Insufficient balance

  "Whoosh~~!", the bowstring vibrated, and a sharp arrow flew out with a low hum that made people's scalp numb. Over a hundred cold stars shot forward in an instant. At this moment, it was no longer possible to see which specific soldier was performing well, only that the entire Ming army was momentarily stagnant like a burst dam, and then fell down in unison in front, but this was already the last wave of arrows that the Tartars could shoot out.

  The Ming army was driven by an extremely powerful force of survival, no one beat the war drum, nor did anyone order a charge, but people had already been unable to stop their feet, and as soon as the crowd paused slightly, they were pushed forward by the flow of people in the rear, rushing forward without hesitation, wave after wave of them falling and succeeding each other, like waves quickly swallowing up the previous ones, striking forward.

  The Mongols blocking the valley were like a reef standing in the midst of huge waves, their sharp blades cutting through human bodies. The crashing waves whipped up foam, but this foam was bright red.

  On the hillside, the mounted archers could no longer suppress because both sides were crowded together, stuck in the valley mouth making a desperate fight, they had to throw down their bows and arrows, pick up knives and guns from the slope cover to charge down, tearing with the Ming army into one piece.

  The soldiers, who had been crowded at the back and passively beaten, began to counter-charge under the leadership of some captains, rushing up the slope and killing along the rear depth. As soon as a gap was opened, it was like a row of dominoes falling down, the entire perfect encirclement lost its effect, and the enemy troops rushed down in a swarm.

  In the two semi-circular flat grounds of Hulu Valley, hand-to-hand combat also unfolded simultaneously. On the two narrow paths, people were crowded together, everyone wanted to quicken their pace and rush towards the valley entrance, but they were almost carried away by the crowd, moving forward slowly and turbulently with their feet barely touching the ground.

  The bloody smell spread in the cold air, the heavy snow was still flying, the teeth-aching metal friction sound and the heart-shaking metal-entering-flesh sound alternated, blood and flesh painted a desolate picture in the flying snow.

  Behind, the heads were crowded together, and in front, there were only over a hundred soldiers who could fight. As soon as one side suffered casualties, fresh troops immediately rushed up to fill the gap, and the place where the two armies were stuck began to be piled up with corpses and blood, gradually forming a dividing line.

  In the heap of corpses on the ground, soldiers who had been embracing each other in a ball were still rolling about, those who continued to charge forward did not have time to distinguish between friend and foe, nor did they have time to help them, trampling over their bodies and blood, new enemies had already pounced on them ferociously.

  A majestic scene of a massive brawl unfolded, this was a real melee, soldiers couldn't see their commanders, commanders couldn't see their soldiers, everyone gripped their weapons tightly, searching only for a pair of hostile eyes, then let out a loud roar and charged forward.

  Front and back, left and right, were all swords and spears, and from time to time, cold arrows flew horizontally. At this moment, human life was absolutely equal, and a commander who commanded thousands of troops could also be stabbed to death by the most insignificant soldier with a single knife. All martial arts skills were useless, and there wasn't even space for dodging and evading, it was just hacking, killing, killing! The mountain valley was like boiling water, boiling blood-red water, and the only outlet was at the valley entrance where Yang Ling and his men were located.

  Linda's subordinates were all ruthless generals who could kill without blinking, but the power of the "flood" was too overwhelming, their lives were also being harvested by the other side, and the opening of the valley was only a matter of time.

  The shield-bearing hands, one holding a round shield and the other a short sword, were densely surrounding Ye Yuansheng and Liu Gonggong as they moved towards the valley mouth. But the crowd was too dense, and Ye Yuansheng had only stumbled and fallen to the ground when countless feet trampled over him, including those of Tartars and soldiers who were beneath his notice.

  No one has the time to see whether the flesh trampled underfoot belongs to a humble soldier or a noble lord, for the swords and guns that snatch away lives are dancing before their eyes, leaving them with only one instinct, the instinct to wield weapons in order to survive.

  Two shield bearers who tried to pull him up were knocked over by the irresistible tide of people, and countless feet continued to trample on them. This made several other soldiers harden their hearts and not dare to look back again. The entire crowd, regardless of friend or foe, was completely swept away by a massive force, involuntarily moving towards the valley mouth.

  Yang Ling was stunned, in such a chaotic battlefield, no matter how brave he was, it was all useless. Moreover, his physical strength wasn't even comparable to that of an ordinary soldier. His instinctive reaction was to flee wherever there were fewer people. Amidst the flashing knives and swords, and the shouting and killing sounds, the only responsibility he could remember was to tightly hold onto Ma Lian'er's hand, as she had followed him here, and he couldn't bear to escape alone.

  Everyone was thinking of rushing out of the valley, and rushing out of the valley was a way to survive. But Yang Ling knew that in this chaotic army, he had no ability to escape to the mouth of the valley. Even if he wasn't killed by the enemy, his thin body would be trampled down by his own people, becoming a mass of crushed flesh.

  Yang Ling pulled the dispirited Ma Lian'er away from the torrent, rushing up the mountain slope. As the Ming army counterattacked and the battle spread, they could only flee to higher ground.

  The Mongol noticed two people standing on the hillside and immediately someone rushed over with a knife, completely an instinctive reaction, a reaction to eliminate all hostile life.

  Seeing different attire and dressing, their instinctive reaction is to slaughter. Now people on both sides have become the most bloodthirsty and crazy creatures, those pairs of blood-red eyes no longer have any rationality, they are just instinctively looking for life and then destroying it.

  Yang Ling secretly lamented, now he only had one instinct left, that was to escape. The crowd in the valley was like a surging river, colliding and impacting each other, anyone who threw themselves into it would immediately be smashed into pieces, so he could only flee to higher ground.

  Under the chase of several beast-like shouting bandits, two people used all their strength to escape towards the mountain top. At first, Yang Ling dragged the frightened and confused Ma Lian'er to escape, but when they were still more than 20 zhang away from the mountain top, the exhausted Yang Ling began to be pulled by Ma Lian'er to run upwards.

  This body really lacks exercise, Yang Ling felt his heart racing like a galloping horse, his ears buzzing, the muscles in his thighs jumping wildly, the suffocating pain made him almost want to give up escaping, rather be beheaded by the enemy with one knife.

  However, Malaner obviously didn't think so. Although her throat also made a panting sound that was inconsistent with her fairy-like appearance, she, who had woken up from the shock of the massacre like a slaughterhouse, began to use all her strength to drag Yang Ling to escape.

  If someone were sitting in another space watching them, they would definitely think that they were watching a movie in slow motion. The snow was swirling around, and the two people in front, one man and one woman, were moving slowly, while several fierce-looking men with knives behind them could have caught up with just a few quick steps, but instead they too moved at the same slow pace, staring with ferocious eyes as they relentlessly pursued.

  Two people finally ran to the top of the mountain, and as soon as they saw the situation in front of them, Ma Lian'er couldn't help but take a cold breath, and the last thread of hope for escape was shattered. The ridge is narrow, and the other side of the mountain is a nearly 70-degree steep slope, with no way to escape. In despair, she let go of Yang Ling's hand, turned her head to look at the pursuing cavalry, and calmly reached into her bosom to pull out the golden hairpin that she had put there before rushing out of the city, holding it against her own throat.

  Yang Ling was panting like an ox, pointing at her, he couldn't even ask a word. Ma Lian'er's chest was heaving violently as she looked at him, her bright eyes were very complicated, she turned her gaze and saw several Tartars sneering and about to climb to the top of the mountain, she couldn't help but smile sadly, then turned back to look deeply at Yang Ling again, before closing her eyes, grasping the hairpin and stabbing it violently into her own throat.

  Yang Ling's muscles were all trembling from overexertion, he was so tired that he didn't want to move at all, but seeing Ma Lian'er's action, he still mustered up his last bit of strength and pounced forward with a loud "slap", knocking Ma Lian'er's arm aside, his five fingers grazing her cheek.

  Ma Lian'er was scratched by the hairpin on her throat, leaving a bloody mark. The golden hairpin fell out of her hand and flew out, with five finger prints remaining on her face. She stood there in stunned silence, staring at Yang Ling in shock. Yang Ling knew she had tried to kill herself for fear of being raped by the enemy soldiers, but he had no time or strength to explain now. He stumbled forward to the steep slope ahead, although there was no road in front, it seemed like this was the only way to escape.

  Turn back to fight those fierce Mongolian warriors with bare hands? No need to think, he also knew that the flash of the knife would immediately separate his good head from his body. He measured this nearly vertical and dizzying slope, while nervously calculating the possibility of survival, and beckoned to Ma Lianer, shouting: "Come......cough...come over!"

  Two of the pursuers had already climbed onto the ridge, having just slaughtered for half a day in the valley and exhausted their strength. Now they were also panting like cows as they chased up the mountain, seeing the situation at the top of the mountain, knowing that the two men in front of them had no way to escape. The two pursuers put down their guard, using their knives to prop themselves on the ground, gasping for air, and now they too needed to recover their strength to wield their knives again.

  Two pairs of ferocious eyes sized up the man and woman in front of them, slowly, the fierce color in the two Tartar men's eyes faded away, replaced by a lustful gaze. Those two lustful eyes were like knives "stripping" Malan's clothes, the lost strength began to recover quickly due to masculine instinct.

  Ma Lian'er's father, while working as a secret agent for the Jin Yiwei in the north of the Great Wall, openly worked as a fur trader and often interacted with various Tatar tribes. Ma Lian'er had heard since childhood about the wars that broke out between the Tatar tribes over the possession of fertile pastures, and the stories of women who fell into slavery after being conquered. Women who fell into the hands of these barbarians were worth less than a head of cattle, and their fate was worse than falling into hell.

  Ma Lian'er saw that the two Tartar men, who were as thick and long as savages, had fierce flames burning in their eyes. She couldn't help but shiver with a chill, her whole body feeling icy to the bone. Her only choice was to rush towards Yang Ling, thinking: "Forget it, rather than being left without a complete corpse, let's jump off the mountain together and become food for wild beasts. That's still better than being humiliated to death by these people."