Chapter 61: Show No Mercy to Those Who Make a Last Stand!

"Please await the magistrate's good news!"

Cao Qing accepted the order and departed, prompting the entire army to mobilize swiftly.

Fifty captives, bound hand and foot, had their robes wrapped tightly around them, masking the fact that they were restrained. Behind each captive walked two government soldiers with sabers at their waists, wearing the specific headscarves used by bandits to serve as guards.

At the very front, the leader of the captives—Yang Qi, a senior captain of Black Cloud Stronghold—was personally escorted by Cao Qing, who remained on high alert.

The rest of the troops were stationed across the plains two miles away from the stronghold, safely out of the bandits' line of sight. They were eager and restless, waiting only for Liang Xiao's command to launch a full-scale assault on the mountain.

Liang Xiao ascended a high vantage point to observe the distant Black Cloud Stronghold.

The stronghold was situated in an exceptional location; the forested mountains were easy to defend and difficult to attack. Below the mountain lay vast stretches of cultivated farmland, with plumes of smoke rising from dwellings further back.

Just as the captives had confessed, Black Cloud Stronghold was divided into an outer fort, a main fort, and a rear fort. The outer fort functioned essentially as a guard post and was the first barrier Liang Xiao had to bypass.

Some of the bandits within the stronghold had brought their families with them when they joined. These individuals were responsible for farming the lands in the rear fort, supplying the stronghold with a portion of its grain, fruits, and vegetables.

Over the years, Yuan Bailong had colluded in secret with Chief Gou, funneling slaves and new recruits into Black Cloud Stronghold. Yuan Bailong bore immense responsibility for the stronghold's growth.

If Black Cloud Stronghold, located a hundred miles away, operated in this manner, then other bandit dens nestled in closer mountain forests around Pei County were likely also maintaining secret ties with Yuan Bailong.

At the entrance of the primary mountain pass facing south, twenty guards were gathered around a fire to keep warm, awaiting the triumphant news from Black Cloud Stronghold that Pei County had fallen.

Although Black Cloud Stronghold had dispatched nearly its entire force, Chief Gou had not neglected the defense of his lair, leaving behind a garrison of roughly one thousand men.

These men formed the core garrison of Black Cloud Stronghold, composed mostly of Chief Gou's personal guards, making them the most formidable opponents.

Once the outer fort raised the alarm and ignited the wolf-smoke signals, the stronghold could quickly organize its defenses and utilize the terrain to deal a heavy blow to the government troops.

These were the bravest soldiers of Pei County; under no circumstances would Liang Xiao permit them to suffer heavy casualties.

Cao Qing and his men steered clear of the main military formation, escorting the captives on a detour of more than two miles until they reached the mountain pass, rapidly approaching the cluster of guards.

"It's Captain Yang!"

The guard captain quickly spotted Yang Qi at the head of Cao Qing's group and hurried forward to greet them with an eager expression.

"Captain Yang, why have you returned so soon? Has the Chief already taken Pei County?"

"Does that mean we can head to Pei County to plunder wealth, grain, and women?" shouted the other nineteen guards in celebration.

Yang Qi nodded repeatedly and asked, "Why are only twenty of you guarding the outer fort? Where are the other brothers?"

The guard captain replied, "They're all guarding the main fort with Steward Pei. You know how it is—all our wealth, grain, and people are concentrated in the main fort. It takes numbers to prevent theft! What if bandit gangs from neighboring mountains decided to invade our main fort from the rear?"

"Is Steward Pei in the main fort?" Yang Qi inquired further.

"Of course! The old man is currently inspecting the newly constructed catapults!" the guard captain nodded.

Cao Qing felt a surge of inward delight.

The head steward of Black Cloud Stronghold, Pei Heng, was fiercely loyal to Chief Gou Gui, serving as the stronghold's strategist and commanding deep trust among the bandit soldiers.

"How many brothers are still left in the stronghold? The Chief has ordered us to notify everyone to prepare for relocation," Yang Qi said.

"Relocation?" The guard captain exchanged glances with his comrades, noticing that Cao Qing and his men were advancing toward them. A look of suspicion crossed his face. "These brothers look like unfamiliar faces, Captain Yang. Who are they?"

Realizing the situation was turning perilous, Yang Qi blurted out, "Lord Cao!"

Without a word, Cao Qing drew his blade and struck with the wind, cleaving the guard captain down instantly.

The government soldiers swarmed forward. Taken completely by surprise, the remaining nineteen guards saw fifteen of their number cut down, while four were captured and swiftly bound hand and foot.

Terrified out of their wits, the four new captives wailed and begged for mercy.

"Are there any other sentries nearby?" Cao Qing raised his saber, his expression fierce enough to suggest he might start killing at any moment.

"No, no more! Just the twenty of us who just came on duty! Spare our lives, my lord!"

Cao Qing and his men immediately retrieved red, yellow, and blue flags from their waist pouches. Selecting a yellow flag, they tied it to a tree branch, climbed to a high point, and waved it toward the distance.

Spotting the fluttering yellow flag in the distance, Liang Xiao was overjoyed. He immediately returned to the front of the formation and boarded his canopied chariot.

"The enemy's outer guard post has been secured! Advance immediately, and make no sound!"

The soldiers had been itching for action for a long time. At Liang Xiao's command, with gags in their mouths and bits in their horses' teeth, they charged straight toward the outer fort of Black Cloud Stronghold.

By the time Liang Xiao led his forces to the outer fort and joined up with Cao Qing and his men, the bandits inside the main fort had finally discovered the situation at the outer post, striking them with shock and panic.

"The outer fort is under attack! Quick, notify Steward Pei!"

Liang Xiao captured the outer fort, leaving ten men behind to control the thirty-odd elderly, weak, women, and children within. He then led his entire army forward, heading straight for the main fort three miles away, encountering no resistance along the way.

This surprise attack was swift enough to deny the main fort any time to organize an effective defense.

"Why are enemy troops attacking from the south? Could another stronghold be taking advantage of our vulnerability?"

Deep within the main fort, an elderly man with white hair and beard was rallying the troops, assembling them at the mountain pass for defense.

Pei Heng, the head steward of Black Cloud Stronghold, wore an expression of utter incomprehension.

The south was precisely the direction in which Black Cloud Stronghold's main force had marched!

Logically speaking, the garrison of Pei County could not possibly have withstood a full-scale charge by the Black Cloud army.

There were no bandit factions in the south that could cause Black Cloud Stronghold any special concern; even if there were, they should have been coerced by Chief Gou to join the attack on Pei County.

"Steward Pei, could it be our own men..." a personal guard ventured timidly.

Pei Heng smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Not a single soul from our outer fort sent word, which means it has clearly been taken by the enemy! Prepare the defenses immediately and wait for our army to return!"

By the time Pei Heng had rallied a force of a thousand men to guard the stronghold gates, Liang Xiao had already led his troops into the mountains, breaching two consecutive defensible lines and bringing his forces right up to the stronghold gates in a standoff against the bandits.

"Isn't that the Chief's canopied chariot?!"

A sharp-eyed soldier recognized the carriage and cried out in disbelief.

Such a magnificent canopied chariot belonged to Chief Gou alone; even Pei County Magistrate Yuan Bailong did not possess one!

Liang Xiao sat atop the canopied chariot, issuing commands.

Several soldiers holding shields escorted the captive Yang Qi to the gates of the stronghold to negotiate.

"Steward Pei! Our entire army has been wiped out! The Chief and the Second Chief have both been executed by the magistrate of Pei County! Now that the magistrate has led his forces in a counterattack all the way here, we can accept amnesty and spare our lives!"

As the words fell, Pei Heng and the surrounding bandits were struck dumb with shock.

"Yang Qi! What nonsense are you spouting? The Chief took over ten thousand brothers into battle, and Pei County was ripe for the taking—how could the entire army have been annihilated?! Have you betrayed the imperial court?!"

Putting up a bold front, Pei Heng shouted sternly, hoping to quickly pacify the terrified crowd.

Suppressing his frustration, Yang Qi explained, "Both the Chief and the Second Chief were beheaded by the magistrate, their heads hung for all to see. Otherwise, how could the magistrate have ridden his canopied chariot all the way here without meeting any resistance?!"

"Cease this nonsense! Shoot this traitor dead!"

At Pei Heng's command, ten archers at the front unleashed a volley.

Realizing the danger, the government soldiers shielded Yang Qi and retreated to Liang Xiao's frontline.

"Lord Magistrate! The enemy refuses to surrender!"

Liang Xiao immediately issued his orders.

"Archers, cover our advance! Anyone who resists to the death is to be given no quarter!"

With Black Cloud Stronghold's forces deployed elsewhere, Chief Gou had left behind only twenty archers for the local garrison, leaving them powerless to withstand a fierce assault by government troops.

Wielding the Quiet Night Spear in its divine halberd form, Liang Xiao led by example. Just as he and his soldiers reached the gates of the stronghold, cheers erupted from within.

"Use the catapults to crush them to death!"

Before the astonished gazes of the crowd, a boulder the size of a water vat flew out from within the gates, tracing an arc through the air directly toward Liang Xiao.

"Lord Magistrate, look out!!"

Cao Qing and the others turned pale with fright and rushed toward Liang Xiao.

Amidst the anxious stares of both armies, Liang Xiao, fully prepared, raised his silver halberd to meet the boulder.

"Boom!"

Struck by the tip of the halberd, the massive boulder bounced backward and crashed down inside the stronghold, smashing one of Pei Heng's archers into a pulp of flesh and bone!

Following the cries of shock from both armies, the battlefield plunged into a brief, dead silence.