Border Soldier: My fiancée snatched credit and broke off the engagement, so I promptly became a marq

When the north gate opened, Han Lie had not yet climbed back to his horse formation.

His white horse was shot down by Chen Mu's arrow, and his personal guards had just brought him a new horse when the iron chains behind the city gate were already being raised with a clang.

Han Lie was stunned for a moment.

He led six hundred cavalry to force them to surrender.

I never imagined Blackrock Fortress would dare to open its doors on its own initiative.

The soldiers guarding the city wall hadn't even considered it.

Last night they were still moving stones behind the arrow emplacements, distributing the last few barrels of kerosene to the north wall, and even preparing straw mats for the corpses. The soldiers in the city hid in the cellars with their children, and the old men passed around whetstones. Everyone thought that after dawn they would have to rely on a crumbling wall to survive.

Now that the suspension bridge has actually been lowered, the first to cry out are actually the military households.

"The door is open!"

"Our people have gone out!"

The shouts echoed from the north wall to the granary, and then from the granary to the medical tent. Some climbed onto the roof, while others grabbed kitchen knives and followed into the city gate. Su Wan and her men guarded the silver chest, then directly opened the lid, allowing everyone who turned around outside to see the gleaming silver ingots.

Anyone who dares to advance today can return to the city and find silver and meat.

That works better than any pretty words.

They never expected that a group of people wearing Han family heavy armor would rush out of the gate first.

One hundred and twenty veteran Blackstone Fortress cavalrymen donned the newly captured iron armor, and their warhorses were also fitted with Han family breastplates. The armor did not fit perfectly; some men's shoulder plates were a size too big, and some men's leg armor was only bound on one side, but the black mountain patterns on the iron plates had not yet been scraped off.

From a distance, it looked like Han Qianshan's personal guards had come back to life.

Someone behind Han Lie hesitated.

"Is it one of our own?"

His answer was Lu Shuangyi's spear.

Riding Han Qianshan's white horse, she was the first to cross the suspension bridge. The tip of her spear pierced the chest of the foremost cavalryman, lifting him off his horse and slamming him into the ranks behind.

「黑石堡骑兵！」

"Come crash in with me!"

One hundred and twenty riders accelerated simultaneously.

Armored vehicles clashed, and horses' hooves shook the snow.

Han Lie finally realized what was happening.

"Let's fight!"

"They only have a little over a hundred people!"

Three hundred cavalrymen were dispatched from the six hundred vanguard to press forward head-on.

The two groups of cavalry clashed a hundred paces outside the north gate.

The spear broke first.

Then came the horse bones and the human sternum.

The first rank of cavalrymen fell from their horses almost simultaneously. Those in the rear couldn't stop, and their horses continued forward, trampling over the fallen men. Lu Shuangyi's white horse was also knocked to its side, but she used the butt of her spear to brace herself and forcefully straightened the horse back onto its right side.

A Han cavalryman moved close to her left side and thrust his short spear towards her waist and abdomen.

Zhou Tie charged in from behind, smashing the spear tip off with his shield.

Lu Shuangyi returned the spear and stabbed it behind the man's ear.

The tip of the gun pierced through the helmet and emerged from the other side.

The Blackstone Fortress heavy cavalry charge came to a halt.

Han Lie's three hundred cavalrymen were also crowded together.

The two sides slashed at each other close to the horses.

Whoever has the thickest armor can take one more cut.

On the other side, Zhou Tie's shield was shattered by a horse's head. He simply threw the shield between the legs of the opposing horse, and as the warhorse fell, he grabbed the reins and climbed onto the back of the stray horse. It was a tall, blue-maned horse, much stronger than his original one. He rubbed the horse's neck and grinned.

"This horse belongs to me!"

Before the laughter had even subsided, he spurred his horse and charged at the next person.

The people of Blackstone Fortress fought even more fiercely.

They knew that every suit of armor and every horse before them could potentially be theirs after the battle. While the Han family cavalry were protecting their master's possessions, these men were risking their lives for their winter rations, silver, and families. The blades on both sides were equally swift, but the emotions weighing on their hearts were entirely different.

Chen Mu was not wearing heavy armor.

Lin Qinghe tied his right arm to his chest, allowing him to hold the knife only in his left hand. Two layers of soft cloth were also placed on the blisters on his back, but even sitting on the horse, it still felt like being branded with a hot iron.

He led eighty light cavalrymen and avoided a head-on collision.

Instead, they circled around the base of the city wall to Han Lie's right.

Han Lie left two hundred cavalry to protect the flanks, and seeing that Chen Mu had few men, he immediately went to greet him personally.

"Kill Chen Mu!"

"Five hundred taels for a head!"

The moment the price of five hundred taels was uttered, the eyes of the Han family cavalry turned red.

Chen Mu smiled.

"I have more silver than him."

He tore a small cloth bag off the side of the saddle and scattered it on the snow.

Dozens of pieces of silver were scattered everywhere.

The Han family cavalry at the forefront instinctively lowered their heads.

With just a glance, Chen Mu's knife slit his throat.

The riders behind were tripped by their horses falling backward.

Chen Mu led his light cavalry through the gap, specifically targeting the reins and the hands holding the swords. The Han family cavalry tried to surround him, but then a whistle of northern wolves sounded from the west side of the city gate.

The eighty light cavalrymen split into four groups, each followed by only a palm-sized flag. They wore no armor and did not linger in one place, charging once and then immediately scattering. The Han family tried to give chase from the flank, but after a dozen steps, they discovered another group of light cavalry cutting off their rear; when they turned back to rescue them, Chen Mu emerged from the snow-covered slope.

Unable to wield a sword with his right hand, Chen Mu sheathed all three short swords in the left saddle. The first sword's blade became dull from the first strike, so he tossed it aside and used the second. A Han cavalryman caught up from behind; Chen Mu sharply pulled on the reins, and as the pursuer crashed into the horse's rump, he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off. A nearby light cavalryman immediately harnessed his horse, and no one bothered to finish him off.

Anato has arrived.

Instead of heading straight for Black Stone Fortress, she led three hundred men and hid behind Han Lie along the western slope. Only a little over a hundred of the men were true riders; the remaining herdsmen, though skilled riders, had never engaged in direct mounted combat.

Anato didn't let them crash into her.

"Lasso the horse!"

More than a hundred lassos flew out from behind.

The Han family's vanguard was focused on the north gate, unguarded from behind. The horse's neck, the rider's shoulders, and the lower back were lassoed with ropes, and two or three herdsmen dragged each rider off the horse, first pulling them down, then trampling them with the horse's hooves.

Batu was tied to a hay cart and pushed to the top of the hill.

The Han family cavalry saw that even Wugut's eldest son had become a prisoner, and they had no idea how many northerners had arrived behind them.

The formation began to crumble.

Anato did not rush to push Batu into the battlefield.

She had the hay cart turned sideways and hung the old Ugut flag on it. Batu, disheveled, knelt under the flag, his lips purple from the cold. Several herdsmen who had previously worked for the Ugut recognized him, and their bows faltered slightly.

"Look carefully!" Anato shouted in the northern dialect, "Kumu is dead, and Batu has knelt down! Who will take a knife for the dead? They won't even get a sheepskin after they die!"

More than thirty herdsmen were the first to throw their bows.

They didn't surrender to Chen Mu; they simply turned their horses and fled. But with thirty fewer men on the battlefield, thirty gaps appeared. Lassos flew through the gaps, dragging and disorganizing the Han family cavalry line by line.

A young shepherdess, on her first attempt, managed to lasso the enemy's helmet. Panicked, she gripped the rope tightly, and two companions rushed to her aid. The three horses pulled together, and the helmet, along with the chin, was ripped off. The young shepherdess spat out a cough, changed the rope, and continued lassoing.

Her brother froze to death at Baiquan Ranch last year, and his body was exchanged for only half a bag of moldy wheat.

Today she is bringing a live horse home.

Han Lie killed two of his retreating subordinates.

"Nothing more than a shepherd's slave!"

"Turn around and kill!"

He led a hundred riders to rush towards Anatolia.

Chen Mu was waiting for him to turn around.

"Black pot flag, forward!"

Er Gou dragged his injured leg out of the north gate.

He wasn't on horseback; he was pushing three empty grain carts with fifty cooks and wounded soldiers. Black flags were stuck on the middle cart, and the rims of the pots were covered with the loose silver that had just been distributed.

"Kill one, take ten taels!"

"Steal a horse, and take five taels!"

The silver jingled on the flag.

The infantry of Blackrock Fortress charged out.

They didn't try to outrun the cavalry; they targeted those dragged off their horses by lassos. After killing someone, they would immediately pluck silver from the flag, stuff it into their inner garment, and then pounce on the next.

Han Lie's forwards were completely sandwiched between three sides.

Lu Shuangyi pressed down another step from the front.

Chen Mu cut it off from the right side.

Anato seized the horse from behind.

Fewer and fewer of the six hundred riders can still form a unit.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Han Lie finally ordered a retreat.

Instead of retreating towards White Wolf Pass, he charged northeast towards the frozen river. The terrain there was open, and once he regrouped, he could still wear down the people of Black Stone Fortress with his mounted archery.

Chen Mu did not pursue them further.

"Only pursue them for ten miles!"

"Don't chase people, steal horses!"

One after another, the ownerless warhorses were tethered.

The wounded Han cavalrymen tried to climb back onto their horses, but were first dragged down by the foot soldiers. Those who were willing to throw down their swords and kneel were allowed to stay, while those who still clung to the reins had their hands cut off on the spot.

When Han Lie had charged ten miles away, he only had two hundred and seventy riders left with him.

Outside the north gate of Blackrock Fortress, there were 193 intact warhorses, 76 prisoners, and a ground littered with bows and armor.

The black pot also lost most of its silver.

Nobody cares.

The silver was replaced with a horse.

The horse can steal even more silver.

Forty-three Blackstone Fortress soldiers died in the battle, and more than one hundred were wounded.

As the bodies were carried back to the North Gate one by one, the soldiers who had been cheering just moments before fell silent. An old woman recognized her son's boots, rushed forward, embraced the body, and wept so hard she almost passed out. Su Wan didn't have anyone pull her away; instead, she knelt down and placed twenty taels of silver in her hand, then led over a captured ponies.

"The silver is his, and the horse is his too."

"Keep it if you want, sell it if you want. Nobody's going to take it back."

The old woman held the silver, cried for a long time, and finally handed the horse reins to her twelve-year-old grandson.

"Keep it."

"When you grow up, ride it and steal another one for your dad."

Seventy-six prisoners were led to the city wall, expecting to be beheaded. But Er Gou first gave each of them half a coarse grain cake, then pointed to the corpses and stray horses in the snow.

"Those who want to leave, take off your armor and go. Those who want to stay, bring your swords tomorrow."

"But let me make this clear first: if you stay, you'll be eating from the pot. Anyone who dares to open the door for the Han family, I'll boil them in the pot."

The prisoners looked at each other.

Only nine men removed their armor and left, but after walking a hundred paces, five of them turned back.

They had been fighting for the Han family for years, but their debts kept piling up. Today, the families of the dead in Black Stone Fortress received silver on the spot, and the living were given horses on the spot—something they had never even heard of before.

Chen Mu did not allow them to immediately deploy the heavy cavalry.

"First, follow along to move the corpses and feed the horses."

"Whether you dare to go on stage or not, we'll see tomorrow."

When Lu Shuangyi returned to the North Gate, her white horse had been struck in the right chest by an arrow. She broke the arrow shaft herself without dismounting.

"Han Lie went to the frozen river."

Chen Mu looked northeast.

"He can't escape."

Lin Qinghe heard this from inside the city gate and came out carrying her medicine box.

"You come down first."

Chen Mu did not move.

"The wound hasn't reopened."

"It only counts if I've seen it."

Anato rode her horse to the other side, smiling as she watched him.

"She told you to get down."

Chen Mu had no choice but to dismount.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, blood immediately seeped from the wounds on their boots where Han Wenshan had pierced them.

Lin Qinghe sneered.

"No cracks?"

"Feet are not shoulders."

Lin Qinghe stepped on his good foot.

Chen Mu finally shut up.

In the distance, Er Gou had already loaded the second black pot onto the empty grain cart.

"Corporal!"

"That's enough horses!"

"We can form a heavy cavalry unit now!"

Chen Mu looked at the 180 suits of heavy armor in the direction of the training ground.

"Choose people."

"We'll test the knife on Han Lie tomorrow."