The rebel army's foremost master craftsman forged a million iron pylons!

The fields were still bustling with activity. General Chen did not disturb anyone and led his eleven riders directly toward Wolf Valley.

Li Tian silently followed behind the group.

The scouts led the way, and according to them, the imperial army was still five miles away from Wolf Valley. If they were quick, they could block the imperial troops outside Wolf Valley.

Before long, General Chen's troops arrived at Wolf Valley first, and General Chen dismounted to survey the terrain.

The Wolf Valley is flanked by raised earthen slopes overgrown with weeds, with only a dirt road in the middle, just wide enough for three riders to pass.

"Heh, these thieving conscripts from the imperial court are getting bolder and bolder. They only sent eleven cavalrymen and dared to plunder villages. This will ensure they don't return!" General Chen sneered.

"They're just relying on their fast horses. If our rebel army had such good horses, we wouldn't be afraid of them!" Tie Niu said angrily.

For a long time, the rebel army has never lacked brave men who dared to fight, but their weapons and equipment were far inferior.

Take horses for example. The horses used by the imperial court were all carefully selected top-quality horses, which were trained in the military camp for two and a half years before being deployed to the battlefield.

What did the rebel army use? Mules for pulling millstones, donkeys for carrying manure, and no decent cavalry. The few hundred horses in the army were stolen from the imperial army.

Needless to say, the weapons were exceptional. The imperial swords were made of refined steel, capable of being cut a hundred times without dulling. The armor was crafted by top artisans from the Armory, who hammered it countless times.

Ordinary weapons can't even leave a mark when they strike it.

The fact that the rebel army has been able to hold out until now, and that its numbers are growing, is entirely due to the inhumanity of the imperial court and its excessive oppression of the people.

In terms of true strength, the rebel army is far superior.

General Chen spoke casually, but he was actually quite nervous, feeling that he had overestimated himself in this arrangement.

Therefore, after surveying the terrain, General Chen immediately gave orders to his men.

"Tie Niu, take a few brothers and set up tripwires on the ground. Ma Chao, take three men and hide on the earthen slope above. When the bandits come, fire arrows to disrupt their formation first."

Then General Chen looked at Li Tian and the others and said.

"You few, come with me and hide in the woods nearby. Once the bandits' formation is disrupted, we'll charge on horseback. This battle must be won quickly."

The orders were quickly distributed.

Tie Niu and a few men dug a shallow trench in the ground with knives, buried the tripwire deep in the ground, and scattered some leaves on it to cover it up. Then, he and three others hid in the nearby woods.

Meanwhile, Ma Chao led his archers to occupy the most advantageous terrain above, drawing their bows and waiting for the arrival of the imperial armored troops.

General Chen and his men, needless to say, all had fierce eyes that gleamed coldly, their weapons drawn, ready to teach these bandit convicts a lesson.

Soon,

A large and impressive procession arrived.

When General Chen saw it, he gasped in shock, his heart sinking.

Only eleven imperial cavalrymen arrived.

However, there were dozens of ragged people walking ahead of them.

They were either rioters captured on the street or villagers from nearby villages, and used as slaves.

These people were being led by ropes, walking slowly, with occasional cries escaping their lips.

On either side of the people, four cavalrymen stood guard, each holding a nearly two-meter-long spear. They would occasionally strike the people on the head, and curses would fill the air.

"What are you crying for? You're all rioters, daring to collude with the rebels! If the court weren't in dire need of talent, we would have beheaded you long ago!"

Behind this group were also six imperial cavalrymen, their bodies completely covered.

They held water pouches in their hands, drinking water and chatting casually, seemingly not taking the group of "two-legged sheep" in front of them seriously at all.

What pained General Chen the most was that at the very front of the procession were five male civilians.

These five men each carried a bamboo pole, and a human head was hanging from each pole.

"Chen Wu, Li Laoliu, Wang Dagou... damn it!"

General Chen tearfully named these men; they were all scouts from the rebel army. Except for one who escaped after delivering a message, the rest were all killed by the imperial army's armored soldiers.

"General, charge out! Chop these imperial traitors into mincemeat!"

A soldier, his eyes brimming with tears, roared at General Chen.

General Chen remained silent.

His plans were completely disrupted.

Now the common people have become hostages, serving as human shields for eleven bandit soldiers. If they launch an attack, the people will be slaughtered by the imperial army's armored forces.

If such a story were to spread throughout the countryside, who would still believe the rebels?

The archers lying in ambush on the hillside were also dumbfounded. Their original plan was to wait until the enemy's formation was disrupted before unleashing a barrage of arrows.

Now that bandits and civilians are mixed together, where should we shoot this arrow?

Everyone was waiting for General Chen's orders.

General Chen hesitated, regretting that he had brought too few men this time. If he had brought one or two hundred men to surround these dozen or so armored cavalrymen, they would not have dared to act recklessly.

But there are only eleven of them now. It's unrealistic to kill all eleven cavalrymen without harming civilians.

If things go wrong, being too restricted could lead to a complete counterattack, which would be a real disaster.

Just then, Li Tian suddenly walked over and said to General Chen.

"General, I have a way to distract them. Please lie in ambush on both sides of the civilians. When I launch my attack, you just need to focus on rescuing them!"

"You? What can you possibly do!"

While General Chen was still in shock and doubt, Li Tian suddenly raised his crossbow and aimed it at the throat of an armored soldier on the left.

With a gentle press of the button.

Whoosh!

A short, black arrow struck the man squarely in the throat, and he fell from his horse without uttering a sound.

"Oh! You've already made your move?"

General Chen had barely had time to utter a gasp when, without knowing what Li Tian had done, he gently shook the crossbow, and another short, black arrow suddenly appeared in the quiver. With a creaking sound from the spring, the bowstring was fully drawn.

Automatic winding?

General Chen had fought battles his whole life, and he had never seen anything so exquisite.

Before I could even marvel at it.

With a whoosh,

Another arrow flew out!

Right in the middle right, the man in the armored suit had his throat pierced, and he too fell from his horse.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, in less than a second, before the imperial armored troops finally reacted.

Someone shouted.

"Enemy attack! There's an ambush here!"

Some people also shouted,

"You must be those bastards from the rebel army! Get yourselves out here right now! You rebels are all rats in a ditch, you can't even take a bite out of me!"

"Do not make any noise!"

Li Tian whispered a few words of advice to General Chen, then suddenly ran forward quickly, deliberately making a loud noise that rustled the leaves of the surrounding trees.

"There he is! It looks like there's only one person! He's running pretty fast though."

"Damn, there was only one person! That scared the hell out of me!"

"Liu Laosi, you always say you're an excellent archer, this man is yours!"

"If you shoot this kid, Commander Yan will give you two military merits."

Li Tian deliberately exposed himself to the enemy's view and made it appear as if he had succeeded in his attack and was about to retreat.

The remaining eight armored soldiers of the imperial court immediately relaxed, and even had the mood to joke.

"Damn it, if you get away today, I, Liu Laosi, will never draw my bow and shoot arrows again."

The armored man named Liu Laosi sneered and took the longbow from his back.

He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Li Tian, ​​who was running at full speed!