Chapter 31: Chapter 30 Casualties Chapter 31: Chapter 30 Casualties He took more than ten steps back before steadying himself with the butt of his spear.
“Dad, are you alright?”
Yang Minghao, who had his eyes fixed on Yang Zhenshan the whole time, saw him retreat and quickly approached with concern.
Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, eyes riveted on the bearded Hu brute who had just slashed him with a knife.
His hand grasping the spear shaft, his expression growing even grimmer.
This iron spear was brought back from the army by the original body, not a standard military weapon nor a divine weapon, but one intricately crafted by a master.
Since his arrival in this world, he had been using this spear; while not treated particularly delicately—often used to stab rocks and earth walls—it had never been damaged.
However, today, just one strike had bent it and left a deep notch on the spear shaft, nearly severing it.
He had nearly been killed by a single strike!
Yang Zhenshan took a deep breath.
His gaze shifted to the slightly slender figure.
The blade was like a rainbow, fierce and overpowering, actually suppressing that bearded Hu brute.
His eyes twinkling, Yang Zhenshan thought to himself: “Indeed, with my current strength, I’m nowhere near qualified to contend with Postnatal Martial Artists!”
Seeing Zhou Lan dealing with the bearded Hu, Yang Zhenshan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Give me the spear!”
With that, he didn’t wait for Yang Minghao to react and snatched the spear from his hand.
The bent iron spear was now unusable; he had to resort to using Yang Minghao’s wooden spear.
An iron spear was very expensive; in Yang Family Village, only two were to be found—one in Yang Zhenshan’s hands and the other with Yang Zhengxiang. Ordinary villagers couldn’t afford iron spears and had to make do with wooden ones.
Accustomed to the iron spear, Yang Zhenshan felt somewhat clumsy using the wooden spear, but thankfully, this did not greatly affect him.
Spear dancing, Yang Zhenshan once more charged into the battlefield.
By now, the battle had reached its climax, with screams and shouts of killing sounding ceaselessly.
Yang Family Village’s strong men, the border army’s soldiers, and the Hu Clan’s warriors, the three forces were locked in fierce combat.
The border army’s soldiers were elite, the Hu warriors were savage, and the Yang Family Village’s strong men fought with vigor and awaited their chance.
Though the village’s strong men were far less skillful in martial arts than the Hu soldiers, they managed to hold their own through resting strategies and mutual cooperation.
For a time, it was difficult to tell which side had the upper hand.
After handing over the fight with the bearded Hu to Zhou Lan, Yang Zhenshan started to clear out the other Hu warriors.
Below the realm of the Postnatal, he was almost invincible.
With a robust physique, terrifying strength, and the occasional burst of Jin Qi, he could handle any Body Refining Realm warrior.
The fight didn’t last long, merely a quarter of an hour before the bearded Hu fell back in defeat.
“Retreat!”
The bearded Hu was decisive, seeing that the situation was untenable, he ordered a retreat without hesitation.
Seeing the enemy retreat, the strong men from Yang Family Village shouted excitedly, with some even pursuing them.
“Don’t chase after a beaten foe, come back!”
Yang Zhenshan hurriedly stopped those few hot-blooded youths.
They were getting a little ahead of themselves.
Now the hillside was covered in blood, with corpses strewn everywhere and severed limbs scattered, the stench of blood in the air.
After the excitement came despair and silence.
Having experienced such a bloody battle for the first time, the young men of Yang Family Village turned ghostly pale as their excitement faded.
They stood still, stunned, staring at their fallen comrades.
“What are you dawdling for, hurry and carry back the wounded!”
Yang Zhenshan could not be concerned with anything else and shouted loudly.
With his reminder, the strong men snapped out of it and carried the wounded back towards Yang Family Village.
Elsewhere, the soldiers of the border army were also cleaning up the battlefield and tending to their wounded.
“May I ask the valiant warrior’s name?” Zhou Lan approached Yang Zhenshan and asked with a fist salute.
Yang Zhenshan returned the salute, “Yang Zhenshan from Yang Family Village, at your service, General!”
“Yang Family Village!” Zhou Lan glanced down at the village and nodded slightly, “Thank you for your aid in battle!”
The two of them didn’t say much. After exchanging greetings, they both got busy.
Although the battle had ended, there were still many matters awaiting their attention.
Yang Zhenshan had only participated in the fight at the hilltop, while Zhou Lan and the others had retreated for more than ten li, fighting as they fell back, leaving behind numerous bodies and wounded, which needed to be tended to.
Zhou Lan and her group did not enter the village, choosing instead to make a temporary rest stop on the hillside.
Yang Zhenshan didn’t bother with them and hurried back into the village.
“How is the situation?”
He called out in the open space at the entrance of the village to Yang Zhengxiang.
“Six dead, twelve seriously injured, twenty-three lightly injured!” Yang Zhenshan said with an incredibly solemn expression.
Yang Zhenshan trembled all over. He had anticipated casualties in this battle and knew they would be severe, but facing the reality of it, he still found it somewhat hard to bear.
But now was not the time for sorrow. He turned and dashed into the kitchen, grabbed a bucket, and took out all the Spiritual Spring Water that was available.
Just three bowls in total.
“Give them a drink of water first!”
Yang Zhenshan disregarded everyone else and distributed the three bowls of Spiritual Spring Water among the twelve severely wounded.
The Spiritual Spring Water had the effect of healing wounds, but it was not miraculous enough to defy fate; he could only do his best and leave the rest to heaven.
However, Yang Family Village was not short of medicinal herbs for treating external injuries.
The practice of medicine and martial arts were not separate. Although Yang Family Village lacked skilled doctors, many people knew how to treat bruises, injuries, and wounds.
As for inviting a doctor, it was currently impossible.
With the Hu Clan crossing into their territory, people were panic-stricken; nobody dared to roam about, and even the county town had been locked down. Even if they wanted to invite a doctor, there were none to be found.
Only after Yang Zhenshan was done with the urgent tasks did he notice the sounds of mourning starting to rise around him.
The pain of death and separation!
The death of six villagers meant six families had lost their loved ones, and twelve seriously injured meant twelve families were in a state of anxiety and grief.
Yang Zhenshan looked at the mourning villagers, his heart growing even heavier.
Yang Zhengxiang came up to him at some point and patted his shoulder, “This is not your fault!”
“Of course, I know it’s not my fault. If we hadn’t fought this battle, those Northern barbarians would have attacked our village soon enough!”
“This battle was fought not for myself, but for everyone!”
Yang Zhenshan shook his head and said softly.
He didn’t feel guilty; perhaps he had some selfish motives, but he believed that everything he did was for the Yang Family Village, for the Yang Family.
But not feeling guilty didn’t mean he wasn’t heartbroken. Lives had vanished just like that, and they were all young men he knew well, calling him Uncle Zhengshan or Grandpa Zhengshan on normal days.
They were so young. The youngest was only sixteen, yet they had left this world like this.
“Clan Leader, they all sacrificed themselves for the Yang Family Village.” Yang Zhenshan spoke solemnly.
“I understand,” replied Yang Zhengxiang.
Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly and said, “Clan Leader, my point is that Yang Family Village should provide compensation to the fallen—offer filial piety to their parents, support their wives and children.”
Yang Zhengxiang stroked his grizzled beard, “Indeed we should, it’s just—”
He did not finish his sentence, but Yang Zhenshan understood his difficulty.
The Yang Family did not have a shared clan property, so where would the compensation come from?
Should they collect it from the other clan members?
Clearly, that was not feasible. Everyone’s lives were already hard; they had no money to give.
Moreover, such an act could very well spark unnecessary conflicts, possibly causing other clan members to resent the fallen’s relatives even more.
“There’s no way now, but we must not forget their sacrifice. When we have clan property in the future, we’ll make it up to them!”
“We must also take particular care of their parents, wives, and children, and not allow anyone to bully them!”
Yang Zhenshan said earnestly.
Although the Yang Family was considered united, that didn’t mean there were no vile characters among them.
There had been incidents of depriving orphans and bullying the weak and young.
Yang Zhenshan could not change what had happened in the past, but from now on, he decided not to allow anyone to do the same.
Hearing his words, Yang Zhengxiang took the matter seriously.
“I will make sure this is taken care of. You have my word.”