There will definitely be a siege from several sides later, and I cannot command it alone. How about I divide the camp into two sides, and leave the west side to you, and I will take care of the north side myself? "
It turned out that Liu An had put a lot of thought into choosing the camp. The east and south sides of the Tang army's camp faced water on one side and a steep cliff on the other side. Not only was it easy to get water, but he only had to deal with the west and north sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo stood up: "But although there is a steep cliff to the south, we must be careful of thieves taking advantage of the situation. In my opinion, we still need to put people under guard!"
"Sanlang is right!" Liu An nodded: "Let Hongdu lead a few people to watch over there, he has good eyesight!"
There is a large fire pit in the center of the forest, surrounded by Baekje warriors. The walnut branches burned in the pit crackle and spiral up to the blackened canopy. The four walls are half earth and half rock, pale. The tree roots twisted and twisted in it, like thousands of slowly squirming snakes. Far away from the fire, the tree roots formed something like a staircase, and there sat a man with white hair, almost submerged in those huge tree roots.
"What did you see?" Sha Zha Xiangru asked respectfully.
"The ancient flame, ancient and deep, there are snakes, wolves, tigers, and more, no, I can't see clearly, I can't see clearly, there are too many -" The white-haired man suddenly fell to the ground , his whole body twitched violently, Sha Zha Xiangru exchanged glances with Hei Te Changzhi beside him, leaned down and asked in a low voice: "Honorable shaman, I hope you can declare that we will win a great victory today!"
The white-haired man managed to raise his head, his lips twitched, but he could not speak. The black-toothed Changzhi who had been waiting impatiently leaned down and put his side face next to his mouth, pretending to understand something. Then he stood up and shouted loudly: "The shaman said that the gods have shown good omens, and we will have a great victory today!"
"A great victory!" Countless arms beside the fire pit were raised like walnut trees.
"The barbarians are coming!"
Although this was not his first time on the battlefield, Wang Wenzuo still felt his breathing quicken. The enemy was like sticky honey, flowing out from the woods, spreading over the grass, and rushing toward the Tang Army camp. However, there were only about four times as many people on his side as the enemy. One-tenth, maybe less. Although most of the weapons among the Baekje people are just crude wooden spears and sickles, the hatred and bloodlust in their eyes can be felt even from a hundred steps away. Wang Wenzuo forced himself to stop thinking and shouted loudly: "No arrows are allowed to be fired without my order!"
