Chapter 225 Great Victory
Balu, who was standing nearby, quickly realized that this was a trap. He immediately brandished his sword and shouted, "Retreat! Retreat!"
But he couldn't understand why these Han people weren't afraid of bee stings. The places on his body where he had been stung were burning painfully, clearly indicating that the bees were poisonous.
Before he could lead his men to retreat, Lin Changning had already charged at him with his sword.
The back of the blade slashed hard against the horse's leg, and Balu lost his footing and fell off the horse. He endured the pain from the bee stings on his face and body and raised his scimitar to block Lin Changning's downward slash.
The long sword was placed on Balu's shoulder. The immense force made Balu kneel on the ground, using his curved sword to brace against the long sword. After no longer advancing, Balu rolled on the spot, dodging Lin Changning's fierce attack.
He then swung his curved blade at Lin Changning with a backhand motion. Lin Changning took a slight step back, and the blade, with a sharp sound of cutting through the air, narrowly and dangerously grazed past Lin Changning's chest.
Lin Changning frowned slightly. This person was still able to fight back with a knife even after being stung by bees like this. After these two exchanges, it was clear that this person was not a kind person.
A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Changning's eyes. This man must be a fierce general in the Tatar army. He cannot be allowed to escape. He must either be captured alive or left behind!
Lin Changning lunged forward, drew another longsword from his side, and swiftly slashed at Balu with both swords.
With one slash, he thrust the blade into Balu's weak spot at a tricky angle.
At first, Balu managed to hold his own, but as time went on, Lin Changning's attacks became increasingly fierce, and his mind slowly began to become muddled.
It must have been the venom from the bee sting that was taking effect. Not only was the wound burning painful, but numbness was also slowly appearing on his face and arms, and his hands began to swell when he gripped the knife.
Baru realized that his stamina was starting to give out, and a hint of retreat flashed in his narrow eyes.
His personal guards and cavalry had long been scattered by the swarm of bees. Those who tried to escape were now surrounded and killed by Han soldiers, while those in the forest were intercepted by Han people who appeared out of nowhere.
Baru gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and charged straight out. Lin Changning was also feeling unwell; the mud on his body was slowly drying with the heat, and in the fight, a lot of mud had already fallen off.
Bees don't discriminate; my exposed face and the back of my hands have already been stung several times.
Fortunately, her condition was better than Balu's; although her wounds were painful, her mind remained clear.
Seeing that Balu was about to escape, Lin Changning gave chase. Wan Jin had already intercepted a group of people at the entrance of the forest and ran over just in time to meet Balu.
Upon seeing the man who resembled a Tatar leader, Wan Jin swung his sword down. Balu was caught off guard by the blow, his head spun and his movements slowed down. He was unable to dodge Wan Jin's attack.
A sharp longsword slashed open Balu's chest. Before Balu could even cover his wound, another blade pierced through him from behind.
Lin Changning's longsword pierced through Balu's chest from behind, aiming fiercely for his heart. With a twist of the blade, he shredded Balu's heart.
Balu stared blankly at the knife tip that had pierced through his chest from behind, his swollen face filled with resentment. After glancing at Wan Jin in front of him, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Lin Changning drew his long sword, glanced at Wan Jin, and nodded: "Have you dealt with the people outside?"
Wan Jin responded, "Kill them all."
Lin Changning wiped the blood from his longsword with his sleeve. After finishing, he led Wan Jin into the woods, saying, "There are still many people in the woods. Pass on my order: leave no one alive!!!"
Wan Jin hesitated for a moment: "Why not capture them alive and then exchange them for another group of civilians?"
Lin Changning glanced at Wan Jin with some surprise. In the past, Wan Jin would not have thought so much. But Lin Changning shook his head: "There are only a few hundred people left. Even if we try to exchange them, we won't be able to get many more. Besides, these people tonight are probably the elite of the Tatars. It's better to kill them and eliminate future troubles!"
Wan Jin clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and, along with Lin Changning, began searching the forest for the Tartars. By the time dawn broke, most of the Tartars in the forest had been found. After killing them all on the spot, Lin Changning led his team out of the forest.
She left Wan Jin and Lu Shan to tally the battle losses and military merits. The people were still in the valley. Now that the battle was over, she should go back and see them, and comfort the people who had been living in fear all night.
After Lin Changning walked out of the woods, he whistled loudly. Mo Yun ran over from a distance outside the woods, saw Lin Changning standing in front of the woods, snorted a few times, and stood still, refusing to come over.
Lin Changning found it somewhat amusing. He figured that Mo Yun must have been stung by bees in the woods last night, which was why he now avoided the woods whenever he saw them.
Lin Changning smiled, but unexpectedly, he was stung by a bee on the face. The smile pulled at the muscles in his face, and his face began to sting.
Lin Changning hissed and touched his swollen face. It hurt when he touched it. The bees in this forest were really poisonous. He looked at the back of his hand, where a big bump had also swelled up.
Thankfully, everyone was covered in mud last night, otherwise many of us would have ended up here today, just like the Tartars.
Lin Changning beckoned to Mo Yun: "There are no more bees here, Mo Yun."
Mo Yun twitched twice in place, glanced at Lin Changning with her eyes beneath her long eyelashes, snorted again, and refused to go over.
Lin Changning was somewhat helpless, so he jogged towards Mo Yun. When he got to Mo Yun, he could see clearly that Mo Yun had been stung on the nose by a large bee.
Lin Changning patted Mo Yun's head with a touch of tenderness: "You've worked hard."
Mo Yun rubbed against Lin Changning's hand and snorted again. Lin Changning then mounted his horse and rode Mo Yun toward the valley.
Although they weren't stung too badly by the bees last night, it would still be best to find some medicine. People might be able to handle it, but horses might not. Many of their warhorses were still in the woods after the surprise attack last night, and warhorses are quite valuable. They should go back and find two army doctors to see if there are any herbs they can apply to the affected areas.
We need to heal these horses first, otherwise they'll be in pain on the way back and it won't be easy for riders to ride them.
Lin Changning rode her horse towards the valley as the sun rose, casting a golden glow on her body, though the swollen bumps on her face looked rather comical.
After arriving at the camp, Lin Changning dismounted. He had left some men here the night before to protect the people.
Upon seeing her return, a group of soldiers and civilians greeted her with smiles on their faces.
"grown ups!!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com