Chapter 62: Helian Yue's Ambush

Xue Chengqian and his men had originally charged forward with the resolute determination to die, but seeing Luo Fang appear at the most crucial moment instantly boosted their morale, making them truly see a glimmer of survival.

Previously, Xue Chengqian had repeatedly helped Luo Fang defuse crises, and this time, it could be said that Luo Fang had returned the favor by saving him.

Helian Yue’s reaction was exceptionally swift.

Within an extremely short span of time, she deduced that facing the fearless Liang soldiers, although they held the advantage in combat strength, it was utterly impossible to rout the enemy forces before them in a short time.

As long as a prolonged close-quarters battle formed, and another unit of Liang cavalry charged in with full force from behind, the ones to be routed first might very well be themselves.

Helian Yue possessed a profound understanding of cavalry tactics, and she knew all too well how terrifying cavalry could be when they launched an unhurried, full-force charge from the rear.

Without hesitation, she changed her course, turning to charge head-on against Luo Fang’s incoming cavalry.

Xue Chengqian could not help but be greatly shocked.

Earlier, he had seen the Northern Barbarian cavalry complete their acceleration, yet even at extremely high speeds, they were still able to execute such agile turns.

"Quickly go and support Boss Luo!"

Luo Fang had just entered the battlefield intending to support Xue Chengqian, but instead, they had now become the primary targets of the enemy's assault.

However, if they attempted to turn their horses around now, their speed would inevitably be compromised, allowing Helian Yue and her forces to overtake them in no time.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Fang led his brothers and charged straight ahead.

"Boom!"

The two cavalry units collided head-on. Even with a combined total of less than two thousand riders, the clash erupted with deafening roars of men and frantic neighing of horses.

Unsurprisingly, the cavalry led by Luo Fang suffered a heavy blow.

While they hailed from the borderlands and their horsemanship could be considered passable, they fell far short when compared to the elite warriors personally trained and led by Helian Yue.

Moreover, Helian Yue’s cavalry vastly outnumbered them, naturally generating a far more terrifying impact.

A head-on cavalry charge was the most straightforward form of combat devoid of any tricks—strength dictated everything.

Luo Fang and his men were sent tumbling in a chaotic tangle of men and beasts. Fortunately, his horsemanship was among the finest of all the brothers, which kept him from being thrown directly from his saddle and trampled into minced meat by the following hooves.

Still, the situation remained perilous in the extreme.

Wielding his saber with fierce bravery, he hacked and slashed into the melee alongside the approaching Northern Barbarian warriors.

Let alone the fact that other Northern Barbarian cavalry were still in pursuit from behind and would easily discover the battle here, even the thousand-odd riders led by Helian Yue alone were more than enough to defeat them.

Fortunately, upon realizing something was amiss, Xue Chengqian immediately led his infantry in a desperate charge, joining forces with Luo Fang and his men to form a pincer movement from front and rear, forcing the Northern Barbarian cavalry to fight on two fronts.

It was precisely at this moment that Helian Yue’s resolute command stood out.

No matter how valiant Xue Chengqian was, the destructive power of an infantry charge could never be compared to that of cavalry.

Furthermore, her troop count was smaller than the combined forces of Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian. If the Liang army were truly allowed to establish a two-front pincer, her forces would still find themselves in extreme danger.

Therefore, she chose to gamble with a life-for-a-life strategy, shattering the cavalry unit on Luo Fang’s side into disarray before turning to meet Xue Chengqian’s main infantry force.

Although on the surface her subordinates were still caught in a pincer attack, Luo Fang’s cavalry could barely manage to protect themselves and posed virtually no real threat, effectively reducing the situation into a single-front engagement between the Northern Barbarian cavalry and Xue Chengqian’s infantry.

Even so, tactically speaking, Xue Chengqian had not fallen into a disadvantageous position.

The bandits he led, though newly recruited with weaponry and baseline quality inferior to the prairie warriors, enjoyed the advantage of greater numbers. Furthermore, when it came to protracted close combat, infantry actually did not suffer too great a disadvantage against cavalry. As long as Helian Yue was prevented from getting her subordinates back up to a charging speed, there was still room to fight for a final victory.

However, looking at the overall battlefield situation, things had already turned gravely unfavorable for Xue Chengqian!

The moment any of the pursuing Northern Barbarian cavalry units in the rear discovered them fighting here and rushed in to reinforce along the sound of battle, they would have no choice but to flee in blind panic, leaving their fate entirely to luck as they tried to escape the pursuit of the Northern Barbarian cavalry and plunge deep into the mountains ahead of time.

And as leaders, he and Luo Fang bore targets far too conspicuous; their ultimate fate would undoubtedly be certain death with zero chance of survival!

With a fierce roar, Xue Chengqian brandished his weapon and lunged straight at Helian Yue!

When Helian Yue led her charge, not only did she fight at the very front, but she also shouted continuously and directed her troops' turns with stark visibility, exposing herself as the commanding officer of this cavalry unit.

At this point, completely surrounding and annihilating this thousand-man cavalry troop in a short time was utterly impossible; they had no choice but to adopt the riskier tactic of capturing the ringleader first!

The voice of Helian Yue gave nothing away except that she was unquestionably a woman.

They knew that the Northern Barbarian forces were divided into various tribal armies; perhaps this woman was the daughter of a certain tribal chieftain, possessing the noble status required to command troops.

"Courting death!"

Seeing through his intent in an instant, Helian Yue let out a cold laugh. Without even bringing her personal guards, she rode directly to meet him.

Wu Fang and Tu Fenghai, two fierce warriors under Sun Fushan, initially thought this was an opportunity to earn merits, especially since they looked down on the opponent simply because she was a woman.

While the Northern Barbarians were undeniably ferocious and brave, what was there to fear about a Northern Barbarian woman?

Rushing to the front, the two of them launched a simultaneous pincer attack from both sides, only to witness a flash of blade light as their heads were cleanly severed by Helian Yue!

"Such a fast blade!"

The surrounding men could not help but be struck with profound shock.

Back at Bajiao Mountain, they had grown familiar with one another and knew full well the prowess of Wu Fang and Tu Fenghai. Yet the two of them had been decapitated by the opposing female general without even leaving room to parry!

Having secured victory with a single move, Helian Yue reined in her horse and shouted loudly,

"Who else dares to come and fight!"

Her intimidating prestige shook the ears of all the soldiers and struck terror into their hearts, forcing the Liang army to shrink back in dread, terrified of following in the footsteps of Wu Fang and Tu Fenghai.

Could the Northern Barbarians truly boast even a woman of such terrifying strength?

Xue Chengqian was likewise shaken with disbelief.

He had intended to capture the leader first to break the enemy, but he had never expected that it would instead provide the opponent with a chance to establish her might, allowing her to completely overwhelm them in sheer momentum.

He knew he absolutely could not retreat now. The moment he pulled back, his brothers' morale would shatter, making it even more impossible to resolve the battle quickly, and they would all be utterly slaughtered by the Northern Barbarian cavalry.

If the other brothers would not charge, he would charge alone!

Xue Chengqian had long since selected the most comfortable saber from the spoils of war, pushing past his brothers to slash once more toward Helian Yue.

"Are there still those who do not fear death?"

Helian Yue smiled triumphantly.

She knew the Liang army was underestimating her martial arts prowess. Because she disliked drawing too much attention, even across the Northern Barbarian grasslands, very few people knew that she, the female chieftain of the Helian clan, possessed martial arts that far surpassed those renowned warriors.

If Lian Da had known the extent of her martial arts, he would never have dared to provoke her earlier without his personal guards.

In today's battle, she would stun everyone with a single feat, wiping out this cunning Liang army to display the strength of the Helian clan both to the Grand Marshal and before all the tribes.

Turning her horse around, she brought her blade down in a heavy strike.

"Clang!"

The sensation of the blade sinking into flesh never arrived; Xue Chengqian had managed to narrowly block the blow she believed would be fatal.

"Northern Barbarian thief, prepare to die!"

Feeling the immense force vibrating through the hilt of his saber, Xue Chengqian felt no fear in his heart. Seizing the moment she retracted her blade, he launched an immediate counter-attack!