Zhang Lengzi made his move.
His left hand clamped onto Qiu Wu's saber-wielding wrist like an iron pincer, while his right fist slammed viciously into his stomach!
"GACK!"
Qiu Wu's eyes bulged. His stomach churned violently, and he nearly vomited up the little food he'd eaten that morning. The saber in his hand fell to the ground with a CLANG.
"Beat the son of a bitch!"
Hu Fenqiu, who had been itching for a fight, also sprang into action. He lunged forward, and his clay-pot-sized fist flew toward Qiu Wu's face!
"That's for kicking Uncle Lengzi!" Zhang Mazha roared, pouncing from the side.
"Take that for bullying us!" Yang Dazhuang also joined the fray.
It was four against one!
Qiu Wu barely let out a few grunts before he was completely overwhelmed by a storm of fists and feet. A few moments later, he was lying on the ground, doing nothing but groaning and twitching.
"They're rebelling! The people from Stone Village are rebelling!"
A woman from Pottery Village shrieked from the side, grabbing a wooden club and smashing it against Zhang Lengzi's back.
"You're courting death!"
Zhang Lengzi spun around and kicked her to the ground. He snatched the wooden club from her hand and ripped the Protective Wooden Talisman from her waist.
"Quick, find the Protective Talismans and get them to the captain!"
Zhang Lengzi casually tossed the Protective Wooden Talisman to Hu Fenqiu.
With his quick reflexes, Hu Fenqiu also snatched a Protective Talisman from the cloth pouch at Qiu Wu's waist. He let out a hearty laugh, clutched the two talismans, and spun around, dashing toward the stronghold gate like a gust of wind.
Zhang Lengzi then barked, "Mazha! Dazhuang! Follow me and set fires! Remember the Boss's orders: cut off their retreat and burn all defensive structures and logistical supplies!"
"Yes, sir!"
Mazha, whose full name was Zhang Mazha, and Dazhuang, Zhang Dazhuang, immediately sprang into action.
Outside the stronghold gate, Yang Qingniu stood beside the Rock Giant Scorpion, one hand on his hip and the other holding the Sha River Overlord Spear. He watched the flickering silhouettes inside the gate and listened to their shouts and screams, a wild and resolute smile spreading across his face.
Hu Fenqiu rushed out and threw the two Protective Talismans toward Yang Qingniu with all his might.
Yang Qingniu caught the talismans, overjoyed. He stuffed one inside his shirt and tied the other to the Rock Giant Scorpion's tail.
With a Protective Talisman, they wouldn't be targeted by the defensive Arrow Towers.
"Excellent! Fenqiu, catch!"
Yang Qingniu tossed his Sha River Overlord Spear to Hu Fenqiu and pulled another from the Rock Giant Scorpion's back. Then he slapped the scorpion and said, "Alright, partner. Charge! Tear down the towers!"
The giant scorpion immediately let out a low shriek, then scrambled forward on its slender legs, charging violently toward the stronghold gate.
"My boss sent us to raid your base! Get out of the way if you don't want to die! We're here to set fires, but we don't mind killing a few people along the way!"
Yang Qingniu bellowed as he charged in right behind the Rock Giant Scorpion.
Only then did the elderly, women, children, and the few remaining guards in the stronghold finally realize what was happening.
"Enemy attack!"
"A monster got in!"
"Stop them! Quick, fire the arrows! Why aren't the Arrow Towers shooting?"
"Damn it! We have a traitor!"
Shrieks filled the air at the entrance to the Lu Family Stronghold. It was utter chaos.
No one dared to stand in the Rock Giant Scorpion's way; they all fled for their lives.
Yang Qingniu and Hu Fenqiu met no resistance as they charged through the gate, rendering the two Wooden Arrow Towers completely useless.
The Arrow Towers' defensive range was fifty meters to the front; they offered no coverage for the area behind them.
Yang Qingniu began lighting torches. His targets were the two Arrow Towers.
By now, the Rock Giant Scorpion had reached the base of one Arrow Tower. It attacked with its enormous pincers and tail, shattering one of the tower's support pillars with a single strike.
Hu Fenqiu grabbed a jar of pine oil from the giant scorpion's back and hurled it at the Arrow Tower before him.
"CRASH!"
Pine oil splashed everywhere, its potent smell filling the air.
Yang Qingniu laughed and hurled his lit torch onto the oil-drenched wood!
"FWOOSH!"
The oil ignited instantly. Flames spread madly upward, the dry wood serving as perfect fuel. Thick, orange-tinged smoke immediately engulfed the Arrow Tower's base, and a strange white light began to shine.
"Next one!"
Yang Qingniu shouted. Working with Hu Fenqiu, he quickly set the second Arrow Tower ablaze.
The two then led the Rock Giant Scorpion to rendezvous with Zhang Lengzi and the others.
By this point, Lu Family Stronghold was in absolute chaos, but its people had not given up on resisting.
Zhang Lengzi and his men were surrounded by a crowd of the elderly, women, and children.
In the blink of an eye, the Rock Giant Scorpion charged in. It crushed one person to death with its pincer, then stabbed its tail through another, hoisting the body high into the air.
The bloody scene sent the surrounding crowd scattering with screams of terror.
Zhang Lengzi and his two men seized the opportunity to break free. They ran to the Rock Giant Scorpion's side and quickly grabbed the Sha River Overlord Spears from its back.
With weapons in hand, their confidence surged. They let out a few battle cries and brandished their long spears, and no one dared to approach.
Yang Qingniu took the opportunity to rush toward the Food Barrel Tree. He glanced up at it for a moment before grabbing a jar of oil and smashing it against the trunk.
BANG!
The jar shattered, and pine oil splashed everywhere.
"Captain, this tree produces white rice. Are we really going to burn it...?"
Hu Fenqiu ran over with a torch, his voice laced with hesitation.
Yang Qingniu snatched the torch from his hand and barked, "The Boss said to be thorough! This Food Barrel Tree must burn!"
With that, he resolutely threw the torch at the Food Barrel Tree.
Soon, the Food Barrel Tree was alight, burning with a loud CRACKLE.
"You... you dare to burn the Divine Tree! Heaven will strike you down with lightning for this!"
"Heavens, you bastards! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"Put out the fire! Quickly, put it out...!"
In the distance, some of the elderly, women, and children cursed loudly, beating their chests and stomping their feet in despair. Their eyes, fixed on Yang Qingniu and his men, were filled with venomous hatred.
Yang Qingniu paid them no mind. Satisfied to see the fire raging, he led the members of his Civilian Militia toward their next target.
There were three other functional buildings in Lu Family Stronghold: the Material Warehouse, the Wood Armor Workshop, and the Blacksmith Shop.
These three buildings were Yang Qingniu's group's next targets.
With the Rock Giant Scorpion leading the charge, the remaining defenders of Lu Family Stronghold were powerless to resist. Soon, the Wood Armor Workshop and the Blacksmith Shop were also set ablaze, the raging fires sending thick smoke billowing into the sky.
A short while later, Yang Qingniu and his men arrived before the Material Warehouse.
The Material Warehouse was a functional building Lu Hongyan had created using Construction Drawings. Although accessing items wasn't as convenient as with the Chaos Warehouse, its Storage Realm was immense.
It was likely filled with a massive amount of supplies, but unfortunately, only Lu Hongyan could access them. No one else could even get inside.
To Yang Qingniu's surprise, twelve able-bodied men wearing Wood Armor and wielding long sabers were guarding the place.
Not only that, but behind the Material Warehouse stood a crowd of women, elderly, and children. There were thirty or forty of them, armed with clubs and long sabers. They held their ground, looking as if they would defend the warehouse to the death.
"Damn it, Da Mao's intel was wrong! How is there still a squad of soldiers here?"
Hu Fenqiu muttered. The enemy had them completely outnumbered, and he felt a surge of panic.
But Yang Qingniu said, "What's there to be afraid of? The scorpion will charge. We just throw the torches, burn it down, and run!"
"Right, burn it and run!"
Zhang Lengzi laughed and immediately hurled his torch at the Material Warehouse.
Hu Fenqiu and the others immediately followed suit.
Soon, the Material Warehouse was also engulfed in flames. The fire grew more and more intense, becoming impossible to extinguish.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yang Qingniu and his men turned and fled.
Zhang Lengzi, however, seemed to want one last word. As he left, he shouted back at the defenders of Lu Family Stronghold, "Listen up, people of Lu Family Stronghold! Your Lord Red Yan is dead! Your Big Saber Team and Bitter Worker Team are all disbanded! I'm in a good mood, so I'll spare your pathetic lives. Now scram!"
With that, he let out a hearty laugh and hurried to catch up with Yang Qingniu and the others.