Transmigrated into the Villain's Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife (Transmigrated into a Book) - Chapter 38

“This is the vanguard of the barbarians. There aren’t many of them, but every one of them fights like they’re not afraid to die. They’re tough to deal with!” 

Wei Rou shouted while picking up a rock and tossing it off the city wall. She took the chance to talk to Lin Chu, her face lit up with excitement.

Coming down the mountain and running into something this thrilling was way more fun than her days of hunting wild boars back in the hills.

A young officer from Jintong Pass was in charge of the rock-throwing squad. He yelled loudly, urging the soldiers to move faster so the barbarians wouldn’t get a chance to climb the ladders up the city walls.

When the officer walked over to where Wei Rou was, he saw a short and skinny soldier eagerly throwing rocks down. Moved by the sight, he shouted, “Soldiers, even if we die, we must hold this wall!”

As he passed Wei Rou, he gave her a firm pat on the shoulder and said with pride, “Keep up the good defense!”

Then he glanced at Lin Chu, who was just standing by, and barked, “Don’t slack off!”

Before coming up here, both Wei Rou and Lin Chu had painted their faces like clowns to hide their identities. Lin Chu nodded silently and ran off to pretend she was helping with a big rock, while Wei Rou responded with a loud and raspy “Got it!”—her naturally husky voice didn’t raise any suspicion.

Lin Chu didn’t have Wei Rou’s strength. The rocks they were tossing down easily weighed over 30 pounds. Just dragging one up to the battlement nearly wore her out.

Wei Rou noticed and quickly took the rock from Lin Chu’s hands. 

“You just pretend to help. I didn’t bring you up here to haul rocks.”

Even though Lin Chu believed they would win, the early stages of this fight were brutal.

The barbarians charged like they had nothing to lose, using reckless tactics.

The soldiers throwing rocks from the walls were starting to wear out, and though they kept tossing rocks down, the supply from inside the city couldn’t keep up. They had to carry them up one by one, and it just wasn’t fast enough.

Before long, a few barbarians managed to climb up the ladders during a gap in defense.

With knives clenched between their teeth and fierce expressions on their faces, they looked terrifying. One of them startled a nearby young soldier who froze on the spot. Before he could react, the barbarian chopped off his head.

But Wei Rou quickly kicked that barbarian off the wall.

Lin Chu saw Wei Rou standing right on the edge and shouted in panic for her to come down.

Wei Rou just waved, signaling her not to worry.

Another barbarian climbed up soon after. When he saw the short, clown-faced soldier (Wei Rou), he hesitated for a second, then scowled and reached out, trying to pull her down.

Wei Rou wasn’t scared. She grabbed the ladder with one hand and gave it a hard push, knocking both the barbarian and the ladder down, flattening a group of enemies below.

She clapped her hands and said, “Ugly face and still trying to act scary? You deserve that!”

The soldiers on the wall had been panicking when they saw barbarians climbing up. But seeing this small “soldier” (Wei Rou) bravely fight back gave them a huge morale boost. The next time a barbarian climbed up, they went at him with their blades without hesitation.

Wei Rou kept kicking down more ladders using the same method.

Lin Chu noticed they were running out of usable weapons and rocks. There weren’t enough people bringing up supplies.

She quickly called out to Wei Rou, “Didn’t you say the pulleys were ready? Where are they?”

Wei Rou scratched her head. “They’re in the weapons storeroom! Not far—I’ll go get them!”

She bounced off into the chaos and disappeared. Lin Chu then sent Song Tuo, who had been guarding them nearby, to fetch a few baskets.

Soon, they built a frame on the inner city wall and started lowering the baskets. Lin Chu instructed them to load the baskets with stones and weapons before pulling them up.

Song Tuo was a private soldier of the Yong’an Marquis household and had seen his share of tough battles. He immediately understood what Lin Chu was planning and said, 

“Madam, these stones are too heavy. Pulling them up will wear people out fast. It might be quicker to assign a team to carry them.”

Even lifting people up in baskets was hard—pulling up full baskets of stones and swords would be worse.

Before Lin Chu could answer, a loud voice shouted from the distance, “I got the stuff!”

Wei Rou ran over with the pulleys in a small bamboo basket.

Lin Chu picked one up and tested it—it worked. She quickly assembled a combination of fixed and movable pulleys.

Fixed pulleys don’t save effort, but they change direction. Movable pulleys don’t change direction, but they cut the effort in half. Lin Chu used a mix of both.

Once she was sure it worked, she had a few soldiers test it by trying to pull up a basket full of stones from below.

Though curious, no one expected much. The soldiers Lin Chu picked didn’t even look like they could lift a person. But when they managed to pull up a whole basket full of rocks, everyone on the wall was shocked!

Their eyes lit up as they stared at the pulleys in disbelief. These little things looked useless—but turned out to be amazing!

The basket alone weighed about 50 pounds. With the stones inside, it totaled close to 1,000 pounds. That’s way more than the weight of three grown men—how was it even possible?

What they didn’t know was that one movable pulley doubles the force. With two, the force multiplies by four—no wonder it felt light.

The soldiers secured the basket, and others climbed up to unload the weapons and rocks.

With the first pulley system working, Lin Chu built two more. Wei Rou couldn’t wait—she grabbed a basket rope herself, marveling at how fun it was.

With the pulley system in place, far fewer soldiers were needed for supply transport, and more could defend the walls—and even take turns resting.

It was like having a healer in a video game party—you never had to worry about your health bar running out.

With defenses holding strong, the barbarians’ first wave of attack ended in failure.

The Da Zhao troops cheered. Just then, the main city gates slowly opened, and Wang Hu led his army out like a flood.

Standing atop the wall, Lin Chu watched as the soldiers surged forward. The sound of battle filled the air, and the yellow flags with the black “Zhao” character swept across the field.

The real battle had begun—and the intensity far exceeded anything Lin Chu had ever seen in movies.

The barbarians had already lost their first vanguard unit, so their momentum faltered against Wang Hu’s forces. Still, they weren’t exactly at a disadvantage.

Lin Chu observed closely. The enemy’s army was like rising dough—Wang Hu’s attack might dent it, but it would just bounce back.

The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming.

The more Lin Chu watched, the deeper her frown grew. If the barbarians dragged this out with sheer numbers, they could wear Da Zhao down.

She didn’t know what plan Yan Mingge had, but it wasn’t nearly as optimistic as he made it sound.

“Yan Heng probably hasn’t shown up yet,” Wei Rou said, standing on the edge of the wall, scanning the battlefield.

Just then, a barbarian who looked dead suddenly moved. A sword was stuck in his back, and bl00d soaked his jacket. His eyes burned with hatred as he grabbed Wei Rou’s leg and rolled off the wall, trying to take her with him.

Lin Chu’s heart jumped into her throat. She screamed, “Watch out!” and lunged forward to grab Wei Rou.

Wei Rou had been completely focused on the battle and didn’t notice the man below. She was caught off guard and dragged downward. Lin Chu managed to catch her by one hand.

But the pull was too strong—Lin Chu’s arms felt like they were going to tear. If not for her elbows still being hooked under the wall, she might’ve fallen too.

The pain was unbearable, but she gritted her teeth. Luckily, Song Tuo and two strong men rushed over and helped pull Wei Rou up.

Wei Rou, strong as always, hadn’t moved at first out of fear Lin Chu couldn’t hold on. But now that she was being held by three men, she knew she was safe.

She bent her trapped leg. The barbarian clung to her ankle like a lifeline—but she hauled him up slightly, just to kick him square in the face.

“You damn bastard! Trying to drag me down? I’ll kick your face off!” she cursed.

Wei Rou’s kick was powerful. She stomped on the barbarian several times, deforming his whole face. He died completely, finally letting go of her ankle and falling straight down.

Wei Rou was pulled back up and quickly turned to check on Lin Chu. 

“Sister-in-law, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Lin Chu sadly realized that one of her arms might be dislocated. She forced a stiff smile and said, 

“I think my arm’s out of place…”

Song Tuo glanced at Lin Chu’s left arm, which was hanging limply by her side. He wanted to help but hesitated because of the difference between men and women.

Wei Rou noticed it too. She grabbed Lin Chu’s arm and, with a quick push and pull, popped it back into place. Lin Chu couldn’t hold back a loud cry of pain.

“Madam!” Song Tuo and the others looked worried.

Wei Rou looked at Lin Chu and asked, “Is it better now?”

Lin Chu moved her left hand a bit and found that it didn’t hurt anymore. She quickly replied, “Thank you, senior sister.”

Wei Rou looked a bit guilty and said, “I should be the one thanking you. If I hadn’t been so careless, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

She helped Lin Chu stand up. As she did, she saw a broken sword lying by the wall and muttered in frustration, “Why are these weapons still breaking so easily…”

Lin Chu followed her gaze and paused for a moment. Ancient iron-making wasn’t nearly as advanced as modern methods. The metal wasn’t pure, so it made sense that weapons would break easily.

If she got the chance in the future, she would try making steel in a blast furnace.

On the battlefield, Wang Hu’s vanguard troops finally tore a hole through the barbarian army.

Hu Yanlie saw the chaotic state of the barbarians and shouted loudly, 

“Warriors of the grasslands! The Zhao army has no one left to fight us! Take this stronghold and we’ll enter the heart of the Central Plains—endless food, cattle, wine, and women await us!”

His speech worked. The barbarians’ morale soared again.

But just then, a signal flare shot into the sky. Thunderous hoofbeats echoed from the tall mountains on both sides of Jintong Pass. Countless Zhao troops charged down the slopes and joined up with Wang Hu’s team, like streams merging into a mighty river.

The barbarians realized they had fallen into a trap and tried to retreat—only to find their way back completely blocked by 20,000 Zhao soldiers.

Leading them was none other than the supposedly injured Yan Mingge! Dressed in dark robes and black armor, he held a gleaming white bronze blade in both hands, riding high on a black warhorse. His troops stood silently behind him outside the battlefield, like a wild beast ready to strike.

Hu Yanlie knew he had fallen for a trap the moment he saw Yan Mingge. But at that point, it was too late to think too much. All he could do was yell at the top of his lungs to keep his men’s spirits high, 

“Warriors of the grasslands, kill them all—!”

The massive barbarian warriors was surrounded by the incoming Zhao soldiers and split into countless square formations. Their advantage in numbers disappeared instantly, and now they looked more like sitting ducks.

When Yan Mingge’s army charged, even from far away, Lin Chu could see everything clearly from the city tower.

The white bronze blades in their hands looked like death’s scythes, cutting down the barbarians like they were weeds. Wherever they went, they left behind waves of white like crashing sea foam—unstoppable and fierce.

This battle—was already decided.

Under the protection of his guards, Hu Yanlie finally broke through the Zhao army’s encirclement and fled in panic on horseback. Yan Mingge shot three special arrows after him but missed every time.

Narrowing his eyes, Yan Mingge handed his black iron bow to Yuan San and rode after him alone.

A battle that once seemed uncertain ended in a huge victory. The whole of Jintong Pass was filled with joy.

It was easier to get updates from the city tower than waiting at the inn, so Lin Chu and Wei Rou decided to stay there and wait.

By the time night fell, Yuan San and his group finally returned, covered in dirt and looking very serious.

Lin Chu didn’t see Yan Mingge and had a bad feeling.

Wei Rou, who had a fiery temper, didn’t spot him either. She immediately shouted into the crowd, 

“Where’s my junior brother?!”

“Second Miss, Sister-in-law…” Yuan San looked at Wei Rou and Lin Chu, struggling to say something cruel. “Brother Yan… he…”

“What happened to him?” Lin Chu had always told herself that Yan Mingge was the final big villain who lived until the end. But seeing Yuan San like this made her heart race with worry.

“Brother Yan… isn’t coming back!” Shi Liu suddenly roared. His eyes were red like a rabbit’s. He was a big, strong man, yet now he cried loudly without holding back.

As he wept, the other brothers who had returned with Yuan San also had red eyes and looked heartbroken.