Chapter 123: Ambush in the Mist

The night rain finally ceased before dawn, but a creeping morning mist began to shroud the city. Milky-white water vapor condensed, swallowing the entire city whole, like a colossal white beast.

Qi Jun frowned, looking at the blurred silhouettes of the people around him. Fighting in this fog, where visibility was less than ten meters, was no different from being blindfolded.

The situation was dire for the defenders. If the Qiang tribesmen chose this moment to attack, the defenders would only have a chance to mount a passive counterattack once the enemy was already at the foot of the walls.

The county soldiers and villagers, who still had the strength to fight, stood at their posts in full alert. They gripped their weapons with nervous hands, eyes fixed on the limited horizon beyond the walls. Beneath the gathering clouds, that vast, white mist hung over everyone’s heart like an immense wall.

The silence on the ramparts was suffocating, broken only by the uneasy breathing and anxious whispers echoing through the fog.

"If only we had made more whistles, at least we could communicate..." Qi Jun sighed helplessly, facing the realities of the battlefield.

"Sir, shall I go out and scout again?" Liu Biao asked, sensing Qi Jun’s anxiety. He, too, felt a deep sense of uncertainty.

Qi Jun shook his head while gazing out. In such thick fog, moving blindly would not only lead to getting lost but would likely result in an ambush by enemy soldiers.

Liu Biao opened his mouth to press the issue, but saw Qi Jun’s expression tighten sharply. The latter raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence.

At that moment, Qi Jun’s keen senses detected a burgeoning crisis within the mist. He could faintly hear the soft, rhythmic patter of footsteps on muddy ground, like thieves creeping over a homeowner’s wall under the cover of darkness.

"Enemies approaching!"

Qi Jun was certain that the Qiang raiding party was nearly at the walls, for he heard the unmistakable hum of bowstrings being drawn.

No sooner had he spoken than a massive volley of whistling arrows tore through the air. The piercing, soul-shaking shrieks of the projectiles cut through the thick veil of mist, hurtling toward the defenders on the ramparts.

"Get down!" Qi Jun’s eyes reflected the sky-darkening rain of arrows. His pupils contracted sharply as he shouted, pressing himself flat against the wall.

Several county soldiers and villagers, too slow to react, were struck by the whistling arrows. They collapsed backward, their upper bodies bristling with shafts. Watching his fellow villagers die right before his eyes, Liu Biao let out a cry of grief and rage.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The Qiang arrows continued to stream overhead, raining down relentlessly upon the ramparts.

"Are the Qiang people insane?" Liu Biao ducked his head, looking at the arrows thudding into the ground before him in disbelief. "They’re using this 'carpet-bombing' tactic to shatter our morale and willpower in one stroke."

Qi Jun was reminded of the history from his past life, where the Qin army in the late Warring States period used powerful crossbows to batter the cities of the six rival states. Often, a few volleys were enough to break the defenders' spirits.

Although he had experienced charging through gunfire in his previous life and had seen the devastating power of grenades and rocket launchers, the sheer psychological pressure of these whistling arrows was even more unsettling. Facing the brutal onslaught of this cold-weapon era, even Qi Jun could not help but feel a tremor of fear.

The roof tiles and gate pillars of the watchtower were soon covered in a thick layer of arrow fletching. Qi Jun mused to himself that even if Zhuge Liang were here to "borrow" these arrows, he would likely be pierced through by them.

"This Bodo thinks highly of us, doesn't he? What a 'warm' welcome. If we don't return the favor with a grand gift, we'd be failing the rules of courtesy," Qi Jun chuckled, patting Liu Biao on the shoulder to steady him.

"Sir, we can’t even lift our heads... I truly admire that you can still joke at a time like this! Even as an old soldier, I can’t match your composure," Liu Biao said, his body trembling as he forced a bitter smile, suppressing his mounting terror.

Liu Biao’s state of mind could be described as the "secondary fear of the battlefield." A veteran who has survived the cruelty of war might have been fearless, but after spending years in the calm of retirement, returning to the front lines often triggers the same paralyzing fear as a raw recruit.

The arrow rain gradually thinned, leaving only stray shafts falling here and there. Qi Jun knew the Qiang infantry was about to charge.

"The Qiang are attacking! Prepare to engage!" Qi Jun took a deep breath, turning his gaze toward the thick wall of mist.

As the arrows stopped, the sound of boots trampling through mud drew near, punctuated by the metallic clanking of armor and leather. Even through the fog, everyone on the wall could envision the Qiang soldiers surging forward like a tidal wave.

"Judging by the sound, there are many of them!" Qi Jun stood up, listening to the war cries erupting from the mist, feeling as though he were standing on a lone reef being hammered by the sea.

"Listen up, get the stones ready! When they reach the wall, give them a proper welcome!"

"Yes!" The county soldiers and villagers, shivering before the impending slaughter, gripped their stones and bit their lips in grim determination at Qi Jun's command.

On a slope to the north of Anqiang City, a grizzled old Qiang general sat comfortably, removing a kettle from the fire and pouring boiling tea into his bowl. He blew the steam away, took a scalding sip, and handed the bowl to his adjutant, rubbing his hands by the fire.

"General, we marched through the rain all night. Leave this to me; why not take a nap?" The adjutant bowed respectfully as he took the bowl.

"No rush. I’ll rest once we’re inside," the old general said dismissively, frowning as he looked toward the fog-hidden city. "Where is Kebie? Bring him to me! That useless fool, unable to take even a small city like this—he brings shame to the name of our Qiang warriors."

"I have already sent men to find him," the adjutant said, holding the tea out. "A tiny city like this should have fallen in an instant, General. Why bother coming yourself?"

"The Liang people are weak; they crumble at the touch of our warriors. Taking Ding'an Commandery is only a matter of time. I have enough merit already; perhaps I should leave this victory to General Duoluo." The old general chuckled and took a sip. "What interests me is this Liang man Kebie mentioned. A few hundred men holding off over a thousand of ours—he has some talent. Pass the order: take him alive. I want to see what is so different about this Liang man's brain!"

"Consider it done, I shall capture him for you!" The adjutant boasted confidently. In his eyes, no matter how capable the commander of Anqiang was, he could not withstand such a swift and overwhelming assault.

The adjutant shook his head, thinking it completely unnecessary to use so many arrows and so many men to attack such a poorly defended town. Even if the Liang commander knew some strange tricks they had never seen before, it would be futile in the face of absolute strength.

The Zhenxi Army, which guarded Ding'an, had already been forced to retreat and hunker down in the commandery seat; this small county town of Anqiang was hardly worth their notice.

On the walls of Anqiang, groups of Qiang soldiers had already propped their ladders against the ramparts, ready to climb up, open the gates, and hoist their own banners. In their view, the previous rain of arrows had already wiped out most of the defenders. The battle seemed to be over before it had even begun; attacking Anqiang felt as easy as a casual excursion.

A feast of looting and slaughter awaited them as their reward for entering the city. The Qiang soldiers, filled with anticipation, crowded at the foot of the wall, scrambling to climb the ladders.

However, at that very moment, the sudden appearance of the county soldiers and villagers shattered their illusions, leaving them stunned and bewildered.

"Come on, give them a taste of our 'buns'!" With a shout from Qi Jun, a dense rain of stones poured down from the ramparts, crashing into the enemy ranks below, fueled by the defenders' fury.