Chapter 14: Zuo Xianwang Loses His Head

  As expected, before Zuo Xianwang could come up with a countermeasure, the sound of Lü Bu's powerful shout came from the mountain pass: "Light the fire, raise the arrows!"

  Lü Bu led a hundred soldiers to quickly light the fire arrows, then raised their longbows in unison, aiming at the left general's cavalry troops inside Baling Mountain. When Zhang Liao led two hundred soldiers who pretended to be defeated and rushed out of the mountain pass, Lü Bu did not hesitate either, decisively ordering: "Release the arrows!"

  Zhang Liao, who had rushed out of the mountain pass, immediately arranged his two hundred soldiers: "After General Lv's soldiers finish shooting arrows, we will immediately fill up." The two hundred soldiers responded in unison. Quickly taking out bows and arrows, they ignited the arrowheads and then ran to the side of the one hundred soldiers under Lü Bu's command, releasing the fire arrows.

  One after another, three hundred flaming arrows shot towards the Xiongnu cavalry. The Xiongnu cavalry was thrown into chaos, using their swords to block the incoming arrows. Some of the fire arrows were deflected by the Xiongnu cavalry and fell to the ground, where they ignited the dry grass, causing a slow-spreading fire; others pierced through the Xiongnu cavalry's defenses and hit them directly, setting their leather jackets ablaze. The Xiongnu warriors, who rarely wore iron armor and mostly fought in leather jackets, were engulfed in flames, screaming as they fell off their horses. Some of the fire arrows landed on carts filled with dry hay and sulfur, which ignited rapidly, causing a massive explosion that sent flames soaring into the air.

  At the mountain pass, Ao Lie and Tian Chou led the remaining two hundred soldiers rushing out from a nearby forest to the battlefield. Ao Lie turned his head and said to Tian Chou: "Zi Tai quickly leads one hundred soldiers to set up barriers on the side of the road." Tian Chou nodded, leading one hundred soldiers through Lü Bu's and Zhang Liao's troops, setting up barriers on the small road.

  Ao Lü raised his bow and arrow, leading another hundred soldiers to ride into the semi-circular arrow array set up by Lü Bu. He shouted: "Release the arrows!" This time, Ao Lü led a hundred soldiers, Lü Bu led a hundred soldiers, and Zhang Liao led two hundred soldiers simultaneously drew their bows and shot fire arrows at the Xiongnu cavalry on Mount Baling again.

  After a round of rocket attacks, the fire on Mount Bahrain grew more ferocious. A Xiongnu cavalryman galloped to Zuo Xianwang's side and exclaimed loudly: "Your Majesty, if we continue like this, we'll all be burned alive here! What should we do?" Zuo Xianwang swung his sword to deflect an incoming rocket, a hint of sinister venom flashing in his eyes as he coldly declared: "The Han people want to trap us here? We won't indulge them. Gather the troops, we'll break out!"

  Under the shout of Zuo Xianwang, the Xiongnu cavalry gradually gathered around him. Zuo Xianwang took a look at his disheveled subordinates and shouted loudly: "Brothers, charge out, whoever can kill an exit, this king will reward him with ten heads of cattle, and even the beauty in this king's account like a flower, also awarded to him!"

  It is said that under the heavy reward, there must be brave men. A group of Xiongnu cavalrymen heard this and shouted loudly, waving their sabers and charging down towards the mountain pass. Mount Balin was not high to begin with, and its terrain was relatively flat, making it very suitable for a downhill charge. If a well-trained army were to charge down from the mountain, Ao Lie might have ordered his troops to retreat. However, what was charging down now was a group of Xiongnu people without any formation, no iron armor, and no round shields - were they here to be targets?

  "Stop shooting, switch to flat shooting, release the arrow!" he shouted. After finishing speaking, he took the lead and shot out the sharp arrow that had been accumulating in his hand. A Xiongnu cavalryman who was running wildly fell off his horse. Lü Bu shouted "good" loudly, then took out two sharp arrows, simultaneously placing them on the bowstring, aiming slightly, and releasing his hand to shoot the two arrows out. The arrows did not miss! The two arrows shot by Lü Bu lightly collided with each other in mid-air, then shot out in two directions. Two Xiongnu cavalrymen immediately covered their throats and fell off their horses.

  Watching the divine shots of Ao Lie and Lü Bu, Zhang Liao also dared not to show weakness, shouting: "Watch me shoot!" As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his bow and shot an arrow. This arrow was full of strength, directly hitting the throat of a Xiongnu cavalryman, and after passing through the throat of this Xiongnu cavalryman, its momentum did not diminish, immediately entering the eyebrow center of the second Xiongnu cavalryman.

  Lü Bu took advantage of the interval to retrieve his arrows and turned back to praise Zhang Liao, saying: "Good archery skills!" Zhang Liao, while drawing another arrow, replied: "The general is overpraising me!" The two exchanged a smile, and Lü Bu said again: "Do you dare to compete with me in shooting?" Zhang Liao responded: "It's what I've always wanted, but I don't dare ask you."

  The two men stopped talking and each drew their bows, searching for targets. Without mentioning the two men using all their might to compete with each other, they turned around to look at the Xiongnu cavalry. The first batch of cavalry rushing out of the mountain pass was restricted by the narrow terrain, unable to exert the Xiongnu's characteristic wolf pack tactics, and were shot down one after another by the Han army's sharp arrows. The Xiongnu cavalry behind continued to charge forward with a fierce and fearless momentum.

  But even the bravest and most fearless of men will retreat in the face of such a one-sided massacre. Finally, after the Xiongnu had paid the price of over 300 lives, their cavalrymen became afraid, retreated, and stopped charging.

  The remaining Xiongnu cavalry gathered around Zuoxianwang, anxiously looking at their great king. Zuoxianwang's face was also filled with shock, and he said in a low voice: "I didn't expect this group of Han soldiers to be so elite, especially the two leaders, whose archery skills are excellent." Suddenly, Zuoxianwang shouted loudly: "What are the Han people?" The Xiongnu cavalry were stunned by his words, not knowing what Zuoxianwang meant. Before anyone could respond, Zuoxianwang shouted again: "They are sheep! Sheep! And what are we? We are wolves! Wolves running on the grasslands!"

  The remaining Xiongnu cavalrymen, under the shout of Zuo Xianwang, regained their morale and shouted: "We are wolves! Not afraid of sheep!"

  In the face of death, some people will cower in fear, shrinking into a ball before being swallowed up by death. Others, however, will burst forth with all their latent energy and engage in a desperate struggle against death. The Huns clearly belonged to the latter category.

  This time, under the leadership of Zuo Xianwang, the Xiongnu cavalry formed more than a dozen columns, each with five riders. Disregarding the threat of death, they shouted loudly and charged towards the Han army's formation at the mountain pass, waving their sabers.

  Another wave of arrows shot out from the Han army formation, and the Xiongnu cavalrymen in the front row fell off their horses one after another. However, the cavalrymen behind them continued to shout and charge forward. It seemed that only by being pierced by the Han army's sharp arrows or charging into the Han army's formation could they vent their wolf-like nature. It was as if they knew that waiting for death was not as good as making a desperate attempt, and only by breaking through the Han army's arrow array could they escape with their lives.

  Facing the Xiongnu's fierce impact, Ao Lie drew his bow and shot down a Xiongnu cavalryman. He then saw that the Xiongnu had already charged to within about 100 paces of their formation. Dropping his bow and arrow, Ao Lie picked up his long spear and calmly gave orders: "Wen Yuan lead your unit in defense, Zi Tai prepare the caltrops, everyone else draw out your swords and spears, prepare to charge with me!"

  One hundred paces, ninety paces, eighty paces, getting closer and closer, almost in front of the Han army's formation. The Han army seemed to be stunned, and actually stopped shooting arrows. A sheep can never become a wolf! Zuo Xian Wang curled up the corner of his mouth, thinking disdainfully.

  However, the fact once again proved that Ao Lü's troops were not sheep, but a group of fierce tigers! A group of wise tigers! Just as Zuo Xianwang led the Xiongnu cavalry to run to within sixty steps of the Han army formation, Tian Chou, who was hiding in the grass by the side of the road, gave the order to pull up the tripwire!

  The Xiongnu cavalry did not expect Ao Lie to make a series of moves, one after another, using cunning tactics. Under the circumstances where they were unguarded, the Xiongnu cavalry was thrown off their horses in rows. Those who were lucky only got dirt on their faces, while those who were unlucky were kicked by their own horses and fainted. Before the fallen Xiongnu cavalry could struggle to get up, their comrades who followed closely behind came galloping over, unable to control their horses, which trampled over the bodies of their fallen comrades, causing a wave of mournful cries. The fallen riders in front became obstacles for those behind, affecting each other and causing even more people to fall.

  Just as the Xiongnu cavalry was in a state of utmost confusion, Ao Lie raised his long spear and shouted: "Those who dare to offend the Han will be punished no matter how far away they are!" The 500 vanguard officers followed suit, shouting in unison: "Those who dare to offend the Han will be punished no matter how far away they are!" With a swoosh of their spears through the air, Ao Lie led the charge on horseback towards the Xiongnu cavalry: "Charge into battle!"

  Lü Bu saw Ao Lie's horse rushing into the formation, and he hastily followed behind Ao Lie, turning his halberd to point at the Xiongnu cavalry. Except for Zhang Liao leading 200 soldiers in the rear, almost everyone else drew their swords and followed Ao Lie and Lü Bu, charging towards the Xiongnu cavalry. Even the 100 ambushers who were originally pulling ropes to trip horses on both sides of the mountain road, under Tian Chou's leadership, marched up the mountain road on foot, wielding short weapons to attack the Xiongnu people.

  Ao Lie's long spear swiftly pierced and slashed, consecutively stabbing through the throats of three Xiongnu cavalrymen. He then raised his head, scanning the battlefield with a glance, locating Zuo Xianwang's position amidst the crowd, and urged his horse to charge towards Zuo Xianwang's direction. Lü Bu closely followed behind, his Heaven-Defying Halberd dancing up and down, none of those under him able to withstand even one move, all being pierced and slashed off their horses by Lü Bu.

  Two men, one in front of the other, charged towards Zuo Xian Wang with a force like breaking bamboo. They quickly caught Zuo Xian Wang's attention, and at this moment, his eyes no longer held cruelty and brutality, but only helplessness and despair. Seeing the two brothers charging towards him, Zuo Xian Wang felt his heart torn apart and hastily shouted in a stern yet panicked tone: "Stop those two people! Quickly stop them for me!" However, reality would not change due to Zuo Xian Wang's will. Despite his hoarse shouting, Ao Lie and Lü Bu broke through the layers of obstruction and killed their way to Zuo Xian Wang's face.

  Ao Lie swung his long spear, using the killing move of Tai Chi 18 Slash - "Movable Hammer", slashing down at Zuo Xian Wang's head. Zuo Xian Wang hastily raised his horse knife to slantingly block Ao Lie's spear, trying to deflect it. However, he underestimated Ao Lie's strength and also underestimated the killing move that was refined from the fusion of Tai Chi spear technique and Flip Hand 18 Slash.

  Clang, after a crisp sound, the horse knife in Zuo Xianwang's hand was lifted into the air by Ao Lie's spear. Immediately afterwards, Ao Lie changed his spear technique and used the spear handle to heavily strike Zuo Xianwang's chest. Zuo Xianwang couldn't dodge in time and was struck squarely by Ao Lie's powerful spear handle, instantly spitting out fresh blood, with a depression the size of a bowl appearing on his chest, and he let out a miserable cry as he fell off his horse.

  The cold light flashed again, and the fierce gun tip was already pressed against Zuo Xianwang's throat. Feeling the murderous intent transmitted from the gun tip, Zuo Xianwang's whole body hair stood up, and he stuttered: "S-small general, spare my life, spare my life." At this moment, where was Zuo Xianwang's half-hearted appearance of causing trouble on the border of Da Han and dominating one side? It was clearly no different from a tail-wagging, begging dog.

  The tip of Ao Lie's spear moved forward another inch, piercing through Zuo Xian Wang's skin and making him feel the taste of death even more intensely. Looking at Zuo Xian Wang's terrified expression, Ao Lie said coldly: "I ask, you answer. If there is half a sentence of falsehood, my long spear will pierce your throat."

  Zuo Xian Wang nodded hastily in agreement. Ao Lie asked, "Where are the Han people you kidnapped now?" Zuo Xian Wang replied without hesitation, "They are on the grasslands two hundred miles north of here." Ao Lie asked again, "How many more Xiongnu people are stationed here?" Zuo Xian Wang answered, "There are still over 4,000 people."

  After a moment, Ao Lie asked clearly what he wanted to know. The long spear retracted and then shot out like lightning, accurately piercing the heart of Zuo Xian Wang. Then, he turned his head and said in a low voice to Lü Bu: "Trouble big brother to take action, and kill all these Xiongnu people, not one left!"

  Lü Bu's face revealed a cold and cruel smile, and he replied, "Second brother, rest assured, not one of them will survive." With that, he raised his halberd and charged towards the remaining Xiongnu cavalry.