Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 223 - 190 Cavalry Charge_2

Chapter 223: Chapter 190 Cavalry Charge_2

"But since he was brimming with confidence, he might as well wait and see."

...

At the same time, amidst the military formations, Meng Yuan stood with General Deng, watching the approaching Northern Barbarian army.

"You say, you’ve already clashed with the Northern Barbarian army several times? How did it go?" General Deng asked.

Meng Yuan gave a slight smile, "It’s been a mixed bag of outcomes, but overall, we’ve secured a slight victory."

General Deng nodded, "That’s very good."

Meng Yuan felt regretful, as it seemed the general had not detected the modesty in his words.

However, upon reflection, he thought it was best not to put on airs with such outdated pretenses, especially with a great battle looming. What if they were to lose?

General Deng glanced in the direction where Emperor Taizu of Sheng was located, "That one there is the current Emperor Taizu..."

"Truly an extraordinary presence. Compared to... uh, never mind."

Clearly, upon seeing Emperor Taizu, he couldn’t help but think of his own emperor.

Although it was not exactly polite to say it, it was quite apparent that he was puzzled by how there could be such a vast difference between people of the same lineage.

Meng Yuan swiftly changed the subject, "General Deng, is it really feasible to counter cavalry with infantry?"

General Deng nodded, "Feasible, of course, it is feasible, but it requires quite a few conditions.

"The tactics of soldiers are as changeable as the shape of water. Everyone knows cavalry have many advantages over infantry, but warfare is not just a contest of brute strength. Often, what decides victory or defeat on the battlefield are factors beyond the battlefield itself.

"Daily training, logistics, morale... and the like.

"Some infantrymen with barely any clothes to cover themselves and only armed with bamboo spears, and others in heavy armor wielding strong bows—both are called infantry; some wrapped in sheepskin coats riding lean horses, and others fully clad in iron armor—both are called cavalry.

"Different conditions dictate that one cannot make sweeping generalizations.

"The same elite infantry under the command of some mediocre generals in the Qi Dynasty could only be used like iron lumps thrown on the ground to be beaten, yet in the hands of the great generals under Taizu, they could turn the tables and chase the cavalry around... naturally, one cannot generalize."

Meng Yuan asked again, "So General Deng, who do you think will win, us, the Restorers, or the demonic creatures?

"The demonic creatures are also fearless and relentless, far more troublesome than your average Northern Barbarian cavalry."

General Deng was silent for a moment, "If the demonic creatures are as foolish as you say, this battle would, on the contrary, be easy. If cavalry were to actually charge directly into our infantry ranks, that would be exactly what we desire."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the Northern Barbarian cavalry’s hooves grew louder and nearer, thundering towards them.

The ground began to tremble, shaking the hearts and souls of men.

The Northern Barbarians had the numerical advantage, so they chose to encircle from three sides, like a large net, intending to fully enclose the players’ formation within.

Perhaps at first, these barbaric warriors sought to flank and find weak spots to attack, but now the players formed a square formation, like a box-shaped hedgehog, with corners specially reinforced, leaving no obvious weak points to exploit.

So they had no choice but to change their strategy on the fly, encircling and relentlessly probing for openings.

Before the Northern Barbarian cavalry completed their encirclement, Emperor Taizu of Sheng had already led a group of cavalry players, riding and whipping their horses into a gallop.

"This way, charge!"

Emperor Taizu pointed with his lance to a vulnerable spot in the Northern Barbarian cavalry ranks.

Although the barbarians were numerous, not all were well-equipped armored cavalry. A large portion of them consisted of ordinary light cavalry.

Moreover, these light cavalrymen were not necessarily quick, as, despite their light burden, their horses had comparatively weaker stamina.

But the players’ ten thousand cavalrymen were unquestionably top-notch.

While Meng Yuan had been quite stingy in setting the Cavalry Trial, making the threshold just a bit more challenging, the rewards for succeeding were naturally quite generous.

Zhao Haiping and Fan Cun, two of the top martial players, led the way.

The other cavalry players naturally followed closely behind.

Playing the role of Emperor Taizu, Zhao Haiping had thought himself to be quite rash, but only now did he truly understand the feelings of those elite cavalrymen who had been by his side at the time.

His Majesty was too impulsive, impossible to hold back!

They could only desperately spur their horses to barely keep pace and not fall behind.

With His Majesty leading the charge, who would dare to lag?

These players had all completed the Cavalry Trial; they could ride even without stirrups, let alone with them. At that moment, ten thousand riders surged with the force of thunder, crashing into the coming waves of Northern Barbarian cavalry!

As the distance between the two forces closed, the players had already raised their long lances.

A dark aura streamed from the eyes of the Northern Barbarian cavalry, for at that moment, they had little will of their own but were controlled by a higher demonic will.

These barbarian warriors, manipulated by the demonic creatures, were like natives in a slice controlled by the Restorers. They could be given simple orders, sent to charge headlong as cannon fodder without hesitation, but precise commands, such as how an individual warrior should fight, were difficult to implement.

Barbarians under demonic control knew not what fear was, which should have been a tremendous advantage.

But under certain conditions, it could also turn into a considerable disadvantage.

The two cavalry forces collided with a thunderous crash!

Compared to the vastness of the Northern Barbarian cavalry, the players’ ten thousand cavalrymen might not have seemed particularly noteworthy. Especially during the charge, as the barbarian riders formed a pocket intending to engulf the players, while the players’ cavalrymen were more like a steel awl.