The streets and alleys of Salt Marsh Town are narrow, so ordinary horse-drawn carriages can enter and exit without any problem. However, slightly larger horse-drawn carriages carrying goods will have some difficulty. Therefore, there is now a large dirt square at the entrance of the town for trucks to park and load and unload. Every now and then, there will always be some horse-drawn carriages parked here.
Therefore, Bird did not find it strange at all about the four carriages without horses. He was full of confidence at this moment, knowing that on such a spacious dirt platform, his men only needed to encircle and capture this valuable consul.
One hundred steps, seventy steps...
As Mai Sui galloped side by side with Bird, a hint of hesitation suddenly flashed across his eyes, because he found that the young consul turned around and walked towards them.
Sixty steps, fifty steps...
"Outflank!" Bird shouted loudly, and his subordinates responded, pulling the reins one after another, and galloping forward in two groups, left or right...
"General! Something is wrong!" Mai Sui shouted in alarm, because he suddenly found that the roofs of the four carriages were suddenly opened...
The wheat ear's warning was obviously a step too late, because the others had already rushed out another twenty steps. Even Bird, who should have slowed down his horse and waited for his men to reap the fruits of victory, had already rushed out more than ten steps and was less than thirty steps away from the young consul...
At thirty steps, the crossbow arrows fired by Daishan Squad's individual crossbow machines were enough to penetrate two layers of leather armor. At such a distance, unless someone had undergone targeted training, no one could dodge the incoming crossbow arrows, even if you had already spotted it flying towards you.
Thirty steps is the most accurate range for individual crossbow shooting.
Bird vaguely heard Wheat's warning and also saw the roofs of the four carriages suddenly lifted off. Many of his men also saw it.
But so what? It's too late.
The sound of springs continued to ring out, and crossbow arrows rained down on Bird and his men. The 16 crossbow machines fired 160 crossbow arrows in one breath, crushing all the invading forces in just one encounter.
All sixty-one bandits were shot with arrows, eleven of them were killed instantly, twenty-five were seriously injured, and nearly half fell off their horses...
The two traitors who had been lurking in Salt Marsh Town as mercenaries for a long time were lucky enough to escape unharmed because they had no horses to ride. When Bird and others were shot down, the two were still running behind the main force with big strides.
Compared to the heavy casualties of the bandits, none of the 61 horses were injured, but they were obviously frightened. They neighed continuously and scattered in all directions, galloping...
Then, a dozen bandits who were shot by arrows and fell off their horses, but whose feet were still in the stirrups, were beaten alive...
In front of Wu Lai's eyes, screams and wails were heard one after another. The seriously injured were dying, and the slightly injured ones who fell off their horses were struggling to get up...
Behind Wu Lai, some of the little nobles were already frightened to death. Salt Marsh Town had been harassed by bandits for so many years, but this was obviously the first time they had encountered such a brutal and bloody scene.
Bird had four crossbow arrows stuck in his body, one in each shoulder and leg. Although blood was gushing out, it only aroused his wildness.
Bird endured the severe pain while holding the reins tightly. He pulled out the long sword with his right hand, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and rushed towards Wu Lai...
Among the sixty-one people, Mai Sui was undoubtedly the one with the lightest injuries. He only had a cut on his right forehead caused by the arrow. Although the blood instantly dyed half of his cheek red, it only looked horrifying and did not affect his fighting ability at all.
When he saw Bird rushing out, Mai Sui gave up the idea of pulling him back and instead picked up his sword and followed closely...
No wonder you are so sure, it turns out that someone had already ambushed us, what a joke, we were actually attacked. Mai Sui said to Wu Lai in his heart, his mind was in a mess at the moment, and he also had an uncontrollable fear, because he suddenly had a feeling that he and Bird would not be able to leave Salt Marsh Town alive today...
Bird rushed out ten steps, and the sound of the spring came into his ears again. He subconsciously bent over the horse's back to avoid it, but the horse suddenly let out a sharp neigh, and then Bird was suddenly thrown out...
The wheat ears were also thrown out, splashing blood as they flew in the air. In the second wave of crossbow arrows, he was hit by three arrows in the eye socket, neck, and left chest. His horse, like Bird's horse, was hit in the forelimbs...
At the moment before his life was cut off, the wheat ear suddenly saw a green grassland, where many chubby lambs were eating grass and playing...
Bird rolled over and landed on the bodies of his two men. He bounced up and continued to roll forward. Two of the four crossbow arrows stuck in his body were knocked off. Of the remaining two, one cut his wound and the other pierced his left leg.
Even a tough guy couldn't bear such pain. At this moment, Bird's body was still rolling on the ground, groaning, and his right hand loosened involuntarily, and the long sword fell to the dust...
"I have to say, you look really miserable." Wu Lai shook his head as he looked at Bird, who was lying on the ground two steps away from him.
What Wu Lai said was right. Bird looked as miserable as he could be at the moment. Not only was his leather armor crooked, but many of the copper pieces on it had fallen off during the tumbling. His hair was disheveled, and his face and body were covered with dust, mixed with blood, which "painted" shocking dark brown patches on his body.
"You, despicable..." Bird gritted his teeth and just as he managed to turn over and sit up, his arms that supported his body suddenly felt pain and soften, and he fell to the ground again.
"I'm mean?" Wu Lai was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Bird meant. He couldn't help but smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Okay, I'm mean, but you're not bad either, you're pretty thick-skinned. It's a pity that you don't go to the aristocratic circle to develop."
Bird could not hear the second half of Wu Lai's words. Although he tried very hard to hear them clearly, his vision became increasingly blurry and blurry...
"Useless guy, he fainted after losing just a little blood?" Wu Lai shook his head again, turned around and took a step forward, feeling quite disappointed. He had been expecting Bird to suddenly shake his body and draw his sword to attack him, so that he could satisfy his urge to fight. But the reality was that this guy fainted after just saying three words.
The few young nobles were still hiding behind the carriage. As they watched in fear, more than a dozen young men from the Daishan team who had set up an ambush in the carriage quickly jumped out of the carriage and spread out in all directions, either cleaning up the battlefield or chasing after the fleeing enemy...
I mustered up the courage to stick my head out from behind the carriage and took a look. Oh my goodness, the bandits were already lying on the ground. Many of them had even struggled to get up and were picking up knives and bows, obviously wanting to retaliate.
Just as they were about to retract their heads, several small nobles saw another horrifying scene. They saw seven or eight young men in black clothes pounced on the bandits who had already stood up like hungry wolves without hesitation. Once they pounced, they would wave their right hands, and then a cold light would flash. Upon closer inspection, the bandit who was hit by the cold light had covered his neck and fell down again.
Cutting the throat with a knife... Too cruel. The scalps of these little nobles were numb, but they couldn't bear to look away. The cruelty of the scene before their eyes was comparable to the highest level of gladiator competition in Assyria, not to mention that they didn't have to pay a penny.
"Still looking?" Wu Lai glared at them and said, "Who has quick legs? Help me beat the rally drum."
"Lord Wu Lai, I'll go." A minor noble stepped forward and said flatteringly. Going to beat the rally drum may seem like nothing, but it's a different story if you think about it carefully. To beat the rally drum for the Lord Archon means that you are close to him. Besides, this drum today is a victory drum.
As soon as Wu Lai nodded, a group of people rushed out of the town, led by Gulu, followed by Lauren, and behind them came the militia soldiers who were not as good at fighting but were better at eating, drinking and being arrogant.
The crowd rushed out and saw it, and they were all dumbfounded. How could this replica of hell on earth seem so unreal? "Wulai, these..." Gulu grumbled in his throat, "Did your team do this?"
"Of course, I didn't get involved." Wu Lai curled his lips, put his arm around Guru's shoulders, and asked in a low voice, "Did you blush after shouting those words just now?"
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"No, I was embarrassed to shout, so I asked Baker to shout. That guy has a loud voice, and when he shouted, everyone dropped their tools and ran away in the blink of an eye." Guru also lowered his voice.
Wu Lai nodded and said, "These townspeople are used to being frightened by the bandits and deceived by Hubble and Henry. They don't even have the courage to fight."
"Actually, there are. I've spent a lot of time with them these past few days. Some townspeople are willing to organize themselves to fight against the bandits. They have requested this from the previous governors, and only the last one agreed. But before they could even start, he was assassinated." Guru said.
"It's a good thing that the people are willing to fight the enemy. I guess the reason this didn't get done is because Henry, Hubble and others are causing trouble. They are afraid that the townspeople will unite because they think that will pose a threat to their authority and interests." Woolley hit the nail on the head. Hubble, Henry and others did think so.
“It seems you are willing.” Guru said with a smile.
"Of course, there can be no cowards under my rule," said Wu Lai.
…
When the assembly drum sounded, the townspeople consciously rushed to the training ground. What was different from the past was that everyone was very excited because the news that Wu Lai had just wiped out dozens of bandits had spread. This was a rare good news in many years. At the same time, it also showed the new consul's tough attitude towards the bandits.
By the way, in some versions circulated among the people, Wu Lai personally took to the battlefield and led a group of reinforcements to kill more than a hundred bandits.
When Wu Lai walked into the training ground, the people spontaneously burst into warm applause and cheers.
Smiling and waving, Wu Lai raised the megaphone with a smile on his face.
"Citizens of Salt Marsh Town, Salt Marsh Town won a victory today!" As soon as Wu Lai said this, warm cheers rang out on the training ground again.
After patiently waiting for everyone to calm down, Wu Lai continued, "There were 61 invading enemies, plus two accomplices, a total of 63 people. Our results are: 46 were killed, 17 were captured alive, and a number of war horses, powerful horses, and weapons were seized..."
"What does today's victory prove?" Wu Lai's question caused everyone in the room to be silent. He then gave the answer, "It proves that the bandits are just ordinary people. As long as we unite and deploy properly, we can not only resist them, but also kill them like we did today without leaving a single piece of armor behind!"
Cheers rang out again, sweeping across every corner of the training ground like a whirlwind.
"The purpose of building canals is to resist and defend, but in my opinion, the best defense is offense! Powerful and continuous offense!" Wu Lai raised his clenched right fist, "Only offense can bring peace and tranquility to everyone! Only offense can protect us from being harassed by bandits! Only offense can terrify the bandits and make them dare not approach!"
"I will hang the body of today's bandit outside the town, leaving it to the wind and rain. Even if only a skeleton is left, it must stay there and endure everyone's contempt and abuse! Because they are the sinners of Salt Marsh Town!" Wu Lai said loudly, "Today's bandit leader and his companions who were lucky enough to survive, I will detain them and interrogate them strictly. I want to find out the thieves hiding in the town! Then, give them the same punishment as the bandits!"
"I'm going to form a new team! Their duty is to stand up when Salt Marsh Town is in danger! I guarantee this with the power granted to me by the Supreme Council of Nobles! I will treat this new team with better treatment and training than the militia! I also promise that it will only belong to Salt Marsh Town! I name this team 'Salt Marsh Army'!" Wu Lai took a long breath and continued, "Town residents who want to contribute to the defense of their homes! Town residents who want to fight for glory! The 'Salt Marsh Army' welcomes you to join! Is anyone willing to join?!"
"Okay! I'll join!"
“I’ll join in too!”…
Guru, who was standing behind Woolley to the left, smiled.
Woolley also laughed.