Chapter 195: Ambush

The long spear savagely stabbed into the Roving Bandit's belly. Wu Dacai's momentum did not slow; he shoved the bandit straight into the opposite mud wall. With a muffled *thud*, the spear shaft in his hands jammed, violent resistance surging back. The thrusting spearhead pierced into the raw mud-brick wall, the shaft bending slightly, pinning the bandit dead against the wall. The shaft, made of old Mao bamboo, vibrated fiercely, numbing Wu Dacai's hands from the shock, nearly jarring them loose.

The Roving Bandit gripped the spear shaft with both hands, staring straight into Wu Dacai's eyes, a piercing, wretched scream issuing from his mouth.

A roar erupted from within the house. All the ambush soldiers howled at the top of their lungs simultaneously. Yao Dongshan took the lead, charging out past Wu Dacai's side. From the moment they had been surrounded, silence and terror had enveloped them; their spirits had long been on the verge of collapse. Now, they all entered a state of frenzy. The soldiers from the two houses swarmed out after Yao Dongshan, charging and killing their way toward the Official Road.

Wu Dacai, his eyes bloodshot, yanked at the spear shaft, but to his surprise, it would not pull free. He was in a state of Excitement, with no attention to spare for the fact that the bandit was clutching the shaft with both hands. He planted a foot on the bandit's chest and, like rocking a hoe when digging up soil, wiggled the shaft a few times. The Roving Bandit's terrified face contorted, and from his wide-open mouth, great gouts of blood continuously poured out.

Wu Dacai pulled upward with all his might. The Roving Bandit's body convulsed violently, and he finally yanked the spear shaft free. Blood sprayed out with it. At any other time, Wu Dacai would have long since been scared out of his wits, but now, spurred by adrenaline, he simply turned and left as if it were an everyday sight, charging toward the Official Road along with those white-clad figures around him.

The Official Road outside the ruins was crowded with a mass of Roving Bandit infantry and cavalry. None of them had reacted yet, watching blankly as a group of people in short white jackets suddenly charged toward them, never expecting to be attacked here.

The swarming Garrison Commander Battalion Spear Soldiers arrived in the blink of an eye, ferociously crashing into the chaotic Roving Bandit ranks. Sharp spearheads pierced through skin and flesh, and screams rose up in waves. The Roving Bandits on this stretch of the Official Road, caught in a sudden assault, collapsed instantly. With both ends packed with crowded ranks, the scattered bandits fled westward, leaping into the paddy fields. Nearby bandits, not understanding what was happening, scattered and fled as if from a burst nest.

Yao Dongshan, wearing a suit of Chain Mail, shouted loudly as he led the spear soldiers northward in a furious charge. The mixed infantry and cavalry of the Roving Bandits were in utter chaos, completely unable to organize an effective defense.

The Roving Bandits' foot soldiers were mostly composed of Servants. These men, clad in tattered rags and wielding all manner of crudely made weapons, possessed neither combat Skill nor discipline. In peacetime, they scavenged civilian supplies; during a City Assault, they undertook manual labor; in a Field Battle, they served as cannon fodder for the Roving Bandit horde. When overseen in battle by armed Roving Bandit Team leaders, they could barely be forced onto the battlefield to make up the numbers, but once they truly encountered a fierce enemy attack, they would often rout at the first clash.

On this stretch of the Official Road, there were large numbers of Servants, many still carrying bamboo ladders originally intended for the City Assault. Who could have known they would be blocked on the Official Road halfway? Though chaotic here, it was still some distance from the actual fighting, so their Organization Degree could still be maintained.

Now, caught in a sudden attack, the nearby Servants collapsed instantly. Their low discipline and Organization Degree caused the chaos to spread in waves. That huge Red Banner was thrown to the ground by someone. The Headman who had just been sitting high on horseback was nowhere to be found. The dense Roving Bandit ranks on the Official Road collapsed section by section like falling Bone Tiles, scattering and fleeing in all directions into the paddy fields on either side.

The charging Long Spearmen bellowed wildly. Wu Dacai stood in the front row. Whether man or horse, he simply stabbed at anything that could move. All the training, the Wooden Balls, the vital points — he forgot them completely. The only thing he could remember was stabbing and slashing blindly.

He could no longer tell Direction. He did not know whom he was following. Whenever he saw someone not in a white jacket, he thrust his spear at them. From time to time, he tripped over the corpses underfoot and fell, yet he felt no Pain. He got up and continued chasing and killing at the tail of those Roving Bandit ranks.

Ahead were several Roving Bandit Horse Soldiers, jostled by the crowded Servants. The horses neighed in panic, turning in frightened circles among the crowd. Two Servants were trampled under the hooves. The Horse Soldiers struggled to control their mounts, attempting to flee northward.

Wu Dacai had already chased down the nearest Horse Soldier. Facing a horse weighing five or six hundred jin, he felt not the slightest fear. He directly thrust his spear at the horse's head. The Long Spear stabbed into the side of the horse's face. The horse's head instantly wrenched to the right, fresh blood gushing out along the spearhead.

The horse let out a long neigh, its front hooves rearing up. When they landed, it lost control, and its entire body toppled sideways. The Horse Soldier on its back cried out in alarm as he fell off the horse, rolled once on the ground, and leaped straight into the field.

The wounded horse kicked wildly on the ground with all four hooves. A Spear Soldier charging recklessly passed by its side, and his shinbone was broken by a kick from a hoof. He fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

Wu Dacai stabbed repeatedly at the horse's head. Other spear soldiers also surrounded the wounded horse and thrust wildly. Blood sprayed from all over the horse's body. From a wound in its belly, a great mass of internal organs and intestines spilled out.

The horse's hooves no longer had the strength to kick. A figure beside him stepped onto the horse's body and charged past, chasing the collapsing Roving Bandits ahead. Wu Dacai hurriedly followed behind. As he stepped onto the horse's body, he lost his footing and fell onto the pile of intestines, which gave off a foul, rank smell. The spear soldiers behind him had already run past. Wu Dacai had no time to clean himself up; his face covered in blood and grime, he hastily jumped up and resumed the chase.

He felt no sense of fatigue whatsoever; his spirit was in a state of extreme Excitement. The figure ahead was very familiar — it was that Wai Lian. He had already caught up to the tail of the Roving Bandit ranks. This section of bandits had not yet scattered, but the fleeing Servants were jammed together with them.

Wai Lian was the first to arrive. His Rattan Shield was already gone, leaving only a Waist Saber. He hacked and slashed wildly at those chaotic Servants. By the time Wu Dacai caught up, only half of Wai Lian's Waist Saber blade remained. Wai Lian was completely oblivious, still swinging that half-blade in a frenzied slaughter. The blade was blood-red, its original color no longer discernible, and with each swing, Wai Lian sent strings of blood spraying.

The spear soldiers arrived right after, thrusting in Volley Fire at the unresisting Roving Bandits. This short stretch of the Official Road became a slaughterhouse hell. Chaotic infantry and cavalry were piled together. Wounded horses struggled desperately on the ground, and with their struggles, jets of blood shot out. The road surface became a river of blood.

The Roving Bandits before and behind the ruins fell into complete chaos, each fleeing in opposite directions, but there were blockages both ahead and behind. Some Horse Soldiers on the south side, attacked from front and rear, spurred their horses in desperation and leaped into the paddy fields. Once there was a leader, many of the jammed horses behind followed, jumping down into the paddy fields.

Most of the paddy fields had already been harvested. Some leftover rice straw floated on the water's surface. Underwater, countless mud pits had been trodden out by farmers. After jumping down, many horses could not stand steadily and threw their riders into the fields. These Roving Bandits mostly came from the north; few had ever grown rice and they had no experience with paddy fields. The bandits on foot found every step in the paddy fields a struggle.

The veins on Jiang Guoyong's face bulged. Yet another soldier from the Second Company had turned and fled back.

"Whoever comes at us is my enemy! Kill them!" Jiang Guoyong howled. Several Long Spearmen in the front row thrust their spears in unison, killing the two routed soldiers in front of the formation.

This was already the fourth routed soldier killed. On the Official Road ahead, the heads of men and horses were jammed together. The surrounding paddy fields were scattered with soldiers from both sides. Fallen horses struggled in the mud.

Two routed soldiers were fleeing back through the paddy fields. Jiang Guoyong bellowed at the Arrow Squad behind him. A volley of arrows flew out. The routed soldiers in the paddy field screamed in agony, collapsing and struggling in the water. The muddy water around them quickly turned red.

Jiang Guoyong was already drenched in sweat. He could feel the same panic in the hearts of the soldiers around the Array. His field of vision was limited; he could not see the full battle situation ahead. He could only hear the earth-shaking shouts of killing, jolting everyone's Mental Spirit.

Right now, they were relying entirely on the discipline forged in daily training. He did not know how much longer it could hold. Behind them was still the Third Company, which had likewise received the order to kill routed soldiers. On this narrow Official Road, there was no Path to retreat. If he retreated himself, he would be killed just the same.

The soldiers of the Second Company ahead were still holding on. Banner Captains and Team leaders were loudly directing. These veterans who had fought in the defense of Tongcheng played the role of a mainstay. After the panicked horses at the very front were blocked, the horses behind lost their charging power. But the corpses piled up by both sides were as tall as a man, completely clogging the Official Road. The Second Company could neither advance nor retreat, forming a stalemate.

Jiang Guoyong did not know whether he should lead the spear soldiers around through the paddy fields, but he also feared that once they entered the paddy fields, the Second Company, with no one to oversee the formation, would completely collapse.

Just as he was at a loss, a sound like a mountain crumbling and a tidal wave rose ahead. Jiang Guoyong came to the roadside and looked out. All the Roving Bandits on the Official Road were fleeing. Countless dense figures were leaping into the paddy fields on both sides.

Throughout the entire basin outside Beixia Pass, men shouted and horses neighed. Countless Roving Bandits struggled northward through the paddy fields, fleeing for their lives.

Jiang Guoyong clapped his hands in Excitement. "Go down into the fields and bypass this stretch. Get onto the Official Road and pursue!"

From the rear came a dense roll of drums. Jiang Guoyong turned his head to look. The pass gate was reopening. The Garrison Commander Battalion's command banner had just emerged from the gate tunnel.

Pang Yu marched swiftly beneath the command banner. The remaining three Companies he led — after completing fundraising, he had newly recruited over two hundred men who had not yet finished training, but he had brought them all to Tongcheng this time. The total number was over nine hundred men.

According to Shi Kefa's arrangement, he had brought nearly four hundred men into the pass fort, with the rest all stationed south of the pass fort. A major battle had not been anticipated this time. Only after the first three Companies had sortied were the other five hundred-plus men mobilized into the pass fort.

The battle situation on the Official Road was unexpected. The brutality exceeded Pang Yu's estimates. The main force of the Garrison Commander Battalion's frontal assault had its advance blocked by the Roving Bandits. The Second Company suffered heavy casualties, and routed soldiers appeared from time to time.

Pang Yu watched from the City Tower, burning with anxiety. Especially Zhuang Chaozheng's Third Company — when the attack was stalled, it still remained on the Official Road and did not send the Long Spearmen to attack through the paddy fields. This portion of the force produced no effect. Quite a few soldiers, however, spontaneously jumped into the paddy fields and attacked from the Side Path of the Official Road, but as a result, the military formation had already fallen into utter disarray.

The five hundred men outside the pass had not yet finished assembling inside the gate. That tiny ambush force had unexpectedly routed the main Roving Bandit force. Pang Yu immediately descended from the City Tower to lead troops in reinforcement.

At this moment, he was both excited and tense. The main Roving Bandit force had already collapsed. Those who jumped into the paddy fields certainly could not move faster than those on the Official Road. Beyond the paddy fields on both the east and west sides lay a River Barrier each. These Roving Bandits came from Beidi, and the majority did not know how to handle water. They could no longer escape.

The street outside the pass gate was quickly traversed. The men of the Third Company had already mingled with the Second Company. Those in front were clearing corpses from the road, shoving the bodies of men and horses into the paddy fields. The remaining part of the First Company was bypassing through the paddy fields. Fury blazed in Pang Yu's heart. He walked to the tail of the Third Company's column and saw Zhuang Chaozheng, saber in hand, at the very rear.

Pang Yu strode over, but before he could vent his Anger, he heard Pang Ding beside him whisper urgently, "Sir, let's not pursue any further."

Pang Yu turned his head and saw Pang Ding staring behind them. "Pan Keda and Xu Strengthening have also come out. If we chase too far, they'll snatch the horses and heads."

Pang Yu looked. Sure enough, the Iron gate of Beixia Pass had not been closed. Two Red Banners were just emerging from the pass gate, cavalrymen in front, the banners streaming backward. He could not see the characters on them, but he could guess they were Pan Keda and his companion.

"Xu Lengzi!"

"Yes, sir."

"Take men and block the street market intersection. Don't let anyone through. Just say it's too chaotic up ahead."

Xu Lengzi nodded blankly and turned back toward the very rear.

Pang Ding whispered, "If Circuit Intendant Shi comes, this Xu Lengzi won't be able to stop him. How about we stop chasing the Roving Bandits and collect the horses and heads first?"

Pang Yu shot him a glance. "The battle isn't over yet. I'll stay to block Xu Strengthening and his lot. Have the Fifth Company go into the fields to help chase down the scattered Roving Bandits. The Fourth Company, Sixth Company, and Auxiliary Troops will advance along the Official Road to Xiaoguanpu and garrison there. First, wipe out the Roving Bandits around the pass fort. Tomorrow, this official will pursue them all the way to Shucheng."