Chapter 84: The Will to Conquer

“Stop!”

Gu Nan retracts her hand, and the terrifying rain of arrows stops at her command.

Yet, the hundreds of soldiers are still glaring at the cavalry at far away, bloodthirst in their eyes beaming like a horde of vicious beasts eyeing their preys.

They are no longer convicts on death rows anymore. They are already here on the battlefield, so they are determined to fight their hardest to earn whatever they can for not just themselves, but also their families that have been struggling ever since they were locked up in the prison.

They must return home with glory and wealth!

The sound of battle has stopped as the chaos gradually quiets down. The two armies stand off against each other across the field.

In great astonishment, Lü Buwei strokes his beard with trembling hand, trying his best to look indifferent while giving Gu Nan a gentle smile.

“General’s soldiers are truly valorous.”

“Mm.” Gu Nan only nods her head calmly: “They are not pulling out completely. They were only caught off guard and thus suffered heavy losses. We are short on arrows, so if they decide to flank us, it will come down to the point where we have to cross blades. When it happens, you need to watch out for yourself.

“I understand. I understand.”

In the carriage, Ying Yiren and the woman in his arms both heave a long sigh of relief after the sound finally quiets down. Yet, it all has ended so quickly that they have no idea what happened.

Panting lightly, Ying Yiren wipes sweat off his face and pats the woman’s hand: “I figure that it should be over. Let’s go outside to thank the general who protected us.”

“Yes.” The woman nods repeatedly, knowing that her life is now in the hands of the general.

So, she comes out of the carriage following Ying Yiren with the baby in her arms.

Outside lines the black armored soldiers and stands the white robed general alone side with Lü Buwei not far away.

However, for some reason, the general looks familiar to Ying Yiren.

“General.” Just as Ying Yiren is about to move forward and greet the general, Lü Buwei hurriedly waves him off. “Noble prince, you should not come outside. The battle is not over yet, so please return to the carriage in case you might get hurt.”

“Eh.” Ying Yiren hesitates for one bit. Then, after seeing the army formation stand ready for the coming battle, he realizes that he can only add to the problems on the field and hence returns to the carriage holding the hand of his mistress Zhao. (surnamed Zhao, nothing do the with the Zhao kingdom)

The commandant of the Zhao army stares at the convoy coldly.

Those are excellent crossbowmen, and should be the elites among the Qin army.

The Qin army!

Gritting out the word, he clenches his fists.

He had three brothers, all fallen in the battle of Chang Ping.

The elites of the Qin army…very good.

You will all die here!

“Hear my orders!”

One soldier hurriedly steps forward.

“Split the cavalry into two troops, each with one thousand people, and flank them from both sides. Do not engage them but only roam at a distance until they run out of arrows. No limit to arrows anymore, shoot those soldiers in black armors at will!”

“Yes.” The solider steps back.

Soon, the Zhao cavalry of two thousand horsemen form into two groups, led by the commandant and another commander respectively.

“Whole army!” The commandant raises his spear. “Forward!”

“Hoo.” The cavalry charges, driving up wind whistling by their side.

This time, they are not charging at the convoy headlong. Instead, the two troops move from its left and right toward the back of the convoy.

At the same time, many cavalrymen start shooting on horsebacks at the convoy.

Each crossbowman is equipped with no more than thirty to forty arrows. You cannot hold it long.

The commandant stares at the black armored soldiers coldly, as his cavalry speeds up.

After the split, it becomes difficult for the camp crushers of no more than three hundred to shoot at them. Moreover, their intention to deplete the army before breaking through is obvious, making the current formation useless.

Gu Nan waves her hand and gestures: “Circle formation!”

With no hesitation, the heavily armed soldiers who were in rows quickly change their formation into three layers of circles with the carriages protected at the center.

“Raise your shields!”

At the command, heavy shields from their backs stand on the ground altogether, dust stirred up into the air.

Arrows shot at the shield wall after a crispy clang falls to the ground powerlessly.

Meanwhile, soldiers in the back rows raise their shields above their heads and lays them on top of the first line of shield wall, covering the top.

In a mere moment, the seemingly fragile convoy turns into a fortress cladded in black shields.

As a result, neither a flat shot nor a lob shot can penetrate it.

You must be kidding me!

Urging his horse forward, the commandant attempts a shot. This is like a freakin turtle shell!

Whatever, turtle shell or not, let’s see if you can stop our charge.

Thinking so he waves at those behind him: “Ready your spears!”

The cavalrymen in unison put down their bows and draw out their spears.

“Charge!”

“Clop. Clop. Clop.”

The approaching sound of thousands of galloping horses’ thunders at the ears of the mere hundred, exciting these brave souls.

Spear in her hand, Gu Nan looks around her.

“Brothers, after this battle, the fame of the Camp Crushers will resound in the world!”

“The will to conquer!”

The thundering sound of the cavalry is getting closer and closer, as the three hundred soldiers drive their chi to adjust their voices at the highest level, their faces and necks all swollen and red, and roars:

“Only stops at death!”

They were on death rows, and once released, they are then thrown into deadly battles. On the day that the battalion was established, Gu Nan stood in front of them, pointing at the military camp, and demanded them to memorize the one principle.

To conquer they fight; among death they live.

The roar shakes the Zhao army up. Even the nearby Lü Buwei shivers at it.   

Suddenly, the armies collide against each other, shaking the earth.

The thousands of riders feel like they just run into a city wall.

The black iron shields remain still under impact, while some horses even break their necks as they collide.  

The broken spears are stuck in the unmovable shield walls which they can do nothing about.

Without anytime to react, many cavalrymen fall off their horses only to be trampled to death by those after them.

The charge of the cavalry has lost its momentum.

“Argh!!”

The three hundred camp crushers roar madly, draw out their swords, holding their shields, and slaughter.

Every one of them has cultivated internal energies, and also acquired complete sets of martial arts. As a result, they can burst out a total strength of almost six hundred jin (three hundred kg) combing their physical and internal energies.

The rear teams supporting the front ones, even ordinary soldiers can block a cavalry charge when formed into such shield walls, let alone them.

They are three hundred elites, each of which capable of leading a hundred-men platoon. The Zhao army is only of two thousand in number; how can they not stop them?

“In formation!” Gu Nan does not let them seize the victory and pursue the defeated enemies. Instead, she pulls them back to regroup.

Afterall, their enemies are two thousand cavalrymen, and in contrast, the camp crushers are merely three hundred in number, too few to lose any.

Eyes bloodshot, the cramp crushers glare at their enemies. All those who encounter their glares feel chills down their spines and are grateful that they have already broken contact with them. 

The cavalry of thousands does not pursue them. The commandant stays alive since the pieces of martial arts he learned saved his live, yet his face also pales after the battle.

The Camp Crushers…