Chapter 1081

First Volume, Chapter 1081: The Courage of Ants

After two days of careful treatment, Niu Er's condition gradually stabilized; seeing Little Niu Er finally regain his spirit, Qin Feng and the others finally let out their breaths of relief.

At dusk, Qin Feng ordered the detachment to prepare for departure from Yuping County and return to Jingdu.

Since the Black Cavalry were themselves heavy cavalry, the burden on their warhorses was already immense; no Black Cavalry soldier could carry Niu Er and his mother on top.

Although Niu's mother had been taught how to ride, she was still unskilled, and keeping pace with the column would be too much for her.

After much deliberation, Wu Chenggong was directly assigned to find a cart to escort Niu Er and his mother.

As the time neared, Qin Feng exchanged a glance with Wu Chenggong, then no longer hesitated—he led the column out of the city and advanced along the Official Road toward Jingdu.

Zhao Yuxiong, fully armored and riding beside him, kept scanning the seemingly tranquil wilderness.

"Brother Qin, according to the Jin Yi Wei's intelligence, the bandits number eight hundred."

"Simply breaking through their encirclement would be easy for the Black Cavalry."

"But annihilating them entirely is genuinely difficult."

Zhao Yuxiong wasn't deliberately speaking pessimistically—he knew annihilating eight hundred men was nearly impossible unless thousands formed a massive encirclement and slowly closed in.

With our current numbers, once battle begins, if the enemy tries to flee, the Black Cavalry simply cannot pursue effectively.

Heavy cavalry are not suited for pursuit—this is a universally accepted fact.

For safety's sake, Qin Feng, also fully armored, turned to glance at the cart in the center of the column and gave a casual smile.

"Completely wiping them out is a stretch—so long as we kill their leader and eliminate over eighty percent, we've achieved our goal."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuxiong instantly felt the weight on his shoulders lighten.

Meanwhile, an Imperial Spy sprinted to a hillock five li south of the Official Road.

The moment he crossed the hillock, hundreds of soldiers standing at the ready came into view.

"Commander-in-Chief, Qin Feng has left the city and is approaching our position!"

Hearing the spy's Military Intelligence Report, Wu Heli drew a deep breath, tightened his grip on his Treasure Sword, then turned to face his comrades and barked: "Kill Qin Feng, win fame and glory!"

The hundreds of comrades instantly surged with fighting spirit.

Chen Yanzong had long been unable to contain his excitement—once Qin Feng was dead, he and his three brothers would instantly become famous throughout Heaven!

At that time, not only would he gain the support of the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing, but countless warriors would flock to join them—expansion was merely a matter of time.

"Big Brother, I volunteer to lead the charge and slay Qin Feng myself!"

Watching the fiery Chen Yanzong, Wu Heli sharply waved his hand and said firmly: "No!"

"Your courage is unquestionable, but Qin Feng is no ordinary man—he's protected by Black Cavalry; we cannot risk it."

Rejected again, Chen Yanzong felt a wave of discouragement—he knew his brother meant well, but he desperately wanted to kill Qin Feng himself and claim the first blood.

Wu Heli said gravely: "Second Brother and Elder Third, take three hundred men and ambush on the north side of the Official Road."

"As per the original plan, they will emerge to reinforce if the situation changes."

"Fourth Brother, your task is to lead your men and encircle the Black Cavalry—do not let them gain momentum; if those heavily armored cavalry charge, the consequences will be catastrophic."

Wu Heli fully understood the vast disparity between enemy and ally.

The Black Cavalry beside Qin Feng were all Armed to the Teeth, battle-hardened Hundred-Battle Veterans.

Meanwhile, his own side, though numerous, had not even a dozen decent sets of Light Armor, let alone Heavy Armor.

As for Armor-Piercing Arrowheads, specifically designed to pierce heavy armor, there were barely any.

They did have many Long Spear Halberds, but due to their crude craftsmanship, it was uncertain whether the spear shafts could even withstand the impact.

Thus, despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Wu Heli dared not underestimate his foe—he treated this battle as a life-or-death struggle and stood ready.

Wu Heli and Chen Yanzong each wore a set of Light Armor—the only two complete sets of Armor in the entire force.

Wu Heli positioned himself at the front of the formation, while Chen Yanzong was assigned to hold the rear.

This was done both to ensure the formation could deploy smoothly and to prevent the fiery Chen Yanzong from rashly charging into danger.

As time passed, Wu Heli gradually held his breath.

Gradually, the heavy thudding of hooves echoed from afar; looking in that direction, he saw tiny black dots appear at the end of the Official Road.

"Here they come! Everyone, prepare!"

As the distance closed, the full sight of the Black Cavalry became clear—their once-ferocious fighting spirit slowly cooled.

A heavy atmosphere slowly spread.

Everyone knew the Black Cavalry were elite among elites, but they hadn't expected them to be this elite…

Each Black Cavalry soldier was completely encased in Heavy Armor, even their warhorses nearly covered in armor plates.

Worse still, the weapons carried by the Black Cavalry were almost unimaginable.

Lances, cleavers, Bow and Arrow, chain hammers—all were present.

On the right side of each Black Cavalryman hung two arrow quivers; by the feather distinctions, one was filled with Armor-Piercing Arrowheads, the other with Special-Shaped Arrowheads.

Clearly, whether facing Heavy Infantry or Light Infantry, the Black Cavalry could unleash terrifying Combat Effectiveness.

Watching the disciplined, steadily advancing Black Cavalry, Wu Heli's gaze grew heavier; despite the immense pressure, for the sake of fame and glory, he had no choice but to fight.

When the Black Cavalry entered One Hundred Steps, Wu Heli gave the decisive order.

"Kill!"

At the command, the five hundred men hidden behind the hillock surged forth, splitting into two columns to encircle the Black Cavalry.

The Black Cavalry, marching steadily, halted instantly upon the sudden ambush.

Qin Feng sat atop his horse, gazing at these ragtag bandits who lacked even decent Armor, and sighed.

"These people… are off."

"I thought they were elite troops sent by a Powerful Clan of Nan Jing, but upon closer look, they're more like genuine bandits."

At that moment, Zhao Yuxiong's calm voice drifted over.

"Brother Qin, the Brocade Guard mentioned earlier that a rebel army has recently appeared within Shedynasty's borders; when we were in the Jingji Region, they were even besieged by the Longhu Army."

"Could it be these people?"

Hearing this, Qin Feng immediately became interested: "What's your basis?"

Zhao Yuxiong shook his head: "No solid evidence, but I feel these people's Courage is clearly much stronger than that of ordinary bandits."

"Facing the Black Riders and still daring to charge forward—just this alone sets them apart."