The timing Wei Yan had chosen was extremely vicious. At this time, the majority of the Dragon Stallion Army had already entered the city lord's residence and were fighting with the remaining guards.
The thirty thousand soldiers of Swordsman City had surrounded the city lord's residence from all sides. Wei Yan was confident that he could trap the entire Dragon Stallion Army within the city lord's residence and catch them like turtles in a jar.
Unfortunately, Wei Yan had underestimated the Dragon Stallion Army and Lai Hu 'er.
Lai Hu 'er immediately reacted upon hearing the movements of Swordsman City's army. "Not good, there's an ambush." Although Lai Hu 'er's heart was trembling, his expression was calm and composed, giving him the air of a great general.
"Come!"
"Here!" A personal guard stepped forward.
"Inform the troops that have entered the city lord's residence to immediately withdraw." Lai Hu 'er's order was somewhat unexpected.
"Yes!"
"General?" The deputy general at Lai Hu 'er's side asked in confusion, "Since the enemy has an ambush, why don't we just withdraw to the city lord's residence and defend it?"
Lai Hu 'er shook his head. "There's no time to explain. Send the order for the troops still outside to form a formation and defend the gates of the city lord's residence so that we can smoothly withdraw."
"Yes!" The deputy general suppressed his doubts and began to make arrangements.
At this time, besides the two hundred personal guards that had followed Lai Hu 'er, there were less than two thousand of the Dragon Stallion Army outside the city lord's residence. The rest had all charged into the city lord's residence.
Lai Hu 'er gripped his spear and stood in the center of the formation, ready to charge into battle at any moment.
Lai Hu 'er naturally had his reasons for not entering the city lord's residence.
First, since the enemy had laid down such a trap, Lai Hu 'er was certain that the city lord's residence didn't have any provisions. Although the vanguard had brought rations with them, their rapid march had exhausted them and they wouldn't last more than a few days.
Without rations to support them, how could they hold out?
Second, because they had been in such a hurry to seize the first merit, the vanguard had already fallen behind the rest of the army. There was no chance for them to hold out and wait for reinforcements.
Thus, their only option was to fight their way out of a hopeless situation and retreat to Gan Luo Pass while the enemy's encirclement had yet to fully form.
At the very least, they could retreat and regroup with the main force.
To be able to immediately implement this plan, Lai Hu 'er was truly worthy of being a famous general. Although he had made the mistake of seeking instant success, he had not repeated it.
While Lai Hu 'er was setting up the formation, Wei Yan's army had already surrounded them.
"Fire!"
Wei Yan's eyes were sharp. Seeing that the enemy was guarding the door, he could vaguely guess what the enemy was planning. Seeing that the enemy was guarding the door and unable to move, Wei Yan naturally would not let go of the opportunity to beat them while they were down.
For a moment, a rain of arrows fell upon the Dragon Stallion Army near the gate.
"Raise your shields!"
Lai Hu 'er countered every move.
With the two hundred personal guards at the center, the Dragon Stallion Army soldiers formed a wall of shields that blocked the rain of arrows.
Even so, there were still people who were shot. In order to lighten the load, both the sword-and-shield soldiers and the spear-wielding soldiers were equipped with wooden shields. Thus, they could not completely block the rain of arrows.
"Hold on!"
Lai Hu'er was calm. At this time, the troops had already received the order to retreat to the door.
Seeing this, Wei Yan wasn't discouraged. He immediately ordered, "Cavalry, charge!"
"Charge!"
Two groups of heavily-armored cavalry received the order and charged into the Dragon Stallion Army's ranks. The horse's hooves collided with the bluestone pavement, producing a crisp sound that was exceptionally loud in the quiet street.
"Prepare the spears!"
Lai Hu'er was used to seeing the world, so he naturally wasn't afraid.
"Kill!"
The Dragon Stallion Army soldiers received the order and thrust their spears through the gaps between the shields.
Bang!
The heavy-armored cavalry charged like a flood of steel into the Dragon Stallion Army. Warhorses collided with shields, spears stabbed out, sabers unsheathed, and blood sprayed everywhere.
For a moment, men and horses were thrown off their feet.
"Hold!"
In the face of this cavalry charge, even the powerful Dragon Stallion Army was scattered.
Fortunately, although their formation was scattered, it was not chaotic. The soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army spontaneously formed small battle formations and began to fight with the invading cavalry.
Seeing this, Lai Hu'er slapped his horse and charged forward.
What a fierce general!
Lai Hu'er rode on his horse and wielded a spear. He would stab, sweep, hack, and flick, but whoever his spear struck would find it difficult to survive. Wherever his spear swept past, a large swath of soldiers would immediately fall. He was killing his way through the ranks like a god of slaughter.
Seeing their commander so fierce, the Dragon Stallion Army soldiers felt their blood boil and their morale soar. The formation that had just been scattered began to gather once more. It was truly frightening.
In the distance, Wei Yan's heart trembled as he recognized this fierce general as the Great Xia's left vanguard, Lai Hu'er. Although Wei Yan was skilled in martial arts, he couldn't compare to this person.
With this thought, Wei Yan turned to the archer at his side and asked, "Can you shoot that person down from his horse?"
The archer was somewhat troubled and bitterly smiled. "General, look. He's wearing the Radiant Armor and wraps himself up like a lump of metal. Even if you shoot him, it won't do much."
Wei Yan understood and enviously glanced at the Radiant Armor on Lai Hu'er's body.
Although Gaia had loosened its restrictions on all kinds of weapons and equipment, and equipment in the wilderness had exploded in popularity, it was still limited by the level of craftsmanship. The general-class Radiant Armor worn by Lai Hu'er was still a rarity.
While the two were speaking, the Dragon Stallion Army gradually withdrew from the city lord's residence and merged into the formation, engaging the cavalry of Swordsman City.
Seeing this, Wei Yan ordered, "Order the other divisions to gather at the gate and surround and destroy the enemy."
Since it was impossible to surround the Dragon Stallion Army in the city lord's residence, Wei Yan was prepared to face them head-on. Thirty thousand against seven thousand, Wei Yan did not believe that they would lose this battle.
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, the vast army surged toward the front of the city lord's residence like a tide.
Even though the two sides of the city lord's residence were wide, they were still tightly packed by the army. Even if the Dragon Stallion Army wanted to retreat from Ganluo City, they would have to face a pincer attack from three sides.
At the same time, Wei Yan summoned the commander of the archer division and quietly ordered, "Take your men and climb to the rooftops on either side of the street and await further orders."
The archer's eyes flashed as he cupped his fists and said, "This general understands!"
"Follow me!"
With a single command, the four thousand archers dispersed and disappeared on the spot.
… …
Lai Hu'er's face turned grave as he saw more and more enemy soldiers gathering on the street.
"We're probably going to lose this battle!"
Even if they could break out of the encirclement, the army would suffer heavy losses. Thinking of this, Lai Hu'er felt extremely guilty. If they lost this battle, he would no longer have the face to face the soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army and the king's trust.
Shaking his head, Lai Hu'er suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind. Now was not the time to think about such things. The most important thing right now was to lead his men and kill their way out.
"I'll remember this grudge!" Lai Hu'er made up his mind.
Seeing more and more enemy soldiers gathering on the street leading to the city gate, the deputy general grew anxious and said to Lai Hu'er, "General, let's break out of the encirclement first. We can't wait any longer."
Lai Hu'er asked, "How many people are still there?"
"There are still more than two thousand people, and some of them are being held up by the guards of the city lord's residence." The deputy general's tone grew more and more anxious. "General, let's retreat before it's too late."
Lai Hu'er expressionlessly shook his head and said, "I definitely won't abandon my men and retreat by myself. Order the vanguard to hold out a little longer. We'll break out of the encirclement when all the troops have withdrawn."
"General?!"
The deputy general was puzzled by how stubborn the commander was.
Lai Hu'er's tone turned cold as he solemnly said, "This is a military order!"
The deputy general helplessly sighed and loudly declared, "We will solemnly obey the general's order!" A military order was like a mountain, and no one in the Great Xia army dared to openly defy it.
Military law was merciless.
Lai Hu'er had always been a protective person, and this rash advance was entirely due to a mistake in his command. As such, Lai Hu'er would never abandon his men and retreat by himself.
This was a hurdle that Lai Hu'er couldn't overcome.
Although continuing to hold out might result in even greater casualties, there were some debts that couldn't be calculated with numbers alone. One had to consider the hearts of the people and the morale of the army.
Hearing that their commander wasn't willing to abandon their brothers who had yet to withdraw, the Dragon Stallion Army soldiers fighting at the gate felt their hearts warm, and their morale soared.
"Soaring Dragon!"
"Kill!"
"Soaring Dragon!"
"Kill!"
This was the military spirit of the Dragon Stallion Army. Bloodthirsty, but not merciless.
It was at this moment that Lai Hu'er truly received the acknowledgment of the Dragon Stallion Army and became one with them. Lai Hu'er smiled when he saw this. "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise!"
Once the Dragon Stallion Army had completely withdrawn from the city lord's residence, the streets in front of the city lord's residence and the streets to the left and right were densely packed with the army of Swordsman City.
Not even a drop of water could trickle through.
Lai Hu'er, on the other hand, was filled with heroic spirit. Riding on his warhorse, he brandished his spear and shouted, "My men, follow me to kill our way out and pierce through them!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
The surviving six thousand soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army gathered together, an unshakable will rising from their bodies. Killing intent erupted from their bodies, condensing into invisible killing intent.
Blood-colored clouds quietly condensed in the sky above the city lord's residence.
In the distance, Wei Yan's expression turned grave as he muttered to himself, "To think that there would be such an iron-blooded army in this world!" Wei Yan had long since heard of the ferocity of the Great Xia army, but now that he had seen it for himself, he knew that it was true.
With such an army, the Great Xia was truly fearsome.
"No wonder my lord couldn't control her emotions when she mentioned the Great Xia and that Emperor Xia."
Wei Yan fell into deep thought.
In the blink of an eye, the six thousand soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army formed into battle formation. Like a sharp blade, they pierced into the ranks of Swordsman City's army and unleashed a monstrous slaughter.
If a person blocked their path, they would kill them.
As soon as they made contact, the army of Swordsman City at the very front collapsed like tofu.
"Useless chickens and dogs!"
Lai Hu'er was filled with heroic spirit. He stood at the very front of the army, the tip of the blade.
Such might caused the entire army of Swordsman City to pause. For a moment, the vast street suddenly became incomparably silent, leaving behind only Lai Hu'er's' savage words'.
Wei Yan's complexion turned incomparably unsightly.
Lai Hu'er's words were the greatest humiliation to the army of Swordsman City, to Wei Yan.
"Archers, get ready!"
Wei Yan's eyes were cold and devoid of emotion.
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