Chapter 333: Human Mountain

On the official road, Tang Ershuan ran in a state of tense anxiety. The fields on both sides of the official road were entirely covered with the camps of the Roving Bandits; a chaos of tents and shacks blanketed the farmland, and within them, countless Roving Bandits were likewise fleeing toward the town.

Nearby officers were all shouting, but the clamor of the surrounding Roving Bandits was so overwhelming that Tang Ershuan could not make out what the officers were yelling at all. He only knew to keep advancing with the other soldiers. Because the formation was too dense, he dared not draw his four-foot-long Waist Saber, and only gripped his Short-Handled Axe in his hand.

In the fields to the right lay the largest Bandit Camp. The Servants fled like madmen, toppling the tents and pot-racks they ran into. The weak fell in the chaos and were instantly trampled by countless feet. The blocked Horse Soldiers, in a frenzy, hacked down the Servants before them with their blades.

A group of Servants, having lost all reason, ran toward the official road without any sense of direction, heading straight for Tang Ershuan's position. Before he could even reach the front of the ranks, a Skirmisher wielding a Trident-Halberd charged in from the side. The weapon's central spike pierced through the chest of the foremost Servant, pinning him to the ground. The other Servants scattered in a flurry. The Skirmisher planted a foot on the Servant's chest, and as he made to pull out the Trident-Halberd, he had already passed out of Tang Ershuan's sight.

"What a sin!" Tang Ershuan tightened his grip on his axe.

The Garrison Battalion had been badly battered by Cao Cao's Horse Soldiers at Chuzhou. Tang Ershuan had personally experienced that battle. This time, it was said Cao Cao was here again. He had originally wondered if they would be forced by the Horse Soldiers to make another crossing of the Erlang River. He had seen this camp many times during reconnaissance and never imagined that when the real attack came, they would reach this point so easily.

The Land Combat Division advanced rapidly along the official road, running ahead of the fleeing Roving Bandits, as if moving through a frenzied tide of people. Occasionally, arrows flew in and landed among the ranks. A few Marines were wounded but still pressed on. No one stopped to retaliate; in the chaos, it was impossible to tell which Roving Bandit had shot them.

Although he had been through several major battles, Tang Ershuan's heart was still gripped by some terror. The officers' roars were almost inaudible amid the mad shrieking, but Tang Ershuan knew how to fight anyway. According to the last order delivered by the Centurion, the Land Combat Division's duty was to seize Erlang Town and clear out all the Roving Bandits inside. After that, the cavalry would strike north, with the First Division and the Land Combat Division coordinating as the situation allowed.

The Centurion's back was ahead of him. His pace slowed as he bellowed orders at each passing rank. When Tang Ershuan ran past him, he finally heard it clearly.

"Do not leave the road! Punch through the town!"

Tang Ershuan could not quite grasp complex orders, but what the Centurion shouted was clear enough: just follow the official road and attack all the way through.

As he ran, Tang Ershuan glanced hastily ahead. The column was about to reach the market town. Once they were inside the town, Tang Ershuan would no longer fear the Horse Soldiers.

In the shaking field of view ahead, all he could see were the bobbing helmets of the Marines. Everyone was panting, stifling and unbearably hot under their Leather Armor. Ahead, screams rang out one after another; the Vanguard was cutting down the Roving Bandits blocking the way, and the Mobile Infantry were intercepting and killing off the official road. The roadside Tang Ershuan passed was already littered with corpses, the dying writhing and screaming.

A sudden chaos erupted in the front ranks, and a string of soldiers' silhouettes pitched forward. Tang Ershuan leaped swiftly to the side, running off the official road. He had no time to see who had fallen first. The Marines behind him also left the main road, and after bypassing the chaotic section, they returned to the official road. Only then did Tang Ershuan realize that everyone around him was from the First Banner Squad; the formation was already in disarray.

Officers at the front and rear were urging them on; the column could not stop for a moment. Tang Ershuan had no way to leave the ranks and could only continue forward with the column. The corpses on the road and around them grew more and more numerous, all Roving Bandits caught by the Vanguard. Those not yet dead still screamed and crawled on the ground. When Tang Ershuan stole a moment to look, houses had already appeared by the roadside.

A battle cry rose from the front of the road. Someone was shouting "Protection!" in unison — the Marines' custom before engaging in battle. The surrounding soldiers echoed the call one after another. Tang Ershuan hurriedly shouted along, and then he heard the Squad leaders of the First Banner Squad yelling; the formation dispersed.

Tang Ershuan did not belong to the First Banner Squad. He had intended to stop and wait for his own Banner Team, but he was jostled by those around him and pushed to the right, entering the ruins of a house. Passing through a broken back wall, they entered a narrow alley. The unit formed a single-file column, and Tang Ershuan was squeezed in the middle. He had not figured out why they had left the main road, but at this point, he could only continue following the back in front of him.

Shrill screams and agonized shrieks came continuously from up ahead. The unit stepped over the corpses on the ground, turned two corners, and emerged into another alleyway. The alley was packed with people. On the left was a half-collapsed brick wall. A group of Roving Bandits was scrambling over it. When they looked up and saw the Marines, they froze for a moment. The Marines were all wearing Leather Armor, with only their arms exposed. Before those Roving Bandits could identify them, the lead Squad-of-Five leader charged forward and hacked at them. The Roving Bandit directly in front turned to flee but was blocked by the people behind him.

The Squad-of-Five leader's Waist Saber sent up showers of blood. The foremost Servant fell, and the rest screamed and fled backward, but the rear of the alley was already jammed with people. Those in front were squeezed together, unable to advance or retreat. A Trident-Halberd wielder coordinated with the Squad-of-Five leader, cutting them down one by one along the alley, practically advancing over corpses. The entire alley was filled with hopeless, agonized wails.

Seeing the alley was impassable, the Team leader pointed at the brick wall. "Go this way!"

Tang Ershuan could not even figure out his Direction now. The sharp screams in the alley made his head spin. Someone pushed him, and just like that, he crossed the brick wall. Inside was a courtyard with side rooms on the left and right. It must have originally belonged to a well-off family, but now it was in complete disarray, littered everywhere with bedding, pots, bowls, and all sorts of Clothing and Belongings and furniture. It looked like it had been packed with Roving Bandits; a few silhouettes had just fled out the courtyard gate.

"Kill all the Roving Bandits!"

The Team leader barked the order, and the Marines swiftly chased out the courtyard gate. Outside was another courtyard, equally strewn with wreckage. At the far end stood a two-story wooden building; several Roving Bandits were fleeing up the stairs to the second floor.

"You, get upstairs!" The Team leader shouted at Tang Ershuan, then led the other soldiers charging into the first floor, from which screams soon emanated.

Still gripping his axe, Tang Ershuan stomped up the stairs. Reaching the second floor, he nervously searched for those Roving Bandits, not even noticing the unusual noise around him. When he reached the second room, Tang Ershuan saw a Servant. The man had been panicking by the window and was trying to return to the doorway. Seeing Tang Ershuan enter, he immediately retreated again until his back hit the windowsill.

This man was about thirty-four years old. Tears and snot streamed down his wrinkled face. His right hand rubbed frantically against the windowsill, and desperate, guttural sounds came from his Mouth.

This man had no weapon. Tang Ershuan, axe in hand, looked left and right, still undecided about whether to cut him down. It was then that he finally noticed the unusual noise coming from outside the window.

Tang Ershuan instinctively took a step forward. The Servant let out a shriek, flipped over, and jumped from the windowsill.

"You…" Tang Ershuan raised his hand, but seeing him disappear out the window, he lowered it again. The noise outside grew increasingly intense. Tang Ershuan cautiously edged up to the window and looked down at the street below.

Inside the ruined market town of Erlang Town, Roving Bandits fighting for the road were jammed together. Abandoned Carriages in the street blocked the traffic. The crowd squeezed through the gaps between the Carriages and the houses, clogging the street so completely that no movement was possible. The strongest Servants climbed atop the crowd, already forming a human Mountain. More Servants fleeing from behind continued to pour ceaselessly into the street, desperately clambering up the human Mountain, occasionally causing parts of the Mountain to collapse. Countless people screamed and tumbled down, becoming part of the Mountain's base, and then stepping stones for the newcomers.

Tang Ershuan stood frozen at the window. He had never imagined that people could pile up into a Mountain. The Roving Bandit who had just jumped was now nearly pressed beneath the crowd. Beside him was a horse's head; the horse was pinned under the mass of people, only its head still able to move.

Looking down from the second floor, the road surface was completely invisible. There were only countless bodies and limbs churning and writhing, the screaming deafening.

Tang Ershuan raised his Short-Handled Axe slightly, staring blankly at the hellish scene before him and murmured, "Cut… what a sin."

……

Outside Erlang Town, the First Division's column had just arrived. Yao Dongshan, panting, raised his Telescope and looked east. In the Telescope's field of view, smoke billowed; fires had broken out everywhere in the Bandit Camp and were spreading in all directions.

At present, the First Division still had some Iron Armor, while the Land Combat Division was basically equipped with Leather Armor. Their marching speed exceeded that of the First Division, so by now the Land Combat Division was already fully committed inside Erlang Town, while the First Division had only just arrived.

According to the verbal message just sent by the Land Combat Division, the Roving Bandits' Resistance was very weak, but fully controlling Erlang Town was not easy. The number of Roving Bandits was extremely large, and the Garrison Battalion's attack had coincidentally caught the Roving Bandits on the march. A large number of Carriages and corpses were left on the road, and clearing the road would take no short amount of time. The Land Combat Division had still not passed through that crucial crossroads.

According to the original plan, after the infantry captured Erlang Town, the cavalry would attack north toward the Mountain Pass. If the attack went smoothly, the Land Combat Division would be left to guard Erlang Town, and the First Division would attack east toward Moyanpu, compressing the Roving Bandits' maneuvering space as much as possible.

The narrower the battlefield, the smaller the Roving Bandits' cavalry advantage. Especially between Moyanpu and Fengjiadian, there was the Chema River with its abundant water, and the surrounding area was full of Rice Paddies and Fish Ponds. In much of that terrain, the cavalry was even at a disadvantage.

Yao Dongshan had no intention of putting out the fires, but the camp and the smoke blocked his line of sight. Pang Yu had designated him the Vanguard's commanding general, and all the way there he had been thinking about how to deal with cavalry and how to attack Erlang Town. Reaching Erlang Town now was already considered a success. But with the army currently unable to pass through Erlang Town and lacking intelligence on the Mountain Pass and Moyanpu, he was at a loss as to how to proceed next.

"Where are the Land Combat Division's Scout Cavalry? Why haven't they scouted east and reported back?" Yao Dongshan turned his Telescope toward Erlang Town with dissatisfaction. On the official road, there was still a Land Combat Division column; he estimated one Company had yet to enter the town, but the Company Commander's Recognition Banner was no longer on the official road, meaning he had likely already entered the market town.

The sound of horse hooves came from behind. When Yao Dongshan turned to look, Chen Rulie had already reached his side and dismounted. Behind him were several dozen cavalrymen; their horses were sweating, clearly showing they had ridden here at full speed.

The Cavalry Division was under strict orders from Pang Yu. Chen Rulie could only select the sixty or seventy horses with the best stamina and personally lead them in a rapid chase to catch up with the Vanguard. Along the way, these sixty or seventy cavalrymen had further differentiated; about twenty of the most outstanding riders had caught up with the Land Combat Division and joined the attack, playing an important role on the flanks. The group Chen Rulie led was slightly inferior, but still surpassed most of the horses in the Cavalry Division.

Seeing they had successfully reached Erlang Town, Chen Rulie breathed a sigh of relief. Yao Dongshan briefly explained the situation to him, then looked at Chen Rulie and said, "Sir Pang instructed the cavalry to attack the Mountain Pass, but the blacksmith says we can't get through for a while. The road is full of Carriages; getting to the Mountain Pass won't be so convenient."

Chen Rulie nodded. Yao Dongshan pointed east. "There are Roving Thieves on the west, north, and east sides. We can guard the bridge on the west side. To the north, the town is blocked up; even the infantry can't get through. Once your cavalry all arrive, they'll just be delayed here too. Take the ones that arrived first and head east. Those Bandit Spawn have lost their nerve — chase them down and capture Moyanpu first."