[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-the-ming":3,"chapter-overthrowing-the-ming-overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-31":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing the Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2289258,4476,"Chapter 31: Wolf Pack (Part 2)","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-31",31,"\u003Cp>Liu Longjin’s breathing grew increasingly heavy. He felt that the scenery in his field of vision seemed to have turned into individual spinning black masses, making him dizzy and lightheaded. His legs could not stop feeling weak, and the words that came out of his mouth were distorted in tone, startling himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children behind them, under the care of Yu Zhengchun and Heiliuzi, were all nervously curled up on their left and right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Orange and Little E were so frightened that their faces were deathly pale, but fortunately, neither of them cried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, they won't come!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Li You’s previous life, there were often wolves in his mountain village when he was a child. Every winter and spring, he had seen the villagers hunt wolves, and as he grew older, he had hunted them too, so he understood the habits of wolves very well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At such a distance, a pack of wolves generally would not launch a sprint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before his thought had even settled, a majestic howl rang out, and the wolf pack actually began to charge toward them...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of \"thump... thump-thump... thump...\" from the wolves' hooves grew gradually tighter, like rapid drumbeats pounding against everyone’s hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They're coming, they're really coming!\" Liu Longjin shrieked at the top of his lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, just had a full meal, and now this disaster strikes... Ah, which one howled just now? Must find the leader of these beasts, otherwise we're all finished!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wa Qingyun was in a foul mood; he had hunted wolves before, but never this many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such a situation, surviving could be called too difficult. The powerful sense of oppression made him strongly want to turn and run.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, they won't come. Don't move, nobody move... They are likely just trying to scare us; it can't be a real attack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You was truly worried that they wouldn't be able to withstand this pressure and would turn traitor and run, so he immediately spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the instant they were speaking, the wolf pack had already charged more than thirty paces, but suddenly, they stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They stopped? Mr. Li is truly a god!\" Liu Longjin’s eyes widened; he had to admire Li You.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You felt he needed to keep talking; doing so could alleviate their immense mental pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he began: \"Wolf packs love relay chasing. They show themselves just to make us panic and run for our lives, then they pick us off from behind. But because we are leaning against the rock face and not moving, we have restricted their attack path, so they probably just wanted to rush us a bit to force us to flee.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The mountain path here has a lot of loose gravel, and running consumes a great deal of stamina. Whoever runs out of stamina and falls behind will be the first to be attacked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After biting them to death, they will continue to chase until they have killed us all... This way they can minimize their own losses!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf packs are most skilled at these tricks. When they hunt, they rarely engage in head-on combat; they prefer to intimidate whenever possible, specifically killing enemies during the pursuit to lower their own losses. It is somewhat similar to the mobile tactics of the Mongol cavalry, or rather, the Mongol cavalry's tactics were learned from wolves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pah... the dog-bastards are truly devious... screw your grandmother, wanting to eat your grandpa, I'll drag three or four of you down to the grave with me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Longjin spat into his hands and switched to a two-handed grip on his saber. He held a *pudao*, a blade with a truncated tip, wide at the front and narrow at the back. This type of saber was not the mainstream sidearm in the late Ming, because a *pudao* generally weighs 5-6 catties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one cannot control the center of gravity of such a blade, it is extremely tiring to swing, making the swordplay prone to becoming sluggish. It relies on hooking, hacking, stirring, lifting, and chopping. Once a set is finished, if the opponent isn't dead, one can only die to provide entertainment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wa Qingyun, on the other hand, held a goose-wing saber that could only be held with one hand. Li You had used it to kill Tian Si. Compared to the other, this blade was much more agile, but it certainly couldn't pierce armor. If used to hack at wolves, using too much force would result in the blade getting stuck in bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You habitually glanced at the *miaodao* he had forged himself, then looked back into the distance. Suddenly, two gray wolves, a size larger than the others, emerged from a patch of grass. Their fur color was no different from the other wolves, except one had a large patch of dark brown coarse hair on its back, and its coat was much smoother and shinier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they appeared, the wolf pack collectively howled at the sky, and immediately after, five or six wolves, led by one of the alpha wolves, were the first to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time the speed was extremely fast, and all the wolves began to move, forming a semi-circular attack posture, baring their teeth, and rushing over with a clatter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You two cover them... now... fire arrows!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You’s dragon-spine bow had already been drawn the moment the wolf pack moved. When five or six wolves reached within twenty paces,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he exerted force again, his index finger pressing tightly against the direction of the string and arrow. He aimed the arrow shaft at one of the charging alpha wolves while simultaneously twisting the string slightly counter-clockwise with his hand. The shovel-headed arrow was held firmly against the bow handle. The \"thump-thump-thump\" sound of the bow limbs bending, seemingly mixed with a dull metallic clank, pulled the dragon-spine bow to its full extent, the bowstring pulled behind his ear...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bang... swish...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bowstring snapped back violently, causing the air to emit a dull explosion. The shovel-headed arrow that left the string turned into a black shadow, more like a bolt of lightning. With a \"thud,\" it pierced the belly of a leaping gray wolf, and then, with its momentum not yet spent, it slammed into the hind leg of the running alpha wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Squeal... squeak...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two wolves fell to the ground one after another, wailing. However, the wolf pack had already launched its charge, and the two that fell did not stop the pack's assault. Moreover, although these two wolves were injured, neither was hit in a vital spot, and they were whining and trying to crawl back up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only because Li You was too ruthless, pulling the full bow back to his ear. This created a larger draw length, but when drawing that far, the hand had to be pulled behind the ear, leaving the hand suspended without an anchor point, making it impossible to control accuracy. Any tremor in the arm when releasing the string would cause the arrow to deviate, not to mention that he was currently not in a calm state of mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, what a wasted shot!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was rare for Li You to curse, because he had clearly aimed for the alpha wolf’s eye, yet the shot had gone so far off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After cursing, Li You immediately nocked another arrow, wanting to find the other alpha wolf, but as he looked up, there were wolf shadows everywhere within a dozen paces; how could he look carefully?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, now that he had fired, the other wolf king wasn't stupid; it was surely hiding behind the pack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You didn't dare look anymore. At this moment, his bow limb angle was perpendicular to his drawing hand, detaching from the bowstring to lengthen the lever arm, forming a more labor-saving fulcrum that made the increasing draw force smooth and stable. The tight sound of the bowstring rang out, and the *pudao* arrow whistled with a wind-breaking hum, surging out once again...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The addition of a string-bridge structure on the bow back reduced the vibration of the rebounding string, and combined with his left hand subconsciously tapping the limb, it greatly improved stability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the bow and arrow received force at the nock, the nock would twist and swim outward due to the string's push, and the arrow shaft would have a certain deflection. His \"rear-flick\" and \"neck-wipe\" release perfectly ensured that the bow-pushing and string-pulling were on the same line. While maintaining a full draw, the force of the bow-pushing hand and the string-hooking hand were two equal and opposite forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When releasing, one must ensure the symmetry of the front and back forces until this pair of forces broke the original force maintaining the full draw, all of which was balanced and converted into the arrow, becoming the kinetic energy that made it speed away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, when Li You released the arrow, he knew it would hit. Sure enough, with a shrill cry of agony, a gray wolf was shot and tumbled three paces away, falling to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But more of the pack were already getting closer and closer...\u003C\u002Fp>",1525,"2026-06-20T03:32:06.992Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","f74d24be8ef12ee084465b6ac9593c6d6dde1a24bb7117ab647f568a889a7e90","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-32","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-30",71,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-the-ming-cover.jpg"]