The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Faced with Qin An's surprise attack, Xu Mao reacted quickly enough, stepping forward to organize the team as soon as he noticed the commotion.

But Qin An's cavalry charge was even faster.

The rebels were indeed not on guard.

The camp's defenses had been almost completely depleted due to the previous fierce battle.

Although Qin An's 5,000 cavalrymen had suffered more than half their losses, the remaining 2,000 were like blood-soaked sharp knives.

The horses' hooves trampled over the fence surrounding the camp and smashed open the simple wooden gate.

Qin An's black cloak fluttered in the wind as his halberd sliced ​​through the air, sending a sentry flying before he could react.

Leading his cavalry, they charged straight in and easily stormed into the rebel camp.

This time, Qin An held the initiative, so he naturally wouldn't risk his precious cavalry in a direct confrontation like before.

Without weaknesses, the cavalry can fully utilize its advantages, eliminating the need for direct confrontation.

"Set it on fire!" Qin An ordered as he rushed into the camp.

The cavalrymen took off the tinderboxes from their backs and lit the flasks of spirits they carried.

The earthenware pot smashed onto the tent, and flames shot up and quickly spread into a sea of ​​fire.

The dry tents were like kindling for a fire, billowing thick smoke that made it hard to open one's eyes.

The rebels were completely panicked.

They were already exhausted, and when they were awakened by the firelight and the sound of horses' hooves, they could no longer tell which way to go.

Some people thought a large army had stormed into the camp and ran around in panic, covering their heads.

Some people grabbed their knives and guns and charged forward, but they didn't even see a shadow of the enemy.

Even worse, some were pushed down by their companions in the chaos and were trampled into mincemeat by horses' hooves before they could even get up.

"The camp has rallied!" Xu Mao's eyes widened in horror; he knew this was even more terrifying than a direct confrontation.

Once the camp erupts in rebellion, the soldiers will turn on each other like madmen, and there will be no way to control them.

He charged into the crowd with his longsword, trying to stop the chaos, but his voice was quickly drowned out by screams and cries.

Qin'an's cavalry moved like dragons through the sea of ​​fire.

They did not linger in battle, but charged along the main road of the camp, slashing with their sabers and targeting lone rebels.

Occasionally they would encounter small groups of resistance, but they would simply rush past them, leaving behind a trail of corpses as they continued forward.

The fire, fanned by the wind, quickly reached the grain pile. With a deafening roar, the granary exploded, and flames shot straight into the sky.

"Kill!" Luo Sheng charged ahead, his long sword cleaving down a rebel soldier wielding a spear.

The cavalrymen around him roared, their eyes blazing with the fire of revenge.

He had been shedding tears for his fallen brothers, but now all his grief had turned into the motivation to kill.

Horse hooves pounded the scorching ground, and sparks flew from the armor, making a sizzling sound, but nobody cared.

They only have eyes for the enemy.

As Shan Tong charged forward with his long spear, he ran into Qin An's cavalry tearing open the third tent.

He roared and thrust his spear straight at Qin An, but Qin An dodged it by sidestepping.

The halberd swept horizontally, grazing Shan Tong's side and leaving a trail of blood.

"Shan Tong, cherish this time, you don't have much time left!" Qin An's voice was icy cold.

He admitted that he is still no match for Shan Tong.

But on such a battlefield, one's own improvement speed is also extremely fast.

He could clearly feel that after each major battle, the gap in strength between himself and Shan Tong was rapidly narrowing.

With this in mind, he no longer needed to fight Shan Tong head-on; he simply turned his horse around and charged deeper into the camp.

Dan Tong roared in anger, but he couldn't catch up with him.

The cavalry charged through the camp so fast that by the time his infantry had assembled, the enemy had already moved on to the next location.

Even more critically, the chaos caused by the riots was getting worse. Many rebels mistook friendly forces for their own in the darkness, and they turned their swords and spears against each other, with screams echoing everywhere.

Qin An reined in his horse and stood on a high slope, looking down at the camp below, which resembled a hellish landscape, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

The firelight illuminated his face, and the bloodstains on his fish-scale armor appeared dark red in the firelight.

"Retreat!" He waved his halberd, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every cavalryman.

The two thousand cavalrymen charged out along the same route as they had come.

The rebels tried to stop them, but were blocked by the trampling crowd and could only watch helplessly as they disappeared into the dust.

The chaos in the camp continued even after the sound of hooves faded into the distance.

The fire is still burning, and people are still being killed, like an endless nightmare.

Xu Mao, leaning on his long sword, stood in the center of the camp strewn with corpses, trembling with rage.

When he was counting the casualties, his hands trembled so much that he could barely hold the pen.

Those killed by Qin An's cavalry, coupled with the infighting triggered by the riots within the camp, resulted in nearly five thousand casualties on their side in a short period of time.

Moreover, much of the grain and fodder was burned, and several tents storing arrows were also reduced to ashes.

"Qin An..." Xu Mao gritted his teeth, the two words seeming to be squeezed out of his throat, "What a madman forged in blood and fire!"

At this moment, Qin An was leading his cavalry at full speed across the open field.

No one spoke, but everyone stood ramrod straight, and the weariness in their eyes was replaced by a more resilient light.

The pain from the past remains, but it has transformed into a ruthless streak deep within.

They were no longer just ordinary soldiers, but elites who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"General, that was a great battle!" Luo Sheng rode up to Qin An, his face flushed with excitement. "Why don't we take a break and go back to fight when it's late? We did the same thing at Qishan last time, and we're sure to give them another good beating!"

Qin An shook his head and reined in his horse.

He glanced back in the direction of the rebel camp, where the fires were still burning.

"Xu Mao is no ordinary general. Having suffered a loss once, he will never let his guard down again," he said in a deep voice. "Tonight, they will definitely be on high alert. If we go again, we will be walking into a trap."

He looked at the cavalry behind him; each of them wore a weary expression, and their armor was stained with sweat and blood, glistening with an oily sheen.

"The brothers have been fighting all day and are exhausted." Qin An's voice softened a bit. "Let's find a place to camp, rest properly, and recharge our energy. There will be another tough battle tomorrow."

The cavalrymen had no objections and simply followed him silently toward the distant valley.

They knew the general was right.

Today's raid has achieved its purpose; not only has it avenged them, but more importantly, it has also transformed them.

The bright moonlight cast long shadows on them, and although the cavalry force of two thousand was half the size of the one that had come, their morale was higher than ever before.

The wind rustled through their armor, making a crisp sound, like a silent war song.

Qin An reined in his horse and looked back at his brothers who had gone through blood and fire, a faint smile finally appearing on his lips.

Only now can my cavalry be considered truly trained!

……

As the fires in the rebel camp went out, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Xu Mao stood in the camp littered with corpses, looking at the charred piles of grain and the overturned tents, his eyes bloodshot like a spider web.

Last night's riot nearly emptied the rebels' morale. Five thousand corpses were hastily dragged outside the camp and buried. The remaining soldiers huddled in their tents, their eyes filled with fear.

They were not afraid of direct combat, but they feared this kind of surprise attack from the shadows, and that the ghostly cavalry would break through the camp gates again.

"Pass on my order: the entire army will rest for three hours, and attack the city at noon sharp!" Li Mi's voice echoed across the open ground, carrying a hint of ruthlessness.

After last night's battle, he doesn't have many options left.

The remaining grain supplies won't last long, so we must take Yangkou Granary as soon as possible.

Xu Mao, who was standing to the side, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he did not say anything.

He knew very well that Li Mi was angry at this moment and wouldn't listen to anything he said.

In fact, Xu Mao also harbored a slight desire to give it a try.

If we could also enter a state of "a desperate army is bound to win" like Qin An, we might actually be able to take Yangkoucang in one fell swoop.

Three hours later, the rebels sounded their siege horns again.

This time, their offensive was more frantic than ever before.

The more than 20,000 rebels split into two groups.

Ten thousand men, led by Xu Mao, continued to guard against Qin An.

More than 10,000 troops surged toward the city walls like the rising tide.

Li Mi was determined this time, personally appearing at the front lines to oversee the battle, determined to take Yangkou Warehouse in one fell swoop.

The siege ladders were toppled and then re-erected, and the battering rams repeatedly struck the city gates, producing dull, deafening noises that seemed to shake the very foundations of the city.

"Fire arrows! Prepare rolling stones!" The garrison commander of Yangkou Warehouse stood on the city wall, his voice already hoarse from shouting.

He had less than two thousand soldiers left, each wounded, yet they gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed on the densely packed rebel army below the city, showing no sign of retreat.

On a high slope on the flank of the battlefield, Qin An stood with his horse reined in, and two thousand cavalrymen behind him stood still like statues.

The sunlight shone on their fish-scaled armor, reflecting a cold, sharp light.

After last night's surprise attack, the naivety of these cavalrymen has completely faded, and their eyes are now filled with composure and sharpness, like a drawn sword ready to pierce the enemy's heart at any moment.

"General, the rebels are fighting desperately," Luo Sheng said in a low voice, his brows furrowed as he watched the defenders falling one after another on the city wall.

Qin An nodded slightly: "It's better to risk everything."

He pointed his whip at the rebel army below the city, "Of the original 50,000 troops, only 20,000 remain. They have to divide their forces to defend against us. Only a little over 10,000 are available to attack the city. We can still hold it."

Although the rebels' offensive was even more ferocious this time, Qin An felt much more relaxed.

Previously, the enemy had an army of 50,000, giving them an overwhelming numerical advantage and leaving them with no other choice.

But now that the number of rebels has decreased, there is more room for maneuver, so there is no need to rush.

This could be considered their last act of madness.

As long as I can get through this wave, I will be able to relax completely in the next battle!