Chapter 469: Charge for Me (Second Update)

The horses that had charged up to them braked uncontrollably, rearing with long neighs; others, with no time to rear, simply plowed straight in.

Those in front had stopped, but those behind had no time to turn aside. The front and rear horses collided, and even those that had already halted could no longer hold, forced forward inch by inch.

The three rank lines had already halted, every row of spears thrust forward. The layered, dense, razor-sharp spearheads formed a thicket of steel thorns. Horses crashed into them and their hides were pierced; men crashed into them and their simple coverings — fur coats, padded robes, even armor plates and iron sheets — could not stop the spearpoints. They were all run through, impaled. They had practically thrown themselves onto the spears.

Some spears were snapped by the impact, and the household troops holding them were jolted backward, but behind them stood row upon row of comrades — a solid, unshakable rearguard.

The cavalry, which had never reached full gallop, was stopped outright. Seeing their comrades in front pierced and impaled, those behind frantically reined in their mounts, halting or veering away. The front and rear reacted differently, and chaos erupted once more.

What the Feng family cavalry feared most at this moment was the enemy horsemen. If they charged now, it would be a dead end. But to their surprise, the enemy cavalry did not move.

Right now, their own infantry square and the enemy's were locked in a standoff. They had to break free from this chaos, and fast.

A shrill whistle suddenly rang out, drowning out the screams and whinnies, so piercing it hurt the ears. Then came the sound of bowstrings thrumming.

The infantry had indeed halted, but the archers hidden in the gaps of the formation could still draw their bows. At this close range, they could not miss. A shower of arrows rained down, men and horses toppling, and then a second volley came...

The drums sounded again. The rank lines that had just halted began to advance, mercilessly spearing every man and horse that stood before them.

The archers circled around the edges of the formation, pausing now and then to loose arrows forward. Men of the Feng family cavalry kept screaming and falling from their saddles. The ground was a scene of utter carnage.

Trampling and stepping over the wounded and the corpses of men and horses made the neat rank lines appear somewhat disordered, but now nothing stood before them that could block their way.

The cavalry had either become corpses on the ground or scattered and fled in all directions. One step slower and they would be shot down by arrows. The remaining riders dared not circle around them either; they simply fled in every direction. If nothing else, if they didn't leave now, the large cavalry force that had been motionless would be upon them.

The Feng family's main force, which moments ago had been cheering wildly, was now utterly silent. No one had imagined that sending cavalry to charge an infantry formation would fail to break through, and with such horrific casualties at that.

The formation before them crossed the obstacle of human and horse corpses and became orderly once more. The distance was now only a hundred and fifty paces.

The silent Feng family force began to stir. One corner of the formation suddenly fell into disorder, and someone shouted: "Young Master Bao has fled! Young Master Bao has fled!"

Everyone looked over and saw Feng Bao already spurring his horse away into the distance at a wild gallop, with only two guards at his side. At this sight, everyone cursed furiously. The already shaken force lost what little morale it had left.

"Chief, let's go too!" someone came over and said to Li He.

Seeing that Li He did not respond, the man turned to Li Dajin and said: "Master Li, it's not that the brothers won't fight, but this situation is strange. Even the cavalry was defeated. We certainly can't win either."

Several more men gathered around and said anxiously: "Chief, we're here for the silver. If our losses are too heavy, we won't be able to explain ourselves to the General when we get back. Let's go!"

Li Dajin did not make a sound. He merely turned his head to look back at the Feng family's militia and private soldiers. Everyone's faces were filled with fear. Feng Bao's flight just now had utterly destroyed any will to fight. Besides, they could all see that the cavalry that had charged out had not returned. Those who survived were all fleeing in every direction, running as far as they could.

Seeing Li Dajin turn his head, several men hurried over and said through gritted teeth in low voices: "Master Li, the Feng family people have all left. Why should we hold out..."

"Keep a close watch on the stronghold. Don't let anyone slip through the gap!" Li Dajin replied, ignoring their question.

Before anyone could speak further, Li He exploded: "Go, my ass! You think I don't want to leave? But look at this situation — can we even get away?!"

His roar silenced everyone. Even those who had been urging Li Dajin all turned to look at him.

"Did you not see those four hundred-plus cavalry who haven't moved? Were you only looking at those three hundred infantry in front?"

"The moment we turn and run, those cavalry will ride us down and cut us apart. How many of you think you'd survive? On this barren grass flat, can you outrun horses?"

"Then what do we do?"

"What else can we do! There's only one path — fight to the death. We still have nearly two thousand men. We fight with everything we've got, smash this drum-and-gong troupe, then drive these routed soldiers into the cavalry behind them. Throw the whole scene into utter chaos." Li He spoke through clenched teeth.

Everyone was stunned to hear this. Wasn't this exactly what they had said before sending out their own cavalry? The cavalry had failed; the infantry would fare even worse. What use could this obviously failed tactic possibly have?

Seeing the doubt in their eyes, Li He's gaze seemed to blaze with fire. He growled: "Is there any other way? This is all we can do. If we don't, death is the only outcome. Go make the arrangements, go charge! Any more delay and the enemy will be right in front of us!"

None of those who had been urging Li He or Li Dajin lacked battlefield experience. At Li He's words, their faces all turned ashen. But no one spoke further; they all returned to their own units.

"Brothers, these bastards are fewer than us! We charge and we can smash them!"

"Those horsemen just now were all ball-less cowards. They didn't dare fight and ran first. We can't be that kind of worthless trash!"

"The silver's right there waiting. If you've got the guts, go take it. If you don't, come and ask my blade about it!"

Leaders everywhere were shouting, using every means — threats, bribes, and coercion. The plummeting morale was barely whipped back up, but the three rank lines opposite were even closer now.

"Charge!"

"Charge, I said!"

Angry shouts rang out from front to back. The Feng family force reluctantly began to move. Li He and Li Dajin had already drawn their blades, urging and rallying from horseback. A few who tried to turn and flee were beheaded on the spot. Under such threats, the main force slowly advanced to meet the enemy.

As the main force began to move, there was not a trace of relief on the faces of Li Dajin and Li He. Sweat was already visible on both their foreheads.

"They're forcing us to fight them!" Li He said grimly.

Li Dajin was silent for a moment, then spoke: "From the very start, the enemy has been intent on devouring us whole. Outnumbered against a larger force — how could he even conceive of such a thing!"

The Feng family's main-force archers ran forward at a quick pace. At the moment, the most effective way to counter those three rank lines was probably archery. They had no idea whether it would actually work, but they had to try.

The moment their archers moved, the archers in the gaps of the opposing formation moved too. They also advanced at a quick pace. The several dozen men at the very front had dark complexions and were not particularly tall, but their movements were extremely swift.