Chapter Seventy-Nine: Ambushed
Thanks for the reward from friend Shunshun666!
At this time, countless enemies surged out of the valley, each holding a longbow and a crossbow. Suddenly, there was a "hum" sound, followed by the sound of bowstrings, and more than ten soldiers in front were shot by crossbow arrows and fell off their horses.
At the same time, a shout of killing came from the side wing.
On both sides of the road at Taniguchi, dense forests ambushed and burst out, and for a time all around were enemies like wolves and tigers.
These people were dressed in all sorts of motley attire, with white headscarves wrapped around each of their heads. They looked like mountain bandits. As soon as Yue Yun glanced over, he saw that there were at least a thousand or more people.
He and the soldiers under Cheng Men, although they were all seasoned veterans, suffered from being caught off guard. Moreover, their troops were deployed in a long snake-like formation, so the number of soldiers who could actually face the enemy at the front was even smaller than that of the enemy.
In the face of overwhelming enemy forces, with numerous crossbowmen at their disposal, they had not even had a chance to form up in defensive array when dozens of them were struck down by arrows and thrown into disarray.
Yue Yun lowered his body and dodged two crossbow arrows, but the war horse under him let out a mournful whinny and fell to the ground.
He didn't even have time to see where the war horse was shot, and with a fierce kick of his stirrups, he leaned sideways off the horse's back, knocking down Niu Tong who was riding alongside him, and dragged him by the hand as they both leapt off the horse.
When he fell beside a grain cart, he and Niu Tong's mounts collapsed to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows.
"Hurry! Everyone hide behind the grain carts first and avoid the enemy's sharp arrows!" Yue Yun hastily ordered.
He was now one hundred percent certain that Guan Ling had encountered an accident, but he didn't know whether she had been captured or killed.
Cheng Men rushed to Yue Yun's side in a flurry, saying: "General Yue, I don't know who these enemies are, but I can be sure they're not mountain bandits. They're well-trained, their archery skills are excellent, and the crossbows they use are standard military issue."
"General Cheng..." Just as Yue Yun Zheng was about to speak, a cold glint flashed in his eyes and he immediately pulled him down to the ground. A sharp arrow flew over, followed by a blood-curdling scream from behind them. The arrow had pierced the chest of one of their soldiers standing behind them.
At this time, several commanders under Cheng Mian also rushed over and gathered together.
"We must think of a way to leave here quickly! Fighting here is extremely disadvantageous for us!" Yue Yun forcefully calmed down the panic in his heart and carefully observed the situation before him.
Cheng Mian and Niu Tong, both seasoned veterans of many battles, naturally saw that with interceptors in front and woods on the sides, their troops, arrayed in a long snake-like formation on the main road, were completely exposed to enemy archers.
"General Yue, you take the vanguard and rearguard troops to leave this accursed place first. I'll lead a team to cut off their pursuit and hold off the enemy for you!" Cheng Min said after a moment of rapid thinking.
"What? You want me to go first? General Cheng, this won't do! If we leave, we'll leave together; if we die, we'll die together!" Yue Yun said sternly.
Cheng Men gritted his teeth and shook his head, "No! General Yue, I have been entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Commander Han to ensure your safety and the safety of the grain carts. Moreover, my men are all infantry, not skilled in cavalry battles, it's difficult for us to escape from strong enemies in this situation! But you're different, your troops are all cavalry, as long as you take advantage of the enemy's momentary lapse in archery, you can still make a desperate charge and break through..."
After a pause, he panted heavily and said: "General Yue Shao, if you can escape, go and ask for reinforcements to rescue us!"
"General Cheng! How can I possibly abandon you and escape on my own?" A glimmer of excitement flashed in Yue Yunhu's eyes, although his relationship with Cheng Min was not deep, but at this critical moment, he showed the determination of a true hero.
"General Yue, the situation is urgent now, don't be so indecisive! If we were in each other's shoes, you would make the same decision as me! Withdraw your troops! This is a good opportunity!" Cheng Min slapped Yue Yun's shoulder and shouted loudly.
Although the surroundings are now filled with the glint of swords and the sound of killing, the enemy has finished shooting the first round of crossbow arrows due to being blocked by the grain carts. In the haste, they did not have time to reload the second round of crossbow arrows, making it the perfect opportunity to escape.
"Alright! General Cheng, I'll come to rescue you immediately after I break through the encirclement!" Yue Yun knew that breaking through the encirclement first was the best choice for himself. It wouldn't be easy for the enemy to annihilate General Cheng's elite troops, who had large carts as cover, in a short period of time.
"Charge! Mount up!" Yue Yun leaned back on the grassy ground, kicked out with both legs and sent two enemy soldiers who were rushing forward flying.
The two men let out a miserable cry and were thrown apart, knocking down three more enemies who were rushing over.
"Whoosh!" Yue Yun's long spear shot out like a poisonous dragon, and another man was stabbed in the throat, splashing blood as he fell to the ground.
When he jumped up, Cheng Men also ordered several of his men to command the crossbowmen to return fire and shoot down several enemy soldiers to cover him.
Yue Yun and Niu Tong quickly mounted two empty horses whose owners had died, shouting loudly: "Soldiers of the Beiwei army! Break through!"
Having said that, he raised his long spear and thrust out several spear shadows in a row. He rode his horse to the front and galloped towards the direction of the plain outside the valley.
"Don't let Yuen Yun run away!" someone among the enemy shouted. Immediately, many bowmen shifted their target and shot at Yuen Yun.
Yue Yun heard the sound of wind behind him and immediately leaned to one side, lying flat on the horse's back. He saw arrow after arrow flying over his head from behind.
At this moment, the enemy's main attack direction also began to change, leaving only a small number of people continuing to entangle Cheng Min's infantry, and most people got on horseback and chased after Yue Yun.
Yue Yun saw that all around him were enemies, and he knew things weren't going well. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly assessed the reality of the enemy's encirclement. He loudly shouted: "Everyone follow me!"
With a silver gun in hand, a heavy shadow of guns emerged, and one horse rushed into the nearby woods.
His spear was powerful and his arm strength was astonishing. Moreover, in the forest, the enemy could hardly exert their bow and arrow skills. He charged forward, unstoppable, and knocked down many with a single spear thrust.
"Whoosh!" An enemy was pierced through the throat and, incredibly, lifted up along with his corpse, before flying off in a somersault, scaring away others who were about to pounce.
But this was only a fleeting opportunity, as the enemy's reinforcements arrived in large numbers, and countless enemies once again surged forward.
"Everyone disperse and break through! Gather at the city of Mo Zhou!" Yue Yun immediately made a decision, shouting loudly. The enemy no matter how ferocious, did not dare to chase into the city.
Yue Yun took advantage of the gap to glance at Niu Tong.
At this time, there were only six soldiers following Niu Tong, and everyone was bloody and wounded, the situation was extremely critical.
But the enemy still surged forward like a tide.
Although Niu Tong fought bravely against the enemy, he was also covered in blood all over his body, and it was unclear which of the blood came from him and which splashed from the enemy.
At this moment, Yue Yun suddenly felt a burning pain in his back. Someone had stabbed him from behind with a knife, fortunately not using much force, only cutting open a blood line on his back.
He let out a loud roar and counterattacked with his spear, piercing through the abdomen of the sneak attacker.
The hilt of the gun shook, and a curved knife came from the right side. Taking advantage of the opponent's retreat, he suddenly pulled out the bright silver gun, stabbed it obliquely, and inserted it into the chest of another enemy with a hard thrust.
The enemy saw him so brave and powerful that they did not dare to come forward for a time, allowing him to advance several feet in an instant.
"Bang!" Niu Tong stumbled forward, his war horse hit by several enemy arrows, and fell to the ground, throwing him off.
"Niu Tong shouted loudly: 'Don't mind me! Brother Yue, you run quickly!'"
He finished speaking and swung his axe, killing another enemy who was pouncing on him.
"Ah!" At this moment, one of our soldiers was also stabbed in the abdomen by two enemies at the same time, and he fell to the ground with a miserable cry, the situation was extremely critical.
Yue Yun suddenly stabbed the enemy who was about to kill Niu Tong with his left hand, then pulled Niu Tong and pulled him onto his horseback, and the two rode out of the forest together.
