Chapter 447: First Volume, Chapter 447: Break the Array

First Volume, Chapter 447: Break the Array

"General!"

The Deputy General was about to report.

Chen Si had already waved his hand to cut him off, indicating he already knew—despite the Beixi County Garrison arriving at the Camp any moment, Chen Si remained calm.

"Are the enemy's vanguard cavalry or infantry?"

Night Owl quickly replied: "Report, General—the Beixi Black Cavalry leads, infantry forms the rear, and light cavalry split into multiple paths; clearly, they're not targeting our main Camp."

Hearing this, Chen Si's brow slowly furrowed, and he immediately barked an order: "Beidi War Command—immediately mobilize for battle! Send messengers at once to the Vanguard Camp—dispatch additional light cavalry to reinforce immediately. The enemy means business; they aim for One-Strike Victory, to smash our Frontline and counterattack our Da Di territory!"

Learning Beixi County had gambled everything, the Deputy General's face turned grim—he dared not delay a second, and swiftly issued orders.

In the span of a single cup of tea, heavy trampling sounds arrived from afar.

The Beixi Black Cavalry has arrived!

The infantry stationed at the Camp hastily formed a defensive array, thousands of Long Spear Halberds thrust outward in unison.

Even so, as the trampling grew louder, every infantryman's heart rose to their throat.

At the same moment, the eight hundred light cavalry inside the Camp charged out to intercept the Beixi Black Cavalry.

But due to night combat, the light cavalry faced a dilemma: if they didn't light fire torches, their formation would descend into chaos, risking trampling accidents before even engaging the enemy.

If they lit fire torches, they became living targets. Meanwhile, the Beixi Black Cavalry moved in total darkness—yet judging by the hoofbeats, their formation remained perfectly orderly.

"Strange! How can they maintain such disciplined formation during night march without fire torches?"

Some light cavalry found it inconceivable—the Beixi Black Cavalry's military discipline seemed to defy common sense.

Unbeknownst to them, the Black Cavalry had been trained by Zhao Yuxiong, the Gaoshan Country Special Envoy, and Qin Feng—they were no longer ordinary cavalry. Human hearing is limited, but horses' hearing is exceptionally acute; they can discern direction and marching rhythm by the bell on the lead horse.

To train cavalry, first train the Warhorses.

Almost as soon as the eight hundred light cavalry entered ranged attack distance, the outer ranks of Black Cavalry began blind firing based on the firelight.

Meanwhile, the Black Cavalry remained in pitch darkness—the light cavalry's accuracy plummeted, plunging them into a desperate, passive position, futilely harassing the Black Cavalry with no real effect.

But the Black Cavalry ignored the limited harassment entirely—their advance slowed by only one-tenth, their target clear: straight toward the Camp.

The total garrison troops at the Camp numbered five thousand; eight hundred light cavalry had been dispatched, leaving four thousand two hundred—only a thousand or so could form the Frontline Defense Formation.

And since Black Cavalry's natural marching speed was slow, slowing or halting was far easier for them than for light cavalry.

Upon reaching range, the Black Cavalry had no intention of launching a Cavalry Charge—they simply opened fire on the enemy infantry armed with Long Spear Halberds.

This hastily established Camp had no effective wall to defend against arrows.

It was composed entirely of Rampart and Wooden Fence Defense.

Under the Black Cavalry's indiscriminate barrage, the Frontline Defense Formation collapsed quickly—abandoning over one hundred corpses, the infantry fled in panic back into the Camp.

Meanwhile, the Black Cavalry calmly moved aside the Rampart, carving a wide enough path for their horses to pass, continuing their slow advance toward the Camp.

The outer ranks of Black Cavalry alternated: one held a Warhorse Lance, the next held a Bow and Arrow; the inner ranks were all archers—advancing step by step while continuously shooting.

Chen Si's Camp was instantly thrown into chaos!

Where had they ever seen such a Cavalry Charge? This wasn't a cavalry unit—it was a mobile Step Bow infantry formation!

And since the Black Cavalry rode atop their Warhorses, they only needed to follow the bell on the lead horse—those behind advanced in perfect order, focusing solely on shooting.

Soon, the enemy realized the trick: infantry archers surged from all sides, frantically firing at the lead cavalry!

Kill the lead horseman, remove the Warhorse Bell Guidance, and the following Black Cavalry could no longer advance effectively—they'd be forced to divert attention to controlling their Warhorses.

But the Beidi Infantry soon fell into despair.

The lead Black Cavalry's Armor was thicker and stronger than the others', protected on all sides by ten plus Black Cavalry wielding Long Spear Halberds and Great Shields.

Not only did most arrows get blocked by the Great Shields—even direct hits on the lead rider failed to pierce the Armor!

That's right—the Armor-Piercing Arrowhead, specifically designed to penetrate Armor, couldn't break through!

"Damn it, how thick is this Black Cavalry's Armor?!"

"With armor this heavy, even our Beidi Horses can't carry it! Damned Gaoshan Country traitors—they sold Beixi County so many Highland Horses!"

Night combat and daytime combat were two entirely different things.

In daylight, the Black Cavalry would have already launched a ChargeOrder—but now, in pitch darkness, charging blindly would be suicide. Under Zhao Yuxiong's command, the Black Cavalry employed Night Combat Tactics: slow, deliberate, yet devastatingly effective, advancing into Chen Si's Camp.

Though immediately surrounded, the enemy numbered only four thousand two hundred infantry and eight hundred light cavalry.

Against the Black Cavalry, Armed to the Teeth, with Armor so thick even Highland Horses struggled to run, the unmodified Armor-Piercing Arrowheads were like scratching an itch. For one incense stick time since the Black Cavalry appeared, not a single one had fallen from their Warhorse.

And Chen Si's Camp was suffering catastrophic casualties, nearing collapse.

Only when the light cavalry, wielding Warhorse Lances, finally launched a Charge did they begin to spear Black Cavalry off their mounts.

But facing ArrowRain and the Black Cavalry's Warhorse Lance defense, the Beidi Light Cavalry's Charge resembled a suicide attack.

Often, seven or eight light cavalry had to die to kill just one Black Cavalry.

In moments, the Beidi Light Cavalry had been consumed to the point they could no longer mount any Charge—their death rate reached seventy percent, yet they'd only killed twenty-plus Black Cavalry.

At this moment, the unstoppable Black Cavalry suddenly halted their advance.

Zhao Yuxiong stood beside the lead Black Cavalry, Warhorse Lance in hand, his body pierced with dozens of arrows, his sharp eyes peering through gaps in the Neck Guard, observing the surroundings.

"Enemy has formed Tactical Encirclement. All soldiers, listen: rear ranks become front ranks—reverse direction and break out through the Camp Gate. Though the enemy's Array is skilled, their numbers are too few to be a threat."

As Zhao Yuxiong gave the order, a bell rang from behind the Black Cavalry—three thousand Black Cavalry slowly, yet orderly, turned their Warhorses and advanced step by step toward the Camp Gate.

At the same moment, the entire Camp was surrounded by the remaining three thousand Beidi Infantry.

Six hundred infantry archers, armed with crossbows, waited for the Black Cavalry to emerge.

And Chen Si sat atop his Warhorse on a hill five hundred Steps north of the Camp, watching the entire scene.