Chapter 7: Ambush
Luo Zhan said, “Everyone collect your things and prepare to move; it’s not safe here anymore!”
12th was broken out of his deep thought, he stood, and he asked, “Uncle Luo, what do you mean it’s not safe here anymore?”
Because he was so deeply in thought, he missed what the Fu Master said.
That same Fu master repeated, “We discovered a hunting chariots at the canyon ahead!”
12th asked, “Wait…… Is it just one hunting chariot?”
Luo Zhan said, “Yes! There’s only one!” He wasn’t dumb. As soon as he finished, he realised what 12th was thinking; however, he then hurriedly added, “No. No. I need to keep you guys safe!”
12th said, “Uncle Luo, don’t reject it so quickly; let me investigate it a little, haha. Maybe we can find something good.”
Luo Zhan contemplated for a moment, not knowing what best to do. Because, for the entire journey, it was 12th who came up with the plans of action; thus, now, as soon as he gives his idea, everyone was used to just following along with it. He waited a moment, and then he said, “Alright, I’ll take you. Although, be careful, and make sure you don’t reveal us to them.”
12th followed Luo Zhan quietly, eventually arriving at the canyon. It wasn’t a deep canyon, and it had sloping flat ground on either side. Additionally, the chariot was at the bottom of the canyon, it was easy to see from above.
Luo Zhan quietly spoke, saying, “We don’t know how many people are in there…”
12th whispered back, “I think they’re gathering materials… Look, there… it’s a person. Yeah, it looks like he’s digging something up.”
Luo Zhan said, “12th, I still think we should leave; you guys are still very young. If you get wounded, I won’t be able to look your Master in the eyes ever again.”
12th smiled before responding, “This is a trap; look over there…”
Luo Zhan squinted, and he looked carefully. A second later, he cursed quietly, “The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! This is a trap!” He continued to watch the shadows from afar, and he said, “There’s at least five more chariots!”
12th nodded, “That’s only the ones that we can see; there might be even more hidden nearby, let’s go!” He initially wanted to pillage the chariot. Had there been only one, he definitely would have told Luo Zhan to attack them; however, given the circ.u.mstance, he wouldn’t be fooled. Thus, the two of them slowly made their way back.
Back to the resting area, Luo Zhan said, “Let’s hurry and leave this place!”
12th furrowed his brows, and he wondered, “Something’s not right; why would they lay a trap?”
Luo Zhan thought and asked, “Why?”
12th laughed bitterly, “Leaving’s not an option anymore… Let’s get inside the cave! Quickly! Otherwise it’ll be too late!”
He said that last sentence with a sense of urgency.
Luo Zhan trusts in 12th very much, and, without another word, he swung him up onto his back, saying, “Everyone take a child… Follow me!” As he sprinted away quickly. The mountain cave was at the base of a cliff, and it wasn’t far; it was about a few hundred meters from where they were. With Luo Zhan’s speed, that distance could be covered in less than a minute.
The five Fu masters carried the five children, and, moments after they entered the cave, a few chariots revealed themselves without notice. Unfortunately, they were spotted before they completely entered the cave.
The cave wasn’t deep as there were only three sections; the opening was huge, the second section was incredibly narrow, at most they could go in rows of two, and the third was even smaller. The adults could barely cross. After each section, there’s about a hundred square meters of s.p.a.ce, with a rather high ceiling.
The cave was in fact a dead end, and there was no way out. 12th didn’t have any other options; Luo Zhan and the others, taking five children, wouldn’t stand a chance against the chariots’ attacks. At least here, they have advantageous ground that offered some temporary protection.
After they entered, 12th said, “Put me down!”
Luo Zhan put 12th down, and he said, “I think they spotted us!”
12th said, “Yes, we’ve been discovered. Huo Bao, you guys go in first. Uncle Luo and Uncle Xiao Feng, help me out!” He thought it best to first lay the traps and then talk. The entrance to the cave was very wide, but it’s not the ideal place to stand their ground; thus, they can’t guard the first section of the cave, but they can make it as hard to capture as possible.
After repeatedly a.n.a.lysing the geography of the cave, 12th said, “Uncle Luo, go scout the entrance. If they come, come back immediately! Uncle Xiao Feng, help me dig a hole beneath this giant rock!”
Luo Zhan took another Fu Master, and he watched the entrance; they could see seven or eight charitos circling the air above, watching the area. He said, “Perhaps, they didn’t notice us? No, it’s almost like they’re waiting for us…”
One of the chariots flew low to the ground, and five people jumped off; it was followed by another chariot, and, likewise, five more people jumped off. Not long after, there were twenty five people on the ground, and all of them were watching the cave.
Luo Zhan felt hopeless; he knew that they were discovered, and this time, there isn’t any way out.
After burying a few Explosion Fu, 12th said, “Uncle Xiao Feng, go get Uncle Luo to come back, and go deeper inside the cave, we need to prepare.”
Xiao Feng went to get them. 12th went to the second section of the cave, and he started looking at the geography. This section was just over two meters high, ten meters long, and it was about one meter wide; the narrower parts weren’t even one meter wide. This tunnel winds around, so it was impossible for the hunters to attack them from outside, the snaking tunnel walls would block the projectiles.
12th had one Fu Master next to him, and he said, “Uncle Yan, lift me up a bit.”
Uncle Yan’s name was ‘Yan Ge’; he was a quiet person in his mid thirties. He silently nodded, and, grabbing 12th under the armpits, he hoisted him up.
12th placed a Flame Fu in a small crevice in the stone, and then he placed an Explosion Fu in another crevice. On either side of the cavern, there are countless little crevices in the stone; he planted these Single-Use Fu one after the other. He could see that Yan Ge was shivering. In such an enclosed s.p.a.ce, the effect of one explosion will be many times more powerful than it was in an open field.
The entrance to the last section of the cavern was also very narrow, and there’s a large rock sticking out of the wall inside that’s right next to the entrance. 12th said, “I’ll go ontop of that rock; I can attack the people coming through.
Uncle Luo, you take someone and hide on the other side of the cave. Uncle Xiao Feng, you go in front to bait the enemy. Uncle Yan, you take someone and a.s.sist him. Huo Bao, take the other three kids and hide inside.”
Huo Bao didn’t want to this time, so he said, “12th, that rock you’re standing on is very big; we can go up there too! We can help with Fu Bows! We can’t not do anything!”
Hong Shi said, “Yeah! 12th, there’s no reason letting you put yourself in danger while we go and hide!”
Chen Bing said, “We have four Fu Bows, and the distance is so close; it’s enough to deal with at least one person!”
12th couldn’t help but smile, “Alright, let’s attack together!”
He knows that he’s influenced by his previous life since he wants to protect the children from battle; however, this world was different. The children here… Ever since the day that they learnt to lift a weapon, they must join in fights.
The rock that they stood on is very big, big enough for six or seven adults to stand on. The five children, therefore, didn’t find it uncomfortably cramped. The positioning was very good, and it allowed them to attack the people coming through, directly. With Xiao Feng’s group baiting the enemy inside, 12th and the kids’ attacks will be very effective as the enemies’ attention will be on the adults.
The five children stood atop the rock, each holding a Fu Bow, all decent Fu Weapons, with Fu Arrows notched, and they prepared to fight.
12th said, “Huo Bao, be careful when you guys attack, don’t attack like a swarm of bees and shoot randomly; you should take turns, and, after you shoot an arrow, stop and notch another arrow, haha. It’s basically like taking turns to shoot; this way, there won’t be gaps in between attacks. Oh yeah, that reminds me; if I remember correctly, you brought a fish net, didn’t you Chen Hong?”
Chen Hong was very excited; the usually shy and rosy-cheeked little girl was not scared in the least. She held her Fu Bow with an expression that said she couldn’t wait to start as she said, “Yes I have a fish net. I never got to use it though. 12th, why? Do you want it?”
12th was very happy; they initially packed a fishing net just in case they wanted to have fish soup. He asked, “Who knows how to use this net?”
Hong Shi raised his hand, saying, “I do! I’ve caught fish before!”
12th said, “Chen Hong give him the net; wait until I give the order for you to throw it! Haha, now it’s getting interesting. Hong Shi, don’t miss! Aim at the entrance!”
Hong Shi laid out the fish net, and he placed it at his feet, wrapping the tightening rope around his wrists. He took his Fu Bow, and he said, “No problem! 12th! I will make sure to aim it right!”
“Here they come! Everyone hide!”
Luo Zhan held a Fu Knife, and he hid beside the entrance with another Fu Master. Xiao Feng, Yan Ge, and the remaining Fu Master hid underneath the rock, and the children are above them.
12th had a stack of those Single-Use Attack Fu ready to attack.
They heard footsteps, and, with those, they could feel the diligence taken by the enemy. One head popped through the entrance, and, as it turned to the side, it was met with shock.
Luo Zhan raised his knife as that guy turned his head. Once that guy noticed him, Luo Zhan let out a smile of ridicule as he tried to slash him. That guy was so frightened that he immediately withdrew his head, and, although he had fast reactions, the knife still made contact, slicing a large piece off of the top of his head. That guy made pitiful cries as he retreated.
When 12th saw that guy sticking his head through, he could see half of his body; immediately fired a Fire Ball Fu without hesitation. It hit squarely at his chest; however, he soon found out why people say that the Fire Ball Fu was really the worst Fu; it was so weak that it couldn’t hurt anybody.
He was so angry that he almost cursed out loud.
Two silhouettes quickly shot through the entrance, they were very fast. Luo Zhan yelled, and he started trying to cut them. Xiao Feng silently made his move too, with a Fu Cudgel in hand, quickly attacking.
12th lightly waved his hand, and Huo Bao fired his Fu Arrow. Next came Hong Shi, then Chen Bing, and, once it was Chen Hong’s turn, Huo Bao had already readied his next arrow, preparing for the next round.
Five Fu Arrows continuously shot, making the remaining attackers hesitate. In that brief moment, the two people who charged in had been killed, and the smell of blood started wafting through the area.
The following people were frightened, and they hurriedly retreated.
12th said, “Guys get some rest. Uncle Xiao Feng, can you go search the bodies and see if there’s anything valuable?” It seems that he’s become this little group’s leader, continuously giving orders, with everyone present respecting his commands. This entire journey, he’s ordered people to escape, and, because of his resourcefulness and decisiveness, he has gained everyone’s respect.
Xiao Feng went to search the corpses, and he said, “12th, I might as well just use a Fu and burn the corpse!”
12th said, “Best not… Right now, Fu are very valuable to us, and there are still enemies that we need to kill; we can’t waste it on something petty like this!”
Xiao Feng laughed, “Right!”
Those Fu Masters listening to 12th’s orders didn’t have any qualms about it at all; instead, there’s a relaxing feel to it. It was as if they weren’t actually cornered, and they could escape whenever they wanted.
12th took out a pouch of ball bearings, about the size of a thumb, and they had a rough surface. They were made as tools for grinding materials. He threw the pouch to Luo Zhan, and he said, “Uncle Luo, pour these into that tunnel.”
Luo Zhan asked, “What are these?”
12th replied, “Those are grinding beads. Be careful where you pour them, and make sure it’s more concentrated at the entrance of the tunnel!”
Luo Zhan wondered for a second, and then he understood, with the ground full of metal beads, the people entering will fall for sure. He immediately did as 12th asked.
After about ten minutes, the sound of footsteps was heard again. 12th said, “Be careful! They might be using rifles!”
As soon as he finished speaking, seven or eight gun nozzles poked through. 12th called, “Get down!”
Everyone immediately hit the ground. Bang! Bang! Bang! A continuous explosion sounded. It’s a shame that the bullets only exploded when they contacted the far wall; the people hiding at the entrance weren’t affected by the explosions.
Before everyone even stood up, five black silhouettes used the distractions of the explosions, rushing inside. All that could be heard were cries of surprise as they all fell. None of the five could find any footing, and they proceeded to slip on the ball bearings.
12th called, “Attack!”
The ones who came in were doomed since they couldn’t even get up onto their knees, let alone fight. They were all cut down like vegetables by Luo Zhan and the others. Those guys were skilled, but they were just too unlucky that they were fighting someone like 12th; Someone who thinks outside of the box and doesn’t use common tactics, it was incredibly vexing.
Twice they fought; their enemy has lost seven people whilst 12th’s group didn’t even have any injuries. Luo Zhan knew that had it not been for the ball bearings that 12th asked him to scatter, they would’ve focused entirely on the five that entered, and, if that had happened, then the people following those five would’ve posed a greater danger.
Outside the hole, over a hundred people were gathered, a bit confused. The seven people who entered weren’t weak, but there weren’t any signs of them coming out; it’s as though they vanished. An elderly man said, heavily, “Ten people go in at once!”
The middle-aged man laughed bitterly, saying, “The tunnel is too narrow; at most we can send six people in at the same time. If more people go in, and was blasted with a powerful Fu, the aftermath will be terrible.”
The elderly man said, “In that case… Send in two of our more powerful people!”
Moments later someone reported that there weren’t any signs of those two either. The cave was like a bottomless trap hole; no matter who goes in, they’ll be swallowed. The elderly man’s face darkened as he asked, “Full report! How many people are in there?”
n.o.body could answer, and, after a moment, the man was infuriated. He asked, “You don’t even know?! Are you even sure it’s them?”
A young man said, “We can confirm that, especially that child. He seems to be the one that they’re focusing on protecting, and his bodyguards are very strong; however, as for how many there are, we aren’t too sure of that. There shouldn’t be more than four people though.”
“Four people? Including the kid… That’s five people. You can’t even capture five people? Do I really need to do everything myself? Are you all just that useless?”
A middle-aged man said, “We could try to smoke them out!”
The old man said, “I don’t care what you do, just do it! Capture them alive… I want to see the captives this time, tomorrow! I didn’t think that the new generation of the FuYe Clan were all so pathetic!” He turned, and he climbed onto a hunting chariot.
The middle-aged man said, “Call two more groups over! Everyone else, go find firewood!”
……
12th said, “Those two people were quite powerful, haha! Too bad they couldn’t stand up straight, especially, with a fish net; they couldn’t live even if they wanted to. They’re overestimating us, and that is why they’re being too cautious. They’re using Round Tactics, no wonder they’re losing!”
Huo Bao asked, “What are Round Tactics?”
12th smiled and answered, “Adding more and more each time. That’s Round Tactics. If they had used all of their forces and rushed us at once, although, there would be more injuries and fatalities sustained, things wouldn’t be nearly as pa.s.sive as it is now.”
T/N: The actual literal translation for the tactics is ‘Adding Oil Tactics’, it’s a.n.a.logous of adding oil to an oil lamp, adding a little bit to start and seeing that it’s not enough keep adding more and more. Since I couldn’t find any translation that equates to that tactic and ‘Adding Oil Tactics’ sounds terrible, I’ve used ‘Round Tactics’ as a subst.i.tute. A ‘Round’ in music terms is a type of canon music where after a melody is finished by one voice, it repeats and another voice starts as well, so gradually more and more voices will join the initial one. However if anybody knows of war tactics, and knows what this is in english, feel free to comment and I’ll change it.
“Uncle Luo, if that does happen, we should just retreat to the back of the cavern.”
Luo Zhan smiled, “No problem!”
Heavy smoke started to waft into the cavern with the wind, and 12th couldn’t resist laughing; he said, “They’ve resorted to try to smoke us out? Haha, watch this!” He lifted his hand and fired an Auxiliary-type Whirlwind Fu. A powerful wind blew in the cavern and forcefully blasted out of the cave.
In his past life, 12th probably wouldn’t have had any way to deal with being smoked out, but in this magical FuZhou World, he has many options of Auxiliary-type Fu that he could use. He could even deal with a giant wildfire, let alone some smoke.
Moments later, there were cries and screams coming from outside, followed by angry curses. They weren’t cursing 12th, or any of the others, but they were actually cursing at their own people.
12th said quietly, “Be careful they might all-in us. This time, I’m afraid it won’t be just a few people. Okay, I’ll go down!”
Luo Zhan said, “Don’t come down, it’s dangerous down here, stay up there!”
12th followed the rock, and he climbed down, laughing, “I’ve got a super powerful Treasure Fu, hehe, gonna give ‘em a big surprise; it’s hard to use up there!”
Luo Zhan couldn’t help but smile meekly, he couldn’t control the little guy at all, the kid’s too a.s.sertive. He said, “Alright then, you stay behind me, I’ll cover you and don’t run off!”
12th smiled, “Don’t worry, I won’t risk my life or anything, heh.” He has two Treasure Fu that he can use. As for those Single-Use-type Fu, none of them are very powerful. However he’s not trying to kill the enemy, only disrupting them. If he can obscure their vision and obstruct their movements, then he’ll have achieved his goal.
12th’s main firepower, are those two Treasure Fu, one Frost Bolt Treasure Fu, which can be used up to nine times, and one Chaos Fire Ball Fu, which can be used up to three times. As for that Bird Fu that he found in the ruins, he hasn’t used it nor has he experimented with it, but through his Innate Fu Orb, he understands that it’s ready to use, at most it can be used up to four time, if it had more time to recharge, maybe it will recover enough to be used more times.
The tunnel was very quiet, and not a single sound could be heard. The enemy uproariously charged into the cave, throwing more lit firewood and attempting to fill it with smoke. Had they snuck in more quietly, 12th wouldn’t have found it strange at all. He calculated a bit, and he began preparing his Chaos Fire Ball Fu.
This was an Area of Effect Offensive Fu, 12th has only ever experimented with it once in back in the Northern Fu Sect.
This time 12th plans to unleash the Chaos Fire Ball Fu, and he plans to use it to trigger all of the other Fu planted inside the winding tunnels; therefore, attacking the oncoming enemies.
Luo Zhan and the others stared at the tunnel entrance. 12th was mumbling something under his breath when suddenly he ran out, standing in the middle of the tunnel entrance, less than five meters away from it. He held out his hand, and a streak of red fire forwards through the tunnel entrance. He ran back immediately, without waiting for it to explode.
In an open area, the power of the Chaos Fire Ball has its limits because it can be avoided; however, in an enclosed s.p.a.ce or a narrow area, its power was multiplied.
Indeed, the tunnel was filled with people, all preparing to charge straight in. n.o.body could have antic.i.p.ated that 12th calculated everything, one strike with a Chaos Fire Ball Fu resulted in the best outcome possible. Additionally, on top of that, it triggered all of the planted Single-Use Offense type Fu. All of the twenty-odd people who went into the tunnel has been blown to oblivion, and now, even retreating was difficult, let alone attacking.
The most important part of the Chaos Fire Ball was the ‘Chaos’; the Fire Ball shoots forward and splits into countless smaller Fire b.a.l.l.s, shooting in all directions. This type of Fire Ball was different compared to the Single-Use type Fire b.a.l.l.s, this was the famous Shadow Fire Ball; it’s made from Spirit Fire that Luo Jie collected in a shadowy land. The pristine, synthesised Frost Jade, was special because it can always burn open a pathway. It doesn’t matter whether it’s man or beast; if the enemy doesn’t have powerful defenses then the Shadow Fire will continue to burn everything it touches until there’s nothing left.
Over twenty people entered, only seven escaped, three of them suffered grave injuries. In the end, only four of them escaped unscathed, and they should count themselves as lucky that they managed to evade certain death.
The FuYe clansmen couldn’t understand; how could the enemy predict everything to such precision? The most infuriating part was that they still haven’t managed to figure out exactly how many people are inside, nor do they know how strong they are. That middle-aged man’s face already grew pale, reluctantly walking over to the hunting chariot and said, “Sir… We… We…”
From the chariot, the old man’s fury could be heard, “Useless, stupid, FuYe Ah Da! Who the f.u.c.k nominated you to be group leader? f.u.c.k! Not only are you stupid, but you’re also so f.u.c.king pathetic! Get the f.u.c.k out!”
FuYe Ah Da looked like he was about to cry, but he stopped himself by clenching his teeth; he doesn’t hate 12th and the other enemies, but instead, he hates the old man in front of him. He just retreated to one side, not daring to say another word, nor did he dare to continue giving orders to attack, for a moment, all was silent.
One of the men stood next to the cave entrance, bored; the cave entrance was huge, and there were quite a few of the clansmen standing there. That one bored man reached into a crevice in the wall. He was confused at the small click he heard, but that confusion was short-lived, as immediately afterwards, there was an explosion. A giant ball of fire spilled out. That man didn’t have his armour activated, nor was he prepared for this at all; thus, he was entirely engulfed in flames, and they made a pitiful cry as he died.
That small little movement resulted in a chain reaction. It triggered 12th’s trap, and that triggered a continuous chain explosion. The Explosion Fu on the stone walls, completely destroyed the wall, multiple large rocks cracked and followed the stone up the cliff, and rocks began to fall from the cliff. Everyone was so frightened that they all screamed and ran for their lives, and, even though some of them were quick, some of them weren’t quick enough, getting their heads crushed by the falling rocks.
FuYe Ah Da stunned, stared at it all; he was so angry that his hands were shaking.
The old man in the chariot leapt out, with a dark expression on his face, he said, “You’re a bunch of s.h.i.t! f.u.c.king pathetic and stupid! You’re all f.u.c.king piles of s.h.i.t! How is it possible that the FuYe Clan has the likes of you group of utter s.h.i.t! f.u.c.k…… it seems if you want something doing, best do it yourself!”
He strode with purpose towards the cave.
This guy was the clan’s most powerful Great Fu Master, only responsible for protecting the trainees; he usually doesn’t need to personally engage in the fight. However, time after time, 12th’s underhand tactics have angered him, and now he no longer has the patience to deal with it anymore; thus, now it’s his turn.