The gunshot from Fang Er was the signal!
Soldiers hidden in the large trees lining the road began firing fatal shots at the Slavic soldiers in the crowd.
One after another, Slavic soldiers fell dead.
The captives, who had previously provided them with cover, now became their hindrance!
Each bullet accurately hit the Slavic soldiers interspersed within the crowd. The sudden turn of events drove Lingche Piaolaosiji into an even greater frenzy.
Clutching an axe in his left hand, he cursed at the woods on both sides of the road.
Suka blyat!
Blagoveshchensk!
Kozlyu v ogorod!
Zachem ty sidel na vetke!
Vypil ty krov' molodogo duba!
Fang Er couldn't understand a single word of this bizarre Slavic tongue.
But seeing the man yelling not far from him, his ferocious expression suggested that whatever he was saying was far from friendly greetings.
Thus, Fang Er aimed his pistol directly at the man's large head. However, after a moment's thought, he let go of the trigger.
This guy seemed to be a big fish. If captured, perhaps some information could be extracted.
With this thought, he slowly shifted the muzzle of his gun downwards.
With a bang, Lingche Piaolaosiji's knee was shattered by a bullet, and he instantly collapsed.
Mixed in with the captives, he only had a few personal guards around him.
Seeing this, the guards immediately started shouting more gibberish.
But the captives had already started to panic. With such a golden opportunity, even with their hands tied, they had to run!
Brothers! Our rescuers have arrived, hurry and rush into the woods!
Charge! We'll be safe if we get into the woods!
Words in Tang dialect spread through the crowd.
There were forests on both sides of the road, and the hidden weapons flying from those forests were clearly targeting those beasts. If they didn't run now, when would they?
Fang Er's heart rejoiced at this. Indeed, there were still survivors from Fuyu City.
You Wu, Jing Qi! Take your men to receive the fleeing civilians, and be sure to confirm their identities!
Yes, Duke!
Since the walkie-talkies were unlocked and the mall was opened, these devices were no longer rare within the Tianhuo Army.
Equipped down to the company commanders, they greatly improved the efficiency of combat command.
Although the solar power banks were insufficient, the walkie-talkies were fully charged when exchanged. Even if used as disposable items, they cost only two taels of silver each, which was negligible to Fang Er.
Two battalions of soldiers leaped down from the trees, receiving the escaped captives in the forest. Among them were civilians from Shiwei, civilians from Fuyu, and also Tang soldiers who had originally guarded Fuyu.
Lingche Piaolaosiji's cunning tactic, by mixing among the masses of people, left the Slavic soldiers clueless. With no soldiers seeing their commanders and no commanders seeing their soldiers, their command structure was lost, and they could only fight individually.
And the captives, now free from their bonds, having witnessed the brutality of the Slavs, unhesitatingly began to strike while they were down.
Supported by his guards, Lingche Piaolaosiji, limping, finally understood what it meant to be hoist by one's own petard, and what it meant to "never enter a forest without knowing its layout."
Gunfire erupted from all directions. Their sallow faces and imposing heights made the Slavic soldiers perfect moving targets.
They wanted to retaliate, but they couldn't find their attackers.
They tried to kill the rioting captives, but just as they raised their weapons, they were shot in the head by the Tianhuo Army hidden in the trees!
Fang Er's force grew larger and larger like a rolling snowball.
The freed captives turned and charged back into the crowds, in groups of three or five, taking down the Slavic soldiers.
After more than a month of inhuman torture, their hatred for these blonde barbarians was ignited at this very moment.
In the end, even Fang Er couldn't control the scene.
The chaotic surge forced him to order the Tianhuo Army to cease firing, to avoid friendly casualties.
The farce of a battle only ended as the sun dipped below the treetops.
Lingche Piaolaosiji, whom Fang Er had intentionally wanted to keep alive, was found at the end with only his head intact. The rest of his body, from the neck down, was just a skeleton!
Zhao Dezhu pays his respects to the Duke! Thank you, Duke, for your timely rescue!
A burly man knelt on one knee before Fang Er.
Get up and speak! Are you the commander of Fuyu City?
Fang Er asked, looking at him.
Yes, this humble subordinate was formerly a参将 (Canjiang - Brigadier General) under Duke E, and is now the commander of Fuyu City.
Tell me what happened. Why was Fuyu City captured without sending even a word?
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhu's face was filled with regret.
It turned out that a group of refugees from Shiwei had come to Fuyu City earlier, claiming that a group of blonde barbarians of unknown origin had captured the capital of Shiwei in a single day.
When Zhao Dezhu first heard this news, he mocked Shiwei for its incompetence.
However, in less than a day, those blonde barbarians appeared outside Fuyu City and surrounded it.
Zhao Dezhu, confident from his victory at Jingyang where he annihilated tens of thousands of Turks, believed that dealing with these blonde barbarians outside the city would be a simple matter. Thus, he led his troops out to engage them in open battle.
However, after only two charges from both sides, Zhao Dezhu's soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and they were unable to even retreat back to Fuyu City, being either killed or captured!
Furthermore, these blonde barbarians were exceptionally ferocious. With their height of six to seven feet, climbing the city walls, which were over ten feet high, was effortless.
Fuyu City only held out for two days before being captured by the blonde barbarians.
Anyone who dared to resist was killed. Not only killed, but the executed Fuyu City residents were even cooked and eaten in front of the Fuyu City populace.
This completely stunned everyone!
With their yellow hair, blue eyes, white skin, and such tall stature, they were completely different from the Tang people, like devils sprung from hell!
From that moment on, no one dared to resist, for fear of being thrown into the cooking pot themselves.
Upon hearing this, Fang Er instantly became enraged. He kicked the head of Lingche Piaolaosiji off the skeleton.
Then, he turned to Zhao Dezhu and continued to ask.
I heard these blonde barbarians numbered twenty thousand. Today's enemy force was less than ten thousand. Do you know where the rest of the blonde barbarians went?
Zhao Dezhu shook his head helplessly: This humble subordinate doesn't know either. We were confined in the city, seeing no daylight, and had no knowledge of their troop movements.
Duke! We've found some survivors!
Just then, Luo Ben led his men, escorting over a dozen Slavic soldiers.
Bring Wu Guliang and that previous captive here!
Pry open their mouths, and I want to know where the remaining blonde barbarians have gone!
If I don't grind them all to dust, I cannot quell the hatred in my heart!