"My lord, they are the Wolf Land Soldiers from the Southwest of the Qian State!"
Instantly, Blind Bei, the human radar, exclaimed, "Too many!"
The Wolf Land Soldiers charged swiftly. Unlike the Qian people themselves, the border troops of the Qian State harbored a bone-deep fear of the Yan State armies. This fear originated from the "Yinlang Invasion" a century ago and was also a result of the Qian State’s hundred-year-long humble stance towards the Yan State. But the Wolf Land Soldiers carried no such psychological burden. Seeing the Yan cavalry before them was like spotting gleaming silver ingots!
The street was only so wide, causing many eager Wolf Land Soldiers to scramble up the surrounding walls and begin running along them, some even taking to the rooftops on either side. They cried out, they shouted; they were fearless.
The vanguard cavalry led by Huo Kuang was already in a forward charge. The Wolf Land Soldiers advanced so rapidly that both sides had little time to think before they clashed directly.
The sound of collisions echoed. The combined weight of the knights and their warhorses sent the Wolf Land Soldiers at the forefront flying. Those who weren’t thrown clear suffered broken bones.
But soon, more Wolf Land Soldiers surged forward like a relentless tide. They leaped down from the houses on both sides, grappling with the mounted knights to pull them down, hacking at the horses’ legs, and fighting with suicidal bravery to create openings for their comrades behind them.
This wasn’t a war; it was like ants fearlessly gnawing at an elephant!
Fanli’s axe cleaved a soldier before him in two, but in the next moment, two arrows struck his right arm. A frenzied hail of arrows began to fly from all directions.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" Fanli roared in rage, sweeping away two more Wolf Land Soldiers attempting to close in.
Blind Bei spread his hands, trying to shield Fanli from the arrows, but there were too many. The Wolf Land Soldiers, swift as cheetahs, darted through from the sides.
Siniang’s silk threads whirled continuously around her, ruthlessly strangling nearby enemies.
Zheng Fan also let out a furious roar as he cut down a soldier.
Just then, over a thousand defenders suddenly appeared on the city walls on both sides, many armed with bows and crossbows. These were city defenders Meng Geng had rallied with the authority of an imperial edict and the aid of the Royal Mansion guards. Even now, more defenders were rushing to join them.
"Fire!" Meng Geng commanded without hesitation.
A Ming twisted his body, positioning himself beside Siniang. A crossbow bolt pierced his abdomen; he had blocked an arrow for her. Moreover, A Ming already had three arrows embedded in him, all taken while shielding his companions.
In truth, in the chaos of real warfare, the prowess of a martial cultivator rarely played a decisive role; this was no duel. Even Mr. Chen, who had utterly dominated Zheng Fan, Blind Bei, and Xue Three at the post station, had done so because Zheng Fan’s group was small. If the barbarian soldiers of Green Willow Fortress had been present then, Mr. Chen would have found it difficult to escape death had he not fled. Shatuo Queshi, for all his heroic spirit, had also perished under the siege of the Northern Army’s ironclad cavalry.
"Retreat!" Liang Cheng had already issued the order. The reason Zheng Fan and the others hadn’t retreated immediately was twofold: to buy time for the cavalry further back and to support Huo Kuang and his men at the vanguard. But at this point, not retreating was simply untenable.
Selfishly, Zheng Fan would rather all the soldiers of Green Willow Fortress perish here than lose any of his Demon Kings in this chaotic battle.
"ROAR!" Fanli unleashed another furious roar. His right hand gripping his axe, he charged forward once more, forcibly driving back the fearless Wolf Land Soldiers a short distance before turning and sprinting towards the city gate. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Zheng Fan reached out, grasping the offered hand of a barbarian soldier, and was pulled onto a horse. The others did likewise, helped onto mounts by their comrades. Only Fanli began to accelerate wildly, outrunning the horses.
The rest were also falling back, but the hundred cavalrymen with Huo Kuang, who had first burst into the city, were already engulfed by the sheer tide of Wolf Land Soldiers. The enemy used every means possible to unhorse the knights. Even though the knights wore armor, they couldn’t be encased like airtight tin cans.
Screams of agony echoed relentlessly.
Furthermore, because Huo Kuang’s men were all from the same tribe, when Liang Cheng first gave the order to retreat, they had chosen to try and rescue their kinsmen rather than immediately disengaging. This hesitation resulted in their entire detachment being surrounded. Of course, this inadvertently bought enough time for the main force to successfully withdraw from the city gate.
Zheng Fan’s eyes were bloodshot, rage burning in his heart. This wasn’t a game; these fallen soldiers were living, breathing men.
Mo Wan seemed to sense Zheng Fan’s fury and stirred as if to awaken, but Zheng Fan gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed its agitation.
He agreed with Liang Cheng’s judgment: cavalry had no advantage within the city!
"AAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Huo Kuang let out a deafening roar, a red glow flashing across his body. He hacked down several Wolf Land Soldiers with his long saber, but in the next instant, an arrow struck him squarely in the head. The force of the arrow was immense, punching through his skull, leaving only the fletching protruding from his forehead.
For an Eighth Rank Martial Cultivator to die in such a chaotic melee was, to put it mildly, an ignominious end. It was much like the fate of that Eighth Rank elder months ago, facing the relentless tide of barbarian ironclad cavalry.
Lady Daxi lowered her bow. Her gaze swept over the armor on the corpses of the Yan people. The Qian State prohibited sophisticated military equipment like armor from falling into the hands of the Tusi chieftains, for reasons well understood by all.
But spoils seized on the battlefield were theirs by right!
Lady Daxi looked up towards the city gate. The Yan people were retreating.
Some Wolf Land Soldiers were already busy taking heads and stripping armor from the Yan dead, but many others who had yet to claim a trophy began to spontaneously charge towards the city gate. They yearned to kill Yan people. The heads of the Yan, their armor, and even the warhorses they rode, were all irresistible temptations!
"AUUUUUUUU..." Lady Daxi let out another long, piercing call.
This was not a signal for retreat.
It was a call for pursuit!
The Wolf Land Soldiers erupted with savage joy, running with all their might, even bursting out through the city gate.
Lady Daxi also spurred her horse forward. As she passed through the city gate, Meng Geng, on the wall above, shouted in panic, "Lady, don’t pursue a desperate enemy! Don’t go out! Don’t go out!"
Lady Daxi glanced up at Meng Geng, a scornful smile touching the corners of her lips.
The Qian people fear the Yan people as if they were tigers, but in her eyes, the Yan people are nothing!