Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

They circled the outskirts of the town but couldn't find a single survivor!

Besides the bodies that were intentionally burned, there were many other bodies that were not burned in the fire. These bodies lay with their backs to the town, their backs slashed with horrific wounds.

These wounds were over a foot long, with the flesh turned outwards and the bone exposed. One such wound would be fatal, let alone some corpses with more than one similar wound.

Within ten steps, you will see new corpses, either charred by fire or covered in blood.

The air was thick with the smell of burning corpses and the heavy stench of blood. The other assault team members, who had never experienced actual combat, were seeing so many gruesome corpses for the first time. They gritted their teeth and their faces were grim.

Li Chengming suppressed his inner turmoil and calmly said, "You can see many hoofprints on the ground. These corpses fell with their backs to the town, and even crawled forward a considerable distance after falling."

"Preliminary assessment suggests that these villagers were killed by cavalry while fleeing; some did not die on the spot but were later finished off!"

The assault soldier's voice trembled slightly as he said, "Most of these corpses are men and elderly people... What about the women? It's impossible for all the villagers to be men and elderly, isn't it?"

Li Chengming turned and glanced at him, then sighed, "Usually after a village is massacred, the women are taken away as spoils of war."

Their fate was perhaps no better than that of the dead!

The commandos remained silent for a long time.

Everyone had a question on their minds that they didn't voice: Who exactly created this scene that resembled hell on earth?

The observer launched a drone, which looked down over the entire town from high above and found that the town had been reduced to scorched earth in the fire.

The drone's camera panned around, scanning the surrounding environment to see if it could find anything.

Suddenly, the observer pointed in a direction and said, "There's a man dressed as a cavalryman who has spotted us, and a cavalry unit is stationed not far behind him!"

Li Chengming asked, "That might be a scout sent out on alert. How many cavalrymen are behind him?"

The observer replied, "About fifty people, including the abducted female villagers!"

The observer, looking somewhat reluctant, handed the tablet to Li Chengming.

Li Chengming was somewhat puzzled. He took the tablet and glanced at it, his expression changing slightly.

In the footage captured by the drone, a row of women were kneeling on the ground, barely clothed, with disheveled hair, their hands tied behind their backs, and their bodies marked with bloody welts from being whipped. Their clothes were stained with blood, and their heads were bowed, obscuring their faces.

It is clear that they were subjected to inhuman torture after being abducted there.

At the same time, Li Chengming also saw the true faces of these beasts: they were dressed as ancient cavalry, with ferocious faces and ruthless expressions, especially the thing on the back of their heads, which was extremely conspicuous.

Money rat tail!

The beasts raised their sabers and brought them down, spraying blood, and the kneeling woman fell to the ground.

There was no sound, no struggle, and no resistance. It was like a silent horror movie. For them, death was a relief!

Li Chengming gritted his teeth and remained silent, passing the tablet computer down. The other assault team members were not so calm. After seeing the footage transmitted back by the drone, they all gritted their teeth and gripped their guns tightly.

He muttered curses at the group of beasts.

The incident happened so suddenly that the assault team had no time to rescue them.

Even if they were rescued, what good would it do? Their families had all been killed, and they had suffered inhuman torture. Their hearts were dead!

Just a dozen seconds later...

"Captain... Captain, they've all been killed!"

Apart from Li Chengming, the other assault team members were witnessing so many people die before their eyes for the first time. The atmosphere was heavy, and everyone looked at Li Chengming, waiting for him to make a decision.

Li Chengming sighed and shouted, "Sniper!"

The sniper stood at attention and shouted, "Present!"

Li Chengming pointed in a direction and said, "Shoot that scout in the distance off his horse, but don't kill him. Let him warn and attract that cavalry force!"

Sniper: "Yes, sir!"

The spotter crouches down, the sniper rests his rifle on his shoulder, pulls the bolt to chamber a bullet, opens the scope, and then aims.

The scout rode his horse towards the commando team, observing the commandos who had suddenly appeared in the town.

The sniper whispered, "Turn around, turn around."

As if the sniper's prayers had worked, the scout's warhorse took a few steps forward, then turned from facing the assault team to standing sideways.

The scout's thighs and the warhorse's belly were exposed.

The sniper seized the opportunity and fired decisively.

A gunshot rang out, the loud bang of the sniper rifle shaking the small town surrounded by mountains, startling the birds in the surrounding forests.

The bullet traveled more than 700 meters before the sound, hitting the scout in the thigh, shattering his leg bone, and then penetrating through to the belly of the warhorse!

The bullet tumbled inside the warhorse's body, causing it excruciating pain. With a neigh, the horse charged forward, throwing the scout off its back. Only then did the scout feel a piercing pain and howl loudly.

After running forward for about ten meters, the warhorse finally collapsed and could not get up.

After groaning in agony, the scout forced himself to pull out a bone whistle and blew it, the sharp warning sound carrying far and wide.

Sniper: "Reporting, Captain, mission accomplished!"

Li Chengming nodded and said, "Very good, very accurate!"

The sound of the gunshot dispelled the gloom in the hearts of many commandos.

All the fear and resentment stem from insufficient firepower!

The machine gunner feigned nonchalance, saying, "At such close range, with such good visibility, I could do it too!"

The sniper replied, "Give me your machine gun; I can handle it just as well as you!"

The medic said, "I can handle your machine guns and sniper rifles, but you might not be able to use the first-aid kit I have."

......

The observer, watching the footage transmitted from the drone, reported to his superior: "That cavalry unit reacted quickly; they've already mounted their horses and are preparing to gallop this way!"

Li Chengming nodded and said, "Confirm their weapons and equipment!"

Observer: "The main weapons and equipment are sabers and bows and arrows; no other firearms were found!"

Li Chengming: "Continue to observe; we cannot let our guard down!"

Observer: "Yes, sir!"

"All units, prepare for battle!"

Upon learning that the cavalry unit did not possess firearms, the assault team made no attempt to conceal themselves, but instead dispersed and formed separate battle formations.

"Money-tailed cavalry, what era are these cavalry from?" the assault soldier suddenly asked while waiting for the squad of cavalry to arrive.

Li Chengming turned to look at each of the assault team members. He knew that it was time to accept something.

From being cut off from the outside world, to the mountain road leading back to the town being different from before, to not finding a trace of modern society for so long, to this burned-down town, and the fierce and cruel ancient cavalry.

Although the team members didn't say it, they all had the same thought in their hearts: what they saw and heard was no longer the original time and space, but a collective accidental journey to a certain world or a certain time and space in history!

Perhaps they weren't mentally prepared, or perhaps they couldn't accept the reality, so although everyone had their thoughts, they all tacitly kept quiet.

Even now, the assault team couldn't help but ask about this timeline.

Li Chengming replied, "This ugly rat tail is from the early Qing Dynasty. We need to determine the exact era. We'll find out by questioning a live person later."

"Captain, have we really traveled through time?" the medic asked cautiously.

Li Chengming remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "It's almost certain that we've traveled through time, and it's roughly certain that this is the early Qing Dynasty!"

Li Chengming's words were like an announcement. The other eight commandos were in a state of confusion, excitement, or silence, each with their own feelings and reactions.

That's the reality, and everyone has to accept it.

Li Chengming comforted us, saying, "Once we put on this military uniform, we must be prepared to sacrifice ourselves on the battlefield at any time!"

Besides, we didn't sacrifice ourselves, we just time-traveled. Don't be sad or discouraged. No matter what era we're in, we must never lose our true selves!