Boom boom——
The sound of hoofbeats thundered like lightning all around Li Yao.
She knew she was completely surrounded.
She was a little puzzled though - logically, she should still be behind the Daling Army's front line. How could there be so many barbarian troops here?
Could she have made a mistake in her calculations and, after rushing along these past two days, unwittingly arrived in barbarian territory after missing the Daling Army?
That seemed unlikely.
Now was not the time to ponder such things.
Being surrounded was a foregone conclusion, so how she could break free was the key.
In an instant, at least three methods of escape flashed through Li Yao's mind. But just as she was deciding which one to use, fires lit up in the far distance.
This was followed by the faint sound of hoofbeats. Although still distant, they sounded considerable in number.
Moreover, they were concentrated together, not dispersed like these small barbarian elite squads surrounding her.
Could she have run into the Daling Army?
Li Yao felt it was very possible - after all, this was still the Daling Army's rear. If the Daling Army did not respond at all to the barbarians brazenly rampaging around tonight, that would reflect badly on them.
In that case, she would stop hiding.
She decided to break through the barbarian encirclement and directly link up with the Daling Army.
So she took a leather armor from her horse and put it on, then oriented herself and prepared to break out at top speed.
The barbarian squads clearly also noticed the Daling Army's movements. They immediately split into five small teams, adopting an encirclement posture to intercept, while the rest continued to surround Li Yao.
The thunderous hoofbeats grew nearer and nearer. At a distance of two hundred meters, the tall figures of the barbarians could already be seen.
Li Yao held her breath, crossbow and arrow poised and ready.
The barbarians' crossbows had an effective range of about thirty meters, while hers, custom-made by Xia Xian, had an effective range of almost fifty meters.
Do not underestimate those extra twenty meters - it was enough to give her the upper hand.
In the blink of an eye, the hundred-plus meter gap closed. Li Yao raised her crossbow and shot, directly hitting the barbarian at the forefront.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh——
What followed was the barbarians' powerful retaliation.
Dense volleys of arrows shot past her like a swarm of locusts, some even snapping off a few strands of her hair.
It had to be said, these barbarians' arrows packed quite a punch, and their aim was not bad either.
After this arrow storm came close-quarters combat.
Li Yao drew her long knife from her back. Her feet were lodged tightly in the stirrups.
The barbarians used single-stirrup saddles, but she had modified hers into a double-stirrup saddle so she could better leverage her advantage on horseback.
Whoosh——
The two warhorses brushed past each other. As Li Yao dodged the barbarian's curved knife, her own knife smoothly sliced through the leather armor under his armpit.
The sharp blade sliced right through his chest cavity. He tumbled off the horse.
Scoring a hit, Li Yao did not linger but spurred her horse onwards.
By the time the barbarian had reined his horse around to pursue, Li Yao was already a hundred-plus meters away.
"Shoot arrows, shoot her dead for me!"
It was just one woman, and yet she had taken out more than ten elite barbarian warriors these past couple days. And now, surrounded and outnumbered, she could still injure two with a single pass.
How could the barbarian sub-chief swallow this insult?
Atop her galloping horse, Li Yao was also pumped at this direct confrontation. She had never had this kind of frontline combat experience before. Trying it out occasionally felt pretty good.
At least, relying on her own agility and control over every detail, retreating safely still felt effortless.
But Wang San'er was in a somewhat passive position.
Being surrounded and attacked by five elite enemy squads with inferior numbers - this really did not feel good.
When fighting the Daling Army, the barbarians would almost never clash head-on. Like paring meat with a small knife, they would nibble away bit by bit at the Daling forces.
If truly outmatched, they would scatter and flee helter-skelter, impossible for their pursuers to catch up.
Whoosh whoosh——
Arrows whistled into the army's midst, injuring two men. But the enemies did not tarry, shooting a volley then immediately circling to the side in preparation for their next attack.
Wang San'er knew now was not the time to grapple with the enemies. He looked into the distance - fighting seemed to have broken out over there.
This strengthened his conviction that Mother must still be alive, and heading this way.
"Form ranks!"
"Charge formation, charge towards the front!"
One hundred men immediately assumed a triangular formation, charging straight for Li Yao under Wang San'er's lead.
A large-scale cavalry charge was extremely fearsome, so the scattered barbarians had to avoid its momentum for the time being.
But such a headlong charge also had a huge downside - if it failed to hit the enemy main force, the enemy could swiftly regroup and counter-charge while their horses were spent but the enemy raring to go. With strength on one side and weakness on the other, it would be easy to get scattered.
But Wang San'er could think of nothing else now. His sole thought was: Rescue Mother!
Boom boom boom——
The horses trampled the earth, shaking it.
Wang San brought his officers, charging at top speed towards Li Yao.
But the distance was too great. By the time their charge approached its end, they still had not caught sight of Li Yao.
Meanwhile, the barbarian squads had fully regrouped. Assuming charge formation, they now prepared to counter-attack.
Forming a defensive formation was the only effective approach now.
Charging them now would only get them scattered by the enemies. Only holding formation could allow them to hold out a bit longer.
But everyone knew the cavalry charge was no easy thing to defend against. There would likely be heavy casualties. Many brothers would remain here tonight.
"My brothers, your brother Wang San has wronged you!"
"What is this nonsense, Third Brother?" A soldier retorted. "What of dying while fighting barbarians?"
"Those f*cking barbarians are too arrogant. We'll teach them a lesson tonight!"
"Third Brother, let's not keep defending. Let's just charge these motherf*ckers to the death!"
"Right, let's show them the might of us Daling cavalry!"
Hot blood rushed through the hundred men's chests.
Battle lust surged in their hearts!
"Good brothers!" Wang San'er roused them with a cry, arm raised. "My mother once said, better to devote this life to serving the nation than to live on safely back in Yuhan Pass!"
"Brothers, follow me - we'll slaughter these barbarians squeaky clean!"
"Kill——"
"Form ranks!"
"Charge——"
Boom boom boom——
The deafening din made the heavens and earth quake.
The two cavalry forces charged towards each other with peerless valor.
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away, Li Yao observed both sides' situations clearly. She could not help but inwardly remark that the Daling commander was far too rash.
Having just launched a charge, to immediately charge again - how could the horses take it?
Clashing now would surely end messily.
As always, it came down to her again, after all.
So she immediately mounted a nearby warhorse, and set alight the hay she had prepared atop it earlier.
In a flash, several warhorses became fiery steeds, maddened as they charged towards the barbarian army.
Caught unawares, the barbarian troops watched the sudden flaming horses crash into their ranks. Terrified by the flames, their war mounts immediately grew chaotic, colliding incessantly. Even the skilled barbarian horsemen could not restrain them for the moment.
And amidst their disarray, Wang San had already arrived leading his men.
"Kill——"
