Tens of thousands of Great Qian iron cavalry rallied once more, charging directly towards the Qilian Mountains!
At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, on the grasslands, the Right Virtuous King's army, fleeing in disarray, reached this place and immediately changed horses.
"Quick, take the spare horses, dry rations, and jewels, and flee back to the desert!"
At this moment, the barbarian soldiers had no time to care for anything else and were the first to change their mounts.
"Marshal, the ten thousand herdsmen at the foot of the mountain, kill them all, so there will be no one left to herd for them!" Hu Yan Xiuluo suggested.
The Right Virtuous King cursed, "Idiot! Leave these mute eunuchs. The Great Qian soldiers will have to divide their forces to manage them and deal with these livestock. That will give us a chance to escape! Our lives are at stake, and you still care about this!"
Everyone obeyed meekly.
However, the barbarians still casually slashed at the livestock along the way, eventually killing thousands of heads of cattle and sheep, leaving the bewildered herdsmen gesturing.
"Deputy Marshal! The enemy has actually fled. There are indeed no defenses here, and the cattle, sheep, and some of the warhorses have not been dealt with!"
When the news arrived, Liang Xiao was overjoyed. "It seems the Right Virtuous King knows his life is more important than livestock and didn't have time to deal with them. It's our gain!"
"The Deputy Marshal's calculations are divine!!" Even the usually calm Nan Jiyun and others had their veins bulging with excitement.
Liang Xiao merely smiled.
In fact, this intelligence was provided by Zuo Wushang...
When Zuo Wushang trained the Twelve Barbarian Assassins for the barbarians, he had also come to this area. Hong Qu was sent by Zuo Wushang to contact the Right Virtuous King and had also been here. Later, the Hidden Wolf Guards also came to investigate secretly, confirming the terrain and defenses.
After all, as long as Helan Mountain did not fall, it would be almost impossible for the Great Qian soldiers to threaten the Qilian Mountains, Yanzhi Mountains, and the Hexi Corridor. The barbarians could graze freely!
"Deputy Marshal! We have discovered over ten thousand mute herdsmen..."
When the messenger reported, Liang Xiao and the soldiers were astonished. "Mute herdsmen??"
Hundreds of herdsmen were brought over, gesturing tearfully.
"Looking at their appearance, they seem to be Great Qian people!" the soldiers sighed.
Liang Xiao frowned and asked, "Do you understand the Great Qian language?"
The herdsmen nodded tearfully and continued to gesture, opening their mouths but unable to speak.
Liang Xiao found that their sign language was completely different from what he had learned on a mission years ago. He quickly asked the soldiers, "Who knows sign language? Please explain!"
Two soldiers came out and asked the herdsmen to repeat their gestures.
The expressions of these two soldiers changed from shock to anger, grief, and lamentation.
"Deputy Marshal, these are children who lived in Helan Mountain ten years ago. Later, when Helan Mountain fell, they were captured by the barbarians. After being poisoned and made mute, they were also castrated and have since been slaves, herding for them..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire army was filled with shame and grief.
The mountains and rivers were broken, and it was ultimately the common people who suffered!
Upon hearing the soldiers' explanation, the herdsmen all knelt down and kowtowed, pointing to the north and gesturing again.
"The barbarians have fled north!" the soldier shouted.
Liang Xiao took a deep breath, could no longer maintain his composure, and his hair stood on end. He cursed vehemently on the spot.
"Damn it!! Chase them! Whoever can capture the Right Virtuous King, alive or dead, I will give them an additional ten thousand taels of gold!!"
The ten thousand cavalrymen who needed rest were left by Liang Xiao to guard the livestock, as well as to watch over and comfort the herdsmen, and to share the cattle and sheep that had been casually slaughtered by the barbarians with the herdsmen.
The remaining more than thirty thousand cavalrymen had the herdsmen bring new warhorses. They changed their saddles and stirrups and then headed straight north.
Liang Xiao still rode Wan Li Yun Yan, but he also brought two spare warhorses.
Thirty thousand soldiers, with soaring hatred, pursued them all the way.
The Right Virtuous King's troops had already fled twenty miles, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Marshal's calculation is divine. The Great Qian soldiers have indeed fallen into the trap, haha!"
The Right Virtuous King on his horse laughed heartily. "While Liang Xiao hasn't caught up yet, quickly return to Yanzhi Mountain to observe the situation. If it's really bad, retreat to the Southern Desert!"
Just as the Right Virtuous King was feeling smug, scouts ahead reported in terror, "Marshal! The tributary of the Tianjiang ahead has flooded, and we can't cross!"
The Right Virtuous King was greatly alarmed. "Why has it suddenly flooded?"
"It seems that the ice jam upstream has not ended, causing the water level to rise and submerge one of the bridges!" the scout cried miserably.
The Right Virtuous King's expression changed drastically. He mounted his horse and shouted, "Take a detour, retreat to the northeast!!"
Having lost the passage through the Tianjiang tributary, the barbarian force was forced to detour east around the high mountains and ridges, preparing to continue north.
Just as the barbarians rounded the mountain, earth-shattering roars of killing and neighs of horses echoed from behind.
Hooves shattered, and the setting sun bled like blood!
The first person to arrive, charging with a spear, riding the wild sand, was Nan Jiyun!
"By order of the Deputy Marshal, we swear to capture the Right Virtuous King to the death!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Nan Jiyun took the lead and charged directly at the barbarian army. The White Robe soldiers followed closely, their killing intent soaring to the heavens!
Facing the fierce Great Qian iron cavalry, the lightly armed fleeing barbarian cavalry were terrified and immediately mounted their horses to escape.
A streak of light flashed in the distance, and a barbarian cavalry general at the forefront was shot and fell from his horse on the spot!
It was Liang Xiao who had personally arrived!
"The Deputy Marshal has ordered that not a single enemy soldier shall be left behind!!"
Liang Xiao's military order quickly spread. The Great Qian cavalry, men and horses alike, roared and charged at the fleeing barbarian cavalry!
"Fight your way out for this king!"
The Right Virtuous King was both shocked and furious, and immediately mounted his horse to command.
They could only flee northeast, but the northeastern route was already largely blocked by the Great Qian iron cavalry.
A large number of personal guards covered the Right Virtuous King, attempting to flee north.
"Hu Yan Xiuluo, dare you fight again?!"
Nan Jiyun spotted the barbarian army commander Hu Yan Xiuluo, also desperately fleeing in the distance, and let out a furious roar. He urged his horse in pursuit, killing barbarian cavalry along the way.
Hu Yan Xiuluo only wanted to escape for his life and dared not respond. He turned his horse and fled, not even bothering about the Right Virtuous King.
The barbarian cavalry's arrows had long been exhausted, while the Great Qian iron cavalry, due to retrieval, still had four or five arrows per person.
The lightly armed fleeing cavalry, facing the intense arrow fire from behind, were all shot down and fell from their horses, suffering countless casualties.
The Right Virtuous King had long lost his mind and frantically whipped his precious horse. The horse, in pain, carried the Right Virtuous King northward.
"Catch up!"
The White Robe soldiers had received Liang Xiao's death order and pursued with all their might, slaughtering barbarian cavalry along the way.
The Right Virtuous King had long become a walking gold mine in their eyes.
The Great Qian iron cavalry arrived from behind and shot, stabbed, and cut down the barbarian cavalry who were still struggling.
The grassland, already somewhat damp, flowed with blood for miles!
The Great Qian iron cavalry pursued relentlessly. Nan Jiyun ran the fastest, but the enemy also had a large number of cavalry covering their rear, posing a great obstacle to Nan Jiyun and others.
"Use up all your arrows, just shoot to kill!" Liang Xiao said angrily.
With an order, a final volley of thousands of arrows was fired, killing nearly a thousand!
The Right Virtuous King was left with only a few dozen personal guards to protect him. The remaining barbarian cavalry were caught up by the Great Qian iron cavalry and were all killed or captured!
Liang Xiao, with a quiver of Dragon Tooth Arrows on his back, continuously drew and shot at the Right Virtuous King's personal guards.
In the blink of an eye, only a handful of the Right Virtuous King's personal guards remained, and Hu Yan Xiuluo and others had already fled far away!
"Hu Yan Xiuluo, how dare you abandon this king!" The Right Virtuous King was both shocked and furious, but soon realized that it seemed he had abandoned his soldiers first!
The few remaining personal guards were also shot down one by one by Nan Jiyun, who had caught up, with his Heaven-Shaking Bow.
Without any cover, the Right Virtuous King had become a lone commander. However, Nan Jiyun's arrows were exhausted, and Kuang Sha, after days of hard travel, could not match the speed of the Right Virtuous King's newly replaced precious horse!
At this moment, Liang Xiao urged Wan Li Yun Yan forward, and at the same time, he took out a Dragon Tooth Arrow, forcefully broke off the arrowhead, and casually wrapped a piece of leather around the broken end of the Dragon Tooth Arrow.
After preparing, Liang Xiao then drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting at the Right Virtuous King. Due to the change in weight, the Dragon Tooth Arrow lost its accuracy and missed.
Liang Xiao took out another Dragon Tooth Arrow, did the same, and continued to aim at the Right Virtuous King.
"Whoosh..."
The Dragon Tooth Arrow, wrapped in leather on its shoulder, finally shot fiercely into the Right Virtuous King's back armor with a low thud.
The Right Virtuous King was impacted by the Dragon Tooth Arrow and, combined with his own inertia, flew forward dozens of feet, landing with a bloody face.