Chapter 288 Breakthrough in Battle

In truth, it was already too late for en own reason to turn back. A distance of a hundred li or so was only a day's journey for Cavalry.

Furthermore, en own reason was still unaware that Yangping Pass had been lost. He was urging his soldiers to march day and night, covering over thirty li in a single day.

Gao Yuan, on the other hand, cautiously slowed his pace. On the first day, from dawn until they made camp at night, they only traveled about sixty li.

Early the next morning, the Xiaoguo Army set out early and finally emerged from the mountain pass before noon, entering the vast Hanzhong Plain. At this time, en own reason was still about five li away from this location.

Arriving at the pre-designated battlefield first gave Gao Yuan ample time to set up his arrangements leisurely.

About an hour later, the seven thousand troops and over five thousand laborers led by en own reason reached the entrance of the mountain pass.

According to en own reason's expectations, the army would rest here for an hour or two, allowing the soldiers to eat their fill before entering the mountain pass.

However, he never expected that what would greet him was a thundering charge of Cavalry.

In a plain, if infantry wants to block a Cavalry charge, they absolutely need a solid formation and sufficient material preparation.

For example, anti-Cavalry spikes, caltrops, ballistas, or large shields, etc. Unfortunately, en own reason had prepared none of these.

They were originally meant to defend a city, so it was naturally impossible for them to carry supplies that would only be used in field battles.

Moreover, they were in the middle of a march. Forget about formations—many people weren't even wearing their armor, having taken it off to be carried by laborers or simply tossed onto ox-carts and horse-carriages.

Facing the sudden Cavalry attack, the unprepared Northern Liang Army had no ability to resist at all. Even though en own reason shouted until his voice was hoarse, it was to no avail; his seven thousand troops collapsed upon first contact.

Gao Yuan put on his iron face mask and followed closely behind Xia Luqi, the long spear in his hand like a swimming dragon, harvesting the lives of enemy soldiers everywhere.

He soon spotted en own reason, the one ranked seventh among the Twelve Protectors and an A-rank general.

en own reason naturally noticed Gao Yuan surrounded by the crowd as well. With the idea of capturing the leader to defeat the followers, he spurred his warhorse and raised his long spear to charge toward Gao Yuan.

Seeing someone actually coming forward to seek death, Xia Luqi revealed a cruel smile. Just as he was about to step forward to meet the challenge, he heard a loud shout from behind him.

"Bang Jie, move aside! Watch me slay this fellow!"

Recognizing Gao Yuan's voice, Xia Luqi hurriedly cleared the way and slowed his horse's pace slightly.

Gao Yuan burst out from the ranks and charged toward en own reason's position, while Xia Luqi and Zhao Meng followed closely behind to help him clear out en own reason's Personal Guards and deputy generals.

Seeing Gao Yuan take the initiative to charge, en own reason was both shocked and delighted. Shocked that Gao Yuan would take the initiative to face him, and delighted that his plan had a chance to be realized.

However, as soon as they clashed, he knew he had been careless. Gao Yuan's strength and martial arts were definitely not inferior to his own, and might even be a notch higher.

By now, the battles elsewhere had entered the final mopping-up stage. Xia Luqi and Zhao Meng led their men to circle out a large open space for Gao Yuan and en own reason to fight.

Seeing the two on the field fighting inextricably, Zhao Meng was somewhat worried. He leaned toward Xia Luqi and asked,

"Bang Jie, do you think the Lord can win?"

"The Lord will surely prevail!"

Xia Luqi's tone was resolute and certain, though he had actually long since prepared himself to step in at any moment to finish off en own reason.

All along, Gao Yuan hadn't had many opportunities to lead troops in a charge, let alone personally engage in a duel with someone.

The rare few times he did, he had used Martial Soul Experience Cards—essentially using cheats—which basically resulted in overwhelming victories like cutting through melons and vegetables.

When sparring with others, everyone always went easy on him. Opportunities to fight an evenly matched opponent like today were few and far between.

While everyone was worried to death, the corners of Gao Yuan's mouth under his mask were turned up so high they were harder to suppress than an AK's recoil. Today's fight was simply too exhilarating; many things he had tried in his usual practice were validated today.

While Gao Yuan was fighting to his heart's content, en own reason was already inwardly terrified. He never expected that the discarded 'useless' Third Young Master of the past would have grown to such a level today.

He was a veteran of the battlefield who had followed Gao Wu through northern and southern campaigns. His martial arts, while perhaps not top-tier, were certainly first-rate, and his combat experience was incredibly rich.

In his estimation, even if Gao Yuan's martial arts had improved by leaps and bounds, he would at most have reached the level of Gao Zi and Gao Chou, the lowest-ranked of the Twelve Protectors.

He never expected that Gao Yuan would fight him to a draw today, and even faintly hold the upper hand. How could he not be shocked?

Furthermore, he was nearly fifty years old, while Gao Yuan was only in his early thirties. The gap in physical stamina gradually became apparent as the battle progressed.

Moreover, as the fight continued, a system notification popped up.

"Congratulations Host, Spearmanship has increased from A- to A, Horsemanship has increased from A- to A."

"Congratulations Host, Comprehensive Evaluation has increased from A to A+."

A breakthrough in the heat of battle caused Gao Yuan's confidence to surge. His Spearmanship began to become even more fierce, attacking en own reason like a violent storm.

en own reason was suddenly beaten to the point where he only had the strength to parry and no power to strike back. He was drenched in sweat, and soon showed signs of decline.

After another ten rounds, Gao Yuan took advantage of the moment they crossed paths to quickly draw the four-edged gold-inlaid mace from his waist and strike en own reason heavily on the back.

"Ah!"

en own reason let out a miserable scream and tumbled off his horse. Although he wasn't dead, his internal organs had long been injured by that mace strike; he spat blood, his life or death uncertain.

"The Lord is mighty! The Lord is mighty!"

Seeing Gao Yuan's victory, Xia Luqi roared at the top of his lungs.

Seeing this, the soldiers also followed suit and shouted, and for a moment, the army's morale soared.

Meanwhile, Gao Yuan sat on his horse, panting heavily while looking at a brand-new system notification.

"Congratulations Host, saber technique/Mace Technique has increased from A- to A."

"Congratulations Host, the growth-type equipment Zhao Yun's bright silver spear (B) has been upgraded to Gao Chong's Tiger-Headed Gilded Spear (A)."

"Gao Chong's Tiger-Headed Gilded Spear (A): A weapon used by Ma Chao, Qin Qiong, Gao Chong, and Chang Yuchun. When used, it can increase the Host's Agility, Spearmanship, and Horsemanship by one small grade."

"So damn powerful! It can actually directly increase three attributes. This A-rank is already so incredible; I really don't know what level S-rank can reach. Today's battle was a massive gain!"

After calming his emotions slightly, Gao Yuan raised the long spear in his right hand and shouted loudly,

"Southern Yue is mighty! Southern Yue will surely prevail!"

The soldiers also roared along with him, their shouts echoing through the heavens and earth for a time.

This great battle lasted only a single morning before it was all over. en own reason was heavily injured and captured. Of the seven thousand soldiers and five thousand laborers under his command, except for over two thousand casualties, all the rest surrendered.

A day later, the County Magistrate of Nanzheng opened the city gates and surrendered. With this, all of Hanzhong was pacified.

Subsequently, Gao Yuan transferred a division from the Jiannan Circuit as the backbone to expand into two divisions, with Wu Ban remaining to garrison Hanzhong.

en own reason's life was saved after emergency treatment by the army physicians, but after his severe injuries, his body was no longer what it used to be; he could only become an ordinary person.

As for this old retainer of the Gao Family, Gao Yuan did not make things difficult for him. He arranged a house and some money for him in Chengdu so he could live out his life in peace, and promised to bring his family out to join him.

Taking Hanzhong hadn't required much effort, which allowed Gao Yuan to prepare to lead his troops further north after three days of rest. He wanted to take the Guanzhong and Chang'an in one fell swoop.

However, by this time, the news of en own reason's defeat had already reached Chang'an. In a hurry, Gao C began to deploy defensive lines while simultaneously calling for reinforcements.