Chapter 83

XCMG XE4000 mining excavator.

A colossal creature even more massive than a Hundred-Ton King Mining Truck.

The roar of the engine starting sounded like a dragon's roar.

"I added so much fuel money."

Lin Dao in the driver's cabin subconsciously recalled the huge fuel cost from the last refueling.

This big fellow isn't a gas guzzler, it's a leaky funnel!

Once the engine starts, the fuel in the tank is like poured into a funnel, swirling down!

Without some wealth, you can't afford to fuel this big fellow.

"This thing is too hard to drive!"

Though privately, he had already hired a professional excavator master to teach and practiced many times.

But facing the complex operating system, the flustered Lin Dao complained in his heart, "Working myself to death to earn money, it all goes back into it."

"Worrying about the food, clothing, housing, and transport of so many people, I'm exhausted all day, yet don't even have a chance to enjoy myself."

"Thinking about it now, it would have been better to ignore the Beggar Army and just make money."

"Not caring about the life or death of these people, earning gold and returning to the Modern World to listen to songs at a brothel and enjoy life—how wonderful."

Operating such a large excavator is very complicated and tiring.

When practicing before, it was harder than when he went to school, and complaints were inevitable.

Of course, he only complained.

After all, he had a conscience and moral bottom line, having witnessed the misery of this world.

So many people placed their hopes on him, so naturally he would shoulder responsibility.

If he really spent all day listening to songs at a brothel, it would eventually lose its meaning.

The heavy tracks moved forward slowly, crushing deep marks on the ground.

Two li away, the Longcheng Armored Cavalry constantly sought gaps in the Iron Wire Net to harass the Beggar Army, and for a moment, men and horses were thrown into chaos.

The engine sound was too terrifying; even trained warhorses could not suppress their fear, neighing and roaring as they ran amok.

Extending the bucket, this super giant object over thirty meters long brought an overwhelming sense of oppression with its massive body.

"Go, go, go!!"

Murong Chui suddenly grabbed the reins and roared loudly, "Return to the valley!"

Murong Ke on the mountain waist had trembling hands and felt chills all over.

"Is this... is this the steel giant beast you spoke of?!"

It really is a monster.

Even looking down from above, it is still incredibly huge.

Especially that roaring sound, shaking one's liver and heart to tremble along with it.

He asked, but received no response.

Murong Ke turned his head in doubt, only to see Fu Hong with a pale face, also trembling.

"No, no, it's not this one."

Hearing Fu Hong's trembling whisper, Murong Ke was even more doubtful, "What are you saying?"

"Not this one!" Fu Hong took a deep breath, suppressing the terror in his heart, "The one outside Ye City before was not this one."

Murong Ke understood.

He hurriedly asked, "What is the difference?"

Fu Hong shook his head, "I don't know."

He indeed didn't know; the two steel giant beasts looked very different.

Especially the one below the mountain, which actually extended a long claw in front, its shape was truly too strange.

The only similarity was that both were so huge as to make one's heart and gallbladder split.

Also, this big fellow below the mountain seemed very slow.

It was indeed slow.

Don't look at this super-sized excavator being big enough, but its speed is only a few kilometers per hour.

About the same as a person walking.

"This is your own choice."

Lin Dao in the driver's cabin, seeing the large batch of Xianbei Armored Cavalry turn their horse heads and run back into the valley, also let down his heart, "You've gone in, but getting out won't be so easy."

Although the excavator is slow, fortunately the valley is very close.

Boom boom rumble rumble, it drove into the not very spacious valley.

"Fighting, focus!"

On both sides of the mountain slopes, whether Beggar Army or Xianbei and Di people, they lost their composure because of the excavator's appearance.

They were either dumbfounded or panicked.

For a moment, even the intensity of the battle dropped.

The first to come back to his senses was Ran Min.

He only used one sentence to greatly boost the Beggar Army's morale, and they bravely rushed into the battle.

"The Grand Commander is driving the Mechanical Beast!"

Most of the Beggar Army attacking the mountain had once seen the Grand Commander's heroic figure driving the Mechanical Beast outside Ye City.

Though it's a different Mechanical Beast, as long as they know it's on their side, it's fine.

In contrast, the Xianbei and Di people's military heart and morale were obviously struck.

Fortunately, Murong Ke dispatched men in time to relay the message to all armies.

"That monster cannot get up the mountain."

Only thus was the military heart steadied.

Without needing to heed traffic rules, Lin Dao gradually got a feel for driving the hook machine.

Upon entering the valley, squad after squad of Longcheng Armored Cavalry who had steadied their warhorses came galloping back and forth, loosing arrows at the hook machine.

Even the Longcheng Armored Cavalry, no one dared approach the steel behemoth.

No helping it, this hook machine's massive bulk exerted too intense a sense of oppression.

Entering the valley, he advanced Ali or so.

Ahead, the Longcheng Armored Cavalry constantly luring the hook machine intensified their harassment.

Because just a few dozen zhang further ahead lay the position of the trench pits.

They wanted to scatter Lin Dao's attention as much as possible, to avoid having the trap seen through by him.

As for the arrows shot by the Longcheng Armored Cavalry, against the hook machine which had steel plates welded over its vital parts they were utterly useless — merely a clanging sound to listen to.

Watching the hook machine about to drive into the trap trench, Murong Chui in the valley and Murong Ke on the mountain slope both revealed smiles.

But just when the hook machine's tracks were only a mere few meters from the pit, it stopped.

In an instant, everyone's faces changed.

A moment later, the hook machine moved again.

Only not forward — the massive bucket descended, smashing the covering wooden planks over the pit.

Murong Chui gritted his teeth: "How did he know?!"

Having smashed all the cover boards, Lin Dao drove the hook machine to shift laterally, nearing one side of the mountain body.

The huge bucket dug continuously, widening and deepening the pit.

This operation left the Longcheng Armored Cavalry not far away completely baffled.

"Is he trying to trap us?" Murong Chui was doubtful and uncomprehending. "What use is that?"

"We can't get across, and you can't get over here either."

If it really comes to it, they can just dismount and climb up the mountain slope.

This giant monster, presumably, also cannot get up the mountain.

The valley was not spacious; Lin Dao drove the hook machine back and forth laterally digging a full pass.

Glancing at the sloped mountain slopes on both sides, Lin Dao picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Liu Hu, hang a Molotov cocktail on the Flying Divine Luan."

Liu Hu did not know who Molotov was; he only knew this cocktail could not be drunk — drinking it would burn one's heart and body to death.

Swiftly finishing mounting the external load on the large drone, he checked and confirmed no mistakes.

Liu Hu, retreating, raised the walkie-talkie in his hand: "Lord Lang, done."

On Lin Dao's side, he picked up the drone's control board.

The large drone took off, dragging the cocktail to the air above one side of the mountain slope.

The canister fell, crashing heavily onto the mountain slope.

Splattering liquid scattered over a large area.

Accompanied by the falling ignition material, it ignited the liquid; roaring flames quickly burned up.

Aided by the wind, the flames ignited the trees, vines, and shrubs on the mountain slope.

The fire spread with extreme speed.

On Lin Dao's side, he flew the drone back.

After landing, Liu Hu and the others quickly stepped forward, mounting a fresh canister of cocktail onto it.

The same operation — this time igniting the other mountain slope.

Only now did Murong Chui suddenly realize: "He wants to burn us to death?!"

"Go! Go!"

Murong Chui shouted, leading the Longcheng Armored Cavalry running toward the valley depths.

Reaching the valley end, Murong Chui decided on the spot: "Everyone dismount, climb the mountain and flee!"

Abandoning the warhorses they regarded as life, they climbed the mountain with difficulty seeking escape.

Murong Chui knew very clearly that as long as people lived, nothing was more important.

Warhorses there were plenty of, but veterans who had long experienced battle — courageous warriors — were extremely hard to cultivate.

The mountain slope was steep, shrubs growing thick.

On the ground piled up who knew how many years' accumulation of dead branches, rotten leaves, and waste vines.

The Longcheng Armored Cavalry crawled up the mountain; movement was extremely difficult.

Even more life-threatening: the Flying Luan overhead, like a thousand-mile eye, stared at them; that canister fell straight into the crowd.

Surging flames swallowed many climbing Longcheng Armored Cavalry.

Miserable screams, burning men rolling incessantly, dealt a tremendous psychological shock to the Longcheng Armored Cavalry.

Those rolling, struggling burning men ignited even more dead branches and rotten leaves.

Today's wind blew into the valley.

Wind fed the fire; the burned area grew larger and larger, the fire line gradually sealing off both sides of the mountain waist.

Drones shuttled back and forth continuously, tossing down one canister after another of Molotov cocktails.

During this, Liu Hu and the others even swapped the drone's battery once.

The surging flames grew denser and denser, finally completely sealing off the mountain climbing road.

Except for a very few lucky ones who escaped before the fire line was sealed off.

Nearly two thousand Longcheng Armored Cavalry were trapped in this valley, dozens of miles deep and a dead end.

Everyone looked at Murong Chui.

Murong Chui, not yet twenty years old, was full of killing intent.

"Mount up!"

"Charge out!"

At this moment, the mountains on both sides were ablaze, and with the wind's assistance, the fire continued to spread into the valley.

The only path to survival was the valley entrance.

Large numbers of armored cavalry returned to the moat, and now they knew why that iron giant had widened and deepened the moat before.

It was to cut off their path to survival!

The armored cavalry in the front ranks dismounted one after another, driving their beloved horses into the moat.

Hundreds of warhorses filled the moat, forcibly creating a path of flesh and blood.

Many Longcheng Armored Cavalry rode their horses across this path of flesh and blood, rushing toward the valley exit not far away.

"Ugh~~~"

The huge shovel bucket whistled over, striking the armored cavalry from the flank, sending rider and horse flying together.

The shovel bucket also reached into the moat, digging out the warhorses that had filled it.

Murong Chui's eyes turned red: "Charge past!!"

With life and death at stake, the Longcheng Armored Cavalry's eyes also turned red.

Stabbing their warhorses' rumps from behind to spur them forward at full speed.

The hook machine's shovel bucket swung back and forth, knocking the Longcheng Armored Cavalry trying to cross the moat flying.

The armored cavalry opposite the moat shot arrows madly, the clanging sound incessant.

The foot soldiers who had lost their horses jumped into the moat one after another.

They supported each other to build human ladders, climbing out of the moat with difficulty.

Rushing to the side of the hook machine, they waved their weapons, hacking and smashing wildly.

It could not be said they were not brave.

But it was useless, not even drawing Lin Dao's attention.

The hook machine's shovel bucket kept scraping inside the moat.

People and horses mixed with dirt were all stirred together.

Seeing their most elite armored cavalry suffer such cruel losses.

Murong Chui, his eyes bloodshot, raised his head and let out a long cry, sounding like a night owl!

End of Chapter