Chapter 137: Setting Fire to the Mountain Stronghold

Thinking about this, Li Zhan quickened his pace, left the formation, and caught up to Shen Kuo, who was riding slowly on horseback. He called out:

"County Lieutenant, I have something to report!"

Shen Kuo was deep in thought. Hearing Li Zhan's voice, he quickly reined in his horse, turned around, and looked at Li Zhan, asking:

"Town Chief Li, what is it?"

Li Zhan came to Shen Kuo's side and said:

"Does the County Lieutenant still remember that I once mentioned there is a small stream behind the stronghold, which is the only water source nearby?"

Shen Kuo nodded and said:

"Of course I remember."

Li Zhan continued:

"When the stronghold is attacked by fire, the bandits will inevitably run down the back of the mountain to fetch water for firefighting. I believe we should ambush a troop by the small stream at the back of the mountain to ambush the bandits while throwing them into even greater chaos."

Shen Kuo pondered for a moment and said:

"This plan is excellent. It's just that it requires someone very familiar with the terrain there to lead the troops into the ambush."

After saying this, Shen Kuo looked at Li Zhan without speaking. His intention was obvious: this mission was best suited for Li Zhan. However, because Li Zhan had previously offered the fire attack strategy, Shen Kuo held him in considerable regard. Ambushing bandits involved many variables, and Shen Kuo worried that Li Zhan might meet with misfortune. Therefore, he did not directly order Li Zhan to go, but instead used his gaze to test Li Zhan's intentions. If Li Zhan volunteered, Shen Kuo would naturally gladly agree; if Li Zhan refused the task, he would not blame him.

Li Zhan had originally proposed this ambush plan with the intention of leading the troops himself. Those panicked bandits fetching water would basically be unequipped with weapons, practically serving up free experience on a silver platter. It was only out of concern for potential bandit counterattacks that Li Zhan felt the need for government soldier assistance. Seeing Shen Kuo question him with his gaze, Li Zhan smiled and said:

"Though I am unworthy, I am willing to lead a group of my subordinates to make preparations. However, given our limited numbers and strength, I hope the County Lieutenant can lend us some more soldiers."

Shen Kuo nodded with satisfaction and said to Li Zhan:

"It is rare for Town Chief Li to be so bold and decisive; how could this official refuse to provide reinforcements? I intend to assign thirty government soldiers to you. I wonder if Town Chief Li thinks that will be enough?"

Thirty men? Li Zhan had only wanted a dozen or so beforehand, considering he already had over thirty men under his command who were well-equipped. He quickly cupped his hands and said:

"Thank you for your assistance, County Lieutenant. These men will be more than enough."

Shen Kuo told Li Zhan to choose the suitable troop types himself. Li Zhan walked back and forth through the formation several times, selecting thirty government soldiers: 15 swordsmen, 10 spearmen, and 5 foot archers.

Afterward, Li Zhan kept Dancing Fish and Ocean Girl behind, assigning them to guard the four ballistas. When the government soldiers and bandits engaged in chaotic combat later, they were to ensure these ballistas were not destroyed. He also detached eight soldiers from Ejiacun (5 spearmen and 3 swordsmen) to follow their commands, taking charge of operating the ballistas under their direction.

Having arranged everything, Li Zhan led the remaining men away from the main force and advanced into the roadside woods.

At this time, Li Zhan's subordinates—
The four player leaders and their subordinate players, totaling twenty-four people, were all dressed in cotton clothing, with most also wearing inferior leather armor (Defense +5). Among them, eighteen were equipped with iron swords and wooden shields, while the remaining six were equipped with short bows and feathered arrows.

Zhao Ming led five swordsmen, and Zhang Feng led five foot archers. These twelve were the regular soldiers of Yanhuang Village, though not particularly high in level (Zhang Feng Level 19, Zhao Ming Level 14), they excelled in well-equipped gear—superior iron swords and ordinary leather armor (Defense +7)—which other soldiers participating in the bandit suppression could not match, making even the elite players of Yanhuang Village look on with envy.

The thirty government soldiers included 15 swordsmen, 10 spearmen, and 5 foot archers. Although the defense of these government soldiers could not compare with Yanhuang Village's gear, they excelled in higher levels, all being above Level 28. (To reveal a secret: because the official faction's concept of class advancement was weak, primarily due to exorbitant advancement fees, these soldiers had already exceeded the class advancement requirements, clearly falling into the "high level, low class" category—Swordsmen Level 20 [Advanced] Long Swordsmen, Spearmen Level 15 [Advanced] Pikemen, Foot Archers Level 20 [Advanced] Crossbowmen). Their individual attack and defense were at least somewhat superior to ordinary players.

There was one missionary. Dressed in ordinary villager attire and holding a wooden club, the missionary gave the impression of a bald and sluggish militiaman (after upgrading a villager to a militiaman, the clothing remains unchanged). Li Zhan had specially had him change into this outfit before setting out from Ejiacun. The missionary had been rather dissatisfied, complaining all the way that the clothes were dirty and stinky, or unsuitables, constantly grumbling. After being intimidated by Dancing Fish with the threat, "If you don't shut up right now, I'll drag you off to grind levels," he immediately became obedient and stopped talking.

The disguised missionary was not recognized by the players, fulfilling Li Zhan's intentions—the ballistas and leather armor were impossible to conceal and had to be exposed in front of everyone. As for other aspects, attracting as little attention as possible was best; keeping a low profile in a strange place was never a bad thing.

Li Zhan led these sixty-seven people, following the daytime route and groping forward under the faint starlight, heading straight for the small stream behind the mountain.

By the time Li Zhan and the others were halfway there, the ten cavalrymen had arrived at their designated positions one after another. Using the fire of the last cavalryman to arrive as a signal, the remaining nine cavalrymen successively ignited the withered grass and leaves around them and rapidly withdrew.

Although the ten fires were not large, against the backdrop of the dark night, they were exceptionally eye-catching. According to prior arrangement, these ignition points were spaced four to five hundred meters apart, completely surrounding Niutoushan.

After a short while, the lookout guards on the stronghold's watchtowers spotted the flames. After a brief moment of astonishment, they immediately blew their horns and struck gongs. In an instant, the entire stronghold was filled with clamor as bandits woke up from their dreams in a panic.

Li Zhan hurriedly ordered everyone to quicken their pace and traverse the woods at top speed, finally arriving near the small path behind the mountain just before the bandits ran down to fetch water.

Thinking quickly, Li Zhan instructed Zhang Feng to lead all NPC foot archers and player archers wading across the water (the stream was shallow, about waist-deep) to ambush in the bushes on the opposite bank. The remaining swordsmen and spearmen were placed under Zhao Ming's command to ambush in the bushes on one side of the path, while he himself led twenty-four players to ambush in the bushes on the other side of the path.

Before the ambush, Li Zhan instructed Zhao Ming: Upon hearing the shout of "Kill!", immediately charge out to strike down the bandits. Upon hearing the shout of "Spread out!", no matter how chaotic the scene, immediately withdraw back to the bushes where they had just been hiding. Under no circumstances should they continue fighting enemies outside the bushes after hearing the "Spread out!" command.

He also instructed Zhang Feng, who led the foot archers: Upon hearing the shout of "Spread out!", immediately rain stray arrows toward the path until hearing him shout "Stop!". Before that, no matter how fierce the battle on the path became, they must hold their nerve and under no circumstances expose their hiding place.

Zhao Ming and Zhang Feng nodded repeatedly, indicating they understood. Li Zhan told them to hurry to their ambush spots, while he led the twenty-four players and the missionary to hide on one side of the path. As the splashing sound of wading faded, Zhang Feng and thirteen foot archers had already ambushed on the opposite bank of the stream, while on this side, Li Zhan and Zhao Ming hid their players and NPC soldiers in the bushes on both sides of the path.

The fire around Niutoushan grew increasingly fierce, tongues of flame stretching from the surface grass and leaves, frantically devouring surrounding dead branches and trees. Within just over ten minutes, a raging inferno had ignited. Towering, massive trees were swallowed by tongues of flame, and countless sparks and embers shot into the sky. At the foot of the mountain, the ten fire points were still spaced four to five hundred meters apart, but by the mid-level of the mountain, they had gradually formed a ring of fire, continuously and rapidly advancing toward the peak.

At the foot of the mountain directly facing the stronghold's main gate, over a thousand players from Yang'an County cheered and leaped for joy. Damn it, who would have thought these arrogant bandits would have such a day? It really felt satisfying!

The next moment, the back gate of the stronghold was kicked open with a loud bang, and fifty bandits rushed down the mountain with water buckets under the Great King's orders. Some of these bandits carried wooden buckets while others held washbasins, running frantically all the way down toward the small stream at the foot of the mountain.

Li Zhan closely monitored these bandits through the branches and leaves of the bushes, searching for the optimal moment to launch a surprise attack.

The bandits running in front reached the riverside, crouched down, and scooped water into their buckets, while the bandits behind continued to crowd forward. As a result, the bandits in front were pushed down into the stream, cursing loudly: "Damn it, are you blind?!" "Who shoved me just now, tired of living?!"

The bandits on the bank retorted in kind: "It's pitch black, what good is having eyes?!" "I bumped into you, so what? Want to throw down a few moves?"

A nearby minor bandit leader shouted: "Shut up, all of you! The fire is almost reaching the stronghold, hurry up and fetch water to put it out!"

The bandits temporarily stopped cursing, fetched their water, and ran back up the mountain. However, the moment they turned around, they collided with the bandits running up from behind, splashing water all over everyone around them.

The cursing resumed...

Li Zhan kept his gaze fixed toward the mountain. By this time, no more bandits were running down from the stronghold's back gate. Taking advantage of the bandits cursing each other and the minor bandit leader's stern reprimand, Li Zhan stood up from behind the bushes, raised the iron sword in his hand, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Kill!"

The four player leaders could no longer restrain themselves; hearing the command, they led their subordinates swarming out. Caught in a double-pincer attack with the NPC soldiers led by Zhao Ming opposite them, they surrounded the water-fetching bandits, slashing and stabbing with iron swords and long spears. Wooden buckets and washbasins fell from the bandits' hands in a clattering mess, accompanied by successive shrieks of agony. In the blink of an eye, these bandits were massacred, leaving fewer than three out of ten alive.