The atmosphere suddenly turned solemn, and an invisible killing intent emanated from these Tang dynasty veterans. It was as if they were about to step onto a fierce battlefield.
Bai Siling could clearly sense the changes in her surroundings, and a dazed look flashed across her beautiful eyes. She looked at Wang Chong's figure, and her vision suddenly blurred.
The figure of this fifteen or sixteen year old youth suddenly became mysterious and tall in her eyes.
Wang Chong did not notice the change in Bai Siling at this moment. Looking at the boundless killing intent and fighting spirit emanating from the forty Tang dynasty veterans, Wang Chong nodded in his mind.
Although the Tang dynasty was showing signs of weakness, the empire still shone brightly, and these soldiers of the Tang dynasty were still the same as he remembered.
With a troop like this, not to mention bandits and highwaymen ten times their number, even if they were facing a regular army ten times their number, Wang Chong would still dare to lead them into battle.
"Siling, when the battle begins, I'll have to trouble you to cooperate with me."
Wang Chong suddenly turned his head to Bai Siling and said.
"Ah! Ah! "
Bai Siling was in a flurry, as if she had not expected Wang Chong to call her, but she quickly covered it up.
"Alright! Don't worry, I'll do my best to cooperate with you! "
Bai Siling nodded seriously. As a daughter of the Bai family in the capital, Bai Siling quickly returned to normal.
"Alright, let's go!"
Wang Chong squeezed his horse's belly, and the forty Tang dynasty cavalry immediately galloped toward the direction of the distant battle cries.
… …
"Chief, the other cavalry is coming."
Just as Wang Chong and the others were rushing over, a pigeon descended from the sky. On the slope beside the official road, there was a dense forest, and a rugged boulder stood on the side of the road. On the boulder, the military advisor of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, Zhou An, stretched out his right hand and caught the pigeon. He opened the letter on its leg and passed it over to the towering leader of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, Iron Cloak Li.
"Hahaha, since they're already here. Then pass down the order to slow down the offensive. It wasn't easy to lure them here. I don't want to scare them away. "
"Yes, leader!"
Zhou An received the order and left. It didn't take long for this order to spread throughout the entire Iron Cloak Highwaymen. This allowed Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others to catch their breath.
Di da da!
Roughly half an incense's time later, a cloud of dust rose on the official road to the east. Leading the way, Wang Chong finally saw the scene of the battle.
On the official road several li away from where Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others were supposed to attack the bandits, bandits and highwaymen dressed in all sorts of clothes filled the sky. Like a tidal wave, they covered the official road, the forest, the slopes, and the treetops.
Under the encirclement of these bandits and highwaymen, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others were like reefs in the middle of the ocean, isolated on a slope thirty zhang away from the official road.
The air was filled with the pungent stench of blood. Corpses of bandits, highwaymen, soldiers, and steeds were strewn all over the ground.
Seeing this sight, the eyes of Wang Chong, Bai Siling, and the forty Tang dynasty cavalrymen reddened.
This was the first time the eighty cavalrymen had suffered such a heavy casualty. On the slope, Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu had barely managed to fend off the attacks of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen by relying on the trees and the surrounding terrain. However, the number of Tang dynasty cavalrymen by their side had dropped from forty to twenty-four.
In total, sixteen to seventeen veteran cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty had died in the forest. Every single one of the Tang dynasty cavalrymen was a True Martial realm expert, and they had been through countless battles.
This kind of loss could be said to be disastrous.
But what was even more unbearable was that these respected veterans of the empire had died in the hands of these bandits and highwaymen.
"Lord, I want to kill them all!"
Beside Wang Chong, Ma Song and the others clenched their fists tightly as their eyes reddened in fury. The other cavalrymen also felt agitated.
A warrior could die on the battlefield without regrets, but they shouldn't die in the hands of bandits and highwaymen in disgrace.
"Have you forgotten what I told you? Calm down! We must kill these Iron Cloak Highwaymen, but we can't just charge in like this. Look at the other side, how many of them are there? "
Taking a deep breath, Wang Chong stopped the crowd. At the same time, a raging flame was burning in his heart. Having spent his entire life on the battlefield, Wang Chong could empathize with the emotions of a soldier more than anyone else.
"... Furthermore, even though those soldiers died in the hands of the highwaymen, in the end, they died protecting Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu. At the very least, their deaths are honorable! "
Wang Chong's final words were effective. The eyes of Ma Song and the others immediately cleared up. That's right, as a warrior, no matter what, the first and most important task was to protect their commander.
Even though Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others weren't members of the military, from the moment they received their orders, they had become the commanders of the cavalrymen.
From this point of view, their deaths were honorable.
Otherwise, given their capabilities, there was still a good chance that they could have survived.
"Lord, feel free to speak. We'll do as you say!"
Ma Song and the others regained their clarity of mind, and their expectant gazes fell on Wang Chong. The atmosphere was extremely tense.
Wang Chong fell silent for a moment before he suddenly patted his steed and leaped out of the formation.
"Everyone, wait here. Without my orders, no one is to come into contact with them."
As his voice echoed in everyone's ears, Wang Chong was already at the front of the formation, less than fifty zhang away from the Iron Cloak Highwaymen.
Behind him, Bai Siling was silent for a moment before gritting her teeth and chasing after Wang Chong.
"These Iron Cloak Highwaymen aren't simple."
Bai Siling gritted her teeth and said.
"The number of True Martial realm experts they have isn't any lesser than ours!"
"It's not just that they have more True Martial realm experts than us!"
Wang Chong sighed and spoke with a voice that only Bai Siling could hear. The highwaymen had always been stronger than the bandits. In the previous missions, Wang Chong and the others had barely met any True Martial realm experts.
However, this group of highwaymen couldn't be judged using common sense. Even though they made up the majority of the group, there were still several hundred of them who were beneath True Martial realm.
Just the True Martial realm highwaymen alone numbered at least seventy to eighty. Their strength was truly astounding.
If the cavalrymen in the military were well-trained, experienced, and coordinated with one another, they would have been able to defeat the highwaymen easily. Wang Chong would have long given up on the idea and fled the moment he saw the highwaymen.
"... Siling, haven't you realized it yet? They look like a bunch of ragtag bandits, but someone is able to maneuver them into a tight formation. They surrounded Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others on a slope where the terrain is complicated and the trees are dense, making it difficult for cavalrymen to exert their might.
"Even though Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others managed to stop them with the help of the map. But at the same time, they were also trapped there. If a cavalryman were to dismount, would he still be a cavalryman? There must be an expert among the highwaymen! "
Wang Chong sighed.
A group of powerful highwaymen wasn't fearsome because they didn't know how to coordinate with one another. On the battlefield, a well-trained army could easily crush a group of highwaymen of equal strength.
However, if the highwaymen were to learn how to coordinate with one another, everything would be different.
"Are you talking about the military advisor?"
Bai Siling was taken aback.
"That's not what I'm worried about. Didn't you notice? When we arrived here, the battle cries suddenly lessened significantly. "
Wang Chong said.
"You mean...?"
Bai Siling was taken aback. Then, as if she had thought of something, her face suddenly paled.
"Un."
Wang Chong nodded, confirming her conjecture.
"If I'm not mistaken, that person is quite ambitious!"
...
The appearance of Wang Chong and Bai Siling didn't just attract the attention of the highwaymen. On the slope, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others also noticed the commotion.
"Siling, Siling and the others are here!"
Beneath the tree, Huang Yongtu propped himself up and looked at the army on the main road with trembling agitatedly.
It had only been a few hours, but Huang Yongtu had never felt this long in his life. For a moment, he was on the verge of despair.
There was no way the forty Tang dynasty cavalrymen would be able to fend off seven hundred highwaymen and highwaymen.
Huang Yongtu was only hanging on by his will to survive.
Never had Huang Yongtu thought that it would be Wang Chong and Bai Siling who would come to his rescue in his moment of despair.
He opened his mouth, wanting to call out Wang Chong's name. But at this moment, he awkwardly realized that even though they had been traveling together for so long, he still didn't know Wang Chong's name.
"It's useless, they won't be able to reach us."
Just as Huang Yongtu was getting excited, a basin of cold water suddenly splashed over him. Lieutenant Zhang Lin's chest was heaving up and down, and his face was pale. Due to overexertion, he looked extremely feeble.
On the other hand, his body was already riddled with wounds due to the intense battle, and fresh blood had already dyed his body red.
Even though Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu were the leaders of the group in name, the true leader was actually Zhang Lin.
He was the one who had single-handedly fended off the enemy's relentless assault and saved Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu.
But at the same time, his injuries were far more severe than anyone else's.
At this moment, Zhang Lin had no idea how much longer he could hold on.
It was the duty of a soldier to follow orders, and the only thing driving Zhang Lin to persevere on was to ensure that Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu were safe.
On top of that, he couldn't allow himself to be humiliated and die under the blades of a highwayman.
This was Zhang Lin's conviction!
"Lieutenant Zhang is right, there are too many of them. We aren't a match for them at all. Even if Siling and the others were to join us, it would still be the same. Besides, the leader of the highwaymen hasn't made a move yet, and you've seen how fearsome he is. There's no way he will allow us to escape. Siling and the others are just sending themselves to their deaths. "
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