Chapter 68: The Enemy Arrives

"One, two, three, four, five, oh, digging dirt is such a toil, one and two..."

"Damn it, Wang Chuanqi, are you trying to drive me crazy? I'm out here toiling with my face to the dirt and my back to the sky. If not for this military uniform reminding me, I would have thought I’d evolved into a dirt-farming peasant. Yet here you are, chanting one-two-three-four like a madman... Are you actually enjoying this, singing while you work?"

"Heh, Little Zhang, that's where you don't understand. This is what I call spiritual victory, venting the hardship of digging and filling trenches through my mouth to effectively soothe my physical and mental health. Look at me, my back doesn't ache, my legs don't hurt, my body is super fit, I can eat anything with gusto, and my kidney function hasn't even failed..."

"Ah, screw you, you might be fine, but I'm about to..." Little Zhang abruptly stopped himself right there. He felt like he had just boasted about his kidneys being in top shape. Well, even though his back ached, his legs hurt, and working made him exhausted, his kidneys had never given him any trouble...

Seeing Little Zhang choking on his words and unable to finish, Wang Chuanqi became even more amused, shouting his work chants with renewed vigor...

Little Zhang's original surname wasn't actually "Little." Although the names of the individuals recruited by the Song state were somewhat bizarre, after Bai's adjustments, his surname fell well within the normal range...

Little Zhang's original surname was Wang, and his full name was Wang Dezhang. Well, that second part, "Dezhang," was undoubtedly given away on a whim by some irresponsible person... But that wasn't the point. The point was that when this Wang Dezhang was summoned, he was rather unfortunate—he was very, very short...

Everyone in the ranks joked that he was a distant relative of the dwarves...

Because of his short stature, he naturally acquired the nickname "Little Zhang." Yet despite his diminutive height, his personality was remarkably bold and unrestrained. His voice was overwhelmingly loud, and very few in the army dared to cross this lunatic who was willing to risk his life. They might mock him, but if someone called him by his nickname as a joke, he wouldn't get angry at all.

Little Zhang had even proudly declared once: "Aside from my height, where on my entire body am I smaller than any of you punks?!" And then... he was decisively beaten up by a group of peers...

Just as this pair of good buddies—oh wait, I mean good friends—were digging dirt and joking around, a sentry came running from afar.

"The enemy cavalry is coming! Quick, get back and defend!"

"What the hell, the native cavalry got here so fast? Wang Chuanqi, Wang Chuanqi? Huh?" Little Zhang shouted for a long time, but when he turned around, the only thing left of Wang Chuanqi, who had been right behind him a moment ago, was a lonely shovel planted in the ground. Little Zhang raised his head and saw Wang Chuanqi running away for dear life, immediately flying into a rage. What a coward! Then, he made a similarly heroic move.

"Hey, wait for me, damn it! You bastard, relying on your long legs to run fast..."

Alright, I take back the word "heroic" just now...

The two of them ran back one after the other, joining the general rush toward the pre-dug vertical trenches. These Blue Shirt Army soldiers didn't even bother taking the long way around to find the entrances and exits, simply vaulting straight over the top. Little Zhang, naturally unwilling to lag behind in reaching safety, faced a sudden problem...

"Hey, what the hell. Didn't they say the breastwork shouldn't be higher than your chest? Which brain-dead idiot built this breastwork so high? Hey, hey, hey! I'm stuck! Somebody give me a hand, this breastwork definitely exceeds regulation standards!" Amidst the loud laughter of Wang Chuanqi and another nearby Blue Shirt soldier, Little Zhang finally rolled over the breastwork...

"This won't do. This breastwork is even higher than my neck; how is this supposed to let me show off my awesome marksmanship? Come on, lend a hand, carve out a notch for me..." Without a shred of embarrassment, Little Zhang beckoned a few men over and hacked a slot into the level top of the breastwork...

Once that was done, Little Zhang felt comfortable. Taking advantage of the fact that the enemy hadn't arrived yet, he leaned his back against the breastwork and started chatting with his best friend, Wang Chuanqi.

"It's all the fault of those punks in Bernia. Tens of thousands of them managed to get a negative kill-to-death ratio against barely a thousand enemies, and as a result, those native humans who spend all day kissing the Radiant God's boots swarmed over like rats smelling cake, forcing me to dig dirt for days on end! This time, we're going to slaughter to our heart's content, and let General Hu in the rear see what kind of men our 2nd Vigilance Division is made of. We put on this military uniform to kill people, not to serve as a civil engineering corps!" After finishing, Little Zhang waved his hand grandly.

"Ha, stop bragging. We both know our worth is right there in the word 'Vigilance' in our designation. They just chose it because it sounds nice, instead of replacing 'Vigilance' with 'Retreat'..." Wang Chuanqi never missed a chance to put down his best friend.

"Heh, of course I know I can't compare to those death-seeking bastards in red coats. But among the Blue Shirts, we can still contend for glory! This time we have a breastwork, and both flanks are terrain unsuitable for cavalry. If those Holy Order cavalrymen want to break through, won't they have to dismount and fight us as infantry in a shootout? Besides, we still have grenades, this ultimate weapon of mass destruction. I've seen the explosive power myself; once those natives turned infantry charge up, I'll toss one right in their faces and see who gets to leave an intact corpse!" Little Zhang shouted with an arrogant expression, though there was a real chance he could actually pull it off!

Smack!

"Alright, stop yelling! Didn't you see the enemy showing their faces? Pull yourselves together! Everyone knows the Emperor's orders; if anyone embarrasses our great His Majesty at a time like this, I'll be the first one not to spare them!" A squad leader walked over, smacked Little Zhang's round, balding head, and spat a mouthful of saliva into his face...

Upon hearing His Majesty the Emperor's orders, the soldiers in this section of the trench instantly turned serious. In an instant, the noisy trench fell quiet, and everyone earnestly prepared for battle.

The vanguard of the Holy Order on this side had already arrived before the Song state's defense line. The commander of the vanguard, holding a monocular telescope, stared at the interconnected obstacles and breastworks on the opposite side with a depressed expression. Had these Song people all turned into ground moles? In just a few days' time, they had constructed such extensive fortifications...

The Song Blue Shirts had guessed correctly; these cavalrymen were indeed blocked. However, where the Blue Shirts guessed wrong was that the men of the Holy Order had never even considered taking a detour. How could warriors under the command of the Radiant God see enemies and not fight?

They were a bunch of religious fanatics, after all!

"Dismount! Let us use the sabers in our hands to show this Song trash the greatness of the Radiant God!" Without the slightest hesitation, the commander of the Holy Order ordered them to abandon their horses. They weren't afraid of a foot battle either!

Yet these Holy Order cavalrymen clearly hadn't been equipped with firearms—well, they considered those to be weapons used only by cowards, believing solely in the steel blades in their hands.