Chapter 2185 - Fight Alone (Part 2)

Rifle fire drowned out the enemy's footsteps. From behind the low breastwork, less than a hundred men erupted in a sheet of white smoke. The charging bandits seemed to strike an invisible wall—twenty to thirty fell instantly. The vanguard was cut in half. Inexperienced with organized firearm units and lacking serious military structure after months of rebellion, they devolved into chaos from a single volley. Some turned to flee while others rushed forward to exploit the reload gap, advancing and retreating without coordination.

"Ready... Fire!"

The second volley command came, yet less than half the rifles completed the reload-fire cycle in time. Most soldiers simply couldn't reload fast enough.

Malay's hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. He dropped the percussion cap repeatedly. Ammunition management in training had been strict—Malay had suffered many beatings from training sergeants for dropping caps, so he instinctively bent to retrieve it. Hearing the second volley order, panic seized him—he fumbled for several minutes without loading properly.

"Stop picking it up! Use a new one!" The squad leader kicked him and roared, "Quick!"

"Fire at will!" Recognizing the squadron's training level couldn't support continuous volleys, Li Dong issued the order.

Malay finally seated the percussion cap, raised his rifle, and aimed. Gunpowder smoke filled the breastwork's crest—he could only see enemy silhouettes vaguely running.

So close! Malay nearly dropped the gun. He pulled the trigger almost subconsciously. The rifle cracked and kicked violently, the recoil bruising his shoulder. Yet this discharge—the noise, smoke, and impact—actually steadied his heart. His hands stopped shaking. Training movements returned to his body all at once.

"Quick, load and shoot!"

Sergeants ran along the breastwork, shouting. Soldiers mechanically followed drilled steps: load—aim—shoot. Malay loaded as if possessed, as though born to this task. He fired six shots in a minute. By the end, he couldn't even see clearly what lay ahead.

The enemies rushing the breastwork found this low fortification had become an impassable moat. Climbing over it against muzzle fire meant certain death, while their arrows could be dodged by opponents simply crouching. Soon, the vanguard under concentrated fire retreated.

The bandits first pulled back dozens of meters, attempting to weaken their opponents with archery, but bullets from the breastwork followed them, forcing further retreat. When they reached nearly the limit of bow range, a leader shouted, "Don't retreat! We're too far—they can't hit!" His voice hadn't faded when a volley of lead flew over and killed him on the spot. Seeing this, the bandits fled wildly all the way to the mountain pass.

"The enemy retreated!" Sharp-eyed soldiers shouted.

Cheers erupted along the breastwork. For the raw recruits dusty and disgraced yesterday, this defense felt exhilarating—gun sounds, man falls, simpler than target practice! Corpses scattered the ground before the breastwork, the smell of blood stimulating their spirits. The originally timid recruits now swelled like oxen, chests out, assuming the bearing of veteran campaigners.

"Maintain cover!" Sergeants ran around. "The enemy hasn't been defeated yet!"

The enemy, defeated for now, still blocked the pass, and their numbers kept growing. They seemed to prepare a second attack. Li Dong burned with anxiety. Less than a li from town, yet neither the unauthorized retreating 1st Squadron nor the 8th Battalion advance party in town had sent a single soldier to support him.

"Where is Ai Buyi? Has he returned?"

"No!"

"The messenger?!"

"Coming!" The messenger sent to battalion headquarters returned breathless and reported: Battalion Commander Yang wanted him to "persist in place"—he was maneuvering troops to encircle and annihilate this enemy force.

"...He said if you can't hold, withdraw gradually. At most one hour."

Li Dong checked his pocket watch, then put it away. Battalion Commander Yang wanted him as bait to lure the enemy for an "encirclement."

"Good, understood. What about 1st Squadron?"

"Battalion Commander Yang already sent someone to order them back to their original position!"

Li Dong relaxed. Understanding the superior's determination, he feared no mission however tough. He immediately ordered troops to reorganize and check weapons and ammunition status.

"Squadron Leader, enemy movement!" The lookout shouted.

Li Dong raised his telescope and saw commotion in the enemy crowd at the pass, seeming to make way for something.

Xin Furuo (Sin Furuo) hurriedly took Li Dong to lie on the breastwork. Looking closely, a squad of soldiers in Ming army uniforms emerged from the Yao array, and six hand-pushed carts with painted tiger-head shields erected at the front—Shield Carts!

Government troop equipment? Li Dong was secretly surprised. Shield Carts were widely used in the late Ming Dynasty and highly effective against light small-caliber firearm attacks. Bandits thinking to use them wasn't strange. The problem was, whether bandits or Yao, fighting emphasized lightness and speed—carrying such heavy siege equipment was normally impossible.

How did these Yao people join forces with the Ming army?! Everyone puzzled over this question, but little time remained. The National Army had no cannons. Behind the cart shields lay layers of sand sandwiched between thick cotton quilts soaked in water, three or four layers total. Let alone their smoothbore muskets, even the Fubo Army's Minié rifles couldn't penetrate them at distance. Artillery or cavalry was needed to deal with them effectively.

"Quick, request artillery support from headquarters!" Li Dong dispatched the messenger again.

His situation grew critical. Already inferior in forces, they'd spread very thin to defend the flanks. Once the shield carts closed, the line couldn't hold. Once the battle line breached, only "retreat" remained.

Fortunately, the enemy feared their firepower. After the shield carts approached, the infantry completely hid behind them and advanced slowly, speed comparable to snails.

"Volley fire!" Li Dong ordered when the shield carts approached within a hundred meters.

The concentrated volley of the whole squadron's rifles filled the breastwork front with smoke. The shields on the carts were beaten beyond recognition, split apart, revealing the cotton quilts behind.

The cotton quilts had been torn by bullets, leaking sand from inside. However, the lead bullets didn't penetrate this "composite armor" of cotton quilt and sand. Except for a few unlucky cart-pushers on the sides killed by fire, the shield carts continued advancing. The following enemy formation tightened, shrinking completely behind the shield carts. The formation stretched very long.

Li Dong ordered squads to spread toward both flanks. The closer the enemy advanced, the more exposed their flanks became. At fifty meters, the shield carts could no longer protect the soldiers behind.

"Fire!"

Infantry on both wings fired simultaneously. Bullets swept across the ranks like a sickle; instantly, blood splattered in the ranks behind the shield carts. Bandits fell left and right, and the shield carts stopped instantly.

"Blow the charge!" After Li Dong spoke, he drew his command sword, jumped from the breastwork first, and shouted, "Kill!"

Two squads instantly charged from the left and right wings, pouncing on the shield cart columns from the flanks. The bandits, already thrown into confusion, saw the National Army with gleaming bayonets pouncing like tigers descending a mountain. They were frightened out of their wits and fled. In an instant, the first shield cart was captured.

Li Dong rushed to the shield cart—it was already blood-stained. He was greatly startled. No wonder this cart moved so slowly; behind the "earth armor" of the shield cart, a Tiger Crouch cannon was hidden. It was fully loaded. The gunner killed by bullets lay by the wheel, the slow match on the short spear already lit.

Ten meters closer, and the gunner could have dropped the "earth armor" fixed with leather ropes in front, revealing the muzzle to give the National Army hiding behind the breastwork a devastating blast.

What fcking bandits are these! They're government troops!* Li Dong cursed secretly.

Around them, soldiers had already engaged in melee with the few fierce bandits who refused to flee. The sound of clashing blades, fighting, and screaming mixed together. Soon, the National Army annihilated these fierce bandits and captured the second, third shield carts... all shield carts were captured, and the enemy had completely routed. However, at this point, enemy archers could shoot arrows here. National Army soldiers who'd lost the breastwork's protection were hit by arrows one after another.

He shouted, "Quick, fall back!" He saw Yang Erdong. "Destroy these carts! Quick!"

Yang Erdong led a few nimble soldiers, throwing torches onto the carts one after another to ignite the gunpowder.

"Boom"

The Tiger Crouch cannon on the first shield cart ignited. The ammunition in the bore erupted violently. However, the "earth armor" in front hadn't been lowered, so the ammunition was all blocked by the shield. Only the heaviest "Main Shot" penetrated the shield, flying a few meters away and rolling in the mud.

Six shield carts exploded one after another, and the whole squadron withdrew back. Though the crisis was lifted, nearly ten casualties had been taken. Soldiers panted heavily, wiping blood from their faces and hands.

Before the Wuzhou Squadron could catch its breath, rifle volleys suddenly rang out from the left flank where Luo Mao guarded. Li Dong was startled. The just-withdrawn troops instantly panicked.

"Don't panic!" Li Dong called Yang Erdong. "Monitor the frontal enemy here. 2nd Platoon, follow me!"

While they'd sortied to destroy the shield carts, "surprise troops" outflanking from Banbian Gang had suddenly appeared on their exposed left flank, colliding directly into the squad led by Luo Mao guarding there.