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

Although the rebel cavalry led by Shan Tong was no match for Qin An.

However, their presence did somewhat restrain Qin An's pace, preventing him from approaching the main rebel force as recklessly as before.

Faced with this situation, Qin An immediately realized that it would be impossible for him to completely delay the main force of the rebel army until Zhang Xu led his troops to catch up.

But he didn't intend to give up so easily. With a change of heart, he came up with a way to settle for second best.

"Since we can't hold off all the rebels, let's find an opportunity to completely wipe out the rebel cavalry. We'll cripple their cavalry, enough to make them bleed from the inside out. Consider it a small interest payment."

……

The rebel army marched along the winding official road, raising clouds of dust. Shan Tong led nearly two thousand cavalrymen to protect the rear of the column, like a vigilant venomous snake.

Having been harassed by Qin An for several days in a row, he was already seething with anger, especially after yesterday's cavalry battle where his brothers suffered heavy losses, causing him to lose face.

"General, the Three-Forked River is just ahead," a guard pointed to the river. "The main force has begun crossing. Should we follow?"

Dan Tong reined in his horse and glanced across the riverbank.

The Sancha River makes a bend here, surrounded by water on three sides.

A ruthless glint suddenly flashed in his eyes: "Pass down the order to have the three thousand infantrymen in the rear cross the river from the other side of the bend. Move slowly and pretend to be in a panic."

The guard was taken aback: "General, that place is treacherous. What if Qin An..."

"That's exactly what we're going to do!" Shan Tong sneered. "Doesn't Qin An like to harass people? I'll set a trap for him right here in this river bend, so he won't leave alive!"

He turned to another messenger and said, "Take five hundred infantrymen and quietly circle around to the other side of the river. When Qin An chases into the bend, destroy the wooden bridge. This time, we're determined to bury all eight hundred of his cavalry here!"

As the sun set, the rear guard of the rebel army began to slowly move towards the river bend.

Three thousand infantrymen were scattered haphazardly along the mudflats. Some had taken off their shoes and were wading in the water, while others were carrying their luggage and complaining. They seemed to be in no particular order.

Shan Tongze led all his cavalrymen to hide in the woods on the shore, their long spears pointing diagonally at the ground, their eyes fixed on the way they came.

Sure enough, not long after, a cloud of dust rose from the distant horizon.

Qin An's eight hundred cavalry appeared like ghosts, trailing far behind and observing the movements of the river bend.

"General, the rebel rear guard is crossing the river at the bend, and they look disorganized," Xue Ju whispered. "Should we charge in and intercept them?"

Qin An reined in his horse and looked down at the bend in the river.

He had already memorized the terrain of the area from Xinyangcheng to Yangkoucang.

He could draw the perilous parts of that river bend with his eyes closed.

Dan Tong's decision to have his infantry cross the river there was clearly a trap.

"Shan Tong is getting smarter and smarter," Qin An said with a cold smile. "Trying to lure us into the river bend and then cut off our escape route?"

Xue Ju was startled: "Then we..."

"Go, why not?" Qin An pointed his halberd straight at the river bend. "He wants to annihilate us, so let's take this opportunity to wipe out his cavalry!"

"Pass down the order: follow me and charge! Once we enter the river bend, I will be invincible!"

The eight hundred cavalrymen responded with a thunderous roar, and the sound of their hooves instantly intensified.

Qin An took the lead, his black cloak fluttering in the wind, heading straight for the seemingly chaotic river bend.

"They're here!" Shan Tong saw them clearly from the woods and jumped to his feet. "Infantry, retreat to the other side! Cavalry, follow me!"

The rebel cavalry, hidden in the woods, suddenly burst out, like a flood bursting its banks, and rushed towards the river bend and mudflats.

At the same time, a loud "boom" came from the other side of the river. The wooden bridge was completely destroyed, and the splashing water shimmered with gold in the setting sun.

"Qin An! You've fallen for their trap!" Shan Tong's furious roar echoed across the river bend. "The wooden bridge is destroyed; this river bend will be your burial ground!"

He led his cavalry to the entrance of the mudflats, blocking the way. Behind them was the turbulent river, and in front of them was the rebel cavalry formation. Qin'an's eight hundred men were trapped in the river bend.

"Brothers, the time for revenge has come!" Shan Tong pointed his long spear directly at Qin An. "This brat has tormented us all this way; today he'll pay for his crimes in blood!"

The rebel cavalrymen were filled with righteous indignation, and their pent-up frustration of the past few days finally erupted.

Looking at the besieged Qin'an troops, and recalling the tragic deaths of their comrades under the hooves of horses, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they roared as they raised their weapons.

In their view, their nearly two thousand cavalrymen could easily defeat the enemy's eight hundred men.

Qin An, however, remained unusually calm.

He reined in his horse, his halberd gleaming coldly in the setting sun. His gaze swept over the rebel cavalry opposite him, and his voice clearly reached the ears of each of his men.

"Brothers, there's a river behind us, and the enemy ahead. We have no way to retreat!"

He suddenly raised his halberd high above his head: "In a narrow encounter, the brave shall prevail! Kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Eight hundred cavalrymen roared in unison, their voices shaking the surface of the river bend and causing ripples.

They gripped their horses' bellies tightly with their legs, and the horses' hooves thundered across the muddy shoals as they charged toward the rebel cavalry ranks.

Upon seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Shan Tong's eyes.

He hadn't expected Qin An to knowingly fall into a trap, yet still dare to charge forward. This fearless spirit made his heart tighten inexplicably.

But now he was in a bind, and roared, "Form ranks! Prepare for battle!"

The rebel cavalry hastily formed a loose square formation, their long spears and sabers gleaming in the setting sun, attempting to block Qin An's charge.

The two cavalry units clashed like two giant hammers on the narrow mudflats, producing a deafening crash.

"clang!"

The moment the halberd clashed with the long spear, Shan Tong felt a numbness in his arm.

He looked at Qin An in disbelief; this kid was so much stronger than when they last fought.

Before he could react, Qin An's halberd had already coiled around his spear shaft like a serpent, twisting it in one swift motion.

Dan Tong felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and his long spear almost slipped from his hand. He quickly spurred his horse to retreat, barely managing to dodge the sweeping halberd blade.

"Your opponent is me!" Qin An's voice was icy cold, and his warhorse pursued relentlessly like an arrow released from a bow.

While the two were locked in combat, the battle between the two cavalry forces had reached a fever pitch.

Qin'an's cavalry formed a tight wedge formation, like sharp drills, plunging deep into the rebel ranks.

Their armor gleamed, and their sabers whistled as they swung, each strike landing precisely on the gaps in the rebels' armor.

"Pfft!" A cavalryman under Qin An ducked to avoid the spear thrusting at him. His saber slashed across the man's neck, and blood splattered into the murky river, staining a patch of mudflats red.

He didn't even have time to wipe the blood off his face before he spurred his horse and charged toward the next enemy.

The rebel cavalry, however, were in complete chaos.

Most of them were hastily assembled teams with poor horsemanship to begin with, and their formation collapsed instantly when Qin An's cavalry charged at them.

Some warhorses were so frightened that they reared up and threw their riders into the water; some cavalrymen, in their panic, ran headlong into their own ranks.

Even worse, some tried to turn their horses around and escape, only to be blocked by their companions behind them, leaving them in a dilemma.

"Maintain formation! No retreat!"

While fending off Qin An's attacks, Shan Tong roared in an attempt to quell the army's morale.

But his voice was quickly drowned out by the sounds of battle, and he watched helplessly as his cavalrymen fell like wheat being harvested.

He then realized that the gap between the two sides was far greater than he had imagined.

The cavalry of Qin'an were not only well-equipped and skilled riders, but more importantly, they had excellent teamwork.

The front row was responsible for slashing, the back row used bows and arrows to suppress, and the flanks protected the formation. The whole team was like a finely operating machine.

His own cavalry was nothing but a rabble.

"This can't go on!" A thought of retreat flashed through Shan Tong's mind.

He knew that if the fighting continued, his team would likely be destroyed.

This made him suddenly realize that professional cavalry combat and infantry fighting are completely different.

In this respect, the gap between myself and Qin An is still tragically obvious.

Just as Shan Tong was about to order a retreat, Qin An's halberd pierced his chest like a shadow, forcing him to defend with all his might.

"Trying to leave? Too late!" Qin An's eyes were sharp as knives.

He noticed Shan Tong's wavering and intensified his attack. His halberd swept horizontally, thrust straight, and slashed, each move aimed at Shan Tong's vital points, leaving him no time to defend himself.

Dan Tong felt a tightness in his chest.

In the previous battles, he was the one who took the initiative to restrain Qin An, but now it has become the other side that is restraining him.

This feeling of shifting between offense and defense sent a chill down his spine.

"Qin An! How dare you bully me!" Shan Tong roared, suddenly abandoning his defense and smashing his long spear down towards Qin An's head with a whoosh.

He knew in his heart that if he continued to be bogged down like this, his team would probably really be defeated.

Since things have come to this, we might as well fight it out.

If Qin An can be killed, the battle situation may still have a chance to turn around.

Qin An's eyes narrowed. Without flinching or dodging, he held his halberd upright above his head and forcefully took the blow.

With a loud clang, the warhorses beneath the two men were jolted back two steps, their hooves creating deep craters in the muddy tidal flats.

"Is that all the strength you have?" Qin An sneered, his halberd suddenly flipping over like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, aiming straight for Shan Tong's lower abdomen.

Dan Tong was terrified.

He didn't expect Qin An to dare to take his full-force attack head-on, and he didn't expect the other party to be able to counterattack immediately.

He hurriedly dodged to the side, but the halberd blade still tore through his battle robe, drawing a string of blood beads.

"How is this possible..." Shan Tong clutched his lower abdomen, his eyes filled with disbelief.

In their first encounter, Qin An couldn't last more than fifty rounds against him.

But now, the other party is actually able to fight to a draw with me?

How long has it been?

In the instant he lost his focus, Qin An's cavalry had completely torn apart the rebel army's formation.

Xue Ju's left wing, like a sharp knife, charged to the edge of the mudflats, cutting the rebel cavalry in two.

The cavalry on the right flank, clinging to the riverbank, continuously shot down fleeing enemies with their bows and arrows.

The river bend was filled with the neighing of warhorses, the screams of soldiers, and the clashing of weapons. Blood stained the entire mudflat, and even the river water turned an eerie red.