Chapter 54: Ambushing at Huayin, A Thousand Arrows Fired Simultaneously

  Shi Jin, Chen Da and Shi Chuan heard the report of the scout, and the three men rushed out of the city tower, standing in a line on top of the west city wall. Shi Jin stepped on the arrow tower with one foot and looked far away. All he saw was the shadow of government soldiers wherever his eyes went. Swords and spears were densely packed, and flags fluttered everywhere. Under the momentum of shouting and killing that shook the sky, it was like a burst dam, surging rapidly towards Huayin County city, overwhelming it.

  Chen Da took a look, not afraid but instead smiled. He took the eighteen-foot steel spear from the hands of the attendants on either side and said to Shi Jing: "Big brother is watching the battle here, little brother will go down and give them a fight." After finishing speaking, he swung his cloak and ordered people to prepare horses, wanting to go down and engage in battle.

  Shi Jin looked at the scene below the city, surging forward in a mighty torrent, and when they reached within 300 steps of the city, not only did they not slow down, but instead charged forward with even greater ferocity. Shi Jin was shocked and hastily ordered Chen Da to stop: "Do not open the city gate! Brother, you must not go!"

  Chen Dagang had just descended halfway when he suddenly heard Shi Jin shouting, so he hastily stopped and called the herald to gather the cavalry troops while quickly returning to the city gate.

  "This is no longer a call to array, it's an attack on the city!" Shi Jin saw Chen Da coming again and pointed at the dark and dense soldiers and horses rushing towards him.

  Chen Da looked up and saw that it was indeed the case. The government troops were approaching with a fierce momentum, all running to within 200 steps of the city wall. The vanguard was a thousand or so soldiers armed with wooden swords, among whom seven or eight ladders were erected, carried by more than ten strong men, like slippery snakes flying towards the city wall. Behind them were tens of teams of long spear soldiers and numerous cavalry troops pressing in. Chen Da looked around and saw that wherever the iron hooves passed, smoke and dust billowed. All this was accompanied by a bloody sunset, which made people feel particularly desolate. What he saw with his own eyes made him curse involuntarily: "Damn it, they've only attacked a few times and already don't follow the usual route."

  "Prepare bows and arrows!" Shi Jin's loud roar was immediately responded to by the two sides of the city head, from near to far.

  Archers mounted their bows and arrows, densely lined up on the city wall. Each of them gritted their teeth, drew their bowstrings tight, narrowed one eye, and fixed their sharp gaze on their respective targets.

  Shi Jin raised his right arm high, and as soon as the soldiers entered the range of the bows and arrows, he suddenly swung forward and shouted: "Shoot!"

  This order will bring out thousands of arrows. Flashing with a deadly cold light, swooshing, rushing straight at the vanguard of the government army. The government army had no time to dodge and was pierced by this sudden rain of arrows, through clothes and armor, through heart and lungs, and immediately responded with a chorus of painful wails from those hit by arrows. Those who were hit in vital areas, with too much momentum, fell forward and rolled several times before lying dead on the battlefield. And those who were shot in the limbs, suffering from the pain of being pierced, their hearts torn apart, either fainted from the pain or were trampled to death by the rear ranks.

  The archers on the city wall shot one round and retreated, and the next round immediately followed. The bowstring was pulled full, and the arrowhead was sharp.

  "Fire again!"

  A loud twang of the bowstring, thousands of arrows shot out in unison. The arrows flew like a swarm of locusts, like bloodthirsty demons opening their bloody mouths wide, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth, charging straight at the advancing soldiers. The first row of soldiers was hit by multiple arrows and fell to the ground without even making a sound. The following officers hastily raised their shields to block the arrows, but the hail of arrows was unstoppable. One arrow grazed past an officer's shoulder, another struck him right in the chest. Just as the soldiers were crying out in despair, Shi Jin didn't give them a chance to catch their breath and swung his arm again with great force!

  "Fire away!"

  This was a disaster for the government soldiers. The archers on the west city wall shot arrows in three relays, one relay shooting and then retreating to change arrows, the second relay stepping forward one step and continuing to shoot and kill, the second relay of arrows flying out, immediately crouching down to load arrows, the third relay inserting and firing. By the time the third wave of arrows had flown over, the first relay of archers was already ready again, advancing to release their arrows. From then on, the three relays of arrows overlapped, continuous and unending.

  The dense, dark arrows in the sky were, to the attacking officers and soldiers, the final arrival of the god of death. The atmosphere of fear and despair instantly spread across the sky, pressing down on people's heartbeats, making it hard for them to breathe. The arrowheads pierced through the bodies of the vanguard officers and soldiers, coldly and mercilessly taking away their heartbeats and body heat. Along with the dull thuds of the falling corpses, the land within a hundred paces of the city wall was filled with arrows. As for the thousands of charging officers and soldiers, only a few hundred survived, most of whom were wounded by arrows, with fresh blood flowing down from their wounds, and their originally sharp eyes had long since lost their luster.

  Shi Jin looked at the tragic scene unfolding before his eyes, and his heart was still racing. It seemed as if he too had felt the sharp arrowhead piercing through a sturdy chest, causing an unbearable pain. He gazed at the soldiers fleeing below the city wall, their bodies pierced by arrows, their blood splattering everywhere in a desolate manner. Yet, apart from his rapid heartbeat, Shi Jin felt nothing. This was the battlefield, where "you die or I die" was the only rule, and also the last words etched in Shi Jin's heart.

  Shi Jin didn't bother with so much, hastily ordering Chen Da to gather the cavalry on his side. He briefly took over the armor and clothes handed over by the left and right guards, and quickly put them on while rushing down the city.

  After dozens of rounds of arrow rain, thousands of officers and soldiers were killed or wounded under the city wall. Those who narrowly escaped the arrow rain rushed to the west gate. More than a dozen ladders were set up by the officers and soldiers, who shouted in unison as they exerted their strength to place the ladder against the city wall. Just as they were about to climb up, the west gate of Huayin County suddenly burst open. Before the officers and soldiers could react, Shi Jin and Chen Da had already charged out on horseback, followed closely by a large contingent of cavalrymen, each holding long spears and wearing silver helmets and armor, looking like the iron knights of the Song Dynasty. The sudden appearance of this group of people left the officers and soldiers caught off guard and confused - weren't they supposed to be suppressing bandits? Why were there government troops killing their way out?

  Chen Da merely changed the ownership of the captured armor and horses. He had the brothers from Shao Hua Mountain wear them, mount their horses, and tie a white cloth around their right arms to confuse the enemy's vision without mistakenly hurting themselves. Chen Da always liked to take advantage of situations, and now he was going to use this clever trick to ease his mind.

  Just as the officers and soldiers were stunned, Shi Jin suddenly jumped out on his horse, and the others' horses immediately divided into two routes. Shi Jin and Chen Da were like two dragons coming out of the water, sweeping away from under the city wall. Shi Jin took advantage of the momentum of his horse, wielding a long spear with a cold glow all over the sky, and wherever he passed, it was even more bloody and majestic. Chen Da was good at cavalry battles, commanding the cavalry to charge straight into the enemy's formation, and in just a moment, they had disrupted the enemy's troops, killing the infantry vanguard with his steel spear, causing them to lose their courage and flee in defeat.

  There was Chen Da slaughtering his way through the city, so Shi Jin relaxed and led another thousand cavalrymen to charge at the government troops in the rear. The silver-helmeted and silver-armored orthodox government cavalry met Shi Jin's troops head-on, and upon seeing that they were also wearing silver helmets and armor, they were initially startled. They looked at Shi Jin's troops, who were covered in blood and had a fierce aura, and felt somewhat inferior. However, as members of the orthodox army, they held their lances horizontally, implying a sense of superiority, and charged straight at Shi Jin on horseback.