Chapter Twelve: A Lone Pillar Supporting the Sky, Moving Mountains and Shifting Peaks

The chaos in their rear ranks filled Lu Guang, the Captain of the Archery Troops, with deep resentment.

He had been cautious, even when holding all the advantages—he had kept an entire battalion behind him as a safeguard. Yet that useless Xue Lu, leading a battalion, couldn’t even hold off a single rider and horse. They had their formation shattered and the enemy had broken through into their rear lines.

After all, it was just one man and one horse!

Even if that man were invincible, if you can’t defeat him, can’t you at least kill the horse? Do archers simply eat for free? Didn’t they know to shoot the horse first?

Still, Lu Guang didn’t dare underestimate the threat.

Putting everything else aside, if the enemy was truly that fierce, could they afford to be penetrated from behind? Spears, pikes, and shields could restrain cavalry, but only if the attackers came from the front. Coming from behind, spearmen were nothing but lambs to the slaughter, and shield bearers were hardly better.

“Prepare the repeating crossbows. I want to see who dares to charge our lines alone on horseback! Chu Quan, be extra vigilant.” Lu Guang ordered his adjutant to guard the front lines. Then, brandishing his sword, he spurred his horse and turned back, determined to stabilize the rear before the situation spiraled out of control.

Though he was hosting a feast at the front, he was fully armored.

He hadn’t foolishly worn civilian clothes to the front, inviting guests while facing a formidable enemy—in such a decisive moment, if he were to be felled by a stray arrow just because he wanted to show off, that would be a tragic waste.

Lu Wu, on the other hand, didn’t go on a rampage. He swung his long halberd, killing only a few dozen men before breaking through the rear line and charging toward the front of the Archery Battalion.

“Who dares to charge—” Lu Guang, mounted on a yellow horse, blocked Lu Wu’s path, about to roar in anger.

But Lu Wu’s warhorse did not stop. He lowered his halberd, deflecting two crossbow bolts aimed at his black steed, then, propelled by the momentum of Black God’s charge, thrust upward with the halberd.

Lu Guang didn’t finish his sentence before the enemy was right in front of him. He hastily crossed his broadsword to block, but the force of that thrust was unimaginably heavy—as if a giant pillar was propping up the sky. His thirty-pound heavy broadsword felt like an ant trying to shake a tree. Without even a chance to absorb the impact, he was violently shoved aside.

Wide-eyed, Lu Guang watched as the halberd pierced through his finely crafted steel breastplate, lifting him off the ground.

The “Eighteen Slashes of the Overlapping Mountains”—the killing move known as “Pillar Holding up the Sky”!

This seemingly ordinary thrust was actually a perfect fusion of the mounted combat techniques “Man and Horse as One” and “Lifting the Light as Heavy.” It channeled the momentum of both man and horse into the halberd’s tip. It could not only lift a man but could even toss a war chariot aside!

After casually killing an armored soldier, Lu Wu paid no mind, flicked his halberd, and flung the corpse aside.

Black God let out a long neigh, charging deeper into the formation. On these few steps, Lu Wu’s halberd had slashed two more times, killing three or four crossbowmen—trifling matters that deserved no notice.

Among the first battalion of the Water Long Regiment, squad leader Kong Ming was one of the fiercest warriors under Captain Lin Ji.

Unlike the native soldiers of Songjing, these men were rough veterans from the borderlands, hardened by countless battles. They had been brought to Songjing by their leader Lin Ji for some comfort. Since their leader demanded they fight with all they had, they were ready to do just that.

Lin Ji was a man of loyalty. Even his wounded and retired soldiers were well taken care of, leaving no worries behind for his brothers-in-arms—just for this, Kong Ming was willing to lay down his life for him.

The image of Qing Niang from the Hundred Charms Tower flashed briefly in Kong Ming’s mind—a woman so charming that having slept with her made a man feel he had not lived in vain.

With Lin Ji looking after his two little ones at home, they would not starve.

“Charge!” Kong Ming shouted, urging his horse forward into the hail of spears.

But in the next instant, the old hen suddenly turned into a duck.

Boom—

The wall of shields and pikes in front of him shattered into splintered wood, mingled with flying severed limbs and heads. A black-armored rider wearing a golden crown wielded a long halberd and rode an unusually tall black horse, bursting through the flying debris, trampling toward him.

“In—” Kong Ming only had time to curse before closing his eyes to await death.

The change had come too suddenly. His spear was still on the other side of his horse’s head, and he had no time to swing it around to defend.

But death did not come.

Kong Ming suddenly felt as if he was flying on clouds, then landing. His warhorse neighed nervously and staggered a few steps but did not fall.

After a moment, Kong Ming realized he was still astride his horse.

He had been thrown—man and horse together.

Collecting himself, he looked around. Not far away, Old Zhang, who had been charging alongside him, had fallen three meters away, looking dazed and shaken.

Between him and Old Zhang, and the cavalry behind, there was a neat path two or three meters wide. At the end of this path, the golden-crowned black-armored rider called out, “Uncle Lin, Third Sister and Father sent me to support you.”

The tone sounded rather intimate with Lin Ji.

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Watching Lu Wu greet him with high spirits, Lin Ji was somewhat stunned.

When he saw Lu Guang’s formation falter and the captain himself turn back, Lin Ji decisively ordered Kong Ming to lead a force to break through.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with this.

But just as Kong Ming approached the formation, the enemy’s shield and spear line suddenly collapsed, and an unexpected guest burst out.

Kong Ming thought he was doomed—when two mounted forces collide head-on, who would hold back?

Yet the golden-crowned knight was truly a master of martial arts. With a mere flick of his halberd, he sent two riders and their horses flying sideways.

The “Eighteen Slashes of the Overlapping Mountains”—the practiced move of gentle power: “Shifting Mountains and Turning Peaks!”

That was not all. The golden-crowned knight pressed forward, swinging his halberd left and right, knocking countless riders and horses aside, carving a path straight through the charging cavalry—heading directly for Lin Ji.

Lin Ji tightened his grip on the wolf-tooth club in his hand.

Although the enemy had broken through the Archery Battalion’s lines but spared his men, the fierce charge still unsettled Lin Ji.

Mainly because the enemy was too strong. Even with his personal guards nearby, he could not withstand a single strike from the opponent.

That massive halberd was clearly immense in weight. It was one thing to knock a man flying; knocking both rider and horse away was terrifying.

And to do so without injuring either horse or rider—such a halberd technique, strength, and martial skill were unheard of. At least, Lin Ji, unlearned and unversed, had never heard of such a thing.

Moreover, it had sent not just one, but multiple riders and horses flying.

Nervous and anxious, Lin Ji’s unease grew as the golden-crowned knight approached, immediately addressing him as “Uncle Lin.”

“You are—Lu Wu?” Lin Ji hesitated.

The sun had already set, with only a faint afterglow barely illuminating the ground.

In such dim light, Lin Ji could just make out the golden-crowned rider—not least because Lu Wu had called him “Uncle Lin” first. Otherwise, he would never have dared to confirm that the formidable warrior before him was none other than Lu Jia’s youngest son, the infamous Lu Wu, the young playboy of the Lu family.

“Yes, Uncle Lin. Where’s brother-in-law Lin Zhong? I don’t want my Third Sister to become a widow so young. Oh, and Aunt Lin Yin is with me too, so don’t worry about her.”