Chapter 647: Dark Night Breakthrough (Part 2)

Horse hooves shattered the night.

Twelve riders burst from the forest, galloping southwest along the abandoned official road.

Chen Wen took the lead.

Lv. 6 Fortune Momentum perception fully activated, the flow of energy ahead was clearly visible in his field of view.

"Three li ahead, the second defensive line!"

He turned and shouted.

"The Yuan army has noticed, they are gathering!"

Before his words could finish.

On the hills on both sides of the road, torches suddenly lit up.

Dozens of rockets shot in from both sides!

"Scatter!"

Yue Fei shouted sternly.

The twelve riders instantly scattered to both sides.

The rockets brushed past the horses, struck the muddy road, and burst into eerie green flames.

"It's ghost fire!"

Wang Ru's face changed.

"The Iron Crow Army has issued ghost-energy weapons to the front!"

On the hills, Yuan army archers appeared.

About a hundred men, formed in two rows, arrows nocked.

"Charge through!"

Chen Wen showed no hesitation.

"Don't let the horses slow!"

He kicked the horse's belly; the warhorse neighed and surged faster.

He drew his sword with his right hand, grabbed three iron caltrops from his saddle bag with his left, and threw them with force.

The iron caltrops whistled through the air and struck precisely into the left hill's archer ranks.

Three muffled thuds sounded, and three archers fell.

Almost simultaneously.

Yue Fei, Lin Chong, and the others also attacked.

Yue Yun snatched the horse-side crossbow, fired three bolts, and the three right-side archers fell.

Guan Sheng gripped his giant bow; one arrow pierced two men.

Huyan Zhuo swung his double whips, deflecting the incoming arrows.

But the Yuan army's arrow barrage was too dense.

An arrow grazed Ruan Xiaoer's shoulder, spraying blood.

"Xiaoer!"

Chao Gai called out urgently.

"It's fine!"

Ruan Xiaoer gritted his teeth, pulled the arrow from his shoulder, and kept charging.

Twenty breaths.

The twelve riders charged straight through the arrow rain.

Behind them lay over ten Yuan archer corpses, but three of their horses were also struck.

"The horses can't go on!"

Wang Gui urged urgently.

His warhorse had two arrows in its hindquarters, its speed noticeably slowed.

"Change horses!"

Chen Wen pulled the reins.

Li Qi's hidden-post squad had eighteen horses; besides the twelve mounts, there were six spares, led by two hidden-post attendants trailing at the rear.

"Wang Gui, Ruan Xiaoer, change horses!"

"Quick!"

The two quickly changed horses.

The wounded warhorse was led to the rear.

Just after changing horses.

Suddenly, a unit of Yuan heavy cavalry charged out from the bend ahead.

About fifty riders, men and horses alike in heavy armor, spear in hand, advanced like an iron wall!

"It's the Iron Pagoda!"

Zhang Xian cried out in shock.

"How could a False Song world have a Jin Iron Pagoda?!"

"It's a replica by the Iron Crow Army!"

Chen Wen's eyes grew icy.

"Break them up! Don't get bogged down!"

The heavy cavalry had closed to within a hundred paces.

The ground trembled.

"Form the arrowhead formation!"

Yue Fei roared.

"I'll lead! Lin Chong and Guan Sheng as the wings!"

"Pierce through them!"

The twelve horsemen instantly changed formation.

Yue Fei charged ahead, his spear held level.

Lin Chong and Guan Sheng guarded the left and right.

The rest followed closely behind.

Fifty paces.

Thirty paces.

The two sides collided with a boom!

Yue Fei's spear darted like a dragon, precisely thrusting into the gap in the face armor of the lead heavy cavalryman.

With a lift, that heavy cavalryman toppled from his horse.

Lin Chong swept his spear sideways, knocking over a rider on the right.

Guan Sheng swung his great axe in a wide arc, cleaving the left heavy cavalryman, man and armor, in half!

But the heavy cavalry formation was too thick.

After breaking through the first three ranks, their speed plummeted.

A heavy cavalryman thrust his spear at Yue Fei's side.

Yue Yun reacted quickly, striking the spear tip aside with a hammer.

Zhang Xian moved in for a finishing blow, cutting off that heavy cavalryman's horse leg.

In the chaos, Wu Yong's horse was knocked over.

He rolled to the ground, about to be trampled by horse hooves!

"Military advisor!"

Chao Gai jerked the reins hard, the warhorse reared up, its forehooves fiercely kicked the approaching heavy cavalryman over, while he leaned down and reached out.

Wu Yong grabbed his wrist, used the leverage to flip onto the horse's back, sitting behind Chao Gai.

"Charge out!"

Chen Wen's sword flashed repeatedly, cutting off two incoming spears.

Wang Ru's twin blades whirled into a light ring, guarding the flank.

Ten breaths of bloody battle.

At last, they pierced the heavy cavalry formation.

The twelve horsemen burst out.

But everyone was wounded, and two more horses fell.

"Keep changing horses!"

Chen Wen shouted.

"The third line of defense is right ahead—we can't stop!"

They changed mounts again.

The unit didn't stop, continuing to gallop madly.

Behind them, the heavy cavalry regrouped and pursued relentlessly.

A river appeared ahead.

It was the Yi River.

There was a bridge at the ford, but the bridgehead was already fortified.

About two hundred Yuan army infantry were drawn up, with archers and crossbowmen behind them.

"We can't cross the bridge!"

Wang Ru urged anxiously.

"Detour?"

"No time to detour!"

Chen Wen looked at the river surface.

It was about ten zhang wide, with a rapid current.

"Wade through!"

"The horses can make it!"

He led the way, urging his horse down the riverbank.

The icy river water instantly rose to the horses' bellies.

The warhorses strained forward, swimming.

The Yuan army spotted them, and a rain of arrows fell.

But in the water, the arrows' power was greatly reduced.

"Lower your heads!"

Yue Fei bellowed.

Everyone lowered their bodies, pressing close to the horses' necks.

Arrows whizzed past; most missed, a few lodged in the saddles and packs.

Thirty breaths later, they neared the opposite shore.

The Yuan army on the opposite shore had already lined up with spears, waiting for them to land.

"Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui!"

Chen Wen turned his head.

"After landing, immediately charge the formation and open a gap!"

"The rest, follow!"

The three generals agreed.

The moment the horse hooves stepped onto the muddy bank.

Yue Yun swung both hammers at once, smashing two Yuan soldiers!

Zhang Xian's spear lashed like a venomous snake, thrusting three times!

Wang Gui swept his broadsword horizontally, cutting off several spears!

The gap opened!

The twelve horsemen surged forward, crashing into the Yuan army's ranks.

The melee flared up again.

This time, the Yuan army grew wiser.

They no longer tried to block head‑on, but attempted to split and encircle.

"Don't scatter!"

Chen Wen's sword flashed like lightning, cutting down several incoming sabres.

"Hold formation!"

"Charge west!"

The formation was like a spear, tearing westward.

But the Yuan army kept growing in number.

They kept pouring out from the houses and woods on both sides.

"They had an ambush prepared!"

Wu Yong, crouched behind Chao Gai, urged urgently.

"The third line of defense is a decoy; the real main force is here!"

His words had not yet faded.

At the end of the street ahead, another unit of heavy cavalry charged out!

The rear pursuers also arrived.

On both sides' roofs, archers appeared.

They were surrounded.

Chen Wen reined his horse and looked around.

At least five hundred enemy troops, and they had crossbows and heavy cavalry.

Our side numbered twelve, people and horses exhausted, casualties over half.

"Mr. Chen…"

Yue Fei looked at him.

"What should we do?"

Chen Wen gripped his sword hilt.

A flash of determination crossed his eyes.

"Dismount."

"Fight on foot and break out."

"Let the horses draw the fire."

Everyone instantly understood.

This meant abandoning the horses.

"Dismount!"

Chen Wen was the first to dismount, thrusting his sword into the horse's rump.

The war horse, in pain, lunged forward into the heavy cavalry formation!

The others did the same.

Eleven wounded war horses neighed as they charged in all directions, disrupting the enemy formation.

"Now!"

Chen Wen let out a low growl.

"Stay close to me!"

He led the charge into a narrow alley on the right.

The others followed closely.

The Yuan army was thrown into confusion by the horses, their reaction slowed by half a beat.

By the time they re‑formed ranks and gave chase, the twelve had already rushed into the alley.

The alley was narrow, allowing only two abreast.

The Yuan heavy cavalry could not enter, so they had to dismount and pursue on foot.

"Fire arrows!"

The Yuan army commander roared.

Arrows shot in from the alley entrance.

"Lower your heads!"

Lin Chong, Guan Sheng, and Huyan Zhuo voluntarily took the rear, brandishing their weapons to deflect the arrows.

The alley twisted and turned.

Chen Wen led the way, making seven turns and eight twists.

Suddenly, a dead end appeared ahead.

"No way out!"

Ruan Xiaoer anxiously said.

Chen Wen lifted his head.

The wall was two zhang high.

"Climb the wall!"

He took a two-step run-up, pushed off the wall with his foot, and used the momentum to flip onto the top of the wall.

He reached out.

"Hurry!"

Yue Fei was the second to climb up, followed by Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, and Wang Gui.

Lin Chong, Guan Sheng, and Huyan Zhuo were the last to climb the wall, then turned and shot down several pursuing Yuan soldiers with their bows before also flipping over the wall.

Beyond the wall lay another alley.

Not far ahead was a forest.

"Into the mountains!"

Chen Wen leapt down from the wall top.

The twelve rushed into the forest.

Behind them, the Yuan troops reached the base of the wall, but scaling it would take time.

By the time they managed to climb over, there was no one left in the forest.

"Search the mountain!"

The Yuan commander was furious and flustered.

But the forest was dense and the night dark.

Five hundred men scattered into it, like a mud ox into the sea.

Deep in the forest.

Chen Wen halted his steps and signaled everyone to rest.

The twelve panted heavily, each bearing wounds.

Wu Yong slid down from Chao Gai's back, his legs going weak, nearly collapsing.

Chao Gai steadied him.

"Advisor, are you still alright?"

"Still... still okay."

Wang Ru quickly checked everyone's injuries.

"They're just superficial wounds, but there's considerable blood loss."

"They need bandaging."

"Simple treatment will do."

Chen Wen said.

"Li Qi's rendezvous point is just five li ahead."

"We'll give proper treatment once we get there."

They bandaged each other.

Yue Fei looked at Chen Wen.

"Mr. Chen, was that third line of defense just now a trap?"

"Yes."

Chen Wen nodded.

"The Iron Crow Army anticipated we would head southwest."

"So the second line was meant to wear us down, and the third line was meant to encircle and annihilate us."

"But they didn't expect us to abandon our horses and fight on foot, nor did they expect us to be so familiar with the terrain around Luoyang."

"What's next?"

"Next..."

Chen Wen looked toward the southwest.

"Rush to the rendezvous point at full speed."

"We must leave this area before dawn."

He stood up.

"Those who can walk, keep walking."

Everyone gritted their teeth and stood up.

No matter how severe the wounds, we cannot stop.

Because the pursuers behind us have not ceased.

And ahead, there is still the final stretch of the road.