Before I could catch up to the tail of the enemy formation, I saw volleys of arrows flying from the ground array. They were truly something, shooting against the direction of our charge. The arrows' speed was affected, their initial velocity quite slow, but the enemy used a high trajectory. Their aim seemed not to be to kill us, but merely to obstruct our pursuit.
"Master, be careful!" Xiao Nu warned, bringing her horse closer to mine and raising her saber, ready to block the arrow rain for me.
The arrows flew high, still several seconds away.
"No need. Take care of yourselves, I'll go on foot!" I dismounted from my galloping horse and immediately activated Gale Force. My mount, due to the immense recoil from my acceleration, collapsed onto the ground. I sprang up, flying more than ten meters, landing on my feet and charging a few more steps, narrowly avoiding the arrow shower. Looking back, my horse was somewhat fortunate. Because it fell, it actually dodged the arrows and was perfectly positioned on the other side of the 'pear blossom field.'
Zheng Baobao and Xiao Nu, by swinging their dual sabers like helicopters, deflected the arrow attacks. Neither they nor their horses were hit.
Immediately after, the second wave was shot. I only needed to push forward a little, and I had already caught up to the enemy's rear, almost colliding with the hide drum on a horse, scaring it into bucking and throwing its rider off. I didn't hesitate, stepping up and delivering a clean, swift blow. Seeing me charging, the other enemies didn't shoot at me but accelerated their escape.
I didn't dare to venture too deep alone, fearing unnecessary damage. After Zheng Baobao and Xiao Nu caught up with my horse, I remounted, and the three of us continued the pursuit.
After a series of long-range attacks and defenses, we had closed to within fifty meters of the enemy's tail. It wasn't because our horses were faster; on the contrary, our warhorses were of slightly inferior breed and not particularly fast. It was because the rebels were employing a dense charging formation, and to avoid collisions, they couldn't unleash the full speed of their individual mounts, which is why we caught up.
After chasing for several hundred more meters, Zheng Baobao was the first to break into the rebel cavalry's main formation. Her two gleaming scimitars, regardless of man or horse, cut through anything they encountered. Xiao Nu was not to be outdone. She actually leaped onto the back of an enemy cavalryman, grabbed his head, and used her saber to force his reins to veer left. The warhorse's charging direction was forcibly changed, crashing into a row of horses and men. Xiao Nu leaped over, reaping them one by one. I couldn't join them because I had to lead Xiao Nu's warhorse while running.
Xiao Nu decided not to return. She leaped from one enemy cavalryman's back to another within the dense formation. Wherever she went, she disrupted the ranks and reaped heads, quickly slaying dozens of rebels.
The rebel leaders in front, for reasons unknown, passed down an order. It seemed they were leaving a few hundred cavalry to hold us off, while the remaining thousand-plus cavalry would continue pursuing the spearmen. This tactic of sacrificing pawns to save the king was highly effective. Baobao and Xiao Nu were entangled by several hundred cavalry. Although they could eventually deal with them, they would lose the opportunity to attack the enemy's main cavalry force.
Crucially, that contingent of spearmen was also about to be overtaken by the rebels, which was quite dangerous. I had to get there quickly!
Thinking this, I abandoned the two warhorses, dismounted, activated Gale Force, bypassed the enemy formation, and arrived in front of the spearman contingent, leading the charge again. However, I had no good plan now. I could only act as their scout, looking for any geographical advantages that might help them.
There is always a way out. I soon discovered that about two kilometers to my left, there was a mountain ridge. It was not high or steep, and cavalry could charge directly up it, though their speed would inevitably decrease. I veered off course and galloped quickly onto the ridge.
Seeing me turn, the spearmen behind thought I was leading the way and changed direction, running towards me.
Damn it, I was just scouting... Fine. Fortunately, behind this ridge was a wooded area. The woods were not conducive to cavalry charges, which could offset some of the enemy's advantage. By the time our allies reached the ridge, the spearmen at the rear had already been killed by the approaching enemy. I shouted loudly, "Quick, into the woods! Climb trees with your spears!"
This was a case of, "Putting oneself in a desperate situation to find a way out." Climbing trees with spears would indeed put them in a desperate situation. However, they carried a large amount of ammunition. Shooting down from a height, they would be virtually guaranteed to hit their targets. Each tree would become a fighting fortress. Even if they couldn't break through in the end, they would inflict heavy damage on the enemy.