Chapter 1352 - 332: Bloody Battle (Part 3)

Chapter 1352: Chapter 332: Bloody Battle (Part 3)

"Hiss... it hurts..."

Guo Dong untied his wrist bindings.

Shield bearers rely on their shields for survival, and those "steel shields" are only wielded by true elites. Equipping them on a large scale is impossible. As auxiliary troops, people like Guo Dong naturally don’t have such privileges.

Arrows flew towards them, and although most were blocked by the shield, the repeated impacts were not easy to endure.

Therefore, the arm holding up the shield would be wrapped multiple times with leather or hemp cloth to make it extra thick.

Even so, during the retreat after the siege, Guo Dong’s arm was pierced by an arrow slipping through the gaps in the shield.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep. In fact, on such a battlefield, such injuries aren’t even considered wounds.

However, when he lowered the shield and began unwrapping the layers of leather and hemp on his arm, the pain from pulling at the wound repeatedly was something that ordinary people couldn’t bear, like tearing your own skin layer by layer.

Finally, seeing that Guo Dong was in unbearable pain, the medic took out scissors to cut through the innermost layers and poured some strong liquor on the wound.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

Guo Dong felt a sharp sting, as if his tailbone was about to stand up.

After re-bandaging, the medic quickly moved to the next spot. Their batch was not meant for serious injuries; those cases were concentrated in one area, while they dealt with minor wounds in soldiers.

The emergency wound treatment in the army was personally trained by Siniang. Although there were medics at this time with decent skills, most injuries couldn’t be treated due to limited medical conditions.

Some people preferred using military folk remedies for treating wounds, but this carried a risk of improper infection management. For example, remedies from the wild people might work in a dry desert but might not suit the conditions in eastern Jin.

After treating his wound, Guo Dong looked up at Hui An, who had just washed his face and walked into the tent.

"I heard that the Lord was almost assassinated in the formation today?"

An assassin from the Chu people had hidden among returning slave servants to get close to the formation and aimed his bow and arrow straight at Lord Pingye.

Hui An chuckled and said, "The Lord has the Sword Saint by his side for protection. These assassins are hardly a threat."

Guo Dong nodded at his words and said, "That’s right. Besides, the Lord himself is incredibly strong. How could he fall to such petty attacks?"

"Today, we almost filled up the trenches and moats on the Chu people’s side. Tomorrow, it will be close to an actual siege."

Upon hearing this, Guo Dong said with frustration:

"It’s just a pity we only have one large shield. Sigh, I really want to charge up with a knife and repay the Lord for his great kindness."

Spending time here allowed Hui An to gain a deeper understanding of the Yan people.

Although, over the past few years, the Yan people have waged campaigns north and south, achieving near-victory each time, they are actually not much different from the Jin people. They too can be lazy, seek small advantages, and in the beginning, Guo Dong even thought this war against Chu was meaningless, simply because the emperor lost a son.

However, after spending more time together, Hui An discovered that the Yan people have a certain pride ingrained in them, which doesn’t manifest in everyday life but often shines through when facing true hardship.

Indeed, after Guo Dong’s father died, he looked up to Lord Pingye as his spiritual support.

But how should I put it? A young man who was reluctant to fight a few months ago showed an alarming thirst for revenge after losing his father.

Although it is said that one cannot live under the same sky as the killer of one’s father, this is mostly seen in operas. Usually, ordinary people’s reaction in such situations is one of despondency and fear.

Just like... Hui An himself.

In Ying Capital City, Hui An saw many people similar to himself. He originally thought his life was numbed until he saw the refugees fleeing from Jin land across Wang River to Ying Capital City. Their eyes reflected true bewilderment.

Hui An is not a philosopher, but he does ponder.

His godfather once traveled the world with trade caravans in his youth. He used to say, "Why are the Yan people called the Yan Barbarians? Because they’re truly barbaric, with barbarism in their bones!"

Hui An initially didn’t understand what "barbarism in their bones" meant. Did it mean opening up their flesh and pouring something into the bone?

Now, he understands.

Not just Guo Dong, but also others in the labor camp and the auxiliary camp.

In these two camps, Yan people and Jin people each occupy about half.

Initially, there wasn’t much difference between everyone.

But after today’s bloody siege battle ended,

the auxiliary troops and laborers from Jin land appeared heavy-hearted, sitting there with clear melancholic and oppressive expressions;

while those auxiliaries and laborers from the Yan region were almost like Guo Dong, all experiencing a battlefield for the first time, all seeing blood and arrows flying, corpses strewn for the first time, yet they were like piles of dry wood ignited by sparks, each one shouting that they would show the Chu slaves tomorrow.