Vengeance at last

Amid the long, overlapping blasts of horns, the Three-Prefecture Allied Army began its slow advance.

The cavalry units led the charge, with both light horsemen and armored heavy cavalry among them. Well trained, they formed arrowhead formations, and the pounding of thousands of hooves shook the entire countryside.

Behind the cavalry came the spear formations, which made up the bulk of the army. Dense ranks of men formed line after line of spearpoints. Even against an enemy cavalry charge, they were the backbone that could hold firm.

Farther back were the troops from the other two prefectures. Their formations were visibly inferior to those of the Royal City's Vanguard Army. Worse, pursuing forces that had appeared from nowhere kept harassing their rear, costing the two armies a dozen or so casualties with every step forward.

As commander of the entire army, Gong Jiang charged at the very front alongside the heavy cavalry.

He would face Liu Shuyue's cultivator troops himself!

He wanted to see which was faster—his charge or their killing.

"Advancing instead of retreating?" Lin Qing watched the changing battlefield and switched on her radio, her tone relaxed. "Teams B and C, keep nipping at them. Team A, you can fall back to the walls. Remember to keep a safe distance."

"Understood." Liu Shuyue quickly returned to the villagers. "Everyone, fall back. Don't let anyone fall behind!"

Team A promptly left the position they had been holding and began moving toward Jiufeng City.

But they were not simply retreating. They kept up orderly fire while remaining outside the enemy's reach!

Even to Chen Xuan, the scene had a touch of military artistry, because this was probably the first time in history that infantry had kited cavalry!

Indeed, firing in a tight group had never been the villagers' only option.