Chapter 24: Charging into the Enemy Camp, A Ruthless Slaughter

After fighting their way through, they had lost more brothers, and some had been scattered in the chaos. Now, only about thirty men remained by his side. Yet, these thirty-odd men were like a sharp blade, thrusting fiercely into the heart of the Rongdi army.

Upon reaching the supply depot, Zhao Ergou took the lead, charging into a tent. It was piled high with grain, emitting an enticing aroma. In the adjacent tent, a flock of sheep was penned up.

"Burn it! Burn it all to the ground! Tu Dakang, take your men and set the fire!" Zhao Ergou commanded without hesitation, his voice ringing out with power and authority. "The rest of you, follow me and hold off these Rongdi bastards!"

With that, Zhao Ergou drew his saber and charged out. He was the first into the fray, a veritable god of slaughter. The "Mad Wolf’s Three Blades" moved with lightning speed in his hands; the Rongdi soldiers could not withstand a single strike. With every flash of his blade, a head went flying!

Tu Dakang and his men set fires everywhere, moving like spirits of flame, igniting tent after tent. The fire soared into the sky, illuminating the night and casting a crimson glow upon their faces. Seeing the flames, the sheep began to panic, bleating incessantly.

"Open the pens and let the sheep loose!" Tu Dakang ordered decisively. The soldiers immediately threw torches inside and unlatched the gates. Thousands of panicked sheep stampeded out like a broken dam, surging into every corner of the Rongdi camp. The entire encampment descended into chaos in an instant.

Seeing their supplies being consumed, the Rongdi soldiers were blinded by rage. They roared and howled, swarming in from all directions. The Rongdi were already suffering from a shortage of supplies, which was precisely why they had come to pillage in the dead of winter. Now, seeing their provisions burning, how could they not be heartbroken and furious? As more tents were set ablaze, the inferno grew, billowing thick smoke. Watching their supplies and food devoured by the flames, the Rongdi soldiers beat their chests and let out wails of despair.

Their hearts had gone cold. If their main tents were destroyed, how would they seize the grain, women, and livestock of the Qin people to survive the brutal winter? For the Rongdi, winter was a matter of life and death; a moment’s carelessness meant the elders and children of their tribes would perish. The warriors following the Chanyu were all in their prime, the young and strong of the Rongdi. They came here not just for the name of their king, but out of the sheer pressure of survival. Of course, when they pillaged the Great Qin, they acted as anything but human—committing every atrocity imaginable. Whether they claimed to be doing it for survival or not, the moment they invaded Qin territory, they were nothing more than beasts.

Thus, Zhao Ergou cared nothing for their lives. Slaughtering beasts to grow stronger was something he did without fear. Facing an ever-increasing number of Rongdi soldiers, Zhao Ergou and his men began to struggle. They had no choice but to fight as they retreated. The wind fanned the flames, and the fire grew into a sea of blaze. Watching this, the Rongdi soldiers roared in despair.

Seeing the situation, Zhao Ergou knew he had to get his brothers out; he could not let them all perish here. "Brothers, follow me and charge out! To think these people could stop us—what a pipe dream!" Zhao Ergou sneered at the surrounding Rongdi soldiers. Covered in blood, he stood before his men and shouted, "Those who want to live, stick close to me! I’ll carve a bloody path out for us!"

Inspired by his valor, the soldiers felt their blood boil. They followed closely behind him like a pack of howling wolf cubs, ferociously charging the enemy. As they fought, Zhao Ergou’s saber danced, each swing raining down a storm of blood. The Rongdi soldiers blocking his path fell one by one, unable to halt his advance. "I love this feeling of licking blood off a blade!" Zhao Ergou became ever more courageous as the fight progressed, a look of wild excitement on his face.

Shortly after breaking through, they encountered the Qin forces from the other side of the raid. Seeing Zhao Ergou, Captain Yang and General Han realized they had pierced clear through the Rongdi camp. Not to be outdone, the two led their remaining men in a desperate but spirited charge through the camp. They knew that by following Zhao Ergou, they might truly perform a miracle.

The north wind howled, and the fire spread, turning the entire Rongdi camp into a living hell.

"Damn them! These bastards dared to touch my brothers—I will make them pay in blood!" a Rongdi commander bellowed, his eyes bloodshot, longing to tear Zhao Ergou limb from limb. "Men, charge! Hack these Qin dogs into pieces!" another leader roared, waving his scimitar as he charged madly toward them. A Rongdi chiliarch, leading over a thousand soldiers with blood-red eyes, bit down hard on their trail.

"Zhao Ergou, you dog-spawn, I will peel your skin and pull your tendons!" the chiliarch shivered with fury, desperate to see him suffer a thousand cuts.

"You? You think you’re worthy of challenging me?" Zhao Ergou gave a contemptuous smile. He led his soldiers in a frantic sprint; wherever they passed, the Rongdi soldiers crumbled. He was like a dazzling meteor streaking across the night sky of the Rongdi camp, leaving behind only carnage and confusion.

"Brothers, we’re about to break out!" Zhao Ergou held his saber high and roared with spirit. Once clear of the camp, he gauged the direction and waved his hand. "Go! We head that way! I refuse to believe these curs can catch us!"

In the vast, dark night, Zhao Ergou and his brothers charged toward the unknown without looking back. They knew that in this battle, they had displayed the grit of the men of Great Qin and the might of the Yinshan garrison!

They pressed on, charging forward into the pitch-black night where one could not see their own hand. Unable to distinguish the path, Zhao Ergou led the force in one direction, unable to worry about the details—they could only take it one step at a time. Their only goal now was to survive, shake off the pursuers, and live to fight another day. They had already accomplished the mission: the supplies were burned, and many enemies had fallen. The military order hadn’t commanded them to fight to the death, and there was no need to throw their lives away. Raiding was about striking and running; that was the true path of the warrior.

"Damn them! They want to run? Chase them!" The Rongdi chiliarch watched the direction in which Zhao Ergou had vanished, his rage burning as he longed to hunt him down.

"General, the rear camp is on fire!" a centurion rushed over, his voice hoarse. "If we don't go back to extinguish it, I fear..."

The Rongdi chiliarch clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his flesh. He knew the consequences, of course, but to let Zhao Ergou slip away like this was a humiliation he could not bear.