flstandardbreds Chapter 1000: The Battle in the Cowshed
Chapter 1000: The Battle in the Cowshed
As Ma Zhong raised his pepper spray pistol and took down an approaching enemy, he anxiously looked around, trying to find a way to escape.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a large shed at the edge of the village, with earthen walls around it for defense.
Although the earthen walls were dilapidated, they were still better than being exposed to enemy attacks from all sides.
"Over there! Charge towards that dilapidated shed!"
Ma Zhongfu, caught off guard, didn't think twice and roared at the soldiers.
Although the soldiers were confused, they trusted Ma Zhong and immediately retreated while fighting in the direction he pointed.
Ma Zhong personally charged to the front, using both his saber and musket, and fought his way through a bloody path.
"boom!"
Ma Zhong led the way, smashing open the rickety wooden door and rushing inside.
The soldiers filed in, and the last two men fought desperately to block the breached door, holding it in place with their bodies.
The shed was dimly lit and filled with the smell of livestock and rotting hay.
As the light shone through the gaps in the wooden planks, everyone took a closer look and were both surprised and delighted.
In the corner of the cowshed, three or four emaciated oxen were tethered.
Around the udder of one of the cows were more than a dozen red and swollen blisters—the very cowpox that Hua Chang'an had described!
Cowpox is more common among milkers because cows are more likely to be infected, and the lesions appear near the udder.
"Found it! Damn it! We finally found it!" Ma Zhong was so excited he almost jumped up.
The mountains and rivers seem to have exhausted all paths, leaving no way out!
Ma Zhong had previously thought that his lucky charm had lost its effect, and even assumed that all the cattle on Qiongzhou Island had died out.
Just then, a muffled 'bang' was heard.
The remaining soldiers outside began ramming the door, causing it to shake violently, and the soldier holding it up let out a muffled groan.
Ma Zhong finally snapped out of his surprise, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.
Now that the sick cow has been found to save its life, the problem has become how to safely get it out of the area.
At least several hundred crazed, diseased remnants of the army had gathered outside. They were trapped in this cowshed, and if they couldn't defeat these remnants, everything would be over.
Seeing the soldiers all looking at him, Ma Zhong steeled his resolve, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
He drew his blood-stained dagger and roared, "Damn it! Those bastards from the Southern army want to fight us to the death, so be it!"
He looked around at his loyal men and said firmly, "Having found the ox means we've found the lifeline to save the people of this state!"
"Even if it means death, I have to return this vital organ!"
Inspired by his resolute determination, the soldiers' blood boiled, and they roared in response:
"Damn it, let's fight them to the death!"
"Kill one to get enough money, kill two to earn one!"
"For His Majesty, for the Great Qing!"
After the vulgar insults subsided, the group quickly checked their weapons, reloaded the empty muskets, and cocked their crossbows.
Ma Zhong took a deep breath, kicked open the dilapidated wooden door, and roared hoarsely, "Qing army soldiers, follow me and kill!"
In an instant, gunfire erupted again, like popping beans, and smoke filled the air. The remaining soldiers at the forefront fell like wheat being harvested.
But there were just too many enemy troops outside. As more and more soldiers fell, they surged forward like zombies.
The muskets couldn't be reloaded in time, and the remaining soldiers were already within reach.
"Musketeers, retreat! The rest of you, draw your swords!" Ma Zhong's voice almost broke. "Make sure you wear your masks properly, don't get their pus and blood on you!"
At such a critical juncture, close combat with these diseased blades was unavoidable.
But Ma Zhong wouldn't let this hold him back; he only had one thought in his mind: survive and bring the cattle back.
Only those who survive are eligible to be infected!
"kill!"
The soldiers roared in unison, their gleaming swords drawn in unison, reflecting the pale light of the sky and illuminating their resolute faces.
Ma Zhong roared and slashed down hard at a remnant of the Southern Army, blood shooting into the sky!
The cowshed was larger than expected, which clearly indicated that there had once been a wealthy family in the village, giving Ma Zhong and the others some room to maneuver.
Taking advantage of the narrow blind spot at the entrance, Ma Zhong led his soldiers in a fierce counterattack, catching the remaining troops crowded at the entrance off guard and temporarily forcing back the first wave of attacks.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Ma Zhong did not linger in the fight. Having succeeded in his attack, he immediately led his men back to the cowshed.
Almost as soon as they retreated, the musketeers, having finished reloading, fired another volley.
Gunshots rang out, smoke filled the air, and screams of agony echoed from outside.
However, the other party was, after all, a former soldier, and had learned his lesson after suffering a loss.
Instead of blindly charging at the entrance, they used the ruins as cover and poured in wave after wave through the windows and side gaps of the cowshed.
With the passage blocked, the remaining soldiers outside could not see the carnage inside, only hear the sounds of fighting, and were driven madly to rush in.
Ma Zhong gripped his waist knife tightly in his right hand, the blade already chipped from cutting, while his left hand held a sharp short dagger in reverse.
A wounded soldier howled and swung a pitchfork at Ma Zhong, who dodged to the side, parried the pitchfork with his waist knife, and then precisely plunged his left-hand dagger into the soldier's heart, twisting it with the motion!
The remaining soldier stiffened, the madness in his eyes faded, and he collapsed limply.
Although Ma Zhong rose to prominence by capturing enemy chieftains, he had spent many years in the Fengtian Army, frequently sparring with top generals such as Yang Tian and Yue Yun, and his actual skills were quite formidable.
In this life-or-death struggle, he displayed his martial arts skills to the fullest, successively killing several of the most ferocious remaining soldiers.
Covered in blood, with his hair and beard standing on end, he looked like a god of war descending upon the world.
For a moment, the Southern army remnants who followed him were so frightened that they stopped in their tracks and looked at him with fear in their eyes.
However, individual bravery is ultimately no match for an overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
As time went on, the disadvantage of Qing Army having fewer troops began to be exposed.
Soldiers around him fell one after another, either hacked down by blades or dragged into the crowd and instantly swallowed up.
Ma Zhong also suffered several wounds, the most serious one being on his left arm, where a wood-cutter had slashed open a deep gash that exposed bone, causing blood to gush out.
But he fought to the death, leading the remaining soldiers to hold the innermost corner of the cowshed.
The soldiers formed the last line of defense with their bodies, tightly protecting the few trembling oxen behind them.
They can die here, but not this cow!
This is the key to saving tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Qiongzhou, and the hope for defeating the epidemic!
The battle raged on for an unknown amount of time. Ma Zhong felt his arms growing heavier and heavier, and his vision began to blur. He was only able to keep going by sheer willpower.
Finally, during a parry, Ma Zhong's strength was slightly exhausted, and a sharpened bamboo pole pierced through his shoulder armor.
The excruciating pain caused his vision to go black, and then he was slammed to the ground by several forces, completely losing consciousness.