Chapter 543: Ambush by the Hills and a One-Sided Battle

Estimating that the enemy still had some time before arriving here, the group took out their tools one after another and, on the easiest path between the hills, dug one pit after another, each knee-deep and palm-wide.

These pits were dug in a scattered, disorderly fashion along the route the enemy would most likely take; pits of this size would very easily trap a person's foot or a small wheel.

Causing movement difficulties.

It would be even better if sharp metal spikes were stuck at the bottom of the pits; stepping into one would easily result in the foot being pierced by the spikes inside. But the departure this time was urgent, and everyone had no such things on hand.

Actually, splitting arrows in half and inserting the portion with the metal arrowhead could also serve as a substitute. It was just that the Warriors had no means to manufacture or replenish arrows; the arrows relied entirely on being captured in battle, and with every one used, there was one less, so they were simply unwilling to actively destroy arrows to use them here.

Therefore, the pits dug at this moment could only be said to serve the purpose of giving the enemy a fright and hindering their movement.

But this was enough; as long as the enemy was blocked here, they would be perfectly subjected to the pincer attack from the Warriors on the hills on both sides, looking down from a height.

"Quick! Everyone, move faster!" Weier urged.

He was also holding a small shovel at this time, quickly digging a pit at his side deeper. The others were also busy; they used whatever tools they had on hand—long swords, personal daggers, anything would do. Some Warriors had even brought some small tools in advance, which came in handy at this moment.

"By the way, who has the best eyesight? Please go to the top of the nearby hill and help keep an eye on the south. If you see any traces of the enemy, notify everyone immediately!" Weier shouted.

The Warriors looked one after another at the three archers in the team. If it were a matter of who had what combat power, the Warriors might not be convinced by anyone and would have to fight to find out. But when it came to long-distance vision, it was only those three archers.

The three archers also looked at each other and, after some mutual deferring, one of them took the initiative to stand up and strode toward the small hill nearby.

Before long, everyone had dug dozens of pits on the road the enemy might pass through.

Weier inspected them and had everyone move the excavated soil to a place further away, so as not to be too easily spotted by others.

"You should have said so earlier! The pits are all dug, and only now are you telling us." Someone grumbled with dissatisfaction.

Weier said nothing. He knew that this person didn't have any opinions about his arrangements, but rather had an opinion about him as a person. If the same words had been spoken by Jier or Bata'er Jiaoshi, these people certainly would have had no complaints.

His own relationship with the Warriors in the team was poor, and in the final analysis, it was because he had previously mixed with a Bandit team and, upon first encountering a Refugee Team, had killed an Armed Civilian of that Refugee Team.

The current Warriors were basically trained and transformed from those original Armed Civilians, so it was normal for them to have a bad attitude toward him.

"I hope Jier can expand the scale of his Warriors in the future. Only after the scale expands and the number of these people is diluted can I truly stand firm in the team," Weier muttered softly.

At this moment, the archer who had been sent to the top of the nearby hill to scout for the enemy suddenly shouted loudly at them: "The enemy is here! The enemy is here! I see them approaching from the south!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Weier. Weier immediately waved his hand and shouted: "According to the previous arrangement, everyone split into two groups and go hide behind the north side of the hills. Wait until the enemy walks into the trap area, then listen to my command and launch the attack together!"

Bata'er Jiaoshi waved his long staff and also shouted: "Everyone, go and act according to the plan!"

Afterward, the Priest was the first to walk toward the hill on the east, and Weier followed behind the Priest. The other Warriors moved one after another, splitting into two groups and hiding behind the hills.

Everyone lay down along the edge of the hills, carefully covering themselves with the wilted wild grass and flowers on the hills. At the same time, pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly at the area between the two hills.

"Be quiet, don't make any sound," Weier warned the others in a low voice.

"Wait for my command in a moment, then we will stand up, form a combat formation, and approach the enemy's team from the hills," Weier whispered to the surrounding Warriors.

"The enemy is inferior to us in numbers, similar in equipment, but some individuals are far inferior to us in skill. So, we will definitely win this battle!"

Weier gave a final pep talk to boost morale.

These were all things his teachers had taught him in the academy. In battle, the strength of both sides is important; numbers, organizational power, combat composition, and so on, all affect the outcome of the battle. But what has the greatest influence is actually the morale of the team.

If a team has high morale, even if their strength is inferior to the enemy, they can suppress the enemy in battle and even rout them. In battles with larger numbers, the influence of morale is more important. In small-scale battles, perhaps there are still Warriors who can influence the battle result by relying on personal bravery, but once the number of people fighting on both sides exceeds one hundred, unless they are Knight-rank Warriors, it is generally difficult for ordinary people to influence the result of the battle.

At this time, the morale of the Warriors becomes an important link.

If a team's morale is not high, even if their weapons and equipment are all superior, they may still collapse and fail in a battle. Because morale is poor, the Warriors consider not how to defeat the enemy or how to gain more military merit, but rather how to protect themselves in battle and how to run faster than others after being defeated.

When everyone in the team is considering how to run away if the battle fails, this battle has actually already been lost before it even begins.

As for this current battle, the side's morale was actually fine, thanks to Jier the Knight being willing to pay money to the Warriors who performed meritorious service, which made the Warriors at this moment think only about how to defeat the enemy and get more bounty.

Although everyone's enthusiasm for battle was a bit too high, in Weier's view, this was also a good thing.

Within the peeking sight of the hidden group, a small team pushing handcarts and following the Plowing Oxen pulling the carts was walking out of the forest from the south, and then, following the route everyone had predicted, was walking toward the north at a steady pace.

Bata'er Jiaoshi sighed slightly. The scale of this enemy grain-transporting team was slightly better than the worst-case scenario he had anticipated; at least the dozen or so enemies themselves were all pushing wooden two-wheeled handcarts.

This meant that the amount of grain they could transport in one trip was much more than he had previously estimated. Therefore, the enemy needed more grain, which meant that the number of Changmai Village Villagers controlled by the enemy was still quite large.

"Great Agricultural God, protect us, protect your believers so they may survive and hold on until the moment of rescue," the Priest prayed softly. Weier glanced at the Priest, feeling embarrassed to remind the other party that it was necessary to remain hidden and quiet at this time.

After a while, the enemy's team drew closer, and the enemy's situation could be seen more clearly by them.

As Jier the Knight had said in his previous letter, there were twelve enemies in total. There were also several obedient Plowing Oxen in the team, which were currently following the Human team listlessly.

These Plowing Oxen, raised from a young age, would take the initiative to follow behind Humans even if left alone, and would not run around. So even though they had no one driving the carts at this moment, these Plowing Oxen pulling empty carts followed the Humans slowly, occasionally looking at the surrounding wild flowers and grass with longing eyes, wanting to eat something.

There wasn't enough grass in the forest for them to eat, so these Plowing Oxen had actually been eating one meal and skipping the next for these past few days. The rotting leaves all over the forest floor could not be eaten; if the Plowing Oxen ate them, they would become seriously ill.

What they usually ate were the Wheat Straw stacks piled up in every courtyard in Changmai Village. Every time they transported grain back, they themselves had to carry some bulky, lightweight Wheat Straw.

Weier stared unblinkingly at the team drawing closer. Then, he waited until the enemy at the very front of the team pushing a cart got the wheel of his handcart stuck in a pit, at which point he leaped up from the ground and shouted loudly: "Now! Everyone, combat formation! Attack! Attack!"

One Warrior after another climbed up from the ground, shouting one after another as they formed a loose combat formation, then rushed down from the hills at a fast pace.

The three archers on the opposite hill stood scattered and fixed, took out their Soldier Bows, and fired arrows continuously at the enemy team below.

They aimed roughly and fired arrows to ensure that, during the process of the Warriors' surprise attack from above, the arrows would cause casualties and create chaos for the enemy.

They succeeded. The Defeated Soldiers, suddenly encountering an attack, were at first so surprised that they didn't know what had happened.

Especially with loud shouts of attack coming from both the left and right, it plunged them—who hadn't been attacked while transporting grain back and forth for some time—into a state of panic. The continuous arrows flying from the left made the Defeated Soldiers panic as they pulled Shields from behind their backs and raised them toward the left.

But there were enemies shouting and killing from the right, leaving the panicked Defeated Soldiers unsure whether to first block the arrows flying from the left or to block the two waves of enemies about to kill them from both sides.

Fortunately, the Squad Leader of these Defeated Soldiers shouted in time: "The enemy's numbers are not high, don't be afraid! Groups of six, form a combat team and fight the enemy!"

They quickly withstood the pressure of the arrows and the enemies killing them from both sides, forming two teams. But in the panic, one side gathered seven people, while the other side had only five.

Aoni, who was charging at the very front, snorted with dissatisfaction, because they were on the side with the five enemies. Clearly, in the panicked battle, the Defeated Soldiers still subconsciously did not want to engage with enemies supported by archers.

So all seven people pushed toward the right, toward Weier and his group.

But this actually made Weier ecstatic, because they were not afraid of the enemy having more people; they were only afraid that the enemy would see the situation was bad and run away directly, in which case the battle would turn into a scattered pursuit.

Their advantage of a surprise attack and their terrain advantage would then be gone. It would be hard to say who would win or lose the battle.

Seeing that there were seven enemies on his side forming a team to fight back, Weier shouted to the surrounding Warriors: "Maintain combat formation! Maintain combat formation!" At the same time, he said urgently to Bata'er Jiaoshi beside him: "The key strike to break the enemy's formation in a moment is left to you!"

"Watch me!" Bata'er Jiaoshi didn't waste any words. The Wooden Agricultural God Statue held in his left hand had been gripped for a long time; the Divine Power of the Agricultural God was already prepared, just waiting for the distance to be suitable before launching it.

And in the team of seven people in front of them, the Squad Leader responsible for commanding finally saw the Church Priest mixed into the enemy team. He felt a sudden sense of impending doom and was about to open his mouth to tell everyone to scatter, but it was already too late.

I saw the squad of Warriors charging down from the hill; when they were ten meters away from the Defeated Soldier, the two in the front suddenly moved aside to the left and right, revealing Bata'er Jiaoshi who was raising his hand behind them.

"Divine Power Impact!"

The Priest shouted, his voice filled with anger and resentment.

A pale cyan ripple of an impact cluster spread rapidly forward from the Wooden Agricultural God Statue, expanding into a circular air mass of impact with a diameter of three meters just as it rushed out ten meters.

The wild grass on the ground was blown away and uprooted entirely; several Defeated Soldiers who were raising their Shields in preparation for battle instantly felt a huge force pushing against the front of their Shields. It pressed them backward until they fell, then they were knocked over by the force, rolling and crashing head-first into the Handcart left behind them.

Once the enemy's battle formation was broken, Weier shouted: "Good chance! Charge!"

He himself was the fastest and most agile; he accelerated and dodged past the shield-bearer in front of him, and after accelerating for a few steps, he jumped up from a commanding position, kicking his legs fiercely toward the enemy's Shield in front.

Thud!

The Defeated Soldier who was kicked was knocked over directly; another Defeated Soldier standing nearby tried to take the opportunity to slash at Weier with his sword, but even while kicking out with both feet, Weier steadily caught the enemy's attack with the sword in his hand.

Weier stepped directly on the enemy he had kicked over, swung his Long Sword repeatedly with his right hand, parried the enemy's Long Sword, and then gave the enemy a strike on the Helmet.

However, the enemy was wearing a Metal Helmet, so this strike only made the enemy step back and shake his head, having little effect.

But by this time, the others on Weier's side had already followed to kill.

The shield-bearers wearing heavy Armor did not care about the swords slashed by the enemy Soldiers at all; they simply ignored them and focused on slamming their Shields into the enemies, using the running momentum from charging down the hill to knock over two enemies in a one-for-one trade.

With this, the enemy's formation on this side was completely scattered.

Bata'er Jiaoshi also shouted and rushed up, raising his left hand toward a Defeated Soldier who had just climbed to his feet; this enemy was immediately terrified and scrambled to roll away in a panic.

But Bata'er Jiaoshi cherished the Divine Power on his body and had no intention of using Divine Power Impact a second time in this battle; he only raised his left hand to scare the enemy, as the real offensive was the Amber Metal Long Staff in his right hand!

Just as the enemy rolled away, he was struck by the head of the staff thrown by Bata'er Jiaoshi; instantly, a dim yellow light spread rapidly from the point of impact, and the movements of this Defeated Soldier also became sluggish in an instant.

The Priest deliberately adjusted the power of the Amber Metal Long Staff, no longer seeking to immobilize an enemy instantly, but only using the staff to slow the enemy down, which greatly reduced the enemy's threat.

After all, no one would be defeated by an enemy who was as slow as an old man, right?

The two squads were locked in a chaotic battle, but the Warriors clearly held the upper hand because that initial Divine Power Impact had knocked away three enemies in one go; even if the enemies did not die immediately but instead rolled and crashed into the Handcart behind them, this still brought a great disadvantage to the enemies.

Not to mention that Weier kicked over one enemy, and two shield-bearers rushed up to knock over enemies in a one-for-one trade, tangling and wrestling with the enemies on the ground.

The other Warriors who rushed up afterward were there to reap the results.

Weier set his sights on the enemy's Squad Leader, because this person had been giving orders just now, so he specifically rushed up to engage him in close combat.

The enemy's level was not bad either; his offensive and defensive use of the sword and shield had a method to it, clearly having practiced relevant martial arts.

But Weier's movements were more agile, his figure faster, and the advantage of his own side in the surrounding battle allowed him to devote himself entirely to the engagement with the enemy.

But the enemy could not; the disadvantage on the battlefield made him restless, and he had no heart to commit to the battle with Weier, being controlled more by a feeling of panic, even thinking about surrender in his heart.

But when his gaze caught the enemy Priest standing still nearby, he realized that the other party seemed to be a Church Priest of the Nongshen Church, and he despairingly extinguished his plans to surrender.

He knew clearly how many bad things they had done in the Cunzi, and that Cunzi seemed to have a Nongshen Church? Most of the people in the entire Cunzi had Faith in the Agricultural God.

"This is terrible! Terrible! I must run away!"

But because he was looking around and letting his mind wander like this during the battle, Weier had long since spotted his flaw.

Just as Weier once again discovered the enemy withdrawing his attention from the battle at hand, he risked moving closer to the enemy and swung his sword out from the side of the enemy's Shield.

The full-force sword strike headed straight for the enemy's left elbow, which actually had a flaw because it was difficult to install the Metal Armor Plate from the Soldier Armor there.

This was discovered by Jier when he dismantled a large amount of the enemy's Soldier Armor, and he told everyone.

But to protect this area completely, one would have to use many Metal Armor Plates, extending the Metal Armor Plates downward from the Upper Arm Armor by half a palm's length to better cover the protection of the elbow.

And at this moment, the enemy Squad Leader, wearing standard Armor, naturally had a flaw here, and because he was distracted, he was caught by Weier, who seized the opportunity to land a heavy sword strike there.

Swish—

A left arm holding a Shield fell to the ground, and fresh blood sprayed out from the severed stump of the arm.

The Squad Leader of the Defeated Soldier stared blankly at his own arm, seemingly unable to believe it.

But Weier did not stand there in a daze; he thrust his sword out, piercing directly into the mouth of the stunned enemy and through to the back of his head.

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