Chapter 58: The Transformation of the New Recruits

“Big Fool, how’s the situation?” Lord Biao crouched on the ground, asking in a low voice.

“Boss, those soldiers are barely on alert. There are only two sentries at the gate, and both of them are sound asleep!” Big Fool replied. “If you ask me, this time our plan is foolproof!”

“Excellent!” Lord Biao exclaimed upon hearing this. He glanced to both sides, then spoke up, “Brothers, the time has come for Luo Qing Stronghold to rise! As long as we succeed tonight, we’ll all feast like kings and enjoy endless wealth and glory!”

“Boss, say no more, your brothers are with you all the way!”

“That’s right! We’ll eat and drink our fill!” the bandits responded in unison.

Seeing this, Lord Biao wasted no more words. With a wave of his hand, he led his band of outlaws stealthily toward the encampment of the Independent Brigade.

At the rear of their ranks, a large force of cavalry followed—everyone silent, even the horses’ bits muffled, moving forward without a sound under Lord Biao’s command.

The cavalry was Lord Biao’s trump card. In his mind, as long as his infantry could break through the camp gates, the cavalry could storm the camp. No matter how formidable the Independent Brigade might be, most of their men were fresh recruits. In such chaos, panic would inevitably break out—could a mob of disorganized infantry possibly fend off a cavalry charge?

Victory was certain!

With this thought, Lord Biao’s confidence surged. He led his men closer, soon reaching the front of the Independent Brigade’s encampment.

Gazing at the lax guards, a sneer emerged on Lord Biao’s face. “With this kind of vigilance, they don’t deserve the weapons they’re holding!”

He glanced at the two sleeping sentries in the watchtowers and waved his hand. “Go, take out those two sentries and set up our machine guns in the towers—just in case!”

“Leave it to me, Boss!”

With that, two bandits stepped forward, sneaking toward the guard towers.

But they had barely taken a few steps when two sharp gunshots rang out. Both bandits dropped to the ground.

The gunfire jolted the sentries in the towers awake. Seeing the dense mass of bandits outside the camp, they were stunned for a moment, then shouted at the top of their lungs, “Attack! We’re under attack!”

With that cry, piercing whistles sounded throughout the camp. In moments, the entire encampment was ablaze with light and alive with voices—everyone was roused.

In the camp’s meeting room, Chen Qingzhi and several regimental commanders were all present. Hearing the commotion, a smile flickered across Chen Qingzhi’s face. “Look, our ‘guests’ have arrived.”

“Come on, since our ‘guests’ are here, it’s only right for us as hosts to greet them properly! We wouldn’t want to be accused of poor hospitality, would we?”

Judging by Chen Qingzhi’s words alone, one might have thought he was welcoming old friends. But his tone left no doubt as to his real meaning.

At his words, a cold glint flashed in the regimental commanders’ eyes. Following Chen Qingzhi, they mounted a platform and gazed at the dark mass of people beyond the camp.

“Who would have guessed Luo Qing Stronghold had such talent?” one of them remarked, observing the bandits’ formation, which bore an uncanny resemblance to a regular army. Even after their failed surprise attack, there was no sign of panic. Clearly, these were not ordinary bandits.

At the very least, Luo Qing Stronghold’s leader was a man of ambition.

But no matter how great his ambitions, once he crossed the Independent Brigade, they would be crushed.

Back among the bandits, Lord Biao was stunned by the turn of events. Weren’t the enemy’s defenses supposed to be slack? Why were there hidden sentries?

He shot a glare at Big Fool, cursing him silently.

With the surprise attack failed, there was nothing for it but a frontal assault.

Spitting on the ground and steeling his resolve, Lord Biao brandished his Mauser and shouted, “Brothers, if the sneak attack won’t work, we’ll storm them head-on!”

“As long as we wipe them out, endless glory and riches await! Charge! Kill them all!”

With that, hundreds of bandits howled and surged forward. Behind them, the cavalry gathered speed, preparing to charge.

The ground trembled violently as hundreds of warhorses launched their assault, the thunder of hooves shaking the earth as if an earthquake was underway.

The new recruits of the Independent Brigade, positioned at the front, turned pale, their bodies trembling with nerves, sweat soaking their hands as they gripped their rifles. If not for the veteran soldiers beside them, offering words of encouragement, many might have turned and fled.

Even so, the recruits were in dire straits—shaking so badly it seemed they could hardly fire their weapons.

Seeing the bandits nearly upon them, Chen Qingzhi grew anxious and called out in a ringing voice, “Brothers, those before you are vicious criminals! Have you forgotten how they once seized your grain, plundered your belongings, and left you and your families to starve?”

“They are a pack of beasts. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you. And after you’re dead, they’ll ravage your wives and daughters. Kill them! Wipe them out! Use your rifles to defend your loved ones and protect your food!”

Hearing Chen Qingzhi’s words, the recruits recalled all too well the bandits who used to descend from the hills to loot their grain and murder their families. The food they’d painstakingly saved for their families was snatched away, leaving them to hunger. At this thought, their eyes reddened with anger.

Yes!

They were nothing but beasts!

And what was there to fear from beasts? It was time to defend their families and property with steel in hand.

Kill them all!

“Ah!” One recruit let out a roar, eyes blazing red, and unleashed a torrent of machine-gun fire at the advancing bandits.

“Die! All of you die!” he shouted, firing as he raged.

As the first recruit opened fire, the others, jolted into action, squeezed their triggers, and sheets of fire swept over the bandits.

Dozens of light and heavy machine guns, Mauser 98k rifles, and even Type 92 battalion guns operated by artillerymen—every weapon was trained on the bandits outside the encampment.

A hailstorm of fire rained down, engulfing the bandits completely.

The soldiers fired freely, watching those supposedly vicious, fearsome bandits fall in droves under their guns. The tension and fear that had gripped their hearts began to dissipate.

So the bandits weren’t as terrifying as they had imagined.

Hit by bullets, bandits died just like anyone else.