SWDnovel Chapter 69 Ambush
Chapter 69 Ambush
June 7th, afternoon. After the rain, Guichou Ravine resembled an old coffin soaked in water, exuding a suffocating musty smell.
The cliffs on both sides, like two jagged saw teeth, squeezed the sky into a pale line. The official road meandered at the bottom of the canyon, muddy and treacherous, making a sticky "gurgling" sound as the wheels rolled over it, as if stirring rotten flesh.
Lu Yan rode his horse in the middle of the column. He didn't look at the scenery on either side, but instead took off his deerskin gloves and wiped them on the damp saddle, feeling a sticky coolness on his fingertips.
He took out the hardcover notebook from his pocket, but instead of opening it immediately, he glanced at the slight curling at the edges of the pages.
"With this level of humidity, the gunpowder is prone to clumping." Lu Yan frowned slightly, a natural concern for engineers regarding harsh working conditions. "The ignition will burn more slowly, increasing the probability of delayed ignition by at least 20%. Moreover, in this echo-walled terrain, mules and horses are easily startled in the event of a barrel explosion or excessive noise."
He closed the notebook without writing down any data, but silently raised the risk rating in his mind.
"Boss, something's not right."
Zhao Changying rode up to him. Today he was wearing all-black cotton armor, without a helmet, revealing his angular face, with a faint scar across his brow bone. His nose twitched twice, like a wild beast that had caught the scent of its prey.
"It's too quiet. Not even the crows are cawing. And... there's a smell in the wind." Zhao Changying lowered his voice, "It's not the smell of mud, it's the sour smell of people who haven't bathed for days, mixed with the smell of horse manure. Although it's been suppressed by the rain, it can't escape the nose of an old soldier."
Lu Yan glanced at the dense bushes to his side and said calmly, "With two thousand men lying in ambush downwind, even if they dare not light a fire to cook, the smell of excrement and urine will still be undeniable. In addition, with this sweltering weather, the smell will accumulate and settle down."
He reined in his horse and, without any hesitation, raised his right fist.
"Stop the vehicle. Level one alert."
The order was instantly transmitted throughout the team via flag signals and brass whistles.
This team displayed astonishing efficiency. There was no commotion, no panic, and even the neighing of the mules and horses was skillfully quelled by the drivers.
"Snap! Snap!"
With a series of synchronized metallic clanging sounds, fifty sidecars, "magically modified" by Zhao Tie, began to "transform." The thick, three-inch-long elmwood panels that had been folded back on both sides of the vehicles were quickly lowered, the wrought iron coverings gleaming coldly in the dim light. Thick iron bolts were hammered into slots, connecting the vehicles end to end. The original long, single-file formation was transformed in just a few dozen breaths into an impenetrable "steel square" on the narrow official road.
Almost the instant the formation closed, a piercing whistle ripped through the deathly silence of the valley.
"Chirp—!"
As if some kind of switch had been flipped, countless heads suddenly “grew” out of the previously desolate hillsides on both sides.
"The Eternal Mother! The Vacuum Homeland!"
"Slay demons! Seize food! Invulnerable to swords and spears!"
A deafening roar of slogans erupted instantly, mingled with the strange melodies of gongs and suonas. Thousands of bandits, wrapped in red turbans, surged forth from behind piles of rocks and bushes like a pot of boiling red porridge. Some carried hoes and pitchforks, some brandished dulled sabers, and many more were bare-handed, their eyes gleaming with an almost manic intoxication.
Logs and boulders, mixed in with the sparse rain of arrows, roared down the mountainside, crashing onto the roof of the sidecar with a dull, thunderous "thump-thump."
"Shieldbearer, get on the roof! Protect the roof! Musketeer, check the matchlock ropes, make sure they're not damp!"
Zhao Changying, carrying the heavy iron mace, roared back and forth in the formation, his voice drowning out the noise of the earth collapsing.
Lu Yan remained mounted on his horse, positioned at the very center of the chariot formation. Even through a dozen layers of shields, he could still feel the overwhelming, suffocating pressure. This was "momentum"—a biological torrent formed by thousands of fanatical believers, enough to instantly collapse any untrained garrison force.
But he wasn't a garrison soldier. Neither were his men.
This is just a high-risk "engineering project," and he is the project manager whose responsibility is to control risks and deliver results.
"One hundred and twenty steps... one hundred steps... eighty steps."
Lu Yan calmly counted the distance in his mind. At this distance, he could even see the incense master at the very front, with a yellow talisman on his chest, chanting incantations as if the talisman could truly ward off death.
"Uncle Zhao, clear the area," Lu Yan said softly.
"Okay!"
Zhao Tie, who was crouching under the roof of the lead car, grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth. He suddenly ripped off the tarpaulin to expose two short, thick, dark cannon barrels that looked like crouching tigers—tiger crouching cannons.
This was not a heavy cannon used for siege warfare, but a "large shotgun" specifically designed for killing personnel in the field. The barrel was already filled with broken iron nails, porcelain shards, and lead pellets.
"ignition!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Two bright orange fireballs erupted in the dark valley.
The immense recoil caused the heavy trailer to jolt violently. Thousands of iron filings and debris, like the sneeze of death, swept across the narrow valley floor in a fan shape.
The dozens of "Guardian Soldiers" at the forefront were torn to shreds by the metal storm before they could even scream. Blood mist exploded in the air, the visual impact was devastating—people who were alive and kicking one second were turned into piles of mangled flesh the next.
The surging torrent paused for a moment.
But this stagnation was quickly pushed forward by the even more enthusiastic crowd behind.
"Don't be afraid! That's sorcery! Mother, protect us! It won't work if you rush in!"
A burly leader, brandishing a large knife, hacked down two retreating cultists. "Charge in! The food, women, and silver are all yours!"
The crowd surged again, this time even more frenzied and faster.
"Sixty paces. Armor-piercing range." Lu Yan's voice remained completely calm.
From the firing ports of the sidecar, the dark gun barrels protruded like the quills of a hedgehog.
"First row, aim for waist level, fire!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of popping sounds followed. White smoke billowed up instantly, and the pungent smell of sulfur overpowered the stench of decay.
At this distance, large-caliber lead bullets don't need rifling to correct accuracy; they rely solely on pure impact force. The incense master, whose body was covered in talismans, had a bowl-sized hole blown open in his chest. He was sent flying backward as if struck by an invisible hammer, knocking down the flag bearer behind him in the process.
"Second rank, advance! First rank, retreat and load!"
This is not a chaotic free-fire exercise, but rather a "round-robin" shooting exercise, much like an assembly line in a workshop.
The first rank retreated, cleaning the chambers, biting open the paper cartridges, emptying the propellant, and compacting the cleaning rods. Every action had been repeated thousands of times, ingrained in their very being. Meanwhile, the second rank had taken their place and pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Another round of deadly volleys.
There was no swordplay, only one-sided slaughter. Lead bullets ignored cotton armor, talismans, and the so-called "indestructible body," riddling frenzied bodies with holes.
"What...what kind of musket is this? Why does it keep firing?"
The White Lotus Sect leader on the hillside watched with bloodshot eyes. Based on his experience, the government troops' muskets would take ages to adjust after firing a single shot, and by then they should be in his face. But the convoy's firepower was relentless, like a flowing river!
"Push the shield truck! Get on the shield truck!"
The leader roared. A dozen makeshift shield carts, wrapped in wet blankets and thick wooden planks, were pushed out in an attempt to withstand the terrifying hail of bullets.
"Boss, the gun barrel's burning hot! Firing it again will cause it to explode!" Zhao Tie shouted from below, his voice filled with anxiety. "And the smoke is so thick, I can't see anything!"
The canyon terrain prevented the smoke from dissipating, and the entire battlefield was shrouded in a white fog, with only shadowy figures visible as they approached.
"They're closing in!" Zhao Changying roared. "Prepare for close combat!"
Lu Yan watched the dozen or so shield carts getting closer and closer, and the dense, zombie-like hordes of enemies surging behind them. Although the shield carts were sturdy, they were not city walls. Once these thousands of people engaged in close combat, his few hundred men would be instantly overwhelmed.
"Stress test complete."
Lu Yan stuffed the useless notebook into his pocket. His gaze instantly shifted from the calmness of an engineer to the ruthlessness of a businessman—the look of someone deciding to sell off non-performing assets.
"The shield has held firm. Now, it's time to unleash the spear."
He turned to look at the rear of the traffic jam, where it remained silent.
"Changying, open the door." Lu Yan's voice pierced through the noisy battlefield. "Take back those hundreds of 'military merits' for me."