After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The opponent's attack was so sudden, and the speed at which the bow was drawn was so fast. The bow itself was of unknown weight and strength. Before he could react, a silver glint had already pierced into Wang Zhuohu's brow.

A chill ran down everyone's spine, and they were terrified.

Wang Zhuohu's yellow horse galloped along with the cavalry, raising clouds of dust.

Completely unaware of what had happened to the owner on its back.

The ugly man, who hadn't even had a chance to find a wife, didn't even let out a scream before his eyes went unfocused and his fingers loosened their grip on the reins.

After bouncing a few times on horseback, my body went limp and I fell headfirst, the sound of my fall drowned out by the clatter of hooves.

"Wang Zhuohu!" someone cried out in anguish.

"King Insect! Grass!"

"Damn it! Who shot that arrow?"

"Archers? Bows or crossbows?"

"A top-notch soldier!"

The crowd looked anxious and shouted, completely bewildered as to how they had revealed their presence and why the group behind them had suddenly attacked them.

At the critical moment, someone took a shield from the side of his horse, spurred it to turn around, and roared, "I'll cover the rear!"

The word "after" was still in his throat, and the shield in his hand had not yet been raised.

"Whoosh!"

Another arrow pierced the air and struck the man squarely in the throat!

The wind whistled past my ears.

Everyone stared in astonishment, and the cursing stopped abruptly.

Feng Yu's eyes were grave. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Shields on your backs! Protective vests! Don't turn back! Don't linger! Run!"

With gritted teeth, the group bent down on their horses, took out shields covered with iron plates from the sides of their horses, and carried them on their backs.

He then placed another layer of leather armor behind the horse's rump to protect it, and leaned down onto the horse's back.

Looking back, they saw that the bodies of Wang Zhuohu and his companion had been trampled into a bloody pulp by the pursuers behind them, filling everyone with both anger and grief.

"Bang!"

Under the moonlight, another arrow was shot out, hitting the shield on Huang's wife's back!

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she gritted her teeth and roared, "Master, should I cover their retreat?"

Feng Yu, riding ahead, hurriedly said, "No, they outnumber us! Let's run!"

Xu Tianji and Shen Shou, who were ahead, were also caught off guard by this situation.

Xu Tianji shouted, "Everyone, the Right Protector has made arrangements. If we run forward, we'll be able to get out of this predicament!"

Shen Shou and Feng Yu didn't know if Xu Tianji was trying to comfort people, but they had to say it at this point, so they loudly echoed him.

With everyone's hearts united, the cavalry formation did not fall into disarray.

The place where everyone was riding horses was on the path by the river.

The sound of hooves echoed past.

The leaves are falling softly.

Li Dahei gripped the horse's back tightly with his legs, gritted his teeth, drew his bow again, his eyes flashed, and he released the string with his right hand, sending the arrow flying towards a horse galloping ahead!

"Bang!"

The arrow was flung off by the leather armor swaying behind the horse, weakening its force. Although it pierced the armor, it couldn't penetrate it. His eyes were serious, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

The arrow failed to hit its mark, but the guards of the Tang Prince's Palace and several members of the Imperial Guards were alarmed.

Just a moment ago, Jinbao, in the arms of the Imperial Guard, suddenly raised his head, sniffed, and barked loudly.

They hadn't realized what was happening yet.

Li Dahei and the pockmarked boy named Erlai then grabbed the reins.

Li Dahei shouted "Lai Zi," lifted the twelve-year-old child on horseback, and threw him to Li Erlai, who immediately caught him.

As the horse circled around.

Li Dahei took out his bow and arrow, and with one shot, he killed a man instantly! Everyone who saw this was shocked.

Jinbao's cries grew louder and louder.

In their shock, they looked ahead and saw that although one person was dead, the group ahead continued to run forward furtively.

Under the moonlight, they could even see a person lying across the horse at the front, and they knew that the cavalry at the front was most likely thieves!

If the officers and soldiers of the Great Liang encountered such a situation, they would either question loudly, fire whistling arrows, or send out reinforcements. There was no reason for them to run away blindly.

"Our horses aren't as fast as theirs!"

On the constantly jolting horseback, Er Lai said anxiously.

A sharp-eyed member of the Imperial Guard replied, "Their horses are from the north!"

Everyone felt a sense of urgency. The other side's horses were all tall and magnificent, while their horses were of varying quality.

Just moments ago, the two sides were less than thirty feet apart, but after running for a mile, the distance has now widened to forty or fifty feet, and Dahei's bow and arrows can hardly catch up with the enemy's horses anymore.

Fallen leaves fluttered in the air, and dust obscured the view.

The group urged their horses on relentlessly, keeping a close and persistent pursuit.

Before long, the thieves ahead suddenly turned and ran towards the riverbank.

They quickly pulled on the reins and turned.

Erlai narrowed his eyes. In the moonlight ahead, a large mountain resembled a reclining ox, and the great river flowed around it.

Looking ahead, I saw the group of thieves running towards the riverbank.

They must be planning to bypass this mountain by going around the river.

He called out, "Xing-ge'er, hurry up and calculate, if we go hiking..."

"Disaster!"

Li Xing peeked out from his side, the violent jolting on the horse making his stomach churn. He understood Er Lai's meaning; they planned to take a shortcut over the mountain. Gritting his teeth in the wind, he said:

"That mountain ahead is called... Ox-Lying Mountain... Crossing it might get us ahead of them, it's faster than going around it... But they're too fast... We can't catch up..."

Upon hearing this, Erlai could only sigh anxiously and urge his horse on.

Big Black gritted his teeth, watching the galloping horse caravan ahead.

He took out a small bag from the cloth bag on the side of the white horse. Inside the bag was the gunpowder that his elder brother had asked him to prepare, but it didn't contain any lead or iron filings. He only intended to use it to launch the command arrow.

He opened a tinderbox, put it in his mouth, and watched the sparks fly in the night. As he rode his horse, he tied a small bag to an arrow.

Although the arrows could still reach the cavalry ahead, they were too far away and the force was pitifully weak.

An arrow was just shot, but it didn't even pierce the leather armor on the horse's rump; it just touched it and fell off.

He drew his bow and arrow, and used the tinder he held in his mouth to light the fuse protruding from the small package.

The fuse burns rapidly.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow pierced the air and flew away.

After flying straight up for eight or nine zhang, it exploded in the sky with a "bang," illuminating a patch of red light.

Such gunpowder is not very powerful, but it is excellent for making command arrows. Now we can only hope that the patrolling soldiers along the river or the brave guards searching the mountains and villages in this area will see this scene and come quickly to surround the enemy.

Li Xing's eyes lit up when he saw this.

He hurriedly shouted, "Big Black Brother, shoot the horse..."

Big Black, chewing on a firecracker, turned around and saw Li Xing's excited face, but he was stunned.

Although the arrow was ignited, the weight of the arrow after it was strapped to a small pouch made it completely unable to reach the cavalry ahead. Moreover, the fire was of little use; it couldn't ignite the bandits' shields or the leather armor on their horses' hindquarters.

Li Xing's voice came from the wind: "Hoof...shoot the horse's hoof..."

Big Black suddenly turned around and immediately understood what Li Xing meant. His eyes sharpened, and he cursed himself for being too rigid!

He took out another small bag, pulled the fuse out a little from the bag, and drew the bow and arrow again.

An arrow pierces the sky.

They marched straight towards the cavalry ahead!

"Bang!"

The fuse exploded in mid-air!

Although the arrow did not penetrate the cavalry, and was still a zhang away from the end of the cavalry, the explosion in the air startled the horses in front!

The chirping "xi-lu-lu" never stopped!