knife

Chapter 584 Tail Docking
Li Xiu is thirty-six years old this year.

Among the Five Tigers Broken Gate Knife Mountain Sect, he is also one of the top rising stars.

With a cultivation level of the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, he is second only to Deputy Commander Kang Zhen in the Tiger Legion.

This time, Kang Cheng led several thousand elite troops to Yangcheng, while several thousand others remained in the Huangpi area to mislead enemy spies. The remaining 15,000 troops, led by Li Xiu, were transported by the navy and bypassed the enemy's rear.

Yang Lixin and Xiao Zhongren thought they had bypassed He Yiming's group, but they were wrong.

Cao Hui's series of actions with the White Tiger Brigade over this period of time, including the continuous harassment last night, were all intended to distract Yang Lixin. When Yang Lixin and his men focused their attention on the White Tiger Brigade and the scouts kept chasing the main force of the White Tiger Brigade, they naturally relaxed their vigilance in other areas.

Therefore, when Li Xiu and his group suddenly appeared, it brought Yang Lixin and Xiao Zhongren an extreme shock.

Actually, Li Xiu herself is quite shocked now.

Because the White Tiger Brigade joined them.

This elite Tiger Army has no cavalry.

According to the battle plan, after landing, the White Tiger Brigade would be assigned to them for combat.

While on the ship, Li Xiu was quite worried about the combat effectiveness of this cavalry force.

Ultimately, he didn't really trust He Yiming and his makeshift team.

When Li Xiu saw the White Tiger Brigade early this morning, he was truly shocked.

There were actually several individuals with martial arts cultivation levels of Xuan Yuan Rank 8 or higher.

Moreover, Li Xiu, who had also experienced bloody battles, immediately sensed the special aura emanating from these guys.

After a brief conversation, Li Xiu guessed their origins.

This group of people are not the battlefield novices like He Yiming and his team.

They are killing gods from beyond the Great Wall.

Even though they are both cavalry, those from outside the pass are stronger than those from inside.

This isn't about regional discrimination; it's because they were born and raised on horseback, and the horseback is their home.

This is similar to how southern sailors live on their boats and rely on the water for a living; each has their own strengths.

With this group of men to deal with Yang Lixin's cavalry from the north, Li Xiu felt that the outcome of the battle was basically a foregone conclusion.

The war drums of attack thundered, and the Tiger Warriors, in triangular formations, pressed forward with heavy steps.

The brave wins when we meet on a narrow road.

Yang Lixin has no way out.

As the bugle sounded, his cavalry took the lead and charged into the Tiger Warriors' square formation. Behind the cavalry, his five thousand infantrymen formed a solid square formation and followed closely.

Yang Lixin dared not divide his troops into several square formations like the other side had done.

The Tiger Warriors were Chu's most elite and secret weapon, consisting entirely of heavy infantry. Yang Lixin only had about three thousand such heavy infantrymen under his command, and they were all still following Yang Lixin under the central banner.

He could only hope that his cavalry could defeat the enemy cavalry and then disrupt the enemy heavy infantry's formation, allowing his own infantry to push forward in the chaos.

That might give them a sliver of hope of winning.

At this moment, Yang Lixin felt an even greater hatred for his former bandit comrades who had been wiped out by the enemy in the past few days.

If three thousand cavalrymen could hold the line at this moment, their chances of victory would increase significantly.

Now, Yang Lixin feels that the hope of victory is too slim.

We currently have 20,000 men left, including over 3,000 logistics and supply personnel, a little over 3,000 cavalry, 3,000 heavy infantry, and 10,000 light infantry. Light infantry refers to those without armor.

If everyone is light infantry, it doesn't matter, but if they encounter a fully armored heavy infantry like the Tiger Legion, then they're in big trouble.

Imagine what it would be like if you slashed someone and they were completely unharmed, but someone slashed you and blood gushed out.

Organizing such heavy infantry in the north would be quite difficult, as marching, logistics, and transportation would all be major problems.

But this is the South, and the situation is quite different.

Because the state of Chu had ships.

The extensive waterway network ensured that these heavy infantrymen could be deployed to the designated battlefield at any time.

On the contrary, cavalry is unlikely to play a significant role here.

Because of the numerous waterways that fragmented the land, the cavalry's advantage was greatly diminished.

While his mind was still preoccupied with the cavalry, the two sides' cavalry had already collided heavily in front of him.

With just a collision, Yang Lixin groaned in pain.

He now understood why his bandits had died so easily.

Despite having a numerical advantage, their cavalry were easily cut down by the enemy after engaging in battle.

"How far are we from He Yiming?" Yang Lixin turned to ask the soldier beside him.

"General, it's about a two-day journey!" the guard said.

"Pass on my orders: fight and retreat, retreat back to the main camp. Logistics and supplies must be re-established immediately. If you don't want to die, then hurry up!" Yang Lixin roared.

The foundation of the camp from this morning is still there, the trenches dug yesterday are still there, and the stakes driven in are still there. If we retreat now, we can rely on these constructed positions to hold our ground. At the same time, we hope that He Yiming will come to our rescue. The two-day journey is not far. He Yiming comes from the Canal Gang and has plenty of boats and skilled sailors.

Yang Lixin felt that he could not possibly defeat the Tiger Army in front of him on his own.

Drawing his sword, Yang Lixin led three thousand heavy infantry forward slowly, while more than ten thousand light infantry began to retreat towards the main camp. Fortunately, it was not far, less than three miles away.

The cavalrymen began to flee into the distance, pursued relentlessly by the Chu cavalry, and the two sides quickly moved away from the central battlefield.

The first heavy infantry formation of the Tiger Legion crashed into Yang Lixin's large infantry formation of 5,000 men.

The large square formation was knocked into a hole, but thanks to its thickness, it still withstood the enemy's attack.

The problem is that this formation only has five hundred people.

From the flank and rear, another square formation crashed in. The light infantry between the two square formations were like being sandwiched between two millstones. As the two millstones turned, the things in the middle were ground into dust.

Xiao Zhongren gritted his teeth and endured it.

Each thrust of his spear would lift an enemy heavy infantryman into the air, then slam him down into the steel jungle ahead.

His personal guards desperately shielded him from attacks from both sides. As they fell one by one, Xiao Zhongren had no choice but to retreat a few steps. He knew very well that if he were caught in the formation, even if he was a ninth-rank martial artist, let alone a mere eighth-rank martial artist, he would be riddled with countless spears.

How could this be?
It was supposed to be a straightforward battle, so why is it not going as expected?

The Tiger Legion's morale hasn't wavered at all!

They could only fight and retreat.

In Yong'an County, in front of a huge sand table, Li Dachui smiled and planted several small red flags around a blue flag, saying, "Taking down Yang Lixin's army and blocking the enemy's retreat is called 'cutting off the tail.' Then, we'll head south and annihilate Feng Kuan's army beneath Yangcheng, which is called 'penetrating the heart'!"

(End of this chapter)