knife

Chapter 677 Gathering
The thunderous sound of hooves echoed as warhorses galloped in from afar.

On the flat wilderness, wooden stakes as thick as bowls were deeply driven into the ground, one every ten or so steps.

The cavalrymen quickly approached.

Clad in soft armor, wielding a lance, with a horse bow on one side of the saddle and a quiver and straight sword on the other.

The bugle sounded.

He saddled his gun, took his bow, nocked an arrow, and with a bang, a hail of arrows covered the wooden stakes in front of him.

With the arrow shot, he sheathed his bow, took his spear, lowered his upper body, pressed close to the horse's body, and thrust his long spear forward, causing the warhorse to suddenly accelerate.

With a muffled thud, the bayonet struck the wooden stake squarely.

The upper half of the stake was pierced with a snap, and the spear broke in half with a bang. The knight abandoned the spear and spurred his horse forward.

Hundreds of cavalrymen swept past, leaving either a hole in each wooden stake or shattering the upper half of it.

The cavalry quickly circled back with a very small turning radius.
He had already gripped the straight sword in his hand.

They once again crossed the area where the wooden stakes were located.

This time, only a short section of each wooden stake remained.

Accompanied by the bugle call, the cavalrymen who were practicing rode back to their main camp below the city. A large group of able-bodied men ran over from below the city and collected the chopped firewood. It was all high-quality firewood. These cavalrymen were skilled with their swords and chopped the firewood into pieces of similar size, which was just right for use in the stove.

Ding Ergou stood at the very front of his team, watching the cavalrymen pass by him. One of them even lifted his mask and smiled at him.

That was Cai Ming, an old acquaintance.

Ding Ergou also grinned.

He turned to look at another group of people in the distance. The person standing at the front of the group was tall and fat, and his armor was all custom-made because he couldn't fit into the standard military armor.

That's Lü You.

Whenever these people gather together, it means another major battle is about to begin.

The drums thundered atop the city wall, and Ding Ergou raised his longsword, pointing it forward.

A unified roar came from behind, carried by five hundred men.

They took a step forward in unison, making a loud thud.

Ding Ergou grew up step by step as Li Dachui's power increased.

From enlisting at sixteen to now being twenty-two, in six years, Ding Ergou has gone from a novice in martial arts to a mid-level general with a martial arts cultivation level of the seventh rank of Xuan Yuan.

His growth and expansion also witnessed the growth and expansion of the Beiting Protectorate.

A rumbling sound came from ahead. On a sloping road, countless tightly bound, huge bundles of straw were rolling down, their speed increasing, while the drumbeats grew more urgent.

"Kill!" Ding Ergou roared, slashing his long sword down heavily.

With a soft snap, a large bundle of tied straw was cut in two.

As Ding Ergou made his move, the five hundred Mo Dao soldiers behind him swung their swords in unison, slashing down repeatedly.

The movements were very mechanical.
But it was very violent.

Those seemingly soft but actually extremely difficult-to-cut thatch rolls were chopped into pieces like tofu before the array of Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword), and flew everywhere.

Before the Mo Dao, men and horses were all shattered. The rolling bundles of grass were no longer in sight. Ding Er Gou raised his Mo Dao high and then slammed it heavily into the ground. Behind him, five hundred Mo Dao soldiers stood solemnly.

Behind them, light infantry surged forward.

The team currently conducting the drills is the true core elite force of the Beiting Protectorate.
Heavy infantry broke through the enemy lines.
The Mo Dao (陌刀) soldiers followed suit.

Under normal circumstances, any force that dared to engage them in open battle should have been shattered by the onslaught of these two troops, while the light infantry and light cavalry would then begin to mop up the battlefield.

This is an upgraded version based on Li Dachui's three battalions of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Of course, the number of people is no longer the hundreds of people it used to be.

The number of heavy infantry and heavy cavalry is now as many as three thousand. These people are the regular troops of the Beiting Protectorate, a full-time force, and are completely different from ordinary soldiers.

After Ding Ergou reached the seventh rank of Xuan Yuan, he became a regular military officer.

His old comrade-in-arms, Lü You, a peak sixth-rank Xuan Yuan, could no longer make any progress in his martial arts cultivation due to his age, so he could only become a captain of the Zhechong Prefecture, commanding a group of soldiers from the underworld.

However, Lü You was experienced in battle, so he would always be called up to fight whenever there was a major battle. As a reward, the place where Lü You was stationed was naturally the richest region in Beiting.

Atop the city wall, the sound of a golden gong rang out.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The drill is over.

This is the last joint training session after everyone arrived as ordered; the next thing to do is probably to engage in combat.

With a light thud of hooves, Cai Ming rode up to Ding Ergou and said with a smile, "Ergou, long time no see!"

"Long time no see!" Ding Ergou smiled and pointed towards Lü You's side: "Fatty's here too, let's go over and talk!"

"it is good!"

Lu You found it quite difficult to put on and take off his armor, but he was absolutely unwilling to lose his fat. He had fought many fierce battles, and each time he had survived thanks to this fat!
Seeing Cai Ming and Ding Ergou arrive, Lü You greeted them with a smile, holding his helmet, and said, "Jinbao is here too. He's already booked a table at the best restaurant in town. Let's have a good drink together!"

"Jinbao is here too?" Cai Ming was somewhat surprised.

Lu You glanced at Ding Ergou and laughed, "Haven't Jinbao's business grown bigger and bigger these past two years thanks to the help of Brother Ergou and his wife? This time, he won a contract to supply military supplies. This is his first business deal with the army, so naturally he will personally escort it to ensure there are no accidents!"

"I see!" Cai Ming was also overjoyed. He also had shares in Jinbao's business, though it was insignificant compared to Lu You, Ding Ergou, and the others. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Jinbao in a long time. The last time I saw him, he was almost as big as you, Fatty!"

“You’re having too much fun in Dading now, Lao Cai. You’re not young anymore, take it easy. We’re going to the battlefield to fight for our lives!” Lu Yougui advised.

"In two more years, I can choose to retire!" Cai Ming said with a smile. "In these two years, I haven't been living a life of debauchery in Dading. Instead, I've built a ranch. Back then, horses were cheap. If it were now, I definitely couldn't afford them. If you ever want a good horse in the future, just come to me!"

"That would be great!" Ding Ergou laughed.

"Ergou, are we planning to enter the pass this time?" Cai Ming asked. "You're of a higher rank, and you have your wife, who works in the Protectorate General's office, so your information network is much better than ours!"

"It's not that they're entering the pass, it's that Boling is about to attack!" Ding Ergou said.

"What? Are they out of their minds?" Lu You and Cai Ming were both surprised.

"This battle won't be easy!" Ding Ergou whispered. "Not only are there Linghu Laozei's elite troops, but also the private armies of those powerful clans. Their fighting strength is extremely high! Otherwise, they wouldn't have called us here!"

"After this battle, will we be able to enter the pass?"

"Maybe, I don't know!" Ding Ergou looked up at the city wall, where several figures were still pointing and talking. "Anyway, just follow Protector Xiao's orders."

Everyone looked up. On the city wall, Xiao Changche was in the center, surrounded by a group of high-ranking generals including Gu Xiaoman, An Xuan, and Ma Liang.

(End of this chapter)