Chapter 58: Chapter Fifty-Nine

White Wolf slowed his horse's charging pace, which also gave the horse a rest, and the defeated soldiers ahead, seeing the demon king behind them, immediately began a chaotic rush against their own lines—charging in all directions, because White Wolf would cut down any lagging broken troops that fell before him. Sword slashes and spear thrusts, the speed of killing was simply exaggerated. Zhang Xianzhong's army discipline has always been harsh and cruel, so the chaotic defeated soldiers were, of course, shot dead by arrows from the rear formation.

Bai Lang burst into loud laughter, and he simply spread both hands while riding, holding a Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade in his right hand and a long spear in his left, letting the arrows rain onto him. The arrows struck the mountain‑pattern armor and slid off in droves; even the powerful crossbow bolts that could pierce such armor lodged in the armor but seemed to have no effect on General Ming. Then everyone saw an arrow hit General Ming's face, but it was deflected… Unpenetrable by sword or spear, the sight of this instantly shattered the troops' morale.

Bai Lang himself was startled, a reflex, but he also thought he was being overly flamboyant, "Fortunately the arrow's force has waned…" Upon further thought, he decided not to test the durability of his golden bell shield. Still, he had to put on a show, so Bai Lang naturally retracted his arms, which had been spread in a cross, and urged his horse to charge again.

The Ming troops following behind were already provoked; pursuing and slaughtering enemies who could only flee easily ignited these soldiers' bloodlust, and the White Tiger General leading them displayed such martial bravery that it amusingly turned their previous fear of him into fanatical worship and obedience—at least for now. If Bai Lang knew of this shift, he would probably laugh and say, "Stockholm syndrome."

The broken soldiers broke through the rear formation; even with heavy casualties they dared not turn back to fight, and White Wolf seized the opportunity to slip easily into the rear formation. The only ones who could risk death to block him were Zhang Xianzhong's trusted senior generals with elite troops, and indeed they surged forward to encircle him—unpenetrable by sword or spear? Then they'd use nets and traps, drag him down and set fire, that would surely kill him, right? But no one expected that when they charged, General Ming actually dismounted.

Is this courting death? Is it courting death? Relying on the horse's power to strike and flee, you dismount—won't you be unable to fight or escape against cavalry? Bai Lang patted his horse's neck, letting the horse run off to the side, while he still held a long weapon in each hand, loosening his stride and calmly walking toward the howling cavalry. Does a long‑handled great sword and a long spear make foot combat against cavalry ineffective? No such thing! The Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade was originally a Song dynasty weapon used to cut cavalry; placing it on a mounted Guan Yu is purely a novelist's invention.

Thus Bai Lang could fully use this long sword in foot combat—given his strength, it was quite easy. "It's only a bit heavier than the water‑polished Purple Gold Halberd, and if you make good use of its length it's actually easier than smashing people with an iron halberd. It's a pity about this spear—its tip is relatively short, lacking a long blade, so it can't serve as a double‑edged long sword, only for thrusting." At that moment a cavalry horse was already upon him, a hammer coming straight down.

Unpenetrable by sword or spear? Then a hammer strike should get through, right? Just kill those heavy‑armored troops. Yet as the cavalryman was about to swing the hammer, he felt a chill in his body followed by excruciating pain. It turned out Bai Lang had thrust a spear; under the combined force of his arm strength and the horse's charge, the spear easily pierced the horse at the chest‑neck area, entered, then exited the horse's rear neck, and then penetrated the rider's mail, spearing the mounted cavalry as well. At that moment the portion of the horse that had been pierced was about to touch Bai Lang's hand.

It was almost a complete penetration; the momentum, driven by Bai Lang's force, forced him to step back a few paces—given his weight, retreat was inevitable. Bai Lang let go, and the warhorse and the rider on it fell to the ground, struggling for life, but they could barely move—because they were tangled together. Bai Lang abandoned the spear and began swinging the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade; without the restriction of being mounted, his swings became very fluid, and he could cover a full 180‑degree arc in front of him.

Cutting these light cavalry was far too easy. "Fish!" Bai Lang shouted, and as the blade whirled, two cavalrymen and their horses were sliced apart; half a body fell to the ground, still alive for a moment, screaming in agony.

In foot combat versus cavalry, White Wolf actually had even more room to spin; in one breath he cut down twelve people, including a senior general, and Zhang Xianzhong's army truly seemed on the verge of collapse—if it weren't for those who held White Wolf back, allowing him to keep charging, the army would have already shattered. "Huh? What are they doing? Find the Eight Great Kings and cut off his brain!" White Wolf suddenly snapped out of his reverie, casually thrusting the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade, leapt into the air, and kicked a fleeing cavalryman off his horse. After seizing the horse, he prepared to head for Zhang Xianzhong's central army tent.

The harpoon net had already been broken by him before it could be cast—throwing it at an opponent wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade is pure self‑humiliation; White Wolf could easily cut through such devices before they even reached him, making it impossible to trap him. Those cavalrymen had already scattered, and even now that White Wolf had abandoned his weapons, his speed on the horse increased without the weight. He was searching for Zhang Xianzhong's central army tent; the bandits were extremely cunning, and within the great camp he could not discern which tent was his.

"Got a live one," Bai Lang decided to capture an armored bandit leader for interrogation. With his martial skill, this was easy; within moments he had seized one, shouting, "Lead the way! Or die!" He lifted the man's vest with his left hand, suspending it on the left side of the horse. The man pointed with both hands, indicating directions to Bai Lang—he didn't want to die, not at all. Bai Lang clutched his vest, ready to fling him to the ground or onto a horse, the consequences unimaginable.

White Wolf didn't ask who he was, but the man pointed out the location of Zhang Xianzhong's central army. Up to now, the forces White Wolf had shattered were only the portion Zhang Xianzhong used to send reinforcements, and not the whole. Since the entire army hadn't collapsed, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't simply abandon his troops and flee. White Wolf saw layers of army tents surrounding a large central tent, "That must be Zhang the thief's central army? Good!" he said, then tossed the man behind him. At this point, he was completely out of sync with the troops he had brought; those guys were still behind, hacking and killing fleeing bandits, looting their belongings.

"Zhang Xianzhong! Give me your life!" White Wolf inhaled, a thunderous roar erupted, and then he immediately employed Lightness Skill to launch a charge.