Chapter 73: Chapter 73 Day 6_1
Monkey drew a bow and arrow from inside the goods van, calmly bending the bow, notching the arrow, but withheld the shot.
Though targeted by Monkey, these Tubo cavalry showed no fear.
At most, they felt this man still had some fight in him; it would feel even more satisfying to crush his skull shortly.
To enable free movement here, Monkey and his group had disguised themselves as traders, their clothes tattered and ragged, hardly raising any suspicion.
Through Monkey’s point of view, Tang Mo could see the approaching Tubo cavalry drawing nearer, their flails swinging, their sinister grins vividly lifelike, making his muscles tense up instantly, and his entire body became anxious.
In his heart, he even started to shout loudly, “Shoot! Shoot! They’re coming!
However, the protagonist didn’t hear Tang Mo’s cries.
He merely watched the enemy calmly, and only when the lead horseman stepped just within his effective range did he release the arrow he had nocked with his right hand.
Whoosh…
The sound, akin to a whistle, was faint and swift.
The released arrow, like a swallow vanishing into the dark, merged seamlessly with the surroundings; the next second it appeared at the lead horseman’s throat.
The cavalryman on the horse fell at the sound, while the Squad Leader, who had been sleeping soundly on the cart, leapt to his feet instantaneously.
He was like an iron tower; his two-meter stature was an imposing giant, so big that he could only curl up to sleep on the wagon.
Seeing the fast-approaching cavalry, he reached out to Mr. Fang beside him, who promptly handed him a well-maintained throwing spear.
The half-zhang long throwing spear was made from fine wood, its tip fitted with an iron spearhead, gleaming from Mr. Fang’s meticulous maintenance.
Weighing it for feel, the serious-faced Squad Leader smiled and said, “Good.
The next moment, he threw it.
It’s difficult to describe the action of his throw; in that instant, the statue-like Squad Leader seemed to become light itself. The switch from stillness to motion appeared to happen in a blink, with not a single wasteful movement, turning the throwing spear in his hand into a ferocious weapon.
The hurled spear shot forth like lightning; the cavalry’s leather armor might as well have been paper, too weak to withstand the thrust of the spear, which impaled them clean through.
Before the cavalry could react, the next arrow had already arrived.
With two arrows and one spear, the five assailants, yet to close in, were reduced to two.
The remaining two, petrified, turned to flee, but then another arrow and another spear shot took them down.
The horses ran off—a common occurrence—but on the bodies of the five cavalry were supplies of dry food and water, with some even carrying pouches of coin, enough for a feast at the next stop.
After handling the spoils, they left the corpses of the five cavalrymen where they fell and continued the journey, led by two old horses. Inside the wagon, a skinny man joked, “Those five cavalry were just weak, if I weren’t injured, one face-off and they’d all be dead.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Skinny Brother is the strongest,” Meat Bun chimed in.
“That tone lacks sincerity. Next time you train with me, we’ll have a market in Chang’an, guaranteed you’ll find a wealthy and pretty sister.
“Right, right, right.”
As the sun set in the west, the wagon trudged on.
The battle just now faded from mind, but the desire for combat, like the sound of the bowstring, echoed in Tang Mo’s thoughts.
At the video’s end, the caption reappeared: “Seven days away from the Tang
Dynasty.”
After watching the video, Tang Mo didn’t speak for a long time.
The video was only seven and a half minutes long, but the emotions it stirred in him might take seven hours to calm.
Remembering the details he just witnessed, he felt as if he had seen a lonely Tang army traversing the thousand-year void, right before his eyes.
The ferocious appearance of the Tubo cavalry was right in front of him, yet in a blink, they were effortlessly obliterated by the solitary Tang army, aligning perfectly with his imagination of the remaining valor of the Tang.
“This uploader is awesome! The production quality is impeccable. Is this a movie or an animation promotion? The uploader is… Fang Cheng Studio? It seems I’ve heard about them somewhere.”
Without further thought, he hurriedly shared the video to his history group.
Worried that his groupmates wouldn’t take it seriously, he added after sharing, “Quick, look, it’s really impressive!”
“You’re late,” a group member replied, “Check out the group announcement, we’ve already discussed it once.”
Only then did Tang Mo realize that the video was already shared in the group announcement.
Just as Tang Mo was feeling a bit embarrassed, the conversation in the group continued, “But no matter, I just watched it for the fifth time and discovered something new. Let’s talk about the armor.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Tang Mo typed enthusiastically, “The Mingguang armour is restored so authentically, I’m not sure if this is for a game or movie, but if they release merchandise, I’m definitely buying.”
“Heard it’s for a game and Fang Cheng Studio often has blockbuster hits. Quiet Cultivation,’ which is really popular lately, is one of theirs.”
“Now that you mention it, it does seem like it’s their game. My nephew always plays ‘Quiet Cultivation’ on my computer whenever he visits. I’ve even played a few rounds myself.”
“Is it a battle royale game? I struggle with those, can’t keep up with the strategy.”
“There’re various modes, you can still play the Heavenly Demon mode without strong awareness, it’s quite fun fighting Heavenly Demons with a group of people.”
The conversation moved from the video to history, then from history to games. A once serious history group was gradually morphing into a gaming group, and nobody seemed to think it was odd.
The next day, at the same time.
Although he thought it unlikely, Tang Mo still began refreshing his following list, waiting for an update from Fang Cheng Studio.
And Fang Cheng Studio didn’t disappoint him; the second video was updated on time at eleven o’clock in the morning.
“Six days to Tang Dynasty.”
Compared to the sparse views when he first watched it yesterday, the video had thousands of views as soon as it was released.
The play count from yesterday’s video had already reached 270,000, and Fang Cheng Studio’s fan count skyrocketed from zero to seventeen thousand overnight, a testament to the video’s high quality.
The second video didn’t disappoint Tang Mo either.
This time, the five-person squad arrived at a rundown mountain village.
The village had just been plundered; bodies of villagers were piled up in the square, parts of houses had been burned to ruins, and faint cries could be heard everywhere.
When the peasants spotted the five newcomers entering the village, they kept their distance. Only after confirming that they weren’t Tubo soldiers did they timidly come forward.
The elderly village chief, leaning on his cane, burst into tears when he heard that they were Tang soldiers.
Kneeling down in front of the protagonist, his tears flowing freely, the village chief clutched at his hand and choked out, “Is the Emperor of Tang well? When will the Heavenly Soldiers come to save us?”
Upon hearing this, even the normally lively skinny member was silent.
The Squad Leader’s face, covered in scars, looked more intimidating.
He helped the chief to his feet and then asked, “Where’s that group of Tubo soldiers?”
“Not far, at a camp. Sir, there are more than twenty of them, you’re no match. Better rest up and head out first thing in the morning.”
“Only twenty men, huh.” The skinny member finally smiled, “Guys, make it quick. I’ll keep watch here for you.”
“Mind your own business!” The Squad Leader glared at the not yet fully recovered skinny member and cursed, “You just keep watch, if anything happens before we return, I’m holding you accountable!
Then, he rallied his mates, and under the villagers’ complex gaze, they headed towards the Tubo camp in the setting sun.
As Tang Mo eagerly anticipated the upcoming battle, the end credits appeared!
“Six days to Tang Dynasty.”
“Dammit! Not now, this is where you cut it off?!”