Chapter 18 The Sneak Attack by the Tartars

The grassland wind whipped fiercely against Lin Changning's face, carrying with it the pungent smell of blood straight into his nostrils.

Wan Jin accepted it well, but was somewhat downcast.

Lin Changning looked up and saw black and red corpses scattered everywhere. Each motionless dot represented a human life, winding across the scorched earth.

The sounds of battle cries and agonizing screams mingled together, finally giving her the feeling that she was in the real world.

It was only at this moment that she realized this was not a novel, but a real world, where the people and things were real.

She truly existed in a dynasty that did not exist in history.

"Liu Lang? What are you standing there for? Are you scared?"

Lin Changning shook his head: "No, I was just wondering if my father and brother were among them back then."

Wan Jin's expression suddenly became listless and downcast: "My father and my brother are also fighting to protect our country, it's an honor. I also want to go to the battlefield, but I'm the only one left in the family. If I go, I'm afraid my mother won't be able to accept it..."

Lin Changning sighed, "Let's go back."

After saying that, he was about to turn and leave when Lin Changning suddenly stopped a moment before he turned around.

"Ten thousand gold pieces?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Will merchants cross the border during times of war?"

"How could that be? They would have run as far away as possible long ago."

The grasslands stretch endlessly, the wind carrying the fragrance of wild grass and unknown dangers as it sweeps across the land.

A caravan was slowly making its way toward the abandoned bunker, the wooden wheels crunching on the grass with a dull creak.

The lead horse was strong but moved with heavy steps, and the caravan guards on its back looked alert and kept scanning their surroundings.

Several large boxes were stacked on the cart, tightly bound with rough hemp ropes, and the brass locks on the boxes gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Standing atop the bunker, Lin Changning took in the entire scene.

Wan Jin also saw the convoy slowly approaching the abandoned bunker and instantly realized something was wrong.

"Something's not right with this convoy!"

Lin Changning naturally noticed something was wrong with the convoy. After estimating the distance, he spoke again: "Could they be spies?"

Wan Jin nodded: "Possibly. They might be spies trying to sneak into the city in the chaos. But that doesn't make sense. They'll be checked before they can enter the city. They can't get in at this time."

Lin Changning pondered for a moment: "Which place is this bunker closest to?"

Wan Jin thought for a moment and scratched his head: "Outside the city? There's not much space there, right? Wait, the newly arrived batch of fine horses are being housed outside the city!!!! Damn it!!!"

Lin Changning stared intently at the slowly approaching caravan, his expression grave. He turned to Wan Jin beside him and said urgently:

"Wan Jin, go back to the garrison and report the news. I'll hold them off here. Horses are strategic resources; not a single one can fall into enemy hands. We absolutely cannot afford to lose one!"

Wan Jin looked worried as she gazed at Lin Changning, hesitant to speak.

After a brief silence, he quickly took the dagger from his waist for self-defense and handed it to Lin Changning, his voice filled with worry: "Take it, protect yourself."

He paused, his gaze lingering on Lin Changning's face for a moment. This kid was better at hand-to-hand combat than him and also possessed immense strength. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and repeated, "Be very careful!"

Lin Changning took the dagger, nodded, and said with a wary look in his eyes, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. You should set off quickly. The sooner the garrison's reinforcements arrive, the better."

Wan Jin turned around and nimbly mounted his warhorse. He tightened the reins and gave Lin Changning a deep look.

Then, with a sudden spur of his legs, the warhorse neighed and galloped off like an arrow toward the garrison, raising a cloud of dust.

Lin Changning took a deep breath, gripped the dagger in his hand, slowly stood up, straightened his back, and stared at the convoy.

The convoy will only take about ten minutes to arrive, but it will probably take Wan Jin and his men half an hour to come and go.

There were fourteen people in the convoy. She definitely couldn't fight so many people by herself, so she had to think of another way to temporarily hold off a group of them.

Lin Changning hid behind the ruins of the bunker, his eyes fixed on the approaching caravan, his heart pounding but he forced himself to remain calm.

She glanced around, quickly picked up the scattered discarded wooden sticks on the ground, and used them as weapons, preparing to face this fierce battle.

The caravan had not spotted Lin Changning in the bunker. Just as they were about to cross the bunker, they were suddenly ambushed by Lin Changning.

Lin Changning threw a stone at the person in front.

With a muffled thud, one of the guards fell to the ground.

The caravan suddenly went on alert, and everyone drew their swords and looked around.

Seeing that no one had noticed the people on the bunker, Lin Changning used the same trick again, throwing a stone at the leader.

The leader heard the whooshing sound and dodged, then looked up and met Lin Changning's gaze.

Seeing that only Lin Changning was blocking their way, the caravan leader didn't take her seriously and casually waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take care of her.

Lin Changning became even more convinced that something was wrong with this caravan.

If it were a normal caravan, they wouldn't be so impolite as to kill her to silence her, even without explanation.

A guard rushed forward and swung his scimitar at him.

Upon seeing the scimitar, Lin Changning was basically certain of the group's identity. Scimitars were something only the Tartars living on the grasslands would like to use.

Lin Changning dodged to the side, cleverly using the bunker wall to avoid the attack, and then stabbed the henchman hard in the abdomen with a wooden stick. The henchman screamed and staggered back, clutching his stomach.

The initial victory thoroughly enraged the caravan.

This time, three burly men surrounded her in a triangular formation, their curved blades gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Lin Changning leaned against the bunker, his eyes scanning back and forth warily, searching for any openings.

The burly man on the left attacked first, slashing horizontally with his long sword. Lin Changning quickly ducked and used his wooden stick to block the thrust from the man on the right.

Taking advantage of the moment, she suddenly kicked the enemy in front of her in the knee. The man fell to his knees in pain, and Lin Changning took the opportunity to strike his head with a wooden stick, knocking him down.

However, the other two continued their attack, wielding two swords simultaneously.

Lin Changning was unable to dodge in time, and a bloody gash appeared on his arm.

The two slowly approached Lin Changning. She quickly picked up the scimitar, gritted her teeth and endured the pain, and used a boulder next to the bunker to leap over it.

Lin Changning, positioned high above, slashed his curved blade fiercely at the leader's neck. The leader seemed surprised that Lin Changning would choose to jump down and attack him.

He dodged to the side, and although the knife didn't hit a vital spot, it left a deep wound on his shoulder.

The leader, his face pale with pain, quickly retreated, babbling incoherently before a group of guards swiftly formed a circle around and trapped Lin Changning.

The guards shouted and charged forward, brandishing their weapons.

Lin Changning's eyes narrowed, a fierce glint flashing in his phoenix eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, his curved blade whipping with a gust of wind as he slashed at the enemy on his left.

The man hurriedly raised his knife to defend himself, but the fierce blade strike caused his hand to split open, and the curved knife almost slipped from his grasp.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Changning turned around, his curved blade slashing in an arc, and slashed hard into another person's leg. Blood gushed out instantly, and the person screamed and fell to the ground.

Two more men attacked from the right; one slashed at her with a curved sword, while the other swung an axe.

Lin Changning dodged the curved blade, used his own curved blade to block the axe, and twisted it with the force of the blow, knocking the axe away.

She kicked the man with the knife in the abdomen, and as he bent over in pain, she slashed his arm with the knife, tearing his skin open.

More and more figures fell within the encirclement, their blood staining the grass. Yet Lin Changning remained standing tall, fearless, each swing of his sword carrying a deadly aura that chilled the hearts of the caravan members.

Lin Changning was also panting. Although her swordsmanship was good, her body was still too slender, and she was already feeling somewhat exhausted after fighting for a short while.

After suffering repeated setbacks, no one dared to venture forward again.