As nearly a hundred elite Qi Family Army swordsmen charged in three waves, slaying many Jurchen cavalrymen, Shen Lian and Ding Xiu were locked in a fierce battle with Zhao Jing Zhong!
After Ding Xiu chopped off Zhao Jing Zhong's firelock and sent him tumbling from his horse, Zhao Jing Zhong immediately rolled to the ground, drawing an iron spear from his saddle!
This iron spear was about eight feet long, jet black, and its shaft was coated with silver.
Zhao Jing Zhong, spear in hand, took a stride towards Shen Lian,
then unleashed the iron spear like a venomous snake, instantly reaching Shen Lian, aimed straight at his throat!
Shen Lian parried the spear tip with a diagonal strike, then spun his body along the shaft, closing in on Zhao Jing Zhong, and immediately delivered a swift slash.
At that moment, Zhao Jing Zhong, with both hands, simultaneously twisted in opposite directions, abruptly splitting the iron spear in two.
It turned out the iron spear was actually two spears joined together, and at critical moments, he could twist the shaft, revealing the short spearheads hidden within, splitting it into two short spears!
The short spears, like snakes, instantly thrust towards Shen Lian's chest and abdomen!
Just then, Ding Xiu, with a roar from behind, leaped onto Zhao Jing Zhong's back, his massive Imperial Guard saber crashing down towards Zhao Jing Zhong's spine.
Hearing the wind howl behind him and the roar, Zhao Jing Zhong knew Ding Xiu was attacking. He immediately rolled to the side.
A blade of light, like snow, descended, the Imperial Guard saber cleaving down where he had been moments ago!
Ding Xiu's attack missed, but he instantly twisted his wrist, sweeping the blade horizontally to the right.
Clack!
Though Zhao Jing Zhong's evasive maneuver was incredibly fast, he was still struck by Ding Xiu's blade across his chest and abdomen, adding another wound to his body!
Zhao Jing Zhong, wielding his twin spears, stared intently at Ding Xiu and Shen Lian, his feet slowly retreating.
By this time, the Qi Family Army swordsmen's three waves of charges had concluded, leaving only thirty or forty Jurchen cavalrymen remaining!
The leading Jurchen knight glanced back at the bodies of his fallen comrades, his face filled with shock and terror.
Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Jurchens had grown increasingly confident, despising the Ming Dynasty's generals and soldiers.
They treated the Ming army like cattle and horses, believing they could slaughter them at will.
But after this day's charges, they had been the ones decimated!
At this moment, the three ranks of Qi Family Army swordsmen had turned their horses, forming a new line facing the remaining Jurchen cavalrymen.
Every swordsman was clad in bloody armor, their faces marked with streaks of blood!
Many of them still had arrows embedded in their bodies.
But not a single one showed fear, not a single one uttered a groan of pain!
All of them held their weapons, their eyes fixed on the remaining Jurchen cavalrymen.
"Tiger!"
They roared in unison, a thunderous sound!
Their roar shook one injured Jurchen cavalryman so violently that he stumbled and fell from his horse!
The Jurchen cavalry leader's face also changed drastically.
He looked at Zhao Jing Zhong, retreating in the distance, then suddenly shouted:
"Kill those two Ming dogs, take that eunuch who betrayed the Khan, retreat!"
With that, he slapped his horse's flank, leading the remaining thirty or forty Jurchen cavalrymen towards Zhao Jing Zhong.
But he had only taken a few steps,
when suddenly,
Whoosh!
A sharp, piercing sound ripped through the air!
An arrow, suddenly launched from afar, instantly pierced his neck with deadly accuracy!
His eyes, filled with shock and terror, turned towards the distance.
In the distance, Chen Ran sat atop his horse, the bowstring still vibrating in his hand!
"Ming dogs?"
Chen Ran said coldly.
"Those words are not for your lips to utter?"
The other riders were all struck with fear, and they turned their horses and fled.
Their leader was dead, and more than half of their men had fallen.
Facing Chen Ran and his Qi Family Army swordsmen, these Jurchens had no courage left to fight!
"Kill them all!"
Chen Ran roared with anger, and with a "whizz, whizz, whizz" he launched three arrows in rapid succession, instantly taking down three more Jurchen cavalrymen.
And the Qi Family Army swordsmen, no longer in formation, charged after the Jurchen cavalrymen, their weapons raised.
Now, only thirty or so Jurchen cavalrymen remained, time to reap the harvest!
On the other side, Zhao Jing Zhong, seeing Chen Ran kill the Jurchen leader with a single arrow and the remaining Jurchen cavalrymen fleeing in terror, his heart sank.
With a loud roar, he hurled one of his short spears at Ding Xiu, then charged towards him with the other short spear in hand, stabbing viciously at his abdomen.
Ding Xiu, with a horizontal swing, batted away the short spear that flew like a venomous snake. But by this time, Zhao Jing Zhong was already upon him, his short spear aimed at Ding Xiu's belly with deadly intent.
Suddenly, Shen Lian burst forward, his embroidered spring-blade slashing with a vicious cut, landing heavily on Zhao Jing Zhong's right arm.
The severed arm flew through the air, leaving a bloody streak.
Before Zhao Jing Zhong could utter a scream of pain, Ding Xiu, with a twist of his wrist, swung his blade horizontally.
The Imperial Guard saber sliced through Zhao Jing Zhong's neck.
Clack!
Zhao Jing Zhong's severed hand hadn't even reached the ground before his head, accompanied by a fountain of blood, flew off, rolling like a ripe watermelon on the grass before finally coming to a stop.
Ding Xiu stepped forward, picked up Zhao Jing Zhong's head with its single braid.
By this time, the Qi Family Army swordsmen had finished mopping up the remaining enemy. Except for a handful of Jurchen cavalrymen who had escaped into the dense forest in the distance, most of them had been slain.
Ding Xiu raised Zhao Jing Zhong's head, roaring:
"We won!"
The nearly a hundred Qi Family Army swordsmen, hearing his roar, also raised their bloodstained weapons and roared in unison:
"We won!"
"We won!"
The cheers echoed through the mountains and valleys!
Shen Lian, looking at his comrades around him, at the bodies of the fallen enemies scattered across the grass, tears streamed down his face.
In the Battle of Sarhu, he had barely escaped, crawling out of the mountain of corpses!
Faced with the countless bodies of Ming soldiers, he had been shaken, filled with fear.
Even though he had been in the capital for the past few years, the shadow of the devastating defeat at Sarhu still hung over him.
Even in his dreams, he often saw that mountain of corpses!
And today, with less than a hundred men, they had charged against over a hundred Jurchen cavalrymen, and emerged victorious!
This battle had swept away years of gloom!
"We won!"
He looked at Chen Ran with tears in his eyes.
Chen Ran, seated on his horse, a smile on his face, also raised his embroidered spring-blade, joining Ding Xiu and the others in roaring:
"We won!"
Who cares if the Jurchens are tens of thousands, that they are invincible in ten thousands?
Today, less than a hundred Qi Family Army men had sent their enemies heads rolling!
Who would dare say that Ming men are inferior to barbarians!