Chapter 54 Chapter 54 The Wolf Attacks Again
The flickering candlelight not far away illuminated their bed.
Xuan Jinyu was awakened by the noisy sound. When she looked up, she saw Su Guanzhang holding her and helping her stand up with a serious look on his face.
The last time she saw him in this state was when they were camping outside some time ago and encountered a tiger that had been trapped in a cave and had just escaped. The tiger was so hungry that it attacked them recklessly.
At that time, the two of them were walking alone outside. Su Guanzhang wanted to take care of her, so he just picked her up and quickly escaped using his lightness skills. Su Guanyu and others who came after hearing the news quickly drove the tiger away.
And tonight, something as thrilling as that day happened?
Xuan Jinyu snuggled in his arms, concentrating and holding her breath.
Soon, she knew what was happening outside.
The shrill and terrifying howling of wolves came from outside the tent, followed by the restless sound of horses.
More people were awakened from their sleep.
"Hurry, hurry, the wolf in the trap is about to jump out. Hey, it's not dead yet even though it's so injured."
"Behind, behind, the wolf is about to jump in."
"Didn't we just kill two? Why are there two more?"
"Oh my god, wake up! Hundreds of wolves. Oh no, no, no, there must be hundreds of wolves."
"Fire, light a fire quickly, wolves are afraid of fire."
"No, the rain is too heavy, the fire can't be lit."
"Damn it, it's raining at this time."
"The tents outside are empty. Lure them inside. There are traps inside."
"Hurry, hurry, the wolf king is here, hiss."
…
Soon, the human voices were drowned out by the noisy sound of rain, crackling, and soon the rumbling thunder sounded.
It's raining heavily.
Xuan Jinyu's heart was beating wildly, and the baby in her belly felt her mother's emotions and began to move restlessly.
Su Guanzhang kissed her forehead and said, "Don't be afraid."
The candlelight is bright.
Xu Yu Niang walked over wearing her outer dress, and at a glance she saw the baby's little hands and feet moving around in Xuan Jinyu's bulging belly.
"Why is the fetus moving so violently?" Xu Yu Niang asked worriedly, "Is it frightened?"
Su Guanzhang turned sideways to make room for his mother to sit down.
The rest of the Su family also gathered around, except for Su Sheng, Su Guanyu, Su Guanwen and Su Guanwu, who were guarding the four corners of the tent, firmly protecting the last barrier.
Xuan Wensheng didn't know martial arts, but the guards he brought with him quickly rushed in. The rain was still dripping down their bodies, and soon there were droplets of water all over the ground.
The sword in the hand of Xuan Wensheng's personal guard Qingfeng was bloody, mixed with rainwater, and was very dazzling in the flickering candlelight.
"Two horses were bitten to death, two broke free from their reins and disappeared, and the rest of the horses were very agitated. We left one person there to try to calm them down."
Qingfeng spoke quickly and briefly described the situation outside.
"There were about two or three hundred wild wolves, and five wolf kings. I shot one, and Lieutenant Chen also killed one."
"All three of the men on guard tonight were killed instantly by wolves biting through their necks."
"Wolves fell into the traps around the tent, but more wolves rushed in using their companions' cover."
The bloodstains on his sword were left when he killed the wolf.
"When I came in, the wild wolves had just retreated at the call of the Wolf King. They were afraid of thunder."
…
It's so dangerous outside.
The children were still in shock. The youngest, Mu Ge'er, and the twins Huan Ge'er and Wen Jie'er, all looked as if they were about to cry.
The three sisters-in-law and Aunt Su were comforting the children, occasionally glancing at Xuan Jinyu with a hint of gratitude in their eyes.
If she hadn't given an advance warning, tonight would have been even more difficult.
Because of Xuan Jinyu's bad premonition in the evening, they dismantled the original small tent, and the Su family and Xuan Wensheng all stayed in the reinforced large tent tonight.
In terms of routine defense, in addition to the usual traps, they also extended the traps dozens of feet outside the tent tonight and dug an extra circle of animal traps.
Two more people were added to the night watch, and the two teams were divided into several small teams, with several tents surrounding the big tent in the middle of them.
They thought that no ferocious beasts on the vast grassland would dare to attack such a large group as theirs. After all, it was summer and there was no shortage of food for them on the grassland.
Chen Yang and Wang Hu were quite surprised when they heard their suggestion, thinking they were overthinking it. Unexpectedly, the wild wolf night attack actually happened.
And the animal trap outside really came in handy.
The rain was pouring down, and the low-lying area under the tent was flooded. It seemed that the only sounds between heaven and earth were thunder and rain.
Chen Yang walked in dripping wet.
"The wolves have retreated temporarily," he said, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall into his eyes. "Five of our brothers have died, and more than ten have been injured."
There was sadness in his voice. "If it weren't for the thunder, they would have killed and injured many more people."
It was too sudden. Even though they had taken precautions in advance, the beasts were still beasts after all. They had no rationality and amazing fighting power. With the wolf king commanding, it was easy for them to bite someone to death or injure someone when they attacked in a group.
No one knew what to say for a moment.
Chen Yang just came over to explain the situation and left quickly. He had to go back to clean up the mess.
Deal with the wolf's carcass and reset the trap.
More importantly, burn the bodies of the deceased brothers and then keep their ashes safely with you so that they can be handed over to their families in the future.
The mood was so heavy that the person who was talking and laughing before going to bed suddenly turned into a handful of ashes.
Even the most rough and unyielding man couldn't stand that kind of gap.
The rain fell heavily as if it was going to wash away the tent, and then rolled unwillingly to the ground, gathering into puddles of various sizes.
The strong stench of wolf blood and the unpleasant smell produced by the burning corpse mixed together, making it very suffocating.
The people who were silently treating the injuries wiped their eyes quietly. They almost became a handful of ashes themselves.
Those who serve as officials in the court through military service know from the first day they put on their official uniforms that they may lose their lives at any time, especially when they are on a mission.
This time they were sent to escort the Su family to exile in Guangxu Prefecture. They also told their families that what might come back would only be their ashes.
But being mentally prepared is one thing. We are not plants or trees. It is inevitable to feel depressed and sad for the deceased and worry about our own future.
There was no expression on Wang Hu's honest face, only his eyes were red.
The rain stopped as daybreak approached.
"It's not a good place to stay for long."
Chen Yang walked over the open door curtain. His body was still wet, but water was no longer dripping down.
He braved the heavy rain at night and took his men to deal with the wolf's corpse. He watched with his own eyes as the corpses of his men were burned, and he personally put the ashes into a small jar. He had almost no time to rest.
I don’t know if it was because he was tired or sad, but he looked much more shabby, and stubble appeared on his chin, which used to be clean.
"The wolf king killed three last night, leaving two. I don't know if they'll come back to seek revenge. We should leave this grassland as soon as possible."
The group had already packed their luggage and quickly set off upon hearing the words.
At dawn they boarded the carriage.
We lost two horses last night, the same two that were killed by wolves at the beginning.
After the wolves retreated, the two escaped horses took advantage of the night and returned to the temporary stable, covered in rain.
"Fortunately, there are enough horses to pull the cart." Chen Yang smiled bitterly.
The two horses lost were good horses they brought from the Ministry of War, and among the five brothers who died, two were his men.
Wang Hu was also in a bad mood, and when he heard Chen Yang's words trying to find a way to be cheerful despite the hardship, he pretended not to hear them.
"Let's go," he said.
Everyone had no time to eat and no appetite.
Xuan Jinyu was carried into the carriage by Su Guanzhang with her eyes covered. She did not see the tragic scene after the fighting outside, but she smelled the lingering smell of blood in the air.
It rained almost the entire night last night, and it was so heavy that the smell of blood hasn't dissipated yet.
Xuan Jinyu didn't dare to think about what that meant. She just felt that her nose was more sensitive than usual during pregnancy. She covered her chest and retched a few times.
Su Guanzhang hurriedly helped her sit down, found the cabinet where the wild fruits were kept, quickly washed them and put one in her mouth.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked.
Xuan Jinyu leaned against him dejectedly and just nodded.
Su Guanzhang touched her forehead, then checked her pulse, and finally placed her on his lap. "Go to sleep first, and eat something when you wake up."
Almost everyone stayed awake all night, and she was in a double body, so she was afraid she couldn't hold on.
Xuan Jinyu swallowed the fruit in her mouth, rested her head on his legs, smelled the familiar scent of snow on his body, and soon fell asleep.
But she didn't sleep well, her brows were furrowed in her dream. Su Guanzhang reached out and stroked her brows several times, but failed to smooth them out.
He stared at her sleeping face, touched her face, and his brows were gloomy.
The carriage took about half an hour.
The heavy rain did not bring any harm to the grassland. Only the lush water plants absorbed the water droplets and stretched out even more, playfully trying to create some obstacles for the passers-by and their carriages.
But the warriors, who had just fought and whose spirits had not yet recovered, did not care about this small obstacle at all, and did not care that their newly changed dry clothes were wet.
The carriage's chassis had been raised and reinforced, so it was not affected at all when traveling through the lush grass.
Even Xuan Jinyu, who was sleeping, did not feel any vibration.
Half an hour was enough for Su Guanzhang to figure out many things.
He opened the window, letting the fresh air after the rain into the carriage.
Seeing Qingfeng riding a horse guarding the side of the carriage, Su Guanzhang was about to say something to him, but suddenly, his calm eyes became sharp.
The white falcon nestled on the roof of the carriage also made a high-pitched cry, and Su Guanzhang could hear the sound of it flapping its wings restlessly.
His brows suddenly furrowed.
Last night, hundreds of wild wolves attacked the camp, and the white falcon was still able to send out warnings to scare the wolves - although it had no effect because the wolf king was there.
And now it began to feel uneasy... He also had some bad thoughts in his mind.
He quickly picked up Xuan Jinyu, who was sleeping on his legs, and held her in his arms, letting her lean on his shoulder and wrapping her in his outer clothes.
After doing all this, he looked out of the open window and saw the horses pulling the carriage kicking their hooves restlessly; and the horses leading the way ahead neighed loudly and refused to move.
The scout's voice came from far ahead, but it was too far away for him to hear clearly.
Su Guanzhang stuck his head out of the car window and only then could he hear what the scout was saying anxiously.
"There are wolves ahead, retreat, retreat quickly."
Wang Hu ran over quickly from the front, "Retreat, retreat quickly, there are wolves ahead."
Wolf pack?
Is the wild wolf from last night back again?
There was some unrest in the team, but they were well-trained and soon calmed down.
Wang Hu went back to the front, and Chen Yang turned around and ran back quickly along the way he came.
The horses received the order to retreat and turned around impatiently, running wildly in the direction away from their natural enemies.
Xuan Jinyu was held firmly in Su Guanzhang's arms and was still unable to react.
Wolf pack?
It was broad daylight and there were so many of them, so how could they attract a pack of wolves?
Could it be true, as Deputy Captain Chen said, that the wolves came to avenge what happened last night?
The carriage door was opened, Xuan Wensheng quickly jumped onto the carriage and walked in from the front room.
"Wang Hu said that there are nearly one or two thousand wild wolves chasing us." He spoke to Su Guanzhang quickly without caring whether he would scare Xuan Jinyu.
One or two thousand wild wolves?
Xuan Jinyu's face turned pale in an instant, and she subconsciously grabbed Su Guanzhang's sleeve.
Last night, two or three hundred wild wolves invaded their camp. They were prepared but so many people were killed or injured. Now the number of wolves has increased several times!
Su Guanzhang patted her back soothingly, frowning. Where did such a large pack of wolves come from in the grassland?
If last night was an accident, looking back today, it seems a little unusual.
It was summer, and the grasslands were teeming with prey. So why would a wolf pack risk such a huge risk, attacking a group of over a hundred people in the open grasslands during the day after their night raid failed?
Without the favorable weather and terrain last night, the conditions for a sneak attack would not have been possible; and would the wolf king lead the wolf pack to do this in the daytime on such a flat grassland terrain that is conducive to hiding?
But now is not the time to think about that.
One or two thousand wolves, even if it were easier for them to hide in this open area, this number would be enough to overwhelm them on this grassland.
Without thinking too much, he listened carefully to the wolf howling that was getting closer and closer. "It's too late to retreat. Get ready for battle," he said.
Xuan Wensheng's face also turned a little pale, but he just nodded and went to give his orders.
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