The Fierce Tiger's Courage

"Firearms?" Bai Lang was also troubled. He hadn't considered rushing directly into the firearm soldier formation. The key was that at close range, firearms could indeed break his defenses—though he hadn't tested it, Bai Lang didn't want to try. However, there was a problem: distance. Based on his own estimation, he probably couldn't withstand lead bullets within seventy paces, and definitely not within fifty paces. But at a hundred paces, it should be fine—though at that distance, he wouldn't be able to hit anything.

However, Bai Lang's steps didn't stop, because he was already within seventy paces. As expected, the enemy couldn't wait and opened fire. Don't talk about how Qing soldiers liked to send troops to lure Ming army firearms into firing when fighting the Ming army, only to have them fire their guns at a hundred paces and fall into chaos, being wiped out by the Qing soldiers. It was the same for the Qing's own firearm soldiers, only slightly better. Firing at seventy paces, over a hundred firearm soldiers couldn't hit him at all, even though Bai Lang had half-crouched and used his Purple Gold Mace to protect his body.

Then Bai Lang was overjoyed and directly strode towards the firearm soldiers. At this point, the firearm soldiers were in complete disarray and started to run. The Niu Lu soldiers maintaining order waved their sabers in threat, but it was useless, because even they wanted to run. Before them stood the humanoid weapons from the storybooks, the kind that were impervious to blades and spears. Who wanted to live long enough to block them? So, the cavalry charged, which was the Ge Bu Shi Xian Chao Ha, elite Eight Banners cavalry with heavy armor on both man and horse, weighing over a thousand catties, pounding the earth as they charged towards Bai Lang.

These people were quite clever, charging in waves of three riders, spreading out their attacks in several waves. Bai Lang also met the cavalry charge, and the distance between the two sides rapidly closed.

At this moment, Ming soldiers on the city wall were also watching. Bai Lang's charge had dispersed the Qing soldiers below the city, and these Ming soldiers quickly restored their lines. The General on the city tower witnessed Bai Lang's bravery. Basically, everyone was speechless. Such bravery shouldn't exist in the human world; it was more common in storybooks. "Quick! Quick, quick, go reinforce the other city gates! The other gates are about to be breached." At this time, other city gates were also reporting emergencies.

Although Bai Lang possessed the fierce tiger's courage, how could one man defend a city alone? Even with his divine strength, plus the Golden Bell Shield making him impervious to blades and spears, he would still get injured—this divine strength wasn't exaggerated too much. If dozens of people with grappling hooks and flying claws tried to ensnare him, Bai Lang would probably have trouble. However, as he charged towards the cavalry, he swung his Purple Gold Mace in his left hand, and the Ge Bu Xian Chao Ha soldier's spear was immediately knocked aside. Before the soldier could draw his saber, Bai Lang's Purple Gold Mace in his right hand smashed down upon him.

Man and horse were both shattered.

The cavalry, weighing over a thousand catties, was forcibly stopped, with the horse's head and the rider's body almost completely smashed. Bai Lang shifted a step, and his left-hand Purple Gold Mace thrust forward, impaling the rider next to the one he had just smashed. The mace head was like an armor-piercing awl, with four edges forming a slightly pointed cone head, which normally wouldn't hurt his hand. But under his divine strength, even if the Ge Bu Xian Chao Ha wore double armor, it was pierced with ease.

The heavily bleeding cavalryman was thrown to the ground, essentially struggling to survive. The cavalryman on the other side, having missed his attack, naturally didn't get hit by Bai Lang and charged past. In front of Bai Lang lay a horse and a shattered human on top of it. The cavalry charge had to detour around here. Thus, the second wave of cavalry was also smashed off their horses, killing two more men in the process. The third wave stopped their charge and shot heavy arrows from horseback—of course, two missed, and the remaining one was batted away by Bai Lang's Purple Gold Mace.

Bai Lang continued his advance, directly targeting the several Qing generals on horseback. The guards couldn't stop him; they were simply offering their heads.

However, it seemed someone had come up with a plan. Dozens of people with grappling hooks, flying claws, and nets rushed over, intending to ensnare Bai Lang. Seeing this, Bai Lang turned and fled, and no one dared to pursue him. Cavalrymen with flying claws came forward, but as soon as one flew towards him, Bai Lang grabbed it, then pulled, causing not only the rider to fall but also the horse to go down. He then caught up and smashed the rider with his mace, utterly crushing him and giving Bai Lang a horse.

"What a pity about the head, and if I were charging alone on horseback, I would just charge." This fellow controlled the horse with his legs—martial arts practiced to his level were like this, with complete control over his own body. Even on horseback, he could sense the horse's movements and adjust his own body. Wielding his double iron mace, Bai Lang began to charge the formation. This directly broke the Qing soldiers' formation. Bai Lang's martial arts were skilled, his eyesight and reaction time were superior. He directly lowered his body, using his double maces to block arrows shot at his horse, and urged his warhorse to charge into the enemy formation.

Where the Purple Gold Mace blocked, the spears aimed at his horse flew off and broke. Then came the reaping of lives; this man was sent flying like a straw by Bai Lang. "Retreat!" With this order, a long horn sounded, and the Qing soldiers began to quickly withdraw from Yanzhou. In front of Bai Lang, no one dared to come forward to reclaim the bodies.

After the Qing soldiers in front of him retreated, Bai Lang rode his horse towards the other city gates, also killing quite a few Qing soldiers, causing the Qing army to suffer heavy losses here and gain almost nothing. Later, some Ming soldiers also went out of the city to pursue, but ultimately without much success.

Except for the main gate of Yanzhou, all other city gates were breached. The Qing soldiers also set fire to many places within the city. If not for the retreat signal, the city might have truly fallen. Even so, over a thousand civilians died in the city, and the Ming army also suffered over a thousand casualties, with the defending generals at several city gates all killed in action. However, Prince Lu's mansion remained unharmed, and Prefect Deng did not die. Bai Lang killed perhaps over a hundred Qing soldiers, a true hundred-man killer, alone on his horse.

He captured three abandoned Qing cannons, dozens of sets of armor, several warhorses, and about ten mules and horses, as well as some abandoned Qing property. Most importantly, he obtained seventy-three recognizable heads on the battlefield, many of which were genuine barbarians and of the Bayala class. When Bai Lang re-entered the city, the soldiers and civilians in the city looked upon him as if he were a god. Such a fierce general was truly rarely seen.

Bai Lang dismounted and cupped his hands to the General, "I have not failed my mission. I have killed dozens of Jian Lu. Relying on the strategies and valiant efforts of all of you, Yanzhou city has been saved." In his words, Bai Lang directly pushed the task of writing the battle report to the General and the Prefect Lord. Who would ignore his merits? How many such fierce individuals could be found in historical records? One would probably have to go back to the Han, Tang, Northern and Southern Dynasties, or the Sixteen Kingdoms period to find them.

The Ming army at this time placed a very high value on the heads of Jian Lu. Bai Lang wasn't entirely clear, but he knew he would likely gain an official position. "Perhaps I could become a Battalion Commander? Maybe even a Guerilla General is possible."