Chapter 109: Sorcery

“Form up! Form up! Form up!” the leader of the horsemen urged repeatedly, and at last, the cavalry managed to regroup. Though their formation was hardly tight—merely a loose line.

Just as the leader was about to give the order, one horseman suddenly called out, “Leader! Leader!”

“What is it?”

“Shouldn’t we send word to the chieftain? We’ve spotted the enemy here.”

The leader sneered, “Why would I send a message? I’m the leader, you’re just a soldier. If you run to notify the chieftain now, it only shows your incompetence. Once we take down these men, we’ll claim the glory ourselves!”

The horseman fell silent. The little commander on Cloud-Stepper horse shouted again, “Charge!”

“Hold!” “Charge!” The horsemen pressed forward once more, driving their mounts harder this time. The effect was clear: many horses had welts and blood on their haunches, yet when they reached the front lines, the steeds stubbornly refused to advance any further.

“Fall back! Fall back!”

Suddenly, a horseman shouted. On looking, everyone saw that the rider’s command was too forceful, and the horse, unable to avoid the spear in time, was impaled through the neck artery by a long spear. A cry of agony rang out as the horse collapsed, falling diagonally backward.

This fall caused a cascade: several spears and a few horsemen were knocked down, some rolling off the steep slope. Several spears were pinned to the ground, and both sides’ lines developed gaps simultaneously.

“Break through! Break through!”

“Hold the line! Hold the line! Reinforce the rear!”

Both leaders shouted in unison. This was now a test of the soldiers’ combat skill. If the enemy cavalry could exploit the gap and break through, Xu Wenshan’s spear formation would collapse entirely. Conversely, if Xu’s spearmen couldn’t seal the breach in time, the cavalry’s breakthrough was inevitable.

Yet the cavalry was defeated by sheer mass. In such close quarters, bristling with spear tips, cavalry were less agile than infantry. The unfavorable terrain compounded this. Any horsemen trying to charge down the line were either skewered by spears or tumbled from their mounts.

In this kind of battle, once a cavalryman fell, he lost all fighting ability. Thus, the breach created by the cavalry did not shatter the formation but cost them several riders.

“Retreat! Retreat!” the cavalry leader shouted loudly, and the horsemen quickly pulled back. Xu Wenshan’s spear infantry lacked mobility and could not pursue.

After these two clashes, Xu Wenshan formed a basic judgment of the opposing commander. He saw the man as competent but lacking in talent. The cavalry leader’s competence was shown by his refusal to be greedy. Knowing his cavalry could not advance further, he wisely chose to retreat.

Cavalry’s strength depends on speed; without speed, even a spearman is superior. The cavalry before him was especially lacking. The repeated retreats were prudent.

Yet this leader was so talentless that, even without having seen Xu Wenshan’s formation, a gifted commander would never recklessly charge his cavalry headlong.

---

On the other side, the cavalry leader had made a basic assessment of Xu Wenshan. From the closest point of his charge, he saw Xu’s face was expressionless. Xu’s command gave the impression of no command at all.

After arranging the spearmen into formation, the commander did nothing further. Even when the soldiers filled the gaps, it was not due to his orders; before he spoke, the troops had already patched the breach on their own.

His role was merely to urge—nothing more than prompting soldiers to perform rehearsed actions.

In other words, before this battle, he had already planned how the spear formation should be arranged and how to respond to breaches, drilling the soldiers repeatedly.

If this commander were an animal, he would be a turtle.

And the spear infantry were turtles as well.

No matter the foe, they simply retract their heads into their shells and ignore everything else.

The Cloud-Stepper horse commander looked down on his opponent with contempt. Not only did he disdain him, but he also despised him.

No spark of spirit, no commanding aura at all—yet this very formation and this leader had repelled his proud cavalry.

For many years, the Flying Horse Fortress had dominated this region solely through cavalry. No matter if the enemy were archers or infantry, a single cavalry charge would scatter them all. If not, then charge again.

But he had never encountered an enemy who held formation after a charge, never broken ranks nor fled.

He could not comprehend it.

“Go notify the chieftain,” the Cloud-Stepper said, his face darkening.

Now he swallowed his pride and planned to bring in the main force.

“What do we do meanwhile?” a soldier asked.

“Dismount,” Cloud-Stepper said, “Let the horses rest.”

“What if the enemy charges again?”

Cloud-Stepper rolled his eyes, “Then mount up again!”

On the hill, the veteran Lei the Tiger also asked, “They’ve dismounted—what do we do?”

“Raise the spears, sit still,” Xu Wenshan replied.

---

“What if they suddenly charge again?”

“Then pick up the spears once more!”

Thus, both sides, bitter enemies locked in mortal conflict, surprisingly sat down together comfortably on the hill. The mood was relaxed and easy.

But beneath this ease lay a shared awkwardness: neither side could leave, neither could move.

Both forces lingered in this uneasy standoff.

…

At the Black Wind Camp, the fire had been burning for some time and showed no signs of waning. The arson materials painstakingly gathered by the bandits had played a crucial role.

Yiluyun was nearly breaking down: he never imagined this expedition to Windstone Village would end like this.

Then came even worse news: one of his bandits cautiously reported, “Chieftain, the leader of Copper Forest Camp has led a hundred men to attack Windstone Village.”

“What the hell now? Who cares about that crap at a time like this!” Yiluyun nearly lost it.

His followers were down to fewer than twenty. Those sent to scout never returned; they might have fled in the chaos. He had no idea how the fire started, whether it was set by others, or if the enemy had been spotted.

Just as he neared collapse, a battered survivor staggered in and declared, “Chieftain, it’s witchcraft—the enemy used witchcraft to burn our camp!”

“What witchcraft? Which enemy?” Yiluyun was frantic, clutching at this wounded man’s words like a lifeline.

But after speaking, the injured man seemed to exhale a final breath and died immediately.

“Is there anyone else? Who can tell me what really happened?” Yiluyun roared.

Another bandit said, “He told me the enemy used witchcraft to set our camp on fire, just by raising their hands.”