Chapter 561 - 364: Twists and Turns, An Unexpected Scene

Chapter 561: Chapter 364: Twists and Turns, An Unexpected Scene

"Damn it, there are so many of them!" one of the guards shouted in surprise, his eyes widening as he spotted shadowy figures in the tall grass.

"Archers, fire!" the Guard Captain commanded his men without a moment’s hesitation.

The guards with crossbows immediately took aim at the shadowy figures in the distant grass and began firing relentlessly.

"WHOOSH."

"WHOOSH."

"WHOOSH..."

The arrows tore through the air with a piercing shriek, blanketing a wide area in an instant.

"THWACK."

"THWACK."

"THWACK..."

The volley of arrows found its mark, and piercing screams erupted from within the tall grass.

"Argh..."

"Return fire!" a deep voice boomed, drowning out the screams. It was followed by a series of faint clicks from the grass.

"WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH..."

A similar volley of arrows shot out from the grass, aimed at the guards hiding within their circular barricade.

"The bandits are returning fire! Everyone take cover! Nock your arrows and wait for my command to attack!" the Guard Captain yelled to his comrades.

Hearing the warning, the guards immediately ducked down, pulling arrows from the quivers at their sides and reloading their crossbows.

"THUMP, THUMP, THUMP..."

The advantage of forming a circular barricade by linking the carriages head to tail was now clear. The guards, hiding behind the wagons, were completely shielded from the bandits’ counterattack. The dense volley of arrows slammed harmlessly into the sides of the carriages.

"Light it up!" the deep voice from the grass bellowed. Then, clusters of white light orbs shot up from the grass, hovering dozens of meters in the air and bathing the entire area in light as bright as day.

Hiding in his carriage, the Merchant Team Leader peeked through the window. He saw dozens of white orbs floating in the sky, illuminating the camp with perfect clarity. The color drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale.

The grooms huddled around the Merchant Team Leader’s carriage were terrified by the sight, their legs turning to jelly as they cried out in fear.

"Shopkeeper Wu, what do we do?"

"Are we all going to die here?"

"No! I don’t want to die!"

"If I’d known coming to Dongwu City would be this dangerous, you couldn’t have paid me to leave home."

"Father, Mother, I’m sorry. Your son has been unfilial. I won’t be able to care for you in your old age."

The Merchant Team Leader had been terrified, but hearing the wails from outside actually lessened his own fear. With a grim expression, he emerged from his carriage and addressed the men huddled around it.

"All of you, shut your mouths and be quiet! Can’t you see Captain Wang and his brothers are fighting off the bandits for us? Your crying and wailing is disrupting their morale.

"If Captain Wang and his men are defeated because of your racket, not a single one of us will make it out of here alive."

"Mmph..." Hearing the Merchant Team Leader’s reprimand, the weeping grooms immediately clamped their hands over their mouths, stifling their sobs so as not to affect the guards fighting the bandits.

"Don’t worry, everyone. We’ll be fine. Captain Wang and his men will definitely defeat the attacking bandits," the Merchant Team Leader said, encouraging the terrified crowd now that they had quieted down.

It was just as the Merchant Team Leader had said. The guards fighting the bandits had been agitated by the crying from behind them.

When the cries suddenly vanished, their unease subsided, and they were able to focus single-mindedly on the Guard Captain’s commands to attack the raiding bandits.

"On my command... fire!" the Guard Captain ordered, seeing that his comrades had all reloaded.

"WHOOSH."

"WHOOSH."

"WHOOSH..."

The dense whistling of arrows filled the air once more, raining down on the bandits hiding in the grass.

"Shields! Raise your shields!"

"Return fire! Shoot them!"

The deep voice rang out again. The bandits in the grass raised round shields to block the incoming volley.

At the same time, they used the few crossbows they had to return fire at the attacking guards.

"Boss, they have a massive supply of arrows. We can’t keep this up!" a hoarse voice called out from the grass.

On this trip, the Merchant Team Leader had specifically set aside an entire carriage just for arrows, fearing they might run into bandits on the road and not have enough ammunition to fight back.

At first, everyone had thought the Merchant Team Leader was being excessive. After all, setting aside an entire carriage for arrows instead of cargo meant a significant loss of profit.

But now that they had run into bandits, just as the Merchant Team Leader had feared, they had more than enough arrows to attack. Everyone couldn’t help but admire his foresight.

"Goddammit! How does this caravan have so many arrows? It’s like they have an endless supply!" the deep voice cursed after another volley.

"Boss, we don’t have many shields. If we stay put and let them pick us off with arrows, we’ll lose too many men. I say we charge them!" the hoarse voice suggested.

"Alright. After the next volley, we charge," the deep voice replied.