Chapter 184: First Victory

Beside Li Lin stood more than a dozen government office Runners, holding torches to 'protect' him.

Thus, the place where Li Lin stood had the most abundant 'light'.

This created a 'Tyndall' light scattering effect, making him appear exceptionally radiant and towering, completely different from the local militia hiding in the 'darkness' and from the County Magistrate's Assistant, Jiang Jili.

Everyone else became his backdrop.

Li Lin looked down at the man before the formation, clasped his fist, and smiled: "Yulin County Marshal, Li Lin. And who are you?"

The night was very quiet now; the only sound around was the crackling of the torches.

"Qin Donglai, Grand General of the Northern Expedition, under the command of the Qin Emperor." The man looked at Li Lin, his eyes full of hatred: "I have seen you. Half a year ago, you almost took an arrow from me; four months ago, you burned our grain supplies! I never thought we would meet again."

The surrounding soldiers looked at Li Lin, their eyes full of admiration.

Jiang Jili, who had not yet descended from the city wall, was also looking at Li Lin with a surprised gaze.

He had not expected that Li Lin had actually clashed with the enemy's great general.

But thinking about it further, it also seemed very reasonable.

After all, Li Lin was a Spirit Hunter; that was a role that could be deployed for missions under any circumstances. This was the borderlands, so fighting the enemy army was quite normal.

Li Lin clasped his hands and smiled: "General Qin, since you and I know each other, why not show some face and withdraw your troops? Besides, you cannot break in anyway!"

Qin Donglai snorted: "A mere county town. By dawn, capturing it will be as easy as turning over one's hand."

Having said that, he turned and left.

Li Lin then turned to the several Captains standing nearby and said: "He will most likely attack the city tonight. Pay attention and try to arrange more personnel for the night patrol."

"As you command!"

The several Captains said in unison.

Jiang Jili whispered in the darkness: "Then I shall go down first."

"Good."

Jiang Jili looked at Li Lin, who stood in the light, his eyes full of envy; only after a while did he turn and leave.

Li Lin stayed on the city wall for a while, then entered the gate tower.

This small house built on the city wall was for the city-guarding local militia to rest in.

It facilitated shift changes.

Li Lin entered, found the innermost corner, and sat down to feign sleep.

A soldier wanted to offer his woolen carpet bed to him, but Li Lin refused.

Not long after sleeping, he felt a chill beside him; opening his eyes again, he saw Li Yanjing had arrived.

She stood gracefully in front, smiling softly: "A prestigious County Marshal sleeping on the floor, truly pitiable."

Li Lin gave her an annoyed glare and asked: "Why have you come?"

"Your two wives couldn't sleep; they were worried about you and insisted I come to check, then return to report that you are safe."

"Tell them it is nothing; just wait at home for my return."

Li Yanjing chuckled softly and asked: "Is there any place where I can help?"

Li Lin shook his head: "You just stay home and protect those two."

"Alright."

Li Yanjing nodded and was about to leave.

"Wait!" Li Lin suddenly called out to her: "Take a breath."

Li Yanjing blinked at him, surprised and somewhat puzzled.

"In case thieves enter the city, I will rely on you to protect them."

"But your body..."

"Just one breath; it won't affect anything. But for you, it is very important."

Li Yanjing cupped Li Lin's hand as if holding something sacred; she gently licked it, and a small, white, transparent bead entered her lips.

Immediately followed by the routine full-body tremor.

After a while, she stopped, her face flushed, and vanished.

After Li Yanjing left, only then did the soldiers nearby dare to breathe heavily.

There was no choice; a Possessed Apparition could be seen, and that cold, yin aura was something ordinary people could not endure.

Of course, Li Yanjing could suppress the chill on her body, but she no longer really wanted to do so.

After all, she was no longer a courtesan, but a household Taowu Zhenjun.

She no longer needed to seek favor from others just to absorb some low-quality blood qi.

These soldiers were local militia; naturally, they recognized Li Lin.

They were very afraid of Apparitions, but for that very reason, they revered this County Marshal even more.

After all, Li Lin could actually control an 'Apparition' to work for him.

The several Captains were all directing their subordinates to patrol the city wall; around midnight, many soldiers lay down to rest.

It was impossible to patrol at full strength continuously; someone had to rest to maintain combat power.

However, they all remembered Li Lin's orders: the number of people on night watch was more than double what it used to be.

Furthermore, they were repeatedly ordered to remain alert even while sleeping.

Time gradually passed; the county town was not as lively as before. By the second half of the night, it was terrifyingly silent.

After all, everyone clearly knew that an army of a foreign race was outside the city, preparing to attack them.

Even the infants seemed afraid to cry out.

And it was at this moment that Li Lin suddenly opened his eyes.

He shouted: "Sound the bell!"

The soldiers nearby instantly snapped to alertness; he didn't understand what had happened, but since the superior officer had spoken, he naturally had to listen.

Soon, the urgent clanging of gongs rang out across the entire county town, quickly merging into a continuous din.

Li Lin stepped out of the gate tower; soldiers from other gate towers rushed out as well, torches were relit one by one, and bonfires on the city walls were ignited.

They connected, tower to tower.

Soon, the flames on the city walls were bright enough to pierce the darkness for dozens of zhang nearby.

In front of the city walls, several squads of enemy troops dressed in dark clothing immediately revealed themselves.

Li Lin stood beside the merlons on the city wall, looking down at the enemies below, and smiled.

Around the city walls, numerous small pink-purple paper men hid in concealed spots, peeking out cautiously.

"Archers, ready!"

Li Lin raised his right hand high.

One hundred archers... nocked arrows and drew their bows.

"Fire!"

A shower of arrows rained down, and dozens of enemies fell with screams of agony.

But they did not retreat; instead, they charged forward carrying crooked siege ladders.

Their emaciated bodies seemed to hide boundless power.

"Free fire."

Li Lin roared, then looked into the distance.

He saw Qin Donglai; the man stood before the altar in the rear, motionless, standing like a silent statue.

Li Lin looked at him too; after a moment, Li Lin smiled.

The cries of battle had reached the foot of the city walls, and the siege ladders were propped against the ramparts.

Prepared boiling oil was poured down, and some of the ladders were knocked over.

Roars and screams continued without end.

The enemy numbers were vast; some enemy troops even managed to climb up using the ladders.

The county militia began to suffer casualties.

But for every one who died, another took his place.

The fighting spirit of the militia was extremely strong; under normal circumstances, when these southern barbarian soldiers climbed up, the militia's fighting spirit should have been on the verge of collapse.

After all, these were militia, not border troops.

The militia and border troops could almost be seen as two different species; the gap in combat power was enormous.

Most importantly, there was the difference in morale.

Ordinary militia would see their morale collapse the moment enemies scaled the walls, whereas border troops would not.

Now, the border troops of Yulin County would not either.

This was because Li Lin had been standing atop the city wall the whole time, occasionally using his spear to stab one or two approaching enemies to death.

Precisely because of this, the militia did not collapse.

A superior officer who can stand on the front line and fight on the front line encourages the heart far more than any great banner or bounty ever could.

The slaughter continued; soon, the number of those southern barbarian soldiers dwindled.

After another incense stick's time, all enemies who had climbed onto the city walls were dead.

The militia immediately began to tend to their fallen comrades.

Su Bei walked over, wiped the blood from his face, and said, "Reporting to the County Commandant, the enemy has been repelled; our casualties are approximately one-tenth."

Five hundred militia, one-tenth casualties, meant roughly fifty men had lost combat effectiveness.

However, the enemy's casualties were greater, likely around six hundred.

Siege warfare is like this; one must pay a price several times over to achieve even a small result.

The number of enemies outside the city should not exceed two thousand; having lost about one-third at once, logically, their morale should have been extremely low.

But... things did not develop according to logic.

Those southern barbarian soldiers watching their comrades die from afar showed hardly any expression on their faces.

Instead, at this moment, Qin Donglai smiled; looking at Li Lin, his expression was quite proud.

At the same time, the Taowu Zhenjun with the lizard head floating above the altar moved.

(End of this chapter)