Chapter 42: Thunderbolt Tactics to Eliminate Imminent Threats

Small River Village villagers' resettlement work has just gotten on track.

Jiao Tu Zhen is like a fresh slab of meat thrown into a pack of starving wolves, inevitably giving off a tempting scent.

Chen Wen well knows this; his daytime arrangements are efficient and orderly, but he never relaxes his night watch.

Especially to the west, the threat from Black Wind Stronghold looms like a sword hanging overhead.

Tonight, with a dark moon and high winds, it's the perfect time for murder and plunder.

Just after midnight, all sounds within the town have ceased.

Only the faint footsteps of patrolling militia and the distant snores from workshops can be heard.

Chen Wen did not sleep; he practiced breath regulation on the bunk in the council wooden hut.

Under eightfold enhancement, his senses are like the most precise radar, catching every slightest disturbance in the wind.

Suddenly.

An extremely faint birdcall, unlike the hoot of a night owl, comes from the western watchpost.

That is the agreed signal—there's a situation!

Chen Wen's eyes snap open, a gleam flashing in the darkness.

He does not rise immediately, instead pushing his hearing to the utmost.

The night wind brings clearer information:

About a li away, disordered footsteps deliberately softened.

At least twenty or more, accompanied by the faint clink of metal.

The air seems to carry a faint smell mixed with sweat and hostility.

They're here!

Moreover, they arrive faster than expected, and their numbers are not small.

【Entering 'Earnest Selflessness' state! Perception, insight, and tactical command efficiency increased eightfold!】

Chen Wen leaps up silently, moving as swiftly as a leopard.

He didn't wake many, just quickly roused Zhang Cheng and a few militia squad leaders sleeping next door.

"West, about a li out, twenty-plus armed men, heading straight for the town gate."

Chen Wen's voice low and calm instantly dispelled the drowsiness of Zhang Cheng and the others.

"Damn, they really came!"

Zhang Cheng startled, grabbing the spear at hand.

"Boss, how do we fight? Follow Plan One from today's drill?"

During the day, Chen Wen had already prepared for a possible night raid.

Using his eightfold predictive ability, he devised several counterplans.

Plan One is precisely for the scenario of enemies directly assaulting the wooden wall gate—lure them in, then catch them in a jar.

"Exactly, Plan One."

Chen Wen nods.

"Zhang Cheng, take your people to the ambush positions; don't move without my signal!"

"Everyone else, follow me onto the walls to put on the first act with them."

The orders are carried out swiftly and silently.

Zhang Cheng's eyes glitter with excitement and tension as he leads most of the militia, vanishing like ghosts into the shadows of the town's houses and fortifications.

Chen Wen, meanwhile, brings only four or five men up to the most conspicuous wooden watchtower on the west wall.

Almost simultaneously, a dark mass of figures appears at the edge of the sparse woods outside the town.

They clearly aren't trying to conceal their movements; their leader is none other than the scar-faced man from earlier today.

Now his face bears a ferocious grin and hatred, his ghost-head blade glinting faintly.

"Chen Wen! Get your ass out here!"

The scar-faced man lowers his voice and roars.

"You were arrogant today; tonight I'll raze this broken town, kill all the men, and carry off the women!"

On the wall, Chen Wen signals the nearby militia to feign panic.

He shouts loudly:

"Who goes there! Dare… dare to cause trouble in Jiao Tu Zhen!"

Yet his voice carries just the right amount of tremor.

This reaction clearly boosts the scar-faced man's arrogance.

"Hmph, mere bluster!"

"Brothers, the wall isn't high—build ladders and storm it!"

"Open the town gate—loot the food and women inside as you please!"

With his order, over twenty bandits howl as they charge the wooden wall.

Just as Chen Wen expected, they chose the most direct climbing assault.

Chen Wen calmly watches the bandits swarm like ants to the wall's base, while a few tough ones have already begun erecting ladders.

He calculates distance and angle; his eightfold dynamic vision lets him see each bandit's movement clearly.

Now!

He suddenly raises his right hand and then brings it down hard!

"Release!"

A short, forceful command.

It did not come from the walltop, but from inside the town!

In an instant!

From behind the seemingly disordered shacks and firewood piles on the inner side of the wooden wall, two rows of militia rose!

The front row half-squatted, holding simple yet taut hunting bows;

The back row stood upright, wielding sharpened hardwood spears!

Zhang Cheng stood in the center of the formation, his eyes sharp.

"Aim! Fire!"

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh——!

More than ten arrows were not aimed at the hard-to-hit vital spots, but were fired in a blanket barrage at the bandit crowd packed below the wall!

"Ah!"

"My leg!"

"An ambush!"

The cries of misery and shouts instantly replaced the previous clamor.

The bandits never expected that behind the seemingly empty walltop lay such an orderly striking force!

The momentum of the climb stalled.

"Second team! Rolling logs and stones!"

Chen Wen gave the order again from the walltop.

Several militia members jointly lifted the prepared heavy log, wrapped in sharp wooden spikes, and fiercely shoved it down from the walltop!

Amid the rumbling roar, the rolling log crashed into the crowd, eliciting a chorus of wails and howls.

"Open the door! Charge out! Leave none!"

Chen Wen's voice was like cold ice as he issued the final attack order.

The heavy town gate was flung open!

Zhang Cheng, who had long been poised, let out a roar:

"For Jiao Tu Zhen! Kill!"

Leading from the front, he charged out like a tiger descending the mountain!

The militia behind him had undergone the baptism of 8x training effect.

Although first-time combat inevitably brought tension, their movements were utterly decisive.

In groups of three, they thrust with spears, filled gaps with hunting knives, coordinating smoothly.

The bandits below the wall had first been struck by arrow rain and rolling logs, their formation already in disarray.

Now seeing the enemy's fresh forces surge forth like wolves and tigers, where was any fighting spirit left?

The scar-faced man still tried to swing his blade in resistance, but Zhang Cheng's cunning thrust forced him to retreat repeatedly.

He horrifiedly discovered that this young lad's strength and speed far exceeded his imagination!

The battle was almost a one-sided crushing.

The bandits cried for their parents, scattering in flight!

But the militia of Jiao Tu Zhen had obviously trained in encirclement tactics, continually shrinking their escape space.

Chen Wen did not descend; he stood firm on the walltop, his 8x vision allowing him to oversee the whole situation.

He occasionally issued concise orders:

"Flank the left wing!"

"That one on the right trying to run, intercept him!"

"Leave a few alive!"

His very presence was a powerful calming agent and command core.

Hearing his voice, the militia felt reassured, their actions becoming more resolute.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the battle ended.

Of the twenty-three attacking bandits, eight were killed on the spot and five seriously wounded.

The remaining ten, including the scar-faced man, were all captured alive!

On Jiao Tu Zhen's side, only three suffered minor injuries—a complete victory!

【Successfully repelled Black Wind Village's night raid, achieving total victory at minimal cost, combat-tested training results, tactical command ability increased (x Bonus)! Diligence Points (WP) +200!】

【Current WP: 6141】

In the firelight, the captives were bound tightly, kneeling in a row, each face ashen.

The scar-faced man stubbornly kept his mouth stiff, glaring at Chen Wen:

"Chen, you… you cheated!"

"If you have the ability, fight fair and square!"

Chen Wen walked up to him and looked down upon him.

The pressure from his 8x aura made the scar-faced man's curses die in his throat.

"Black Wind Village's location, troop deployment, any backup? Speak up, and I'll give you a quick end."

The scar-faced man held his neck stiff, staying silent.

Chen Wen stopped wasting words and gave Zhang Cheng a glance.

Zhang Cheng understood, dragging an injured, wailing bandit aside to whisper a few questions.

Then he returned to report:

"Boss, we got it out of him."

The Black Wind Stronghold is about thirty li from here, hidden in a mountain hollow of Old Crow Ridge.

In the stronghold, counting the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, there are still about forty people.

They have practically mobilized everyone, leaving only a handful behind in the stronghold.

Moreover… he said that their chief had apparently received a group of people a few days ago.

They seemed to be… people under Liu Du Tou from the west, though what they discussed is unclear.

Liu Du Tou!

That name made Chen Wen's eyes narrow.

As expected, a local bully like Black Wind Stronghold is hard to avoid getting entangled with the expanding warlords.

This is no longer mere bandit harassment; it could be a frontier skirmish involving larger forces.

Separate them, hold them individually, interrogate them carefully, and cross-check their statements.

Chen Wen ordered, his tone grim.

I need to know every detail about Black Wind Stronghold and Liu Du Tou.

Yes!

After cleaning the battlefield and tallying the captured equipment, there was only a batch of crude but usable weapons and a little dry rations.

Arranging the wounded, handling the corpses… Jiao Tu Zhen operated efficiently in the night.

After this battle, the militia's morale reached an unprecedented high.

The newly arrived villagers of Xiao He Village looked at Chen Wen and the militia with eyes full of awe and gratitude.

Chen Wen watched the night regain its stillness, feeling little joy in his heart.

The threat of Black Wind Stronghold was not eradicated; instead, it revealed a more dangerous shadow—Liu Du Tou.

Purely reacting to attacks is never a good strategy.

He gazed toward the direction of Old Crow Ridge to the west, his eyes growing cold.

It is time to take the initiative, to pull out this nail.

But how can we achieve this first proactive external expedition with the smallest cost?

The night's chill seemed to grow heavier.