Even so, the men behind them kept charging.
More and more Self-Defense Army soldiers died beneath iron hooves.
"Report!" A scout raced over. "Report! The enemy has broken through our left flank!"
"What did you say?" Shi Wan was shocked.
Yang Qingliu's expression grew even darker.
"How can the reinforcements' cavalry be this formidable?" Shi Wan could not help asking in his shock. He could not understand it.
Just over half a month earlier, during the defense of Hanshan City, they had fought the enemy cavalry. Back then, whether it was Hong Cheng, General Shangguan, Chen Alan, Chen Dazhuang, or finally Han Cheng, whoever they were, cavalry or infantry, all they could do was take a beating at their hands.
If this was how things stood, how could they fight them head-on?
"There is no need to panic." Yang Qingliu could only force herself to remain calm. She was the commanding general; if even she panicked, there would be no point in continuing this battle.
With that thought, she said, "There aren't many of these cavalrymen. They cannot break the formation of our main army. Once our other two armies close in, the enemy's main force is certain to lose."
And her judgment was correct. A few hundred armored horsemen could never collapse a formation of this scale in such a short time.
Since Yang Qingliu had said so, Shi Wan calmed down as well. Indeed, things were as she said: the number of reinforcement cavalrymen within their formation was dwindling.
Nevertheless, they still broke through the left flank and charged into the Central Army.
By then, fewer than two hundred riders remained alive. They kept going, charging forward with tragic valor, like fireworks in the night sky that blazed with dazzling brilliance as they rose, only to gradually dim.