Chapter 151

First Volume, Chapter 151: Special Forces

The Second Prince curled his lips into a cold smile: "I truly thought Qin Feng was a divine being—apparently, he's no different from the rest!"

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince frowned slightly; the situation was clear—Xu Mo Army had no hope of recovery. Once the bow infantry were annihilated, military defeat was merely a matter of time.

On the ShiZhen wall, Lin Quqi, at the earnest invitation of the City Patrol Bureau Colonel, had taken on the role of temporary "broadcaster," relaying the battlefield developments to the Colonel at once, who then immediately adjusted the pieces on the sand table to simulate the evolving situation.

When the Ninghu Army cavalry reached the rear formation and discovered Qin Feng's Firepower Battalion had no defense, deafening cheers erupted from the crowd.

The nobles who had bet against Qin Feng were ecstatic.

"Hahaha! Qin Feng lost!"

"Fool! He had only three hundred men total—if he'd converted them all into heavy infantry and charged into close combat, he might've had a chance at a miracle. Now he's split off a hundred bow infantry and left them unprotected—so stupid it's laughable."

"Once the bow infantry are gone, Ninghu's Light Infantry Battalion 2 will surge forward to encircle the central formation, smashing them with breakthrough weapons from all sides—the outcome will be decided in the blink of an eye."

Liu Hongyan's heart was in her throat, her palms slick with sweat: "Qin Feng, Qin Feng—how could you make such a fatal mistake!"

Beside her, Shen Qingci shook her head and sighed: "No saving him."

At the same time, Gao Yulan's mocking laugh rang out from nearby: "Didn't I say so? Qin Feng had the audacity to accuse others of talking nonsense on paper—now the very words fit him perfectly."

Ninghu must win this contest!

The civil and military officials on-site were already waiting for Qin Tianhu to announce the result.

Yet…

Just as the Ninghu Army cavalry reached the rear formation, the anticipated one-sided massacre never happened!

Those seemingly defenseless bow infantry had all thrown down their bows and raised the great knives planted beside them!

"What?!" Li Xu shot to his feet, eyes wide.

The Liang Emperor's eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement: "That weapon isn't standard Liang issue—it's mentioned in the diagrams Qin Feng submitted! Yes—it's the Mo Dao!"

Facing the charging cavalry, the bow infantry swung their Mo Dao with deadly precision—each strike severed entire horse heads, sending riders crashing to the ground. Though still capable of fighting, cavalry dismounting meant death.

In a single cavalry charge, the Mo Dao cut down more than fifty Ninghu cavalrymen!

Though the Firepower Battalion suffered losses, the casualty ratio was wildly lopsided.

The Cavalry Battalion Commander, having never seen such a weapon, turned pale, yanked his reins, and cried out: "Quick! Report to the Commander!"

Since the battlefield lay behind Xu Mo Army's lines, Ninghu couldn't see it—he could only rely on messengers to relay the situation.

When the messenger returned to Ninghu's central formation, Qin Feng stood atop the wall and sneered: "Stunned? Your communication speed is nothing compared to mine—by the time your messages get back and forth, the tea's gone cold."

"Send cavalry to raid the rear formation? Hmph—clever tactic. Too bad… who told you I even had a rear formation?"

The ShiZhen area is this small—the more cavalry you pour in, the less room they have to maneuver, the slower they move, the less impact they deliver—and now they're being chased down and hacked apart by bow infantry, turning their rear into their front!

Bow infantry train for years in archery—just the act of "lifting the bow" builds extraordinary strength over time.

Add to that Qin Feng's special issue of light armor and assorted backup weapons—they're practically each a Spartan warrior.

These bow infantry are far fiercer than light infantry!

Ninghu, who had been certain of victory, was stunned upon hearing the news and immediately ordered his cavalry to retreat.

But the moment the drum beats sounded, Qin Feng waved his signal flags—and the Armored Battalion, Firepower Battalion, and Mobile Battalion all let out terrifying roars.

The simulated battlefield was naturally chaotic—expected.

But these shouts drowned out the drum beats, leaving the Cavalry Battalion unable to distinguish commands—caught between advance and retreat.

Under relentless pursuit from the Firepower Battalion, constant ambushes from the Mobile Battalion, Ninghu's cavalry were decimated—until the Cavalry Battalion Commander, acting on his own, ordered the remaining dozens of riders to retreat to the central formation.

The pride of the Ninghu Army, the Cavalry Battalion, returned with barely any men left—Ninghu's face turned ashen: "How… how is this possible?"

The Cavalry Battalion Commander wiped sweat from his brow and reported: "The ShiZhen area is too confined—cavalry couldn't build momentum, were entangled by enemy bow infantry, harassed by enemy cavalry, and forced to fight on all sides. The battlefield noise drowned out the drum beats, and our messengers were intercepted and cut down repeatedly—unable to deliver orders."

Ninghu looked up at Qin Feng atop the wall, his eyes slowly losing their luster, muttering to himself: "Those two small flags… turned disadvantage into advantage?"

Inside and outside the wall, silence fell like a tomb.

Watching the sand table, the bow infantry—who should have been annihilated—were now chasing down cavalry, having killed over half of the hundred riders, rendering them ineffective. The nobles who had mocked Qin Feng stood frozen in shock.

"This… how is this possible? Cavalry defeated by bow infantry?!"

Gao Yulan's face flushed crimson and pale in turns; she stood and cried out: "Impossible! Throughout history, has there ever been a case where bow infantry defeated cavalry?!"

The Colonel managing the sand table was equally baffled, looking up at Lin Quqi and asking blankly: "Lin Young Master—did you misread the situation?"

Lin Quqi himself was incredulous, yet his face wore a proud expression: "I didn't make a mistake. Bow infantry are no match for cavalry—but Xu Mo Army's bow infantry aren't ordinary bow infantry. In Qin's words, they're… Special Forces! Capable of direct combat and special operations."

The crowd was half-confused—in their understanding, bow infantry had only two roles: dense arrow rain coverage or harassing arrows.

Special operations? Never heard of it!

Shen Qingci, deeply versed in military strategy, shifted from confusion to admiration—but refused to praise Qin Feng outright, instead letting out a proud, haughty sniff: "Brat. So many sneaky tricks."

Liu Hongyan's spirits soared from the depths to the clouds; she beamed, crossed her arms, lifted her smooth, pale chin, and nodded toward Gao Yulan: "Miss Gao—why aren't you speaking? Weren't you just so full of words?"

Gao Yulan's face burned red, but she had no reply.

Xiao Xiangxiang was overjoyed for Qin Feng; Qin Xiaofu grinned wide and turned to shout at servants from other mansions: "Damn it! Who said my master couldn't do it? Step forward! I'll break your mouth!"

Watching the enemy cavalry retreat, Qin Feng smirked—Lu Ming had truly earned his merit. If not for him leading the craftsmen last night to forge those Mo Dao, today would've been disastrous… I'll give that boy a raise.

Meanwhile, Ninghu's Heavy Infantry Battalion 1, after losing over a dozen men to harassing arrows, had pushed through and reached the central formation of Xu Mo Army.

The instant the two sides clashed, brutal close combat erupted.