Chapter 272

Seeing Bai Lang's bravery, Zhang Sutou was overjoyed beyond expectation; his troops were mostly bound by righteousness, some also wanting to serve the state and court—but mainly they were loyal to his personal moral charisma as chief commander. Although Bai Lang thought Zhang Sutou absolutely a national talent, he indeed had not come for Zhang Sutou's loyalty and righteousness.

There was no need to specially reveal it; Bai Lang directly accepted Zhang Sutou's arrangement for his position—at present he had achieved no merit, so Bai Lang could only be a just a colonel, leading several dozen cavalry to charge into battle; Zhang Sutou also needed to balance the power of his own subordinates, of course it was impossible to let Bai Lang upon arrival lead the cavalry.

Zhang Sutou was preparing to lead over ten thousand elite troops out to launch an offensive against the rebels of Wagang Village outside Xuyang City; he absolutely could not let the Wagang rebels reach Xuyang City, otherwise governing the realm would become difficult. Since Wang Bo's 'No Toward Liaodong, Die Singing' rebellion, bandits have risen everywhere. Moreover, Yang Xuangan's rebellion earlier turned many local Sui garrison officials into rebels as well.

Thanks to Zhang Sutou's eastern and western campaigns, after years of bitter fighting he finally stabilized Henan Circuit. Nowadays, among the famous rebels across the land, figures like Zuo Xiaoyou and Lu Mingyue have all been subdued by him; the original rebel Wang Bo was beaten by him to the point of barely escaping with his life, and he has repeatedly defeated Wagang Village, which threatens the Sui heartland. This time Li Mi has allied multiple forces to press upon Xuyang, and Zhang Sutou is also preparing to finish the job in one battle, aiming to utterly defeat Wagang Village at Xuyang.

Now he has more or less finished organizing his troops and supplies, the needed provisions and weapons have been replenished, and they are just waiting for these few days to go out of the city for a decisive battle—Bai Lang happened to arrive at this moment, which could be considered his luck. Although it is the Sui official army, Zhang Sutou could not quickly produce a suitable set of Ming light armor for Bai Lang, so he had no choice but to let Bai Lang wear his own purchased leather armor into battle.

What Bai Lang brought were essentially scout cavalry, not the heavily armored cavalry with strict discipline—the most armored cavalry in the world is in the hands of Luo Yi, the Governor of Youzhou.

On the third day after Bai Lang joined the army, Zhang Sutou's main force set out, while Bai Lang and the scout cavalry went ahead to scout and roam, sending out detachments far away to gauge Wagang Village's strength and drive off its scout cavalry, ensuring their own marching route. Bai Lang was also quite familiar with such tasks—it was just a matter of leading his new subordinates to kill people.

Having Bai Lang go on reconnaissance might not work well, but slaughtering the enemy's scout cavalry is truly very easy for him. This person goes to battle with two horses, because he wields double spears, has double iron truncheons hanging at his waist, plus his leather armor and his own body weight, an ordinary horse really strains under it—at least it weighs about 250 catties.

Fortunately his horse wasn't barded, otherwise a day's run would surely kill him. Sometimes Bai Lang felt he might have to fight on foot in heavy armor; then, wearing heavy armor and wielding double spears to charge, his impact wouldn't be much less than mounted shock. Now he easily cuts down the scout cavalry sent out by Wagang Village; he hands his iron truncheons and a Bu-character spear to his subordinates to carry, and even takes off his leather armor, merely wielding a long spear to kill people.

With a load under two hundred catties, his warhorse could still run fast, so the non-Zhang Sutou cavalry that appeared before him were repeatedly speared off their horses, as easy as eating chicken. Even if someone shot arrows, Bai Lang would casually knock them aside, unable to hit his body. All the heads he took were given entirely to his subordinates; he himself took none, and the subordinates knew this commander was purely enjoying the pleasure of killing, and while they submitted they also felt awe.

Bai Lang's bravery, in the eyes of these subordinates, is truly without mistake. No matter how many enemy scout cavalry there are, he alone on a single horse can wipe them out in just a few breaths, as easy as eating and drinking. Moreover, Bai Lang is generous, actually able to distribute the merit of taking heads to them.

Even when the scout cavalry are sent out at night they must be recalled; Bai Lang almost daily gains harvests—Innate Expert's qi-watching technique, is it not simple to find people's qi? However Wagang Village already occupies most of Xuyang Commandery; leaving Xuyang City, in less than two days they are already about to engage.

The Sui official army, with over ten thousand troops, set up camp; ahead more than ten li lay the Wagang army. The next morning Zhang Sutou deployed his formation to fight Wagang. Bai Lang was in the right-wing cavalry; he did not mount but, fully armored, led his horse and stood before the ranks—since no order had yet been given for the cavalry to sortie, most horsemen dismounted to preserve their horses' strength.

Bai Lang gazed at the enemy formation, he drew a deep breath, and the long-absent White Tiger military aura surged forth again—alas, ordinary people cannot see it; only those who have accomplished cultivation can perceive qi. As the armies clashed, a bleak, murderous aura naturally filled heaven and earth; even the sun's light turned pallid and less warm.

Besides, it was winter already, and a chill permeated all directions. Zhang Sutou's army mostly consisted of infantry, pushing forward with large shields and spears. The Wagang forces they met were led personally by the chief chief Zhai Rang, numbering far more than Zhang Sutou's. Yet upon contact they could not hold their formation, being pushed back step by step.

"This Wagang Village is so weak! They retreat step by step as soon as they engage; at this rate they'll collapse in the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Where is Qin Qiong? Where are the three axe strikes? Where is the demon king of the Great Demon Kingdom?!!" Bai Lang led his horse forward slowly, to avoid losing contact with the center. Now the center had surged forward, and Wagang's two flanks had no choice but to fill the middle to avoid being completely shattered.

Bai Lang saw the flags bearing 'Zhai' and 'Li' fluttering in the center, feeling that Li Mi's control over the troops was still quite strong; having held out until now, merely withdrawing without collapsing. "How long has he been in Wagang Village? To achieve this, he must indeed be a sworn brother of those who once rebelled with Yang Xuangan. He really has seen great scenes."

The Wagang army also seemed to be veterans of defeat; just as the old fighter Bai Lang expected, they began to rout in the time it takes to burn an incense stick, yet they were not killed in great numbers by Zhang Sutou's Sui official army—these bandits' fleeing skills are top-notch; they can strip off their armor in a few moves and discard it, and even the knives in their hands they keep a firm grip on, knowing they're still useful.

Zhang Sutou's tactics were also quite fierce; what Bai Lang saw was Zhang Sutou in the vanguard, personally leading the charge, with Luo Shixin following closely to break the Wagang front line, after which the high-spirited Sui official army poured in en masse to slaughter. After Zhang Sutou's initial advance he withdrew to command, while Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong continually tore open the enemy's defenses—of course there were hardly any defenses left now, just needing to lead the troops in pursuit.

No order ever came for Bai Lang to lead the cavalry in pursuit; it seems Zhang Sutou also had his own ideas, and even in this favorable situation he still retained a reserve force. "Martial arts masters? I recall Wagang Village is not lacking in masters; I suppose they really have little use in the battle formation," Bai Lang thought, but he still felt it was because these 'masters' lacked sufficient martial skill......