Chapter 1152: First Volume, Chapter 1152: Who Says Logistics Can

First Volume, Chapter 1152: Who Says Logistics Can't Fight

Battalion Commander Lin Pu, clad in light armor and carrying a great shield on his back, stood beside a cart, drawing a hard bow and firing an arrow at the charging cavalry.

Paired with special-shaped arrowheads, the hard bow inflicted devastating damage upon light cavalry when it struck.

Before becoming battalion commander of the logistics battalion, Lin Pu had once participated in the selection for Tianji Camp Guards.

He was eliminated due to insufficient strength.

Unwilling to accept defeat, he transferred to the Beixi Light Cavalry Corps, intending to become a cavalryman and fight on the front lines.

But then…

He was reassigned again, shoved into the Zhongying, starting as a lowly guard.

Yet Lin Pu did not lose heart; he followed his former battalion commander, escorting vital military supplies through the perilous supply line.

Altogether, he endured more than a dozen battles, big and small.

After his battalion commander fell in battle, and then the deputy battalion commander also died, Lin Pu gradually rose to become battalion commander of the Twenty-seventh Logistics Battalion.

He was ordered to lead his thirty men in escorting materials to reinforce Zhao Zhenhai's You Ji Cavalry.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to arrive at the designated location at dawn.

But now, night had fallen.

Lin Pu knew full well that Zhao Zhenhai was likely already greeting his ancestors.

Lin Pu couldn't help muttering curses under his breath.

"Damn it! Our brothers do the hardest, most grueling work, yet those bastards don't even thank us—they keep cursing us!"

"They should've starved long ago!"

But despite his curses, Lin Pu's hands didn't slack—he kept pouring arrows into the surrounding cavalry.

They operated in teams of five, using the carts as platforms: two men held great shields to block cavalry arrows, while the other three focused solely on shooting.

Because the carts blocked their path, the cavalry could not charge directly in.

Moreover…

Even if they did charge, the Zhongying Guards had great shields and long weapons ready to meet them.

The colonel leading the stealth attack on the Zhongying was named Zhou Teng.

He was forty years old, had served for twenty-five years, yet had never encountered a logistics unit like this…

Just fifty men, surrounded by two hundred light cavalry—instead of fleeing in panic, they held firm discipline and launched fierce counterattacks.

Zhou Teng couldn't help exclaiming: "Where does their morale come from?"

"The supplies belong to the army, but their lives are their own—if anyone else were in their place, they'd have fled long ago."

At that moment, a scout arrived, panting heavily.

"Colonel, we've confirmed it… this logistics unit didn't come from the Central Plains—it came from the North."

"It appears to be… part of the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's Logistics Regiment."

Logistics Regiment? Zhongying?

Zhou Chi's expression shifted slightly.

As a soldier, he had heard of the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's legendary exploits against the Di.

He had also heard that Zhongying could force their way through enemy blockades to deliver supplies to frontline troops.

These men, though logistics troops, possessed combat effectiveness and morale equal to any frontline elite.

"What's our casualty situation?"

At Zhou Chi's question, the scout quickly replied.

"No enemy casualties observed so far—on the contrary, our forces have suffered heavy losses in every close assault."

Hearing this, Zhou Chi's face darkened further.

The light cavalry, relying on numerical superiority to hunt down logistics troops, had ended up shooting themselves in the foot?

What kind of absurdity was this!

Not just Zhou Chi—even the surrounding vice commanders exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"General, this… this Zhongying is a bone too hard to chew. Let's retreat."

"Pathetic! Two hundred cavalry can't take down a mere Zhongying!"

"That's incorrect!"

"The Zhongying has only fifty men, but they're clad in armor, wielding great shields."

"Even the carts have been modified—when combat begins, they lock the wheels, and no matter how panicked the draft horses become, the carts cannot move an inch."

"Thus, the Zhongying Guards can use the carts as platforms for defensive counterattacks."

"If attacked by infantry, it's still a hard fight—but if attacked by cavalry, they gain the upper hand."

"Indeed, the world only knows Qin Feng has three major forces: the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, the Tianji Camp Guards, and the Black Cavalry."

"But few know that the Zhongying Guards are each as fierce as tigers and wolves."

"Strange! Truly strange—what tricks did Qin Feng use to turn logistics troops into this?"

"Fortunately, the army besieging Gusu City is the Central Plains Imperial Party and the Jingji Garrison—if the Northern Border Army were to arrive… it might…"

As the others debated, Zhou Chi suddenly raised his hand, cutting them off.

His gaze heavy, he ordered sternly: "Dismount! Use our numerical advantage—advance on foot and engage the enemy in close combat."

At Zhou Chi's command, the remaining 160-plus cavalrymen dismounted, switched to foot combat, and charged toward the convoy.

Seeing this, Lin Pu sneered.

"Cavalry switching to foot combat? If they were heavy cavalry, fine—but light cavalry are poorly armored; the more that come, the more I'll kill!"

Lin Pu barked: "Foot combat incoming!"

"Adopt a Defensive Counterattack posture!"

In such situations, Lin Pu and the Zhongying guards had experienced far too many.

They remained calm, still pairing two to hold Great Shields, but one archer was pulled from each group to pull a sack directly from the wagon.

Each wagon was standard-issue with a spare set of Heavy Armor.

Under their comrades' cover, ten squads each sent out one man to don the Heavy Armor.

And not just any—among the most solid of Heavy Armors: Pen-collar Armor!

Their movements were extremely practiced; by the time the Enemy Army reached the wagons, they were fully armored.

One by one, iron-barrel-like Heavy Armor Infantry, wielding Long-handled Great Axes, charged toward the Enemy Army.

The remaining four guards each held a Great Shield, protecting the Heavy Armor guards.

Beside each squad, ten plus Enemy Army soldiers surrounded them.

Unfortunately, these Enemy Army cavalry turned Infantry, clad in light, thin Armor, had almost no defense against the Heavy Armor guards' Great Axes.

Any strike that landed meant instant death.

When the Enemy Army began attacking the Heavy Armor guards, they despairingly realized the four guards beside them had become Servant Soldiers, raising Great Shields to firmly protect the Heavy Armor guards at the center.

Not only was it nearly impossible for the Enemy Army to break through the Great Shields' Defense, but even if they did, their weapons could barely harm the Heavy Armor guards.

After brutal close-quarters combat, the Enemy Army had already lost over half their numbers; on the Zhongying side, two squads had suffered casualties among their Servant Soldiers due to poor coordination.

If the Enemy Army surrounding the Zhongying numbered around five hundred, with a ten-to-one advantage, they might have broken through the Zhongying.

But alas, there are no "ifs" on the Battlefield!

Two Hundred Light Cavalry could never overpower fifty Zhongying guards, fully armored and agile in their tactics.