allonlinenovel Chapter 262 Shen Li Faints
Chapter 262 Shen Li Faints
"Gentlemen, you surely know who I am." She walked to the edge of the hillside and looked down at the soldiers. "Continuing to do this is tantamount to treason. You all have wives, children, and elderly parents at home. Is it worth risking your lives for them?"
The soldiers hesitated upon hearing this, for the Great Zhao Kingdom was at its peak, and a rebellion at this time was absolutely impossible.
"Don't let this assassin stall for time. If she were Lord Shen Li, she wouldn't have made a move. These people will definitely kill Lords Gu and Shen. As long as they are killed, the court will surely reward them," the deputy commander hurriedly said.
But these people are still hesitating; once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.
"As you all know, my Shen family is a prominent and powerful clan. If you are willing to remain inactive today, you will be heroes in suppressing the rebellion in the future. Not only will the court reward you, but my Shen family will also repay you handsomely."
While eating fruit, Shen Li advised, "You all should think carefully about whether it's a dead end or a promotion and wealth."
The soldiers' resolve wavered even further. If it really was the Shen family, they were richer than ten Da Zhao families combined. Giving them money was not just talk; they truly had the power to do so.
"He's just stalling for time! Charge forward! Anyone who retreats will be executed!" the deputy commander exclaimed anxiously.
So the most trusted man of this city defense force went to the last row, drew his sword, and declared that any soldier who did not advance or retreat would die.
The soldiers knew they were on a pirate ship and there was no way out. Since retreating meant certain death, they might as well go forward and fight. If the assassins were on the mountain, they could still make a name for themselves.
"What should we do, Madam? They won't listen to you," a guard asked.
"It looks like we can only hold out for this long. Set up an ambush, prepare the crossbows, and fire from all directions." Shen Li's expression remained largely unchanged.
These are their soldiers; it's no wonder they can't be persuaded to surrender. As the deputy commander said, she's just stalling for time.
She felt that the time was about right, and the three battalions would arrive soon, no matter how slow they were. As long as they could hold out a little longer, it would be good whether they used words or actions.
The fact that the other party seemed very anxious further confirmed her suspicions.
The interrogation of the military doctor was over, and Gu Chang'an had taken his medicine. Shen Li then had the doctor's legs tied and gave them crossbows to lie prone on the hillside and ambush the enemy.
The military doctor never imagined he would become a traitor, but he had no choice but to take action to survive. Once he fired, they would have no way out.
The ambush consisted of five crossbows, all lying in wait, waiting for the people at the foot of the mountain to climb up before making their move.
The two highly skilled soldiers who replaced the military doctor were responsible for close combat. Once the enemy was close enough, they could save a crossbow bolt, since there were only a little over a hundred bolts, or even less than two hundred.
Shen Li took three pills to replenish her qi and blood, and then moved three huge rocks weighing several hundred kilograms from the mountain, ensuring that each one could knock down a whole area if thrown down.
The military doctor swallowed hard upon seeing this, suddenly realizing that perhaps their betrayal wasn't a mistake after all. This was a young woman with incredible strength; the thousand people down the mountain might not be able to climb up.
The most shocked person in the group was Gu Chang'an, who was standing at the cave entrance ready to protect Shen Li at any time. He had always heard that his Ah Li was strong and healthy, and had even pushed over a rockery.
But he always thought that the artificial hill was unstable to begin with, and that his father-in-law and mother-in-law were exaggerating. It was clear that she could lift the stone weighing several hundred kilograms with just her hands, and the shock he felt was indescribable.
Ah Li carried three stones in a row and was only slightly out of breath. She stopped carrying more, apparently because the hillside was small and there were no more stones.
Of course, he didn't know that Ah Li was panting because she was severely weakened; otherwise, she could have held the cave entrance high up by herself, and even thousands of people couldn't break through it.
He unconsciously swallowed. Was this really the Ah Li he had watched grow up? How could those small arms and legs have such strength?
Shen Li hid behind a rock to avoid Gu Chang'an's gaze. She had thought about joking with her husband, but she had been seriously injured and had not rested for a long time, and had overdrawn her strength.
As soon as she made a slight movement, her vision blurred and she gasped for breath. She realized that she didn't have much strength left to push herself to the limit.
If this continues, she will definitely faint.
"Ah Li?" Gu Chang'an couldn't see Shen Li and felt something was wrong.
"What does my husband want?" Shen Li asked, adjusting her breathing before speaking. She did not come out from behind the rock but sat on the ground, using her breathing to regulate her body.
"Are you injured?" Gu Chang'an's voice was more urgent.
If she wasn't injured, why didn't Ah Li let me see it?
"It's just a little bit, it's nothing." Shen Li said calmly, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "My husband just needs to keep an eye on the human pig in the cave, I'll take care of things outside."
"Ah Li, be careful." Gu Chang'an clenched his fists tightly. He mustn't let him go back, otherwise none of those who dared to make trouble behind his back would live.
Shen Li didn't get up for quite a while, and signaled to the two standing guards not to reveal anything, and to continue fighting as usual.
If she had just been somewhat confident in facing the enemy, now the opposite was true; she realized she could faint at any moment.
She couldn't wait any longer; she had to throw down the stones before she fainted.
The crossbowmen and the soldiers of the garrison did indeed cause great trouble for the soldiers at the foot of the mountain. The slope was already steep, and it was already very difficult to climb up. Once they got up, they had to face crossbowmen or broadswords.
It's almost impossible to avoid getting hit. If just a few people roll down, they can knock down a whole bunch of people behind them, which means that even though there are fewer people on the mountain, it takes a long time to take them down.
"They won't have many crossbow bolts. Charge forward! The first one to charge will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver!" Seeing that the morale of the troops was somewhat low, the deputy commander offered a generous reward.
This was also their assessment: there wouldn't be many crossbow bolts, and judging from the dispersion of the bolts, there weren't many people lying in ambush on the mountain.
Once the arrows are used up, we can attack from all four directions and take it down in one fell swoop.
The soldiers perked up at the mention of money and began charging upwards in droves, only to find themselves facing large rocks.
"Boom!"
The large rock rolled down the steep hillside, knocking over many people along the way. With its accelerated momentum, it couldn't stop its advance even when it reached the crowd below, crushing and flattening many people.
Moreover, this was not a coincidence. Soon after, stones fell from the other two sides as well, resulting in the direct loss of more than a hundred of the thousands of people.
The soldiers' morale was greatly dampened when they saw their comrades crushed by large stones all over the ground. The biggest battle they had ever fought since taking office was against bandits.
They weren't seasoned soldiers who had seen countless battles, and they rarely witnessed bloodshed. Now that they were here, their legs almost gave way and they wanted to run away.
Arrows are finite, but stones are infinite.
On the mountain, Shen Li swayed, silently squatted down, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.