"A generous reward attracts brave men!" With hundreds of thousands of taels of silver offered as a reward, even though ordinary soldiers didn't know who Chu Chen was, they knew he must be the highest-ranking officer in the army ahead. If they could kill him, they would be set for life and become nobles. If they captured him alive, the rewards would be even greater!
They didn't understand the difference between a Marquis and a Hundred-Household Commander, but they knew that a million taels of silver was ten times more than a hundred thousand taels! And a hundred thousand taels would be enough for them to be wealthy landowners back home!
Everyone's eyes were bloodshot, wishing they could kill Chu Chen immediately!
Without Li Mengdie's command, her subordinate generals, also panting and clearly stimulated by the reward, led their soldiers to charge without a second word.
Chu Chen's army, which had just barely managed to regroup, seemed to have been scared witless by the bloodthirsty rebels and actually retreated repeatedly. They only mustered the courage to fight when they had nowhere left to retreat and were about to engage in close combat.
"Ah~"
"Damn it! It's a repeating crossbow!"
The soldiers who charged to the front, still caught in their excitement, fell into eternal sleep with such expressions.
Hundreds of repeating crossbows were fired. Although there were only three volleys, they killed over a hundred of the enemy, causing their entire formation to pause for a mere two breaths.
However, urged on from behind and tempted by the immense profit, they gritted their teeth and charged forward.
Reloading the repeating crossbows was troublesome, so they were discarded after firing, and the soldiers quickly picked up their nearby spears and formed a phalanx, holding them forward at a 45-degree angle.
In front of them, a troop of soldiers who had appeared at some unknown time stood guard with large shields. Their tower shields formed neat rows, creating a simple wall of steel in front of them. They were completely hidden behind the tower shields, their figures invisible.
Behind the spearmen, archers suddenly emerged, holding bows and arrows and beginning to rain down projectiles!
During the arrow volleys, countless short wooden spears were also hurled. These wooden spears had no iron heads, but at such close range, against rebels protected only by leather armor, they were still formidable attacks. If they hit a weak spot like the head, they could be fatal.
"Kill!"
When the rebels charged to within range, they swung their weapons at the tower shields in front of them, only to sadly discover that their weapons could not penetrate the defense!
And they themselves were pierced by the spears thrust through the gaps between the tower shields. Even with leather armor, being hit wouldn't necessarily be fatal, but it would be extremely painful.
As for those unlucky souls who were hit in the neck, face, or head, they immediately descended to the underworld to meet King Yama.
"Damn it, a bunch of useless fools! Let me!"
A captain, trembling with rage, roared and channeled his battle qi, bringing his saber down heavily on a tower shield with a deafening clang.
The tower shield shook violently but remained firm. The captain, who had just cursed others as useless, tragically found himself pierced by several spears.
"Damn it, even a Martial Disciple can't break this tower shield?"
A soldier, barely fending off the thrusting spears, shouted in frustration.
"Let me! Damn it, I don't believe a Martial Warrior can't break this turtle shell!"
A general, who was a Martial Warrior, stepped forward and also channeled his battle qi to strike. His power and momentum were more than ten times greater than the captain's.
This time, the tower shield finally couldn't withstand the blow. It flew off entirely, revealing the person hidden behind it.
"Excellent! Kill! Kill~ Ugh!"
The overjoyed general, forgetting to recover his balance after expending his energy and prepare for defense, met the same fate as the captain before him, being pierced by several spears, two of which lodged in his neck.
"Kill!"
Others didn't care if this man died. Seeing a breach, they desperately swung their sabers at the opening. The shield bearers in the rear couldn't reposition in time, and the rebels, using brute force, pushed through the tower shield.
They used sheer strength to force open his position, instantly tearing a large gap.
Countless soldiers followed suit, hacking at the spearmen and shield-bearers on the sides as they widened the breach.
In the central command formation, Chu Chen watched this scene with a calm demeanor, but his attendants were unable to remain composed.
Vice-Marshal Wei Lixuan asked anxiously, "Marshal, the front line has been breached. Do you require me to lead the reserves to fill the gap and maintain the line?"
"No need. Just keep watching. Have the second defensive line ready at all times!"
Chu Chen shook his head slightly, his eyes full of strategic foresight.
"This... Alas, yes, sir!"
Wei Lixuan didn't understand Chu Chen's thoughts, but as a soldier, he had to obey orders.
Chu Chen's central army indeed only had twenty thousand troops. The soldiers at the very rear were unaware of what was happening, which was why they panicked when they detected enemy forces approaching.
However, the soldiers closer to the rear had been informed of the impending enemy attack and how to respond.
The entire formation was arranged in columns of eight, with a column of tower shield bearers, followed by spearmen, then sword and shield soldiers, and finally archers.
The soldiers at the very rear who fled in panic did not cause a rout or chaos. The soldiers in the second to last row, upon reaching the third to last row, joined forces with them to form a defensive line eight hundred men wide.
There were several such lines, designed to maximize the interception and attrition of the enemy.
"It's broken through!"
Seeing the first defensive line fall under the sheer weight of numbers, Cai Guangyao rejoiced.
Li Mengdie, standing beside him, said gravely, "General Cai, you rejoice too soon. Even if Chu Chen were retreating, he wouldn't have such limited preparations."
As expected, after breaking through the first defensive line and killing over a hundred officers and soldiers, they encountered a second defensive line that was identical.
What should have been a pursuit operation had been turned into a positional defense by Chu Chen, making Li Mengdie want to curse.
"This... How can this be!"
Cai Guangyao was completely stunned, but as a general, he hadn't forgotten to command his troops to attack.
"Quick, order the left and right flanks to attack the imperial army's left and right flanks immediately!"
"Yes!"
The nearby messengers immediately accepted the order.
Soon, the rebels on the left and right flanks, who had been impatiently waiting, rejoiced and charged forward.
Chu Chen had also prepared for this. Two flanking forces of three thousand men each met them head-on, and both sides immediately engaged in combat.
Five thousand rebel troops surrounding two thousand imperial troops in the open, in the dark of night, what would happen?
Even if one side was better equipped, they were relatively inexperienced compared to these rebels who had already fought several skirmishes and seen blood.
Just as the entire formation was on the verge of collapse and unable to hold on.
Suddenly, several whistles sounded from all around, and countless flags and torches were raised, encircling the rebels.
"Bad, bad! We've fallen into an ambush!"
Li Mengdie was utterly dumbfounded.