Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 186 - 181 Cavalry Trial Cleared!

Chapter 186: Chapter 181 Cavalry Trial Cleared!

Success!

Zhao Haiping’s heart swelled with excitement. His confidence in passing the Trial Illusion had grown even more.

This was a tactic he had devised after much contemplation, and to his surprise, it had worked exceptionally well on his first attempt.

The back-thrusting spear, commonly documented in many ancient records, was also repeatedly depicted in various storytelling and literary narratives.

It had become synonymous with the dramatic finishing moves of ancient heroes.

In modern spear techniques, there was also a specific move called the "back-thrusting spear."

Zhao Haiping had once seen a movie where a master of spear techniques had used the back-thrusting spear, and it was indeed outstanding in both practicality and spectacle.

However, the back-thrusting spear in foot combat, in addition to pushing forward with the right hand, lifting with the left hand, and the spear tip flying over the shoulder, also involved a kicking and twisting action that made the force of the spear even stronger.

But if it was horseback combat, there was no way to perform the kicking and twisting action, and the body could only twist to the side-rear, which meant the killing power would be somewhat weaker.

Yet, the move of the back-thrusting spear had a special significance when mounted.

Especially in stirrup-less horse combat, it was indeed a powerful weapon.

Zhao Haiping thought of studying the technique of the back-thrusting spear because of his own experience of being knocked off his horse while lunging at an enemy general during a head-to-head cavalry charge.

As everyone knows, forces act reciprocally.

When two generals charged at each other on horseback in the era before stirrups, they could only rely on the friction of their legs gripping the horse’s flank to keep from falling off. During a fast charge, the reaction force could reach several times the weight of the warrior himself, and it was almost impossible to resist such a strong force with friction alone.

But the situation with the back-thrusting spear was different.

The context for its use was when an enemy general was in pursuit, with oneself and the enemy in a chase sequence.

Using the back-thrusting spear at this moment, one could catch the enemy general unawares, striking before they could react to the sudden thrust from the front, greatly increasing the chance of hitting the target. On the other hand, it would leverage the charging force of the enemy’s horse, significantly amplified the lethality of the spear thrust.

Once hit by this spear, the enemy general would either die or invariably be unseated from his horse.

Even more crucially, since the back-thrusting spear was a rearward attack, the reaction force from the enemy general’s horse charge would push Zhao Haiping forward.

Thus, there was virtually no risk of falling off the horse, as one could just lean forward and diffuse the force.

After the invention of stirrups, the back-thrusting spear retained only the advantage of surprise, and perhaps this was one of the reasons why it gradually became less frequent as a finishing move in later eras.

With this trump card, Zhao Haiping’s hope of breaking through the encirclement rose significantly.

He rode Chi Ji at full gallop towards the enemy’s formation while swiftly searching for weaknesses in their ranks.

The soldiers confused by the change of formation, those lacking the will to fight, or the vast gaps that appeared during the shift, all became opportunities for breakthroughs, which Chi Ji would completely tear apart at high speed.

Zhao Haiping had studied these vulnerabilities many times. Although the situation varied each time, requiring adaptation on the fly, this was no longer difficult for him.

If an enemy general tried to intercept, Zhao Haiping would act accordingly, either avoiding them to let his Deputy General deal with it or killing them with a back-thrusting spear. In any case, he would not waste too much time on these Deputy Generals.

After a mad dash, Zhao Haiping finally arrived in front of Gao Yi.

Under the command flag, Gao Yi was also mounted on a tall horse, his armor resplendent, as he directed the battle.

Seeing Zhao Haiping approach, Gao Yi’s face showed a shocked expression.

Clearly, Zhao Haiping, as the character of General Qin Kaiyun, had penetrated deep into enemy lines or, in other words, was entrapped.

Not many of his elite cavalry could keep up; many had been obstructed on the way and forced to stop and engage in combat.

At this moment, the formation led by General Qin Kaiyun was stretched out like a steel wedge, prying open a huge breach.

But once this gap closed, the recklessly advancing elite cavalry would also be surrounded and unable to break free.

"Foolishness!"

Gao Yi pointed his long spear forward, maneuvered his horse’s head, and turned towards Zhao Haiping’s charging direction.

The Deputy Generals by his side also spurred their horses, aiming to block Zhao Haiping.

At this point, Zhao Haiping had already entered a state of complete unity with his horse. He understood that speed was vital; the longer he hesitated, the higher the chance of failure.

Because the Deputy Generals would cover the General, Gao Yi would also have more time to react.

"Protect the General!"

Some Deputy Generals tried to converge, but Zhao Haiping completely ignored them, casting their weapons aside with his long spear, then continuing his sprint forward.

In his eyes right now, there was only Gao Yi.

Many weapons tried to converge on Zhao Haiping. He abruptly ducked low on his charging steed, while his long spear remained unaffected.

In that instant, everything around him seemed to freeze, the shouts of battle growing more distant, leaving only the howling wind behind.

"Hit!"

Zhao Haiping knew he had only one chance, but it was a chance he had rehearsed many times.

A strong reactive force came from his long spear, as Zhao Haiping felt the spearhead penetrate Gao Yi’s armor and thrust him down from his horse!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.