Chapter 353: Iron Cloak Li Makes a Move! (1/2)
Chapter 353: Iron Cloak Li Makes a Move!
Hong long long!
After a few charges from the forty Great Tang cavalry, all that was left of the True Martial realm highwaymen were heaps of corpses on the ground.
The crux behind a charge wasn't the prowess of each individual, but the might of a collective group. To put it in other words, a highwayman standing in the face of a charge wouldn't be facing just a single cavalryman, but a ceaseless flow of them.
More often than not, the strength of an individual was negligible in the face of a group.
”Retreat! Retreat!” Chang Dao's despairing voice bellowed from the smoke. Slightly more fortunate than Hu Lang, he managed to survive the first charge of the cavalrymen.
However, after witnessing the furious momentum the forty cavalrymen harnessed, it suddenly dawned on Chang Dao that he had been underestimating his enemies right from the start. A huge gap did exist between mere highwaymen and trained military cavalrymen.
Even his heart was leaping wildly in fear when he witnessed the astounding power of their charge, and thoughts of retaliating evaporated from his mind.
Even he had little doubt that he wouldn't hold on for too long in the face of such might.
”We have been overpowered, don't bother standing your ground anymore. Brothers, hurry up and retreat!” Chang Dao bellowed anxiously as drops of sweat trickled down his forehead.
But in truth, his commands were completely unneeded. After failing several attempts to fight back against the forty cavalrymen, the highwaymen had already realized the futility of their struggle and scattered like flustered animals.
Some of them headed in the direction where their main force was stationed, some of them headed to the east side of the main road where the thirty men Hu Lang dispatched were stationed, and some of them even charged up the slope by the two sides. All in all, they were like aimless flies; darting anxiously in every direction in sight!
This was how frightened they were of the cavalry's charge!
There was no stalemate or intense battle at all. With five cavalrymen in each group, they swept through all of the highwaymen that stood in their path.
In just a few moments, the eighty Iron Cloak Highwaymen had collapsed entirely!
”You bastard, I'll tear you apart!”
All of a sudden, a deafening roar sounded from the distance. The voice seemed to be imbued with such great power that the smoke and dust in the area were even blown away. In that instant, even the forest seemed to shake in fear before that enraged roar.
Wang Chong turned around and saw an 8 chi tall man riding on a crimson Ferghana steed two hundred zhang away. That figure was racing here in a frenzy, a white trail of air dragging behind him.
Beneath the hooves of the crimson Ferghana steed, five similar-colored and similar-sized halos were shaking intensely, emanating a resounding metallic call. All that was trampled beneath its hooves was reduced to dust, be it grass or pebbles.
It felt as if the figure on the steed would destroy everything that stood in his path. Even from several hundred zhang away, one could still sense the frightening disposition he exuded.
Bai Siling immediately turned to Wang Chong and asked, ”How did they arrive so quickly? What do we do now?”
When they were planning this matter out, they had already anticipated the Iron Cloak Highwaymen sending in reinforcements to back up the detour group. However, they didn't think the bandits would arrive so quickly, and especially didn’t think Iron Cloak Li would lead the troops personally.
”Not only so, it seems like something is going on at the slope too. Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu are under attack too. Listen!” Ma Song said with clenched fists.
It was easy to overlook it back when they were in the midst of a battle, but focusing their attention, they could still hear some furious war cries and the clash of weapons in the direction of the slope.
Clearly, the Iron Cloak Highwaymen had decided to launch an attack on Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu simultaneously as well.
The enemy had reacted too quickly once the situation was slowly turning against them.
With the clopping of war steeds, Iron Cloak Li's group was swiftly nearing them. At this moment, Wang Chong and his steed were standing in the middle of the main road as he swiftly analyzed the situation.
Zhou An!
He was the only man among the Iron Cloak Highwaymen who could figure everything out so quickly and come up with swift countermeasures to his plan.
”Carry out the second plan!” Wang Chong instructed decisively.
”But what about Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others?” Ma Song asked anxiously.
”We have no choice, they will have to rely on themselves. From the very start, this was an impossible situation. At the very least, we have drawn the main forces of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen here. While there are still plenty of bandits and highwaymen left to attack the slope, they are considerably weaker, so the threat they face is already significantly lower than before.
”Given their strength, there is definitely a chance that they can escape the encirclement. Only those who seek to help themselves will be helped by the heavens. They can't possibly pin all of their hopes on us. Ma Song, release the arrow to signal Zhang Lin to break out of their encirclement,” Wang Chong instructed.
Wang Chong's primary plan wasn't like that at all. However, there was nothing that was unchanging on the battlefield. True generals don't stick to plans, but adapt to their situation and find the most effective way to curb their enemy.
While there might be a little hiccup in their plans, Wang Chong still knew that he had room to maneuver around.
Yiiii!
In the next instant, a whistling arrow whizzed with a deafening, shrilling ruckus across the sky, headed for Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu's direction.
”That is the signal!”
At that instant, upon hearing the agreed signal, Zhang Lin immediately straightened his back and gathered his spirit. Wang Chong had instructed him to prepare to break out of the encirclement as soon as he heard the whistling arrow.
In that period of time, Wang Chong would try to keep the main force of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen in check!
Even though he had no idea how Wang Chong would do it, or why Wang Chong was so confident that he could hinder the powerful highwaymen under Iron Cloak Li's command from returning in time, there was no doubt that this was the message he received from the note on Bai Siling's arrow.
This was their only hope, so he had little choice but to trust whatever was written.
”Brothers, abandon the defense line! Reorganize yourselves and prepare to charge out of the encirclement!” Zhang Lin bellowed.
Neighhh!
A few moments later, the long-awaited uproar from a charge finally sounded on the slope once more.