Chapter 20: Fighting with Desperation

[Alert! The host’s fateful crisis has shifted.]

[Facing an almost certain doom, the host devised a strategy to accelerate the melting of the ice by spreading alkali soil and luring the Northern Barbarian cavalry to trample the ice, creating an opportunity to break the deadlock. However, you have severely underestimated the ferocity of the Northern Barbarians.]

[Even after noticing the ice cracking, the Northern Barbarian leader charged relentlessly without retreat. Relying on the speed of their warhorses, over a hundred riders crossed the Nu River before the ice completely broke, avoiding the disaster of men and horses falling into the water and posing a tremendous threat to the refugees outside Wangjiang City.]

[How will you now confront this new crisis? Can the disorganized, untrained refugees outside Wangjiang City hold back these hundred-strong Northern Barbarian cavalry?]

Xue Chengqian felt a chill run down his spine.

The system’s judgment was indeed precise.

He had believed that by using alkali soil to hasten the melting of the Nu River’s ice, the unsuspecting Northern Barbarian cavalry would be trapped and doomed.

But he had gravely underestimated their fierce courage.

In truth, the main Northern Barbarian cavalry force was already cut off on the opposite bank of the Nu River.

Only a mere hundred riders had charged forward with reckless bravery; compared to their main force, their strength was almost negligible.

Yet, the refugees’ own strength was even weaker.

A hundred elite cavalrymen were enough to crush them all to powder!

“Prepare to meet the enemy! Prepare to meet the enemy!”

“The enemy hasn’t all fallen into the Nu River—immediately prepare to engage!”

Xue Chengqian shouted wildly.

The enemy had already crossed the river, and even if there were countermeasures, there was no time to prepare. There was only one path: fight desperately!

“Meet the enemy!”

Luo Fang reacted the fastest, immediately gathering comrades to confront the foe.

When Song Xiaoyong had previously found an excuse to confiscate their weapons, Luo Fang had secretly kept some back, arming his most trusted brothers.

Though they were responding to Xue Chengqian’s brilliant plan, he had still prearranged for his brothers to gather, just in case.

His original intent had been to prevent upheaval among the refugees and suppress chaos in emergencies. Now, it had become the only “troop” they could muster.

Luo Fang had fought on battlefields himself and understood the human heart in combat better than anyone.

After issuing orders, he sent Kang Yu to quickly return to Wangjiang City to request reinforcements, then led his trusted men, blades in hand, charging at the very front.

Seeing this, Xue Chengqian couldn’t help but feel grateful to have Luo Fang’s cooperation—his courage and boldness were unmatched.

“Everyone, charge! This is a gift from Heaven!”

“The enemy is only a hundred men; we have tens of thousands. We can encircle and slaughter them. Grab any weapons you can and fight!”

He himself hardly believed his own words.

A small number of elite cavalry could easily break through a mob of infantry.

Moreover, these refugees were hardly even a mob.

Yet Xue Chengqian had no choice but to bluff, stirring what little courage remained.

Thankfully, these refugees were ignorant.

They only knew that what Xue Chengqian shouted sounded reasonable.

With tens of thousands of them, surely they could “encircle and kill” a mere hundred Northern Barbarians, right?

They weren’t demigods—at most, they had horses and weapons.

Seeing Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian charging ahead, if it had been a suicide mission, the two would have fled long ago; their forward position gave hope.

The unknowing refugees howled and grabbed whatever they had—staves, wooden sticks—and followed behind, eager to “claim glory.”

“Kill!”

But when they truly faced the Northern Barbarian cavalry, reality was far from their imaginations.

Before combat even began, the overwhelming murderous intent and thunderous hoofbeats terrified the front-row refugees, turning their faces pale.

Not only them, even Luo Fang’s military households unconsciously slowed their pace, fear creeping into their expressions.

In contrast, the tiger cavalry led by Mai Ya, after narrowly escaping death, felt no fear or remorse, only raging hatred.

These Liang refugees were nothing but lambs to be slaughtered.

Now, their fierce tiger wolves had been bitten by sheep.

Thousands charged across the river; only a hundred remained. Regardless of the battle’s outcome, the tiger cavalry’s reputation was shattered, and their tribe’s fate would be grim.

On the grasslands, strength is law; warriors and warhorses define power.

Losing brave warriors and steeds meant the tribe lost its very foundation of survival.

Mai Ya vented all his fury upon these Liang refugees.

“Kill! Slaughter them all!”

Even facing thousands of refugees closing in, Mai Ya and his Northern Barbarian riders showed no fear. Relying on their cavalry instincts, they avoided the front and struck into the refugees’ flanks.

The refugees had only followed Xue Chengqian out of instinct and were already cowed by the cavalry’s aura, offering no resistance as Mai Ya’s men burst through.

They lacked long spears, large shields, or disciplined training, no better than lambs before elite cavalry.

“Kill! We must stop their charge—don’t let them break through!”

Mai Ya’s instinctive sidestep spared Xue Chengqian and Luo Fang from the cavalry’s direct impact.

Yet they did not realize that allowing the cavalry to rampage among the refugees would quickly induce a rout. Even if reinforcements from Wangjiang City’s garrison arrived, the refugees’ disorder would scatter them like sheep driven by wolves.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Fang boldly charged at a galloping horse, risking being shattered by the impact, grabbing a Northern Barbarian rider and pulling him from his mount.

Xue Chengqian knew life and death hung in the balance. If they failed to halt the cavalry now, all previous plans would be in vain, and death was certain.

He followed suit, throwing himself into the fray, leaving the rest to fate.

Their fellow military households behind them fought fiercely, successfully disrupting the cavalry’s charge, preventing them from reaching full speed or coordinating with Mai Ya’s front ranks.

The essence of cavalry lies in speed and impact.

Thanks to Xue Chengqian and his comrades’ desperate resistance, the Northern Barbarian cavalry was forced into chaotic melee.

The refugees gradually overcame their initial terror, rallied by Luo Fang and others’ fierce counterattack.

In a chaotic battle, the leader’s role is paramount.

Even highly trained regular troops can collapse if their commander flees first.

A leader who fights at the front, risking life with every move, inspires desperate courage, infecting all with a fighting spirit.

Though fearful of the Northern Barbarians, these refugees were already resigned to death—only by defeating these invaders could they hope to survive.