ccnovels Chapter 455 - 225: Settling Accounts Across Time and Space! (8.2K)
Chapter 455 - 225: Settling Accounts Across Time and Space! (8.2K)
"Help, murder!"
"Night attack, night attack, where is the guard team!"
"Grandfather, run quickly!"
"Yamero....."
The disturbance in the camp was extremely clear in the quiet night and quickly reached inside the carriage.
Xu Yun, who was already a light sleeper, was abruptly pulled back from his dreams to reality.
"Ha..."
Xu Yun stretched lazily, stood up, rubbed his eyes, and lifted the curtain of the carriage.
His not fully awake mind, combined with his long-term peaceful life experience, made his reaction somewhat sluggish in this situation:
"What’s going on, making such a fuss, can’t a person get some sleep....."
But the very next second.
Whoosh——
A piercing sound rang out.
An arrow shot directly into the shaft of the carriage, just a foot or so away from him.
The impact of the arrow’s flight and the trembling arrow tail in the light instantly jolted Xu Yun awake.
The laziness of sleepiness transformed completely into alertness within half a second.
He first quickly dropped the curtain and darted back into the carriage, beginning to observe the situation outside through a small side opening.
At this moment.
The makeshift camp, roughly the size of a football field, was filled with the glow of torches and flashlights.
There were constant shouts of men and women around, accompanied by the crisp clashing of swords.
It was obvious.
The camp was under attack.
Thinking of this.
Xu Yun first took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
This was knowledge taught by Wang Bing in the 1100 dungeon:
If ambushed while on the move, there’s not much one can do, mostly relying on instinct to avoid disaster.
But being intercepted in a camp is a different matter.
In such a situation, the first thing to do is to calm oneself down and use a short amount of time to analyze the enemy’s numbers, combat methods, and the strength of their attack.
This wasn’t just random content but was recorded in the "Essential Military Classics".
Later, Xu Yun made slight extensions on this basis, adding a modern warfare element of considering the variety of weapons.
The four key points in the current situation...
The enemy’s numbers are currently unknown, but estimated to be between 50 and 100.
As for the method of combat...
Xu Yun didn’t hear any hoofbeats, and given that the enemy could approach the camp area, there’s over a 90% chance that they are on foot, infantry.
The strength of the assault is not easily judged in a short time.
But looking at the formation outside.
The enemy likely didn’t break through the camp’s defenses entirely in the first wave, and at least some parts of the caravan organized a temporarily effective defensive counterattack.
As for the firepower configuration...
No sound of flintlock guns was heard, so it’s most likely swords paired with...
Xu Yun paused for a few seconds, recalling the appearance of the arrow that landed in front of him.
It was likely a crossbow.
Speaking of bows and crossbows, many might have this notion:
The two only differ significantly in appearance, and the weapons they shoot, namely the arrows, are actually the same.
But in reality, that’s not the case.
In the 19th-century Europe, bows and crossbows used different specifications of arrows.
The crossbow used a trilobal bolt, over a third of which, to achieve maximum lethality, was made of copper, with a length of about fifty centimeters.
The bow used a conical bolt, with a trapezoidal cross-section and a length of around seventy centimeters. (The Guanfu Museum, founded by Ma Weidu, has a detailed introduction to the distinctions between various bows and crossbow arrows.)
Thus, the two are quite different in appearance.
And the absence of firearms indicates another thing:
The attackers are most likely English border soldiers!
Sounds strange, right? — Since they intend to kill, why not simply use guns?
Again, in border areas, firearms and cold weapons are completely different concepts.
The closest image is the previously mentioned Galwan Valley conflict, videos of which are still searchable on major websites.
In that conflict, Ah San lost 20 men, with over a hundred injured, and the infamous Bihar Corps participated.
But throughout the process, no one dared to fire a single shot.
Similarly, in 2014, Scotland held an independence referendum, ending with a 10.8% margin.
On September 19th, the day Salmond resigned, a melee broke out on the English-Scottish border, with over seventy deaths.
No guns were used in that battle either, just machetes, and some were even turned into replicas of Ito Sei’s merchandise.....
But the battle took place outside Carlisle, the capital of Cumbria, not in Dumfries Town.
A conflict without invading the national border may result in casualties and sacrifice but mustn’t involve firearms, which is considered a golden rule.
Of course.
The consequences of crossing the national border are different.
For example, the conflict on September 11, 1967.
The Rabbits, at the cost of six wounded and one dead, wiped out 607 of Ah San’s troops, which is a typical case of provoking unnecessary aggression.....
In any case.
Dumfries Town is now considered a public area of Suying, an absolute border-sensitive point.
Although it’s unclear why the English army is attacking here, this unofficial rule must be adhered to.
"Swords, spears, crossbows..."
Xu Yun listened to the cries from outside for a few more seconds and suddenly frowned:
"Not good, Thomson and Will!"
Thomson is the main figure of this mission, while Will, though just a passerby, had been considered a friend by Xu Yun over the past two days due to his honest and simple nature.