Chapter 348: Madness

Both sides in the chaotic melee before the Personal Guard Division's main formation hastily gave way. The roving bandits kept retreating; their ranks soon bent, the formation growing more and more crowded. The bandits following behind still did not know what was happening at the front, and soon the ranks could retreat no further. The bandits in the front rows fell into utter confusion. The Marine Corps soldiers on the flank continued their attack, adding further to the bandits' chaos.

The step drum beat out a rapid call. The Personal Guard Division's ranks shouted in unison, "Kill!"

The formation, at its original speed, plunged straight into the bandits. Clusters of long spears thrust and retracted like venomous serpents. The front row of the bandit formation had no power to resist, toppling neatly to the ground. The second round of thrusts arrived, and the bandits in the rear rows continued to collapse. The bandit array was like an earthen embankment scoured by a flood, continuously crumbling, on the verge of bursting entirely at any moment.

Yang Guangdi clenched his fists, agitated as if he himself were doing the killing. From his angle, he could just see the extreme left wing of the Personal Guard Division. Xu Squad Leader's skirmisher squad had repelled the bandits and, without cutting down the wounded bandits on the ground, was preparing to advance and continue shielding the main formation's flank. Out of the corner of his eye, Yang Guangdi saw another disturbance among the bandit crowd on the left.

"Kill the dog officials and soldiers!"

"Death to any who retreat!"

From the Land Combat Division's position to the left of the breach burst a group of bare-chested roving bandits. Wielding blades and spears, they charged the Personal Guard Division like a mountain torrent bursting forth. Along the way, they stabbed and killed all the retreating old bandits, even cutting down from his horse the headman who had been riding just moments before.

"The Child Army…" Yang Guangdi murmured. When he had been abducted into the roving bandits, he had known that every major camp possessed such a unit. All were composed of belligerent youths from various regions, mostly orphans. With the unique fearlessness of death found in adolescents, they could be seen at every critical moment and place during assaults and city sieges.

This group of the Child Army, all stripped to the waist, swarmed in from the left wing. These youths scarcely knew what death was; sharp blades could not slow their speed in the slightest. The crowd crashed directly into the spear points. Three Child Army members were immediately impaled upon the long spears, but that also brought the spear soldiers' movements to a halt.

After fierce fighting, the skirmisher squad's formation was already loose. Tasked with shielding the flank, they could not retreat and let the bandits attack the main formation. Hastily they met the attack in place and were immediately charged into by this group of child soldiers. The following child soldiers came screaming in a mad frenzy, beginning to surround this small squad of Iron Armor Soldiers. The skirmisher squad fell into a situation where every man fought for himself.

The tallest, Xu Squad Leader, drew over ten of the Child Army. Faced with these bare-chested, smaller opponents, Xu Squad Leader appeared somewhat clumsy. Surrounded by a group of youths, blades and spears slashed and stabbed densely against his armor. Xu Squad Leader's axe hacked fiercely at the Child Army member before him. That child soldier stabbed twice at Xu Squad Leader in succession, neither blow able to pierce the armor plates. Seeing Xu Lengzi's short-handled axe chopping down, he did not dodge. His cheek was instantly cleaved off; a large chunk of cheek flesh hung down, dangling at his chin, blood gushing from the wound like a spring.

That child soldier toppled forward, let out a shriek, and suddenly hugged Xu Squad Leader's thigh tightly. His position was too low; the towering Xu Squad Leader's next axe swing missed. Seeing this, several other Child Army members also grabbed his legs and waist, madly biting at his legs.

A Child Army member on the periphery thrust wildly with a line spear, finally landing a stab on a spot not covered by the armguard. Xu Squad Leader let out a loud shout. He swung the pang pai in his left hand, deflecting the line spear. A small bandit behind him, unable to cut through, suddenly leaped up and threw himself onto Xu Squad Leader's body. One hand hooked around his neck; the cloud ladder blade in his left hand stabbed repeatedly at the spot lacking the armguard. Bloody froth flew from Xu Squad Leader's left arm. He roared repeatedly but for a moment could not shake the small bandit off.

Three or four Child Army members were already clinging to his legs. The inner thigh area beneath the battle skirt was unarmored. Some child soldier had stabbed there with a blade. Several muffled roars came from within the iron face armor. The towering Xu Squad Leader lurched to the left, then steadied himself. The axe in his hand chopped down fiercely. With a muffled thud, it embedded directly into a Child Army member's skull.

Xu Squad Leader pulled hard, but the axe was stuck in the skull. With no time to draw his waist saber, he dropped the axe, grabbed the Child Army member before him with both hands, and wrenched violently, snapping the child soldier's neck. He then moved to twist another. The small bandit clinging to his body was still stabbing wildly at his unarmored spots. The squad soldiers all around were besieged by swarms of the Child Army; two skirmishers had already fallen.

Stabbed again beneath the battle skirt, Xu Squad Leader finally dropped to one knee. He struggled, then desperately tried to stand. Two fresh Child Army members pounced fiercely, and Xu Squad Leader was pinned down, unable to rise. Several child soldiers swung short blades and long clubs, ceaselessly attacking Xu Squad Leader's face armor. The surrounding Child Army members frantically pulled at his upper body, trying to drag this burly man to the ground.

Yang Guangdi's mouth hung wide open, tears streaming from his eyes. Wave after wave of numbness washed over his scalp. His hands trembled uncontrollably. Watching Xu Squad Leader finally topple over, swallowed by the swarm of bare-chested youths, he suddenly let out a sharp scream. He glanced around on the ground, grabbed a broken waist saber, and was about to charge forward when something suddenly caught his foot, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Looking back, he saw it was that bandit with the hole in his face. After all this time, the man had finally crawled up behind him and just happened to grab Yang Guangdi's foot.

That terrifying gaping hole from before no longer seemed the least bit terrifying in Yang Guangdi's eyes. Without a second thought, he raised the waist saber and hacked straight at the bandit's head.

"Die, your grandmother's! Kill! Kill!" Tears and snot streaming down his face, Yang Guangdi bellowed in furious rage. The waist saber chopped repeatedly onto the bandit's crown. Blood splattered onto his face, but Yang Guangdi felt nothing. The scene before his eyes was a blur; he only knew the red was increasing. He had no idea how many times he had hacked before the grip on his foot loosened.

Yang Guangdi raised the blade blankly and glanced at it; another section had broken off. He threw the blade aside and grabbed a line spear nearby. It was also broken, the shattered end of the shaft bristling with sharp splinters, but he felt no pricking in his hand. He turned and ran toward where Xu Squad Leader had been. That place was a mass of shadows; it seemed more Iron Armor Soldiers had arrived, but he did not distinguish them. His eyes saw only those bare-chested figures moving.

Staggering and stumbling, Yang Guangdi reached the place where bodies were piled and thrust at the bare-chested crowd.

"Kill! Kill!"

Deafening screams rang out before him; he did not know whose they were. Yang Guangdi just kept stabbing relentlessly. Anything that still moved, he thrust his spear at it.

Something grazed past his face. Yang Guangdi felt no pain. There seemed to be someone to the side, also bare-chested. Yang Guangdi charged over and gave him a thrust. His foot found no purchase, and he toppled over together with that person, pinned underneath.

His hands were slippery, soaked entirely in liquid — sweat or blood, he could not tell. Yang Guangdi could not move and began to feel exhaustion. He could not push that person off. The young roving bandit's head lolled; beads of sweat dripped from his face one by one into Yang Guangdi's mouth.

Yang Guangdi felt a stream of warmth flowing over his body. His mind gradually recovered its ability to think. The surroundings were filled with sharp, piercing screams. Beads of blood constantly drifted in through the gaps. He wanted to go see Xu Squad Leader's condition and struggled desperately to push the bandit off, but his arms had no strength. Just as he pushed him up a little, something above suddenly collapsed heavily, nearly suffocating him. Then the pressure eased again. He took a breath, pushed with all his might, and shoved the small bandit's body aside.

Yang Guangdi struggled to sit up. Just as he raised his head from the pile of corpses, a spearhead came straight at his face. Yang Guangdi screamed and ducked his head back. The spear shaft flashed past above his head, stabbing into the body of the young bandit on top, then immediately withdrew.

All around came the constant wet thuds of spear points piercing flesh. Blood from every direction sprayed onto him through the gaps. Yang Guangdi dared not move within the pile of corpses. The screams outside grew fewer and fewer, until someone issued a command, and the wet thuds instantly ceased.

Yang Guangdi cautiously poked his head out. All around lay the mangled, incomplete corpses of the bare-chested Child Army. A squad of Iron Armor Soldiers was departing, their backs to him. As they went, they prodded the ground with their long spears; nothing that still moved was spared. Even a wounded Marine Corps soldier crawling on the ground was run through with a single spear thrust.

Yang Guangdi raised a hand, wanting to alert those Iron Armor Soldiers, but in the end, he dared not make a sound. The Personal Guard Division had already sealed the breach and was now pushing outward from it. There was no more danger in the vicinity.

Summoning all his strength, he pushed aside the Child Army members on top of him. Exhausted, Yang Guangdi crawled out of the corpse pile and began searching the spot where Xu Squad Leader had fallen. A pile of bodies had formed there too. A Child Army member lay face down. With great effort, Yang Guangdi pulled open a gap and saw Xu Squad Leader's iron face armor, dented in multiple places.

"Xu Squad Leader, it's me, Xiao Tiaofu!"

Yang Guangdi shouted as he strained to remove the iron face armor. The face armor was somewhat deformed. Just as his strength was about to give out, he finally pulled it off. Xu Squad Leader's face, covered in blood and sweat, appeared before him, his wide eyes staring right at him.

The two stared blankly for a moment, then simultaneously looked at each other and broke into foolish grins.

After grinning for a moment, Yang Guangdi recovered a bit of strength. He slowly dragged the corpses away. Xu Squad Leader finally sat up. His left arm was a bloody mess, and blood kept streaming from his thigh. Yang Guangdi waved his hand, and two Fire Soldiers nearby hurried over. The three of them tried several times but could neither lift Xu Squad Leader nor remove his armor. They had no choice but to bandage him on the spot while calling for other Fire Soldiers to come over.

"The Company Commander's infantry banner team saved us." Xu Squad Leader patted Yang Guangdi's face. "Xiao Tiaofu can be an Iron Armor Soldier. Go kill again!"

Yang Guangdi nodded. He turned, picked up a mostly intact waist saber, and continued hurrying north.

…

Outside Chema River Market Town, Chuang Tatian, with his square face, was still carefully scrutinizing the government troops' right wing.

In the paddy fields, over a thousand servants wailed in utter despair. The post road was strewn with corpses. A squad of foot soldiers holding shields charged once more before the Garrison Commander's formation. A plume of white smoke erupted, and instantly a spray of shield fragments and severed limbs burst from within the formation. The foot soldiers immediately collapsed, scattered in disarray. Over a hundred men, utterly routed, threw away their weapons and fled back toward the market town as if running for their lives.

"What the hell kind of cannon is that, your mother's!" Liu Guoneng's face was pale. At this moment, he felt fortunate that Cao Cao had voluntarily chosen the west side to face the government troops' left wing. Over there, at least seven or eight cannons would fire in rapid succession. Here opposite the market town, there were only two cannons, yet Liu Guoneng already felt immense pressure. The most difficult aspect of the east side was that there was only one road for attack. Every time he sent over a hundred men, a few cannon shots scattered them. The more times he sent them, the more those behind saw the carnage ahead, and the faster they collapsed. This round, it had taken only one cannon shot.

He also knew that the west side had already entered the decisive battle. If Cao Cao lost, the various camp heads would be squeezed by the government troops against the west bank of the Chema River. There was only one bridge to cross the river. Liu Guoneng's own main camp was right at the bridgehead, and the horses were on the east bank. With his advantageous terrain, he might be able to escape, but his family dependents, servants, baggage, and wealth were all at City River Stockade. Once defeated, with tens of thousands collapsing, escape relying solely on this bridge would be absolutely impossible.

Now Cao Cao and the Eight Great Kings had committed their main camps. He saw that the government troops' main force had all been committed to the west side, while the east side and the Central Army had only a few hundred men — almost the perfect moment to defeat the government troops. He had launched multiple attacks, but each time they were defeated by the small cannons. Against cannonballs, the main camp and the servants were virtually indistinguishable. That was why Liu Guoneng had not yet committed his elite troops, but he was burning to do so.

"Master, what is the matter with this government army? Which ones are the household retainers? How can they all fight?"

The one speaking beside him was a general officer under his command. Liu Guoneng shook his head. "It was the Sweeping King who said there were only three thousand men. If they were three Battalion Commander retainers, who the hell would come to Hexi to fight? Everyone would've just wiped out the government troops blocking the road and run off clean long ago."

Just as he was speaking, a burst of white smoke suddenly erupted from the government troops' small cannon position ahead. Several cannoneers toppled left and right.

The general officer shouted, "The government cannon's burst! The cannon's burst! One of them!"

"The main camp, all forward! Anyone who turns back, cut them down! You personally oversee the assault!" Liu Guoneng immediately roared. "Send thirty servants with shields up the main road. Drive the rest into the fields for me! Attack their Central Army recognition banner!"

The main camp, which had been waiting for a long time, swarmed out, all holding shields aloft. This time, without the cannonballs' impact, the main camp reached the front without any losses and began engaging the government troops in close combat. Both sides fought desperately on the post road. A portion of the main camp attacked along the field ridges, reaching the opponent's Central Army position.

The horn calls sounded urgently within the government troops' formation. Government soldiers came as reinforcements from the rear, but their numbers were not large. Liu Guoneng saw hope of routing the government troops' right wing. He continuously dispatched reinforcements, and finally, blade in hand, he led his trusted followers, preparing to attack personally.

At this critical moment, a personal attendant behind him said, "Master, the scouts report that government troops are coming on the main road on the south side of Hedong!"

Liu Guoneng turned his head, stunned for a moment, then abruptly roared, "How the hell have government troops appeared in Hedong again? Where did they come from?"