Section 105: Delaying the Enemy Force

Thunderclap Tribe.

When Thunder Dragon received the call for reinforcements, the Thunderclap Tribe was already engulfed in the sounds of slaughter. The three watchtowers along the riverbank were blazing with raging fires, while the militia atop them fired arrows desperately at the enemy, striving to loose one more shot before the towers collapsed.

Lecherous Madman, leading a militia force of over sixty men, acted with unbridled arrogance, ordering the destruction of every building along the riverfront. He was determined to raze the Thunderclap Tribe to the ground to avenge the humiliation of the reprimands he had received earlier while plundering resources at the Black Fiend Tribe. He was certain that, due to the wartime restrictions on the friend-invite function, Thunder Dragon could not send out pleas for help to his allies. Watching the dock and lumber mill of the Thunderclap Tribe being dismantled piece by piece, he sneered repeatedly, envisioning Thunder Dragon pacing frantically within the tribe, utterly helpless.

After razing the dock and lumber mill, Lecherous Madman let out a strange howl and waved his hand toward the three watchtowers. Five tribal leaders and their soldiers charged forward, surrounding the structures. Moments later, all three watchtowers erupted in flames and collapsed one after another. Three militiamen crawled from the ruins to fight to the death, but they were vastly outnumbered and fell in battle shortly after.

Inside the tribe, Thunder Dragon stood by the barracks, checking his tribal leader options. Upon discovering that three militiamen had perished, he felt a sharp pang of grief, yet he immediately clicked on the barracks to select three of the sturdiest villagers standing before him, promoting them to replenish the ranks. Although the newly promoted militiamen had low attack and defense stats, they were at least superior to common villagers and could stall the enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

After the promotion, Thunder Dragon turned his gaze toward the eastern night sky, the direction of the Yanhuang Tribe. His brows were furrowed, his heart burning with anxiety as he desperately hoped Li Zhan would soon appear with his soldiers.

Once the watchtowers fell, Lecherous Madman signaled his troops to line up, laughing wildly as he ordered them to cut down all the wooden palisades along the river, stripping the Thunderclap Tribe of its defenses like a shellfish shorn of its shell.

Recovering his resolve, Thunder Dragon ordered all available villagers to run to the base of the palisades and hasten repairs on their side. Simultaneously, he ordered forty villagers, organized into groups of eight, to rapidly construct five new watchtowers along the defensive line. The militia stood behind the repairing villagers; if a breach appeared in the fence, they were to rush forward immediately to engage the enemy, allowing the villagers time to retreat. Though the villagers feared the war, the tribe faced imminent destruction, and Thunder Dragon’s past kindness moved them to cast aside their worries and commit themselves fully to the work. Along the palisades, the scene was chaotic: on one side, Lecherous Madman’s troops were frantically destroying, while on the other, the villagers, protected by the militia, labored to repair. Ropes that snapped were immediately retied; sections that tilted were instantly straightened.

One of Thunder Dragon’s three lieutenants, Thunder Pipe, came running back, breathless. Behind him followed Flower Pot and ten of his own militiamen. Earlier, when the river watchtowers spotted Lecherous Madman’s fishing boats, Thunder Dragon had sent a carrier pigeon to Li Zhan and dispatched Thunder Pipe, the highest-leveled of his lieutenants, to seek aid from the Flower Pot Tribe. Having often benefited from the Thunderclap Tribe’s generosity, the two tribes shared a close bond and were located only four miles apart. Upon understanding the situation, Flower Pot had immediately mobilized ten of his twelve militiamen to join the relief effort.

At this moment, the section of the palisade attacked by the militia from Lecherous Village finally collapsed, aided by five archers. Following Thunder Dragon’s prior instructions, the villagers retreated rapidly, and the nearby militia immediately stepped up to engage the incoming forces.

Lecherous Village possessed deep financial resources, and the Thunderclap Tribe had saved a significant amount of gold after conquering the Sincerity Tribe. Both sides were equipped with iron swords, bracers, and greaves; their combat capabilities were evenly matched. For a time, they clashed at the breach, trading blows without yielding.

The palisades were loosening in several places. Despite the villagers’ efforts, their durability continued to drop. Seeing this, Flower Pot did not stop to rest, instead leading his own men to guard the villagers. Thunder Dragon ordered the retreating villagers and those standing by to immediately build new fortifications, using the five rising watchtowers as a boundary to isolate all buildings outside this line and form a new defensive perimeter.

By the time three of the five watchtowers were erected, the riverfront palisades had developed four breaches. The enemy swarmed through, their frantic attacks causing heavy casualties among the repairing villagers. Flower Pot and Thunder Radar, another of Thunder Dragon’s lieutenants, held the line with their militia to buy time for the villagers to withdraw. The three newly promoted militiamen, despite their lower stats, climbed the new watchtowers to provide arrow support, stalling the enemy from above.

Just as the riverfront defenses were nearly destroyed and the enemy surged in, Thunder Dragon, in his desperation, saw a carrier pigeon returning. Overjoyed, he held out his arm for the bird to land, retrieved the strip of cloth from its leg, and held it to the firelight. It contained only one sentence:

"Hold them off. I have a way to save you. — Li Zhan"

Thunder Dragon rubbed his eyes, certain he had not misread it. He turned the cloth over repeatedly, but there was only that one line.

For a moment, his mind went blank. He stood there, speechless.

Thunder Bird and Thunder Pipe, standing nearby, leaned in to see the note. Thunder Bird, usually a man of few words, frowned deeply. The straight-talking Thunder Pipe roared immediately:

"Damn it! With so many enemies, how are we supposed to hold them off? Li Zhan makes it sound so easy!"

Thunder Bird shook his head. "Fourth brother, don't jump to conclusions. Perhaps Alliance Leader Li has a brilliant strategy."

Thunder Pipe retorted, "Forget it, second brother. Don't pin any hopes on Li Zhan. I think he was in league with Lecherous Madman all along, and this is his chance to kick us while we're down."

Thunder Bird replied, "Alliance Leader Li would never associate with trash like Lecherous Madman. Besides, if he really wanted to watch us die, he could have simply ignored our plea instead of sending a pigeon back to make us doubt his motives."

Thunder Pipe started to argue, but Thunder Dragon waved his hand and let out a long sigh. "Enough. Regardless of Li Zhan's motives, I, Thunder Dragon, chose to trust him, so I should not harbor doubts now. Even if I did, it would be useless; the enemy forces are many times our own, and they will not give us the luxury of time to speculate."

Though he said this, Thunder Dragon sighed inwardly: *Li Zhan, I once made you my enemy, but I changed my stance because I realized you are not only sharp-minded but a brother of true loyalty. This battle concerns the survival of my tribe. I hope you have a miracle in store; but if your motives are truly what my brother says, then if my tribe falls, I have only my own poor judgment to blame!*

With these thoughts, Thunder Dragon picked up the iron sword he had stuck in the ground. Thunder Bird immediately stepped forward to stop him. "Eldest brother, you cannot go out there. Our tribe is due for an upgrade after today. If you suffer a mishap in the chaos, our civilization level will drop, and the upgrade will be delayed by at least half a month."

Thunder Pipe hurriedly snatched the sword from Thunder Dragon's hand. "Eldest brother, second brother is right. You must stay back and command the villagers; leave the front lines to me, the second brother, and the third brother."

Thunder Bird, Thunder Radar, and Thunder Pipe were all tribal leaders who managed the Thunderclap Tribe alongside Thunder Dragon. The four were good friends in real life, and though they hadn't been in the same place initially—Thunder Radar had even been randomly assigned to Xiangping—he had traveled day and night for over half a month to join the tribe in Danyang County.

Because all three were leaders, they were capable of leading the militia in counterattacks. After taking the sword, they reassured Thunder Dragon and charged into the fray.

Thunder Dragon had intended to lead the charge, but he realized they were right. As the head of the tribe, he had to prioritize the bigger picture; brute force was for generals. Moreover, Li Zhan’s intent was for him to "hold" the enemy, not to commit his own life to the slaughter.

With that, he abandoned the thought of fighting and instead ordered all villagers, including those from the Tribal Hall, to exit their buildings. He commanded them to build dense watchtowers and palisades within the tribe, aiming to consume every last unit of wood to stall the enemy for as long as possible.