knife

Chapter 833 Infantry and Cavalry
The wind whistled past my ears, and the sound of horses' hooves and shouts echoed between heaven and earth.

Ding Ergou leaned forward, urging his horse forward with one hand and gripping his bayonet tightly with the other, his elbow pressed against the shaft, holding the spear firmly under his ribs, his eyes fixed on an enemy general approaching from the opposite direction.

The two were in almost identical poses.

One hundred steps, fifty steps, thirty steps, and then, the two will clash head-on.

Ding Ergou remained as steady as a mountain, his eyes devoid of any emotion. However, at the last moment, a hint of panic flashed in the eyes of the general opposite him, and his body inadvertently shifted to the other side, trying to avoid the vital parts that the other's spear was pointing at.

That tiny bit of movement is the difference between life and death.

With the steady hand of a seasoned veteran, Ding Ergou gained a tiny advantage, his spear piercing through the opponent's armor. As most of the shaft shattered, the front half plunged fiercely into the opponent's chest.

As Ding Ergou released the spear, he turned his head. The spear grazed his armor, making an extremely uncomfortable sizzling sound, accompanied by a streak of sparks, leaving a long scratch on the armor.

But that’s all.

The two horses passed each other, and Ding Ergou drew his saber from beside the saddle.

In that instant, he saw what the person opposite him looked like.

He must have been a young man from a prominent family, with a fair and smooth face, unlike Ding Ergou who was tanned dark. His hands, hanging limply at his sides, were long and smooth, unlike Ding Ergou who was covered in calluses.

In peaceful times, he and Ding Ergou were from completely different worlds. If they met by chance, he wouldn't even give a second glance to a commoner like Ding Ergou.

But war brought them together on the battlefield, and the self-proclaimed noble scion of a wealthy family ultimately fell to the hands of a country bumpkin with mud-covered legs.

Ding Ergou sighed inwardly. The person opposite him was about the same age and had similar martial arts skills. Just like he was hailed as a martial arts genius in the border region, this person must also be the hope of the family.

However, he still lacks sufficient experience on the battlefield.

Unlike Ding Ergou, who had been fighting on the battlefield since he was fifteen or sixteen, he was used to walking between life and death with ease, taking life and death as commonplace, not valuing his own life as much as others' lives.

It was precisely this difference in attitude towards life that made the fates of these two young people so drastically different at this moment.

Ding Ergou turned to the side, his entire body almost pressed against the saddle, and with a long, slender saber in his hand, he slashed upwards, and with a long, miserable howl, another enemy's arm was severed by his shoulder.

The knife in his hand was custom-made for Ding Ergou by the best craftsman in Tai'an City, commissioned by Tu Jiaojiao. Its length, weight, handguard size, and grip were all perfectly suited to him, truly capable of cutting through iron like mud. The warhorse he rode was obtained by Tu Jiaojiao from Xiao Changche. This white warhorse was the offspring of Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, just three years old, the prime of a warhorse's life.

The best horse, the best armor, the fastest sword—this kind of equipment is something even the direct descendants of powerful families might not possess, because these things cannot be obtained simply by having money.

Besides money, you also need a strong network of connections to make it happen.

Amidst the flashing blades, the two cavalry units of the Beiting Protectorate, one on the left and one on the right, slashed fiercely at the enemy opposite them like a pair of scissors.

The cavalry on the other side were actually quite good in general. In fact, they were even better than the cavalry outside the pass in terms of martial arts and horsemanship. This was because these people had been playing with horses and practicing martial arts since they were young, and had been immersed in them since childhood, unlike Ding Ergou and his group who had to make a living.

What they lack is only the indomitable, death-defying mentality on the battlefield and the experience of navigating the life-or-death struggle.

Both sides have their strengths, and in one round of clashes, they were basically evenly matched.

As the two cavalry units of the Beiting Protectorate broke through the enemy lines from the left and right and galloped into the distance, hundreds of ownerless warhorses wandered aimlessly across the battlefield, their masters lying on the ground forever.

The cavalry of the Beiting Protectorate circled around the battlefield, outmaneuvering the heavy infantry. The crossbowmen began to regroup, and at that moment, their first volley of bolts whistled into the sky. The sky darkened instantly as countless bolts enveloped the charging cavalry. This created even more gaps in the already thinned enemy cavalry formation, caused by Ding Ergou and his forces, and further disrupted their momentum. Their thunderous charge had transformed into a hurried, shuffling troop.

Then they encountered heavy infantry.

The skillful coordination of the infantry, cavalry, and crossbowmen of the Beiting Protectorate outside the pass was fully demonstrated in this battle. One link after another was linked, giving the enemy almost no chance to breathe or react. As soon as one wave passed, another immediately followed.

The arrows in that volley were slightly off target; if the timing had been even a fraction slower, they would have landed on the heavy infantry led by Xia Zhi.

Countless training sessions have allowed them to master the key points of their attacks.

As Xia Zhi swung her broadsword, which was taller than herself, and as Lü You's massive body rammed a warhorse and then swiftly cleaved a second cavalryman in two at the waist, spraying blood all over him, the second volley of crossbow bolts began to fire.

Standing in Ding Ergou's position, riding his horse and looking down at Xia Zhi and his heavy cavalry attack was a very pleasing sight.

The heavy infantry in the first few rows all held specially made longswords, double-edged, each weighing dozens of kilograms. When the longswords were used, men and horses were shattered.

Even Ding Ergou, when faced with this kind of sword formation, felt that there was no other way but to go around it.

However, the opponent clearly lacked battlefield experience and was somewhat stunned by the previous two waves of attacks. Before they could react, they were hit with a barrage of attacks.

Meanwhile, the opposing infantry was still about a mile from the battlefield. Given their pace—advancing only a few dozen steps before needing to stop and readjust their formation—Ding Ergou felt he could launch another attack.

He turned to look at the city wall, and as he expected, the messenger on the wall was waving a blue command flag that represented the cavalry.

Ding Ergou wiped his blood-soaked saber on his boot, then pointed the long sword forward and shouted, "Charge with me!"

The cavalrymen once again circled around the opposing cavalrymen from the left and right, following a long arc.

"rise!"

"fall!"

Amidst the muffled roars of countless heavy infantrymen, the longswords rose and fell in unison, slicing those in front of them into pieces. Occasionally, a heavy weapon would strike their face, knocking down a heavy infantryman, only for another in the rear to immediately take their place.

The heavily armed soldiers were not afraid of swords, arrows, or spears; their only fear was the impact of heavy weapons. Once they fell, like cavalrymen falling from their horses, there was virtually no hope of recovery. They could not get up on their own, and on the battlefield, it was clear that no comrade would have the time or inclination to help them up.

Lu You slashed left and right, killing one enemy with each strike, his efficiency was extremely high.

Of course, even more impressive than him was a red figure wielding a somewhat terrifying large sword, which he whirled like a windmill.

"Fatty, your progress is limited!" In the midst of the fierce battle, Xia Zhi even had the mind to observe Lü You's martial arts cultivation level. Speaking of which, Lü You was her old subordinate, and Fatty was always coincidentally selected to participate in every battle like this.

"It's good that you're alive!" Lü You laughed heartily. "General, be careful not to get hurt again!"

Being teased by her subordinates annoyed Xia Zhi. However, this fat man in front of her had fought countless life-or-death battles, and each time he only suffered minor injuries, while she, the commander, had almost been unable to get up several times.

There's really no way to retort.

(End of this chapter)