Chapter 511

First Volume, Chapter 511: Come on, let's go break up a fight!

At Chen Ping's command, the Xiongying Brigade's Bow Infantry halted instantly, braving the ArrowRain from the Tianji Camp Guards, advancing fearlessly while shooting back.

Under the cover of two Shield Soldiers, Chen Ping held his breath, the Arrowhead aimed squarely at the head of a Tianji Camp Guard.

As the Bow String snapped, the Arrow struck the Tianji Camp Guard's forehead with perfect accuracy—anyone hit by this shot was certain to die!

But a bizarre sight occurred: the Arrow bounced off the Tianji Camp Guard after impact!

Only when the distance closed did Chen Ping realize in shock: the Guard's Helmet was bound with a Heart-Protecting Mirror!

In addition, he wore a simple faceguard, fashioned from modified Shoulder Guards.

His upper body was clad in standard Tianji Camp armor, layered over with Fish Scale Armor.

This was no longer Light Infantry—this was Heavy Infantry!

No wonder, after switching arrows, the enemy suffered almost no casualties, while his own side took heavy losses.

Continuing to switch arrows meant certain death; the only option now was to cover the Vanguard and rush forward with Step Spears or Battle Axe Halberds for close combat.

But…

The Enemy Army clearly realized this too—they sent only a small number of Guards to counter Chen Ping's Bow Infantry, while most of their Arrows kept pouring onto the Vanguard.

The Xiongying Brigade was Cavalry; though their armor was generally thicker than Light Infantry thanks to their Horses, their defense against Arrows was nowhere near that of true Heavy Armor.

Added to that, the Tianji Camp Guards' Arrowheads were almost all Armor-Piercing Arrowheads; under the furious ArrowRain, the five hundred Vanguard were reduced to three hundred in an instant!

Moreover, the dense network of Jian Shi Traps on the ground forced the Vanguard to advance not as a mass, but in scattered, staggered rushes.

Against second-rate Infantry, they might have held the upper hand—but the problem was… they were facing the Tianji Camp Guards, famed as the pinnacle of Ji Zhan!

The Tianji Camp Guards sent out only ten men, wielding two-zhang-long Ma Shu Spears, using the Massive Rocks before them and the Spears' length advantage to skewer the advancing Vanguard, sending them tumbling; even if someone reached the Stronghold, they were instantly surrounded and killed on the spot.

As the Vanguard kept suffering losses, their assault grew weaker and weaker.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping's Bow Infantry were now less than forty Steps from the enemy Stronghold—when, suddenly, drumbeats sounded again from MountainTop; the Rear Guard Lines, who had been holding back, immediately joined the battle.

With the enemy numbers doubling, the density of Arrows instantly crushed Chen Ping's last resolve.

Chen Ping no longer hesitated a moment—he screamed at the top of his lungs: "Retreat! Vanguard, fall back on my order!"

The seemingly insignificant Jian Shi Traps not only hindered the Vanguard's advance, but also blocked their retreat.

Going up was hard—coming down was harder!

As Chen Ping retreated, Ning Hu did not hesitate—he gave an immediate order: "Kill as many enemy as you can!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ning Hu and his two hundred troops rose to their feet, unleashing a furious barrage of Arrows at the retreating Vanguard.

The so-called Elite Troops of the Di, the Xiongying Brigade, now scrambled and rolled down the Shan Po—most simply tumbled head over heels, many stumbling into Traps in their panic, or outright shot down by the Tianji Camp Guards.

When had the Xiongying Brigade ever been so humiliated? But to save their lives, they had no choice.

When the Xiongying Brigade finally retreated to the Safe Zone, the five hundred Vanguard were reduced to barely over one hundred, while the Bow Infantry numbered just over twelve hundred.

In this battle, Chen Ping's pride—the Xiongying Brigade—had left six hundred corpses on the MountainWaist!

As for how many the enemy lost? Who the hell knew!

Chen Ping led the battered Xiongying Brigade back down the Mountain Foot and roared at Ma Ning: "Why didn't you come up to support us? I sent three messengers!"

Ma Ning's face flushed red, teeth clenched: "General, these defenders won't obey orders!"

What?!

Hearing Ma Ning's reply, Chen Ping's eyes widened in disbelief—he felt dizzy. Amidst a major battle, the Army was disobeying Military Command?!

Were there such vile soldiers in the world?

Chen Ping drew his Sword, ready to kill a few soldiers to vent his rage—yet the soldiers before him didn't kneel to die; instead, they all drew their Weapons and stood in standoff with Chen Ping.

Then came a chorus of cold mockery.

"We only take orders from the Inspector!"

"Chen Ping, do you still think you're the Gate General of the Xiongying Brigade? You're just a lowly minor officer now—how dare you shout here?"

"Hmph, even if you were still the Gate General of the Xiongying Brigade, what then? From start to finish, you were never the Main General of this campaign!"

"Exactly! Chen Ping, you're only in charge of the Vanguard—how we act is entirely up to the Inspector!"

"Chen Ping, you led two thousand Vanguard and came running down like this? Hah, what a disgrace!"

"Aren't you the Xiongying Brigade, the Elite Troops of the Di? Without your Horses, you're all useless—no different from us!"

Facing the soldiers' mockery, Chen Ping could hardly believe his ears.

The battle was still raging, yet these soldiers not only offered no aid—they were throwing stones at one who had fallen! A fury he could not contain began to swell in Chen Ping's chest.

Thinking of his six hundred fallen Comrades, Chen Ping's rage boiled over—he slashed his Sword down, killing the lead Vice Commander before him.

That single stroke threw the scene into chaos.

These defenders, drawn from various counties, were cowardly as hell against the enemy—but against their own, they were fierce and brutal.

Seeing Chen Ping kill his own superior, the soldiers surged forward, charging straight into battle with Chen Ping's Xiongying Brigade.

As both sides bled and clashed, the Jin Yi Wei lurking nearby swiftly sent a Military Intelligence Report to Qin Feng.

At that moment, Qin Feng stood atop the Watchtower, observing the situation at Xu Qian's Camp below.

When he learned the Enemy Army at Mountain Foot was in internal conflict—and even killing each other—Qin Feng froze for a moment, then his expression shifted from shock to delight. He flipped over the Watchtower railing, snatched up a Step Spear, and sprinted down the mountain.

As he ran, he shouted to the bewildered soldiers beside him: "What are you standing there for? Go down and break up the fight!"

Break up a fight?

The soldiers stared at each other—they had lived this long and never seen anything like this.

Ning Hu reacted fastest—he grabbed his Bow and Arrow again and sprinted after Qin Feng.

The soldiers looked at Qin Feng's Step Spear and Ning Hu's Bow and Arrow—and suddenly understood.

So this was how you "break up a fight"…

Qin Feng led two hundred troops racing down the mountain; when they were less than ThirtySteps from the Enemy Army, the enemy, still busy killing each other, didn't notice a thing.