Chapter 262: Breaking the Formation

The charging cavalry swept in swiftly from the flank, and yesterday's scene seemed to replay itself. Pang Yu slid down from horseback with a whoosh, beckoning several signal drummers to stand on the Ninth Company's west side. Here they did not face the mounted charge, so the odds of staying alive were somewhat better.

Nearby stood several archers assigned to the Ninth Company. These men had formerly been part of the Central Army's Arrow Squad. After the battle at North Gorge Pass, to strengthen each unit's independent combat capability, ten archers were attached to every company during the expansion. Judging by this encounter with the Mounted Bandits, though their accuracy was poor, they could counter the bandits' horse bows and reduce the enemy's ability to strike the infantry.

At this moment the archers had already nocked their arrows and stepped two paces out from the formation, ready to meet the attack. Because the Mounted Bandits were too close, Pang Yu dared not order a temporary formation adjustment. The Ninth Company faced the Roving Thieves' horse soldiers with its flank, making it equally vulnerable.

"Horse Rejecting!"

A shout rang out within the Ninth Company. The four rows of Long Spearmen simultaneously assumed the Horse Rejecting stance to front and rear. The Team Leader and Banner Commanders were cursing and yelling everywhere, correcting those who had aimed the wrong way.

Several spearmen on Pang Yu's flank also assumed the Horse Rejecting stance, cutting Pang Yu and his few men off outside. Pang Yu glared fiercely at those men. Because of the Ninth Company's recent movement, it had already pulled far from the Eighth Company. The position Pang Yu occupied was outside the formation; if the Roving Thieves circled around the square formation to attack, it would be extremely dangerous.

The rumbling of hooves was already close. Pang Yu had no choice but to draw his Waist Saber in one motion. He had no desire to use this thing, but there was no time for such concerns now. If the Roving Thieves truly circled around, he would have no choice but to crouch beneath the Long Spears.

The several archers loosed their arrows with twanging sounds, then hurriedly retreated backward. Pang Yu knew the horse unit had arrived. His line of sight was blocked; he could only hear the hoofbeats, which made his heart even more panicked. He was just about to duck under the Long Spears.

Suddenly a horn blast sounded among the Roving Thieves' horse soldiers. A Red Banner near the front shifted southward, and the other horse soldiers followed in droves, actually circling around behind the square formation.

The mass of horses rounded the rear of the Ninth Company, sweeping past Pang Yu's eyes in clustered groups. The horse soldiers on the outer edge fired a volley at the formation with their horse bows, and the archers returned fire. Two horses tumbled to the ground, but the remaining horse soldiers did not even turn back, heading straight for the riverbank.

Pang Yu stared, dumbstruck. The riverbank was the position of the cannons. Currently only a portion of the Marine Corps and Artillery were there. When Pang Yu formed the battle line, he had been utterly unable to attend to them. These men were not in formation and were few in number. If the horse soldiers attacked them, a single wave would be enough to rout them.

The Marine Corps soldiers around the cannons were shouting and yelling in panic, and some artillerymen were flailing about with long barrel-cleaning poles. Under Pang Yu's scalp-tingling gaze, that unit of horse soldiers crashed directly into the crowd.

The loose Marine Corps soldiers were scattered in disarray. Many were bowled over by the horses, and the mass of horses instantly engulfed the area around the cannons.

Pang Yu did not even dare to lead the infantry to their rescue. Once the infantry began to move, their formation would fall into chaos, and by the time they arrived, they might become the next target of this cavalry force.

The cavalry around the cannons slowed their speed. Amid the chaos of men and horses, all manner of blades swung. Suddenly a thunderous roar erupted, and a plume of white smoke belched forth, swallowing the men and horses directly in front. Amid agonized shrieks, a horse reared high, its body lifting into the air, then crashed heavily to the ground. The surrounding mass of horses scattered and fled in all directions in panic.

But this did not change the Marine Corps' disadvantage. The scattered Marine Corps soldiers and artillerymen fled in rout everywhere, struck down from behind by the charging cavalry. A few men stood their ground, resisting with Long Spears.

"Sir, shall I take men to rescue them?"

Pang Yu turned his head to look. It was the Ninth Company's Centurion. Pang Yu shook his head. "This is the rear of the First and Second Divisions. Hold this position firmly."

Having said this, Pang Yu beckoned to Guo Fengyou, who was still at his side. "Ride and tell the Eighth Company they are not to leave their formation position."

Guo Fengyou acknowledged the order and cast a glance around. Pang Yu's mount was still not far away. He quickly ran over, grabbed the reins, and galloped off toward the Eighth Company.

The Eighth Company and Ninth Company formed Pang Yu's second-line formation, shielding the rear of the First and Second Divisions. This huge gap absolutely could not be exposed.

On the eastern side, the front line where the Government Troops clashed with the Roving Bandits rang with intense battle cries. Clearly the Government Troops had begun a coordinated action, and the fighting had reached the decisive moment.

The Ninth Company's Centurion said hesitantly, "Then the artillerymen will be slaughtered."

"Hold your position." Pang Yu said coldly, then beckoned over a sturdy Long Spearman in front of him and had the man crouch down so he could directly ride on his shoulders.

Pang Yu was in a rather sorry state. Without his horse, his field of vision was poor. Hoisted up by that strong man, his vantage point improved somewhat.

Screams rang out intermittently from behind. Those horse soldiers were still hunting down the Marine Corps soldiers and artillerymen. Even the Roving Bandits' horse soldiers could launch charges against loose infantry and hold an absolute advantage. Pang Yu steadied his mind, drew out his Telescope, and looked north.

Under the assault of the Garrison Commander's two divisions, the Roving Thieves' small right-wing formations were now collapsing one by one. More and more foot soldiers were being pressed toward the center. The Personal Guard Unit had attacked the Roving Bandits' rear, incessantly beating gongs and drums. Nearby, a continuous stream of foot soldiers fled onto the riverbed, skirting the Personal Guard Unit and fleeing west. The collapse of the Roving Bandits' right-wing rear formation was accelerating.

Only one final strike was needed, but because of the containment by that horse soldier unit, Pang Yu dared not send out his reserve force. He irritably tugged at his collar. The iron Throat Guard was ice-cold, normally quite uncomfortable in this weather, but now pressed against the skin of his neck, it felt rather soothing.

Suddenly, a unit of horse soldiers emerged from the tide of foot soldiers. They were withdrawing from the right-wing front formation, and their speed among the mass of foot soldiers was not slow; clearly, passageways had been left within those formations.

Pang Yu focused intently. A second unit of horse soldiers followed, both withdrawing from the front formation. They stood taller than the foot soldiers, like ships sailing through a tide of heads and weapons.

The horse soldiers passed through the gaps between the Roving Bandits' small foot soldier formations, whipped their horses, and fled west. Then, retreating horse soldiers appeared everywhere. This was like a signal. Chaos spread like ripples. The Roving Bandits' grand formation collapsed layer by layer like dominoes. Countless small formations ceased to exist. Tens of thousands of foot soldiers let out earth-shattering shrieks, trampling each other as they surged toward the riverbed beneath Physics Bridge.

Pang Yu could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He had never seen a scene of tens of thousands of people fleeing. Everywhere before his eyes were surging heads. On the riverbed, the two Banner Teams of the Personal Guard Unit were swallowed almost instantly by the tide of Roving Thieves. Long Spears still swung, but the soldiers' figures were completely invisible.

Ahead of the Garrison Commander's two divisions, there was no more resistance from the Roving Bandits. The soldiers hacked and killed the defenseless Roving Bandits all the way. Pang Yu jumped down from that soldier's shoulders. The Roving Bandits were already defeated. He was about to have the Eighth Company rescue the artillerymen, but he saw that unit of horse soldiers already fleeing toward the west bank of the Pure Stream River. The horses plunged into the remaining water, kicking up huge sprays. The riders hacked down the Servants in their path, and upon reaching the bank, swiftly headed west.

Pang Yu spat in contempt, turned around, and roared at the Ninth Division's Centurion, "Follow behind the Second Division and take orders from Wang Zenglu."

Having said this, he ran toward the Eighth Company. Wearing thirty jin of armor and clothing, Pang Yu was already panting heavily by the time he reached the Eighth Company.

By now, the Roving Bandits' foot soldiers covering the field let out a frenzied roar like a mountain collapse and tsunami. The horse soldiers trapped among the crowd could not gallop; their horses spun in circles among the people. The riders swung their swords, hacking down the foot soldiers blocking the way. The frenzied foot soldiers dragged the horse soldiers down. One by one, the horse soldiers struggled on their mounts, then vanished into the human tide.

The Roving Bandits' grand formation no longer existed. Tens of thousands of people fled toward the Pure Stream River, everyone heedless of all else. Those who could not find the dry riverbed crossed through the water. Countless people who fell in the water and on the ground were trampled by the crowd, never to rise again. Some of the Roving Bandits had even lost all sense of direction; not far to the east, many were fleeing south.

Guo Fengyou led the mount over. Pang Yu got on the horse. Rolling cavalry appeared in his field of vision from the east. Many wore Chain Mail, the best-equipped Government Troops Pang Yu had ever seen. There were also quite a few riders wearing only Cotton Armor. Their horsemanship was superb; many did not even hold the reins, controlling their horses with their legs alone. Guided by banners, they launched attacks from time to time, but did not charge directly into the routing crowd. Instead, they drove them from behind with bows or short charges. After a brief attack, they would slow down again, allowing the Roving Bandits to flee, and only attack again after opening the distance.

Pang Yu watched for a moment. This cavalry unit divided and regrouped with practiced skill. They had few banners. Both General Officers and soldiers were seasoned and coordinated, comparable to those led by Chen Yuwang, but on a much larger scale. Just what Pang Yu could see numbered over a thousand.

Then the banners of Government Troops infantry appeared. They were attacking on some battle lines where there was no cavalry.

Amid the chaos, Pang Yu could not see the details of those Government Troops infantry clearly, but their formations were intact and their scale was not small. Pang Yu knew that in this battle, the Roving Bandits could not possibly turn the tables.

The Eighth Company's Centurion ran up before Pang Yu, his face full of excitement. "Sir, where shall I attack?"

"Leave one Squad to rescue the Marine Corps and Artillery. The rest follow me to rescue the Seventh Company."

A group of infantry passed by not far away, hurrying south.

Tang Ershuan, his face covered in blood, wiped his forehead and climbed up from the ground. Corpses lay strewn all around. On that intact cannon not far away lay two bodies. One of them was missing its head, but the clothing was familiar to him.

That garment had a tear on the left shoulder, cut by a sword when his Team Leader was scouting at the Wharf docks in Hezhou.

He stood up and walked toward the cannon. On the ground, people occasionally writhed. A few infantrymen were still there. Tang Ershuan paid them no heed. He stopped and crouched by the cannon. On the ground was his Team Leader's head; beneath the drooping eyelids, a sliver of white could be seen.

Beside the head was the Artillery Chief from just moments ago. His skull had been struck by something, half of it caved in. Fresh blood still seeped continuously from the clustered wounds.

Tang Ershuan stared blankly at the spot. The sky-rending battle cries from the riverbed ahead seemed not to enter his ears.

"Who's still alive in the Marine Corps?"

Tang Ershuan slowly turned around. It was the Blacksmith Centurion. He was holding half a Long Spear, his hat gone, a wound on his head, blood streaming down past his ear.

"I'm alive." Tang Ershuan raised his hand numbly.

Over ten more people gathered around. On the ground, someone struggled and moved a few times, then lay back down.

The Blacksmith Centurion suddenly bellowed, "Anyone alive, follow me to kill!"

With a howl, he leaped past the cannon and ran toward the riverbed.

Tang Ershuan bent down, picked up the Short-Handled Axe beside his Team Leader, and shouted with all his might, "Kill!"