The Bai Bo bandits suddenly panicked.
Their instinct to bully the weak and fear the strong, combined with their fear of death, kicked in. Some of the Bai Bo bandits fled amidst the chaos.
Meanwhile, Ding Ling decisively led over a hundred cavalrymen from the left flank towards Guo Tai.
His horse was fast and charged swiftly!
The cavalry followed behind him.
Without much care, Ding Ling charged through easily, as the Bai Bo army couldn't compare to a regular army and was in utter disarray, without any structure!
Clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
Ding Ling wielded the Heaven-piercing Halberd, switching between the Battlefield Saber Technique, Water and Fire Dragon Capturing Staff Technique, Thirty-Six Celestial Spirit Axe Techniques, and High-tier Spear Technique at times.
In his hands, a single halberd took on the essence of numerous weapons.
Whether it was the Battlefield Saber Technique, Water and Fire Dragon Capturing Staff Technique, or Thirty-Six Celestial Spirit Axe Techniques, they were all top divine skills!
No ordinary person could withstand them!
Even with the High-tier Spear Technique, a random thrust flashed with five spear flowers, piercing the foreheads of five soldiers, killing them instantly!
He was drenched in blood, resembling a god of war on the battlefield.
More like a fast ship breaking through waves, and a divine spirit passing through mountains.
Wherever he went, he truly crushed all in his path!
No one was his match for even a single round!
With a halberd combining various weapon transformations, anyone daring to block his way was stabbed, chopped, slashed, or cleaved to death!
The manner of death varied.
But without exception, they all struck vital points and died swiftly!
At this moment, Ding Ling had clearly passed his novice phase!
Especially during the time he spent dueling at the city gate, as the number of people he killed and pierced through skyrocketed.
His fear and discomfort had completely vanished.
All that remained was a burning passion!
This awakened a sense of fierce heroism in him, ingrained in his very bones, meant to resonate with the battlefield!
"Ah!"
"He's not human!"
"This man is too strong!"
"Run quickly!"
Even among the Bai Bo bandits, there were players.
Seeing Ding Ling's fierce appearance like a demon god incarnate, veteran players who dared to confront and try obtaining 'experience points' and 'treasures' were easily killed.
The remaining novice players could no longer withstand it, shouted loudly, and fled on horseback.
Their flight triggered a flood-like effect, with clusters of people starting to run away.
Guo Tai was unable to stop them and, seeing Ding Ling's overwhelming bravery, turned to flee himself in fear.
"Stop right there, Guo Tai!"
Ding Ling shouted loudly.
Guo Tai's scalp tingled with fear and he ran even faster.
Other Bai Bo bandits, seeing their leader fleeing, also scattered, those who were trying to hold on.
This last batch of holdouts were the more spirited, fearless Bai Bo bandits. But with their leader's departure, their morale broke, joining the panicked retreating army.
"Hah!"
Ding Ling grabbed a short spear from the side of his horse and hurled it with all his strength towards Guo Tai!
Shwoosh!
The short spear whistled through the air, hitting Guo Tai squarely in the back, pinning him dead onto his horse's back.
His mount let out a wail, ran forward a few steps, then suddenly tipped over and fell.
"Whew."
Ding Ling let out a long breath.
Thinking to himself:
"This 'Javelin Throwing' skill really comes in handy at critical moments."
The Javelin Throwing skill was naturally learned in the real world.
It was already at full level.
To be on the safe side, Ding Ling had prepared several short spears in advance.
They really proved effective now.
He rode over to Guo Tai's side, looked at him, and found he wasn't dead yet.
"You, you, who exactly are you?"
Guo Tai glared at Ding Ling with wide eyes, speaking in gasps, his eyes filled with regret, fear, and a longing for life.
Ding Ling couldn't be bothered with him.
He waved his hand.
Immediately someone came up to cut off Guo Tai's head.
This was key evidence to prove the success of the bandit suppression!
It must not be lost.
Ding Ling ordered someone to keep it safe.
He led the team to continue driving and slaughtering some of the Bai Bo bandits, while ordering: "Surrender, and you'll not be killed!"
Compared to the cavalry.
The vast majority of the Bai Bo bandits were infantry, and how could two legs possibly outrun four?
With this order given.
Ninety percent of the Bai Bo bandits removed their armor, threw away their weapons, and knelt down to surrender.
Of course, there were also those who refused to surrender and ran desperately.
For such people.
Ding Ling ordered them to be killed directly.
And those who ran too fast and were out of sight, Ding Ling simply couldn't be bothered.
As long as he could control the overall situation, that was enough.
[E-level Achievement Medal earned: Defeat of the Bai Bo Army bandits ravaging the regions of Bingzhou and Jizhou!]
[Note: This Bai Bo Army would in the future gather a crowd of a hundred thousand, joining forces with the Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo to plunder various regions of the Central Plains, causing great devastation, which you successfully prevented.]
Ding Ling felt slightly surprised.
He actually earned an E-level Achievement Medal.
This was quite rare.
Even Zhang Hex only earned a regular medal. Defeating the Bai Bo bandits actually came with an E-level medal.
It seems the Bai Bo bandits never had the chance to develop.
Ding Ling pondered.
The reason he divided his forces into four groups was to test the waters and see what the Bai Bo bandits were made of.
He wanted to see if Xu Huang was among them.
It seems there wasn't.
Due to the involvement of players.
The development path of the Bai Bo bandits had already diverged completely from history.
'If Xu Huang, such a formidable general, were really present, I would most likely have retreated.'
Xu Huang is a top first-class general.
Although Ding Ling's strength is formidable now, he wouldn't dare claim assured victory against Xu Huang.
Plus, with the Bai Bo bandits numerous and strong.
How could they be fought?
Fortunately, he was consoled that his plan was successful.
'First, duel to probe, feign weakness to the enemy, and also eliminate the opponent's active forces.'
'Then, secretly order a few clever veteran players to lead a team into the ancient city, await the signal, set fire, beat drums, and disrupt the hearts of the Bai Bo bandits.'
'Then, coordinate with the ambushing troops on the flanks, and the forces deceiving the enemy from afar, making them believe a vast army has arrived, causing fear and hesitation, not daring to engage.'
This was a strategy of resting to wait for labor and creating something from nothing.
Finally, capturing the bandit leader and reversing the roles, naturally, was a given.
"This time, the success was completely due to my strength and the chaos of the Bai Bo bandits. Otherwise, no amount of strategy would have worked."
If the enemy were Cao Mengde.
Ding Ling's strategies might have had no effect.
However, Ding Ling never planned to progress in the 'Commander-in-Chief' path.
His plan was to conquer the major checkpoints and planes of the game alone!
He just needed to make himself increasingly fierce.
Why bother with so many intrigues and schemes?
If strong enough, brute force was the way of power!
[Achievement Medal earned: Successive defeat of Hu Cai, Hann Xian, and Li Le, three historically renowned bandits.]
[Note: Hu Cai and the others were exceptionally powerful. Defeating them proves you have reached the level of a first-class general. Your fame will surely spread across the lands of Jizhou due to this battle!]
This prompt appeared after defeating Hu Cai and the others.
Ding Ling pondered:
"It's no surprise, Achievement Medals should be related to historical figures. But why did Cheng Huan, Zhang Hex, and the others each contribute a medal, while Hu Cai and the other three only offered one? Could it be because they died, so there are fewer medals?"