Chapter 175: Good Brother

The two men poked their heads out slightly and saw a cavalry unit charging fiercely towards them. Their speed was so great that they would likely reach the trench very soon.

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

Zu An instinctively shone his flashlight at the charging cavalry. The horsemen, however, raised round shields to block the light. He immediately shifted the beam, aiming for their horses, only to be surprised to find that the horses had cloth blindfolds tied over their eyes!

A wave of incredulity washed over him. "Seriously, you're terracotta warriors, made of mud," he thought, "where on earth did you get cloth blindfolds?"

Despite his mental complaints, the immediate crisis still needed to be addressed.

With a thought, he grabbed his Invincible Dagger and, using the Sunflower Phantoms technique, continuously performed the 'Pick' maneuver on the ground in front of him, digging one narrow hole after another.

He had to admit that the academy's Thirteen Forms of Basic Swordsmanship were truly ingenious; the 'Pick' form was incredibly effective for digging holes – each thrust created a perfect pit.

If the ancient masters who created this sword technique at the academy knew that later disciples were using it to dig holes, they would probably jump out of their coffins in anger.

Zu An, however, had no time to ponder this; he was merely grateful for the dagger's hardness and sharpness, without which he wouldn't have been able to dig so quickly.

Behind him, Qiao Xueying watched, utterly bewildered, not understanding the purpose of these holes. Did he really intend to stop such a formidable cavalry force with just these small pits?

Normally, she would have scoffed, but after all they had been through, she hesitated for a moment. Then, she exerted her remaining elemental energy, pressed her hand to the ground, and soon, roots and vines burst forth, creating more round holes in the earth.

Noticing the cavalry drawing nearer, Zu An hastily pulled Qiao Xueying back.

"Isn't it a bit late to run now?" a trace of doubt arose in Qiao Xueying's mind.

What puzzled her more, however, was that Zu An stopped after retreating a dozen zhang.

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

Qiao Xueying grew increasingly confused. Was he actually going to charge head-on into the cavalry? Wasn't that suicidal?

But the next scene made her jaw drop in astonishment. Many of the horses in the front row of the charging cavalry suddenly panicked, stumbling and falling out of nowhere, throwing their riders violently to the ground. Because they were terracotta figures, many shattered into pieces upon impact.

As the fallen horses and riders became obstacles, the cavalry behind them, unable to stop, piled up like a snowball effect, with more and more horsemen 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 who were still on their horses.

Even without their charging momentum, these cavalrymen, with their large horses and figures, were not something a single person could easily contend with. However, Zu An had his miraculous flashlight, which he shone around them, making the remaining cavalry lose focus and grow even more chaotic.

In this chaotic situation, Zu An's Sunflower Phantoms movement technique was at its most effective. He continuously weaved through the cavalry with his elusive footwork, executing the 'Evil-Wardering Swordplay' and piercing the heads of the terracotta warriors with almost every strike.

Through the recent skirmishes, he had already deduced their weakness: their heads!

In about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, all hundred cavalrymen had returned to dust and soil. Half had died from being trampled by their own ranks, and the other half he had killed amidst the chaos.

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

Zu An panted heavily, clearly having expended considerable energy in swiftly eliminating all the cavalry.

At this point, the main terracotta army finally reacted. The archers, who had been ready with bows and arrows at the rear of the formation, no longer needed to worry about hitting their comrades, and another volley of sharp arrows rained down.

"Quick, hide in the holes!" Qiao Xueying rushed over, pulling Zu An, worried he might be too exhausted to move.

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

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

The two quickly propped up several shields to cover their entire bodies. The arrows rained down, deflecting off the shields with thuds, unable to harm them in the slightest.

Zu An seized the opportunity to look at Qiao Xueying. "You clearly had a shield, yet you tried to pull me into the trench. Be honest, did you get a taste for it and deliberately want me to hold you?"

"Like hell I did!" Qiao Xueying, blushing, kicked him. "It's all your fault for always doing weird things, it completely caught me off guard! By the way, you just randomly dug some round holes, why did that make the charging cavalry stumble and fall?"

Zu An shook his head. "That's a secret, unless you call me 'Good Big Brother,' I won't tell you."

Qiao Xueying clenched her teeth in frustration; this guy was always so annoying. However, she considered the hundreds of terracotta warriors still approaching and her own injury, realizing she might not survive. Not wanting to die confused, she ultimately couldn't suppress her curiosity and mumbled softly, "G-good... big... 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 reddened, and she glared at him guiltily. "What are you looking at? I said it, now tell me the answer!"

"What did you say? I didn't hear clearly," Zu An said, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

"Are you messing with me?" Qiao Xueying fumed.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +398!

Zu An quickly said, "I really didn't hear you 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 Big Brother..."

"Ah, my dear little sister," Zu An said, his smug expression making Qiao Xueying grit her teeth. "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 step into one by accident, they'll break a leg. Those charging cavalrymen, to avoid being affected by my light, deliberately blindfolded their horses, so they couldn't see the holes on the ground. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?"

"Once the front row fell, the horses behind them, due to their high speed and being blindfolded, couldn't stop at all, creating a domino effect."

"You've lived on the grasslands? How are you so familiar with all these details?" Qiao Xueying looked at him suspiciously. According to the intelligence she gathered while undercover at the Chu family, there was no way this guy had ever been to the grasslands.

Zu An puffed out his chest proudly. "Your 'Good Big Brother' knows everything under the heavens, from astronomy to geography. I can know all the world's affairs without even leaving my home."

In his previous life, knowing all sorts of strange, unprofitable trivia online was just basic knowledge for an internet keyboard warrior.

"Hmph, you're shameless," Qiao Xueying scoffed, a strange flush appearing on her cheeks. She thought to herself that she must have been out of her mind to actually call him 'Good Big Brother' just now.

The arrow rain soon ceased; clearly, the terracotta warriors realized they couldn't harm them at all. The infantry in the front ranks began to advance, marching in synchronized steps towards the two. Because they had to hold up shields to guard against the unknown light, their movement speed was not fast.

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

He looked at the horses wandering around; after the cavalry unit was annihilated, many horses remained.

"We'll ride around to their flank." Zu An went and tied the horses' reins to a long rope, then swung himself onto the first horse. He had to admit, although these horses were made of clay, they were no different from real warhorses; in some ways, they were even more majestic.

"Hurry, get on the horse!" Seeing Qiao Xueying standing there blankly, Zu An urgently waved at her.

"Oh~" Qiao Xueying forced a smile, her face pale. She walked over and tried to mount a 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 with you?"

He suddenly felt something wet in his palm. He raised his hand and saw it was covered in fresh red blood. He quickly leaned in behind her to examine her, discovering half an arrow sticking out of her back, and her clothes completely soaked with blood.

"Why didn't you say you were injured earlier? You even had the leisure to bicker with me just now!" Zu An quickly tore off a piece of his clothing to cover her wound.

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

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

"You... what are you doing?" Qiao Xueying was both startled and angry, 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, gently cut open a small section of flesh around the wound, and extracted the embedded arrowhead.

"Mmm~" Qiao Xueying trembled all over, her face pale, her forehead covered in fine, cold sweat.

As Zu An used a strip of cloth to staunch her wound, he asked, "Where's your hemostatic medicine?"

His own supply had been used up in previous battles, but he had seen Qiao Xueying with some earlier.

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

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

"Stop with the 'you, you, you, me, me, me!' In an emergency, we have to act decisively. Besides, it's not like I haven't touched you before," Zu An said, applying the found healing medicine to her wound and quickly bandaging it with a cloth strip.

Hearing his words, Qiao Xueying remembered their previous encounter at the Chu family, where they had both been stripped bare. A blush spread across her previously pale cheeks.

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

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Qiao Xueying was startled. What on earth was she thinking about?