211: Chapter 212 One Against Four, Slaying the Flag!

The moment the Heyang Army collided with the vanguard of the Four-City Allied Forces, it was the Four-City Allied Forces that fell into chaos first.

They had assumed that City Lord Qin Fang leading his troops back was a desperate act of being pushed to the limit.

People who are desperate have a fierce Aura.

But no matter how fierce, it should dissipate.

Yet the Heyang Army did not scatter.

Shield bearers pressed to the front, spears thrust out simultaneously from the gaps in the shields, cavalry did not rush for credit, Archers did not fire blindly, and the light of the Mage Corps pressed down on the front line layer by layer.

They were like a wedge that had been sharpened long ago, stabbing straight into the vanguard of the Four-City Allied Forces.

Bang!

The first row of the shield wall was dented backward.

Just as the long spears of the Four-City vanguard were thrust out, the heavy Heyang shields slanted upward, forcing the spearheads aside.

Swordsmen behind them drilled in through the shield gaps, slashing open the shoulder armor of the opposing soldiers.

Blood splattered.

Sha Chenghu was unstoppable, continuing to charge forward, his long saber sweeping horizontally, forcing a Maple Leaf City knight and his horse back several steps.

Before the knight could steady himself, three armor-piercing arrows from the rear of the Heyang Army had already nailed his chest simultaneously.

Bang, bang, bang.

Armor plates exploded.

The man fell from his horse, trampled into the blood and mud by the following military boots in the blink of an eye.

"Hold the line!"

A lieutenant of Maple Leaf City roared sharply.

But the moment his voice left his mouth, the firelight of the Heyang Mage Corps smashed into his side.

Boom!

A bursting fireball exploded in the crowd, and a chunk of the Maple Leaf vanguard was missing on the spot.

City Lord Qin Fang rode on his horse, his sword tip not wavering.

His gaze remained fixed on the vanguard of Maple Leaf City.

In the vanguard of the Four-City Allied Forces, the Maple Leaf army was pressed the furthest forward.

They wanted to seize the first credit.

And precisely because they pressed too urgently, a gap briefly appeared between their Formation and the Nanchang army beside them.

City Lord Qin Fang raised his hand.

"Old Sha!"

Sha Chenghu smashed open the shield bearer in front of him with his saber and roared without looking back: "Here!"

City Lord Qin Fang pointed with his sword tip.

"Cut the flag!!"

Sha Chenghu's eyes lit up instantly.

"Order received!"

The next moment, the Heyang front line shifted sharply to the right.

It was a very sudden shift.

But the Formation did not fall into chaos.

The front row of shield bearers cut across, long spears suppressed the enemy troops chasing from both sides, and the Mage Corps dumped their last two rounds of slowing Spells onto the Nanchang army Formation, forcibly slowing the pace of their support.

It was exactly this half-beat.

Sha Chenghu led the Assault Battalion and crashed into the gap in the Maple Leaf vanguard.

The Maple Leaf City flag guards reacted immediately, and a dozen large shields pressed up simultaneously.

Sha Chenghu did not go around.

The blood-colored Qi on his shoulders exploded, and he himself, like a giant rock thrown by a catapult, crashed into the center of the shield wall.

Boom!

The first shield caved in on the spot.

The second shield was knocked flying sideways.

The third shield bearer dragged two furrows in the muddy ground with his feet, his chest armor emitting a crackling sound of being unable to bear the weight.

Sha Chenghu stepped onto the shield surface, used the leverage to leap up, and slashed his long saber fiercely at the Maple Leaf vanguard's great flag.

The flag-protecting lieutenant's complexion changed abruptly.

"Stop him!"

Three knights lunged at the same time.

City Lord Qin Fang's personal guards had already arrived nearby.

A heavy shield blocked the first cavalry spear.

A Heyang swordsman took the second spear with his shoulder, his body leaning backward from the impact, but he held onto the spear shaft tightly without letting go.

The third knight circled around from the side, the spear tip aiming straight for Sha Chenghu's back.

City Lord Qin Fang's sword thrust out from the side.

The sword edge shaved along the spear shaft.

That cavalry spear broke into two pieces.

Sha Chenghu, however, did not even look, holding his saber and slashing horizontally!

Crack!

The Maple Leaf vanguard's great flag snapped in the middle.

The yellow Maple Leaf flag surface, wrapped in blood and mud, slammed heavily into the army Formation.

In that instant, the Maple Leaf vanguard seemed to have had a bone removed from its middle.

"The flag is down!"

"The Maple Leaf flag is down!"

"The Heyang Army has cut the Maple Leaf great flag!"

The shouts exploded from the center of the battlefield.

First, it was the Heyang Army roaring.

Immediately after, some in the Four-City Allied Forces could not help but look back.

Many soldiers' faces changed on the spot.

They were clearly the Four-City Allied Forces.

They clearly had the absolute advantage in numbers.

Yet, not long after the battle began, they had actually been the first to have a vanguard great flag cut by the Heyang Army!

City Lord Fengye stood on the chariot, his face terrifyingly pale.

His fingers gripped the chariot railing tightly, his knuckles turning white bit by bit.

The Lord of Qinghe City turned his head abruptly.

The Lord of Nanchang City also sank his face.

Even City Lord Liefeng had a moment of gloom in his eyes.

The Heyang Army was not here to drag out time.

This slash from City Lord Qin Fang could truly bite someone to death.

"Press up!"

City Lord Fengye's voice was almost out of tune.

"Press them to death for me!"

The Lord of Qinghe City also said coldly: "Left and right armies, wrap around, don't let them continue to chisel inside!"

The Lord of Nanchang City raised his hand to mobilize the cavalry.

In the Four-City army Formation, several orders were issued at once.

But the more orders there were, the more chaotic the vanguard became.

The Maple Leaf army was anxious to replace the flag.

The Qinghe army wanted to outflank from the left.

The Nanchang cavalry had just wanted to accelerate when they were blocked by the retreating Maple Leaf remnants in front.

City Lord Liefeng looked at the chaos and suddenly gave a low shout.

"Enough."

The voice was not too loud.

But the area around the few chariots immediately quieted down.

City Lord Fengye looked at him with red eyes.

"Brother Liefeng, you are still waiting?"

City Lord Liefeng did not look at him, only staring at the Heyang Army that was still chiseling forward in the center of the battlefield.

"The Heyang Army is fierce, but it is only fierce in the first breath!"

His voice was very cold.

"They dare to charge, dare to die, and the Formation does not fall into chaos."

"So now we cannot compete with them for this slash or this shot."

City Lord Fengye's chest heaved violently.

City Lord Liefeng finally turned his head.

"But the number of people is there."

"The fiercer they are, the faster they consume themselves."

"As long as we don't fall into chaos ourselves, steady the rhythm, shield bearers stack with shield bearers, long spears press against long spears, Archers suppress the midsection, and cavalry cut off the rear Formation."

His gaze swept over the three of them: Qinghe, Nanchang, and Maple Leaf.

"This blade will sooner or later be clamped to death by us in the Formation!"

"So, do not be chaotic!"

After a few sentences, the Lord of Qinghe City calmed down first.

The Lord of Nanchang City also slowly pressed down on the token in his hand.

City Lord Fengye stared fixedly at the fallen great flag, the muscles on his face twitched, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

Only then did City Lord Liefeng raise his hand.

"Pass the order."

"Each army is not allowed to rush for credit."

"The Maple Leaf vanguard retreats and reorganizes."

"The Qinghe shield bearers take the second line, the Nanchang long spears press the middle section."

"The Liefeng Archers, do not hit the scattered soldiers, only stare at the personal guards around City Lord Qin Fang."

He paused for a breath, his voice pressing even lower.

"Cavalry, flank around and cut the waist!"

The sound of the horn rang out again quickly.

The chaos of the Four-City Allied Forces was suppressed bit by bit.

The soldiers who had just been rushing up began to retreat, fill positions, and rearrange the shield Formation.

The front shield wall was pushed up layer by layer.

Long spears extended from the shield gaps, like an iron forest slowly closing in.

The Archers no longer fired blindly, but suppressed the midsection of the Heyang Army and the position of City Lord Qin Fang's personal guards.

The cavalry on both sides circled around from the edge of the barren slope, like two iron pliers, cutting toward the waist of the Heyang Army.

The momentum of the Heyang Army finally slowed down by a notch.

The first row was blocked.

The second row squeezed up.

Before the third row had time to fill the position, arrows from both sides had already pressed onto their shoulders.

People fell.

The people behind stepped on their blood and moved forward.

Someone had just raised their shield when the surface was blown to pieces by Spells, and their entire arm hung down.

The comrade beside them didn't say a word, took their shield, and continued to press forward.

City Lord Qin Fang's warhorse slipped in the blood and mud.

He immediately dismounted, pointing his sword tip forward.

"Infantry combat!!"

The personal guards dismounted immediately.

Sha Chenghu also jumped down.

He took a look at the shield Formation that was becoming thicker and thicker in front, and laughed loudly.

"A bunch of rats!"

City Lord Qin Fang, however, did not laugh.

In his eyes, City Lord Liefeng was indeed not easy to deal with.

Having had a section of the vanguard trapped by a trap earlier, he could still use the retreating soldiers to counter-encircle.

Now that the Maple Leaf great flag had been cut, the morale of the Four-City Allied Forces was about to collapse, and yet he could suppress his anger in the shortest time and re-tighten the rhythm that had been messed up in each city.

The Four Cities dared to go to Flower City, indeed not just relying on a breath of greed.

Besides this, they should still have things in their hands.

Perhaps it was elite troops that hadn't moved yet.

Perhaps it was an external force that hadn't appeared yet.

Perhaps there was something else.

City Lord Qin Fang didn't know what that was, and he didn't know where it would come from.

If he couldn't see clearly, he could only thin out the layer in front of him first.

He had learned about the battle between Banhe City and the Four-City Allied Forces through scouts.

But if he wanted to achieve strategic goals, he could not imitate that kind of guerrilla warfare.

Banhe City could use it.

It was because Banhe City was weak, small, and far away.

The Banhe City army could fire a shot and leave, and The Four Cities might not be willing to spend too much time on them.

But Heyang City was different.

The friendship between Heyang City and Flower City was far beyond what Banhe City could compare to.

At least from his, City Lord Qin Fang's, and his Heyang City's perspective, that was how it was seen.

Hongdao Array, trade routes, military equipment, medicinal materials, spirit rice, nodes.

During this period, the two cities had interacted too deeply, so deeply that City Lord Qin Fang already knew very clearly the current situation of Flower City.

The garrison left behind in Flower City was certainly not weak.

Flower City had a benevolent master, and even more, capable people.

With the current garrison strength of Flower City, dealing with the Four-City Allied Forces alone, they might not necessarily fail to hold.

But the people of the Ten Cities had just moved in.

The elderly, children, the sick and wounded, the shed areas, Medical Tents, grain lines, household registration, professional registration, all were pressing on Flower City.

If the Four-City Allied Forces were only these four cities, Flower City could mostly handle it.

But since they dared to act at this time, it was highly probable that they would not only have the cards seen on the surface.

Therefore, he had no luck in his heart.

What he had to do was to make The Four Cities, even if they had a backup plan, lose a breath of energy here first.

Use the blood of the Heyang Army to exchange for Flower City suffering one less layer of pressure.

Even if it was just one layer.

It was worth it.

...

Behind the mountain ridge in the distance.

A scout wearing a gray cloak pressed his body low.

He saw the Maple Leaf great flag fall.

He also saw the Four-City Allied Forces re-gather from the initial chaos, like a large net, starting to clamp the Heyang Army inch by inch.

The wind scraped over the mountain ridge, bringing faint shouts of killing.

The young scout beside him had a somewhat pale complexion.

"Captain, it's the Heyang Army."

The small captain did not speak immediately.

His gaze lingered on the Heyang flag in the blood in the center of the battlefield.

A moment later, he reached out and pressed the communication talisman at his waist.

The young scout whispered: "Report back to the City Lord's Mansion first?"

The small captain shook his head.

"Waiting for the return order, it's too late."

He took out a small token engraved with the Flower City pattern.

On the back of the token, there was only a very short line of text:

If friendly forces are in danger, act according to the situation, report after the fact.

The small captain put the token back into his chest armor.

"According to the City Lord's Mansion contingency plan."

His voice was very low.

"Action!"

...

In the center of the battlefield, the encirclement of the Four-City Allied Forces was tightening.

The Heyang Army had already cut the Maple Leaf great flag and hurt the Four-City vanguard.

But after City Lord Liefeng stabilized the situation, the gap in numbers began to press down bit by bit.

Every step forward, the Heyang Army had to pay more blood.

The cavalry on both sides completed the first round of flanking.

The midsection of the Heyang Army was hit, and the Formation was visibly dented.

"City Lord!"

Sha Chenghu suddenly shouted.

City Lord Qin Fang regained his focus.

The shield Formation in front had already pressed close.

City Lord Qin Fang raised his hand.

"Third column, to the left."

"Mage Corps, stare at the Qinghe shield Formation."

"Old Sha."

Sha Chenghu stood straight, leaning on his saber.

"Here!"

City Lord Qin Fang looked toward the center army direction of The Four Cities.

"Continue to chisel."

The blood on Sha Chenghu's face had not yet dried, but upon hearing this, he laughed.

"Obey!"

The Heyang Army pressed forward again.

This time, they did not stare at any great flag.

City Lord Qin Fang's sword tip pointed directly at the center army of The Four Cities.

City Lord Liefeng stood on the chariot at a high place, his gaze fixed on the very front of the Heyang Army.

He could tell that the direction of City Lord Qin Fang's charge was clear.

The direction the Heyang Army was really biting into was not just the location where the four City Lords were, but also the command platform behind the center army, the Mage Corps command flag, and the joint Formation nodes.

Once that place was disrupted, even if the cavalry on both wings could kill through the Heyang Army, they would not be able to receive orders in a short time.

What was even more fatal was that the batch of personal guards around City Lord Qin Fang was almost entirely clearing the way for him.

An ordinary charge would not be like this.

City Lord Qin Fang was using human lives to nail a path into the center army.

Behind those warriors, the military pastors of the Heyang Army were pale, their spiritual power long since overdrawn.

Yet they still gritted their teeth, sprinkling one weak Healing Spell and Healing Spell after another onto the warriors in the front row.

A Heyang Army warrior was pierced through the abdomen by a long spear, and his footsteps staggered.

By common sense, he should have fallen.

But a Healing Spell from the rear landed on him, and he forcibly swallowed that mouthful of blood, opened his bright red mouth, roared, gripped the spear shaft with both hands, used the force of the opponent pulling the spear to lunge forward, and slashed a saber onto the neck of the enemy shield bearer!

The Lord of Qinghe City gripped the chariot railing, his knuckles turning white.

"Crazy... these people from Heyang City are all crazy!"

From the perspective of battle damage, the Heyang Army was being thinned out rapidly.

They certainly couldn't really eat up the Four-City Allied Forces.

But if City Lord Qin Fang crashed the center army command platform, cut off the nodes of the Four-City joint Formation, and then took advantage of the chaos to stab a blade near the four City Lords, this battle would greatly damage the morale of the Four-City Allied Forces.

Even if they won, it would be an indelible shame.

City Lord Liefeng stared at the personal guards falling one after another in front of City Lord Qin Fang, his teeth slowly clenching.

"Pass the order!"

He raised his hand abruptly, his voice urgent and cold.

"Left wing, Third Army, Fourth Army, immediately return to defend the center army!"

"Mage Corps, protect the command platform!"

"Summoning Corps, block the front of the joint Formation nodes!"

The Lord of Qinghe City reacted and immediately shouted: "Qinghe Guard Battalion, lean to the center!"

The Lord of Nanchang City also ordered in a deep voice: "Center army flag retreats thirty paces, shield bearers fill in."

City Lord Fengye's face turned pale.

"Don't let City Lord Qin Fang continue to approach!"

For a moment, the Formation of the Four-City Allied Forces, which had originally attempted to encircle, was forced to shrink.

A large number of troops were pulled back from the flanks and rear, squeezing toward the center army direction again.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Earth Mage Corps of The Four Cities chanted Spells in unison, raising three thick and heavy rock barriers in front of the center army Formation.

Immediately after, the light of the Formation flickered.

The Summoners crushed the spirit cores, and a large number of thick-skinned Rock-Armored Turtles and Thorn Wild Boars were summoned, lying densely in front of the Formation to act as meat shields.

Layers of troops and magical defenses quickly protected the four City Lords inside.