Invasion Failure

Little Six channeled his anger into energy, suppressing his excited emotions and adjusting his expression.

He tried hard to disguise himself as an honest farmer, looking slightly fearful of the soldiers like ordinary civilians would.

Captain Liu squinted at him, feeling increasingly suspicious.

These damn poor bastards with such shabby appearances, how did they get through the toll stations? Something definitely isn't right!

Could they be mountain bandits in disguise coming to rob?

That must be it. These amateur fools... interesting!

Little Six walked straight toward the city gate, and when he got close to the guards, he showed a flattering smile and continued walking inside.

Captain Liu extended his arm to block him. "Wait, show me your travel permit."

Little Six took out his permit from his bosom and handed it over. Such things had to be prepared in advance, of course.

"Hmm, no problem!"

Little Six immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't enter the city yet. Step back! Back to a position ten steps from the gate!" Captain Liu commanded.

This made Little Six tense up again. He asked cautiously, "Officer! There's nothing wrong with my permit, so why won't you let me enter the city?"

Captain Liu showed a smile and explained kindly, "Brother, don't misunderstand. It's not that I won't let you in. Today there's an important figure visiting the city! We're afraid too many people might displease our esteemed guest, and he'll be leaving shortly! So the higher-ups have specifically ordered that you wait here for a while. Please also inform those behind you not to approach yet. I'll go back and confirm again."

Little Six had no choice but to go back and inform the others.

Taking advantage of his waiting outside, Captain Liu ran back into the city again.

By now, two rows of crossbowmen were hiding on each side of the city gate, mounted on horses and holding repeating crossbows, ready to set out.

Captain Liu said in a low voice, "Brothers, if anything unexpected happens, wait for my command! Rush out and shoot!"

After saying this, he ran up to the city wall and instructed the soldier with the telescope, "Watch them closely! Tell me when they're all gathered! If we handle this well, our year-end bonuses might double!"

"Rest assured, we've got this!"

When Captain Liu returned to the city gate, over fifty people had gathered about ten steps away.

The soldier beside him leaned close and whispered, "Brother, these are definitely professionals. Look, they seem to be forming ranks."

"Hmm... they don't look like mountain bandits. Regardless, we must be careful. Pay attention, don't let any innocent people get mixed in. Civilian casualties would be bad."

"Don't worry, normally no outsiders come at this time."

After waiting for half an hour, more people continued to gather outside the city.

When their numbers reached nearly two hundred, someone came down from above to inform Captain Liu, whispering in his ear, "Captain Liu, they should all be here now. We can make our move."

Captain Liu nodded calmly. "Mm, you go back first. Remember to have someone guard the city gate in case something unexpected happens."

After saying this, he called out loudly to the crowd not far away, "Brothers! You can enter the city now! But since there are too many people, please line up in an orderly fashion!"

"Everyone form two horizontal rows and have your permits checked one by one before entering!"

Little Six asked in confusion, "Officer! Why do we need to form horizontal rows? Wouldn't vertical rows be more convenient?"

Horizontal rows make it easier to shoot you all dead!

Captain Liu cursed inwardly, then explained with a pleasant expression, "It's a rule set by our county magistrate! We never form vertical queues. He says vertical lines are bad for feng shui! Hurry up now, don't waste time!"

The group silently began to form horizontal rows, waiting to be arranged for entry.

Seeing them obediently line up, Captain Liu stroked his chin with a sense of satisfaction.

He pointed at Little Six. "You, brother, you came first so you go first. Come over for a permit check."

Little Six walked over in surprise. "Officer, didn't you already check it?"

As he spoke, he thought to himself how annoying this was. What's with all these procedures in Taoyuan County?

Captain Liu shrugged and raised his chin. "The brothers up there are watching. We have to follow the process."

Little Six took a deep breath and handed over his permit again.

Captain Liu made a show of looking at it. "Hmm, that's fine. After the security check, you can enter the city."

Damn! There's more?

Little Six barely contained his displeasure. "What do you mean by security check?"

"Security inspection!"

Saying this, before Little Six could react, Captain Liu's large hand reached for his waist.

He immediately felt something hard, like the handle of some weapon!

Little Six suddenly realized what was happening and instinctively grabbed Captain Liu's hand, blurting out, "What are you doing~!"

"Let me see what you're carrying."

"These are farming tools, officer. Are you deliberately making things difficult for me?" Faced with superior force, he had no choice but to act submissive.

"Oh? Farming tools? Then what's there to hide?" With that, Captain Liu applied a bit more force, preparing to pull out the so-called "farming tool."

Behind them, a group of people nervously watched Little Six, still not knowing what was happening.

But it seemed like some dispute had broken out, and they unconsciously put their hands behind their waists.

The two men continued their silent struggle.

A young soldier standing next to Captain Liu folded his arms and sneered, "Stop struggling. Our captain was the runner-up in Taoyuan County's fifth arm-wrestling competition. You're no match for him in strength!"

You... Little Six's face turned red with frustration. He looked at Captain Liu with pleading eyes.

Captain Liu gave a sly smile. "Sorry, but you're very weak!"

With that, his right arm suddenly exerted force and pulled out the object from Little Six's waist.

With a ripping sound, it tore along the seam, taking half a trouser leg with it and exposing half a buttock....

A short sword appeared in Captain Liu's hand!

Little Six froze, his mind going blank, feeling only the cool air on his exposed backside.

Before he could react, a thunderous shout rang in his ears, "Brothers, come out now!!!"

His ears were still ringing when a heavy slap knocked him unconscious.

A force of men suddenly charged out from within the city, firing a rain of arrows from their repeating crossbows!

By now, the people in line had reacted and roared in anger as they drew their blades.

But their roars quickly turned into screams of agony.

Most of the people in the first row fell simultaneously, while the rest scattered in flight!

Infantry was already at a disadvantage against cavalry, let alone when they were armed with short swords against crossbow bolts!

The first row of men fell like cut grass, and even those not too bright knew they couldn't engage in direct combat and could only flee!

Over twenty men with repeating crossbows pursued relentlessly, shooting furiously!

These repeating crossbows, though seemingly formidable, had significant limitations and never became mainstream in history.

They had a short range, with an effective distance of only fifteen to twenty meters.

They lacked accuracy, had little power, practically zero armor penetration, and poor lethality.

This was why Captain Liu had made them keep a distance of ten paces.

But they were still useful for city defense, and their learning curve was low. Ordinary people could learn to use them after just a bit of practice.

This was why repeating crossbows were still kept on the city walls rather than being discarded.

The current situation was perfect for these weapons!

Over two hundred people in cloth garments were like moving targets!

For the people of Taoyuan County, it was more like a bloody hunting game.

After five minutes of chase, the battle ended!

Though the outcome wasn't perfect, with a few successfully escaping into the nearby forest.

After all, there were only twenty or so pursuers, and the enemy had scattered too widely.

But Taoyuan's soldiers still cheered loudly, celebrating their victory as they looked at the enemies moaning on the ground!

Little Six regained consciousness amidst the cheers, only to see Captain Liu's kind face again.

Then he felt his head being turned to face the open ground outside the city where the wounded were moaning.

"Young brother, all your men have been defeated! Where did you come from? Confess now, save yourself the physical suffering later."

Little Six stared blankly at the crowd of moaning people.

Those... were clearly his brothers, elite soldiers! What happened... how did they lose so quickly? The other side didn't even have that many men!

An immense bitterness filled Little Six's chest. Thinking back to all the humiliation they had endured on the journey, he struggled to contain his pain and shouted angrily at Captain Liu, "Just kill me! A man can be killed but not humiliated!!"

Captain Liu nodded solemnly and gave a thumbs up. "You've got guts. You're a real man!"

"Take him back and humiliate him slowly!"