Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 401 - 242: The Fierce Battle of the First Stage

Chapter 401: Chapter 242: The Fierce Battle of the First Stage

When Zhao Haiping returned to the saddle once more, he found that the Jin soldiers didn’t charge again.

Because they were afraid!

The expressions of hesitation and fear were clearly visible on the faces of these Jin soldiers.

It was clear that they had been frightened by Zhao Haiping’s display of force!

At that moment, neither side had actually engaged in large-scale combat yet, Zhao Haiping had simply charged into the enemy’s formation and toppled a few minor officers, and this detachment of the Jin cavalry had not really suffered any major losses.

And Wang Fang and his unit of a hundred cavalrymen hadn’t actually begun to battle with the Jin soldiers yet, they had just pressed forward.

But this, however, had put tremendous pressure on the Jin cavalry!

Following that, Wang Fang and the others witnessed an unbelievable scene.

These once unstoppable Jin cavalry actually began to retreat!

Initially, just a few Jin soldiers tried to fall back, stopped by their commanders; but soon, the remaining few officers quickly conferred and finally decided, spurring their horses to flee.

Of course, Zhao Haiping didn’t continue the pursuit, especially since he knew there was no Qi Dynasty reinforcement nearby. Charging ahead just now might seem heroic, but if they truly ran into the Jin’s follow-up troops, it would turn from showing off to being ambushed.

Thus, after a feigned pursuit, Zhao Haiping wheeled his horse around and returned to his formation.

"Brother Zhao, you... you are amazing! How did you do that?

Without a single soldier or fight, you made these Jin soldiers run away at the mere sight of our forces!"

Wang Fang was obviously still struggling to understand what had just happened.

The image of Zhao Haiping single-handedly chasing down more than two hundred Jin soldiers had made a profound impression on him.

At that moment, in the eyes of these Qi Dynasty soldiers, Zhao Haiping’s silhouette looked like a deity descending to the mortal realm.

What puzzled Wang Fang was that even if Zhao Haiping had overthrown a few Jin soldiers, it shouldn’t have dealt such a heavy blow to their morale, right?

The Jin soldiers at that time were exceedingly fierce and couldn’t have been scared off by a single enemy.

Therefore, when Wang Fang and his men charged in, they had already braced themselves for a fierce battle, just that everything had concluded much easier than they imagined.

Zhao Haiping explained, "In a narrow pass, the brave triumph.

"We worry about ambush from the Jin, but don’t they worry likewise?"

At that, Wang Fang suddenly understood.

Clearly, among the Jin soldiers Zhao Haiping had overthrown, several of them were likely low-ranking officers with some stature. These officers actually maintained basic command and operations within the entire troop.

Losing so many junior officers from the get-go would surely disrupt the Jin cavalry’s command, seriously affecting their combat strength.

Zhao Haiping took advantage of that moment to accurately locate the gaps within the cavalry, charging left and striking right, like entering an uninhabited domain.

Another important reason was that the Jin really had no knowledge of this Qi Army unit’s background.

As Zhao Haiping had assessed, this detachment of Jin soldiers wasn’t an elite vanguard of any large force, but just a small group in charge of local reconnaissance and pillaging.

Since their invasion southward, in every encounter with Qi forces, the Jin had crushed resistance effortlessly, winning one battle after another with a sweeping momentum.

Many of the so-called elite troops of the Qi Dynasty simply turned tail and ran.

This had somewhat fostered a sense of underestimation in the minds of the Jin.

But this time, Zhao Haiping’s valiant display baffled the Jin; they could not comprehend why there was such a fierce warrior among the Qi forces.

Moreover, a hundred cavalry who were initially immobile and suddenly pressed forward also inexplicably carried an oppressive air, making the Jin soldiers feel as if these cavalrymen had extreme confidence in their own general and that they might be plotting to annihilate them all at once.

In any case, Zhao Haiping’s demonstration of strong combat power made the Jin overestimate this cavalry, believing it to be the vanguard of some elite Qi Dynasty force, hence they dared not stay and chose to flee in panic.

An almost unsolvable deadlock had been broken just like that.

"Go check those Jin soldiers, if any still breathe, bring them back to the camp."

Zhao Haiping commanded his men to take one of the Jin soldiers, whose injuries weren’t too severe, and tie him onto a horse to return to Pingding County City.

...

At that moment, Meng Yuan was in the Return Order Space, observing the performance of the players.

Before him lay the status of numerous Trial Illusion scenarios, and through the capacity of the Return Order, massive amounts of information could swiftly undergo judgment and be compiled to his consciousness, allowing simultaneous grasp of most players’ situations.

In each Trial Illusion, there were four different players.

Based on the different routes chosen by the players, they were placed respectively in the capital, Cen Bridge Inn, rural villages, and within the Peace Army.

These four individuals would all assume new identities, the scholar in the capital held the highest official position, but it also meant as Imperial Censor, his freedom was limited, he either aided Li Boxi in maintaining city defenses or bickered with the other civil officials in court.

The Ranger’s objective was straightforward: to integrate the outlaws and villagers from the small villages through their strength, repel or entirely capture the Jin soldiers that came to pillage the village, and save as many people as possible.

As for the military players, their mission within the Peace Army was to complete daily scouting tasks as best they could, earn promotions, and survive the final defense battle of the Peace Army.