Chapter 343: Charge!
As one of the commanders of this operation, the twenty men under Xu Gan had devoted their lives to protecting him. But despite their effort, he had still sustained significant injuries.
At this moment, the rivalry he had with Wang Chong had already vanished altogether.
His only wish was for Wang Chong and the others to escape as swiftly as possible, and not fall into the same plight as him.
"You... Are you a fool? Siling and the others are the only hope we have now! Even if you intend to die, don't drag me down with you. Siling! Siling!!"
Huang Yongtu leapt up and shouted for Wang Chong and Bai Siling as he waved his hands fervently. At this moment, he had already forgotten how he had insulted Bai Siling as a traitor and a bitch previously.
"HAHAHA! Stop our archers from shooting him, allow him to continue calling for them!" At the back of the battleline, Iron Cloak Li laughed heartily at the sight.
"Yes, chief!"
"Wait, don't make it too obvious, either.. Have the bandits located at the eastern end put up a fight against them."
"Yes!" Several highwaymen hurriedly moved to relay the orders.
Despite being outlaws, the highwaymen had specific roles in the group, be it sentry, commander, archer, vanguard, or defense. At this point, they resembled soldiers more than highwaymen.
On the other hand, hearing Huang Yongtu's desperate voice, like a drowning man clutching to his final straw of hope, a ripple struck Bai Siling and Wang Chong's hearts.
"Siling, how is your archery?" Wang Chong suddenly asked.
"Not too bad. Why?" Bai Siling asked, unable to comprehend the rationale behind Wang Chong's question.
"Shoot an arrow for me to send something over." Wang Chong said calmly as his gaze swept across the highwaymen and bandits before him.
After a moment of observation, he had noticed a few minute details.
"We need Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu to maintain the morale of their men. Also, after holding on for so long, they should have quite a few injured among them. Even Xu Gan and Zhang Lin seem to be severely wounded. We'll have to send some pills to them."
"Understood!" Bai Siling nodded as a hint of admiration flashed across her eyes.
The seemingly unfathomable young man before her was truly incredible. Regardless of whatever problem that lay before them, he seemed to be able to always maintain his composure and come up with a countermeasure to deal with it. Unknowingly, she found herself forgetting her fear as well.
It felt as if she would be able to get out of the most difficult of situations just by following the man before her.
This was the capability, as well as the charm that he possessed!
"Bring me my bow!" Bai Siling raised her hand, and a soldier behind them swiftly brought a huge steel bow over.
She was one of the rare ones in the Bai Clan who practiced archery, and had achieved considerable mastery in it. On this aspect, Wang Chong had indeed chosen the right person to ask.
The military provided charcoal pens for Ten-Man Squad Leaders and above to use for communications in times of emergency.
Wang Chong tore a cloth from his sleeve before swiftly writing a few lines of words on it. Then, wrapping a recovery pill within it, he passed the cloth over to Bai Siling.
Hong!
Pinning Wang Chong's note at the tip of the arrow, Bai Siling drew her bowstring and shot the arrow around a hundred zhang away. Eventually, it struck the tree behind Huang Yongtu.
"Bastard! Aren't those fellows acting too arrogantly?" Upon seeing this sight, the bandits couldn't help but spit viciously on the floor and curse.
Even though the chief and the military advisor had issued strict commands not to touch them, the other party sure was acting arrogantly to disregard their presence.
"With so many of us here, why should we fear them? They would drown even if each of us were to spit on them once. Isn't the military advisor being a little too wary?"
"Indeed! They are just brats! Commanders my ass. Brothers, let's take them down! Kill the men and take the women, let's have some fun later on!"
The provocative gesture had left some of the bandits impatient.
Bandits and highwaymen were simply too used to being unrestrained. If it was a stronger enemy, they might still be compelled to obey Iron Cloak Li's command.
However, their enemies only numbered in the dozens, and the commanders were only two children. At this moment, they had already forgotten how frightened they were when they heard Wang Chong and the others had completely eradicated many dens outright.
"Chief, some of our brothers are starting to get impatient." A ferocious-looking highwayman pointed in the distance and said. "They are already forgetting your orders even though you just issued them a moment ago. Shall I go to restrain them?"
"There's no need for that!"
The one who replied wasn't Iron Cloak Li, but the military advisor Zhou An beside him.
"Let them be. They won't learn until they suffer a little. A few casualties here and there should teach them to remain obedient. At the same time, we can also test the prowess of this group and grind down their forces," Zhou An said impassively as he stroked his beard.
The previous intelligence he received suggested that one of the commanders had a deep understanding of their means, and none of the bandits who encountered him was able to get away.
Those fellows trapped on the slope hadn't shown anything extraordinary, so chances were that the commander was in the other group.
The highwayman hesitantly turned to look at Iron Cloak Li, only to see the latter nodding slightly.
Noting his response, the highwayman fell silent.
---
But while Iron Cloak Li and Zhou An intended to have the other bandits test out Wang Chong's hand, the situation developed in a different way as they had anticipated.
"Hm? Siling, it seems like they have some objections to the arrow you shot?" Wang Chong instantaneously sensed the malicious intentions of the bandits around him.
"Why? Are you intending to surrender?" Bai Siling chuckled lightly.
It should have been impossible for her to laugh under such circumstances. But perhaps because of Wang Chong's influence, she subconsciously forgot about it.
"Hehe, how is that possible? Since a fight is what they want, a fight is what they will get. Let's not trouble them with making the journey here, let's go to them instead," Wang Chong smiled.
"What do you intend to do?" Bai Siling rolled her eyes. Her casual gesture carried a seductive charm that even dazed Wang Chong for an instant.
"Section One, move out. Section Two, standby!" Wang Chong gestured to the men behind him, and five Great Tang cavalrymen immediately galloped out of the formation, like a sword drawn from its sheath.
"Siling, I'll trouble you to follow us," Wang Chong said as he drew his sword and pointed it to the sky.
Hong long!
In the next instant, the five cavalrymen from Section One, along with Wang Chong and Bai Siling, charged forth like a flood dragon rising from the ocean.
Just a mere group of seven, but they carried the momentum of an army of thousand.
Even the great earth seemed to tremble beneath their charge.
This was the first time Bai Siling truly witnessed Wang Chong's men in action. Even though the soldiers they had received were of equal cultivation realms, and they had received the soldiers on the same day, these five cavalrymen in Wang Chong's group seemed to carry a vastly different vibe.
In contrast to how they leisurely cleared away the bandits before, at this moment, the ferocity and power of their movements carried a compelling power that seemed to make one's soul tremble!
It was like the soldiers assigned to them were from two different worlds!
Hong long long!
The charge grew faster and faster. Even when they were right before the bandits, they showed no signs of slowing down at all.
Powerful surges of Origin Energy infused into the steeds swiftly morphed into martial halos beneath their hooves.
At that instant, the aura shrouding the five cavalrymen seemed to amplify more than twofold.
The true might of cavalry only appeared in a charge. As long as their momentum didn't stop, the cavalry would be the strongest force on a battlefield.
No one could withstand the charge of a group of cavalry of equal cultivation.
Weng!
It was only a group of seven, but seeing as they pressed closer without the slightest hint of slowing down, the bandits finally panicked.
"Damn it, those fellows can't be thinking of rivaling the six hundred of us with just seven men?"
"This is suicide!"
"Those bastards are out of their minds!"
"Be careful! They are coming!"...
The deafening war cries of the steeds hung in the air, and amidst a thunderous clopping of hooves, the seven war steeds cut straight into the dense group of bandits.
The furious cursing swiftly turned into shocked exclamations and desperate cries.
With the great momentum from the charge coupled with the strength of seven True Martial realm cavalrymen, the group had formed a force far surpassing the limits of the bandits.
Peng peng peng!
In just the first, brief encounter, the ribcages of seven bandits fractured as they were knocked high into the air. Before they could even land on the ground, they had already breathed their last.
And this wasn't the end yet.
The might of the charge of a cavalry lay in its ability to tear right through any formation.
Neighhhhh!
"AHHHHH!"
"Get out of my way! Get out of my way!!"
"Be careful!"....
The battle had barely begun, but the bandits had already descended into chaos. In the next instant, spears and swords began stabbing and impaling the bandits in the vicinity of the charge.
All the bandits could see was a blur. Before they could even react, spears had already pierced through their hearts, claiming their lives.
In the end, how could a slack bunch of bandits possibly be a match for a disciplined group of military veterans who had trampled many battlefields?
A single cavalryman might not be much of a threat, but when they appeared and coordinated in a group, no bandit would be able to stand against them.
Pu pu pu!
Spears shot out like venomous snakes pouncing at their preys. The bandits in the region were flicked into the air by the spears, and a swift cold gleam of light would claim their lives.
Fresh blood splattered onto the ground, and cries of agony filled the air.
In this moment, the arrogant bandits had become nothing more than preys for the group of seven.
In a short moment, more than twenty bandits had already died in the first charge, whereas on the other hand, Wang Chong and his group hadn't suffered the slightest injury.
This was the might of Great Tang's cavalry.
Even the chief and the military advisor of the Iron Cloak Highwayman standing behind the frontlines were caught off-guard. They had expected to see some losses, but they still couldn't help but frown upon seeing this sight.