The First Company warriors swiftly dismounted, pulling their horses to the side to block the arrows of the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment. At the same time, they returned fire with their own Consolidated Bows. Although they could not bear to sacrifice their warhorses like that, this was a battlefield, not a training exercise, and some sacrifices had to be made. The most important thing was to protect their own lives while taking down the enemy.
Seeing that the enemy had actually dismounted to retaliate, Campora was overjoyed. The enemy only numbered around five hundred, and previously it was only the advantage of their bows and arrows that had caused such a toll on his own forces.Now, let’s see where else you can run to!
The Unicorn Cavalry troops were extremely battle hardened and experienced, but they had never experienced such losses like today. Before Campora even gave the order, the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment swiftly formed an encirclement around the Peerless Battalion, quickly surrounding them, while still firing back all the time. Once the Peerless Battalion had been fully surrounded, the Unicorn Regiment charged forward as one.
The powerful charge of the Unicorns coupled with the three metre long spears in their riders’ hands… if one were really struck by it directly, even an ordinary three-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master might be hardpressed to take such a blow easily. This was also the reason why Hua Feng gave the order to dismount and use the warhorses as cover. With the horses to block the first strike, the speed of the Unicorns would be affected. More importantly, once the first strike was blocked by the horses, the Peerless Battalion soldiers would have a much easier time to turn the tide.
“Conserve Heavenly Energy as much as possible.” Hua Feng shouted out loud.
He did not need to explain much further, and the Peerless Battalion soldiers instantly knew the meaning behind his words. The reason why they dared to face their enemy in close combat was because they all had the capability of flying, able to break away from battle anytime they chose. However, if they expended too much Heavenly Energy in the fight, they would no longer be able to fly, and wouldn’t that be a tragedy?
The Peerless Battalion First Main Company were all equipped with large sabres. Interestingly enough, the sabres in their hands were actually all looted from their previous battle with the Swift Wolf Regiment. Those sabres were well crafted and perfectly suited for the battlefield, almost four chi in length, with the handle taking up about one chi. It could be gripped with both hands, and the blade was wide and thick. Its edge was not particularly sharp, but due to its heaviness, striking down with it at a good position, even a horses’ head could be cut off at once. More so, these sabres were now held by a bunch of powerful Physical Jewel Masters.
Even if some of the Physical Jewel Masters were mainly Agility, Coordination or Flexibility type Physical Jewel Masters, their body had been enhanced by Heavenly Energy, and their strength and toughness were far beyond any ordinary soldiers. With their Heavenly Energy, in terms of strength and fighting power, they would not lose to these Unicorn Cavalry soldiers.
The five hundred Peerless Battalion soldiers stood in a circulation formation, just like a giant hedgehog, all their sabres facing outwards. They were grouped in duos, teaming up perfectly with each other with practiced ease. In an instant, both sides clashed and fighting ensued.
This time, not only had Zhou Weiqing brought the finest elites of the Peerless Battalion First Main Company, he had also brought along most of the powerhouse officers in the entire Battalion! All the Main Company Officers, Company Officers and their Vice officers burst forth with their greatest strength. These officers were all spread out in the entire troop, forming the steadfast pillars of the entire circular formation. With their powerful Six-Jeweled cultivation levels or higher, they could still use Heavenly Energy in their fight as long as they did not overdo it, and that would not affect their ability to fly later if necessary. There were almost forty or more officers in total, fortifying the entire formation. Adding on to the fact that there were the seven God Archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit in the center shooting with all their might, even though they had been totally surrounded by the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment, they were able to hold their own with no problems, at least for now.
After just a few moments of attacking, the entire Unicorn Cavalry Regiment flew into a rage.
Shameless, just too shameless! These humans are just too shameless! That was the only thought in the entire Unicorn Cavalry Regiment soldiers’ minds.
As both sides had started close combat fighting, the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers were all extremely confident. After all, they were used to their charge, attacks having a great effect, especially with their formidable skill with the spears. In their eyes, the enemy were all ranged specialists, and now that they had caught up, it should not take them long to wipe out this five hundred men.
Alas, when it really came to the actual fighting, only then did they realise how difficult it was to deal with these bunch. The Peerless Battalion First Main Company’s most shameless action was that they did not even bother trying to defend themselves, focusing only on offense!
By sacrificing their own warhorses to block the charge of the Unicorn Beasts and to slow them down, even when the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers used their spears to stab at them, they did not dodge. At most, they would turn their bodies slightly to prevent being hit on critical areas.
As the spears stabbed down on the titanium mail armour, all that happened was sparks flying out, and not any actual damage caused. In fact, those who actually left a mark would already be the stronger fighters amongst the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers.
Since they did not need to dodge or defend themselves, they naturally could attack at will, recklessly. You’re stabbing me? Fine, I will use my sabre to cut your Unicorn’s legs! Although the Unicorn was a low level Heavenly Beast, its defense was not comparable to the Ghost Demon Horses with their scales. If their legs were cut or damaged, what would happen? As riders fell to the ground, before they could get up, their heads would be cut off by the large sabres.
The massive sabres flew out without any care, as if they were willing to exchange life for life, without a care about defense. The thing that made the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers so angry was that the circular formation was constantly revolving like a massive meat grinder. Any time there was a tougher fight, one instant they would be facing an ordinary Peerless Battalion soldier, the next instant it would be a powerful officer level Jewel Master.
Much unlike their expectations, the situation in close combat was not much better for them than when they were fighting at ranged. For the moment, the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment was being killed at will by the circular formation, blood and meat flying everywhere as the death and injury toll rose.
It was not to say that the Peerless Battalion First Main Company were stronger in terms of combat abilities as compared to the Gold Crow and Berserk Tribes. Although they were all Physical Jewel Masters, in terms of their physique, strength, durability and even toughness, they could not compare to these two powerful tribes. However, Zhou Weiqing had after all spared no expense in gearing them up, it could be said that the entire Peerless Battalion was armed to the teeth, let alone the most elite First Main Company. They were all like walking iron fortresses which could not be easily taken down, and this sheer superiority in equipment coupled with their Physical Jewel Master advantage caused the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment to be at a large disadvantage.
Quickly, the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment started to change tactics, backing away and using their Unicorn Beasts to glide charge from a height. This way, they could bypass the warhorses blocking in the front and make full use of their cavalry advantage.
However, the shameless tactics of the Peerless Battalion showed themselves once more, causing the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment to fly into a rage again. As the Unicorn Beasts glided above the Peerless Battalion, the Peerless Battalion soldiers reacted swiftly, all crouching down at once and lifting their sabres point up. The defense of the Unicorn Beasts were decent, but not great, especially their underbellies which were unprotected. As a result, almost every Unicorn Beast which had glided above the circular formation had gotten their bellies sliced open.
Luo Ke Di stood right in the center of the circular formation together with the other Heavenly Bow Unit God Archers. They had not stopped firing arrows ever since the battle had started, taking down all the riders who had just lost their mounts but had fallen into the circular formation. At the same time, he complained out loud scoldingly: “So shameless, this is just too shameless. They are actually using the tactic ‘Targeting Bottom Sabres’. Old Scoundrel, what do you say your mind is made out of? Such a shameless tactic, how could you even think of it?”
Mu En glanced at him, his face beaming with a large smile. “What Targeting Bottom Sabres or Stabbing Breast Spears, who cares! As long as it works, it is a good tactic. What so shameless about that? Or is letting your opponent kill you less shameless? If you are willing to do so, go ahead and run forward and let them kill you! This big bro won’t stop you.”
Indeed, that ‘Targeting Bottom Sabre’ tactic was indeed thought of by Mu En. Of course, such a tactic was not just restricted for the circular formation, with many other practical uses. It was just that there was no other opportunity to use them yet.
Although the Peerless Battalion overall chief instructor for melee combat was Shangguan Fei’er, in the last few months, she had been busy helping all the soldiers Awaken their Personal Power Jewels. As such, some others had to support her and take over some of her teaching duties.
In terms of one versus one combat, Shangguan Fei’er’s techniques were definitely top notch. However, in terms of fighting on a battlefield, many useful techniques were actually the simplest ones. This ‘Targeting Bottom Sabre’ was indeed thought up by Mu En, and when he passed down this extremely simple yet effect Skill, he had told the Peerless Battalion soldiers in a very serious tone: “In this world, sometimes the more wretched or shameless a technique was, the more effective it was. As long as it could work, then it would no longer be wretched, it would be called being flexible and able to adapt, or even being experienced in combat. In the end, in a war, it was either your life or the enemies’ lives.”
What origin were these Peerless Battalion soldiers from? They were either rogues or scoundrels themselves, and this whole series of ‘Shameless Tactics’ from Mu En were extremely suited to them, and they definitely picked it up at an unparalleled speed. This current usage of the ‘Targeting Bottom Sabre’ was also born out of those teachings.
However, using this ‘Targeting Bottom Sabre’ tactic in the circular formation was at the base foundation of having the Seven God Archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit in the center of the formation supporting them all. After all, although these Unicorn Beastmen soldiers might have lost their mounts, they were still able to fight, and if they managed to get to a certain number to pincer attack with their comrades outside the formation, it would be extremely detrimental to the Peerless Battalion side.
At that moment, the seven God Archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit also showed their full power, showing the Peerless Battalion First Main Company soldiers their true strength for the first time.
A single sound of the bowstring, at least five arrows would shoot out at once, each finding a different target. Each and every single one of the riders who fell from their Unicorns, before they could even stand up, their lives had already fled from their eyes.
The Beastmen were also people, with their own feelings and emotions, and they treasured their mounts like their own lives. Even though the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers knew that if a large number of them glided into the center of the formation, even the seven powerful archers opposing them would not be able to take care of all of them. However, that meant it would be sacrificing all their beloved Unicorn Beast mounts!
As such, they hesitated, and soon they were once more caught up in the dogfight, entangled in fierce fighting. As the fighting progressed, more marks were left on the Peerless Battalion titanium mail armours, and on the other side, their enemies paid with their lives.
The surrounding Unicorn Cavalry soldiers numbered more than six thousand at first, but their numbers were dwindling slowly. With Campora’s orders, the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers stopped attempting to glide above to attack. Instead, they continued attacking slowly, using the length of their spears to extend their formation. Their target was to kill off all the horses blocking their path first before moving out to attack again in a constant cycle. In this way, they were finally able to hold their own with their cavalry advantage.
As this side was tangled up in a tough fight, on the other side, Zhou Weiqing was just about to show his invincible prowess.
The sabre formation of the Wolf Cavalry soldiers had indeed given Zhou Weiqing some problems. Wrapped around the handle of their sabres were thin long metal chains, and as soon as the thrown sabres fell to the ground, they were immediately pulled back to their owners. In this way, the sabre formation could be in an infinite loop.