"This trip isn't about you going to clash head-on with the Mount Liang people."
Shi Chen recalled the words Wu Shuangren had said to him and the others before they set off.
Most of the men in the Sixth Battalion were from Linwen County, so it was no surprise that they went back to fight.
The First Battalion, Second Battalion, and Third Battalion were mostly composed of members of the Bo County Militia, Wu Shuangren's elite direct subordinates.
Wu Shuangren left these four battalions at the very back to cover the rear.
The rest of the troops followed the civilians to retreat to the city; there was indeed no need to confront the Mount Liang forces head-on.
"You really do... keep your word."
Shi Chen looked in the direction the group had left and murmured to himself.
On the official road, many people stood still, watching the gray figures run further and further away.
Some wanted to shout, but didn't know what to say; others bowed their heads, silently praying for these people...
As night fell, Yan Xiaobing ordered the vanguard to set up camp on a high ground near the official road.
He dispatched a large number of skilled martial artists to serve as scouts and keep watch around the area at night to prevent a night attack.
He also ordered all armored soldiers to keep their armor on at all times and to be ready for battle at any moment!
That night, Mount Liang's messenger arrived at the vanguard camp on horseback.
Yan Xiaobing was looking at a map inside the tent.
The messenger arrived and took out a token from his pocket:
"The Grand Marshal has ordered that the entire army has sped towards the front lines and that General Yan must lead the vanguard to engage Wu Shuangren's forces and prevent them from escaping unscathed!"
Yan Xiaobing took the token, clenched it in his palm, and said to the messenger:
"Yan Xiaobing obeys!"
The next day, at dawn, just as the sun was breaking.
The vanguard of Mount Liang has already broken camp.
On the official road, the sound of footsteps was so dense it sounded like the beating of a drum.
It took more than three thousand people about an hour, around Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
To the left of the official road, rolling hills appeared, their slopes covered with low shrubs and weeds.
To the right is a dense forest, with ancient trees reaching for the sky, their branches intertwined, preventing sunlight from penetrating.
Yan Xiaobing gazed at the woods, remaining secretly vigilant.
This terrain is perfect for an ambush.
He raised his voice and ordered, "Everyone, pay attention! Right side!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden chorus of bowstrings echoed through the woods.
Arrows pierced through the branches and leaves, like a black rain pouring down on the Mount Liang vanguard army on the official road!
"Raise your shields!"
Yan Xiaobing shouted sternly.
Upon hearing the command, the Mount Liang all placed their shields on their heads.
But the rain of arrows came too fast; some were a step too slow. More than a dozen people were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, their screams echoing along the official road!
The rain of arrows continued to fall in waves.
Suddenly, a series of dark figures rushed out of the woods.
Wu Shuangren did not ride a horse. He was dressed in full infantry armor, holding a long-handled sword, and followed by more than eighty personal guards, all of whom were heavily armored. In the morning light, they looked like a row of rolling iron stones!
They charged in from the middle of the column, brandishing broadswords, spears, and heavy axes.
The arrows and swords fired by the Mount Liang soldiers landed on the iron armor, only sending up a series of sparks.
Wu Shuangren charged ahead, sweeping away two spearmen with a single slash, then cleaving a shield in two with a backhand. Like a fierce tiger, he charged into the enemy ranks!
Yan Xiaobing stood on the back of a warhorse, observed for a while, but could not confirm Wu Shuangren's identity.
After all, Wu Shuangren was completely encased in iron armor, and at this moment he did not display the strength of First Rank master.
"Kill them all!"
Yan Xiaobing leaped off his warhorse, grabbed the spear from beside the saddle, and led a group of experts to charge forward.
Regardless of whether Wu Shuangren made a move, these heavily armored infantrymen who suddenly appeared were definitely his elite troops, so Yan Xiaobing decided to lead Lin Qian and the others to attack first.
If Wu Shuangren is present, join forces to kill him; if not, deal with these elite troops first, which will also severely damage Wu Shuangren!
This vanguard of Mount Liang needed to march quickly, and even if there were heavily armored infantrymen in the ranks, they could not wear heavy armor all the time and could not meet the enemy in full armor immediately.
This is the inherent disadvantage of being ambushed.
Therefore, Wu Shuangren led a group of heavily armored guards and quickly broke through Mount Liang's formation, cutting Mount Liang's vanguard army in two!
The number of Mount Liang soldiers surrounding them increased, but they couldn't get close for a while.
Xu Yu followed beside Wu Shuangren, wielding his Mo Dao wildly, sending several people who tried to approach from the side flying backward!
Wu Shuangren turned to look in Yan Xiaobing's direction. Seeing that the other party was leading a group of experts to attack, he also changed direction and took the initiative to meet them.
These are the people he's been waiting for; he wants to keep the top players in the opposing team occupied!
At that moment, a large number of footsteps echoed from the jungle ahead of the official road.
The four battalions of Militia Private rushed out of the jungle and began to form ranks!
Soon, more than four thousand people completed their formation on the official road, forming a spear formation.
Yan Bin led the Militia Private of the Sixth Battalion to stand in the front row, which he requested himself.
His face flushed red, and he roared:
"Listen up, people of Linwen County! Militia Commander Wu has gone to such lengths to cover the retreat of our families. If we still don't dare to fight to the death, we're worse than animals! If you're a man, fight me!"
The Sixth Battalion consisted mostly of local militia from Linwen County. At this moment, these men were like firecrackers, roaring in unison and charging forward with their spears!
The crowd surged towards the vanguard of Mount Liang like a rising tide.
"Kill--!!!"
On the official road, the shouts of battle were so deafening they made one's scalp tingle.
After the first volley of arrows, Mount Liang's vanguard was cut off by Wu Shuangren and his men, causing the ranks to become somewhat disorganized.
However, these men were elite troops after all, and Yan Xiaobing had repeatedly reminded them to be prepared for an ambush, and had also issued instructions to officers at all levels in the army, telling them how to deal with the situation if they encountered it.
Therefore, at this moment, the vanguard of Mount Liang had already completed its formation before the spear formation of the four battalions of the Yi Province Militia arrived.
Like raging waves crashing against reefs, the two groups of people collided violently on the official road!
Spears, like a forest, crisscrossed each other, fiercely piercing the shields of the opposing side, or the enemies behind them.
The sounds of clashing weapons, shouts of battle, and screams of agony mingled together.
The vanguard of Mount Liang had already marched for most of yesterday, and then traveled for more than an hour this morning.
Meanwhile, the four battalions from Yi Province, having been rested since arriving at the ambush site yesterday afternoon, were now full of energy and vitality.
The Militia Private the Sixth Battalion, charging at the forefront, withstood the enemy's first wave of attack with sheer courage.
Immediately afterwards, the elite Militia Private of the First Battalion behind them began to push forward on their own initiative!
It's like a tug-of-war between two sides, where things are at a stalemate, when suddenly the other side gets a strong reinforcement.
After a brief stalemate, the vanguard of Mount Liang began to be pushed back!
On the other side, Wu Shuangren had already engaged in combat with Yan Xiaobing.
Yan Xiaobing's spear thrusts were faster and faster than the last. His spear technique was something he had learned from Lu Yulin since childhood, and it was very disciplined!
Lu Yulin was known as the number one martial artist in Hebei Circuit, and his spear skills were unparalleled in Hebei Circuit. Yan Xiaobing trained with him from a young age, so his spear skills were naturally extraordinary.
Although Yan Xiaobing only possessed the Internal Skill of Third Rank master, in a real fight, many Second Rank masters of Mount Liang might not be his match.
Wu Shuangren's footwork flashed, and his Mo Dao slid along the shaft of the spear towards Yan Xiaobing's spear-wielding hand. Yan Xiaobing withdrew his spear and retreated, then suddenly turned and thrust back, executing a near-perfect backhand spear move that was as unpredictable as a celestial horse galloping across the sky!
Clang!
Wu Shuangren calmly blocked the shot.
The two men moved in and out of the crowd, their swords and spears clashing in rapid succession, each clash sending sparks flying!
Suddenly, a blur of motion darted out from the crowd, rushing towards Wu Shuangren with incredible speed.
It's Liang An!
He had no intention of following the rules of the martial world, and decisively chose to launch a sneak attack. His twin blades moved like the wind, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind Wu Shuangren, slashing at the back of Wu Shuangren's neck.
Xu Yu suddenly appeared from the side and slashed at Liang An with his sword.
Although he was constantly killing enemies, most of his attention was focused on Wu Shuangren.
Liang An shrank back to avoid the blade, then turned and used his twin swords to slash at Xu Yu body.
Xu Yu took a step back, then pounced again, and the two became entangled in combat.
In the last confrontation with Liang An, Xu Yu was completely at a disadvantage and was constantly being suppressed.
After that battle, he asked Wu Shuangren for advice on how to deal with an opponent like Liang An.
Wu Shuangren gave him a lot of guidance, telling him how to use "Cloud Tiger Seven Kills" to deal with it.
So now that the two are fighting again, Xu Yu is no longer as disheveled as he was the first time, and his occasional counterattacks can even threaten Liang An!
Just as Liang An and Xu Yu were fighting, another figure suddenly appeared.
Zhigang is here too!
His right arm had been fractured by Wu Shuangren, and although only a little over a month had passed, it had not yet fully healed. Therefore, he was now only using one arm to swing his staff, assisting Yan Xiaobing from the side.
Facing the attack from both men, Wu Shuangren changed his stance, deflecting Yan Xiaobing's gun with a single strike and using the recoil to suddenly collide with Zhigang.
Zhigang swung his staff in a sweeping motion, but Wu Shuangren ducked to dodge, then his blade slashed upwards along the ground.
Zhigang retreated hastily, forced to stagger.
Wu Shuangren suddenly turned and slashed at Yan Xiaobing, who was chasing after him. The blade flashed like waves, forcing Yan Xiaobing back several steps. Then, he clashed his longsword with Yan Xiaobing's spear, turned around and used the momentum to attack Zhigang, who was attacking again.
Yin and Yang in harmony, using the opponent's strength against them!
This is the realm of "Cloud Tiger Seven Kills" after it was enhanced by "Match for One Person" during the battle Yi Prefecture City.
Zhigang kept staring at Wu Shuangren's left shoulder, and Yan Xiaobing also intentionally targeted Wu Shuangren's left shoulder when he attacked, which both of them found very strange.
Zhigang's right arm has not yet fully healed, Wu Shuangren's left shoulder was fractured by Ciwen, so it's impossible for it to heal so quickly.
Despite being injured, Wu Shuangren acted as if he was completely unaffected during the fight, his swordsmanship and footwork remaining flawless and without the slightest weakness!
Yan Xiaobing and Zhigang couldn't understand how this was done.
How could anyone in this world possibly perform at their peak under every condition?
Yan Xiaobing grew increasingly anxious as he fought, and suddenly shouted sharply:
"Aren't you going to make a move?!"
He was calling for Lin Qian.
According to the pre-arranged tactics, Lin Qian should have launched a sneak attack at this time.
The three of them joined forces to deal with Wu Shuangren, who was already injured. No matter how powerful Wu Shuangren was, he would be seriously injured even if he didn't die!
Lin Qian should have made a move long ago, but he never did.
He stood a few steps away from the battle, his silver spear hanging limply, the tip dragging on the ground, watching Wu Shuangren being besieged, his expression showing some struggle.
Yan Xiaobing called out again.
Taking advantage of Yan Xiaobing's distraction, Wu Shuangren suddenly turned to Zhigang and slashed at him one after another, all aimed at the side of Zhigang's severed arm!
Zhigang, unable to support himself with one arm, was immediately in grave danger.
Seeing this, Lin Qian finally sighed, touched the ground with the tip of his spear, and charged forward.