Beginning with the Ubume Bird - chapter 58

Chapter 58: Breakthrough (3)
Gray hooves clopped through the mud leaving deep prints. A small handful of war horses with black manes broke through the line of Nagao troops, each looking beaten with at least an arrow or two stuck in their bodies

Li Yan’s spear was stuck with flesh, and blood had seeped between the cracks in his armor. Only his eyes were still bright and flashing, like two large stars. The group was forcefully killing their way through enemy lines!

They had adopted a cone formation with Li Yan at the front. Their less severely injured members took the flanks, with Deng Tianxiong as their rearguard.

Though Deng Tianxiong had swung his Goose Feather Sword about seamlessly, he still managed to get hit with an arrow in the chest, but the arrow had not penetrated deep and his armor blocked most of the impact.

Within the group, Deng Tianxiong’s injuries were the least severe if you did not count Li Yan’s, so he naturally took up the important role of bringing up the rear.

But with Li Yan leading the attack through the enemy camp, the pressure was relieved from Deng Tianxiong, and he seemed to come to life again as the rearguard.

Their horses were no better than their enemies, and there was no way they could quickly shake them off. As time passed, more and more Japanese soldiers surrounded them, putting them into a desperate situation.

At that moment, there were three spear-wielding riders surrounding Deng Tianxiong. He held his Goose Feather Sword in his right hand, which was dripping with blood, and a broken spear in his left. He lifted his aching arms to block two of the spearheads and caught one pole spear under his armpit. The veins in his neck were bulging.

Li Yan pulled the reins and turned his horse around. He shouted at his two comrades at the flanks to guard the brothers in the middle and charge ahead. Then, he began to charge backwards!

Four riders emerged from the sea of armor and charged fearlessly towards Li Yan.

Li Yan sent his spear forward but was blocked by the spear of the rider closest to him. Without thinking, Li Yan switched his attack into a horizontal push, but his opponent was a veteran as well. He deflected the tip of Li Yan’s spear with his own and drew a dagger from the saddle of the horse, ready to stab Li Yan as he neared. At the same time, another rider reached them, raised his spear, and aimed at Li Yan’s chest.

Li Yan gave a loud laugh as he jerked his spear forcefully with his wrist. The spear bent as it slapped against the enemy’s pole. The immense force caused Li Yan’s spear to flick upwards like a snake, stabbing towards the enemy’s eyes.

The enemy’s head was slashed open, but the force of Li Yan’s spear did not stop there. The tip of the spear continued until it managed to stab the neck of the other approaching rider.

Li Yan arched his back and pulled out his long spear from the enemy’s neck. Blood splattered as he twirled his spear around three times, driving away the other two riders catching up to him. He slapped his horse and headed towards Deng Tianxiong.

The Li Family of Hejian, unparalleled in the spear and sword.

For the sword, Duelling Swords Origin Stance, Twenty-Four Forms.

For the spear, Eight Spears of Huanhou.

The Huanhou here was referring to the Man of Yan, Zhang Yide.

Countless arrows were readied at their bows, sending a crisscrossing rain of arrows into the air! Deng Tianxiong was surrounded by incoming arrows.

The glimmering arrowheads reflected in Deng Tianxiong’s eyes. He gave a loud roar and snapped the spear under his armpit with brute force. He let go of the weapons in both hands, lifted his hips off his horse, and flipped himself under its belly.

Blood splattered. The horse turned into a pincushion of arrows and collapsed to the ground with a pitiful whinny.

Deng Tianxiong grabbed his sword on the ground but the three riders had already reached him, spears ready to pierce down into his body.

A long spear whistled through the air, sweeping aside the spears that were ready to pierce through Deng Tianxiong’s chest. A horse came up to him and the rider stretched out his right hand towards Deng Tianxiong.

“Tianxiong, get on!”

Deng Tianxiong grabbed with his left hand and leapt up, right behind Li Yan.

“Sir…”

“Sit tight.”

Li Yan waved his spear, which shot out like a meandering dragon, caught the side of a Japanese soldier, and knocked him off his horse. The long spear swung around them in a large circle, forcing all of their enemies back. Li Yan leapt off the stirrups with both feet and landed on the other horse. He shouted towards Deng Tianxiong on his original horse.

“Tianxiong, just ride forward!”

Deng Tianxiong didn’t ask any dumb questions like “What about you, Sir?” Instead, he immediately swatted his horse’s behind with the side of his blade and rode. Behind him, a horde of soldiers swarmed towards Li Yan.

Li Yan took out a small clay bottle from his pocket. He leaned forward on the neck of the uneasy horse and stuffed the contents of the bottle into the horse’s mouth.

Poor Wonderblood (Forgery): When fed to a war horse, it will temporarily increase the horse’s speed and stamina. Additionally, it will negate the influence of cannon fire, higher grade mythical creatures, and Yin creatures.

The war horse shook its mane and its eyes became bloodshot. A cloud of red steam came from its mouth, and the surrounding warhorses retreated in fright. The warhorse next to it inhaled a mouthful of the red steam and fell to the ground, losing control of its bladder and bowels in fear.

“This thing is so useful?”

Li Yan waved his spear around again, slashing the throats of two bewildered riders. He then pulled on his reins to flee.

But in just a few moments time, the red steam began to dissipate and the riders of the Nagao troops were rushing towards him again.

After using the Poor Wonderblood, Li Yan’s war horse was energized. Steam rose from its nostrils into the frosty air, making it look grand.

Li Yan was ready to retreat after this quick skirmish. No longer lacking horsepower, he took a look at Deng Tianxiong who was already far away, ready to chase after him. But then, he realized that the vast troop of Nagao soldiers was suddenly being blown away, horses and men collapsing. Li Yan looked to his left. Amidst the cloud of dust, a cavalry had fought their way in!

The rider at the front had a horse with a great green mane, its head covered by an intricate scaled armor. The rider himself wore a phoenix-wing helmet with the top piece flailing high in the air. Green tiger-head arm guards protected his hands, which wielded a 1.7m great lance. The horse neighed as it charged, and wherever the lance landed, soldiers and horses were blown away.

The front of the great lance was a broad black blade nailed to a thick wooden pole with long nails.

“What a weapon!”

Li Yan’s eyes lit up.

Unexpectedly, the rider turned to see Li Yan dressed in his red armor. The rider’s eyes squinted and he turned his horse to charge straight at Li Yan!

“I’m…”

Li Yan knew he had no time to speak. He raised his arms to block. The rider’s great lance swung down, and the heavy pole of the lance covered densely with nails came crashing down on Li Yan.

Li Yan’s qi swirled in his chest. There was no time to speak when his life was at stake. His long spear tilted to the side, redirecting the black lance, which then dropped downwards. The pole of Li Yan’s spear spun in his palm, striking towards his opponent’s head.

The great lance dropped, leaving the rider no time to raise his lance in counterattack as Li Yan’s redirection gave it no momentum to ride on.

The rider cried in surprise and clenched both of his legs, arching his body backwards to avoid the pole of Li Yan’s spear. Since he was not in time to raise his great lance, he slapped his own lance backwards, raising his arm and swinging it horizontally. The other bladed half of the lance swung around, drawing a black arc towards Li Yan’s chest.

“Clang!”

The spear and the lance clashed.

“I’m on your side!”

“Impressive Hebei Great Spear skill!”

The two of them spoke at the same time, looking each other in the eye.

“…”

“Hahaha, you are truly brave, brother. Riding into the Japanese encampment with just a few riders?”

“Chengwu Battalion, Company Commander Li Yan. I am bringing my men back to the main camp for our orders.”

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“Good man.”

The two of them withdrew their weapons. Behind them, a wave of green riders stormed through the Nagao troops like a bolt of lightning. Li Yan looked over. The green riders carried long swords in their hands and a triple-barrel gonnes on their backs. Behind them were soldiers in red round hats carrying long multiple-pronged spears. To the sides were soldiers carrying hand cannons on their backs, with three men to each short-barrelled tiger cannon. Behind them, wheels turned as soldiers pushed carts carrying European swivel-guns, Chinese cannons, ancient Chinese rockets, and so on. The oppressive sight of these black weapons stretched as far as the eye could see.

The rider looked at Li Yan and asked, “Are you happy tonight, brother?”

Li Yan licked his lips and smiled back. “I’m about to kill some Japanese.”

The rider drew a sword and pointed it in the air. He shouted, “Our Commander-in-Chief has given his orders. Our great army is to reach Pyeongyang City by the tenth of January! Brothers, give me your all! Kill all of these Japanese scum and we shall feast!”