novelraw Chapter 139: The Storm Approaches, the Hegemon Descends!
Chapter 139: The Storm Approaches, the Hegemon Descends!
With Director Wei's command, several cameras simultaneously powered on.
Atop the high slope, Jiang Ci abruptly spurred his horse's flanks. The Black Steed let out a long whinny and shot out like a black lightning bolt, leading the charge.
The twelve riders behind him followed closely, instantly forming a sharp wedge formation.
"Follow them!"
Camera A was mounted on a high-speed off-road vehicle, doggedly tracking the charging formation from the side and rear.
In the long shot, this lone, valiant cavalry was charging toward the massive infantry formation composed of hundreds.
The thundering of hooves.
Dirt and grass clippings were kicked up by the tremendous kinetic energy, turning into billowing dust clouds on camera.
The entire frame was filled with a savage, destructive force.
At the front of the "Han Army" phalanx, a shield wall and spear formation composed of hundreds of background actors stood ready.According to the script, they were to let out a battle cry and make a feinting thrust with their spears when the cavalry closed to within thirty meters.
However, an accident occurred at that very moment.
A young background actor playing a spearman in the very front row stumbled over something underfoot.
At the most critical moment, he lost his balance and uncontrollably pitched forward.
"Ah!"
A short, sharp cry of alarm.
He fell right in the central path of the cavalry charge.
Over the walkie-talkie, the safety supervisor's horrified shout instantly erupted, his voice cracking with panic.
"Stop! Stop now! Someone fell!"
"Cavalry, stop!"
In the distance, Wei Song's eyes widened. His knuckles gripping the monitor stand instinctively tightened.
Everyone on set held their breath.
At this speed, the warhorses simply could not stop!
Everyone expected the actor on horseback to desperately rein in his horse or make a clumsy evasion.
Yet, Jiang Ci's actions showed not a moment's hesitation.
Not only did he not slow down, he even used the butt-end of his horse lance to sharply rap against the saddle!
"Hyah!"
This was the signal to urge the warhorse into its final sprint!
The Black Steed's speed instantly surged to its limit!
"Whoosh!"
The massive black warhorse swept past the fallen background actor.
Splattering mud, mixed with rain, struck his deathly pale face hard.
Jiang Ci's movements were frighteningly precise.
He controlled his mount, passing by with the narrowest possible margin without injuring the person.
But on camera, this moment presented a crushing sense of "human life being as cheap as grass."
The next second.
Boom!
The sharp arrowhead formed by the thirteen riders slammed directly into the "Han Army's" shield wall!
The background actors in the front row were "knocked" over, just as rehearsed, by the immense impact, with prop shields and halberds scattering everywhere.
The entire military formation was brutally torn open with a vicious gash.
The scene descended into chaos.
Before the monitor, Wei Song clutched the stand, his body trembling slightly from extreme excitement.
"This! This is the Hegemon!"
He turned to Yuan Kui beside him, who wore an equally stunned expression, and hissed in a low, strained voice.
"This is the confidence to defeat five hundred and sixty thousand with just thirty thousand!"
Yuan Kui didn't speak, but a terrifying gleam erupted in his aged, cloudy eyes.
After completing the breakthrough, Jiang Ci did not stop.
He led the cavalry unit, performing a terrifyingly smooth collective turn at the other end of the open field.
Preparing for a second charge.
This fluidity and cold-bloodedness prompted a barely suppressed roar from a core stunt actor over the walkie-talkie.
"Goddamn it, he's a madman!"
Meanwhile.
The crew's medical team and psychological counselor had already rushed to the fallen background actor.
He had no external injuries.
But he lay collapsed in the mud, his face ghostly pale.
"Are you okay, young man? Can you hear me?"
Medical personnel shouted at him.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
In that instant just now, what he saw were a pair of eyes gazing down from atop the massive horse, eyes utterly devoid of emotion.
The raindrops began to intensify.
The sky darkened at a visibly rapid pace.
Jiang Ci did not wait for the director's instruction.
Once again, he slowly raised the horse lance in his hand.
The moment those twelve stunt actors saw that gesture, the blood in their veins ignited.
Without the slightest hesitation, they turned their horses and reformed the formation.
"What's he doing?!"
"Director Wei! The rain's too heavy! Should we stop?"
The Assistant Director yelled anxiously over the walkie-talkie.
Wei Song stared fixedly at the monitor, at that black-armored figure who appeared even more solitary and absolute amidst the wind and rain.
"Don't stop!"
"All camera units! Stay on him! Don't you dare lose him!"
Jiang Ci launched the second charge.
This time, when his cavalry unit charged toward the "Han Army" formation like phantoms once more.
The opposing side, the background actors who had just regrouped, exhibited a commotion absolutely not in the script.
"They're coming! They're coming again!"
"Damn it, this time it's for real!"
"Protect your heads! Everyone, protect your heads!"
Those in the front row began to retreat uncontrollably.
That fear born from biological instinct made the entire battlefield feel incredibly real, and incredibly dangerous.
One person's retreat triggered chaos among a group.
The entire "Han Army" phalanx showed signs of collapse even before the cavalry reached them.
Wei Song did not call for a stop.
He knew he was capturing an epic, authentic war scene.
This was the "sense of realism" he wanted!
Amidst the chaos, a "Han Army" warhorse, spooked by the jostling crowd, broke free from its handler's reins.
It let out a panicked long whinny and charged wildly toward the side—directly into the path of Jiang Ci's charging cavalry unit—indiscriminately!
This was a disaster no one could have foreseen!
If two warhorses charging at high speed collided, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"Watch out!"
The walkie-talkie was filled with screams.
In that split second.
Jiang Ci executed a move that made everyone's minds go blank.
In the instant they crossed paths, he used the heavy shaft of his horse lance to deliver a perfectly precise, powerful whip-crack across the hindquarters of the out-of-control horse!
"Whack!"
A sharp, cracking sound.
The sudden pain instantly redirected the runaway horse. It let out a miserable whinny as it brushed past Jiang Ci's cavalry unit and plunged headlong into an empty patch of ground nearby.
This on-the-spot reaction and terrifying control once again left everyone speechless.
"KABOOM—"
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky.
The pea-sized raindrops instantly transformed into a torrential downpour.
Pouring down in sheets.
The monitor screen instantly became a blur.
Fortunately, the scene of the cavalry charge had been fully captured by the cameras.
Wei Song grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"Cut! Suspend filming!!"
"All departments! Protect the equipment! All personnel! Take a break!"
The command was issued.
The entire massive crew immediately threw themselves into the urgent tasks of equipment protection and personnel rest.
The scene was a complete mess.
The background actors were covered in mud, utterly exhausted, unable to tell if the wetness on their faces was rain or sweat.
The harsh cruelty of war, at this moment, was no longer an act, but a real experience everyone could feel.
Medical personnel helped the frightened background actor to a nearby tent and wrapped him in a thick blanket.
Assistant Sun Zhou, holding a huge umbrella, trudged through the mud toward Jiang Ci.
Jiang Ci did not dismount.
He held the reins, letting the equally drenched Black Steed paw the ground restlessly.
Icy rainwater streamed continuously down his pitch-black armor.
He ignored the towel Sun Zhou offered, and paid no heed to the clamor of voices around him.
He sat quietly on horseback, gazing into the distance at that "battlefield" being washed by the heavy rain.