Chapter Thirty-Two: The Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain

  "Zhao Wu Xu 2014" insists on rewarding, I am deeply grateful.

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  The chaotic situation of the Wumeng people was all in Ma Yuan's eyes, he knew that the time to collect the officials had arrived.

  Lead the Wuhuan cavalry in a circle, wait until they are exhausted, then charge into the sandy area, use smoke and dust to injure the enemy cavalry, borrow rocks to grind the horse's hooves, and finally deliberately rush into the rocky mountain, leading the enemy into the trap. This is a complete set of tactics that Ma Chao has devised to deal with the Wuhuan cavalry, fully utilizing the terrain and new horse equipment, ultimately forming an advantage for his side. Now, it's time for the final blow.

  "Heavy cavalry, armor on!"

  As Ma Yun gave the order, a group of tall and sturdy men with broad shoulders and waists rushed out from the cavalry team and quickly assembled. Immediately, their companions pulled over more than ten pack horses, unloaded the heavy objects on their backs, opened them, and found that they were armor. Then, one by one, they took out helmets, neck guards, shoulder pads, arm guards, chest plates, leg guards, and armor skirts, and put them on more than a dozen sturdy men.

  "Heavy cavalry, mount!"

  After half a stick of incense, Ma Xun gave the order again. At this time, including him, thirteen heavily armored knights, wearing thick armor and iron helmets, with only their eyes exposed, got on horseback with the support of their companions. The weapons of these knights were different from those of ordinary archers or light cavalrymen. Each person held a heavy wolf-tooth club or an iron meteor hammer, and there were also knives, axes, and other secondary weapons behind the saddle. They rode tall and sturdy horses that were larger than ordinary horses. Each horse had armor made of raw cowhide, including face screens, chest plates, and rear quarter plates.

  Twelve suits of heavy armor with iron plates, twelve powerful warhorses, nine iron meteor hammers, and three wolf-toothed clubs wrapped in iron. This is the entire Han Gou tribe's wealth and material resources, barely assembled into a set of heavy equipment. Twelve heavily armored cavalrymen, some were eight-foot-tall strong men, others had waists as wide as ten wraps, these people's archery skills were average, but they excelled at brute strength, their horsemanship was also excellent, making them the best candidates for heavy cavalry.

  Ma Hu's armor was the fish-scale armor captured earlier, and its defensive power is self-evident. At this moment, he put on a thick layer of leather armor, further enhancing his defense against swords, guns, and arrows. However, the weapon in his hand was somewhat special - it was a super cavalry gun similar to Western cavalry guns.

  It is said to be similar to Western cavalry guns because it has three characteristics: one is that the front half of the gun stock is conical, tapering from thick to thin, which is a typical Western-style umbrella-shaped gun; second, there is a round handguard, and the rear of the gun has an iron pommel counterweight; third, the muzzle is not sharp, but rather a fist-shaped iron protrusion. These are all characteristics of Western cavalry guns.

  It's called a super-long spear gun, not only because it's heavy, but also because the barrel is extremely long, even longer than Zhang Fei's eight-foot iron spear - reaching a length of five meters, which is two zhang in the Han Dynasty. As for its weight, it exceeds sixty catties. Such a long and heavy super-long spear gun, even in this era of heroes and brave generals, there are only a few people who can wield it - and Ma Han, with his mechanical arm, must be one of them.

  This is the mounted combat weapon tailored by Ma Chao for himself. After being tempered through life and death, his mounted combat ability has made great progress, but when facing a brave general like Zhao Yun, he still doesn't have the upper hand. How can you, who has only practiced mounted combat for a few months, compare to a Three Kingdoms strongman who has practiced for over a decade and makes a living from it? Since that's the case, why not play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses? What is Ma Chao's strength? Naturally, it's mechanical power.

  In terms of strength, even the most powerful generals of this era cannot compare to Ma Chao's iron-like physique. Therefore, in cavalry battles, one must fully utilize this advantage to its fullest extent.

  The weight of the superlance is not a problem; the length-induced gravity is not a problem; the heavy pressure on the war horse is also not a problem due to the divine steed Silver Arrow. When all these are not problems, a formidable heavy lance - the Overlord Lance, emerges.

  Cavalry battles truly embody the idea of "one inch longer, one inch stronger". If your weapon is one foot longer than your opponent's and you can wield it with ease, your chances of winning increase by at least 30%. This may also be an important reason why Zhang Fei was able to dominate the battlefield, but now there are even more powerful people and guns emerging.

  The commander of the vanguard, Zhang Fei, rode back and forth, directing his soldiers to shoot arrows at the pursuing cavalry. Looking at the commander's thirteen layers of armor shining brightly in the sunlight, with an air of majesty and grandeur, he felt both excited and slightly worried. He urged his horse forward and said: "Commander, although our heavy cavalry is fierce, there are really too few men and horses. Why not let me use arrows to break through instead?"

  Ma Hong was tying a large red flag to the heavy cavalry spear, on which a golden yellow silk thread embroidered a yellow dragon with its teeth and claws outstretched, struggling to break free from chains. This was the banner of the Han Ge Department, the "Golden Dragon Breaking Locks Flag".

  Ma Xun heard Wu Zui's concern, but firmly shook his head: "No! To defeat the enemy cavalry, in addition to constantly weakening and disrupting them with bows and arrows, we must also deploy heavy cavalry to deliver a fatal blow. Otherwise, it is impossible to truly break through the enemy cavalry. Thirteen riders are a bit few, but given the decline of the enemy army, there may still be an opportunity to win."

  With that, the face mask merged into one, the long gun stood upright, the giant gun towered above, and the great flag fluttered, like a small mast.

  "Heavy cavalry, charge!"

  Thirteen heavy cavalry formed a sharp arrowhead formation, with the golden dragon banner flying high as the spearhead, carrying the momentum of thunder, like an arrow off the string, looking down from above, and suddenly attacking the Wuhuan people who were about to abandon their horses and go on foot.

  Heavy cavalry charged out, and the hail of arrows from the Han cavalry suddenly ceased.

  The Wusun people had probably never seen such heavily armed cataphracts before, and they were stunned one by one. Under the shock, they raised their bows and shot arrows at these heavy cavalrymen.

  A burst of loud clattering, those bronze arrowheads or tempered iron arrowheads were deflected by the thick armor and flew wildly in all directions. Some arrows with strong bow force pierced through the thick felt, broke through the leather armor, but eventually lost their kinetic energy and stuck into the heavy cavalry's armor. In just a few short breaths, almost every heavy cavalryman, including their warhorses, were covered with dense and numerous arrow shafts, looking like porcupines, frightening yet merely frightening.

  Alright, you've had your fun! Now it's our turn to take control!

  Boom! Ma Hu, who was at the forefront of the charge, was the first to engage the enemy. With a thrust of his spear, he knocked an Ulan warrior's knife out of his hand, and with a crash, the man's chest caved in, causing him to spit out bloody internal organs as he tumbled through the air like a smashed melon, rolling down the mountain slope with a rattling sound.

  Almost simultaneously, another Uighur was knocked flying by a rifle butt, his head smashed like a rotten watermelon.

  This is why Ma Wan uses a blunt gun head instead of a sharp one. Whether it's the rapid charging energy or the terrifying mechanical arm, as long as the gun tip hits the enemy's body, they will either die or be crippled, losing 100% of their combat effectiveness. If the gun head were sharp, with one strike, it would penetrate too deeply into the body, and pulling it out would be a hassle. Moreover, the sticky bloodstains would also affect Ma Wan's performance. The blunt gun head doesn't have these drawbacks - one hit kills the enemy, and with just a touch, they can walk away, waving their flag without staining themselves with a single drop of fresh blood...

  The heavy cavalry following Ma Hu's body, except for the three knights who held their own arm strength and used the wolf-tooth club, a dedicated killer for breaking infantry on horseback, the remaining nine knights all used iron meteor hammers. This iron-made meteor hammer, with chains as thick as fingers and heads as large as fists, spinning and swinging, basically scraping to injure, bumping to severely damage, one smash making a pit, not dying is difficult. Most suitable for use in chaotic battles.

  A heavy halberd led the way, three wolf-tooth clubs danced up and down, nine iron meteorites whizzed through the air, thirteen riders charged like a giant battleship, trampling the crowd, plowing out waves of blood.

  Boom boom, the sound of hard objects colliding with human bodies was incessant. Ma Xian rode his horse like a flying arrow, charging forward in a straight line, and all the Wuhuan people who blocked his way, whether infantry or cavalry, were sent flying. Many Wuhuan people were thrown into the air before they could even let out a cry of despair, and this mournful cry often flew over the heads of the Wuhuan infantry before being abruptly cut off by the sound of heavy thuds.

  The Wuman people finally knew fear, and upon seeing the dragon flag from afar, they covered their heads and fled in all directions.

  Wu Zui saw this scene, overjoyed, immediately grasped the opportunity to attack, and slowly pressed forward with his cavalry. The Han army's arrows rained down again, shooting incessantly, killing the already frightened Wuhuan people, causing them to flee in all directions, leaving corpses scattered all over the mountains.

  Ma Xun did not pursue in all directions, but instead maintained his direction of charge unchanged. His target was the violent and arrogant general Pu Fu Lu, who was tightly surrounded by three layers of guards at the foot of the mountain slope.

  Pufahl was indeed jumping with rage, his forehead bulging with veins, the corners of his eyes pulled up high. How could he have imagined that the enemy had only thirteen riders? Even if they were wearing good armor and riding powerful warhorses, how could they possibly rout his several hundred infantrymen? But whether or not he understood it, those thirteen fiends were now charging straight at him. As the distance narrowed, Pufahl finally made out the enormous super-heavy lance held by the lead rider.

  Pufulu was stunned, subconsciously lowering his head to glance at the weapon in his hand - a three-foot ring-headed knife. Was he going to use this three-foot knife to fight against that ultra-long giant spear? Even a chrysanthemum could guess what the outcome would be.

  "Up! Up! Quickly cut down this damn iron-plated monster!" Pufleur, who had always boasted of being a brave warrior, also had his pupils shrink to pinpoints due to fear.

  The guards of Pufulu drew their bows and unsheathed their swords, put on their armors, mounted their horses and charged out to encircle the heavy cavalry of Han.

  Among the 500 Ulan cavalry led by Pufulu, the real elite was his fifty-horse tooth tent guard. This was the old foundation given to him by his father when he set up a separate department after growing up. Moreover, in the past decade, he has also injected a lot of new blood, and the combat effectiveness of the tooth tent guard has always been maintained.

  Most of the Wuhuan cavalry wore only simple leather armor, or even no armor at all. Their knives and bows were mostly self-made, with varying quality, and some didn't even have saddles, just thick felt pads. Only the Yabai guards had new leather armor, complete with stirrups, their knives, axes, spears, and bows were all standardized, and they also had iron arrowheads and cavalry shields. Their equipment was indeed excellent. But in Ma Chao's eyes, it was no different from paper paste.

  Boom! The heavy gun passed by, the gun tip was stained with red, and despite adding a layer of shield defense, it still couldn't change the outcome of the Wuman people being shocked to spit out blood, their arm bones broken and falling off their horses.

  One, two, three, four... seven Uwan guards' kites were released in a row, and Ma Xun's downhill momentum was only exhausted after that. At this time, there were only two Uwan guards left in front of him, while the rest of the guards had been either heavily hit or isolated on both sides by the twelve Han Ge heavy cavalry, with no chance for rescue.

  Kick away these two roadblocks, in front of you are Pufu's eyes mixed with anger and fear.

  At this time, Ma Yuan's downhill momentum and the war horse's high-speed kinetic energy had been exhausted due to the seven consecutive blows, slowing down. Those two Wuhuan guards were already shocked by Ma Yuan's absolute killing intent, internally struggling with whether or not to go forward and die. Seeing an opportunity now, they immediately swung their knives and spears, sandwiching Ma Yuan in a pincer attack on horseback.

  To counter this two-person or multi-person strike, Ma Hu also had a set of breaking techniques. His right arm held the spear unchanged, while his left hand drew out a four-foot-long throwing spear from the leather pouch beside the horse's saddle. The spear handle was as thick as an egg, and the spearhead was half a foot long, heavy and powerful in his hand. This heavy-duty throwing spear could be called a short-range armor-piercing killer, even the best Mingguang armor couldn't withstand it.

  Whoa! The spear was thrown out, a black guard pierced the left chest, issuing a tearing scream, like a heavy stone falling to the ground, the war horse that lost its owner neighed and ran away, leaving behind a bloody mess.

  Another Umar guard was shocked and turned to flee. Ma Xun's legs clamped the horse's belly, the silver arrow responded to its master's will, suddenly exerting force, catching up with the enemy cavalry. There was no need for the warhorse's momentum, the mechanical arm bent and popped, several thousand kilograms of thrust driving the heavy gun to heavily strike the Umar guard's back.

  Ka-la explosion, spine shattered, iron fist-shaped gun head even drilled a blood hole in the back. The Wumeng guards couldn't even make a miserable cry, like a piece of rotten meat slapping to the ground.

  Ma Xun pushed the mask away, revealing his true face. He pointed with his long spear: "Pu Fulu, surrender to me before I make a move. Otherwise, one strike will decide your fate, and it won't be up to you!"

  Pu Fu threw his sword and shield to the ground and fled in a frenzy.

  Ma Hongdun sheathed his sword and stroked the sweaty silver fur of his horse, but did not pursue. With the heavy armor he wore and his horse's exhausted strength, it was impossible to catch up with a rabbit that had lost its nerve, nor was there any need to chase, because he had won.

  The Uighur troops had already been shot to pieces by the Han Goguryeo cavalry's arrow shower and were no longer in formation, and with the addition of the heavy cavalry's bloody counterattack, they were completely routed. General Pu Wulu fled, becoming the final straw that crushed the camel.

  Looking from afar at the Uluan people rushing about like wolves and pigs below the small hill, Yan Rou and his more than thirty followers had expressions on their faces as if they had just been slapped thirty times. Silence, suffocating silence.

  After a long time, Yan Rou finally let out a mouthful of turbid air and sighed: "In the past, when Gongsun Zan was the county magistrate of Zhuo, he led dozens of riders to patrol the border outside. He encountered hundreds of Xianbei cavalrymen. Gongsun retreated to an empty pavilion and told his entourage, 'If we don't take the initiative to attack, we will be killed.' Then he took up a long spear, mounted his horse, and led the charge against the Xianbei people, covering himself in wounds and killing or wounding dozens. The Xianbei people were warned by this and never dared to easily invade the passes again. Now, this Han Guaibu commander Ma Xun is even more brave than Gongsun Zan back then, and his cavalrymen are also superior to those of Youzhou. It seems that in this northern desert region, there has emerged another White Horse General."

  Yan Rou just sighed, while the Wuhuan people were so grief-stricken that they could not cry. Due to many horses being injured, the Wuhuan people couldn't even use their usual trick of "gathering like bees when winning and scattering like birds when defeated", which had always left the Han dynasty helpless. One by one, they were caught up by the Han cavalry and hopelessly watched as the arrows got closer and closer...

  The Wuhuan people were defeated more miserably than the Xianbei people on the banks of the wet water. The Xianbei people played a single challenge, and at least they could retreat with their whole army, while the Wuhuan people played a group fight, and the final result was that the whole army was destroyed.