The more they thought about it, the more excited and crazy they became.

Hatred for the pirates, hatred for the Southern Zhou, the expectation of making meritorious contributions, and the desire for revenge were all poured into Zhao Cheng.

Seeing that they were less than two miles from Zhao Cheng's troops, Du Yucheng took the lead and shouted, "Suppressing the traitor Zhao Cheng is an achievement equal to eliminating bandits! Brothers, raise your spirits and kill—"

"kill!!!"

The main weapon of the Zhenhai Battalion infantry was the sword, and they chased after the Zhao family like madmen, brandishing their swords.

Du Yucheng was insane, but they were being driven crazy by him. They had had enough of this way of traveling by foot and just wanted to exterminate the Zhao family as soon as possible to end this maddening chase.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind stirred the night air, and an arrow pierced the darkness, striking a warrior in the chest.

"Whoosh!"

Another arrow flew out and pierced a soldier's neck.

"Whoosh whoosh!!!"

Then came a barrage of arrows. The density of the Zhenhai Camp warriors was too great to avoid, and the first volley of arrows had a very low miss rate.

"Don't be afraid! Spread out to both sides and keep moving forward, don't stop!"

Du Yucheng, who was directing the troops, shouted with his inner strength, "We've reached their firing range, which means we're very close to them. They outnumber us, so as long as we're not afraid, they're doomed!"

"Whoosh—"

A particularly strong whooshing sound rang out, and Du Yucheng's hair stood on end, realizing that the arrow was aimed at him.

He instinctively took several steps back and bypassed several people, using those soldiers as his human wall.

"puff!"

"puff!"

The arrow first pierced the chest of a soldier, pushing him back several steps, then pierced the abdomen of another soldier, pressing directly towards Du Yucheng.

Seeing the arrow protruding from the back of the soldier, Du Yucheng quickly swung his halberd, splitting the two soldiers who were flying towards him in two into four pieces.

Du Yucheng held his halberd upright and glanced at a certain place in the darkness in the distance.

He was certain that the arrow that had tried to kill him was shot by Zhou Nuo.

He was amazed by Zhou Nuo's archery skills. The power, the accuracy, and the perfect timing were even better than the rumors suggested!

Du Yucheng had no idea that the bow Zhou Nuo was holding was the famous Jingling Bow!

"They need time to reload, and their stamina is limited. Keep spreading out! Keep advancing!! Kill!!!"

After saying that, Du Yucheng quickly changed positions, urging the soldiers to fight to the death while slowing his own pace.

Being watched by Zhou Nuo in the darkness, he dared not make any rash moves.

Zhao Huan can't run fast with his family in tow. As long as we can figure out how to deal with Zhou Nuo, catching up with Zhao Huan won't be difficult. But we absolutely cannot afford to stumble and fall first.

Du Yucheng weaved through the crowd, using the soldiers of Zhenhai Camp as his human wall, and gradually approached the location of Zhou Nuo that he had predicted.

He came to Fu Zheng's side, pointed to a tree three hundred paces away, and said, "Zhou Nuo is right there. You and I will go and flank her from the left and right. As long as she is dead, the other archers are nothing to worry about."

Fu Zheng hesitated and asked, "Can I not go?"

Du Yucheng frowned and said, "Commander Fu, what is this? Refusing to fight in the face of battle, are you just afraid of dying?"

Fu Zhengdao said, "Instructor Zhou is my teacher."

Du Yucheng shouted, "She's no longer the archery instructor of the Imperial Guards! You need to understand, you are His Majesty's subject!"

“It is precisely because I am His Majesty’s subject that I accept this order to tarnish the reputation of Zhenhai Camp. But Zhou Nuo is my teacher, and I cannot kill her with my own hands.”

Fu Zheng's reply was calm and firm. He added, "I apologize for offending Commander Du Yu. If you want to go, you go. I will command the Zhenhai Camp well and reduce the number of brothers who have to sacrifice."

"It's just a promise from Zhou Nuo. Do you really think I need your help?"

Du Yucheng snorted coldly and rushed towards his target. Just then, a series of rapid hoofbeats sounded.

The sound of hooves was clearly not coming from the three hundred soldiers. The three hundred soldiers were firing at the Zhenhai Camp in a scattered manner, while the sound of hooves was uniform and clearly a charge.

The sudden arrival of cavalry disrupted the rhythm of both Zhou Nuo and Du Yucheng, but the cavalry's point of attack was Zhenhai Camp.

Du Yucheng realized what was happening and immediately retreated, shouting, "Watch out for the enemy cavalry!"

A troop of cavalry approached Zhou Nuo and Zhao Yan and said, "You two go first, leave this to me."

The light was too dim for Zhao Yan to see the other person's face, but he recognized the voice and said, "Lord Qingdong?"

Xu Shouli pulled on the reins and took a few more steps forward, allowing the moonlight to fall on his face, revealing his appearance to Zhao Yan and Zhou Nuo.

"It's me."

Xu Shouli said, "I originally wanted to buy you time to stop Wang Yuluan, but I didn't expect that Du Yucheng would stand in front of you."

Zhao Yan asked, "How many men does Your Excellency have?"

"Three thousand cavalrymen."

Zhao Yan said with some concern, "There are too few people; I'm afraid it might be dangerous."

"That's still better than leaving three hundred soldiers behind to cover the rear. The old general needs the protection of the soldiers, so leave this to me."

Xu Shouli said seriously, "I am all cavalry. I will not fight Du Yucheng head-on. If they continue to pursue, I will charge back and forth to slow down their pace. If they turn their spears to deal with me, I will simply run away."

"This method is feasible, then we will trouble you, Lord Marquis!" Zhao Yan clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Shouli, and led Zhou Nuo and three hundred soldiers to gather around the Zhao family's troops.

Seeing their prey fly away, Du Yu was furious and shouted, "Who are you people, daring to attack the Dajing Zhenhai Camp?!"

Xu Shouli said, "Dajing Zhenhai Camp? Isn't the Zhenhai Camp supposed to be eliminating bandits? How could they be here? You must be imposters."

Du Yucheng looked at Xu Shouli, examined him carefully, and exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Qingdong! Look at me, I am Du Yucheng!"

Xu Shouli deliberately glanced at Du Yucheng a few more times and said, "So it really is Commander Du Yucheng! What, have you wiped out the pirates in Yunjing County?"

Chengdu choked up.

Xu Shouli asked, "Where is Commandant Fu? Is Commandant Fu here?"

“Here!” Fu Zheng squeezed out from the crowd.

Xu Shouli looked at Fu Zheng and asked, "Commander Fu, have the pirates in Yunjing County been wiped out?"

Fu Zhengdao: "No."

Xu Shouli asked, "If not, why are you here?"

“This…” Fu Zheng clasped his hands and said, “This is His Majesty’s decree.”

Xu Shouli said, "Since His Majesty has already appointed General Wang to lead the eastward advance, how could he allow the Zhenhai Camp, which is currently eliminating pirates, to withdraw northwards? What if the pirates come ashore and cause trouble as soon as you withdraw? Wouldn't that be a loss?"

"His Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler, how could he issue such a foolish order?"

"I don't believe it."