As the barbarian cavalry neared the Great Qian army formation, they endured another volley of arrows, leaving over two thousand corpses from the three barbarian cavalry detachments.
Compared to the barbarian cavalry and light cavalry, heavy cavalry was slow. However, the barbarian cavalry on the flanks was extremely fast, quickly reaching five zhang in front of the Great Qian army.
Just as the barbarian cavalry approached the left and right armies of the Great Qian, dense spearheads unexpectedly emerged from the gaps in the heavy shields in front.
These were over a thousand spears, each nearly three zhang long, their steel tips flashing coldly in the sunlight!
As the barbarian cavalry reached the heavy shields and prepared to break or push them aside, they were impaled and fell from their horses.
After a successful thrust, the spears were retracted and thrust out again, repeating the cycle.
The war chariots, combined with the heavy shields, finally repelled the fierce assault of the barbarian cavalry, with archers behind providing supplementary fire!
The ordinary archers of Great Qian, seeing the power of the divine arm crossbows and longbows, had long been envious to the point of their eyes bleeding. Now that the enemy had finally entered their range, each of them wished they could draw their bowstrings to the fullest and immediately rain down arrows, venting their anger on these barbarians.
"Withdraw quickly! The Great Qian archers are too numerous!!!"
At this moment, the barbarian cavalry finally realized something was wrong, their faces filled with despair.
Not only were the enemy's arrows powerful, but the number of archers far exceeded their estimations, not just twenty thousand, and the arrows seemed to be inexhaustible!
If they couldn't break through the enemy's heavy shields and war chariots within a few breaths, they would surely perish!
The once formidable barbarian cavalry finally showed fear, turning their horses to flee, not forgetting to wave their weapons back to block arrows.
In the first exchange, the barbarian cavalry on the flanks retreated in panic, but facing the continuous volleys of strong bows and crossbows, the foremost cavalrymen perished before the heavy shields.
"Attack!"
Lu Changhe and Zhuo Ying, each leading thirty thousand cavalry on the left and right flanks, finally moved in pursuit.
The thirty thousand cavalry from both sides, accompanied by a rumbling sound, charged directly at the retreating barbarian cavalry!
Nie Yuan and Nan Jiyun, Yue Qingtian, who were commanding their respective formations, also mounted their horses after a brief rest and joined the white-robed soldiers.
The heavy cavalry of the vanguard, after leaving nearly seven thousand corpses, finally crossed the bodies of their fallen comrades and reached the front lines.
These barbarian heavy cavalry had bloodshot eyes, gritted their teeth, and thrust their spears at the heavy shields.
"Clang!"
The metallic clang finally awakened the frenzied barbarian heavy cavalry.
Due to their hesitation and the obstruction of their comrades' corpses, their heavy cavalry's speed had slowed, and their impact force was greatly diminished!
But what truly shocked them was that these shields had not been pierced!
The long spears of these barbarian heavy cavalry were supplied by the Tianri clan and possessed extraordinary power.
Yet, they could only penetrate the heavy shields a few inches, unable to go any deeper!
By the time these heavy cavalrymen reacted, the longbowmen positioned on the high ground had already aimed at them, their gazes sharp, and an arrow broke through the air!
With the sound of shattering metal, these heavy cavalrymen who had reached the front lines first all fell and died!
However, as enemy attacks continued, the heavy shield soldiers dared not hastily retrieve the spears, only managing to shake their shields to dislodge some of the spears that had penetrated an inch or two deep.
The large number of spears embedded in the heavy shields undoubtedly increased the pressure on those wielding them.
More than a dozen heavy shields had over ten barbarian heavy cavalry spears stuck into their surfaces, forcing them to summon comrades to bring replacement shields.
These dozens of heavy shields, covered in spears and lying before the formation, undoubtedly became obstacles for the barbarian cavalry.
The barbarian cavalry behind them also discovered the tragic state of the front ranks, no longer daring to attack. Disregarding military orders, they turned their horses and fled!
Seeing the gruesome deaths of their comrades scattered across the ground, no one at this moment understood better than them that disobeying a military order could lead to execution, but continuing the charge would mean being riddled with arrows before breaking the enemy formation!
Lu Yi, receiving intelligence in the central army, was overjoyed: "Immediately relay orders to the entire army, prepare to advance, and the cavalry will continue the pursuit!"
The shouts of the Great Qian army were earth-shattering, while the barbarian cavalry was forced to retreat and was continuously mowed down by the divine arm crossbows and longbows!
"Marshal! The front line has suffered heavy casualties and is in full retreat!!"
Within a short period of less than fifteen minutes of engagement, the messenger reported with terror.
The Right Virtuous King was furious: "Didn't I say that those who retreat will be executed?!"
The Left Virtuous King exclaimed in surprise: "Heavy casualties? What do you mean? How could the heavy cavalry suffer heavy casualties?!"
The messenger, with a tearful face, spoke faster: "I don't know, but our army has indeed suffered severe casualties, likely approaching twenty-five thousand, yet we are still unable to break through the enemy's defenses. The soldiers can no longer hold on!!"
"Could the enemy have secret weapons?" The Right Virtuous King's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered, "Withdraw to the main camp!"
As this messenger left, another rushed in with an urgent report: "Marshal! The enemy cavalry has launched an attack and is pursuing our army!!"
The Right Virtuous King finally became hysterical and roared: "Retreat! Orderly retreat, fighting and withdrawing, do you understand!!"
The Left Virtuous King could only sigh, "This Lu Yi, compared to back then, is inscrutable!"
"It's because the Great Qian's military equipment is better!" The Right Virtuous King said helplessly.
The Left Virtuous King was speechless.
The barbarian cavalry began to organize their retreat, at this moment only able to be thankful that the Great Qian army was mostly infantry, and even if they pursued, they wouldn't be able to catch up.
"The white-robed soldiers and Great Qian cavalry are attacking!!"
Terrified shouts came from the left and right armies, followed by earth-shattering roars of killing!
The Zhuge repeating crossbows, numbering seven thousand, unleashed a volley of ten arrows each, initially devastating a large number of barbarian cavalry before being retrieved by the white-robed soldiers who then charged forward with their swords and spears.
In an instant, the barbarian cavalry completely lost their courage and fled in disarray, countless of them trampling each other to death. Blood flowed like a river in their wake, and numerous prisoners were taken.
The setting winter sun seemed to be tinged with blood.
"Nan Jiyun is here!"
"Nie Yuan is here!"
"Your grandfather Yue Qingtian is here!"
...
The thirty-six generals who participated in the afternoon battle led their troops in a charge, roaring and shattering the enemy's morale.
Even Hu Yan Xiuluo was defeated by Nan Jiyun, and the other generals were killed by Nie Yuan fighting against overwhelming odds. The barbarian generals dared not engage them.
Facing the declining situation of his own side, Hu Yan Xiuluo met Nie Yuan, fighting and retreating. In the end, he had to push aside Nie Yuan's spear, letting his personal guards cover him, and fled back to his main camp.
The barbarian cavalry that had fled from the front were not pursued by the Great Qian cavalry. However, having borne the brunt of the attack and faced the most divine arm crossbows and longbows, many of their members were killed, their armor shattered, and their corpses piled up like mountains before the formation.
Countless of them also trampled each other to death!
The Great Qian cavalry pursued relentlessly. The barbarians, having received the Right Virtuous King's order to retreat, could only fight and retreat, their morale already weakened by seven or eight parts.
As the sun set, the barbarians finally gathered their remaining troops, repelled the Great Qian cavalry with arrows, and hastily retreated to Helan Mountain, leaving behind countless bodies of men and horses and prisoners.
"Our army has achieved a great victory!!"
As the military order spread, the soldiers of Great Qian cheered with joy.
This was because they discovered that almost none of their comrades beside them had fallen!
Liang Xiao couldn't help but laugh heartily, feeling immensely relieved.
This time, with more longbows and divine arm crossbows, and fighting during the day, the archers could guarantee their accuracy, resulting in even fewer casualties for their side!
Due to the limited cavalry of the Great Qian army, the white-robed soldiers knew when to stop and did not pursue further. Instead, they assisted in clearing the battlefield.
"Reporting to the Marshal and Deputy Marshal! Preliminary estimates show our army has killed nearly forty thousand enemies and captured ten thousand! Among them are many with strange features, and their armor and battle attire are clearly different from the barbarians, possibly mercenaries from the Guishuang Dynasty!"
"Killed forty thousand? Captured ten thousand?"
Upon receiving the intelligence, the generals all applauded and praised: "This is exhilarating!!"
Liang Xiao and Lu Yi asked in unison: "What are our army's casualties?"
As soon as the words fell, the two marshals exchanged a look and smiled knowingly.
Compared to the heads of the barbarians, the casualties of their own soldiers were of greater concern.