Chapter 830: Unstoppable

Those who dared to resist would be met with a dozen thrusting spears, collapsing with fresh bloody holes in their bodies. Who would still be willing to fight to the death? Besides, this group of enemies who had suddenly charged in did not intend to wipe them out completely. As long as you ran, as long as you ran without looking back, no one paid you any mind—unless, in your dazed confusion, you blocked the way. In that case, the spears were not to be trifled with.

The fire grew fiercer, the camp fell into greater chaos, and even the nearby merchant caravan encampments began to stir in turmoil. The situation was beyond salvaging.

The unit led by Dong Bingfeng encountered virtually no resistance, advancing at a jog. But halfway there, they spotted the government cavalry ahead, already in formation.

Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou and Mobile Corps Commander Jiao Dayong had devised the strategy: the key to this government army's northern advance lay in a cavalry raid. Therefore, when setting up camp, the cavalry had not been stationed on the periphery as usual, but instead were surrounded by the infantry tents in the center.

Since neither side planned to meet on the battlefield, there was no question of the cavalry needing to react quickly. On the contrary, because they needed to raid and advance rapidly, the cavalry's movements had to be concealed from the outside. Hence this arrangement. It caused trouble everywhere and drew endless complaints, but for the sake of concealment and the success of the raid, it was taken as a matter of course.

It was precisely because of this arrangement that Dong Bingfeng, charging in with his troops, ran headlong into the cavalry unit already preparing to leave camp!

They had just dispatched night scouts to leave camp and eliminate enemy lookouts when suddenly the chaos began—suddenly the great fire blazed, and a din of shouts arose. Even the cavalry unit had no idea what was happening for a moment.

The commanding officer, Mobile Corps Commander Jiao Dayong, sent a trusted aide to find out, but before the aide could return, the routed, panicked soldiers had already surged over. They were their own men, after all—how could they bring themselves to cut them down? But this hesitation and forbearance only made the situation harder to control. The panicked soldiers kept flooding in, throwing the cavalry's formation into disarray.

What made it worse was that among the routed and panicked soldiers were men from both the Wolf Mountain Vice Regional Commander's command and the Grand Coordinator's own brigade. Their panic and confusion inevitably unsettled the cavalry's morale. No one knew how many enemies had come from outside, or what exactly the situation was!

Jiao Dayong, who had the cunning to conceive the raid on Qingjiangpu, was no mediocrity. After a brief moment, he came to his senses and roared: "Anyone who crashes into the cavalry ranks—execute without mercy!"

They hacked and stabbed at their own men until blood flowed across the ground, but this finally managed to hold the formation together. Next, Jiao Dayong detached over a hundred riders to protect the Coastal Defense Huaiyang Circuit Intendant Zhai Zhengxian, while the rest followed him to fight their way out. A force of several hundred cavalry carried weight on any battlefield.

But just because no routed soldiers or deserters dared charge the cavalry did not mean the troops would stop running wild. Everyone was fleeing in panic in all directions, making it impossible for the cavalry to pick up speed. Moreover, they were inside the camp, moving from the inside out, with all manner of obstacles and barriers in the way to begin with—they simply could not move fast. On top of that, routed, panicked comrades kept running across their path, forcing them to control their suddenly startled mounts, which delayed their speed even further.

Though it was night, the light of the towering flames illuminated everything clearly enough for both sides to see each other. The clang and clatter of colliding armor was impossible to conceal. The cavalry unit over there halted, and the company led by Dong Bingfeng over here also halted. They had never imagined that charging straight in like this would bring them face to face with a government cavalry unit.

Dong Bingfeng narrowed his eyes, then bellowed: "One volley of arrows!"

The armored retainers of Zhao's Camp were also caught off guard by the appearance of the cavalry. And this cavalry was not the panicked, fleeing rabble from before, but fully armored, orderly cavalrymen. Men on horseback, looking down from above, naturally exerted a pressure. However, daily training had cultivated an instinct. This made the retainers' hearts panic and tense, but their movements did not change, and their formation did not scatter.

The thirty-some archers accompanying the company heard the order and instinctively rushed forward. Dong Bingfeng excelled in archery and horsemanship, so he had personally selected and trained the archers; their marksmanship and discipline were both outstanding.

They rushed forward, roughly forming three rows in front of the retainer ranks. They drew the half-drawn bows in their hands directly to full draw and shot!

The cavalry unit led by Jiao Dayong had suddenly encountered the enemy. Though men from the Grand Coordinator's brigade did not recognize their opponents, the cavalrymen from Wolf Mountain and Fengyang did. Several of them blurted out in shock: "These are the retainers of Zhao's Camp!"

Their voices were full of panic. They had never seen them with their own eyes, but they had heard them described countless times—these iron-clad men of Xuzhou. Besides, they had spent the past few days preparing to raid and ambush Xuzhou's armed forces. The moment they laid eyes on them, they made the connection.

Hearing this, Jiao Dayong instantly flew into a rage. These Xuzhou thieving scoundrels—they had clearly agreed to leave each other in peace, yet they had launched a night raid. It was the height of shamelessness.

Shock, fury, a moment of hesitation—the government troops' reaction was a beat too slow. They fought more by experience, whereas Zhao's Camp trained incessantly with meticulous drill manuals, making their battlefield reactions instinctive.

The moment Dong Bingfeng gave the order, the archers formed up, drew their bows, and shot. They did not worry about accuracy, only aiming in the general direction. Over thirty feathered arrows sprayed over. At this distance, a few more steps forward would have allowed them to hit more enemies, but an order was an order. After firing one volley, the archers immediately dispersed.

At this distance, the cavalry formation naturally could not scatter. The shower of arrows rained down, and many men were struck at once, falling from their horses with screams. But with only one volley, the archers had merely loosed their arrows; power and accuracy were out of the question. Some men on horseback deflected the arrows, others blocked with shields. Jiao Dayong, relying on his superior armor, shielded his head and face and simply endured the arrow shower. From horseback, he roared furiously: "Let's charge over and scatter and trample these bandits!"

In the current situation, within the chaotic camp, even turning to flee and scatter was impossible. To get out, they could only rely on the cavalry's advantage over infantry to thoroughly smash these Xuzhou barbarians before them!

What Jiao Dayong could think of, these elite government troops could think of too. Many squad leaders and officers echoed his roar.

On the opposite side, Dong Bingfeng swung the spear in his hand and shouted: "Follow me and charge right up to them! Close the distance, and cavalry are no match for us!"

With those words, Dong Bingfeng strode forward. His command was law. The moment he moved, the two armored companies behind him moved as well. The archers had already squeezed into the gaps between tents, drawing the swords at their waists to fight the soldiers inside the tents. Whenever there was a brief opening, they too ran along, drawing and shooting their bows forward.

The companies of Zhao's Camp moved faster than the cavalry. By the time Grand Coordinator's Brigade Mobile Corps Commander Jiao Dayong began rallying his men, the retainers of Zhao's Camp were already charging forward in unison. By the time the officers echoed his roar, Zhao's Camp had already advanced over ten paces.

Their steps were uniform, and the sound of clashing armor grew increasingly synchronized, booming like thunder. In that moment, the surrounding flames, the wailing of routed soldiers, the screams and roars—all fell silent. It seemed only the heavy footfalls and the clash of armor remained, as if the entire military camp was trembling.

Some of the government cavalry's mounts were startled by this tremor, neighing and stirring restlessly, beyond control. The morale that had just been roused was firmly suppressed by the momentum of this orderly charge. For a moment, their throats felt as if blocked by something, and the hot blood that had just surged up began to cool, bit by bit!

It was not only the men who were frightened and hesitating; the horses too were becoming uncontrollable. The orderly charging formation was like a great beast, stirring instinctive fear in the horses. Those mounts being urged by their riders ran reluctantly, while those not being whipped or spurred tried to retreat. Some forward, some back—the cavalry unit fell into chaos itself.

That Grand Coordinator's Brigade Mobile Corps Commander Jiao Dayong sensed the danger. With a furious roar, he drove his spurs hard into his horse's belly. The mount, stung by pain, screamed and lunged forward. Jiao Dayong's arm strength was astonishing; as the horse bolted out, he roared again, yanking hard on the reins, turning the horse about three paces from Zhao's Camp's ranks. It was fortunate that, as a Mobile Corps Commander, his mount was a fine horse. Over a distance of twenty-some paces, in such a narrow space, to sprint and turn at speed without falling—it was remarkable. He crashed straight through a tent by the roadside and fled just like that!

Jiao Dayong's horsemanship stunned both Zhao's Camp and the government cavalry. By the time they came to their senses, Mobile Corps Commander Jiao was already far away. Fortunately, it was only a brief moment. Dong Bingfeng roared his urging, and the retainers quickly snapped back to action, charging directly at the enemy cavalry. Infantry against cavalry—the key to victory in close combat lay in grappling!

With the commander suddenly fleeing, the men over there were all stunned. Before panic could even set in, more men had no time to think of escape; they were already in motion and could only charge forward. But at such a short distance, the horses simply could not build up speed.

The two sides clashed quickly. Facing the rows of sharp spearheads, seeing those blades glinting with the light of the camp's great fire, the instinctive fear of the cavalry mounts erupted. One horse after another reared up, neighing long and loud. But it was useless. The spears thrust mercilessly into horse and man alike.

The charge of Zhao's Camp's retainer companies slowed for a moment. The retainers roared and pushed forward, forcefully toppling those government cavalrymen, men and horses together. The government cavalry behind no longer dared to charge; they hastily reined in their horses. Those further back took the opportunity to wheel their mounts around—running first was their tribute.

"Forward! Forward!" Dong Bingfeng roared, but the spear in his hand struck like a venomous snake, thrusting out swiftly and hitting a government cavalryman squarely in the left ribs. The man tumbled straight off his horse.

He had just withdrawn his spear, with no time for the next move, when by the firelight he saw, thirty paces away, a government cavalryman on horseback drawing his bow and aiming an arrow straight at Dong Bingfeng.

There was no time to dodge. Dong Bingfeng swung his spear and raised his arm to shield his face.

The whistle of the arrow cutting through the air was inaudible amid the shouting of men and neighing of horses, but everyone heard a loud "Clang!" Dong Bingfeng's body jolted, but he was unharmed. At this distance, arrows simply could not penetrate the steel armor forged by Zhao's Camp.

That government archer never got the chance to fire a second arrow. He was struck by no fewer than five arrows himself and fell from his horse just like that. Dong Bingfeng lowered his arm. Right before him, a government cavalryman had spotted an opening and was wheeling his horse to charge. Dong Bingfeng did not dodge; he raised his spear and met him head-on, the retainers at his side following in formation.

Thanks to old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen," "Feiran Ge," "Tianxia Zongheng You Wo," "Zilai Juaner," and "Yonghu Hanye" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and support. Thank you, everyone.