Dust billowed across the plains as two cavalry units, like two yellow dragons, chased each other.
Wu Dongrong led the cavalry contingent ahead, with over two hundred riders arranged in a relatively loose formation, their hooves pounding like muffled drums.
Guan Sheng led more than 500 cavalrymen in pursuit, the two sides were about a hundred paces apart, and arrows were constantly flying back and forth.
The cavalry archery skills of the Yi Province Militia were still very poor. Even when Wu Dongrong led them to a superior position, very few of them were able to hit the enemy.
Only Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu, with their superb archery skills, managed to shoot down several riders in succession.
The eleven veterans that Xu Jing brought were also in the cavalry battalion. They served as cavalry captains, relaying Wu Dongrong's orders and commanding the other cavalrymen, thus ensuring that Wu Dongrong's orders were carried out more effectively.
These eleven veterans were once elite scouts of the border army. The number of Mount Liang cavalrymen they killed together was about the same as the number killed by Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu.
The Mount Liang cavalry were superior horsemen, and the distance between the two cavalry forces was constantly closing.
Wu Dongrong glanced back, assessed the distance between them, and suddenly turned his horse around.
"Turn around, prepare to charge!"
At Wu Dongrong's command, the cavalrymen of the cavalry battalion reined in their horses, their hooves pounding forward, their neighs filling the air.
After the two hundred-plus riders had turned around, the Mount Liang cavalry were less than fifty paces away from them.
Wu Dongrong took the long spear hanging from the saddle, pointed the spearhead forward, spurred the horse, and was the first to charge forward.
"Arrowhead Formation, charge with me!"
Wu Dongrong shouted loudly.
Liao Yu was on his right, close behind.
Xu Nanzhi followed on Wu Dongrong's left and also spurred her horse forward.
Eleven border scouts, along with the remaining cavalry, charged in succession, with Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, and Xu Nanzhi forming the spearhead, creating Arrowhead Formation.
Ahead, Guan Sheng was not alarmed but rather pleased to see that the enemy had stopped running and instead turned to charge.
He has more cavalrymen, and their horsemanship is more superb. In this kind of mounted charge, his side will definitely have the advantage!
"Brothers, Arrowhead Formation, follow me and kill!"
Guan Sheng also ordered the formation to be changed to Arrowhead Formation, which would maximize the use of their numerical advantage.
Soon, the cavalry on both sides collided like two long dragons on the open field!
There was no orderly clash of spear formations; it was all chaotic fighting.
Horses clashed, swords and spears whistled as they slashed at the enemy!
Wu Dongrong rode the Thunder Treader, Liao Yu rode the Azure Fire Horse, and Wu Shuangren gave Xu Jing's two best warhorses to these two.
Wu Dongrong was the first to charge into the Mount Liang cavalry formation. His body rose and fell with the horse's back, as if he were completely connected with the warhorse.
When he was less than ten steps away from the enemy, the Thunder Treader under Wu Dongrong's horse seemed to be in sync with his mind. Even though he had already gained speed, it miraculously accelerated a second time, unleashing a power that made the enemy tremble with fear!
Taking advantage of the force generated by the warhorse, Wu Dongrong thrust out his long spear.
At this moment, the warhorse, the man, and the spear became one, and Wu Dongrong almost perfectly transmitted the immense momentum of the warhorse to the long spear in his hand!
Clang!
The spearhead clashed with the spear in the hand of the Mount Liang cavalryman, knocking the spear out of his hand. The spearhead continued its momentum, stabbing the Mount Liang hard in the chest and shoving him off his horse!
At this moment, a Mount Liang cavalryman on Wu Dongrong's left charged towards him with a spear. Taking advantage of the rise and fall of his warhorse, he swung the shaft of his spear and smashed it into the shoulder armor of the Mount Liang cavalryman on his left.
The man groaned and fell off his horse.
In terms of Internal Skill strength, both Mount Liang cavalrymen were around the Seventh Rank, no less than Wu Dongrong. However, in the horse battle, Wu Dongrong fought two against one and knocked them down in the blink of an eye!
He once told Wu Shuangren that the biggest difference between mounted combat and infantry combat lies in the strength of a horse.
The power unleashed by a good warhorse is no less than that of First Rate warrior.
Being able to leverage the strength of a single horse to enhance one's offensive during battle could potentially force someone to cross borders to fight!
Just as Internal Skill are divided into Ninth Rank, the level of mounted combat also varies greatly.
Being able to borrow two or three tenths of a warhorse's strength in the instant of battle is already considered a beginner's level in mounted combat.
Those who can draw upon the full power of a warhorse are, without exception, top-tier mounted combat experts.
Some people in this world can not only borrow the full power of a warhorse, but also perfectly integrate their own power at the moment of battle, truly achieving oneness between man and horse!
Wu Dongrong is such a master of mounted combat!
Back in Bo County, Wu Shuangren had Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu ride horses towards him, hoping to use the momentum of the horses to hone his Internal Skill.
When he faced Wu Dongrong, the enhancement of his Internal Skill strength brought by [Match for One Person] surpassed that of all his previous enemies, including Wei Laohei, who was already at the peak of the Fourth Rank (see Chapter 58 of Volume 1 for details)!
At that time, Wu Shuangren already knew that his father's mounted combat skills were extraordinary.
But he still underestimated Wu Dongrong.
Back in Bo County, Wu Dongrong rode a captured Huangzhou Horse, which could only be used as a fighting horse.
In mounted combat, the rider is important, but the horse is equally important!
Now Wu Dongrong is wearing infantry armor, carrying a long spear that can be called the 'king' in mounted combat, and riding a first-class horse like Thunder Treader.
His combat power is already enough to threaten First Rate experts!
Wherever they went, none could withstand a single blow!
Liao Yu rode behind Wu Dongrong on his right, without switching to a lance; he still held a bow in his hand.
Whenever Wu Dongrong in front knocked an enemy off his horse with his lance, he would immediately follow up with an arrow, killing the enemy before he could react or dodge!
In mounted combat, Liao Yu was inferior to Wu Dongrong. But in archery, Wu Dongrong was inferior to Liao Yu.
The two were like they had returned to the battlefield, one holding a spear in front and the other holding a bow behind, their cooperation was perfect and they were invincible!
Xu Nanzhi followed behind Wu Dongrong on the left, and she didn't even have a chance to make a move. All the enemies she encountered along the way were killed.
Wu Dongrong, caught up in the thrill of the battle, Thunder Treader, his four hooves flying, like a gust of iron wind sweeping towards the center of the formation!
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a general in heavy armor, holding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd), riding on a large black horse in front of him.
Wu Dongrong did not recognize Guan Sheng, but he immediately recognized him as the commander of the Mount Liang cavalry.
Without hesitation, he spurred his horse and charged Guan Sheng!
Guan Sheng also saw Wu Dongrong and the other two.
He wasn't positioned at the arrowhead of the Arrowhead Formation. He intended to use the vanguard to wear down the enemy commander's morale and stamina before striking decisively to kill the enemy commander and completely defeat the cavalry!
Seeing Wu Dongrong charging towards him, Guan Sheng sneered and drew his sword to meet him.
The two clashed, their horses' hooves thundering like a mountain collapsing!
Taking advantage of the length of his spear, Wu Dongrong launched the first attack, thrusting the spearhead toward Guan Sheng's throat.
Guan Sheng, taking advantage of the horse's momentum, slashed down with his Guan Dao. The tip of his spear collided with the blade in mid-air, sending sparks flying!
Wu Dongrong's arms jerked, and the spear shaft deflected by half a foot.
Guan Sheng's hand went numb, and he was secretly alarmed.
Judging from Wu Dongrong's stance, he could tell that the opponent's Internal Skill cultivation was definitely not at the First Rate level. How could this spear be so heavy?
Guan Sheng himself possessed Second Rank Internal Skill cultivation level and was also skilled in mounted combat. He thought that as long as the cavalry commander of the Yi Province Militia was not a First Rate expert, he could kill him in one move.
But the first exchange did not meet his expectations.
The two horses passed each other, and Wu Dongrong suddenly turned around on his horse, lowered the tip of his spear, and thrust it towards Guan Sheng's horse's leg.
This attack targeted a point where the opponent was bound to defend, forcing Guan Sheng to turn around and brandish his Guan Dao to block the blow.
Just as the two clashed for the second time, Xu Nanzhi, who had been following behind Wu Dongrong, suddenly leaped off her horse, touched the saddle with her toes, and leaped towards Guan Sheng!
As she leaped forward, her longsword was drawn, aimed straight for Guan Sheng's throat!
Her and Wu Dongrong's coordination was perfect, and the thrust was so fast and urgent that Guan Sheng could barely react.
Guan Sheng was greatly alarmed and could only watch helplessly as a flash of sword light grew larger and larger in his field of vision!
A split second between life and death, a gunshot rings out.
At the critical moment, a silver spear suddenly appeared, blocking between Xu Nanzhi's sword and Guan Sheng.
Bite!
Sparks flew as Xu Nanzhi used the momentum to retreat, landing on the ground. Turning her head, she saw Lin Qian putting away his gun.
Lin Qian, however, stayed close to Guan Sheng the whole time and stepped in to save Guan Sheng at the crucial moment!
Wu Yan sent Lin Qian to accompany Guan Sheng because he feared that Wu Shuangren would lead a decapitation strike.
However, if Wu Shuangren really takes action personally, Guan Sheng will immediately send a signal, and Wu Yan will immediately send Lu Yulin with his elite troops to take action.
Guan Sheng and Lin Qian were both surprised that Wu Shuangren hadn't even made a move himself, yet Guan Sheng was almost cut down from his horse!
Just as Lin Qian drew his spear to block Xu Nanzhi's deadly sword strike, Guan Sheng's warhorse suddenly neighed and then lurched to one side!
Just as Wu Dongrong and Xu Nanzhi attacked Guan Sheng, Liao Yu also made his move.
Guan Sheng was also accompanied by his elite personal guards. Liao Yu first held an arrow horizontally in his mouth, then switched from bow and arrow to lance, and engaged a rider who charged at him head-on, knocking the rider off his horse!
At this moment, he and Guan Sheng were in a relatively parallel position. He shrank his body, as if he had suddenly disappeared from the horse's back, and just barely dodged the spear thrust by the second rider.
Liao Yu straddled the horse's back with one leg on the saddle and the other on the saddle, his entire body hanging off the side of the warhorse.
He threw away his lance, and with lightning speed took the bow from the saddle, the arrow in his mouth resting perfectly on the bowstring.
Release your grip, draw back the bowstring, and shoot the arrow.
Completed in one go!
Guan Sheng was wearing heavy armor, a helmet, and a neck guard, with no vital organs exposed. Therefore, Liao Yu's arrow was not aimed at the man, but at the horse.
Guan Sheng's attention was completely drawn to Xu Nanzhi's deadly sword strike, and he didn't notice Liao Yu's arrow at all.
The arrow struck the horse's head!
Xu Nanzhi and Wu Dongrong's teamwork was perfect, and so was Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong's teamwork.
Guan Sheng jumped off his horse somewhat awkwardly and landed on the ground.
Xu Nanzhi strode towards him, but Lin Qian Xu Nanzhi forward and blocked her path. Spear and sword clashed once more.
"Commander Guan!"
The Mount Liang cavalry behind them were shocked to see Guan Sheng fall from his horse and rushed towards him, shouting as they did Guan Sheng.
Wu Dongrong decisively turned his horse around and charged Guan Sheng again!
He was actually at a disadvantage in the previous exchange, after all, the difference in Internal Skill strength was too great, and Guan Sheng combat skills were also quite good.
But now that Guan Sheng has lost his warhorse, Wu Dongrong can still borrow one, and the gap between the two sides has almost been leveled.
Wu Dongrong rode forward and exchanged blows with Guan Sheng. He then charged forward and cut down two Mount Liang cavalrymen who had turned their horses around to come back and provide support.
The Mount Liang cavalry, who should have had the upper hand due to their numerical advantage, instinctively turned their horses around and rushed towards Guan Sheng after he unexpectedly fell from his Guan Sheng.
Centered on Guan Sheng's location, the cavalry on both sides were completely thrown into chaos!
"Oh no!"
On the distant high platform, Wu Yan kept a close eye on the battle situation on Guan Sheng's side.
He originally planned to wait for Guan Sheng to first defeat the Yi Province Militia's cavalry before leading his men to attack the left flank of the Yi Province Militia's spear formation, further diverting the enemy's forces and disrupting their formation.
Unexpectedly, Guan Sheng, on whom he had placed high hopes, was turned into a complete mess despite having the advantage of outnumbering the enemy!
"What is Guan Sheng doing?!"
Wu Yan gripped the goose feather fan tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
The Mount Liang forces were outnumbered, but their biggest advantage was that they had six or seven hundred more cavalry than the Yi Province Militia.
As a result, neither of the cavalry on the flanks managed to gain an advantage.
On the other hand, the Yi Province Militia is gradually turning its numerical advantage into a winning position with their spear formation!
Although the Flying Geese Formation was missing one wing, the other wing had successfully completed its encirclement, forcing Mount Liang's spear formation to change to the Crescent Moon Formation.
However, the numerical disadvantage was difficult to overcome. Changing to the Crescent Moon Formation actually made their own formation more sparse and easier to break through.
If it weren't for the continuous arrow shooting from the more than 500 Mount Liang archers in the inner circle, Mount Liang's spear formation of more than 2,000 people would have collapsed long ago!