Chapter 755: First Volume, Chapter 755: Night Pursuit in Sai Bei

First Volume, Chapter 755: Night Pursuit in Sai Bei

Before Lü Ci could react, a dense clatter of hooves came from behind Yan'nan Pass, followed by a detachment of Beixi Light Cavalry racing toward them.

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

Lü Ci roared aloud, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath as if he had just returned from the gates of death.

The beleaguered defenders, moments ago resigned to despair, seized this lifeline as if granted divine pardon.

"Who leads you?" Lü Ci rushed out of the Camp, overjoyed to greet them—yet the Beixi Light Cavalry did not halt, charging straight toward the direction Chen Mou had fled.

Soon after, another cavalry unit appeared at the Camp; this one was peculiar, for each rider brought a spare horse tethered beside his mount.

Li Chou beside him suddenly understood, exclaiming: "Two Riders Three Horses! This is Beixi County's Pursuit Battle tactic!"

"Every two cavalrymen carry one spare horse, advancing at full speed; when reaching the pursuit point, the pursuing riders switch to the spare mounts—this preserves their warhorses' stamina far beyond the enemy's, enabling long-range pursuit and slaughter!"

"But cavalry are inherently precious; only the Marquis of Qin has the resources to deploy such an extravagant tactic as Two Riders Three Horses."

Hearing this, Lü Ci's eyes widened in disbelief: "The Beixi Light Cavalry don't just want to drive off the Snow Wolf Brigade—they intend to pursue and kill them?!"

"Stop! They're not ordinary cavalry—they're the Snow Wolf Brigade!"

Unbeknownst to him, the commander leading them was Qin Feng himself.

At this moment, Qin Feng's mood was foul: just moments ago, while he was tenderly with Jing Qianying, Ning Hu had interrupted with urgent Beidi War Intelligence—Yan'nan Pass had been ambushed by the Snow Wolf Brigade—and his mood plunged further.

As he passed through the Camp at Yan'nan Pass, he saw utter ruin: six thousand eight hundred defenders had been reduced to this pitiful state.

Hard to imagine many of these soldiers were veteran guerrilla troops.

Indeed, once troops defect and turn traitor, their Combat Effectiveness plummets.

Furious yet helpless, Qin Feng could only focus first on eliminating the Snow Wolf Brigade.

At this moment, a messenger galloped up to Chen Mou: "General, disaster! The Beixi Light Cavalry are pursuing us—their speed far outstrips ours; if this continues, they'll catch up within one incense stick time!"

Hearing this, Chen Mou's gaze remained cold and unshaken.

During the National War, Chen Mou had led the Snow Wolf Brigade in countless battles against Beixi County—each side had won and lost; facing an old foe, fight they would, nothing to fear.

Yet knowing Beixi County's troops as he did, he understood: if they could sustain high-speed pursuit, they must have brought spare horses.

With unequal horse stamina, launching a direct assault would only bring defeat.

Chen Mou gave a decisive order: "Night is deep, movement is hard to track—leave fifty men as bait; the Main Force retreats to the Camp."

Serving as bait was tantamount to death, yet for Snow Wolf Brigade cavalry, it meant nothing—they would willingly stay behind for rear guard duty, far more than fifty! Likely over two hundred!

In the end, the Colonel in charge selected only fifty young men with no family or property to remain as rear guard.

Less than one incense stick time later, the vanguard scouts delivered the news to Qin Feng.

"Marquis, the Enemy Army has split into two groups: the Main Force continues westward; a small contingent moves slowly south."

Qin Feng understood immediately: this was the Snow Wolf Brigade's decoy tactic. Their horses were spent, knew escape was impossible, and now sacrificed a small force to save the Main Force.

But since they had come, not one of them would escape!

Qin Feng did not hesitate: "Kill the bait—and kill the Main Force too!"

At once, two thousand Beixi Light Cavalry split into a two-hundred-man detachment, charging after the fifty decoys.

The remaining eighteen hundred continued westward pursuit.

Qin Feng's gaze was resolute: if the Snow Wolf Brigade slipped away tonight, they would grow bolder, launching mobile guerrilla harassment across Sangzhou—making it far harder for the Wild Emperor Party to rise.

This was Qin Feng's Great Plan—he could not let a single Snow Wolf Brigade ruin it!

Facing Qin Feng's unwavering pursuit, Chen Mou's eyes finally revealed a flicker of something unusual—not fear, but excitement.

Since leaving the Camp, this was the first time Chen Mou's words carried personal emotion.

"No wonder Beixi County's troops are famed—this little trick fooled none of them. I suspect our surroundings are now swarming with scouts; escaping pursuit is no longer possible."

Realizing this, Chen Mou ceased fleeing and issued a series of orders.

"Send messengers to the Camp for reinforcements—assign extra troops to protect the messengers, lest Beixi scouts ambush them en route."

"All other troops: turn your horses around within TwoHundredSteps—ambush the pursuers by surprise!"

As the order rang out, the Main Force—already thinned by relentless combat to just six hundred men—slowed gradually within TwoHundredSteps, then turned their mounts, accelerating steadily in the opposite direction.

Qin Feng heard hoofbeats ahead, believing he had finally caught the enemy; he slowed his horse, retreated to the center of the formation, and ordered the front-line cavalry to ready their Bow and Arrow, while the flanking cavalry raised their lances in readiness.

In the space of a few breaths, under the black night, a formidable cavalry force charged straight toward them.

Since Qin Feng was positioned in the center, he did not immediately see the enemy's movement; by the time the front-line cavalry relayed the warning, it was too late.

Six hundred Snow Wolf Brigade cavalry meant six hundred lances; as both sides charged head-on, the collision shattered the Beixi Light Cavalry's formation.

In an instant, chaos erupted: Beixi Light Cavalry were either impaled by lances, or their warhorses collided, hurling riders into the air, only to be trampled into Meat Mud by the stampeding hooves.

In a single charge, Qin Feng suffered heavy losses: over one hundred light cavalry died on the spot, perhaps another hundred were wounded; the remaining riders, now entangled in the melee, had lost all formation.

Chen Mou fared no better—this was not a charge against infantry, but a cavalry-to-cavalry collision.

Though Qin Feng's front-line troops lacked lances, the mere impact of colliding warhorses sent over a hundred riders tumbling to the ground; before they could rise, they were crushed beneath the hooves of Beixi warhorses and the rear ranks unable to halt.

Casualties were nearly equal, but Qin Feng's formation was utterly shattered.

Seizing the chaos, Chen Mou shouted: "Full retreat!"

Too late—the two sides were locked in a tangle; only about two hundred of his men could break free and return to Chen Mou's side.

Qin Feng had never anticipated Chen Mou's audacity—he had launched a Returning Lance Strike—and now he was both shocked and furious.