Chapter 39: Ambush on Bull Head Mountain to Intercept the Fire Lotus Cultists

The Fire Lotus Cultists arrived at Crouching Ox Village in the morning, and Jiang Yi and his men set up an ambush in the village.

Observing that the number of cultists did not match intelligence reports, he correctly deduced that a detachment must have headed toward Crouching Ox Mountain.

Several hundred cultists, wearing red turbans and bright red robes, flooded into Crouching Ox Village.

"Such a small force feels rather suspicious to me."

"A faction of the Fire Lotus Cult likely went to Crouching Ox Mountain, intending to take the elderly, the weak, women, and children hostage to force our surrender."

Chang Youliang shared a similar assessment; the mountain was left guarded by very few able-bodied young men.

If hundreds of cultists were to attack Crouching Ox Mountain, the remaining villagers might not be able to repel them.

"I will take a detachment to Crouching Ox Mountain. You must maintain the ambush in the village."

Jiang Yi had previously stationed a group of household guards on the mountain to protect his aunt, his wife, and the villagers.

"I shall take twenty men. Let us hope the villagers have not yet fallen into the hands of the cult."

"Then go at once."

Chang Youliang intended to stay behind in the village to ambush the incoming enemy, wishing secretly that the government troops from Hanyang City would arrive to lend assistance.

With Jiang Yi taking twenty men away, the number of able-bodied defenders remaining in the village dropped to just over a hundred.

Two hundred cultists marched directly toward Crouching Ox Mountain, their objective solely focused on the vulnerable residents left behind.

Another three hundred cultists entered Crouching Ox Village from the east, tightening their perimeter around the defenders.

Their plan was to trap the villagers, capture the hostages on the mountain, and use them as leverage to force the local men into joining the Fire Lotus Cult.

Departing from the southwest at dawn, the cultists had bypassed the village altogether on their march toward the mountain.

At that moment, Wu Shimiao and twenty men were holding the narrow defile guarding the primary approach to Crouching Ox Mountain.

Ten men armed with three-eyed hand cannons and ten with bows and arrows took positions on both sides of the mountain slopes to ambush the advancing cultists.

From a distance, hundreds of enemies could be seen approaching, leading Wu Shimiao to doubt whether her small force could halt them entirely.

"Wait until they draw closer, then unleash the cannons and arrows."

Scanning their surroundings nervously, the cultists were well aware of the possibility of a mountain ambush.

Over twenty horsemen rode at the vanguard, with the infantry following closely behind.

Wu Shimiao dropped her raised right hand. The three-eyed cannons fired first, their deafening blasts instantly startling the horses into panic.

Struck by the lead pellets, several cultists collapsed to the ground, shrieking in agony.

The penetrating power of the hand cannons was limited, and with the strong wind blowing, the accuracy and impact of the projectiles were further diminished.

Wu Shimiao immediately ordered a volley of arrows. Several cultists were pierced and killed instantly, while others suffered severe wounds.

As the cannons fired again, the terrified horses surged completely out of control.

A centurion of the Fire Lotus Cult bellowed for his men to charge forward at top speed to escape the enemy's archer range.

Yet no matter how fast men could run, they could never outpace the speed of flying arrows.

"They are merely ambushing us from both sides of the slope. We should dispatch a force to charge up and wipe them out."

A cultist's suggestion was tactically sound, as it would also serve to fracture Wu Shimiao's focus.

"Have you looked at how steep those slopes are? You would be shot into hedgehogs before even reaching them. My orders must be obeyed."

The centurion remained confident in his decision, prioritizing the capture of the hostages on the summit above all else.

"Archers, suppress both sides of the mountain! Everyone else, double-time forward!"

Arrows rained down continuously from the heights, punctuated at intervals by the thunderous roar of the hand cannons.

The mounting casualties sent the cult centurion into a silent rage, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Sheltered securely behind large boulders, Wu Shimiao's fighters remained completely immune to enemy archery.

As the cultists' advance ground to a halt, Jiang Yi arrived with reinforcements.

Jiang Yi loosed a volley from his crossbow, immediately followed by his men releasing their own barrage.

The centurion ordered a detachment of one hundred men to intercept Jiang Yi's force, while the rest pressed forward toward the sanctuary of the non-combatants.

Jiang Yi engaged the hundred cultists to stall their advance, leaving the remaining enemy force to Wu Shimiao.

Clutching a broadsword, Wu Shimiao bounded down the mountain with astonishing agility. Once the cult centurion was eliminated, the remaining enemies would crumble into chaos without a commander.

Observing from the slopes, the defenders watched in awe as Wu Shimiao plummeted directly into the heart of the enemy formation, her flashing blade claiming several lives in a single sweep.

"My aunt's lightness skill is incredible, and her sabre technique is utterly flawless."

Realizing they were outmatched, the cultists panicked as the centurion spurred his horse furiously toward Wu Shimian in a desperate counterattack.

Jiang Yi signaled a temporary halt to the archery to prevent any accidental harm to his aunt.

Drawing his own blade, he charged into the fray, instructing his retainers to find cover.

Since their melee proficiency was limited, he chose not to risk them in close-quarters combat against the seasoned cultists.

A number of the cultists wore light armor, maintaining a cohesive formation despite the chaos.

This indicated a baseline of military discipline and combat effectiveness.

The villagers of Crouching Ox had only trained for three days, possessing knowledge of little more basic formations.

With three months of proper military drilling, however, dealing with these zealots would pose no challenge at all.

Hanzhou's local authorities avoided arming or training the common populace unless faced with absolute peril.

Gripping his sabre, Jiang Yi sprinted toward Wu Shimiao to fight side by side with her.

"It is too dangerous here! Return to the upper slopes."

Unwilling to see Jiang Yi injured, Wu Shimiao believed she could handle the cultists alone.

"I cannot let you fight them by yourself. I know a thing or two about combat as well—just watch."

As a special operations veteran from the twenty-first century, skilled in diverse forms of close combat, making short work of these superstitious rebels was effortless.

A dozen cultists surrounded Jiang Yi with menacing snarls.

Striking first to seize the initiative, Jiang Yi proved that dealing with ordinary combatants was remarkably straightforward.

With blinding speed, every sweep of his blade ended a life, striking directly at vital vulnerabilities.

The surrounding cultists froze in sheer disbelief, stunned by the ruthless efficiency of his attacks.

"Kill him! Avenge our brothers!" the centurion roared.

Without pausing, Jiang Yi cut down several more foes in rapid succession.

Witnessing this spectacle, Wu Shimiao experienced a wave of profound astonishment at her nephew's prowess.

Her anxiety subsided significantly, made easier by the relatively small number of enemies present.

The two soon fought their way back to each other, standing back-to-back against the encroaching circle of enemies.

I was worried about you at first."

"I never expected your martial arts to be this formidable either. I was worried about you too—where did you learn such skills?"

"We can discuss that after the battle."

There was no time for idle conversation; dozens of cultists had broken away and were sprinting toward the area where the elderly and children sheltered.

"Use your bows to eliminate them!" Jiang Yi shouted up the mountain.

The defenders on the heights loosed their arrows at the fleeing group, dropping several men to the dirt, though some refused to stay down.

While their melee skills were lacking, their marksmanship remained razor-sharp, honed by years of hunting in the mountains.

Driven mad with fury, the centurion spurred his mount forward, wielding a heavy battle-axe as he charged straight at Jiang Yi and Wu Shimiao.

He intended to cleave them both in two to purge his burning hatred.

Yet his force of two hundred men had been thoroughly bogged down by a mere handful of defenders, suffering heavy casualties in the process.

A significant portion of those losses had been inflicted by Jiang Yi and Wu Shimiao, who had even found time to converse casually amidst the slaughter.

Those cultists attempting to flee westward, already wounded by arrows, were ruthlessly finished off by Jiang Yi as he hunted them down.

At that exact moment, Pang Xiong arrived with twenty men in a ferocious charge.

Wielding a long spear with unstoppable momentum, Pang Xiong proved more than a match for any cultist in his path.

The men he brought were beggars he had recruited some time ago, yet they fought with far greater ferocity than the villagers of Crouching Ox.

Jiang Yi had treated them exceptionally well, freeing them from the constant threat of starvation and freezing.

True to his word, Jiang Yi had promised generous rewards for anyone who distinguished themselves in battle against the cult.

This was their long-awaited chance to alter their destiny.

As long as they survived and earned merit, houses and wives would be within their grasp.

Such a future was beyond anything they had ever dared to imagine, filling their hearts with boundless gratitude toward Jiang Yi.

Pang Xiong carved a bloody path through the enemy lines, arriving swiftly behind the cult centurion to drive his spear straight through the enemy leader's back.