OBS Chapter 266 The entire army was wiped out
Chapter 266 The entire army was wiped out
Li Mo led 20,000 elite soldiers and walked hard on the rugged mountain road under the guidance of a guide. The soldiers were so tired that their helmets and armors were crooked and they complained bitterly. This was the first time they encountered such a difficult mountain road.
The two guides, who were in their forties, stopped and pointed to the dense woods ahead and said, "General, if we go further, we will enter the primeval forest."
"General, this primeval forest is seven or eight hundred miles in radius, and there are wild beasts everywhere, and there are many natural traps. The army should rest here for a day before entering!"
Li Mo, however, was impatient and could not wait. It was just past noon and the rest would take half a day plus a night. A surprise attack required speed and no time could be wasted.
"Even if there are wild beasts, it doesn't matter. It's just a good opportunity for my army to have a snack. Don't waste time and enter this primeval forest immediately."
After entering this primeval forest that covered the sky, even in the early spring when the leaves had just sprouted, the branches were densely intertwined and the sun could not be seen above. The riding boots stepped on the thick rotten leaves and shuttled through a hidden forest path.
The march went smoothly during the half-day period. Except for a few unlucky people who were bitten by poisonous insects and killed by traps, the army did not encounter any danger and instead hunted a lot of prey.
As night fell, it was pitch black all around, with only the cries of owls and the howls of wolves coming from the surroundings. In a relatively spacious area, the army set up camp to rest.
The bonfire was lit, and the aroma of meat was wafting from the iron pot. The exhausted soldiers sat around the bonfire, talking and laughing, waiting to feast on the food.
Suddenly, there was a sound of arrows breaking through the air, "Ah!..." "Ah..." "Ah!..." The soldiers who were chatting and laughing with their companions were shot in the back by the sudden arrows, and fell to the ground with screams.
"Enemy attack!... Be alert!" The soldier standing guard on the tree shouted a warning.
Hearing the sound, Li Mo rushed out of a small tent, shouting and commanding the soldiers who were in chaos.
: "Stay alert! Don't move, teams one and three will chase the enemy!"
Fortunately, there were not many enemies who launched sneak attacks with arrows, and the army, which had suffered three or four hundred casualties, soon stabilized.
The two thousand-man teams chasing the enemy quickly returned along the same route. A captain came forward to report: "General, the enemy is only about a hundred people, and they seem to be local hunters. There is no road in the deep forest, but they move quickly. Our army can't catch up with the enemy, so we retreated."
Li Mo's heavy mood eased a little. The attacks organized by local hunters were not scary. He was just afraid that the rebels would get wind of the news and send troops to ambush and kill him.
"Retreat! Be alert!" After giving the order, Li Mo went back to the tent to continue eating the delicious wild goat meat.
In the middle of the night, the enemy launched another surprise attack with crossbows. Li Mo was so angry that he gave a death order, ordering two teams of a thousand people to pursue and kill the enemy. They were not allowed to withdraw until these hateful hunters were wiped out.
There was no news for several hours. After the army finished breakfast, they saw hundreds of soldiers who were exhausted, with tattered armor and scratches on their faces and hands, returning to the army camp.
It was the same lieutenant who came to Li Mo. His disheveled face was covered with bloody scratches from thorns. He knelt down on the ground with a plop and cried, "General, we chased the enemy for half the night, but didn't hurt a single hair of the enemy. There were traps everywhere, and ambushes were shooting cold arrows all the time. We lost more than half of our men. We didn't disobey the order on purpose. We had no choice but to retreat. Please forgive us, General!"
"General, please forgive me and spare our lives! ..." Six or seven hundred soldiers who had escaped death knelt on the ground and begged for mercy with fear and grief on their faces.
Looking at these miserable soldiers, Li Mo had no way to vent his anger and frustration on them.
"Get up! Return to the team and continue on the journey!"
Li Mo was already a little panicked. He had lost more than 1,600 elite soldiers on the first day. He didn't know how many ambushes and traps were waiting for this army ahead. But he was unwilling to retreat. He, the Golden Eagle Divine Arrow, couldn't afford to lose this man!
It was very quiet during the day, and the elusive enemies did not show up to harass us. I wonder if they were tired after a night of rest, or if they retreated when they saw the large army was so powerful, or if they let the army into the depths of this primeval forest and waited for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack?
Li Mo was thinking randomly in his mind. It was already dark and he couldn't see clearly a few steps ahead. There was no spacious place to camp, so he ordered them to rest on the spot and cook.
A thousand-man team was sent out at night to guard the area, with sentries posted two or three hundred steps away. In the middle of the night, the sneak attacking enemy still managed to get rid of the sentries, shot and wounded more than three hundred Song soldiers with bows and arrows, and then fled in the darkness.
Li Mo was furious, but he did not dare to send another thousand-man team to hunt down those archers. After dawn, when the army was having breakfast, the sentries on the left side shouted and warned one after another.
Li Mo was furious!
"You dare to attack my army in broad daylight, you are really going too far!
Li Xiao, gather three thousand men and wipe out this enemy force!"
Li Mo's nephew Li Xiao took the order and led three thousand soldiers to pursue the bandits.
Leaving this only winding path, the enemy had no way to retreat, and chasing them on horseback was impossible. The three thousand brave warriors could only run as fast as they could to pursue the enemy.
Li Xiao, who was running in front, had already seen the enemy's shadowy figures and was excited. As long as he caught up with them, he would kill them all without leaving a single one alive.
But those people were as agile as monkeys, and they could move freely among the branches and thorns in the forest and on the cliffs on the hillsides. You could see their shadows, but you could not catch up with them.
But they were too few in number and did not dare to turn back to fight, so they just ran away.
After chasing for most of the day, the Song army, tired and hungry, were in a mess, when a light appeared in front of them!
In this primeval forest full of dense trees and thorny vines, a river four or five meters wide appeared, and the enemies disappeared without a trace.
The tired, hungry and thirsty Song army cheered and rushed to the river. They took off their helmets, scooped up the clear and sweet river water, and drank it and washed their faces with it.
"Be alert!" Young General Li Xiao felt that something was wrong and hurriedly ordered the soldiers who were only concerned with drinking water.
Suddenly, a horn sounded, and a rain of arrows as dense as locusts flew out from the dense forest on the opposite bank. The Song soldiers who were squatting or crouching together to drink water by the river screamed, fell to the ground or fell into the river. In a moment, the clear and bright river water was dyed red, and there were countless bodies of Song soldiers on the river bank, and those who fell into the river floated downstream along the river.
Li Xiao shouted desperately and ordered his men to turn around and retreat back into the dense forest. The soldiers who ran slowly and didn't have time to reach the river turned around and ran back. Hiding in the dense forest, the arrows from the other side could not hit them.
Li Xiao had just retreated to the edge of the dense forest under the protection of his personal soldiers when he heard bursts of shouting and killing from the front. Those were the deafening shouts of killing that could only be made by two or three thousand people. How could they be made by more than a hundred archers dressed as hunters?
Li Xiao, who followed his second uncle to the battlefield for the first time and wanted to gain credit and bring honor to his family, was terrified!
An experienced lieutenant reminded Li Xiao with a serious face, "Lieutenant Li, we have been ambushed by a large enemy force. Run away quickly! Escape is the most important thing!"
"Okay! Which direction... which direction should we run?" Li Xiao's face was pale, his voice was trembling, his legs were shaking so weak that he couldn't move, and his mind was confused.
The captain gave Li Xiao a disdainful look and shouted in a cold voice: "Brothers, follow me and charge to the left front!"
With the leader's command, the confused soldiers felt a backbone. They responded one after another and followed the captain, trying desperately to fight their way out of the encirclement and escape.
More than thirty of Li Xiao's personal soldiers also dragged him along and followed.
Several screams rang in Li Xiao's ears, and several of his personal soldiers who were guarding him were shot and fell to the ground. Those damned hunter archers actually rushed out from the dense forest on the opposite side, swam across the river and chased after the fleeing Song army.
Li Xiao was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body. He stumbled and crawled forward a few steps, and felt a chill on his neck! He seemed to hear a surprised shout: "I killed an official!"
In this primeval forest full of dangers, in this carefully planned ambush to lure the enemy deep into their territory, the calm and brave captain failed to charge out, and the 3,000 Song army was completely wiped out.