Section 058: Ambush

"Who goes there!"
With a sharp clang, Black Shade shouted out.
Black Ghost was furious. Damn it, who else could it be, so late at night? It must be an ambush by the Wooden Fish Tribe.
In a loud voice, Black Ghost ordered,
"Everyone, do not panic! The enemy is no more than twenty strong—perfect, we can wipe them out completely!"
He presumed the ambushers hiding along the passage were merely the Wooden Fish Tribe’s militia, twenty at most. Thus, although somewhat surprised by the ambush, he felt no fear, commanding his men not to retreat and even intending to annihilate these “twenty” enemies.
Little did he know, there were over eighty militiamen alone, and with seventeen chieftains, the total force surpassed a hundred.
Li Zhan’s troops, all in fresh uniforms, numbered eleven—six were his own men, five belonged to Crooked Carrot. Besides these soldiers, Crooked Carrot and four direct chieftains of the tribe joined them. Li Zhan led his soldiers and the chieftains to lie in wait on the left side of the passage, while Thunder Dragon hid on the right. Wind Walker, Wind Chime, and another chieftain blocked the Black Brothers’ retreat, while yet another chieftain and Wooden Fish each led teams to block the trio’s advance.
As the warning gong sounded, everyone charged forth, streaming from the woods on both sides, encircling the Black Brothers and their thirty-six militiamen. The militia brandished cudgels, Li Zhan’s six soldiers raised iron swords, and the chieftains wielded long and short clubs, all closing in on the enemy surrounded in the center.
Cries of agony quickly followed; the Black Brothers’ militiamen fell one after another. In a rage, Black Shade snatched a cudgel from one of his subordinates and, in the darkness, swung it wildly as he plunged into the melee. Though he took quite a few blows himself, he also managed to injure several of the allied tribe’s militia.
The chaos disoriented Black Ghost. Though one could hardly see half a meter ahead, the sounds of battle made it clear the attackers were far more than twenty. The Wooden Fish Tribe was as ordinary as any tribe—how could they muster so many? Judging by the noise, at least seventy or eighty were present. What was going on?
At this critical moment, Black Star reacted the quickest, grabbing the stunned Black Ghost and shouting,
"Brother, the enemy must have reinforcements! We need to retreat now, or we’ll be wiped out!"

No sooner had he said this than a barrage of blows from the allied soldiers rained down—Black Star took more than a dozen hits in an instant, nearly collapsing, and was now gravely wounded (Injury: Minor, Moderate, Severe, Weak). He quickly ducked into the midst of his own men.
Black Ghost, awakened by Black Star’s words, immediately shouted to his militiamen,
"Retreat, quick, retreat!!"
Hardly had he finished when another volley struck, leaving him seeing stars. He curled into a ball, barely saving his life.
Hearing the retreat order, the already demoralized militia, led by Black Shade, began to break out toward their original path. After losing seven or eight men in the attempt, they finally forced a gap and, like beaten dogs, fled frantically back the way they came.
The allied tribe’s militia did not block the breakout forcefully; following Li Zhan’s earlier instructions, they deliberately left a corridor open, striking from both sides as the fleeing enemy struggled to escape. The enemy, having lost all will to fight, barely resisted the flank attacks, each hoping the blows would fall on someone else so they might slip away.
Seeing the enemy begin to retreat, Crooked Carrot, on Li Zhan’s command, beat his gong. At the sound, everyone knew it was time for the second phase, and, together with the militia, gave chase. The Black Brothers and their remaining men cared only for escape, leaving another ten or so corpses behind as they finally broke free of the encirclement.
By now, the Black Brothers were all seriously wounded. The worst was Black Star, now in a weakened state—if he hadn’t kept his head low and stayed in the crowd during the escape, he would have perished already. Black Shade, charging in the lead, suffered the least, as the allied militia, deliberately opening the way, did not have time to strike him; he was only moderately injured.
Enraged by the failed operation and the loss of so many men, Black Shade, running ahead, suddenly turned back, confronted Black Ghost and Black Star, who were sandwiched in the fleeing crowd, and shouted,
"Damn it, I’m done running! If I’m going to die, I’ll take some of them with me!"
With both hands gripping his cudgel, he roared and charged at the pursuing allied soldiers.
Black Star was about to say something, but Black Ghost pulled him aside,
"Don’t bother with him—you know his stubbornness. Let him go!"
Black Star realized Black Ghost was right—when Black Shade’s temper flared, not even a hundred oxen could drag him back. Better to save their own skins.
So, Black Ghost and Black Star, surrounded by a dozen militiamen, fled toward Black Shade’s tribe, while Black Shade, clutching his cudgel, charged alone at the allied soldiers.
His move was so unexpected, and visibility was so poor, that as he stormed into the allied lines, swinging wildly, he managed to injure four or five militiamen.
Li Zhan, leading his eleven soldiers, was in the center of the formation, chasing the enemy, when suddenly Black Shade, having knocked down several militiamen, charged straight at him. Both sides were rushing forward, and with the limited visibility, Li Zhan only realized someone was coming when Black Shade’s cudgel landed on his shoulder.
With a thud, Li Zhan’s shoulder went numb, and his health dropped to 225 out of 232. This was the first injury he’d taken in the operation.
"Protect the chieftain!!"
Zhao Ming, always at Li Zhan’s side, saw him struck and immediately shouted, jumping in front of Li Zhan and thrusting his iron sword at Black Shade.
Lost in the chaos, Black Shade had been swinging blindly, but now realized he had hit a chieftain. Elated, he raised his cudgel to strike again but suddenly saw an iron sword thrusting at his chest. He dodged aside, shocked—Iron swords! Who are these people?
Before he could recover, four of Zhao Ming’s militiamen, all wielding iron swords, lunged at him. Attacked from front and back, and all with iron swords, Black Shade’s health plummeted from 78 to 26, leaving him gravely wounded.
Facing so many iron swords, Black Shade had no time for surprise. Forcing himself up despite his wounds, he cursed, "I’ll take you all with me!"
He raised his cudgel high and lunged at Li Zhan.