Chapter 732

First Volume, Chapter 732: I Simply Considered All Possible Scenarios

Lü Ci felt a surge of excitement—if he could wipe out this group of overzealous bow infantry, he'd reclaim his honor and lead his men back to the city; as for burying the corpses, actual field operations proved far too troublesome.

He couldn't help sighing inwardly: if only he'd listened to Ma Tingyun, he wouldn't have been trapped in this dilemma of advance or retreat.

A squad of cavalry had already launched a charge against those overextending bow infantry.

But before the warhorses could reach full speed, the bow infantry at the vanguard camp had already unleashed a volley.

After estimating the distance, these bow infantry had aimed almost straight up; as they released their arrows, a dense hail of shafts arced high into the sky, completely covering the cavalry squad.

At the same moment, the overextending bow infantry crouched and fired directly ahead.

Struck by arrows from above and from the front, the cavalry squad was instantly felled by more than twenty men.

The First Squad Captain gritted his teeth—not only did he show no sign of retreat, he urged his men to accelerate further, charging straight toward the overextending bow infantry.

Fifty steps, forty steps, thirty steps…

In an instant, the distance had shrunk to twenty steps; at this proximity, the First Squad Captain finally saw what the hundred-odd bow infantry carried on their backs—not arrow quivers, not spear or lance, but large shields!

Whoosh!

Amid a flurry of clattering sounds, all hundred-odd bow infantry dropped their bows and threw themselves flat on the ground.

Their back shields resembled turtle shells!

Only ten steps left!

But the cavalry was already in full charge—there was no time to slow down; if the lead riders braked abruptly, they'd be crushed by those behind.

With no choice, the First Squad Captain gritted his teeth and thrust his lance hard at the prone bow infantry.

Clang!

With a sharp clang, the lance struck the heavy shield crafted by Tianji Camp artisans—leaving only a shallow scratch, utterly incapable of threatening the bow infantry beneath.

Meanwhile, the cavalry rode directly over the shields, trampling the bow infantry beneath.

Due to the high charge speed, though all hooves landed on the shields, two wooden poles ran through the bow infantry's armpits on either side and were planted firmly in the ground, greatly absorbing the warhorses' weight; combined with the horses' swift passage, virtually no damage was inflicted.

Only a few unlucky ones, who hadn't hidden well enough, had their calves exposed beyond the shields and were trampled, shattering their bones on the spot.

After the cavalry swept past the bow infantry, the captain quickly raised his hand and ordered: "Slow down! Slow down!"

"Wheel around! Wheel around!"

Too late—by the time they'd ridden over the decoy bow infantry, they were only thirty steps from the vanguard camp.

At this distance, facing two rows of bow infantry, the outcome was inevitable…

Swish-swish-swish…

Both rows fired simultaneously; at such close range, with the cavalry offering large targets, over thirty cavalrymen were felled instantly, and countless others were wounded.

Arrows that whistled past the cavalry also rained down on the decoy bow infantry—but since the decoys lay flat with their large shields on their backs, they suffered no collateral damage.

When the remaining hundred-odd cavalry turned their mounts to retreat, they discovered in despair that the decoy bow infantry had already risen from the ground.

Large shields stood upright; the bow infantry crouched behind them, pressing their bodies against the shields, forming the most stable right triangle formation.

Even the warhorses trained by the Di could not leap directly over these shields.

To retreat, they had to maneuver left or right, bypassing the shield barriers.

Another option: charge straight into the vanguard camp—even with just over a hundred cavalry, they could still inflict massive damage.

But when the captain looked toward the vanguard camp, he was utterly despairing.

The first row of bow infantry had already dropped their bows, crouched on the ground, and raised their spears and lances—each two-zhang-long spear stood like a hedgehog, shielding the bow infantry behind.

The second row of bow infantry had begun rapid-fire volleys.

"Flank out! Break through! Break through!"

No sooner had the captain shouted than he felt a crushing blow to his chest—he tumbled from his saddle.

His light armor, against the terrifying penetration of Heavy Stone Step Bow arrows, was as useless as paper.

The captain clutched his chest, pierced through by an arrow, before he could rise—another seven or eight arrows flew in, turning him into a living hedgehog.

The remaining cavalry frantically maneuvered toward the flanks—but shifting from longitudinal to lateral formation only increased their exposed surface area.

Less than a hundred cavalry, stretched horizontally at thirty steps, were subjected to free-shooting volleys from over four hundred bow infantry—only "unimaginable carnage" could describe it.

In the span of a few breaths, the cavalry squad was almost entirely annihilated; only one cavalryman, blessed with extraordinary luck, miraculously broke through the storm of arrows and fled alone toward Xiongying Ridge.

Standing inside the ying zhang, Qin Feng, hands behind his back, watched the annihilated cavalry squad—his eyes showed no ripple.

After all, battles of this scale were child's play to Qin Feng.

Beside him, fully armored and standing at attention, Ning Hu guarded Qin Feng like a divine protector.

Watching the lone cavalryman who escaped, Ning Hu couldn't help chuckling: "Brother Qin, how did you know the commander inside Xiongying Ridge would grow impatient and launch an offensive?"

Qin Feng shrugged indifferently: "I can't see the future. How could I know whether they'd come out or not?"

Ning Hu stared blankly: "Huh? If you didn't know beforehand, how could you set up this nearly perfect trap?"

Qin Feng remained calm and composed: "I simply considered all possible scenarios."

At these words, Ning Hu froze again; after a long while, he slowly began to understand.

Qin Feng had piled corpses outside the Xiongying Ridge Fortress—if the enemy, blinded by rage, launched an offensive, they'd fall straight into Qin Feng's trap; if they held firm and stayed within the city, Qin Feng could freely pile every last corpse atop the mound.

The psychological impact of three corpse mounds on the defenders of Xiongying Ridge was impossible to predict.

But one thing was certain: Qin Feng, the master of creating opportunities, held the initiative tightly in his hands.

If the enemy charged, they faced death and injury; if they didn't, their morale would collapse.

Yet… seeing a thousand bow infantry, unsupported by any other troops, repel multiple charges from two cavalry squads totaling nearly five hundred men—and annihilate one squad, killing or wounding over four hundred enemy soldiers—

Even Ning Hu couldn't help but be awestruck by this terrifying tactical application.

But when he turned to look, he found Qin Feng's gaze utterly still—as if he hadn't even noticed the battle.

Qin Feng slowly turned and walked toward the bed, speaking with calm detachment: "The Di only know my Beixi Black Cavalry are elite, the Tianji Camp Guards are fierce, and the Brocade Robe Guards are everywhere—but they don't know that every Beixi soldier undergoes the strictest training."

Bow Infantry are equipped for ranged attack, close combat, and formation fighting. When they pick up Bow and Arrow, they are a ranged unit; when they set down Bow and Arrow, in Close Combat they surpass the vast majority of Infantry.

After so many battles, the Di still haven't learned their lesson—it truly disappoints me.