Chapter 155: They Launched an Attack

The barbarian army never launched a genuine attack, merely using this method to constantly harass them, draining their stamina and spirit.

A young soldier finally broke down, throwing away his weapon, covering his ears and shouting loudly.

"I can't take it anymore! I can't take it anymore!"

"Shut up!"

Xiong Kuohai slapped him across the face, roaring:

"You'll get us all killed like this!"

The young soldier was dazed by the blow, sitting blankly on the ground, tears streaming silently down his face.

Jiang Xiaomu watched this scene, his heart sinking.

This is killing their morale; continuing like this won't work.

The barbarian army was clearly using this method deliberately to torment them, undermining their fighting spirit.

In such a highly tense environment, the soldiers' nerves will eventually snap.

He must think of a way.

Jiang Xiaomu took a deep breath and spoke loudly:

"Xiong Kuohai!"

"Boss!"

"Pass the order: divide all soldiers into two groups, take turns resting and standing guard, rotating every hour!"

"Yes!"

Xiong Kuohai immediately went to deliver the order.

Jiang Xiaomu walked over to the collapsed young soldier, crouched down, patted his shoulder, and spoke softly:

"I know you're afraid, but we can't give up."

"Think of your family, think of your hometown—we must survive!"

The young soldier lifted his head, eyes blurred with tears, looking at Jiang Xiaomu, and said through sobs:

"I... I want to go home..."

"Yes, we will go home together."

Jiang Xiaomu said firmly.

Under Jiang Xiaomu's arrangement, the soldiers began to take turns resting.

Some hid in the trenches, closing their eyes to rest, while others kept watch vigilantly over the surroundings.

This rotating rest method, although it cannot completely eliminate the soldiers' fatigue,

but at least it lets them get a brief respite, easing their tense nerves.

Jiang Xiaomu leaned against a tree, closed his eyes, but his mind raced quickly thinking of countermeasures.

What is the barbarian army's purpose with this strange tactic?

The east turned fish-belly white, a new day arrived.

But for the defenders of Sunset Village, this dawn foretold greater fear.

All night long, the barbarians' arrow rain was like a death-summoning locust swarm, incessantly gnawing at their nerves.

At this moment, Sunset Village was utterly transformed—its wooden walls, fences, and houses bristling with arrows, resembling a giant hedgehog.

"Report! Casualty statistics are in!"

A soldier drenched in blood stumbled over to Jiang Xiaomu.

Jiang Xiaomu's heart tightened.

"Speak quickly!"

"Reporting, sir: twelve lightly wounded, three seriously wounded, no fatalities!"

The soldier's voice trembled, yet could not hide the joy of having survived the ordeal.

Jiang Xiaomu exhaled deeply; after a night of arrow rain baptism, the fact that no one died was practically a miracle.

"Good! Immediately move the wounded to a safe place; everyone else, gather all usable arrows!"

Although the barbarians' arrow rain had ceased, this was merely the calm before the storm; the real battle had just begun.

The soldiers sprang into action, pulling out the arrows embedded in the wooden walls and houses, examining them carefully, and collecting those still usable together.

These arrows would become their weapons for counterattack.

"Boss, what the hell are these barbarians up to? They shot arrows all night but didn't attack—are they sick?"

Xiong Kuohai leaned close to Jiang Xiaomu, asking with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Xiaomu didn't answer; he raised his telescope and looked into the distance.

On the horizon, a thick cloud of dust rolled in like a yellow dragon, roaring toward Sunset Village.

"They're coming."

Jiang Xiaomu lowered his telescope, his tone calm to a frightening degree.

"Pass the order: all archers ready, shield bearers in front, spearmen in back, prepare to meet the enemy!"

Xiong Kuohai's voice echoed across the battlefield.

Several hundred hastily assembled archers drew their bows, nocked arrows, and aimed at the distant dust drawing ever nearer.

Their hands trembled slightly, but their eyes were unusually resolute.

The barbarian army drew nearer, riding tall warhorses, clad in animal pelts, wielding curved blades.

"Release arrows!"

At Xiong Kuohai's command, the bowstrings twanged, and arrows flew like a locust swarm toward the barbarian army.

The barbarian army clearly hadn't expected the Sunset Village defenders to still have counterattack strength; for a moment they were caught off guard, and the front-line soldiers were repeatedly hit by arrows and fell from their horses.

But the barbarian army, after all, had superior numbers; they quickly adjusted their formation and continued to charge forward under the arrow rain.

"Shield bearers, raise your shields!"

Jiang Xiaomu gave the order again.

The shield bearers raised their shields high, forming an impregnable shield wall that blocked the barbarian army's charge.

"Spearmen, thrust!"

The spearmen thrust their spears through the gaps in the shields, pulling each advancing barbarian soldier off his horse.

The battle was extremely fierce, the battle cries shaking heaven and earth.

Although the defenders of Falling Sunset Village were few in number, they relied on their sturdy fortifications and tenacious fighting will to repulse the barbarian army's repeated assaults.

The barbarian commander Wuchu stood eight feet tall, with a tiger's back and bear's waist, his face full of flesh.

At this moment, the muscles on his face twitched continuously from anger.

His warhorse beneath him stamped its hooves restlessly, as if sensing his master's furious rage.

Wuchu roared:

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

Spittle flew and landed on the face of the attendant beside him, but the attendant dared not wipe it off, merely lowering his head, silent as a cicada in winter.

He never imagined that a dilapidated dry-person village could withstand such a fierce assault.

After a whole night of arrow rain baptism, it did not break their morale; instead, it made them like mad dogs, fighting back even more ferociously.

"General, please calm your anger," a short and stout barbarian commander said cautiously.

"These dry people are merely cornered beasts; their arrows are almost exhausted; we only need to redouble our efforts……"

"Nonsense!"

Wuchu brutally cut off his words.

"Redouble our efforts? Look how many warriors we've lost!"

"These dry people have been under arrow rain all night, yet they still have the strength to counterattack!"

The short and stout commander shuddered in fear and dared not speak further.

Wuchu stared fixedly at Falling Sunset Village, his eyes flashing with a savage light.

He had thought that a night of arrow rain would be enough to sap these dry people's will to fight, and by dawn they could take the village without effort.

But reality dealt him a harsh slap.

"Pass the order: prepare the siege ram!"

Wuchu said through gritted teeth:

"I will raze this broken village to the ground!"

The heavy siege ram was pushed forward.

"Charge!" Wuchu gave the order.

The barbarian soldiers let out earth-shaking roars, pushing the siege ram as they rushed toward the wooden wall of Falling Sunset Village.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The dull impact sounds reverberated across the battlefield, and the wooden wall of Falling Sunset Village trembled violently.

Jiang Xiaomu stood behind the wooden wall, his face grim; the barbarians were about to fight to the death.

"Archers, fire arrows!"

Jiang Xiaomu shouted loudly.

The arrows flew down like rain once more, but they could not stop the advance of the siege ram.