Chapter 36: Fierce Battle!

  Gongsun Zan's rear formation, An Meng held the Goose Feather Saber, staring at the battlefield and asked Guo Liang beside him: "Big brother will win this battle, I believe in him. He will be safe and sound, right?"

  Li Jing gazed at the two armies of five thousand people approaching each other, and Gong Sun Ce's figure became increasingly insignificant. She seemed to see Guo Liang's future, being unremarkable among the ten thousand soldiers, fighting desperately for a way out. She tightly hugged Guo Liang's arm, half leaning against him, looking up at him with her head raised, afraid of losing him.

  "Although Big Brother's martial arts have not fully matured, there are few people who can defeat him in a one-on-one fight now, and even fewer will be able to do so in the future. Moreover, Big Brother has Gao Shun protecting him, as well as a group of elite soldiers. Those enemy troops are simply providing experience for Public Sun Big Brother, I estimate that this battle will end within an hour." Guo Liang furrowed his brow and gazed at the battlefield, where the enemy's formation was tight and not as easy to deal with as he had said.

  Chu Mengmeng fanned herself with a folding fan, sat on the top of the baggage cart, and observed the battlefield with binoculars. After hearing Guo Liang's words, she also agreed, her tone relaxed: "The enemy's gun array looks strong, but when encountering Gong Sun General's troops, it can only be rolled white!"

  "Will they be wiped out? The gun array was suppressed by the bow and crossbow, and it's certain that they will be wiped out. Moreover, their guns are not as long as the spears of the soldiers under Gong Sun's command!" An Meng knew what Chu Mengmeng meant by her words. "Lunbai" was a gaming term often seen on the Three Kingdoms Total War forum. Everyone understood what "lun" referred to. "Bai" meant raising a white flag, a complete collapse!

  "Yes, the single gun array has great power, but its actual combat effectiveness is not strong." Chu Mengmeng saw that An Meng could understand her terminology and felt a great increase in goodwill. So several people took turns using binoculars to observe the battlefield situation and discussed with each other.

  When facing the enemy army still 400 meters away, Gongsun Zan ordered: "Form an array!"

  The soldiers formed a line, constantly adjusting their formation structure. Five rows of halberdiers stood in a line, with dense shadows of halberds, extremely intimidating.

  "Wind! Wind! Great wind!!" Fu Bing stood like a pine, his momentum like fire, shouting loudly. This shout shook the clouds and An Meng, who was behind him, had stars in his eyes as he looked at Gong Sun Zan's right wing.

  Chu Mengmeng clenched her fists excitedly, her voice rising: "This is the true God State Tiger Guard! Great Qin, mighty and valiant!"

  "Bow, three rounds!" Gong Sun Ce shouted loudly, raising the Qinglong spear and pointing at the enemy's central army. Du Yuanzheng and others received the order, led the Du family's heavenly soldiers to quickly pass through the passage left by the halberd soldiers, without aiming, they galloped to within 100 meters of the enemy's gun array, drew their bows and shot, retreating while shooting. At the same time, Gong Sun Ce deployed crossbowmen between the right wing and the central army, still facing the enemy's left wing, which was also the three-segmented enemy army on Gong Sun Ce's right wing.

  At one time, bows and crossbows were fired together, with arrows falling like rain. Du's heavenly soldiers had 200 bows, shooting extremely fast, with each person shooting out three or four arrows in half a minute. The enemy's central army was hit by arrows, with the dead turning to dust, and the survivors struggling and wailing. Gong Sun Ce took a quick glance, roughly estimating that Du Yuanzheng's attack had reduced the enemy's central army by about 200 men.

  Ben Zhen Ge Bing will fill the gap in the array, Du Yuan Zheng led the Du Shi Tian Bing to hold his breath and shoot continuously, galloping towards the left wing of Ben Zhen. At the same time, he also launched a chaotic shooting at the enemy army along the way. Although the archery skills of Du Shi Tian Bing are sparse, they can't withstand the opponent's gunners standing in a neat formation, and there is still some gain.

  Although there were 200 crossbowmen, they only had 100 sets of five-linked light crossbows. Five hundred crossbow arrows shot out in a flat trajectory, although some deviated or flew off target, the results were extremely significant. As long as they hit their mark, each crossbow arrow could at least severely injure two or three enemies. The enemy army in front of Gong Sun Zan was like fish scales that had been brushed by iron, with the front row of soldiers scattered and sparse, while those who were shot flew backwards, crashing into the rear ranks and causing chaos.

  "If there were two hundred symbol riders, they could have broken through the enemy's formation just now!" Gong Sun Ce saw that the enemy's formation in front of him was busy and replenished again, and he couldn't help but feel a little regret. He now has only one hundred symbol riders, nearly half of whom are officers, although their combat effectiveness is strong, but he doesn't dare to use them to charge into battle.

  "Our lord's bows and crossbows fired in unison, without a battle, the enemy has lost over 500 men, the rest are wavering. This battle is won!" Gao Shun highly praised the bow and crossbow tactics just now, his voice was steady as he opened his mouth, but his eyes were staring at the enemy general.

  "On the battlefield, everything is changing rapidly, and no one can guarantee that they will be the last to laugh." Gong Sun Ce commanded the right wing of the army, with Feng Kui bringing 200 halberdiers to form a battle array, five rows deep, with 40 men in each row. Compared to the other two arrays, it was somewhat thin. He ordered the crossbowmen to retreat and reload their arrows. Gong Sun Ce looked at the crossbowmen, full of confidence, and continued: "However, if there are no other changes in this battle, we have indeed already won!"

  "Kill!" The enemy general wore a crimson gold armor and a scarlet cloak, brandishing his sword and shouting loudly.

  At a distance of fifty meters between the two armies, all enemy riflemen raised their long guns, aiming straight forward, and charged towards the pike phalanx with reckless abandon!

  "Haha, unfortunately their guns are too short!" Gong Sun Ce sneered, looking at the enemy's mighty charge with disdain. If he used gunners, he would use his numerical superiority to slowly crush the opponent. Such a charge, as long as his own troops held out against the first wave, this battle was won!

  "Kill! Kill!!" The charging riflemen all lost their simple thinking ability, the only thought was to kill, thrusting the gun in their hand into the enemy's chest and abdomen, pulling it out and stabbing again.

  "Victory! Victory!" The soldiers shouted in unison, the first three rows of halberdiers holding their halberds and pushing forward with all their might. They stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a human wall that used horizontal halberds to hold off the charging gunners. The rear row of halberdiers struck down with long handles, and one by one, the gunners who had managed to dodge the horizontal thrusts were pierced through the head and fell dead.

  The halberdiers' counterattack was sharp, but they couldn't withstand the opponent's gunners' wave after wave of fearless charges. The entire line was like a wave, rising and falling. The more dangerous right wing where Gong Sun Ce was located had only 200 halberdiers, blocking the front gunners wasn't difficult, but the gunners on both sides were indeed hard to defend against.

  At the moment of engagement, Gongsun Zan lost command of his troops. He had no time to divide his attention and direct them, but devoted himself entirely to the fight. With a few score horsemen he rode about on the extreme right, repeatedly charging the gunners.

  At the same time, Gong Sunzeng ordered them to attack freely, with the main goal of helping Feng Jing defend. For a while, crossbow arrows rained down, launching wave after wave of attacks against the gunners, and the pressure on Feng Jing suddenly eased, standing firm before starting to wrestle with the gunners.

  Close combat cavalry and gunners were a pair of enemies in the cold weapon era, restraining each other. However, overall, the cavalry had the upper hand. Seeing the opponent's gun array scattered, Gongsun Zan kicked his horse's belly, holding his halberd high and shouting: "Follow me to kill!"

  Gongsun Zan rode at the forefront, leading his halberd-wielding cavalrymen in a charge. With both hands gripping his halberd, he charged into the formation of spearmen, dashing back and forth. The blue dragon halberd in his hand danced like an electric fan, cutting down the spearmen who stood in his way, armor and all, into pieces. No one could stop him.

  Gao Shun's martial arts skills were refined to perfection, although not as flashy as Gong Sun Zan's. Each time, he would quietly strike with the least amount of physical strength, killing each blocking soldier with a single blow. Those who blocked Gong Sun Zan's path might have been grazed by his Green Dragon Halberd and still had a chance of survival. In front of Gao Shun, however, not one person survived, all being pierced to death by his spear.

  Liu Wei fixed himself on the war horse, holding a spear in both hands and killing with great difficulty. Relying solely on his brute strength to wield the long spear, he would only seek an opportunity to strike out with one thrust after parrying the enemy's incoming spears. Watching Gong Sun Zan galloping back and forth, ignoring any sword or spear, sweeping them aside with a single swing of his halberd, very agile on horseback, the Green Dragon Halberd slashing left and right, cutting down enemies with ruthless efficiency. It was as if he had entered an uninhabited territory, and Liu Wei couldn't help but feel envious.

  Look at Gao Shun, who is also using a long spear. He completely ignores any incoming spears. One spear strikes first and kills the opponent, so the opponent's spear naturally cannot harm him. Or one spear deflects the opponent's spear, and then he takes advantage of the momentum to strike and kill the opponent. Liu Wei watches with envy, his face flushed with exhaustion.

  He had accumulated countless grievances in his heart, resenting that his strength couldn't fundamentally increase! Only one thought was left in his mind, to follow Gong Sun Ce and kill off Zhao Yun's successor! Seizing the opponent's inheritance would allow him to fundamentally attain a qualitative leap!

  "Brothers, follow me!" Left wing Du Yuanzheng saw that Gongsun Zan's right wing was in a desperate situation, locked in a fierce battle with the enemy. He feared that if anything happened to Gongsun Zan, his own clan and the lovely young girl from the neighboring household who had been relocated to Xianyang and registered as a slave under Gongsun Zan's name would be doomed.

  Two hundred of Du's heavenly soldiers took a detour to the rear of the enemy formation, galloping all the way, their horses not stopping for a moment, their bows never leaving their hands. They launched a mounted shooting attack on the enemy infantry who had turned their backs on them. Similarly, their poor mounted archery skills encountered dense rows of stationary infantry targets, producing astonishing effects. They galloped towards the right wing, and the enemy lines they passed through were thrown into chaos. This greatly alleviated the pressure on the infantry in formation.

  The troops clashed together, fighting with all their might. Du Yuanzheng's move had greatly dampened the enemy's gunners' morale, and they began to falter, stabbing at each other with their weapons, and the battle became a stalemate. Chu Mengmeng, who was observing the battlefield from the rear, wiped away the cold sweat on his face, and said in surprise: "Gunmen are indeed most afraid of being shot in the back, unfortunately Du Yuanzheng's unit has low close combat ability, otherwise they could launch a pincer attack on the enemy's central army. The enemy's central army would definitely collapse, and Cheng Shen would seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy's central army!"

  "He wants to save his brother, Gongsun. The entire Du clan has been registered under his name and have become his private slaves." Guo Liang naturally knew about the situation with Du Yuanzheng's family, who had inexplicably become Gongsun Ce's private slaves. In his eyes, Du Yuanzheng and his heavenly soldiers were superior beings above ordinary people, yet their family members were treated worse than the charioteers who drove for Gongsun Ce. Although these charioteers were nominally still Gongsun Ce's recruited soldiers...

  "He's afraid that Gong Sun will be defeated, so he has to fight desperately! The treatment of their family members can only be guaranteed by Gong Sun. If something unfortunate happens to Gong Sun, I estimate that guy will collapse." Guo Liang saw An Meng glaring at him and hastily added: "I think he's worrying unnecessarily, Gong Sun's martial arts skills are unmatched. This is just a small skirmish, let alone when we defeated 2,000 people with just 100 riders back then?"

  The ghost-faced man in a green shirt, who was holding an umbrella under the scorching sun, suddenly turned his head and stared at Guo Liang. Guo Liang also looked back at the ghost-faced man, involuntarily tightening his grip on the spear in his hand, feeling a chill run down his spine. Li Jing, who was leaning against Guo Liang's chest, had an illusion that the ghost-faced man was not looking at Guo Liang, but at her. However, the empty eye sockets of the bronze mask made it impossible to tell.

  "My sword is trembling, it wants to drink blood." The voice of the Ghost Face Green Shirt had a chill, spreading with his words. He nodded at several people, holding an umbrella in his left hand and drawing out a four-foot long sword in his right hand, strolling towards the battlefield where the two armies were entangled in combat. Although he was strolling, his speed was very fast, as if floating on the ground.

  "My lord, our vanguard has lost over thirty men, and the rest are all wounded, we can't keep fighting for long!" Gao Shun beheaded three soldiers who were charging at him with a single swing of his spear, loudly reminding Gong Sun Zan. Before he was exhausted, he didn't fear these soldiers, but he worried about Gong Sun Zan's safety. Moreover, since victory is in sight, as the commander-in-chief, there's no need to take risks and charge into the battlefield again.

  "Haha!" Gong Sun Zan brandished his spear and lifted up an enemy commander, flinging him out and knocking down a group of halberd-wielding soldiers. He turned to Gao Shun beside him with a smile and said: "The Yu Lin soldiers can fight to the death for me, but if one day I only have heavenly soldiers, without personally taking to the battlefield, who will be willing to risk their lives in boiling water and scorching fire? How can we boost morale?"

  "Let's charge again! They're about to collapse!" Gong Sun Zan pointed to a not-too-distant place, Gao Shun looked over and saw that Du Yuancheng had a unit of cavalrymen holding bows and arrows standing behind the spearmen, drawing their bows ready to shoot.

  Gao Shun was so focused on ensuring Gong Sun's safety that he didn't notice the arrival of Du Yuanjing's troops from the left flank. As expected, the enemy army was about to be defeated, and with just one round of arrow fire, Du Yuanjing thoroughly crushed the enemy forces in front of Gong Sun, causing their formation to collapse completely. From a distance, Gong Sun gave Du Yuanjing a big thumbs up, and Du Yuanjing knew he had achieved great merit!

  "You must have close combat capabilities, lead the team to pursue and kill these defeated soldiers! Remember, you can't let them regroup again! Otherwise, it will be your loss!" Gong Sun Ce rushed to Du Yuan Zheng's front line, giving urgent orders while dispatching the wounded Feng Qiang to protect the crossbowmen. The crossbowmen circled around the enemy's rear and concentrated their fire on the enemy's central army!