My eunuch godfather

Chapter 11 First Battle

"Victory, you lead them both off their horses."

Upon seeing the bandits appear, Wei Sengteng immediately pointed to a grove of trees not far away and ordered Yang Desheng and his skilled men:

"Protect Master Kun and his packhorse, and go to the other side of the woods to keep watch."

Then he looked at Zhang Kun, who immediately understood and gave the order to Zhao Qiguan in an unquestionable tone:

"Commander Zhao, I hereby order you and Warrior Wei to each lead a team to jointly kill the bandits!"

Zhao, the flag officer, had no choice but to swallow his words of advice and bow his head to Zhang Kun, agreeing:

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Wei Sengteng led his best men on the right, while Zhao Qiguan led his servants on the left, preparing to attack the bandits from both sides.

Yang Desheng and two other skilled fighters, along with Xu Xin, protected Zhang Kun and led twenty-one riding horses and packhorses into the forest.

Zhang Kun was self-aware; he had previously learned martial arts and knife skills from several sworn brothers, but these were only for self-defense.

Aside from hunting with his eunuch godfather and learning to use a musket, he had no real skills in battle.

Rather than causing trouble, getting injured, or even losing your life, it's better to stay quietly in the woods.

Moments later, new bandits began to appear on the slope.

They shouted and cursed, firing arrows and muskets in this direction, but their shots were short and inaccurate.

Once the bandits had gathered a certain number, they began to ride forward, slowly pressing towards the government troops.

There were about 150 people, following the leaders of various families.

"Kill the corrupt official!"

Dong Xiucai, who was in the front row, raised his arm and shouted, drew his waist knife, and was the first to pick up speed.

He led more than twenty bandits as the vanguard and charged towards the government troops.

The bandit leaders of the squadron, each with their own agendas, followed Dong Xiucai at varying paces, totaling more than eighty bandits.

Yang Hai was in the last row, leading over forty bandits, who moved as slowly as tortoises crawling.

"Follow me to kill the traitors!"

Wei Sengteng shouted to his skilled men, spurred his horse forward, and charged ahead of the bandits' vanguard.

He drew a black lacquered mulberry bow from the bag, nocked an arrow, and shot.

puff!

The eagle-feathered arrow was as fast as lightning, piercing the neck of an armored bandit.

Before the bandit could fall from his horse, Wei Sengteng had already fired a second arrow, which struck another armored bandit in the chest.

The armor pierced his lungs, and the bandit coughed up pinkish blood and foam, eventually swaying and falling off his horse.

The rate of bandits wearing armor is very low, less than 30%, and the quality is extremely poor.

It's just to scare those cowardly imperial guards; if a real fight breaks out, they'll probably lose.

Some of the bandits, seeing Wei Sengteng kill two riders in quick succession, knew he was highly skilled and immediately slowed their horses and retreated.

Many bandits did not witness this scene, and saw that the government troops were not only not intimidated, but instead took the initiative to fight back.

He also felt a sense of fear and began to slow down his horse.

Only a few hot-blooded, reckless fools continue to charge forward.

"Officer, what are you waiting for?"

Zhao, the flag officer, hesitated to give the order, prompting an impatient servant to complain:

"What kind of people are we, cowering in the back while those who fight are charging ahead?!"

Zhao, the flag officer, turned and glared at him, about to reprimand him, when the servant shouted to the other servants:

"Supervisor Zhang is the adopted son of the Grand Eunuch. Anyone who wants to make a name for themselves, follow me!"

Having said that, he spurred his horse and charged towards the bandits, with several servants following in his wake.

The remaining servants looked at Zhao, the flag officer, who was seething with hatred but could only give the order:

"Get them!"

As Wei Sengteng was about to engage the enemy, he put his warbler back into the bag with his left hand and took off his horse-slaying sword from his back with his right hand.

With a horizontal slash, he cleaved the unarmored bandit who had charged close in two at the waist!

Like a sharp dagger, he led his skilled men to cut through one bandit group after another.

The servants who arrived later smashed the bandits into complete chaos, like heavy hammers!

......

Although nearly half of Dong Xiucai and his vanguard of bandits had been killed or wounded, they were now relatively safe.

Because the government troops had already broken through their defenses and "trapped" them into the bandit squadron.

"There are a few hiding in the woods over there!"

The sharp-eyed bandit spotted Zhang Kun and his men in the woods and urgently said to Dong Xiucai:

"One of the ones with the best armor is most likely a corrupt official!"

"Ha, thank goodness!"

This government army is so powerful that Dong Xiucai was falling into despair. Upon hearing this, he pointed at the woods and laughed loudly:

"Brothers, if we catch that corrupt official, we'll win!"

Many of those who followed Dong Xiucai were brave and fierce, and they immediately turned their horses around and charged into the woods.

The bandits dismounted at the edge of the woods and rushed towards Zhang Kun. Yang Desheng and two other skilled fighters prepared to meet them.

Zhang Kun stood behind, picked up the loaded musket, and lit the fuse.

Several bandits drew their bows and fired arrows, but most of their shots were blocked by the trees or they missed their mark.

Only one shot managed to hit a skilled fighter's shoulder by sheer luck, but was deflected by the iron arm.

Taking a deep breath and holding his concentration, Zhang Kun aimed at the chest and abdomen of one of the bandits and pulled the trigger!

boom!

The thick white smoke obscured his vision. Zhang Kun closed his eyes and opened them again. The bandit was already staggering.

The lead bullet created a cavity in his abdomen, damaging his liver and spleen, causing massive bleeding. The bandit quickly collapsed to the ground.

First kill achieved!

Zhang Kun took the second loaded musket from Xu Xin and continued firing.

Unfortunately, the second shot missed, and he missed the chance to achieve a double kill.

Using firearms like shotguns to kill people feels like playing a game; there's absolutely no discomfort.

Yang Desheng, skilled in archery, relied on his superior armor and strode forward with his bow in hand.

Despite the obstruction of trees, he still managed to hit two out of three shots, wounding one person and knocking down another.

The other bandits began to hesitate and stopped moving forward.

Another skilled fighter, relying on his superior armor, strode forward with a fuel canister in hand, lit it, and threw it forcefully!

The fuel tank hit a bandit, broke open, and burst into flames.

The bandit, engulfed in flames, screamed in agony, scaring the other bandits into turning and running away.

"Chase!"

Zhang Kun shouted, put down his musket, drew his shark-scabbard and goose-feather saber from his waist, and followed behind the three skilled fighters.

Yang Desheng continued to shoot as he chased, and shot down two more people.

As they approached the edge of the woods, Yang Desheng turned and stopped Zhang Kun, urgently urging him, "Supervisor, don't pursue a cornered enemy!"

"Stop!"

Zhang Kun readily agreed and loudly gave the order.

Just then, Xu Xin loaded the first musket and quickly followed.

Zhang Kun took the musket, aimed at the bandit whose armor looked the best, and pulled the trigger!

Dong Xiucai had completely lost his will to fight, fled out of the woods, and mounted his horse.

They hadn't ridden out far when they heard a gunshot, followed by the horse neighing in pain and falling to the ground.

"Scholar!"

While the other bandits were fleeing for their lives, only the sharp-eyed bandit turned his horse around and returned to rescue Dong Xiucai.

When Dong Xiucai was helped up by the sharp-eyed bandit, he suddenly drew a short knife from his waist and stabbed it into the bandit's neck!

He then broke free from the sharp-eyed bandit's grasp, snatched the horse, and continued his escape.

The bandits' vanguard collapsed.

"Why isn't the rear guard in yet—damn it, Yang Hai is trying to escape!"

At the same time, a bandit leader turned around and saw Yang Hai's bandit rear guard retreating, and shouted in alarm.

Yang Hai's desertion caused the already collapsing bandit squadron to completely crumble.

The bandits stopped following their leader and scattered in all directions, praying that the government troops would not pursue them.

Engrossed in the killing, Zhao Qiguan led his retainers, who were still following behind, in pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

Instead of giving chase, Wei Sengteng called his best men to regroup and prepare for a possible counterattack from the bandits' rear guard.

Fortunately, the bandits' rear guard was indeed fleeing, and they had already increased their horse speed, desperately widening the distance between themselves and the government troops.

Thus, Zhang Kun achieved a great victory in his first battle, successfully defeating an enemy force five times his size, with only a few of his own men suffering minor injuries.