Neighhhh!
Steeds collided with steeds, and spear clashed with sabers. The same sight replayed once more. The mounted members of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen were stronger than the other highwaymen stationed at the forefront, nearly matching up to the might of official soldiers of Great Tang.
Nevertheless, that didn't hinder the fact that they were still weaker than Wang Chong's group. On an intense battlefield, that would spell a huge difference in the ultimate outcome.
Boom! With the collision of war steeds, several horses and their riders were knocked several zhang into the air as if they were completely weightless.
And despite their attempts to maneuver in midair, sharp spears would shoot through the air to pierce through their vitals before they could fall back to the ground.
The falling rain of blood brought a shade of crimson to the brilliant orange glow of the rising sun.
As strong and fierce as the highwaymen were, they were still no match for the well-trained Great Tang cavalry.
Peng peng peng peng!
As the spears shot out like vipers, the highwaymen fell one after another with resounding dull thuds. It was a simple fighting tactic, but it was far more effective than profound and exquisite martial arts at the moment.
"Escape!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"We fell into their trap, we need to regroup!"...
Frightened voices resounded across the entire road.
The sixty Iron Cloak highwaymen were significantly stronger than their peers, but nevertheless, they only barely managed to hold a moment longer before the collapse of their formation.
This utter defeat had destroyed them both physically and spiritually, wiping out any thought of retaliation from their minds.
This was how big the gap was!
Di da da!
Looking at how utterly the frontline had collapsed under the enemy's charge, the bandits and highwaymen behind swiftly turned around and fled.
"Charge!" A cold glint flashed across Wang Chong's eyes as he bellowed decisively.
On the battlefield, an army retreating out of fear was one of greatest mistakes that could ever be committed.
Theoretically speaking, even if one was on the horseback as well, they should at least be able to maintain a fixed gap from their enemies, which represented a chance that they might at least be able to outlast their pursuers and successfully get away. However, reality wasn't as simple as that.
Speed had to be built up. The group that began the charge first would always be at a decisive advantage in terms of speed.
In this case, Wang Chong's party was already at a considerable speed, and the fleeing highwaymen had to start accelerating from zero. This meant that the speed of the highwaymen wouldn't be able to compete with Wang Chong and his group for several vital seconds.
Furthermore, considering the chaos during their flight, the bandits and highwaymen were likely to block each other's paths, thus making it even more unlikely for them to escape.
"AHHH!"
Tragic screams sounded as the Great Tang cavalrymen tore through the fleeing crowd. The spears in their hands moved swiftly to strike down every enemy that came into their range, destroying everything that was in their path.
Pu pu pu!
One, two, three... ten... twenty...
Just like that, it felt as if hell had materialized on that short road of thirty zhang. The bandits and highwaymen fled as if they were pursued by demons, and those who lagged behind were viciously slaughtered.
At some point, a few highwaymen decided that they wouldn't survive in such a manner and attempted to turn around and stand their ground, perhaps dragging down a few souls down with them. However, what they were met with was a dense assembly of spear tips instead.
"Hurry, let's flee to the slope!"
Finally, someone realized that it was impossible for them to rival Wang Chong on the main road. Thus, he led the pack up the mountainous slope with dense undergrowth.
"Charge!"
Without thinking, the Great Tang cavalrymen also prepared to charge into the forest to pursue them.
"Stop! Let them escape!" Wang Chong raised his hand and spoke forcefully.
The cavalrymen immediately stopped their movements and backed out from the mountain forest.
Obeying commands!
This was the most basic discipline expected of a soldier.
The capability Wang Chong had displayed had won everyone's trust. At this moment, everyone already regarded him as their true commander, not just one assigned to them by the royal court.
"It's unwise to drive a cornered dog up the wall. They are just a few highwaymen and bandits, they won't pose much of a threat. Let them go!" Wang Chong said nonchalantly as he pulled on his reins.
His expression was composed, and wisdom was reflected in his eyes. Despite the hot-blooded charge just a moment ago, an air of calm seemed to permeate him.
Perhaps even Wang Chong himself was unaware of it, but at this moment, he seemed more like an experienced general instead of a sixteen-year-old youth.
"Yes, lord!" the group replied in harmony. Their expressions and movements were respectful, reminiscent to how one would behave before a high-ranked commander in the army.
At the same time, it suddenly dawned on them that the battle had ended. Other than the few bandits and highwaymen who managed to escape, the others who had pursued them were already utterly destroyed.
The forty zhang stretch of road behind them was perhaps what one would term as a living sight of hell. Turks, Tibetans, Goguryeons, Han, Arabs, Persians... corpses of bandits and highwaymen of differing ethnicities and origins were littered around the area. Carcasses of dead horses, torn limbs, ripped intestines... truly a horrible sight.
Fresh blood oozing out from the corpses slowly crept down the road, tainting as much ground as it could reach. An overwhelming stench of blood wafted in the area, threatening nausea to those unaccustomed to it.
Owehh!
Bai Siling was still oblivious to this all in the midst of the battle, but as soon as it ended, everything just struck her all at once, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of nausea. As powerful and strong-willed as she was, she was still a lady.
How could she have ever seen such a brutal sight?
Bai Siling's body trembled. The overwhelming stench of blood was persistently provoking her senses, stoking her disgust.
Hua!
She swiftly leapt off her horse, ran to the side of the road, and began vomiting violently. Everything that she had eaten in the past day poured out of her.
Even tears were threatening to fall from her eyes from the immense discomfort.
"This is your first time, isn't it? It'll be fine once you get used to it," an impassive voice sounded behind her. Unknowing to her, Wang Chong was already standing behind her.
Even the strongest of women had a weak side to them. This was the first time Wang Chong had seen such an unseemly side to Bai Siling.
"How are you doing that?" Bai Siling tried to hold in her repulsion, but another surge of nausea welled up in her in the next moment, and she vomited yet another mouthful of stomach acid.
"What do you mean?" Wang Chong was taken aback by Bai Siling's question.
Kneeling feebly on the ground, Bai Siling asked, "How are you doing that? Why aren't you vomiting before this?"
Wang Chong was stunned by the sudden question. When encountering death for the first time, one would find an instinctive surge of repulsion welling up within them.
Of course, Wang Chong was no exception to the rule. Just that, this was not his first time.
His thoughts drifted to a faraway place along with Bai Siling's words.
Chapter 346: Crossing Blows!
Chapter 346: Crossing Blows!
In his previous life, he was a gentle and kind person who had never even killed a chicken before, needless to say, a man.
But humans change.
If the world could cre
ate a man, there should be little to doubt that it could change him, too.
In his previous life, in his days of wandering, Wang Chong caught the eye of a few elders of the military and was groomed by them. It was in those days that Wang Chong first killed a man.
When he saw the mixture of red and white spilling out of that man's head, he nearly spewed his guts out. He fared worse than what Bai Siling was going through now.
But as he watched his comrades and brothers fell one after another, and his familiar homeland vanishing amidst blazing flames, Wang Chong never vomited again.
After discharging the weakness within him, all that was left in Wang Chong's heart was strength.
All of this, Wang Chong was unwilling to reveal to Bai Siling.
Recalling the mission he shouldered, as well as the consequences should he fail, everything, be it his honor, pride, or emotions, seemed like nothing in comparison.
Standing behind Bai Siling, Wang Chong spoke slowly. "Siling, the reason why I won't vomit is because there are things that are more important to me than those detached limbs on the ground. If we had failed to destroy the bandits and highwaymen, the ones who would be lying there would be us, Xu Gan, and Huang Yongtu!"
Bai Siling froze for an instant before gradually lifting her head. Looking at the determination on the young man's face, it was as if something had suddenly struck a chord in her heart.
In that instant, the repulsion and discomfort she felt alleviated significantly.
"Let's go, time waits for no one. Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others are still waiting for us!" Saying those words, Wang Chong offered a hand to Bai Siling.
Bai Siling subconsciously grabbed Wang Chong's hand, and from it, she felt a feeling of reliability and support she had never experienced before.
For that short instant, she felt a deep connection to the nonchalant young man before her.
Jya!
Getting back onto their steeds, Wang Chong and Bai Siling, with a ferocious group of forty cavalrymen behind them, galloped back to where the remaining bandits and highwaymen were.
---
"Chief, chief!"
"Bad news!"
Two highwaymen emerged from the right side of the forest, and upon coming into proximity with Iron Cloak Li, they leapt down from the back of their steeds, swiftly ran up to him, and knelt down before him fearfully.
"Our brothers have been killed..."
"Speak clearly, how many have been killed? Where are the others?" Iron Cloak Li's face darkened as he gazed at the duo from above.
"All of them! They are all dead! We are the only two survivors!" the two Iron Cloak highwaymen reported, their faces pale with fright.
On this stretch of road to Longxi, the members of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen were known to be tough and vicious men who did not fear death. But in just a short instant, their courage had been crushed completely.
Forty bandits and sixty highwaymen, a group totaling a hundred people, and yet they were massacred in just a few moments.
On the other hand, not a single man from Wang Chong's side had died yet.
The fear they felt wasn't remotely imaginable for those who hadn't been put through the same situation.
"WHAT!"
As soon as those two spoke, peng peng, they were immediately knocked flying. Retracting his palm, Iron Cloak Li's face looked incredibly awful.
Even though he and Zhou An didn't follow the group in the operation, they had been keeping tabs on the situation. When they first heard the deafening roar from afar, they had already realized that something had gone wrong.
But in his point of view, given that the men he had dispatched were remarkable experts with top-notch horsemanship skills, they should have been able to flee even if they were no match for the enemy.
Perhaps, they might even be able to kill a few of them while fleeing.
But yet, the hundred subordinates he had dispatched were cleanly wiped out except for two of them. This had far surpassed Iron Cloak Li's expectations.
In fact, he felt like these two men were intentionally released by the other party to mock him, and this further enraged him.
Turning to the military advisor beside him, Iron Cloak Li asked, "Zhou An, how are preparations on your side?"
"I still need some time. Considering how wary that fellow is, I have to ensure that the preparations are thorough," Zhou An replied with an equally awful look.
The Iron Cloak Highwaymen had many members, but having a hundred of their men killed in a single battle was still a huge loss.
The only consolation to them was that most of the bandits killed were those who had just joined them. When new bandits appeared after some time, they would be able to replenish their numbers.
On the other hand, the death of the sixty highwaymen was indeed a little regretful. But what would come as a relief was that they were one of the weaker groups in the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, and only a couple of them had reached the True Martial realm.
From that aspect, despite suffering significant damage, the core of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen was still intact, so it wouldn't be too difficult for them to recover from this blow.
"Un," Iron Cloak Li nodded. He clenched his fists tightly, and ominous cracking sounds echoed in the forest,"When you're done, I shall personally tear those fellows apart!"
To date, the Iron Cloak Highwaymen had yet to suffer any significant damage, but in a single breath, Wang Chong's group had massacred over a hundred of his men.
Iron Cloak Li had to admit that he had underestimated the forty Great Tang cavalrymen. In terms of fighting prowess, they were definitely far above those fellows whom they had trapped on the slope.
But with his actions, Wang Chong had truly provoked Iron Cloak Li. If the latter had only been intending to use him to win the loyalty of his men just a moment ago, at this current moment, Wang Chong had become a figure he was determined to kill at all cost.
"Once everything is ready, I'll eradicate you along with those trapped on the slope!" Iron Cloak Li spat with quivering fury.
In his view, those who were on the slope were like birds in a cage. The only reason why he hadn't slaughtered them yet was to tie Wang Chong and the others down, and prevent them from leaving.
Di da da!
At that moment, the flurried clopping of hooves echoed from the distance, and a long trail of dust could be seen extending to the horizon.
Turning at the corner, with Wang Chong at the forefront and Bai Siling beside him, the forty Great Tang cavalrymen appeared before everyone's eyes in a neat formation.
Boom!
When Wang Chong's group reappeared with their numbers still whole, a resounding cheer abruptly echoed up the slope.
Zhang Lin, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and all of the Great Tang cavalrymen stood up in agitation.
No matter what kind of conflict they had before, none of those mattered at this very moment. Amidst the despair they were in, Wang Chong's reappearance signified a ray of hope. Their bodies began trembling uncontrollably in agitation.
"Inconceivable!"
"He really succeeded!"
"Did they really just kill a hundred highwaymen and bandits?"
"They did, and with all forty of their men intact, not a single casualty at all!"...
From the point when only two of the original group of hundred returned, the group trapped at the slope had already known the outcome.
But no one could have guessed there would not be a single casualty among the forty cavalrymen in that operation.
"This is completely unbelievable, how did that fellow do it?" Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu muttered in astonishment under their breath, staring at Wang Chong and the forty cavalrymen appearing from the valley road.
Having fought the highwaymen and bandits themselves, they had a concrete understanding of their strength. Just the fact that more than sixteen of the military veterans had ended up falling into an eternal rest here was more than sufficient to reflect their might.
But despite dragging a trail of more than a hundred highwaymen and bandits away, Wang Chong and his men managed to eliminate every single one of them without suffering any damage.
Such an outcome could already be considered as a miracle.
Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu questioned themselves, but they realized that there was no way they could have achieved the same if put in the same circumstances.
For the first time, they found themselves deeply impressed by the capability that Wang Chong had shown.
"Lad, report your name! Who are you?" a clear and resounding voice echoed amidst the huge group of bandits and highwaymen.
Chaos broke out momentarily among the crowd as they moved to open up a path. At the very end of this path, the chief of the Iron Cloak Highwayman, Iron Cloak Li, could be seen standing atop a boulder.
That towering eight chi tall figure exerted a huge pressure even from such a long distance away. Since Wang Chong's return, his cold gaze had been fixated on the young man.
At this moment, the surroundings were completely silent. All fighting had paused momentarily, and hundreds of gazes gathered on Wang Chong. Even Zhang Lin, Xu Gan, and the others had their eyes on him.
An unprecedented heavy air loomed in the area.
Di da!
Before the hundreds of gazes, Wang Chong galloped forward slowly without the slightest hint of fear.
"Iron Cloak Highwayman, how brazen you are to dare to attack the army of Great Tang! Do you know the outcome of making an enemy out of the royal court?" Ignoring Iron Cloak Li, Wang Chong's gaze swept across the other bandits and highwaymen in the area instead.
"What a joke! You came knocking our doors, wrecking everything in your path. Who knows how many bandits have died in your hands, and you still expect us to surrender without resistance? If officials can kill bandits, the reverse is naturally true as well!" Iron Cloak Li roared furiously as an air of arrogance drifted around him.
"Hmph! Despite robbing and murdering innocent merchants, you still wish to claim the moral high ground? Officials clear bandits to maintain order in the world, that is an act of justice, and it should naturally be done. Otherwise, are we to allow scum like you to rampage as you please?
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 250
