novelhk Chapter 1066 Gaoyao's Charge!
Chapter 1066 Gaoyao's Charge!
Even more terrifying was the unimaginable force of this cavalry charge. They seemed tireless and fearless, using Gao Yao as their spearhead to tear a bloody path through the Chu army's ranks. The Chu army attempted to mount a resistance, but their formation was like paper before Gao Yao—the spear formation was shattered, the shield wall was knocked away, and archers were overtaken before they could even fire.
"How is this possible..." Xiang Yu murmured.
Seeing Gao Yao's extraordinary ferocity, Xiang Yu was shocked. He had anticipated Gao Yao's feigned death, which wasn't what shocked him. What shocked him was Gao Yao's displayed martial prowess. A single spear thrust was enough to send seven or eight soldiers flying, with the remaining force sending them flying several distances – something even he couldn't do.
"Your Majesty! The central army is in dire need of help! Gao Yao has broken through three enemy lines and is less than half a mile from the main camp!" Another scout came running, his face full of fear.
Xiang Yu suddenly awoke with a start. The central command tent was not only the headquarters, but also the location of the entire army's supplies and provisions, and housed strategists and civil officials such as Yi Xiaochuan. If Gao Yao were to take it over, the Chu army would collapse without a fight.
"Royal Guard Battalion! Follow me!"
Xiang Yu led his eight hundred personal guards in a cavalry charge, turning their attention straight for Gaoyao. His black horse galloped at full speed, the halberd in his hand humming, his fighting spirit boiling. He yearned to fight a strongman, to prove himself the greatest warrior under heaven.
Two torrents flowed towards each other across the plains.
On one side were Xiang Yu and his eight hundred iron cavalry, their black battle flags fluttering in the wind.
On one side stood Gao Yao and his thousand armored cavalry, their silver spears gleaming coldly.
The distance is rapidly decreasing.
Five hundred feet.
Three hundred feet.
One hundred feet.
Xiang Yu saw Gao Yao's face clearly—it was expressionless, filled only with icy killing intent. His eyes were like an abyss, devouring all light.
Fifty feet.
Xiang Yu roared, his voice like thunder: "Gao Yao! Prepare to die!"
He spurred his horse and leaped into the air, his halberd bringing down with immense force. This strike embodied the essence of Xiang Yu's lifelong martial arts skills; even before the halberd arrived, the gale-force winds had already caused sand and stones to fly from the ground.
Gao Yao raised his eyes.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down.
The silver spear moved.
There were no fancy moves, just a simple thrust. But this thrust was faster than the eye could see, the spear tip striking precisely seven inches from the halberd blade—the weakest point of the halberd's power.
"clang--!!!"
The deafening clang of metal clashing was deafening.
Xiang Yu felt an irresistible force coming from the halberd, his hand nearly tearing open and the halberd almost slipping from his grasp. The recoil from the impact forced his horse, Wuzhui, back three steps, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
Gao Yao remained motionless, and the white horse did not even pause, continuing to charge forward.
"This is impossible..." Xiang Yu said in disbelief.
He was Xiang Yu, the mighty Hegemon-King of Western Chu, whose strength was such that he could lift a cauldron, and who had never lost to anyone in terms of power. But in that attack just now, Gao Yao's strength was at least twice that of him!
Gao Yao had already charged past him, his silver spear flashing again, and three guards fell from their horses. He didn't turn back, didn't stop; his target was clear—the central command tent.
"Stop him!" Xiang Yu roared, turning his horse around to give chase.
But Gao Yao was too fast. He moved as if he were in an empty field, his silver spear dancing like a curtain of light, causing men and horses to fall wherever he went. The Chu soldiers tried to stop him, but they couldn't even get close—within three zhang, wherever the spear touched, there was only death.
"Fire arrows! Fire arrows!" the central army general shouted hoarsely.
Arrows rained down, Gao Yao's spear spun like a wheel, deflecting the arrows one by one. Occasionally a few strayed and struck his armor, but only a few sparks flew; they couldn't penetrate it at all.
That was Gao Yao's specially made armor—with internal steel plates and external scale armor, weighing eighty pounds, making it impervious to ordinary swords and blades. Combined with his combat strength exceeding 200, Gao Yao at this moment was a perfect killing machine.
The central command tent was now in sight.
Before the tent, Yi Xiaochuan stood tall, his face pale but his long sword in hand. Beside him were his last three hundred personal guards, forming a circular formation.
"Gao Yao, how have you been?" Yi Xiaochuan's voice was surprisingly calm.
Gao Yao reined in his horse, which reared up, its spear pointing diagonally at the ground. Behind him, a thousand armored cavalrymen had completely surrounded the central command tent, blocking any Chu troops attempting to return to reinforce.
“Yi Xiaochuan, what a pity,” Gao Yao said, his voice as cold as iron. “You’ve lost this round.”
"Not necessarily." Yi Xiaochuan's sword tip trembled slightly. "Xianyang is about to fall. Although you launched a surprise attack on the central army, General Xiang Yu is still here, and the main force of the Chu army is still here. As long as we can hold you back, once Xianyang falls completely, you will be like a rootless duckweed."
Gao Yao smiled.
That was a cold, emotionless smile.
"It seems you still don't understand why I rushed over here?"
Yi Xiaochuan felt a chill run down his spine.
“Because only in this way,” Gao Yao slowly raised his spear, “can we gather you all together and wipe you out in one fell swoop.”
Yi Xiaochuan's face turned ashen: "Reinforcements? Impossible! Gao Zhe is in the southern border, Meng Tian is in the northern frontier, and all the troops around Xianyang have been transferred away. Where did you conjure up reinforcements from?!"
Gao Yao did not answer.
Because he has already moved.
The white horse galloped like lightning, the silver spear like a dragon, charging straight at Yi Xiaochuan. Three hundred guards fought desperately to resist, but before overwhelming power, resistance was futile. Each of Gao Yao's spear thrusts took several lives; where the spearhead passed, flesh and blood flew everywhere.
Yi Xiaochuan thrust his longsword swiftly, his swordsmanship exquisite, a true inheritance of the Meng family's techniques. But under Gao Yao's spear, exquisite skill became laughable—brute force could overcome any technique, absolute power crushed all skill.
The third move caused Yi Xiaochuan's longsword to break.
The fifth move shattered Yi Xiaochuan's armor.
The seventh move was to press the silver spear against his throat.
"Yi Xiaochuan, I'm not killing you because you're still useful!" Gao Yao's voice was close at hand. "You lost because you trusted your own eyes too much. You thought you saw through the emptiness of Xianyang, but you didn't know that emptiness itself was a trap. You thought you had transferred all the southern troops, but you didn't know—"
He lowered his voice: "But little did you know, this was my bait from the very beginning. If the bait wasn't big enough, how could you have fallen for it?"
"You did this on purpose..." Yi Xiaochuan's voice trembled, "You did all this just to..."
"Now I understand, but it's too late."
Gao Yao's spear tip swayed slightly and struck Yi Xiaochuan's neck, causing Yi Xiaochuan to immediately black out and lose consciousness.
Gao Yao drew his gun and turned around.
Xiang Yu had broken through the Xuanjia cavalry's blockade and was upon them. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman—the central army had been breached, Yi Xiaochuan was dead, and the Chu army's command system was paralyzed; the battle was lost.
But he was unwilling to do so.
"Gao Yao!!! Today I will take your head!!!"
Xiang Yu unleashed a burst of power, his halberd transforming into a black storm, each strike delivered with all his might. The surrounding soldiers were forced back by the gale-force winds, the ground cracked, and the air distorted.
For the first time, Gao Yao showed a serious expression.
He stood ready, spear in hand, slowly raising it. This time, he didn't attack; instead, he waited.
Xiang Yu's halberd has arrived.
When Xiang Yu's halberd came down, the air whistled as if it were being torn apart.