Chapter 10

General Huang glanced at the direction of the treetops. He still had doubts about whether a marksman could turn the tide at this moment, but were there any other hopes left?

General Huang had no time to think about anything else. He shouted loudly and charged towards the northeast. He had no choice; this might be the only chance for him to lead the people to safety.

In the northeast, the wolf demons had just seen one of their own shot down. Though surprised, they did not take it seriously, thinking it was a coincidence, a lucky shot that hit the throat. But now, seeing the human cavalry break through again, they howled and pounced.

At the same time, a gentle breeze blew, and the treetops rustled with the sound of arrows. In mid-air, blood suddenly appeared. Three wolf demons, who were the first to charge at the human cavalry, did not even have time to make a sound before they fell to the ground.

This time, the arrows still pierced their throats, but the depth of penetration was much shallower. This was because Huaxia Jiu had calculated the defensive index of the wolf demons' throats based on the previous shot and adjusted the force of the subsequent shots to just penetrate the throat. This way, a large amount of energy could be saved.

The howls of the wolf demons suddenly ceased, and a brief silence fell over the sky.

The human cavalry, witnessing this scene, were greatly shaken. Their fighting spirit soared, and they roared as they charged out with their weapons.

Almost simultaneously, countless wolf demons howled, their voices merging into a deafening roar.

Amidst the howls, the sound of arrows whistled again. Four wolf demons, who were howling to the sky, were abruptly silenced and fell to the ground, knocking over several human cavalrymen. But this time, the sound of arrows came from the crowd. Huaxia Jiu had somehow moved from the tree to the middle of the cavalry.

The cavalry flowed like two black rivers along the two main streets of Tangjia Town, heading northeast out of the town.

In the middle of the river, several cavalrymen looked at a black-armored rider with astonishment, unable to speak.

This person was intensely focused, maintaining the posture of drawing and shooting arrows, as if his arms and back felt no fatigue. Wearing rough armor, holding a crude and simple bow, and carrying a quiver full of arrows, he controlled his horse with his legs, looking like a new recruit who had not yet undergone strict training.

Next, five wolf demons charged towards Huaxia Jiu's area, while another part of the wolf demons pounced at the front of the cavalry.

Huaxia Jiu, though surprised, remained calm. This was expected. He turned his arrow and aimed at the five wolf demons.

At that moment, a dozen arrows whistled, most hitting the wolf demons' bodies, though not killing them, they forced the five wolf demons to leap into the air.

"Protect the marksman! Brother, continue shooting the wolf demons at the front. We cannot stop the cavalry charge. Your safety is our responsibility," a man who looked like a major shouted beside Huaxia Jiu.

Huaxia Jiu did not have time to respond. He released the bowstring, and the arrow flew out. He then drew another arrow from his quiver, placed it on the string, and silently drew the bow, releasing it when it was half-drawn. The arrow whistled away.

Two mournful cries echoed from the front of the cavalry, followed by the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground.

By this time, Huaxia Jiu had already drawn a third arrow from his quiver and repeated the previous actions.

More mournful cries and the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground came from the front of the cavalry. Another wolf demon was shot down and, before it could hit the cavalry, it was impaled by a spear and thrown onto the roof of a nearby house.

All the cavalrymen trained in archery knew that shooting an arrow was a series of actions, from drawing the arrow to releasing the string.

The cavalrymen around Huaxia Jiu did not find his shooting actions particularly special... in fact, they were simpler and more mechanical than the common archery techniques in the army.

Because they were simple and mechanical, they lacked the fluidity and grace of an expert.

But Huaxia Jiu's arrows were fast, so fast that they exceeded human imagination. From the first to the seventh arrow, the surrounding cavalrymen did not even blink, not because they were too shocked to blink, but because they did not have time to blink.

The five wolf demons above, after several pounces, were repeatedly forced back by the cavalrymen around Huaxia Jiu. Though there were casualties, the morale and fighting spirit of the men soared.

During this time, Huaxia Jiu even managed to shoot down two more wolf demons above.

By now, fewer than ten wolf demons remained circling above the town, and the cavalry had already charged to the edge of the town. The wolf demons' attacks were no longer in small numbers but in waves.

Huaxia Jiu's expression remained unchanged. In the blink of an eye, another dozen arrows flew through the air.

The cavalrymen, theoretically, should not have been able to see Huaxia Jiu's shooting actions, but they could. His movements were so precise and stable that they were almost unimaginable. Each repeated action was identical, with his fingers always gripping the same spot on the bowstring and no unnecessary movements.

Repeating the same action ten times at such speed created a blur, making it possible to see the entire process.

Huaxia Jiu moved forward with the cavalry, continuously shooting arrows.

The wolf demons pouncing on the cavalry fell to the ground, and before they could hit the cavalry, they were impaled by spears and thrown to the side, destroying numerous houses.

The cavalry continued to charge, the wolf demons howled and pounced, and Huaxia Jiu's arrows kept flying. However, with the two hundred wolf demons at the edge of the town joining the attack, his arrows could not keep up, and hundreds of cavalrymen had already fallen.

Especially when over thirty wolf demons pounced on Huaxia Jiu, he could only defend himself. This caused the human cavalry's losses to accelerate, but their fighting spirit soared. General Huang, despite his injuries, used powerful moves, and the cavalry, though slowed, continued to push forward, with half of them already out of the town.

During the flight of the thirty wolf demons towards Huaxia Jiu, he shot down over ten. Under the protection of several officers and hundreds of cavalrymen, he used arrows and spears to kill four more. The remaining wolf demons were finally repelled and circled in the air. But before they could dive again, a dozen arrows continuously shot out, accurately piercing the throats of the wolf demons, one by one, they fell to the ground.

Seeing the tall figure in the ranks, all the cavalrymen's eyes filled with awe.

Whether in muscle control, physical strength, precision of force, and the entire process of calculation, what Huaxia Jiu did was beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans. All the cavalrymen had already guessed that Huaxia Jiu was a master archer, and possibly even a legendary cultivator.

All of this was too incredible.

What kind of terrifying power did those arrows possess?

What material was that person's body made of? How could he continuously shoot so many arrows? Even martial experts needed to rest after shooting dozens of arrows to avoid severe muscle damage. Huaxia Jiu had already shot over a hundred arrows, yet his face remained unchanged, his figure on the horse as straight as a spear, not even his breathing seemed to quicken, and his chest barely moved.

...

After an unknown amount of time, the distant northwest Cangman Mountains echoed with the terrifying sound of a thousand beasts charging. The demon army on the ground was finally approaching. Fortunately, the human cavalry had already charged out of Tangjia Town, though fewer than a thousand remained.

Outside Tangjia Town, the wolf demons formed a line from northeast to southeast, about three hundred meters away. This short distance was insufficient for the cavalry to gain speed and form a charge. Over the years, the demons and humans had developed some strategies. But with the three hundred meters of buffer, the human cavalry finally organized their ranks and could form a battle formation.

Placed in a desperate situation, morale must rise.

The human cavalry was now in such a state. They had a chance to survive. As long as they broke through the last line of wolf demons, they would reach the vast Cangman Plain, where the elite cavalry could quickly form a charge. At that point, even more wolf demons would find it hard to catch up, and even if the demon army blocked the way, unless they outnumbered the cavalry by five times and were well-prepared, they would be overwhelmed by the iron cavalry.

Kill——

The momentum was overwhelming, the killing intent overwhelming!

The human cavalry, without hesitation, shouted "kill" in unison, their voices echoing through the sky, and they charged forward fearlessly.

An astonishing scene unfolded. The lead units slowed slightly, the middle units maintained normal speed, and the rear units followed closely at a slightly faster pace. In a few moments, the three-hundred-meter-long black river of cavalry contracted into a hundred-meter-long black snake, with the distance between horses reduced to the minimum that did not affect their speed. From the sky, the ground in the middle of the formation was no longer visible.

This black snake was a hedgehog formation. The middle cavalrymen held their spears at a sixty-degree angle forward, while the outer cavalrymen held their spears slightly to the sides.

The hedgehog formation, developed over countless years of war against the demons, was inspired by a general who saw a hedgehog defend itself against a hawk on the Cangman Plain. This formation made it difficult for ordinary demons to attack from the air.

Infantry could easily form a hedgehog formation with some training, but for cavalry to form it while charging was not something any ordinary cavalry could do. It required superb riding skills, perfect coordination, and strong willpower.

The Cangfeng Iron Cavalry, one of the most elite cavalry units of the Great Wu Empire, lived up to its reputation. They had not formed the hedgehog formation earlier because they were turning direction and the wolf demons had attacked suddenly, causing confusion.

Now, facing the tightly packed, almost flawless hedgehog formation of the iron cavalry, over three hundred wolf demons pounced once, leaving nearly a hundred dead, and then retreated to the sky, circling the human cavalry but not daring to attack again. The human cavalry only lost a dozen men.

Why "almost flawless"? Because Huaxia Jiu, located in the middle of the hedgehog formation, had a larger gap between him and the front cavalrymen due to his lack of riding skills, and he did not have a spear, only a bow. As for the longsword behind him, after considering the distance from the spear, he felt it was safer to hold the bow.

Huaxia Jiu was the only flaw in the hedgehog formation, but the surrounding cavalrymen had no complaints. The seven hundred cavalrymen had the time and opportunity to form the formation thanks to Huaxia Jiu's efforts. He was the greatest hero of this battle, the one who turned the tide.

Huaxia Jiu was both the flaw and the strongest weapon in the hedgehog formation. His arrows never stopped, and most of the wolf demons killed during the charge were by his hand.

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