Chapter 51: Night Raid Assassination

  Zu Zhao, Zu Ji, Han Dang and others chased all the way, and the distance between them and those riders was getting closer and closer.

  Those thieves in front must have detected the movement from behind, but unfortunately, their horses are not of equal quality, and even if they want to speed up, they can't.

  Just then, a burst of flames suddenly appeared in the far west, twinkling and getting closer.

  The bandits were shocked and frightened by the situation, knowing that there was no other help nearby. Combining this with what was happening in front of them, their subconscious thought that another government army had appeared in front of them, and they immediately turned their horses around and fled to the northeast.

  Zu Chao and others took advantage of the opportunity to speed up their horses, quickly closing the distance between them to about 100 steps. They also saw the firelight in the east, although it was as small as a bean, indicating that they were still far away, but the other party's movement speed was very fast, showing that there was another team of cavalrymen rushing towards them with torches. Judging from the rough size of the firelight, there were at least more than 20 horses and men.

  "Great Master, look quickly at the west! Who are they?" Zu Ji pointed east and shouted loudly.

  "Could it be the imperial army?" Gong Sunlong guessed and said.

  "If it were government troops, would there be just this few people?" Han Dang said.

  "Let's not worry about that for now, since they're holding lanterns, eight or nine out of ten are unlikely to be bandits. Let's catch up with those thieves first." Zu Zhao made a quick judgment and said firmly.

  Everyone had no objection, and they followed closely behind those thieves on horseback.

  Not long after the chase, a commotion suddenly came from behind the hills in the northwest direction. Continuing to move forward for a while, only to see that behind the hills, a surging black shadow slowly emerged, which was another cavalry team. Those thieves who were fleeing in front were startled, and even Zu Zhao and others were stunned for a moment, unable to react. Who would have thought that tonight would suddenly appear so many mysterious horses and men? However, not long after, the voices of the cavalry team that appeared behind the hills were heard shouting and yelling, it turned out to be the original group of Hu riders. The two sides mistakenly went in opposite directions, one from west to east and the other from east to west, circling around on the barren plain before meeting again.

  The thieves who had fled earlier saw the Hu cavalry and rushed to welcome them like a lifesaving straw.

  They had no idea that on the other side of the hills behind Hu's cavalry, a large group of Zu's knights were rushing towards them in a near-frenzied and irrational manner.

  "Ancestor's grandson, we are outnumbered, meeting them head-on may be disadvantageous." Han Da said decisively.

  Zu Zhaow carefully observed the Hu cavalry troops rushing down from the hills, finding that they frequently turned back to shoot arrows, indicating that they were being heavily pursued from behind. At this time, if we don't take advantage of the situation to launch a pincer attack, how can we defeat these Hu bandits in a short period of time?

  "There must be someone chasing from behind, let's take a deep breath and launch a fierce attack, disrupting the Huns' formation." Zu Zhao said decisively.

  Han remained silent, not because he was afraid of death, but because he worried that Zu would be too impulsive and reckless due to his youth and vigor. Unfortunately, they were both in a rush now, and it wasn't the right time for advice.

  "Gentlemen, dare you follow me in breaking through the enemy lines and killing them?" At this time, Zuozhao, in order to boost morale, loudly called out to those around him.

  Hearing these bold words, although there were less than ten people around, they were all greatly stirred and responded in unison.

  "I wish to fight alongside the great general!"

  "Don't worry about the barbarian thieves, charge!"

  For the Hu riders, their energy was all focused on dealing with the large group of people chasing behind them. When they suddenly found two cavalry teams appearing in front and back, they were not able to react quickly enough. Until they discovered that the first team of people was actually their own allies, it naturally followed that they mistakenly took the second team of people as their own stragglers. As a result, they did not pay much attention to the two teams in front and continued to focus on dealing with the large group of riders behind them.

  However, just a moment later, several Huren cavalrymen leading the way in front discovered that their approaching comrades were not slowing down and were instead shouting loudly in a chaotic manner. If these comrades did not adjust their horse speed and direction of advance, they would inevitably have to cross through the middle of the main force, which would disrupt their original formation. Moreover, if those people behind who turned back to shoot arrows failed to react, there might even be accidental collisions.

  The several hundred Hu cavalrymen gradually realized that something was amiss.

  They had just crossed a ridge and were now on a downward trend, the team couldn't turn around for a while.

  The first batch of thieves on horseback soon rushed into the Hu cavalry, and at first they felt strange. It wasn't until they passed through the Hu cavalry to the rear that they discovered that the Hu cavalry was also being pursued by others. In a hurry, they quickly pulled the reins, turned around and followed the Hu cavalry, rather than falling behind alone, it's better to be with their companions, at least when dying together.

  The entire Hun cavalry, which was originally not a reliable formation, became even more scattered after this disturbance.

  Zu Chao, Zu Ji, Han Dang and others took advantage of the opportunity to launch a fierce charge, advancing with their spears to meet the Huns' cavalry.

  The several Hu cavalrymen leading the group, upon seeing that the horsemen they had originally thought were their straggling companions were actually charging towards them with spears raised, all turned pale and began shouting in a flurry of voices. But everything was happening too quickly, and as their horses clashed head-on at full gallop, they hadn't even finished shouting out one sentence before the cold glint of spearheads came hurtling towards them.

  Zu Chong charged forward, locking onto a Huren cavalryman on the left. Before his opponent could react, he swiftly swung his lance with lightning speed and force. Although the Huren managed to raise his sword to block the attack, the powerful impact of Zu's horse combined with his explosive arm strength sent the Huren flying off his horse, only to be trampled by his own comrades from behind.

  "Bandit Hu, you're dead!" Not far away, Zu Ji shouted and his horse spear had already stabbed another Hu cavalry.

  In the entire cavalry, only the first seven or eight people in front were holding swords, while more than thirty people behind them all held bows. The saddles of the Hu people's horses were equipped with a cushion, and under the cushion was a bag, on which their long blades were placed. It was thought that along the way, it would be enough to keep a distance from the enemy and use arrows to harass them at a distance, which would be enough to exhaust these people. But unexpectedly, at this moment, another group of people suddenly appeared in front, and coincidentally, they were also on a downward slope, making it impossible to turn around even if defensive preparations had been made.

  Zu Zhaoyi's party was small in number, but like a sharp sword, they forcibly inserted themselves into the Hu cavalry's formation.

  After dealing with the first few Huns who still had the strength to counterattack, the remaining Huns holding bows were completely unable to respond to the cavalry lances. When the lances struck, the Huns instinctively used their bow arms to block, and as a result, both the bow and the person were cut down together. Wherever Zu Chao, Zu Ji, Han Dang and others passed through, it was like deadly poison, and every Hun they came into contact with fell off their horses one after another.

  As they made their way through the entire cavalry, they happened to see Zu Ke and Zu Li leading a large group of people over the hill.

  "Big Brother, it's them! I saw Zhang Wenyi!" shouted Zu Qi excitedly.

  Zu Zhao saw this scene and already knew what had just happened. He didn't hesitate, immediately pulling the reins to turn the horse's head back.

  "Keep chasing, don't let these bandits get away." he shouted loudly.

  Han Dang and Gongsun Long quickly came to an understanding, reined in their horses, turned around and continued the pursuit.

  The Hun cavalry formation was in disarray, morale was collapsing, and with those outcasts, the troops were like a plate of scattered sand.

  Zu Zhaung relied on his strong horse and quickly caught up with a thief. His spear thrust forward, its force so fierce that it pierced the man's chest. With both arms exerting strength, he let out a loud shout, raised his spear, and actually lifted the man off the ground, throwing him backwards. Fresh blood splattered everywhere.

  The other bandits, seeing this scene, were all frightened and terrified. Zu Zhao was just a young man who had not yet reached the age of twenty, but he did not expect that in his rage, he could create such a bloody and cruel act, which really made people's hearts hang in suspense.

  Just as they were chasing each other, suddenly there came the sound of people and horses from the east, which was the firelight seen earlier, and it had already approached at this moment.

  The flames drew closer and closer, enough to see the shadows of men and horses. As expected, it was another team of lightly armored cavalrymen. Most of the knights held sabers in their hands, charging towards the Hu riders and bandits. When approaching the vanguard of the Hu riders, those who originally held torches threw them down one after another, drew their swords out of their scabbards, and shouted to kill.

  "Where's the little thief escaping to!"

  "You haven't surrendered yet!"

  The Hu cavalry and the remaining bandits were all greatly shocked, having just gone through a round of clashes. They thought they could catch their breath and regroup, but in an instant, another group came charging over. The crowd gritted their teeth to fight back, with many Hu people directly dropping their bows and drawing weapons from their bags for close combat.

  Behind them, Zu Chao and Han Dang were chasing closely, sticking to the end of the Hu cavalry, catching up with several thieves one after another, all falling off their horses. The crowd was filled with killing intent, the hot and bloody smell stimulating all senses, arousing the deepest hidden beast-like murderous heart in human nature. This feeling of killing was just like drinking fine wine, making people unstoppable, making them drunk and exhilarated.