Chapter 68: Qian Ji Volume Flat Ridge (Part 2)

  Thank you "Zhao Wu Xie 2014" for casting the first monthly vote, "Whispering Youth" and "Sealed God's Carefree" generously voted, thank you so much.

  Wuyan felt that recently everything was going against him, being continuously defeated by a small escaped slave tribe, even losing his son's life under his own eyes. This was an unprecedented humiliation in decades! According to his violent and impulsive nature, on the day of defeat, he would have gathered all 3,000 warriors of the tribe to return to the battlefield at Wusui River and flatten the Han Gekou camp. However, when the news of Koubi's defeat arrived, Wuyan suddenly calmed down.

  One person fought alone against the combined cavalry of 4,000 Xianbei and Wuhuan tribesmen, killing hundreds and severely wounding Qilie. He seized the legendary "Magic Eye Bow" said to be usable only by Kunbulu, set fire to Qilie's tent, and single-handedly defeated over 20,000 elite Xianbei warriors, instantly destroying nearly half of Qilie's forces.

  This guy is really a jinx!

  When Wu Yan heard this one by one shocking news, his face twitched with a strong convulsion, and finally, he said with a toothache-like tone: "Is it that the Xianbei people are too weak, or is this Ma Hu too strong..."

  A few days ago, Wu Zhu slaughtered a cow for divination and the result was that there would be great disaster in the near future. Wu Yan was depressed and wondered what kind of great disaster it could be. Was it the White Wolf City? They only had 800 men and horses, and they couldn't even defend their own city. Would they dare to look for trouble on their own? Moreover, he had Abilene to monitor them, and if anything happened in White Wolf City, news would spread quickly. Even if Ma Xun dared to come, he would let Abilene attack from behind and destroy White Wolf City, leaving Wu Yan without a place to hide... He really didn't believe it. Could you really fight against thousands of people alone?

  But if it wasn't Bailu City, then where did this great evil come from?

  Wuyan only felt a wave of headaches. The pain of losing his son, coupled with the loss of his troops and consecutive defeats, had severely weakened his prestige in the tribe, and several tribes had already been disobeying his orders... This made him feel terrible, and he had been drinking heavily for days.

  Just as they were in the midst of a heated discussion, a sudden commotion erupted outside the tent. Wu Yan's eyes widened, and he was about to berate someone when the urgent voice of Chi Lu, the leader of the cavalry guards, burst forth from outside: "Your Majesty, there's a fire in the city... it seems to be at the hay storage yard..."

  Wuyan's intoxication was completely gone, and he broke out in a cold sweat. The hayfield! That was where the dry fodder for the entire tribe to get through the winter was stored. If it all burned down, how would the livestock survive this winter? Without enough livestock, the Wuyan Tribe would be finished.

  "Quickly go and put out the fire!" Wu Yan kicked the wine table with one leg, and the wolf howl was heard throughout the city. "Who set the fire? Who kept watch at night? Catch them back for me! I want to flay their skin alive!"

  The words had barely fallen when a black-clad scout burst into the royal tent, scrambling to his feet: "Your Majesty! The Xianbei are attacking, they've already reached the North Gate!"

  Wu Yan's body swayed and he sat down on the ground with a thud. He muttered to himself, "This great calamity is actually referring to Xianbei Nu..."

  ……

  Five miles southeast of Pinggang City, under a high and low mountain ridge, a cavalry regiment stood quietly, looking at the distant flames rising into the sky, as well as the faint sounds of killing and shouting carried by the wind, they couldn't help but pat each other on the shoulder and slap their palms together, barely concealing their excitement.

  Ma Huo had mounted the war horse Silver Arrow, fully armed and armored, with a crimson helmet and armor, his magic bow as red as blood, and the Overlord Spear held high. Under the cold gray night sky, he gave off an aura of a ruthless demon king about to devour blood.

  Tai Shi Zi gazed at the raging flames that illuminated half of the sky, his heart also burning with fervor. Killing the Hu barbarians! He had been wandering in Liaodong for nearly two years, and hadn't had few conflicts with the Hu barbarians, but leading several hundred elite cavalry... Ah, charging into battle against the Hu cavalry, this kind of exhilarating feeling, he had never experienced before.

  Taishi Ci glanced at Ma Chao beside him, and the astonishingly powerful spear made his heart skip a beat. He said in a low voice, "The Wuhuan people are in disarray. Launching an attack now is the perfect opportunity."

  "Haha, it's not time yet, the Xianbei and Wuhuan people haven't clashed enough. Suli must be furious to the point of vomiting blood, but who made him have bad luck... hmm, it's because he's not capable, and let the Wuhuan people discover it first. Zi Yi, do you believe that the Xianbei people also want us to take the lead, so they can follow behind and reap the benefits? Haha, Suli wants to play this trick with me, but he's still a bit short on timing."

  To be strict, it's not that Su Li isn't good enough, but rather he doesn't have a mechanical arm like Ma Hong's.

  Wu Yan has been mixed in the grasslands for decades, also known as "Grassland Eagle", now is an extremely critical period, patrols are sent out more than ten miles away, and any wind or grass movement will be reported immediately, how could they let people kill to the city gate before waking up. But he really encountered bad luck, met Ma Han and Taishi Ci, two big evil stars.

  Under Ma Chao's precise guidance from the heat source detector, on the dark and desolate plain, Ma Chao, Taishi Ci, and ten carefully selected night shooters, as if they had a pair of night vision eyes, swept across an area of about 10 miles in diameter. Many Wuhuan patrols were shot through the throat by arrows in the darkness, dying without warning. Taishi Ci couldn't help but sigh that if he were to have a daytime showdown with Ma Chao, closing the distance to within 150 steps would still give him a 30% chance of winning, but at night, no matter how far or near the distance was, he would definitely lose. This guy is simply inhuman.

  Ma Huan, Taishi Ci and others had almost cleared out most of the outer scouts around Pingguan City, leaving only the northern scouts untouched, which was a "gift" left for the Xianbei people. As soon as Suli's large group of Xianbei cavalry appeared, they were detected by the Wuhuan scouts. Suli also sent out elite vanguard cavalry to quietly remove the Wuhuan scouts. These Xianbei vanguards were stronger than Ma Huan, their archery skills not inferior to Ma Huan's, and their night scout removal techniques were quite good, but they lacked one thing - that heaven-defying detector. So when the Xianbei vanguard had removed most of the light and dark scouts, they still inevitably startled the last few Wuhuan scouts... The alarm was sounded, and the Wuhuan cavalry in Pingguan City, each holding a torch, rushed out of the north gate like a fire dragon to intercept the Xianbei people.

  Su Li thought to let Ma Yun's White Wolf Cavalry go first, and when both sides were almost done fighting, he would clean up the remaining mess. Anyway, no matter what, he had already achieved a great merit by sending his insider to set fire to the Wuhuan people's fodder... Unexpectedly, it was his own thousand cavalry that clashed with the Wuhuan people first.

  It has come to this. Su Li had no choice, and could only grit his teeth in anger. He ordered his thousand cavalrymen to risk their lives: "Kill all the Wuhuan people! Seize all the Wuhuan women and property, cut off the head of the old thief Wu Yan and present it to me as a wine vessel, and flatten the hills for my great Xianbei warriors!"

  "Ahh!"

  The eyes of the "Daxianbei" warriors turned red, like they had been injected with chicken blood, and launched a frenzied attack on the hastily assembled Wuhuan people. The Wuhuan people were caught off guard and were killed in droves, retreating step by step until they were blocked at the north gate. More than a thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen inside the city could not break out, unable to exert their military advantage. Under Wu Yan's loud curses, his second son Pu Chulou led 500 cavalrymen out of the west gate, circling around half the city and launching a surprise attack on the Xianbei people.

  When Ma Chao saw Pu Hu Lu lead five hundred Ulan cavalry galloping out of the west gate, he nodded to Taishi Ci, indicating that they could launch a surprise attack.

  Tai Shi Zi took a deep breath, removed the four stone bows, and loudly shouted: "White Wolf Fierce Rider First Team, mount up!"

  Hooooo... Two hundred White Wolf Cavalrymen moved in unison, mounting their horses with a unified motion. The warhorses seemed to have caught the fervent battle spirit as well, letting out long, mournful whinnies.

  "Charge!"

  Taishi Ci drew his bow and shot, one horse taking the lead and rushing out, with two hundred riders following closely behind him like a shadow, their iron hooves plowing through the earth. They charged swiftly towards the Wuhuan people.

  Pu Ma Lu led five hundred cavalrymen out of the west gate, forming a neat queue, just as they were about to make a flanking attack around the city. Who would have thought that behind the cavalry troops, a mysterious group of horsemen suddenly emerged, swooshing and swooshing. A wave of chaotic arrows filled the sky, knocking down fifty or sixty riders on the spot. In an instant, people and horses were overturned, torches fell to the ground, igniting the dry grass and rolling human bodies, many horses and men were burned by the fire, jumping around frantically, in a state of utter chaos.

  Before the Wuhuan people could react, the White Wolf cavalry fired two more rounds and knocked down dozens of riders again. When they were still thirty steps away from the Wuhuan people, they made a big arc and swept past, disappearing into the darkness.

  The night battle is most taboo to mix with the enemy, the enemy and our side are not divided, chaotic fighting, loss of control, killing a thousand enemies, losing eight hundred ourselves. The White Wolf Cavalry is a standard archer cavalry, similar to the White Horse Righteous Army. Even if it's a bright day, they would still fight while retreating, keeping distance, absolutely cannot be stuck by the enemy, hit and run.

  Pu Chui and Wu Wan people were stunned, just for a moment, nearly a hundred people fell down? Before they could come to their senses, the terrifying sound of iron hooves came again in the darkness, a group of murderous cavalry rushed out like from the dark hell, before they arrived, arrows rained down, Wu Wan people fell down again.

  These Wuhuan cavalry were not the elite vanguard of the Wuhuan, but nomadic warriors who relied on bravery to fight. When they won, they were like wolves; when they lost, they fled like rats. In short, they had no discipline and were not a real army. Suddenly attacked by the ambush, they were in a state of panic, seeing the city gate at their side, instinctively retreating into the city.

  Pu Ma Rong was shocked and furious, on the one hand ordering his cavalry to pursue, on the other hand whipping his horse and fiercely flogging the retreating herdsmen: "Bastards! Get out of here, chase them down, and shoot dead these Xianbei dogs who only know how to launch sneak attacks!"

  The White Wolf Cavalry came and went like the wind, and since it was also a dark night, they were mistaken for Xianbei people.

  Suddenly, the rear was in great chaos. The nearly hundred Ulan riders who had just caught up were killed and fled in disarray, while the White Wolf cavalry pursued and shot them down like a swarm of flies, with Ulan riders constantly falling from their horses.

  Pu Chai Lu was also frightened, and with great effort he pulled open the blocking nomads, his legs clamped together, just about to rush towards the city gate tunnel. Suddenly a sharp wind entered his ear, his back shook, and a bloody arrowhead protruded from his chest... Pu Chai Lu struggled to turn his head, only to see a hundred paces away, a young man with two halberds inserted in his back, his eyes coldly staring, and in his hand a large horse bow...

  Pu Chu Lu killed one, and the Wuman people who suffered more than half casualties immediately collapsed and fled into the city. Hundreds of riders squeezed at the city gate were shot by the White Wolf's fierce riders as targets, and died and wounded in a row. Less than 100 riders escaped back to the city.

  When Taishi Ci led the two hundred nearly unscathed White Wolf cavalrymen, carrying the captured Wuhuan horses, bows and arrows, and other spoils of war back to the foot of the mountain, he exclaimed with relish: "This battle was fought to perfection, the timing was excellent, continuous charging, the Wuhuan people were left with no power to fight back......hmm, most importantly, this White Wolf cavalry is indeed elite, able to maintain unity in action at night, skilled in shooting while riding, as Ci sees it, not inferior to the White Horse General of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan's heroic followers."

  Ma Xun smiled: "If so, why don't you become their commander?"

  Tai Shi Zi's heart skipped a beat, and he indeed had the intention. However, he said, "Let's talk about it after we win this battle. Next step, shouldn't we attack from the south gate? I feel that the Wuman people won't be able to hold on."

  Ma Xun gazed at the massive fire that had engulfed half of the sky, shaking his head: "No need to, Wu Yan will definitely break through if he doesn't want to become a roasted pig. Pinggang only has three city gates, the north gate is blocked by the Xianbei people, and the west gate was just killed by us with corpses all over the ground, he'll probably break through from the south gate..."

  Ma Huan's words had barely fallen when the south gate of Pinggang City opened, and a group of Wuwan cavalry rushed out like a swarm of fireflies, heading southwest. They had just run two miles when they discovered Ma Huan's ambush troops. The cavalry immediately split into two groups, one facing White Wolf's cavalry and the other continuing to flee south.

  "It's Wuyan Laozei!" A sharp-eyed White Wolf cavalryman pointed at the fleeing Wuhuan man to the south.

  Tai Shi Zi immediately drew his bow: "I'm going to take his life!"

  "Wait." Ma Han made a gesture, "Injure but don't kill."

  Tai Shi Cai was taken aback, thought for a moment, and smiled suddenly. That's right, Wu Yan couldn't die yet, if he died, who would fight with Xianbei Su Li who occupied Ping Gang?

  Looking at Taishi Ci leading the troops to leave, Ma Han smiled and picked up the Hegemon Spear - he was just a long-range shooter, specializing in fixed and unguarded targets at ultra-long distances. Like Wuyan's rapid escape from medium and close range, it's best to let the divine shooter handle it. What he had to do was to sweep away the intercepting Wuhuan people and create conditions for Taishi Ci to pursue Wuyan.

  "Heavy cavalry, mount!"

  Under Ma Yuan's order, a clanging sound of armor rubbing against each other echoed in the darkness. The thirty heavy cavalrymen, who had been ready to go into battle, mounted their horses with the help of the attendants and took over the wolf-toothed clubs, iron axes, and iron meteor hammers.

  "Heavy cavalry, charge!"

  Ma Yun drew down the face of Jia, picked up the Bawang gun, and lightly tapped his feet. The spiritual silver arrow sensed its master's intention and rushed forward to meet the enemy.

  This group of ambushing Uwan cavalry had fifty people, all were Uyan's mounted guards, and the leader was the head of the thousand-man mounted guard, Chiru.

  Chi Lun was just about to stop Tai Shi Ci and the White Wolf cavalry, when a group of iron cavalry with black helmets and armor suddenly rushed out of the darkness. The horses and riders were all heavily armored, their faces covered with helmet masks, only revealing their eyes, looking like demons. Especially the leader, wearing a red helmet and red armor, holding a long black spear, was charging towards him.

  Chi Lu didn't have time to draw his bow and shoot, so he hastily grabbed a long spear and urged his horse forward to meet the enemy. He was able to become Khan Lu's chief of cavalry not only because of his exceptional horsemanship but also because he had no equal in battle within the tribe. Except for being unable to beat the brothers Hēi Léi in wrestling, he was also a notable warrior within the tribe. He was confident that he could take down this coward who was fully wrapped in heavy armor and then strip off his opponent's armor as spoils of war... Wait, what was that?

  Aklu's cow eyes widened, this... which person uses such a long spear? It's at least twice as long as the one in his own hand. Is this thing even usable by humans? Aklu regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. He should have used a bow and arrow or a rope instead of a spear.

  The two sides were now within ten paces of each other; everything was too late!

  It's all over! Chi Lu glared with his eyes wide open, tightly grasping the long spear, aiming at the opponent's horse head and stabbing - he could only stab the horse head, this was the only chance to win in a desperate situation.

  Ma Yan's mouth curved under his black helmet, "Want to stab me? I'll give you that short sword of yours and lengthen it by a factor of two!"

  With guns drawn and horses galloping, the wind whistled and the lightning flashed, like a small sailboat's mast, the tyrant's gun flashed with a single strike.

  Plop! A crisp sound, like a fist smashing a watermelon.

  Chi Lu's skull was heavily struck by the brutal fist-like gun head, bursting and shattering, blood and bones splashing everywhere. The war horse carried the headless corpse into the thick darkness of night, disappearing from sight.

  Thirty heavy cavalry charged fifty light cavalry, and it's not an exaggeration to describe it as a tiger entering a flock of sheep. Moreover, there was also the abnormal existence of Ma Xian. In no time at all, Wu Yan's fifty riders, along with their leader Chi Lu, were all killed.

  When Ma Chao planted his spear and pushed open the face mask, letting out a long breath, there came from far away Taishi Ci's loud laughter: "Wuyan you old thief, remember this! The one who shot off your left ear is Donglai Taishi Ci!"