Chapter 1167: First Volume_Chapter 1167: Turning the Tide, Withdrawing to Defend

First Volume_Chapter 1167: Turning the Tide, Withdrawing to Defend

The five hundred light cavalry just withdrawn from the battlefield could not rejoin support within a short time.

Inside Gusu City, there were no more cavalry left.

At this moment, Lin Wenwan had only two choices: immediately retreat, or continue sending light infantry to reinforce.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zhenhai's five hundred light cavalry had already blocked the rear route; retreating now, even if the order could be delivered, would be futile.

Even if two thousand infantry retreated simultaneously, they would inevitably be hunted down; once their formation broke, massive casualties would follow.

If light infantry were sent to reinforce, it would take time to reach the battlefield, and they would have to run the entire way.

Whether they could maintain formation was one issue; whether they had enough stamina was another.

Lin Wenwan knew Qin Feng would deceive her, yet she never expected to be led by the nose, trapped in this impossible dilemma.

In the end, Lin Wenwan could only grit her teeth and order troops to advance.

During troop assembly, Zhao Yuxiong's two thousand five hundred light cavalry arrived at the battlefield and immediately launched an encirclement.

When the number of light cavalry surpassed that of infantry, the tide turned.

Facing three thousand light cavalry's volleys of arrows, infantry could not protect both front and rear; a single shield was no longer enough to form a tight defense.

They had to withstand pressure from the front while defending against flanking light cavalry ambushes.

As more soldiers fell, gaps appeared in the formation, which grew looser, and combat morale plummeted.

Even at this stage, the light cavalry still had no intention of a cavalry charge; they continued using the Harassment Tactic, relentlessly pressuring and consuming.

When Gusu City soldiers diverted too much attention to repelling light cavalry, their front line could no longer hold against Sun Bo's vanguard.

Sun Bo's eyes blazed with excitement as he shouted: "Attack! Attack! Attack!"

"The enemy formation is nearly shattered—break through now!"

Hearing Sun Bo's cry, the vanguard troops instantly surged with morale.

They had never imagined the battle would unfold this way; they needed this victory too desperately, and now charged forward without regard for their lives.

The three thousand infantry inside Gusu City had assembled; the City Gate slowly opened, and they began advancing toward the battlefield.

Unfortunately, by now, the two thousand infantry's formation had already collapsed, and after repeated harassment and encirclement, their losses were extreme.

Casualties had exceeded five hundred men.

The remaining one thousand five hundred soldiers still fought desperately, but their formation was now chaotic.

They could neither effectively resist arrows raining from all directions nor hold back Sun Bo's vanguard.

As the gap in the front ranks widened, Sun Bo's vanguard drove straight in like a sharp blade.

The Gusu City soldiers' formation was gradually torn apart.

Seeing they could no longer hold, the remaining soldiers abandoned resistance and fled en masse toward Gusu City.

With the formation utterly shattered, Sun Bo's vanguard had no further restraint—no need to maintain order—only pursuit.

The remaining thousand-plus Gusu City soldiers all turned toward Gusu City, their backs exposed to Sun Bo's vanguard.

Whether alone or in small groups, any soldier who turned to fight was instantly overwhelmed by Sun Bo's vanguard; thus, the Gusu City soldiers' defeat was sealed, irreversible.

Not only were they being hunted by Sun Bo's vanguard, but on three other sides, three thousand light cavalry enforced encirclement and interception.

Gusu City soldiers could not escape the Encirclement Lines; they fell in waves.

When Gusu City reinforcements reached halfway, Zhao Yuxiong and Zhao Zhenhai swiftly led the light cavalry to spread to both flanks, also harassing and blocking the reinforcements coming from the Rear.

In an instant, Gusu City soldiers numbered fewer than seven hundred, while the three thousand reinforcements arrived—and instead of merging with the two thousand, they… collided head-on with them.

The light cavalry acted like shepherd dogs, firmly controlling the direction of the Gusu City soldiers on both flanks.

The reinforcements' tight formation did no good; instead, it was ruined by their own fleeing comrades.

Under the chaos of retreating allies, the reinforcements also broke down; unable to stop Sun Bo's vanguard charging toward them.

In the end, the three thousand reinforcements were swept along by their fleeing allies, retreating en masse into the city.

Seeing this, Lin Wenwan on the City Wall closed her eyes; though she knew fighting Qin Feng carried extreme risk, she never imagined defeat so total.

Five thousand infantry had been utterly crushed.

Had Qin Feng's tactics reached this level?

The Gusu City commanders stood stunned; they knew Qin Feng commanded like a god, yet could not fathom how devastating open field battle against him would be.

"Quick! Open the City Gate!"

"Damn it! Two thousand vanguard plus three thousand reinforcements—five thousand men altogether—utterly defeated…"

"Is this Qin Feng?"

Watching the broken remnants surge toward the City Gate, Zhao Yuxiong and Zhao Zhenhai did not lead their cavalry to pursue further.

After all, getting too close to the City Wall was too risky.

They merely circled outside, as if mocking the defenders within.

Sun Bo led his infantry in orderly retreat, avoiding enemy surprise attacks; it was less a retreat than… a triumphant return!

Two thousand vanguard not only shattered the enemy's two thousand defenders, but also crushed three thousand reinforcements.

This massive victory swept away past gloom.

From Sun Bo down to the infantry, all were ecstatic.

"We… we won!"

"Hahaha! No wonder he's the Qin King!"

"Gusu City Garrison? Pathetic!"

"Fate turns—finally, it's our turn to rise!"

"Hehehe! We've avenged our shame!"

The commanders cast burning glances toward Qin Feng in the distance; at this moment, in their hearts, Qin Feng was the savior who had come to secure the battlefield.

As long as Qin Feng was present, even if they had only seven hundred troops left instead of seven thousand, they would no longer panic.

Qin Feng, who had witnessed the entire event, gazed toward Gusu City, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Imperial Consort Lin, back in Jingdu, we clashed politically in secret and open."

"Now we meet again on the battlefield—is it that enemies are fated to cross paths, or is it destiny?"

"It seems the hearts within Gusu City are not united."

Qin Feng knew well that Lin Wenwan's abilities extended far beyond this—her risk-taking must have been influenced by the other generals inside the city.

In the end, many generals still resented this woman.

At least in the eyes of most, warfare was a man's affair; what business did a woman have meddling in it?

The more chaotic the situation within Gusu City became, the more Qin Feng secretly rejoiced.

"Return to camp!"