Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 228 - 193: The Demon’s Last Stand

Chapter 228: Chapter 193: The Demon’s Last Stand

Emperor Taizu of Sheng glanced at Zhao Haiping, revealing a "the child is teachable" expression.

After a bout of chaotic fighting, the formations of both sides had become very loose.

And the players had no way to continue the pursuit; the distance between them gradually increased as both began to regroup.

Emperor Taizu slightly pulled the reins, causing his warhorse to slow down just a bit to recover some stamina.

"These barbarians do have impressive combat strength.

"Is this the power after being possessed by demons?

"No matter, let’s go another round.

"Form up!

"Young men, this time you charge on your own, I want to see how much you’ve learned!"

As Emperor Taizu spoke, he turned his gaze towards the players.

Zhao Haiping immediately volunteered, "I’ll do it!"

With that said, he promptly spurred his horse and charged towards the Northern Barbarian cavalry again.

And naturally, the other players were not to be outdone.

Obviously, according to Emperor Taizu’s intentions, if it were ordinary cavalry with poor tactical literacy and average morale, a pursuit like the one just now would have been enough to scatter the entire enemy army.

After all, a charge at the enemy’s weak point would inevitably throw their formation into utter chaos, coupled with the hacking and slashing and the enemy falling from their horses, the chain reactions would deliver a huge blow to morale, and a collapse of formation would be highly probable.

But after all, this was cavalry controlled by demons.

These Northern Barbarian cavalry, despite their heavy losses under the players’ charge, fought fiercely without fear of death and would not collapse because of it.

Hence, after creating some distance, they were able to rally the remnants and reform their formation.

This meant that the players had to engage in repetitive battles to have a chance of annihilating all the cavalry.

Emperor Taizu had already demonstrated once with the players; this time, he let the players do it on their own.

During this process, the players’ understanding of cavalry tactics also rapidly improved.

Many players couldn’t help but remark on how smooth the learning curve of "Dark Sand" was!

In the instance of the Cavalry Trial, players learned the basic use of cavalry, which was to seek weaknesses in the enemy formation through nimble mobility and take advantage of the horses’ power to break through instantly, killing key enemies.

Although this pure talent-based selection method had picked out a group of top-notch riders, the various details of cavalry combat still had to be learned slowly.

The Cavalry Trial was already difficult; it couldn’t possibly add all these additional contents.

But now, Emperor Taizu had become an excellent teacher for the players.

When it comes to the military capabilities of various emperors, the one from the Liang Dynasty was the first among the ancients, while Emperor Taizu of Sheng ranked second.

Of course, both were contemporaries who had defeated all their enemies far and wide, and this ranking was mainly based on their performances in overwhelming their opponents.

Considering that the two dynasties were separated by hundreds of years and with the evolution of tactics, Emperor Taizu fought against the peak period of nomadic cavalry, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was the best teacher for the players in terms of cavalry tactics.

The more the fundamentals mattered, the more important it was to have a great teacher.

So, when the players started to delve deeper into cavalry tactics, arranging for Emperor Taizu to teach was perfectly appropriate.

The players couldn’t help but admire the thoughtful design of the game "Dark Sand".

Of course, what the players didn’t know was that this wasn’t arranged by Meng Yuan, but just a natural coincidence...

The clash between the two sides’ cavalry began once again.

While carefully controlling the speed of his warhorse, Zhao Haiping was estimating the distance between the two forces in his mind, looking for the optimal moment to maneuver to the right front.

But just then, he frowned, sensing that something was off.

The Northern Barbarian cavalry hadn’t charged straightforwardly as before but had instead slowed down a bit and showed some intention to veer to the left.

Zhao Haiping’s mind whirled, instantly realizing the serious consequences that could result from blindly copying the previous answer.

If the players’ cavalry were to veer to the right front as they had before, while the Northern Barbarian cavalry veered to the left front, then the two sides would naturally come closer, brushing past each other.

The players’ left hand would face the Northern Barbarian cavalry’s right hand.

This was clearly an utterly unacceptable situation, and the players would be chopped up helplessly like the Northern Barbarian cavalry before.

Realizing this, Zhao Haiping made a quick decision and gestured to the left, notifying other players in the chat channel.

Many players following behind were somewhat baffled.

Weren’t we supposed to go right? Why the left now?

But being at the back of the formation, they were not privy to the specifics and could only choose to follow orders.

"Charge!"

Zhao Haiping pointed his spear forward and shouted loudly.

At the same time, he squeezed his legs against his horse’s sides, suddenly accelerating.

The players behind him were a bit confused, as every step here wasn’t following what Emperor Taizu had demonstrated before.

On the other hand, Emperor Taizu laughed heartily and was the first to follow suit.

The other players no longer hesitated, speeding up their horses as well, following close behind.

The players’ warhorses had a clearly improved speed compared to the Northern Barbarian cavalry.

At this moment, the demon controlling the Northern Barbarian Cavalry seemed somewhat perplexed.

It had prepared itself for when the players would turn right; it would then have the Northern Barbarians turn left, ensuring a head-on collision.

Unexpectedly, the players didn’t turn but instead veered to the left front and accelerated to bite into the middle section of the Northern Barbarian Cavalry!

But now it was too late for the vanguard of the Northern Barbarians to turn or accelerate; whether it was completing a circular maneuver to bite into the player’s rear or matching the players’ speed, both required time.

Before that could happen, the cavalry of both sides had already begun their second round of collision!

Zhao Haiping chose to attack the central right side of the enemy cavalry. With the increased speed, the players had a much more powerful impact.

Although both sides collided right flank to right flank, with means to attack each other, the players had the advantage with a better formation, attacking from the enemy’s middle to the rear, effectively creating a situation where they were outnumbered.

Soon, another round of confrontation ended.

This time, the casualties were significantly higher than before, with hundreds of players falling behind and returning to the resurrection point.

But the damage inflicted by the players on the Northern Barbarian Cavalry was greater, with nearly three thousand heavy cavalrymen killed after two charges.

If this were a conventional troop during the cold-weapon era, they might have fled by now, but under the control of the demon, the Northern Barbarian Cavalry was regrouping.

Moreover, the demon continued to gather more heavy cavalrymen.

This meant that the players would have to charge and kill repeatedly for many rounds before they could completely eliminate the Northern Barbarians.

A nomadic tribe leader once said that a cavalry that couldn’t fight a hundred rounds wasn’t considered elite. Although this was slightly exaggerated, it emphasized that real elite clashes were drawn-out battles, where the first to falter would lose.

Emperor Taizu of Sheng laughed heartily, "Young man, well done!

"It seems you’ve begun to understand the tactics of cavalry.

"On the battlefield, things change in the blink of an eye, and sticking to the same old ways is the greatest taboo; like the soldiers have no constant formation, water has no constant shape, especially when using cavalry, one must clearly recognize this!

"Ensuring one’s side is always in an advantageous position during an engagement is compulsory homework for a cavalry commander!"

Clearly, in-the-moment decisions couldn’t be taught; they had to be experienced and understood.

Emperor Taizu glanced at Fan Cun, "You reckless boy, you try next! Next time, you’ll lead the front!"

Fan Cun was fearless: "No problem!"

But other players were somewhat panicked, "Your Majesty, he’s just a brute. What if he leads us into a head-on charge?"

Emperor Taizu laughed again, "Don’t worry, I’ll have your backs. Just charge! Even if we’re at a disadvantage, we can turn it around!"

Fan Cun defiantly glanced at the player who doubted him, "Who says I’m just a brute! Isn’t it just about leading a charge to a good position? I can do it too!"

After all, these players had passed the Cavalry Trial.

In the Cavalry Trial, they learned to spot the weaknesses in the enemy’s formation, so strictly speaking, there were no true brutes among them since such people couldn’t possibly have passed the trial.

Although Fan Cun’s first reaction to a problem was always to charge recklessly, it didn’t mean that was all he was capable of.

While he wasn’t as cunning and adaptable as Zhao Haiping, he still possessed the necessary basic judgment.

Soon, the players regrouped and clashed with the Northern Barbarian Cavalry again!

...

Meanwhile, the battle in the infantry formation was about to heat up.

The demon no longer used heavy cavalry to charge directly at the players’ formation; instead, the battle became more a contest of ranged combat.

The Northern Barbarians, as before, drew an arc in front of their formation, focusing on attacking the four corners of the formation with a barrage of arrows, trying to break through and collapse the players’ formation.

The players, in turn, retaliated with their own ranged attacks, using bows, muskets, and cannons. Those targeted by dense arrow fire raised their rattan shields in defense, and if one was shot down, another quickly took their place.

Of course, both players and Northern Barbarian Cavalry were constantly lobbing projectiles, aiming beyond the frontline enemies to attack the middle and rear ranks of the formation.

Although the players also suffered casualties, they had the support of muskets and cannons, and their infantry bows had a greater draw weight and range than cavalry bows, so overall they maintained the upper hand.

And so, the battle intensified.

Since both sides had employed nearly optimal tactics, the deciding factor for victory was no longer tactics, but something else.

With no other choice, the players could only continuously draw their bows, load their ammunition, and counterattack. Even during the brief respite between cavalry charges, there was no rest; they had to immediately organize their formation and plug any gaps.

General Deng’s expression was also visibly complex, evidently unused to such a fierce battle.

It was rare, even in the history of cold-weapon warfare, for both sides to suffer heavy casualties without anyone thinking of fleeing...

"How long will the demon’s attack... continue?" General Deng asked Chu Ge.

Clearly, he lacked experience with these demons.

He just felt that if this continued, it would be too exhausting.

Chu Ge replied, "It should be soon.

"As soon as the demons realize that their casualties on the battlefield are far greater than those of the players, they will gradually concentrate their Demonic Qi to mount an offense.

"At that point, with the demons’ power exposed, the Order Restorers can deliver the fatal blow.

"Looking at the current situation, the demons probably have no more tricks up their sleeve."

General Deng shook his head slightly, "I’m afraid that’s not the case. Judging from the previous two scenarios, this demon is not an ordinary one; there might still be some variables."

As predicted, no sooner had General Deng finished speaking than it became apparent that the cavalry, which had been continuously charging the military lines, started to retreat!

While the casualties suffered by these cavalrymen during the attacks had diminished compared to before, if the attrition continued, the inevitable loser would still be the demon, no question about it.

But unexpectedly, the demon didn’t persist in a futile struggle but instead abandoned the player-constructed military formation and had all the troops surround the cavalry forces led by Emperor Taizu and Zhao Haiping!