Rigorous training, generous benefits, and the fact that these veterans had all experienced a battle, including a cavalry charge, all contributed to their success.
So even though several people were injured or killed in a single encounter, and even though everyone was tense and afraid, they were still able to maintain their formation, obey Wu Shuangren's orders, and move forward slowly but steadily!
The round shields collided with each other with muffled thuds, and the third volley of arrows fell, continuously striking the round shields with a thudding sound.
But the shield formation didn't stop; it continued to move forward.
The shield formation moved forward about thirty steps, and at the street corner ahead, a dark mass of people surged out like a flood bursting its banks!
The front row consisted of about thirty people, each holding a steel sword in one hand and a round shield in the other, and wearing tanned leather armor!
These men were in neat formation, clearly well-trained. They quickly deployed at the street corner, shields in front, forming a semi-circular interception formation.
These men were the elite of the Xie Clan family's servants!
Almost simultaneously, a flurry of footsteps echoed from behind them.
More people poured out from the end of the street, led by none other than Li Ming, the leader of the West River Gang!
Wu Shuangren's guess was correct; if he chose to run back to the Fist Academy, he would encounter even more people blocking his way.
There are people both in front and behind!
Mo Zhengxing's face turned deathly pale, and his voice trembled slightly.
Today's battle was completely different from the ambush outside Bo County that night. Our side was now outnumbered and had no terrain to rely on.
Therefore, Mo Zhengxing couldn't help but feel somewhat desperate.
Wu Shuangren a deep breath and peered through the gap to observe the enemies in front and behind him.
If we are attacked from both sides by the enemy, and crossbow bolts are being fired from above, our side will inevitably collapse!
If I were surrounded, I would certainly be doomed!
There is no turning back.
"Keep the formation, increase the speed!"
Wu Shuangren's voice echoed through the long street, "Forward! Forward!"
Taking advantage of the moment when the archers were nocking their bows, the shield formation began to accelerate. The round shields pressed tightly together, and spears peeked out from every gap. The entire formation charged forward like a steel hedgehog.
Thirty steps, twenty steps --
"Release the arrows!"
There was a roaring sound coming from upstairs.
A fourth volley of crossbow bolts came, but almost all of them were blocked by shields; no one stopped.
Ten steps!
The shield array was now almost touching the interceptors ahead.
"Withstand!"
A scarred man in the enemy ranks shouted sharply.
"Forward--!!"
Wu Shuangren roared as well.
The next instant, the two teams collided!
boom--
The deafening crash of shields colliding was so loud it hurt the eardrums, and the two sides remained locked in a stalemate.
The militia's shield formation, formed to block arrows, was not as wide as the enemy's, so they were at a disadvantage in the frontal confrontation due to the numerical disadvantage, and many were forced to retreat.
"Prick!!!"
Wu Shuangren issued the order.
From within the militia's shield formation, more than ten spears shot out like venomous snakes emerging from their holes!
Only a few spears struck the enemy's shoulder or arm; the rest were either blocked by shields or missed.
"Cut off the spear!"
"The scarred man on the enemy's side roared."
The Xie Clan family servants behind the shields swung their swords and slashed at the spear shafts that were thrusting into them, breaking the wooden spears in two!
"Push!"
The scarred man continued to give orders.
The wooden shields creaked and groaned as they pressed against each other.
The shield formation where Wu Shuangren was located was forced to retreat!
He knew that his weapons were spears, which had the advantage of a longer attack range. Once these enemies with knives got close, he would be unable to fight back.
We must break this deadlock as soon as possible!
Wu Shuangren's gaze was like a knife, piercing through the gaps in the shields and locking onto the scarred man who was constantly giving orders in the Xie Clan family's formation.
He suddenly unleashed his Internal Skill, knocking down a servant in front of him, and charged straight out of the shield formation!
Almost at the same time that Wu Shuangren rushed out, a figure rushed out with him.
It's Xu Yu!
"Remember this: if one day we're facing many enemies at the same time, your job is to stay by my side. When I'm fighting others, you must shield me from the rest. Never fight the same enemy as me!"
These are the words Wu Shuangren said to Xu Yu.
Xu Yu remembers it very clearly.
The few days he spent with Wu Shuangren were the only good days in his life when he could eat his fill every day.
He had always wanted to do something for Wu Shuangren, and now his time had finally come—
As soon as Wu Shuangren charged into the enemy ranks, three Xie Clan family servants immediately attacked with their swords. One slashed head-on, while the other two attacked from the left and right. The swords flashed fiercely, all employing military combat techniques aimed directly at vital points!
But one figure was faster than the flash of the blade.
Xu Yu burst out from behind Wu Shuangren like a cannonball!
The servants, who were being attacked head-on, only saw a blur before a dark shadow crashed into them.
Xu Yu slammed his shoulder into the shield that the servant had raised!
With a cracking sound, the shield shattered, and the servant, shield and all, flew backward, knocking over two of his companions behind him!
The two blades, attacking from both sides, arrived just then.
After knocking away the enemy in front of him, Xu Yu's momentum didn't diminish, and his body rolled to the left. A blade grazed his rolling back, sparks flying as it scraped against his leather armor. He immediately followed up with a sweeping leg kick, knocking the servant down.
The whole process took less than two breaths!
That night, Wu Shuangren fought with Xu Yu and judged that even if the other party had never practiced martial arts, his innate superhuman strength was enough to rival that of Fourth Rank martial artist.
In reality, that was Xu Yu, who had been starving for several days.
At this moment, when Xu Yu is well-fed, he is at his strongest!
Wu Shuangren didn't stop. After Xu Yu knocked away the enemy in front of him and swept down the enemy on the left, he continued forward through the gap that appeared.
Five more servants then attacked.
Wu Shuangren did not slow down, but suddenly took half a step to the left, his body spinning half a circle to the right with the momentum of the step. A knife grazed his right rib, the tip of the knife piercing his clothes. At the same time as he spun, the Fish-Dragon Saber in his hand slashed diagonally upward from below.
The servant on the far left, holding a knife, felt a sharp pain in his hand; the hand holding the knife had been severed!
The blade's momentum wasn't over; it continued to slash upwards, cutting into the man's throat.
But while Wu Shuangren was focused on dealing with this servant, two other servants' knives were already at his feet!
Xu Yu arrived at that moment.
As Wu Shuangren spun around and drew his blade, Xu Yu followed closely behind him like a shadow. The boy's eyes were now terrifyingly bright. He rammed into one of the servants from the side, sending him flying and knocking down his companion beside him.
The remaining two servants also swung their swords at him. Xu Yu turned around, but it was too late to dodge. He grabbed the blades with his hands and forcibly seized both swords!
Although he had studied martial arts with Wu Shuangren for a few days, he was still not proficient. So, at the crucial moment, he chose to trust his intuition and innate superhuman strength!
The two servants wielding knives were terrified and tried to break free. Xu Yu fingers gripped the blade like iron hoops, his flesh was cut open and bleeding profusely, but he was completely unaware, and instead pulled hard.
The two servants lost their balance and stumbled forward, Xu Yu's fists slammed into their faces like heavy hammers.
The sounds of cracking nasal bones and falling teeth were mixed together!
Another enemy attacked from behind, Xu Yu, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, stepped to the left in time and used the leather armor on his right shoulder to block the blow.
The servant who drew the knife was also skilled in martial arts and possessed considerable strength. The blade struck the leather armor with a dull thud, slicing a three-inch-long gash in the armor. The blade penetrated half an inch into the flesh, and blood soaked the tattered leather armor.
Xu Yu seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed only on Wu Shuangren, who was still charging forward. He completely ignored the enemy behind him who had slashed him, and continued to chase after Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren kept switching targets of [Match for One Person], and many of the opponents he encountered were weaker than him. He didn't get any enhancements and could only Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps to dodge.
In order to maintain his speed, he didn't engage in prolonged combat with anyone.
All the attacks from the flanks and behind were blocked by that mad tiger-like boy with his body and fists!
The two of them worked together like this, moving forward! Forward!
This chapter is a two-in-one.
78 Slaying Generals
"Form ranks!"
The scarred man screamed.
He had already realized that Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu were after him, and he also knew that Wu Shuangren might be First Rate- tier expert!
At his command, more than ten people gathered around him, forming a small circular formation with swords and spears.
These people all possessed martial arts skills and were specifically there to guard against Wu Shuangren.
In the midst of battle, even First Rate experts find it difficult to capture enemy generals and seize their flags.
Wu Shuangren had already charged to the front lines.
"Roar--"
Xu Yu let out a low growl that sounded inhuman, Traits above his head shone bright red, like flames burning!
He charged into the circular formation ahead of Wu Shuangren!
Three men stood in front, shields in hand. As Xu Yu charged, one of them raised his shield and charged forward, while the other two thrust out their spears, their coordination impeccable.
Xu Yu neither dodged nor evaded, but grabbed the iron spears thrusting from the left and right with both hands, and then slammed his head hard into the shield in the middle.
Like a mad tiger!
"Thump!!"
With a muffled thud like a battering ram striking a city gate, the shield shattered, and the shield-wielder felt a tremendous force come from the shield's surface, sending him and the shield flying backward.
Xu Yu's head was bleeding profusely, but he didn't stop at all and charged straight into the formation!
Four knives came slashing down from both sides almost simultaneously!
Xu Yu Yu's beast-like intuition proved surprisingly effective at this moment. In the instant the blade was about to strike, his body reacted as if he had foreseen the future. He slightly lowered his left shoulder to dodge the first blade, turned to the side to block the second with his leather armor, and then rolled forward. The third and fourth blades grazed the trajectory of his roll.
As he rolled to his feet, Xu Yu grabbed the two spears that were thrust at him again, pulled hard, and snatched the spears from their hands. Then, he spun around on the spot, wildly wielding the spears in his hands, and swept the two martial artists who rushed up at him away!
The circular formation was thus disrupted.
Wu Shuangren moved. He first darted three steps to the right, and the four armed warriors instinctively turned their spear tips to follow his movement.
After taking three steps, he suddenly turned back, using his right foot as a pivot, his body spinning to the left like a top. As he spun, his knees bent slightly, and he lunged forward almost touching the ground. The four spears, due to the earlier deflection, were unable to thrust back in time, and their tips all struck empty air.
Wu Shuangren swept past the four men from the side. As the Fish-Dragon Saber lunged forward close to the ground, it slashed upwards from below, the blade light surging like a sudden undercurrent in the ocean. The martial artist on the far left screamed as his lower leg was severed at the knee, and he fell to the ground and rolled!
Wu Shuangren used his legs to push himself up again, and finally there was only one enemy in front of him!
He targeted the scarred man with his "Match for One Person" skill, Internal Skill was immediately greatly enhanced.
"Good timing!"