Cavalrybane

Cavalrybane, Elite Shadow Warden guards the gate to the Order's underground tavern in Pangzhen in Chapter 6, Town of Death, with two mounted spearmen. Keep all three in front of you, dodge his tumble-roll finisher and every red glow, and parry the blue. He drops the Armybreaker.

Cavalrybane is three enemies, not one: the Elite Shadow Warden fights with two mounted spearmen on the street before the Order's underground tavern in Pangzhen, during Chapter 6, Town of Death, and the fight turns on keeping all three in front of you and dodging the end of his tumble roll, which drains his stagger bar. AllThings.how gives him 62,900 HP on Pathbreaker, each rider has a health bar of its own, and the Armybreaker polearm drops only once all three are down. Steam's Three Wardens Fall, for beating him, Soulclaimer and Heartpiercer, stood at 34.8% of players on Nov 9, 2026.

Story boss or side fight?

The guides disagree. Game8 files him as a main story boss whose defeat "will let you progress through the main story", as Bosses does. AllThings.how calls him an optional elite, not a story boss, since the objective "Enter the Order's underground tavern" does not ask you to kill him, and suggests skipping him and coming back with upgrades if he is too much. Either way, the Armybreaker and the achievement need him dead. He returns at the end with Heartpiercer as the second phase of the Meng Hua fight (Maxroll).

PCGamesN calls him "the first of four Elite Shadow Wardens you'll face in the game", while the achievement names three.

The street with two green lanterns

Follow Town of Death to the paved street before the gate with two green lanterns, a stretch of stone steps, lion statues, covered carts and red lanterns. He stays idle until you enter his section of street, then he and the riders attack. A death sends you back to the Marketplace bell. The town around him is on Pangzhen.

Fighting three at once

Keep moving and keep all three in front of you. AllThings.how warns against trading blows with Cavalrybane while a rider is behind you; fight near walls or carts so charges cannot come from behind.
Equip the Cavalrybane accessory, a separate item of the same name: "Increases damage dealt to mounted enemies by 25%".
Watch his helmet. A blue flash means parry, a red glow means dodge.
Dodge the end of his tumble roll: it triggers a cinematic counter and massively drains his stagger bar, the best damage you get.
Attack only after his big swings finish, then back out.
Heal from at least 4 meters away, and not right after he retreats, since his leaping strike reaches that far. His heaviest hit takes about 450 HP, roughly a third of Soul's 1,402, and with the riders' chip damage all three gourds can be gone in about 80 seconds.
Pick a weapon that hits wide. In GameSpot's Aug 29, 2025 gamescom video (2:39), three hours on Hell Walker showed the Juggernaut filling a revenge meter with each parry and spending it on "a huge horizontal swing, great for dealing with multiple enemies", the job this street asks for (Weapons).

The glaive and the riders

He swings a long glaive (AllThings.how); Game8 calls it a spear.

Forward tumble roll: his most common string, a roll into a two-hit spear attack that ends in a dodgeable blow. Dodge the last hit for the cinematic counter.
Continuous thrust: block it, then be ready to dodge the Sha-Chi-draining hit at the end. If his stagger bar is low, blocking it can stagger him for several hits.
Backsteps and upward slashes: quick steps back, two upward slashes, then either a Sha-Chi-draining attack and a parryable hit or the tumble roll. Watch the glint and answer it.
Aerial spins: PCGamesN says to parry the blue attack after them.
Charge and kick: when he charges, block, then dodge the kick that follows (PCGamesN).
Raised-blade chop: he lifts the glaive straight up and drops it. Sidestep rather than backing off, as the pole reaches far.
Red-glint low stance: he crouches, glaive level, then lunges. Do not parry; evade sideways.
Overhead crescent: a wide arc after a red glow. Move sideways as it passes.
Spinning sweep: his cloak flares in a low, wide circle. Retreat out of range instead of dodging through it.
Leaping strike: from a few meters away he leaps and slams down. Evade the landing and punish the recovery.
The riders: they circle and charge with spears from several directions.

On Pathbreaker, AllThings.how measured about 600 HP for a four-hit combo and about 240 HP per hit of a two-hit swing; Difficulty Modes lowers that.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cavalrybane optional in Phantom Blade Zero? It depends on whose guide you read. Game8 lists Cavalrybane as a main story boss, while AllThings.how points out that the objective only asks you to enter the tavern, so it treats him as an optional elite you can return to with upgrades.

How do you deal with Cavalrybane's riders? Keep moving so Cavalrybane and both riders stay in front of you, and fight near walls or carts so no charge comes from behind. The Cavalrybane accessory adds 25% damage against mounted enemies, which shortens the riders' part of the fight.