Chapter Fifty-Four: The Assault

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"What?! The White Clan Village has been wiped out? Wasn't everything fine just yesterday?"

Cang Yue muttered in disbelief, taking a step back. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a while.

"Brother, something terrible has happened! Hu San has led his men here. Our brothers couldn't hold them off—they've been completely scattered. Brother, we need to leave, now!"

At that moment, a burly man with a face covered in black hair rushed through the temple doors, steam rising from his hair, blood speckling one arm—he looked every bit the man who had just escaped a battlefield.

"Brother, are you alright?" The black-haired man took in the scene before him and, startled, hurried forward to help Cang Yue.

Just then, the half-closed temple door was suddenly kicked open. It rocked twice before crashing to the ground with a loud thud, sending up a cloud of dust.

The light dimmed as a figure stepped inside from the doorway.

Before either of the two inside could say a word, a nervous scout, who had been lingering anxiously at the side, fell to his knees with a thud and called out, "Greetings, Commander Hu. I've done as you instructed. Do you have any further orders?"

The newcomer stepped away from the doorway, letting the light fall fully on his face—a young man holding a long blade.

"Hu San...!"

Cang Yue's face turned even paler. She glared fiercely at the kneeling minion beside her and hissed, "Well, well, so you dare deceive me."

"Chief Cang, you're mistaken. He spoke no lie. I, Hu San, have never had the habit of lying—at least not to you. Chief Bai has truly departed this world. This is no longer your concern. You may leave."

The young man smiled faintly and waved his hand. The mountain bandit scout, as if receiving a royal pardon, thanked him profusely and scrambled out as fast as he could.

"Commander Hu, the North Moon Village and your Wolfheart Mountain have always been on good terms. We've never offended you, have we? Isn't this going too far?" The black-haired man tensed, knowing he was no match, but still stubbornly shielded Cang Yue, watching Hu San's every move.

"Heh, that's something both the White Clan and Lu Clan Villages also wondered, but I have no answer for them. In these troubled times, one must adapt to survive."

"So, have you two made up your minds? For the sake of your manly honor, if you surrender, I may yet spare your lives."

Hu San chuckled, listening to the sounds of battle outside. He knew the Wolf Fang Mountain bandits were already mopping up the aftermath, so he was in no hurry to deal with these two.

Until now, Hu San’s handling of each village chief had been simple—no mercy, kill them all. It was a way to establish the fierce reputation of the Wolf Fang Mountain.

But now, with his name already spread far enough, it was time to show some magnanimity. Only thus could he unite the mountain bandits and swiftly integrate the captured men into a true fighting force.

"You would really spare us?"

Cang Yue, realizing their fate was sealed, seemed to accept things with a new calm. Yet hearing Hu San's offer, a faint hope for life rose in his heart.

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As the saying goes, a sorry life is better than a glorious death. Who would choose death if they could live?

Even the lowliest creatures cling to life; how much more so men?

Hu San had anticipated Cang Yue’s reaction. He assured him, "My word still carries weight—for now. Many bandits from North Moon Village have been captured. With you two joining me, I can quickly settle their fears. It benefits us both. Why not?"

"And what of the White Clan, the Lu Clan, and Xionglu Gully? I heard the entire leadership of Xionglu Gully—more than a hundred—were slaughtered to the last."

"I suppose there’s not many left from the White or Lu Clan leadership either?"

Though he knew it was useless, the black-haired man drew his long blade, keeping it trained on Hu San.

"That was before. Back then, Wolf Fang Mountain needed to make a name. Now, the name is made. I have no need for your blood. Enough talk—do you want to die or not? Stop wasting time."

At this, Hu San grew impatient.

It had been almost a month since he took command of Wolf Fang Mountain. The drilling and the battles had gone smoothly, but his own cultivation had hit a bottleneck.

His physical strength was stuck at the power of seven men, unable to grow further, and his inner energy was likewise trapped at the third level. Though he was on the verge of the fourth, he felt helplessly stalled.

He knew the reason well enough, though he didn’t want to admit it. When he was at the first stage, the principles were simple and the mysterious warm current aided him, letting him cultivate inner energy rapidly without even understanding the manual.

But reaching the peak of the first stage, progressing to the second became far more complicated. It was a leap from quantity to quality; without truly comprehending the inner workings, even converting the warm current to inner energy was a struggle.

Most of the warm current could only be used to strengthen his body. But after reaching the strength of seven men, further progress would take far more than a few days.

This frustration made Hu San unusually irritable lately. While his previous massacres were partly to establish authority, the slaughter at Xionglu Gully owed much to his pent-up anger.

Now, Cang Yue and his companion were testing his patience. One more word, and a flash of steel might be their only answer.

Fortunately, Cang Yue regained his senses at the critical moment. He pulled his second brother back and knelt down, saying, "Thank you, Commander Hu, for not abandoning us. I, Cang Yue, am willing to serve you loyally and help you conquer the world."

Dragged by Cang Yue, the black-haired man, though unwilling, also knelt. Thus, the entire North Moon Village fell into Hu San’s hands.

As with the previous villages, Hu San ordered them burned, and all people and goods transferred to Wolf Fang Mountain.

He merged the bandit troops into the prisoner camp, drilled them for a time, then added them to the formed Wolf Fang Mountain units, placing elders in charge to quickly forge them into a fighting force.

By this point, Hu San’s bandit army numbered three thousand, divided into thirty companies: sixteen spear squads, ten broadsword squads, and four special squads—a formidable force.

During this time, Zhou Xing frequently traded weapons with Hu San. Having seized many villages, Hu San now had abundant loot and traded most of it for arms.

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The days passed one after another, each cooler than the last. With ample weapons and men, Hu San’s campaigns never ceased.

After sweeping away the scattered minor villages within Wolfheart Mountain, Hu San led his army into the domain formerly ruled by Black Bear Village, launching a large-scale campaign of conquest.

Only when his formal forces had grown to five thousand did he halt his advance, recalled all his troops, and dispatched experienced yet less combative bandits to infiltrate nearby villages as spies, gathering intelligence from every settlement.

In the days that followed, Hu San continued to drill his troops on Wolf Fang Mountain, forging the battle-hardened bandits with relentless training. He spared no expense on food or treasure—anything that could strengthen his men, he did.

He also set countless traps across Wolf Fang Mountain, exploiting its natural defenses. When not training, the bandits devoted their time to fortifying the stronghold, until it became as impregnable as an iron bucket.

Beyond training and hunting, Hu San personally led teams to map the surrounding mountains and rivers, striving to master the terrain before the next conflict. He scoured the countryside for grain, exchanging nearly everything the mountain folk had for supplies, leaving them only enough to survive on—though their purses grew heavier.

When the traders came again, the villagers could easily trade for enough food—but not until after winter.

Hu San’s motives were twofold: to amass enough provisions for Wolf Fang Mountain, and to employ a scorched earth strategy, denying any trial armies a chance to resupply here.

He also had ulterior motives: by gathering nearly all the grain, the villagers would have barely enough to live on. Should the incoming armies try to requisition supplies, the locals would face famine and, without a word from Hu San, would naturally resist the outsiders, making the invaders’ task much harder.

As for the chance that the outsiders would truly leave the locals untouched, Hu San considered it impossible. To the kingdom’s warriors, the mountain folk were little better than primitives.

Expecting mercy from them was sheer fantasy.

Even if they wanted to leave the people unscathed, Hu San would not allow it.

So the days passed in tense preparation. By mid-September, the chill of autumn had fully set in, but there was still no sign of the trial army.

Just as Hu San began to suspect Black Bear’s intelligence was wrong, news reached his ears.

His scouts reported a caravan arriving from afar, traveling the very route he controlled.

If they were not mistaken, this was the Great Bend caravan.

Given what Black Bear had told him about the upcoming trial, this caravan’s arrival was surely no simple matter.

A faint scent of gunpowder hung in the air. With their coming, the entire Qilian Mountains seemed to grow tense, as if the prologue to the long-awaited great battle was finally being unveiled.