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

Cheng Zhiyuan and Luo Kai's relaxed demeanor was merely a microcosm of the battlefield.

Many of Qin An's five thousand cavalrymen had followed him all the way from Yangkoucang.

They had a blood feud with Xu Mao's army from Ligang Village.

Now they've finally managed to get their revenge, and their performance is exceptionally fierce.

This resulted in greater losses for Li Gangzhai's army than Xu Mao had anticipated.

At this moment, Qin An had truly gone completely mad with killing intent.

The thought of his newborn children filled him with boundless energy.

They were simply unstoppable, killing gods and Buddhas alike.

Ironically, the more he killed, the faster his strength increased, creating a positive cycle that he simply couldn't stop.

Under his leadership, the entire cavalry force cut in from the middle and pressed straight towards the front without stopping.

Along the way, it knocked over seven or eight rows of stragglers who hadn't yet lined up.

Some were trampled by horses' hooves, while others were pushed off the road by their companions and fell into the ditch.

Many more people in the darkness cannot distinguish between friend and foe.

Upon hearing the approaching hoofbeats, they instinctively ran to the sides, further loosening the formation.

Xu Mao watched the chaos ahead from the middle of the road, his expression unchanged, but his fingers gripping the reins tightly.

"The situation is worse than we thought, and Qin An's performance has also exceeded expectations. We need to come up with a solution."

A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he turned his head and whispered something to the flag bearer beside him.

The flag bearer changed the flag and waved it three times towards the front.

The shield bearers at the front received the signal and began to retreat towards the middle.

At the same time, seeing that Qin An was not far away, the usually composed Xu Mao took the initiative to shout at Qin An.

"Qin An! I, Xu Mao, am right here. If you want to settle both old and new scores, come and take my head! Seize my flag!"

"If you've got guts, don't just kill those lowly minions!"

As he spoke, he deliberately removed the guards around him and stood on his horse in the middle of the formation.

The general's flag beside him fluttered in the night wind, and the character "Xu" on the flag was faintly visible in the moonlight.

His actions made his personal guards tense.

After wounding Xiong Zi, Qin An's archery skills became famous.

Xu Mao's actions were undoubtedly risky.

However, after glancing at the Wu brothers beside Xu Mao, they instantly felt relieved.

Qin An was sweeping down two shield bearers with his halberd when he heard this shout and turned his head to look.

Although the formation around Xu Mao was also loosening, the dozens of his personal guards had not yet dispersed.

Wu Tian and Wu Yun stood on the left and right, respectively, each holding a weapon.

"Got the guts? I do have the guts now, but I don't need to prove it in any other way."

How could Qin An not see that this was Xu Mao's provocation?

If given the chance, he would naturally want to seize the flag and defeat the enemy generals, but with Wu Tian and Wu Yun by his side, he simply wouldn't have the opportunity.

Therefore, he remained completely unmoved by Xu Mao's shouts, only glancing at him for a moment before turning his gaze away.

The halberd continued its attack, cleaving open another shield that was closing in front of it.

He didn't reply, nor did he even glance in Xu Mao's direction again.

Seeing that Qin An ignored him, Wu Yun couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Qin An! Are you scared? My brother and I are right here. If you have the guts, come down and fight me one-on-one! Don't just pick on the weak!"

His voice was louder than Xu Mao's, carrying a pent-up anger that had been building up for half a year, as if he wanted to drag Qin An out of the cavalry.

Wu Tian didn't shout back, but he had already slightly raised his chest, aiming it at Qin An's direction.

Qin An still ignored him.

He rode on his snow-covered steed, his halberd sweeping left and right, shattering shields and sending armor plates flying wherever the blade cut.

Those rebel soldiers who tried to stop him couldn't last a single moment against him.

Some people had their weapons knocked away as soon as they raised their knives, while others had only taken half a step before being knocked to the ground by the head of the Snow-Treading Black Steed.

His movements became faster and faster, and all he could see were walls of people that needed to be cleaved through.

Whether it was the encouragement of the good news or the relentless killing, Qin An felt that he was now terrifyingly strong.

He had a vague feeling that his own strength seemed to have reached a new level.

Under such circumstances, how could he possibly have the mind to care about so many things?

Those shouts were left behind him, without even an echo.

Wu Yun called out twice more, louder than before, but still received no response.

His face turned a deep purplish-red as he turned to look at Wu Tian.

Wu Tian was staring in Qin An's direction, pursing his lips and remaining silent.

Xu Mao frowned slightly. He could tell that Qin An's silence wasn't out of cowardice, but rather because he had no intention of wasting time on a one-on-one fight.

Every breath is a chopping motion.

To kill as many of our own troops as possible in the shortest possible time.

That was his real purpose.

And his previous arrangements had not worked.

The shield bearers' retraction movements were still a bit too slow, or perhaps Qin An's battlefield intuition was too sharp.

Before the shield bearers could close the breach, Qin An turned his horse around and led his troops away from the left side of the infantry formation.

Five thousand cavalrymen circled in a large circle on the open ground to the left of the official road, their hooves kicking up dust.

The formation was regrouped, and they faced the enemy lines again.

"That was a great battle, General! Let's do it again!" Cheng Zhiyuan's hand, gripping the axe handle, trembled, partly from exhaustion and partly from excitement.

Qin An had clearly intended this all along, and without saying much, he raised his halberd and said, "Charge!"

The second wave of attacks was even more ferocious than the first.

The infantry had barely closed their formation, their shields still swaying, when Qin An's cavalry had already pressed forward.

This time he changed his angle and cut in from the left front side at an angle.

The halberd blade pierced the gap along the edge of the shield, knocking a round shield away. The shield spun and crashed into the crowd, knocking down two archers.

Cheng Zhiyuan followed closely behind with his large axe, sweeping across the ground and severing three or four spear shafts that were standing on the ground, leaving clean, white cuts.

Luo Kai's gun protruded from Qin An's left side, piercing the shoulder armor of the centurion in the front row, and came out with a cloud of dark red blood mist when it was pulled out.

Due to the chaos on the battlefield, Qin An's forces suffered some losses, and his men also expended a lot of energy, but the casualties were even more terrifying than in the first charge.

This resulted in the rebels being scattered over a larger area in the second wave than in the first.

Later, even a few deserters appeared.

The soldiers dropped their weapons and jumped off the official road, running into the wilderness.

Wu Tian turned his gaze away from the fleeing figures and looked at Xu Mao: "Commander, this can't go on, the brothers will be crushed."

Xu Mao looked at the second formation that was crumbling ahead, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded: "Go, just hold him off, don't fight to the death."

That's exactly what Wu Tian was waiting for.

He spurred his horse, took the iron halberd from the victory hook, and charged towards Qin An.

The horses' hooves clattered continuously over the fallen shields and scattered weapons.

His horse hadn't gone far when Qin An noticed him.

"Heh, trying to keep me occupied? I won't let you have your way!"

He saw through Xu Mao's plan at a glance and never intended to respond.

He pulled the halberd from the chest of a shield bearer and shook the blood off the blade.

He merely glanced at Wu Tian charging towards him, but did not meet him head-on. Instead, he continued to slash at the densely packed infantry.

With his own people all around him, Wu Tian still had some reservations and dared not gallop wildly on his horse.

This meant that he and Qin An were always separated by a distance of three or four horses.

This made Wu angrily yell, "Qin An, is all you've ever done in your life is bully the weak and fear the strong? What kind of skill is it to bully those lowly soldiers? If you're so capable, come and fight me!"

He had a loud voice, and the soldiers in the surrounding rows could hear him.

Qin An didn't even turn his head, only replying calmly, "No rush, there will be plenty of opportunities later."

After saying that, he swept aside the two people blocking his way with a single halberd stroke.

After only glancing at the battlefield situation and feeling that it was about time, he prepared to lead his cavalry to charge out again.

Wu Tian reacted quickly, taking advantage of the brief pause in Qin An's command to rush straight over.

The sharp point of the halberd pierced straight into Qin An's chest.

Qin An dodged to the side, and the halberd pressed down, the shaft striking the halberd body with a dull metallic clang.

As the two horses passed each other, Wu Tian swung his halberd backhand at Qin An's lower back.

Qin An held the halberd shaft back, barely managing to block it.

The first handover between the two involved three collisions in the instant the horses crossed paths.

The sound of the halberd shaft striking the boring bar was crisp and frequent.

"So strong! Li Gang Village is indeed a formidable opponent, with so many experts!"

When strong individuals clash, their true strength becomes immediately apparent.

After only a slight clash, Qin An knew that although he seemed to have made another breakthrough, his opponent's strength was still no less than his own.

Although he felt this way in his heart, Qin An didn't mince words: "You think you're worthy of using a halberd? Compared to General Yuwen, you're far inferior."

A casual remark instantly enraged Wu Tian.

"Again!" He immediately turned his horse around to fight Qin An again.

But to everyone's surprise, after uttering those insulting words, the latter continued his swift horsemanship and charged outwards.

When Wu Tian caught up with the rear of the formation, Qin An's cavalry had already broken off contact and were regrouping on the right side of the official road.

Wu Tian reined in his horse and watched the cavalry line closing in, his iron halberd clenching so tightly it made a cracking sound.

But he didn't chase after them.

Xu Mao only ordered him to hold off Qin An, not to chase after him and fight.

He could only shout resentfully from across half the official road, "Qin An! You spineless coward, you dare not fight me head-on, you will never become a top expert!"

Qin An showed no intention of responding at all.

He glanced back from outside the formation, and Luo Kai leaned over and said something while panting heavily.

"General, are the men still in good spirits? Shall we go again?"

Qin An glanced at the cavalrymen around him. Some had their helmets askew, and some had broken arrows hanging from their shoulders, but none of them lagged behind.

On the other hand, the enemy's formation was completely disrupted after two rounds of attacks.

Now is the time to press our advantage and pursue the fleeing enemy to the bitter end.

He mentally estimated the time and found that he still had enough time.

"Let's do it again, but this time, we have to finish it quickly."