Chapter 273

The Wagang Fort army threw away helmets and armor while fleeing for their lives, but small-scale soldiers kept launching counterattacks—only to be routed again and flee. Bai Lang, leading his horse, felt that even in such rout they could still organize troops to keep counterattacking; Li Mi was still on par with Zhai Rang—nothing trivial—of course it might also be the tactics of the so-called beautician military advisor Shen Luoyan. In any case, Zhang Xutuo commanded the army in relentless pursuit, and it looked like they would soon have chased them for a full hour.

The Wagang Fort main force had already been pursued for over ten li, and the lives lost numbered at least two or three thousand. Zhang Xutuo led the Sui army to arrive at Great Sea Temple, when suddenly ambush troops sprang from the woods on both sides. It turned out that Li Mi had already planned the tactic beforehand, probably proposed by Shen Luoyan—the Li Mi and Zhai Rang led troops into battle, feigned defeat, luring Zhang Xutuo into the ambush site; forces on left and right surged forward to kill, and those leading the troops were naturally Xu Shiji, Wang Bodang, Shan Xiongxin and other elite generals.

The ambush troops totaled only over two thousand, but they were all elite picked from Wagang Fort, each possessing considerable martial skill—being able to gather such a force at this time, one must admit Wagang Fort indeed has deep reserves. As for Zhang Xutuo's personal martial ability, in Bai Lang's view it was actually ordinary; he excelled at strategy and boosting morale while caring for his soldiers, but judging purely by personal combat prowess, Luo Shixin is considerably stronger than him. The reason Zhang Xutuo has led the charge and broken formations up to now without being killed......

"Because behind him follows Luo Shixin, and he bears that aura of loyal and valiant heroism." That was Bai Lang's opinion. After the ambush troops appeared, he felt nothing at all, whereas the Sui army began to waver. For the front likewise had Wagang Fort elites previously laid in ambush to counterattack—those were likely the elite Li Mi had drawn out to obey him, and they began to push back Zhang Xutuo's Sui army.

The square formation is very strong in frontal assault, but when facing flank attacks its weakness is exposed, making it vulnerable to being split and surrounded. "It's time for me to go on stage!" Bai Lang rejoiced; when he sensed the enemy's qi, he found it continually rising, directly overwhelming the morale of the great Sui official army. Indeed, when discovering they were surrounded by ambush, even the finest troops would panic—even a **** elite army is no exception.

Zhang Xutuo had issued no military order, but Bai Lang himself let out a long whistle, the roar of a fierce tiger shaking the entire battlefield; then he leapt onto his horse, raised his twin halberds, and launched a charge at the ambush troops before him. Only a handful of cavalry behind him reacted and followed Bai Lang's charge—these are rare brave men, truly loyal and righteous souls. To charge the Wagang Fort ambush is tantamount to using one's own life to block the enemy's advance; it amounts to ten deaths with no chance of survival.

The Wagang Fort ambush troops attacked the Sui army, already somewhat exhausted, like a swift blade splitting bamboo, quickly tearing open the Sui flank; the Sui troops inside, unable to turn, were continually cut down. At this moment Bai Lang arrived, and the Sui's fierce generals were also counterattacking, especially Zhang Xutuo, whose bristling beard and hair waved as he wielded his great blade at the forefront of the breach. Now is not the time for calm command, but the moment when, on a narrow path, the brave prevail; if he loses his will to win, the entire Sui army is doomed—even the Henan Circuit will have its prior efforts wasted, and the world will fall into irreparable chaos.

At that moment a mighty roar pierced the whole battlefield; Zhang Xutuo himself, on horseback, saw Bai Lang charging straight into the enemy formation, and he was both deeply moved and pained— in his view this brave general's loyalty and righteousness were unmatched, yet he seemed about to be sacrificed. However Bai Lang is an armored cavalryman— even if it's just leather armor, it counts as armored cavalry; at least few horses wear iron barding, though the Sui at its height had some, nowadays probably only Youzhou Commander Luo Yi still has a few.

Arrows and hidden weapons flew toward Bai Lang, many of them imbued with strong internal force. Bai Lang crossed his twin halberds before the horse's head, and with his innate true qi surging forth, a wrapped cone formed ahead, which he drove forward. Such ability is already shocking to the world; even arrows and hidden weapons carrying internal force basically slide off this cone of innate true qi, and the few hidden weapons that can pierce the qi and strike within are blocked by Bai Lang's leather armor infused with internal force, leaving him utterly unharmed.

When he charged into the enemy formation— even if the opponent had loosened their ranks to allow these martial‑proficient elite soldiers to display their skills— Bai Lang, amidst the tiger's roar, spread his arms, uncrossing his long halberd and sweeping out a wind blade over ten feet long to left and right. This is sword qi and blade light; this single strike of his directly sliced into fragments more than ten elite Wagang Fort soldiers ahead and on both flanks, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Bai Lang let out a wild laugh like a ghost's wail and a wolf's howl; he was truly delighted, finally able to break the enemy formation and slaughter again. The white tiger within his body had long been eager to devour the battlefield's flesh and murderous aura. The white tiger's murderous aura is just like that: on the battlefield, the more you kill, the stronger the aura grows, naturally making your martial techniques higher and more marvelous— especially with a blazing fighting spirit, you can absolutely exert 120%, even 200% of your own strength, making cross‑rank slaying of enemies no dream at all.

The key is that when killing, one's mood becomes extremely exalted and excited, the killer instinct grows heavier, the person becomes more radiant and spirited, and one's strength keeps improving— although after reaching the innate realm progress is less noticeable, it is absolutely more enjoyable than mundane daily practice. The only pity is that one must cultivate on the battlefield; one cannot rely on wanton slaughter of innocents to train this.

Bai Lang's internal force drew inward; continuing like this his own consumption would be relatively great— innate true qi in this world cannot be considered inexhaustible, and it is entirely possible for loss to exceed replenishment. Moreover, stirring this world's innate elemental qi puts Bai Lang at a slight disadvantage— he cannot manage such a grand scale, his martial arts being all expansive and mighty. So let him retract and release, infusing his armor and weapons to kill.

Bai Lang's external martial arts have trained him to possess divine strength; at this moment, waving his long halberd, no one can stop him. In Bai Lang's hands the halberd is like a reed— its swinging speed is extremely fast, and even without adding the force of the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist, sheer strength alone can easily cleave through person and armor alike. "Any weapon forged of iron has this flaw, but after cutting down dozens of men the blade actually becomes dull." In the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, Bai Lang has already advanced dozens of steps and slain dozens of men.

Because he had not tied a tassel, blood water flowed down the spear shaft; when Bai Lang shook, blood droplets sprayed everywhere. He curled his lips, clamped his legs to spur the warhorse, and with his hands following the horse's motion he thrust out— the long halberd like a living dragon pierced straight through several bodies, then he impaled them on the ground. Bai Lang drew his iron truncheon; at this point the ambush troops' morale finally waned— Bai Lang's slaughter was too fierce and swift, they didn't even have time to feel fear......

Bai Lang continued to drive his warhorse forward; at this moment the cavalry behind him gathered spirit, successively following in dozens of riders, all shouting Bai Lang's name as they charged behind him into the formation. Bai Lang, looking ahead, saw likewise a Wagang Fort commander on horseback, and he spurred his mount to rush straight at him.