Chapter 56: Slashing the General

After being busy for a full day, Lin Shize finally made a large bag of medicinal powder.

Zhao Dahu had previously been slashed on the arm by a Mengla soldier, so Lin Shize sprinkled a layer of the medicinal powder over his wound.

"How does it feel?" Lin Shize was still unsure whether the formula for this wound-healing powder was correct.

Zhao Dahu nodded and said, "It feels a bit warm in the wound, and it doesn't hurt much anymore."

"Then it must be right." This medical formula was something he had learned from an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in his past life, and he never expected to put it to use here.

Early the next morning, Zhao Dahu walked into the tent, gave Lin Shize a military salute, and said, "Commander, the Major General has ordered you to go to the main camp."

"Understood. Take a squad of brothers and we'll set off now."

Lin Shize did not hesitate; Zhang Jiawen would not summon him without a good reason.

The group galloped all the way to the central military tent. As soon as they entered, Zhang Jiawen burst into hearty laughter upon seeing him.

"Kid, look at what good stuff I've managed to get."

Lin Shize looked closely and saw that Zhang Jiawen was holding a longbow that was pitch black all over.

Taking the longbow, he exerted force with both arms, but could only pull it back less than halfway.

Lin Shize let out a soft exclamation of surprise. Given his current arm strength, he could easily draw an ordinary three-stone bow to its full length, yet this bow was unexpectedly powerful.

Unable to wait, Lin Shize walked out of the tent, drew a triangular-headed arrow, nocked it, and let it fly. Whoosh!

The triangular arrow pierced straight through a distant wooden stake as thick as a rice bowl.

This formidable penetrating power startled him somewhat, and Zhang Jiawen, who had followed him out, was equally shocked.

"Kid, are you even human with this kind of arm strength? You just raised your hand and drew a six-stone bow?"

Thirty jin makes one jun, and four jun makes one shi; a six-stone bow requires a pull force of seven hundred and twenty jin to draw.

One must know that anyone in the army capable of drawing a five-stone bow was already a veritable powerhouse. Seeing that Lin Shize's face was not flushed and he was not even out of breath, Zhang Jiawen knew that this six-stone bow had been given to the right person.

Zhang Jiawen said, "I'm giving this bow to you."

Lin Shize replied, "That would be too embarrassing."

Despite saying this, his hands were not slow at all. He immediately slung the bow over his back, looking as though he had no intention of taking it off ever again.

Zhang Jiawen laughed and scolded, "Cut the act with me, you brat."

Woo—!

Amidst their bantering and laughter, a sharp, urgent horn sounded. Lin Shize's whole body jolted, and he immediately shouted, "Enemy attack! To the city walls! Fast!"

***

Hearing the horn, the soldiers quickly put on their equipment and rushed up onto the city walls.

Rolling logs, giant boulders, and various other defensive siege weapons were also rapidly hauled up onto the walls by others.

Zhang Jiawen immediately ordered the various battalion commanders to guard the strategic points of the city walls. Just as everyone finished their preparations, a thin black line slowly appeared on the distant horizon.

Before long, the black line turned into a surging black wave rushing forward, looking to be at least over three thousand strong.

Rumble!

The roaring sound of horse hooves was deafening, and Lin Shize could even feel the tremors traveling through the ground.

Upon reaching the base of the city walls, the enemy did not immediately launch an assault. Instead, they formed battle arrays outside the city, and a Mengla soldier clad entirely in iron armor urged his horse forward.

"Where is Zhang Jiawen?! I am Wupingla, Major General of Mengla's Qiershan Garrison!" The sturdy man brandished a giant battle-axe and shouted a challenge toward the city wall.

Zhang Jiawen's expression darkened. He knew of this Wupingla—one of the top ten generals of Mengla, exceptionally skilled with a giant axe, born with superhuman strength, and fiercely ferocious. He had once led several hundred men to capture three consecutive border passes, making a formidable name for himself.

He was a very troublesome opponent, and Zhang Jiawen had not expected him to now be the garrison commander of Qiershan.

Resting his hands on the battlements, Zhang Jiawen shouted in a clear voice, "Wupingla! I am Zhang Jiawen. Do you really think you can breach my heavily fortified city by bringing only this handful of men?"

Wupingla laughed heartily three times and said, "Zhang Jiawen, though our Mengla warriors are few in number, every single one of them is an elite like the gray wolf. Your men may be many, but they are as useless as sheep. You must know that wolves eat sheep, and you cannot escape the fate of destruction."

Zhang Jiawen's expression turned solemn. Although he desperately wanted to refute Wupingla's words, he had to admit that the reality was indeed so.

Among his own subordinates, the only ones capable of engaging the Mengla soldiers head-on were the five hundred personal guards and Lin Shize's Heavenly Wolf Battalion.

Seeing that Zhang Jiawen remained silent, Wupingla changed his tone and said, "Zhang Jiawen, I admire your character. Why not surrender to Mengla? I guarantee you promotions and great wealth. Isn't soldiering and fighting wars just for the sake of official titles and wealth? What do you say?"

Hearing this, Zhang Jiawen was stunned for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. He laughed so hard he bent over at the waist, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Down below the city wall, Wupingla felt deeply insulted.

"Zhang Jiawen! The Great Qi Dynasty is already in its twilight and on the verge of collapse! If you continue to remain stubbornly blind, beware of dying without an intact corpse one of these days!"

"You steppe barbarian! How dare you speak to me of surrender! I, Zhang Jiawen, along with the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of Great Qi, would rather die than let you take a single step across our border city!" Veins bulged on Zhang Jiawen's forehead, betraying his intense fury.

Swish!

Suddenly, the sound of air being torn apart reached Lin Shize's ears. Out of the corner of his eye, a cold flash of light flew toward them at extreme speed, targeting none other than Zhang Jiawen.

"Watch out!"

Lin Shize shoved Zhang Jiawen aside with a forceful push, and an arrow struck straight into the wooden stake right behind where Zhang Jiawen had been standing.

If Lin Shize hadn't been quick-witted and pushed Zhang Jiawen out of the way just then, that arrow would have driven straight into his skull.

Looking at the arrow whose shaft was still vibrating incessantly, Zhang Jiawen broke out in a cold sweat that soaked his back.

The people down below the city were at least two hundred paces away, and shooting from low to high showed just how formidable this archer was. Could it be a legendary Mengla sharpshooter?

Wupingla had clearly set a trap for him; failing to persuade him to surrender, he intended to assassinate him instead.

Several personal guards quickly stepped forward with shields to block in front of Zhang Jiawen.

Nearby, Battalion Commander Zhao Ji raised his saber in fury and roared, "Release arrows!"

The bows and arrows of the Great Qi soldiers lacked sufficient power; the arrows merely flew a little over a hundred paces before falling powerlessly to the ground, with the furthest one landing a full fifty paces away from Wupingla, let alone possessing any lethality.

Swish!

Ah!

Zhao Ji's right hand, which was holding high his battle saber, was pierced straight through by an arrow. Lin Shize strode forward to steady him, immediately using a strip of cloth to bind and tighten Zhao Ji's upper arm to staunch the bleeding, then snapped the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out.

He sprinkled medicinal powder over the wound and wrapped it securely with gauze.

The very first user of the emergency medical kit had appeared.

Down below the city wall, Wupingla looked at Zhang Jiawen, who was hiding behind the battlements, and mockingly sneered, "Look at that, Zhang Jiawen. These are your sheep-like Great Qi soldiers, so utterly vulnerable to a single blow."

Wupingla's arrogant words felt like a sharp dagger thrust straight into Lin Shize's heart.

With a furious roar, Lin Shize stood up, took down his longbow, drew a triangular-headed arrow, nocked it, and aimed directly at Wupingla down below.

"Die!"

Hiss! The six-stone bow was released with a sharp hissing sound.

The triangular arrow flew with unimaginable speed, shooting straight toward Wupingla.

Before Wupingla could even react, he saw an arrow protruding squarely from his chest. The force behind it had pierced completely through his iron armor and embedded deep into his heart.

His arrogant expression slowly turned to one of terror. How could this be possible? The sharpshooters under his command required a five-stone bow just to shoot that far.

The people of Great Qi possessed no one capable of drawing a five-stone bow, not to mention that he was wearing iron armor; at such a distance, even a five-stone bow could not have penetrated his armor.

Pity that the facts lay right before his eyes. Before he could figure out what had happened, his consciousness plunged into utter darkness.