Chapter 175: Good Brother

The two of them cautiously peered out and saw a troop of cavalry charging furiously towards them. Their speed was such that they would likely reach the trench very soon.

Given the cavalry's charge, it was clear they would instantly be crushed to a pulp.

Zu An instinctively shone his flashlight at the charging cavalry, but they held up round shields to block the light. He immediately shifted the beam, aiming for their horses, but was astonished to see that the horses' eyes were bandaged!

A stream of curses flooded his mind. "Brother," he thought, "you're terracotta warriors, made of clay, where did you get cloth bandages from?"

Complaining aside, the immediate danger still needed to be dealt with.

With a thought, he grabbed his Imminent Death Dagger and, using the Sunflower Phantasm, continuously performed the 'Pick' maneuver on the ground before him, digging out one small hole after another.

He had to admit that the academy's Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordsmanship were truly ingenious. The 'Pick' form, when used, was incredibly efficient at digging holes.

If the revered ancestors who founded this sword art at the academy knew that later generations were using it to dig holes, they would probably be furious enough to leap out of their coffins.

Zu An, however, had no time to consider this. He was simply grateful that the Imminent Death Dagger was hard and sharp, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to dig so quickly.

Qiao Xueying, watching from behind, was completely bewildered. She didn't understand the purpose of these holes. Did he really intend to stop such a formidable cavalry troop with these tiny excavations?

Previously, she would have scoffed at the idea, but after everything they had been through, she hesitated for a moment. Then, she tried her best to muster her remaining elemental energy, placing her hand on the ground. Soon, vines burst forth from the earth, leaving behind more circular holes.

Noticing the cavalry drawing closer, Zu An quickly pulled Qiao Xueying back.

"Is it too late to run now?" a flicker of doubt crossed Qiao Xueying's mind.

What puzzled her more, however, was that he stopped after running a dozen yards.

Zu An turned around, his gaze fixed on the thundering cavalry. He tightened his grip on the dagger, his entire being coiled like a leopard ready to spring.

Qiao Xueying became even more confused. Was he planning to charge the cavalry head-on? Wasn't that suicide?

But the next sight made her jaw drop. Many of the horses in the front row of the charging cavalry suddenly panicked and tumbled down out of nowhere, throwing their riders hard onto the ground. Being terracotta figures, many shattered upon impact.

As the fallen horses and riders became obstacles, the cavalry behind them, unable to stop, piled up like a snowball, with more and more riders and horses tumbling over.

At this moment, Zu An moved. He swiftly charged into the chaotic cavalry with his dagger, finishing off those who weren't dead and assassinating those still mounted.

Even without their charging momentum, the cavalry, with their advantage in size, were not something one person could easily shake. However, Zu An had that miraculous flashlight. He shone it around them, disorienting the remaining cavalry, making them even more chaotic.

In this chaotic situation, Zu An's Sunflower Phantasm movement technique was maximally effective. He continuously moved through the cavalry with an eerie agility, performing the "Evil-Warding Sword Art" and striking a terracotta warrior's head with almost every thrust.

Through their battles, he had already identified these creatures' weakness: their heads!

In about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, all hundred or so cavalry had returned to dust. Half had died from being trampled by their own kind, and the other half he had slain in the chaos.

"Is this guy really only a third-rank?" Watching Zu An's phantom-like movements on the battlefield, Qiao Xueying felt a chill run down her spine. Despite his seemingly low cultivation, he was more like an assassin than the most skilled assassins she had ever seen. His moves were simple and sharp, without a single superfluous motion, and each strike claimed a life.

Zu An gasped for air, clearly exhausted from swiftly dispatching all the cavalry.

At this moment, the main terracotta army finally reacted. The archers, who had been ready with their bows and arrows at the back of the formation, no longer had to worry about hitting their comrades. Another wave of sharp arrows descended.

"Quick, get into the holes!" Qiao Xueying rushed over to pull Zu An, worried he might be too exhausted to move.

To her surprise, Zu An tossed a shield to her. "Why run when we have shields?"

In ancient warfare, shields were the best defense against archers. Earlier, they had no choice but to hastily dig trenches, but the cavalry, to guard against his flashlight's beam, had almost all carried shields. Now, shields were readily available on the battlefield.

The two quickly propped up several shields to cover themselves. The arrows pelted against them with thuds, completely unable to harm them in the slightest.

Zu An, seizing the opportunity, looked at Qiao Xueying. "You had shields, yet you tried to pull me into the trench. Confess, did you enjoy being carried and deliberately want me to hold you again?"

"Hold your big head, you brute!" Qiao Xueying retorted, blushing, and kicked him. It was always this guy, coming up with such bizarre things, that made her react so poorly just now. "By the way, you just randomly dug some round holes. Why did that make the charging cavalry fall over?"

Zu An shook his head. "It's a secret, unless you call me 'Good Brother'."

Qiao Xueying clenched her teeth. This guy was always so annoying. But then she remembered the hundreds of terracotta warriors still remaining, and her own injuries. She might not even survive, and she didn't want to die clueless. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she mumbled softly, "G-g-good... brother..."

Zu An: "???"

He was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected the girl to actually say it. Had the sun risen from the west?

Seeing him stare at her in surprise, Qiao Xueying's face flushed. She gave him a guilty glare. "What are you looking at? I said it. Now tell me the answer!"

"What did you say? I didn't quite catch that," Zu An said, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Are you toying with me?" Qiao Xueying flared up.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +398!

Zu An hastily replied, "I really didn't hear clearly. Say it again, and I'll tell you right away."

Qiao Xueying kept biting her lip, clearly struggling internally. But in the end, she turned her face to the side and whispered, "Good Brother..."

"Ah, my good sister," Zu An's smug expression made Qiao Xueying grit her teeth in annoyance. "Alright, the principle is actually very simple. If you've ever lived on the grasslands, you'd know that horses are most afraid of vole holes. If they accidentally step into one, they can break a leg. The charging cavalry earlier even bandaged their horses' eyes to avoid being affected by my light, so they couldn't see the holes on the ground at all. Wasn't that just asking for death?"

"Once the first few fell, the horses behind them, moving too fast and with their eyes covered, couldn't stop, creating a chain reaction like dominoes."

"You've lived on the grasslands? How do you know all these details so clearly?" Qiao Xueying asked suspiciously. According to the information she'd gathered during her infiltration of the Chu family, there was no way this guy could have been to the grasslands.

Zu An replied proudly, "Your Good Brother knows everything from astronomy to geography; I can know all the world's affairs without even leaving my home."

In his previous life, he had learned all sorts of strange, unprofitable knowledge online—the basic training of an internet keyboard warrior. "Pfft, shameless," Qiao Xueying's cheeks flushed an unusual crimson. She thought to herself that she must have been possessed to call him 'Good Brother' just now.

The arrow rain soon ceased. Evidently, the terracotta warriors realized they couldn't harm them in the slightest. The infantry in the front row began to advance, marching in synchronized steps towards them. Because they had to hold up shields to guard against the unknown light, their speed was not particularly fast.

Zu An recalled the eloquent "famous generals" on forums from his previous life who had mentioned that the best way to deal with infantry formations was to attack from the flanks or the rear, aiming to disrupt their formation. Otherwise, even the most elite cavalry charge would suffer heavy losses against well-prepared infantry.

He looked at the horses wandering around. The cavalry troop had just been annihilated, leaving many horses behind.

"Let's ride around to their flanks." Zu An went over, tied the horses' reins to a long rope, and then swung himself onto the first horse. He had to admit, although these horses were made of clay, they were no different from real steeds; in some ways, they seemed even more magnificent.

"Hurry, get on!" Seeing Qiao Xueying standing there dazedly, Zu An quickly waved her over.

"Oh," Qiao Xueying managed a pale smile. She walked over, attempting to mount the horse, but suddenly swayed and fell straight to the ground.

Fortunately, Zu An had already noticed her abnormality and quickly jumped down to catch her. "What's wrong?"

He suddenly felt something wet in his palm. Lifting his hand, he saw it was covered in fresh red blood. He quickly leaned in behind her to inspect, discovering half a feathered arrow embedded in her back, and her clothes completely soaked with blood.

"You're injured? Why didn't you say anything sooner? You even had the leisure to argue with me just now!" Zu An quickly tore off a piece of his clothing to cover the wound on her back.

Qiao Xueying opened her mouth, but had no strength left to retort.

"Bear with it!" Zu An glanced at the infantry formation slowly approaching them, quickly estimating the time it would take them to arrive. Then, he tore open the clothing on her back.

"You... what are you doing?" Qiao Xueying was both shocked and furious, struggling to get up.

"Don't move. I'm going to pull out the arrow for you, otherwise, the bleeding won't stop." Zu An picked up a knife from the ground, carefully cut open a small section of flesh around the wound, and extracted the arrowhead embedded within.

"Mmgh," Qiao Xueying shivered, her face pale, her forehead covered in tiny beads of cold sweat.

While using a cloth strip to stem the bleeding from her wound, Zu An asked, "Where's your wound medicine?"

His own had run out in the previous battles, but he had seen Qiao Xueying still had some.

"It's in my bosom, but..." Before Qiao Xueying could finish, Zu An reached directly into her clothes and began to search.

"You!" Qiao Xueying raised her hand to strike him, but unfortunately, she had no strength left.

"Stop 'you-you-you-ing' and 'me-me-me-ing'," Zu An said. "This is an emergency. Besides, it's not like I haven't touched you before." As he spoke, he applied the discovered healing medicine to her wound and quickly bandaged it with a cloth strip.

Hearing his words, Qiao Xueying recalled the situation at the Chu family when both their clothes had been removed. A rosy blush spread across her previously pale cheeks.

"What a shame, this guy can't..."

The thought had just arisen when Qiao Xueying startled herself. What on earth was she thinking?