Chapter 2049: Chapter 1497: If You Can’t Win, Kneel! (Part 2)

"This is the gold I seized! Mine!... "

The first-arriving monk soldiers frantically tore at the heavy gold talismans beneath the tree, hanging them around their necks and stuffing them into their doumaru. Those who arrived later pushed and shoved, jumping to grab the talismans from the trees, even lifting each other to snatch them. Quickly, the weighty gold scattered everywhere, as chaotic as the monk soldiers. Each talisman, weighing one jin, if brought back to Kansai, would cover a family of five’s expenses for a lifetime!...

"This... is it broken already?!..."

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei’s eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him. He had prepared for a desperate fight to the death, never expecting that the Shandan people’s camp would fall as easily as if made of paper, breached in one assault?

The monk soldiers only fired a few rounds of arrows without close combat, yet the Shandan garrison abandoned the camp’s fences, allowing them to charge in? Even the treasure tree laden with a thousand jin of gold wasn’t defended; instead, it was simply handed over to the monks? Could the morale of these Shandan tribes be so low that they collapsed at the first touch? No, that’s not right! This is a trick; there are enemies with bows still on the ship barriers!...

"Whizz, whizz, whizz!... "

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei’s hair stood on end, and he immediately dove into the mud beside him. Sharp heavy arrows brushed past his big armor, embedding deeply into the ground. A fierce Shandan arrow rain came from the shore-side ship barriers, aiming at the center of the camp, where the monk soldiers in chaos were fighting for gold. This time, without the protection of the customs ships’ arrow shelters, the elite monk army emitted a chorus of wails and screams!

"Buddha!... "

"Save me!... "

"My gold! My eyes!... "

"Whizz, whizz, whizz!... "

Zuwaro climbed onto the ship barriers, gasping for air, and looked at the Warrior Chief Tamikusa commanding the archery, retreating behind the Kingdom’s Warriors. Then, he squinted at the chaotic, wailing monk army under the golden treasure tree in the center of the camp. Many monks, even after being shot and falling, still clung to the gold talismans in their hands, unwilling to let go.

"Tsk, tsk! Even the South’s Great Tribe armies, even if they are devout Temple Guards, can be bewildered by the mana of gold! Just a thousand jin of gold turned these armored fearless warriors into a rabble fighting among themselves, becoming targets for archery! Your Majesty’s prophecy was astonishingly accurate!... "

Zuwaro shook his head and sighed, feeling both regret and admiration. On the other side, Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong was wide-mouthed, looking at the gold scattered everywhere, unable to suppress his heartache.

"Ah! These gold, this money! This is a thousand jin of gold, ten thousand coins of big money!... "

"Whizz, whizz, whizz!... "

The deadly whistling flew by, leading to shining golden light toward Western Heavenly Bliss. The two people on the ship barriers didn’t know that this "Heaven and Earth One Toss," causing chaos, was a military art that worked unfailingly everywhere and was just being tested. Over a hundred years later, in the late Ming Dynasty, this tactic would be truly enhanced in the hands of the peasant army, becoming their ultimate technique to defeat or evade the official army! No matter how many times it’s used, this ultimate technique proves infallible, something the poorly paid official army cannot resist...

"Woo woo! Woo woo woo!... "

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei dodged the Shandan arrow rain, blowing his piercing Dharma conch. He shouted himself hoarse, striving to restrain the monk soldiers he trained.

"Buddha watches over you! Drop the gold, drop the gold! The Shandan people are not broken! The Shandan people are not broken!... "

"Regroup! Attack! Advance on the shooting ship barriers! Yes! Defeat them first, then come back for the gold!... "

"Whizz, whizz, whizz!"

Three waves of arrow rain shot down from the ship barriers, felling another hundred or so monks. Initially, the Tiantai army was five hundred strong, yet, without having killed even a few Shandan tribesmen, they were now down to less than three hundred, most still in chaos.

"Vaisravana protect us! Charge! Assault the ship barriers!... "

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei struggled to reorganize, finally mustering nearly a hundred of the most devout elite monks to charge at the ship barriers of six large ships. Zuwaro watched in surprise, unable to imagine how, despite such heavy casualties, the enemy’s Temple Guards could still charge bravely without retreat? Such astonishing morale!...

"Lord Priest! It’s time!... "

On the ship barriers, Warrior Chief Tamikusa turned around, looking at Zuwaro. Zuwaro nodded, and the warriors unveiled thick cloths from the ship barriers, revealing three short Bronze tiger squat cannons. Their dark muzzles aimed directly at nearly a hundred charging Tiantai monks. In each muzzle, gunpowder and a stone shot had long been loaded.

"Ignite!... "

"Boom, boom, boom!... "

"!!... "

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei showed a face of terror and agilely dove down again, hiding behind a monk. The whistling stone barrage came crashing, from less than a hundred paces away, directly shredding a dozen of the bravest monks charging at the front, turning them into blood-spewing sieves. The monks’ final courageous charge was abruptly halted.

"Ah! Buddha! Demons! They are demons! "

"Shandan Demons!... "

"Take the gold and retreat to the ships... "

"Whizz! Whizz whizz! "

The Kingdom’s Warriors on the ship barriers didn’t reload the Tiger Squat Cannons but took the chance to continue shooting arrows. The Kingdom’s remaining gunpowder was too little, and in the Tiger Squat Cannons of the three longships, only this single shot remained. As for the purpose of this shot, it was not to kill the enemy but to send a signal...

"Da da da!... "

"Da da da!!...

"Da da da!!!...

With three cannon shots, the sound of galloping hooves arose from the eastern forest, growing faster and fiercer! The distance of two miles seemed to vanish in an instant, and the figures of twenty Jurchen Heavy Cavalry had already emerged from the sparse woods!

"Ancestor’s blessings! Amma protects us!... "

"Qila, Qila! Charge, charge!... "

Chief of Harman Ali wielded a blunt bone, grinning fiercely as he pointed toward the gap in the monk camp. Twenty Jurchen Heavy Cavalry, howling barbarically, charged like the fiercest heavy arrows at the retreating and chaotic prey, at the vital points of the "bald vultures!" Behind them, over a hundred armored and bow-armed Jurchen Warriors were running from the forest, ready for the final strike of the hunt!

"Ah! It’s the Shandan people’s ambush! They’ve finally appeared!... "

"Haha! It’s over! We’ve reached the Sanzu River!... "

At this moment, Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei shivered all over and then relaxed as if relieved of a burden. He looked at the approaching Jurchen cavalry, laughed foolishly, glanced at Master Juehui on the distant customs ship, whose expression was unclear, and suddenly drew his tachi.

"Ancestors of the Shiba Clan! I now follow you! In the future, the Qinghe Minamoto Clan’s Wubei family’s main line will be guarded by descendants... I only hope that Young Master Rongdong’s future can soar above East Seeking Temple’s cliffs, rather than be trapped inside the temples and shrines of the Tiantai Sect...!!"

Fang Official Shiba Zhenwei didn’t finish, as the formidable Hu Nu Tiger Vanguard, wearing three layers of armor, was the first to slay through the crumbling Tiantai monk soldiers. Then he raised a blunt bone high and struck down the prominent "enemy chief," making him kneel on the ground.

"Too much nonsense! If you can’t fight, you must kneel!... "

Under the shining golden treasure tree, Hu Nu grinned ferociously, standing before the slowly collapsing Fang Official Shiba. At his feet, the golden talismans scattered on the ground, soaked with the blood of the Tiantai monk soldiers, resembled blooming golden lotuses in a pool of blood~~