Chapter 742: with translation of chapter title

Shi Er's horsemanship is very good, and his hand skills are also very adept.

Under the protection of his close attendants, neither the arrow rain on the mountains nor the traps on the ground caused him much harm; they merely wore down his strength severely.

After being shouted awake by his uncle, Shi Er had no further hesitation; he immediately led his troops to pick a weakly defended spot in Chen Wuji's defenses and charged straight in.

Break the formation, break out, seek survival!

He gave up his obsession.

He really could not lead these nearly twenty thousand soldiers to gamble on a chance of victory that was already slim.

At that moment, urgent drumming suddenly sounded simultaneously on both sides of the mountains, followed immediately by earth-shaking shouts of killing.

Countless soldiers surged down like a mountain flood.

In just a moment, Shi Er, who was running wildly, fell into a predicament of being attacked from both sides.

He merely hesitated for that brief moment, and was seized.

Shi Er's uncle watched this scene, sighed helplessly, and said, "Shi Er, lower your head and charge, don't worry about anything else—charge, give it your maximum strength! Don't hesitate any further!"

Shi Er said nothing; he was already doing that.

Whether the soldiers can keep up with him depends on their fate.

Although he felt reluctant, he also knew that at this moment he absolutely could not turn back to rescue them.

…

Chen Wuji sat on his horse, calmly watching the show.

This battle was fought splendidly!

What's even more outstanding is that it seemed rather easy, like a spring outing with his mother.

On average, each of the six divisions didn't expend much effort.

"Main force cover up, encircle, seal the bag!" Chen Wuji ordered.

At the sound of the order, the three armies moved in unison.

Hu Bu Gui still used his wolf-pack tactic, making a detour and then biting in.

However, the most despicable is still Chen Wu Yin.

Their division has always been the closest to the Qiang army, constantly pressing on the enemy's tail, and whenever an opportunity arose, they would viciously bite off a piece of flesh.

Only after seeing the Qiang army fall into the trap just now did he order a temporary halt to the advance.

He also didn't know how many traps Tang Yu and Qian Fugui had buried in this area, fearing friendly fire.

After observing the situation for a while, he only resumed action upon seeing Qian Fugui and Tang Yu's troops descend from the mountains on both sides to envelop and attack.

This time, he still used the tactic of staying close to the Qiang army and biting off a piece whenever an opportunity arose.

If the Qiang dared to pursue, he would run.

Originally only a small contingent came out to pursue, but Chen Wu Yin fled as if encountering a natural enemy, running extremely fast.

Once the Qiang returned to their formation, he again closed in.

After seven or eight such rounds, the Qiang grew too lazy to even chase.

But at that moment, Chen Wu Yin suddenly turned ruthless, forming his troops into an arrowhead formation and fiercely drilling into the Qiang forces that were sprinting with all their might, trying to break out of the encirclement.

The eight thousand cavalry were like a sharp dagger, easily tearing a huge gap in the Qiang formation before turning back and charging out again.

In the rear, Qian Fugui and Tang Yu's reactions were also sufficiently swift.

Chen Wu Yin created an opportunity for them to divide and annihilate, which they instantly grasped and employed.

The main force pressed hard, pushing about seven or eight thousand of the Qiang rear cavalry into the encirclement.

"This battle was fought, so satisfying!"

Tang Yu brandished his horse-slaying blade, like a killing god charging straight through the cavalry.

The mounted Qiang warriors, surprisingly, could do nothing against him, this infantry commander.

Faced with layered encirclement, the Qiang cavalry's activity space was nearly compressed to the extreme; at this moment they truly felt stifled, their warhorses becoming burdens that not only failed to exert any combat power but were instead squeezed immobile.

"Brothers, the time to earn Military Merit has come—open your eyes wide, be quick with your sight and even quicker with your hands!" Tang Yu shouted at the top of his lungs, his excitement as if he were not on the battlefield but entering a brothel.

The soldiers shouted in unison, and morale surged again.

On the vast battlefield, people become like machines.

There's no time to think about what to do; all they see are the enemy, their own commander, and comrades-in-arms, and killing often becomes numb, even inertial.

Many factors determine how well the soldiers can perform before they even step onto the battlefield.

But once on the battlefield, there is only one factor: the commander.

When the troops are stalwart, the commander is stalwart as well—a truth vividly manifested at this moment.

If the commander falters, having a fearful mindset, the soldiers will lose heart even faster.

Almost instantly, this achieves the effect of influencing the whole from a point.

Qian Fugui, whose face already bore some scruffy beard, upon seeing the situation opposite, instantly felt his heart harden.

"Damn it, you bunch of bastards, if you let the friendly troops outshine you, after the battle I'll slap you silly!" Qian Fugui roared, "Kill them!"

…

Shi Er's frantic charge encountered a joint blockade by Chen Wu Yin and Chen Wuyi.

He was charging, and Chen Wu Yin and Chen Wuyi were also charging.

The three cavalry units collided violently within this huge encirclement.

This time, there were no fancy tactics, only a hard clash of strength.

After only a brief engagement, the Qiang cavalry, suffering blows to both body and mind, immediately showed signs of defeat.

They had been running for so long, fought several battles before and after, and even jumped two traps, already exhausted to the extreme; along this run they never had a chance to catch their breath.

Moreover, what's worse is.

They are currently lacking in both troop strength and equipment.

The cavalry under Chen Wu Yin and Chen Wuyi are almost all in iron armor, yet they themselves only wear leather armor.

They are weak in every respect.

Even a few slashes might not pierce the iron armor of Chen Wuji's cavalry.

But the enemy can kill them with a single blow!

In this battle, Chen Wuji and his central army infantry have become mere spectators.

The situation is overwhelming, the terrain of this Jiuli Chuan area has shrunk, and he wants to personally lead a charge, yet there seems nowhere to set foot.

Ahead, Chen Wu Yin and Chen Wuyi's cavalry block the road; in the middle, Hu Bu Gui and Lu Ji attack from both sides; behind, Qian Fugui and Tang Yu encircle and slaughter; only slightly over ten thousand Qiang cavalry remain, and they now face an encirclement of nearly sixty thousand troops.

Xu Zengyi then came up from the rear.

This poisonist finally has the bearing of a strategist, possessing a bit of wisdom.

His walk was nothing but a leisurely stroll.

Chen Wuji originally thought he was just on a spring outing, but seeing Xu Zengyi's bearing, he admitted he was a fighter, though perhaps too eager.

"I, your humble subordinate, wish to congratulate my lord first!" Xu Zengyi stepped forward, clasped his hands, and smiled as if bathed in a spring breeze.

Chen Wuji laughed and waved his hand, "All thanks to your calculations, sir!"

"Not worthy, not worthy, just luck."

Chen Wuji couldn't be bothered to hear his humble words, "Sir, do we still have a chance to give the large Qiang force in the rear another round?"

The battle isn't over yet, but Chen Wuji is already thinking about the Qiang allied forces and Yu Ren in the rear.

Holding Zhuque City on the defensive is not his style.

If there's a chance to fight, Chen Wuji still wants to give them something to do.