Chapter 2256 - 1608: Brutal Raid! (Part 2)
"It’s getting dark! Time to head back~~"
Night draped over the land, the moonlight faint behind the clouds. Tonight wasn’t very bright, but it wasn’t pitch-black either. On the southern side of the village a bonfire was burning; seven or eight Soldiers and Sailors in charge of guard duty had gathered around it, watching the flames while heatedly gossiping about tribes women. Every now and then they glanced into the dark curtain of night, but quickly looked away. Even the faint calls of birds failed to catch their attention.
When they first landed, the Castilian Expeditionary Army had strictly followed the Holy War Battlefield’s guard routines. They’d assign a twenty-man squad to watch each direction, with guard dogs at every post. In all four directions they kept eighty men on night watch, plus forty patrolling inside the outpost, a total of a hundred and twenty men rotating daily. But such strict vigilance proved to be way too troublesome, and far too exhausting.
So after discovering that the Natives on the island were cowardly and harmless, without the slightest threat, the defenses of this outpost gradually slackened. The numbers guarding the four directions dwindled again and again; even those on duty spent their time bragging, farting around, roasting by the Fire and sleeping. After all, on this Natives island where there was absolutely no danger, who could possibly threaten them? The surrounding Native Tribes were all terrified and desperate to flee, not daring to approach this "camp of death" at all...
Then, a few days ago, when half of the fleet’s main Force went out to search for the missing Contribution Team, the outpost’s garrison was cut by almost half. At the moment, only seven or eight men were guarding a direction, and among them just three wore Armor. The only actual problem were those two hounds...
"Huff... huff..."
The night grew deeper, and the bragging, laughter, and shouting of the Castile guards faded into sporadic snores. The two Iberia hounds were sprawled on the grass, sleeping. But soon they lifted their heads, their ears suddenly standing alert.
"?!"
"Coo-coo~~"
A low birdcall came from the tall grass to the south. The two hounds stepped forward cautiously, sniffing the air. Then more rustling sounds came from the long grass. The hounds advanced a few more steps, baring their teeth and letting out a short, threatening growl.
"Awoo..."
"Swish swish swish!..."
The dull twang of Bow and Arrow sounded suddenly from the tall grass. Eight or nine arrows shot out in different lines, pinning the two hounds to the ground! Their barking abruptly weakened, turning into low, mournful whimpers.
"Oo..."
The whimpers had only sounded twice when over a dozen Samurai in grass cloaks burst out of the undergrowth, and more followed behind! Huitu Puapu charged in front, cursing under his breath as he raised his massive Bronze Axe and chopped down at the dog!
"Die, Evil Demon mutt! What the hell are you barking at!..."
"Whoosh!"
"Hm? Sounds like something? Why’s that stupid dog barking again? Every time it runs into anything it howls like an idiot—this isn’t the Holy War Battlefield... huh!!"
The short bark had finally roused the Soldiers by the bonfire. The group of Sailors were still dead asleep like lumps of mud, clearly having spent too much effort on women during the day. Two or three Holy War Veterans rubbed their bleary eyes and glanced south. Then over a dozen Bronze Arrowhead flew straight at them!
"?!"
"Ugh!!"
"Heh heh..."
Two of the Holy War Veterans were shot in the head and face on the spot; their Breastplate didn’t help in the least. Standing out in the firelight, unmoving, they were obviously the best possible targets.
The last veteran, Paulo, had several arrows hit him, all lodged in his armor. His body swayed, and he snapped completely awake! He didn’t have time to grab a weapon; he rolled desperately and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"You pigs! Get up! All of you, up!"
"Enemy attack! Sons of bitches! The Natives are attacking!..."
"You Evil Demon! You think you get to shout too? What the hell are you yelling at!"
Huitu Puapu’s face was twisted with ferocity as he charged at the armored veteran with his Big Axe. The veteran finally managed to grab a Sailor’s Curved Knife, but before he could rise, a heavy axe was already swinging down!
"Clang!"
The Sailor’s Curved Knife blocked in time but was bent out of shape by the Force of the blow. Paulo rolled frantically on the ground, blowing his Iron Whistle to sound the alarm.
"Tweet! Tweet!... ah!"
Puap swung the Big Axe viciously, chopping into Paulo’s leg! The veteran screamed, the Iron Whistle fell from his hand, and his head jerked up in pain! Then Puapu’s Big Axe whistled again as it slanted down toward the veteran’s neck!
"Crack!"
"Die, you Evil Demon!"
"Crack!"
With two successive chops, Paulo’s head rolled to the ground, his eyes clenched open in death, filled with incredulous rage and terror! A veteran who had fought ten full years of Holy War got ambushed like this, hacked to death by a flurry of axe blows without even a chance to strike back! If only he’d had his Armor on and a sword in hand, to fight it out properly...
"Hahaha! First one!"
Puap laughed loudly and grabbed that blood-clotted head like a rubber ball. Then he looked around and saw that the group of Kingdom’s Warriors had already swung their axes wildly, killing every one of those four or five Sailors caught off guard! Blood poured by the bonfire; heads full of unwillingness and terror rolled in the mud. And in the Evil Demons’ village, they clearly had heard the commotion—some unrest was stirring...
"This bonfire’s ready-made—saves us the trouble of lighting one!"
As he spoke, Puap took a few torches from his back and lit them in the bonfire. The Samurai around him, faces fierce, also lit the torches they’d prepared. Beneath the pitch-black night sky, outside the Evil Demons’ outpost, Puap stood with a Bronze Axe in one hand and a torch in the other, looking over those death-committed faces as he said in a low voice.