Sixty thousand Great Gan iron cavalry stood by on the northeast and southeast flanks, each led by three thousand five hundred white-robed soldiers. Upon receiving the military order, they roared to the sky in excitement, then raised their long spears and sabers, preparing for battle.
Zhuo Ying and Lu Changhe each led an army, circling the battlefield, awaiting the barbarian iron cavalry.
"If the barbarian iron cavalry doesn't come to us, we will go to them! A battle is inevitable! His Majesty's grace, the Marshal's righteousness, and the Vice Marshal's benevolence compel us to swear our lives and march through fire!"
Zhuo Ying and Lu Changhe exhorted the Great Gan cavalry on horseback.
The soldiers shouted in unison, "We will follow you to death to repay our country's kindness!!"
As the words faded, thirty thousand cavalry from each side galloped towards the barbarian army camp.
"This place absolutely cannot be lost! Our livestock are grazed in the Yan Zhi Mountains and Qilian Mountains, and they are everyone's property. If we lose this place, the consequences will be unimaginable!!"
The barbarian generals, forced to their limits, threatened and encouraged their soldiers, who could only steel themselves for the fight.
"Cavalry charge!"
As the order of the Right Worthy King spread, the barbarian iron cavalry, led by the remaining five thousand heavy cavalry, rushed towards the Great Gan army, attempting to launch the first wave of fierce attacks and break through the defenses.
Heavy cavalry were much slower than light cavalry, but compared to infantry, they were still as swift as lightning. Amidst the chaos, they charged forward under the Great Gan crossbow fire, nearing the front lines!
Just then, Great Gan war chariots arrived from the rear, their soldiers roaring, "Today, we shall trample the Helan Mountain Pass!!"
The horses and soldiers on the chariots were all armored. It was precisely the timely support from other branches of the Qingtian Guard and the Great Gan Iron Guard, cooperating with the heavy shield-bearing units of the two great armies, that fully intercepted the enemy's heavy and iron cavalry!
"Rumble!!"
The two armies clashed, foot soldiers against foot soldiers. At the first engagement, the sound of deafening metal impacts and dull blows echoed at the point of contact.
The barbarian iron cavalry's charge was forcibly halted by the two great armies, but not a single man was knocked back. They were stopped by the war chariots, and instead, hundreds were impaled by spearmen!
This was not because the barbarians had forgotten their lesson and charged again. It was partly because the two great armies had not formed a static defensive formation, and partly because the barbarians' own heavy infantry had been almost entirely killed by bombs and arrows in the previous engagement.
Countless arrows and bolts were shot from the rear of the Great Gan army, reaping a deadly harvest.
The barbarian iron cavalry's horses stumbled and fell, their ranks suffering heavy casualties.
Meanwhile, two other barbarian iron cavalry units, each tens of thousands strong, fanned out from the flanks, attempting to outflank the Great Gan army from the rear!
"The enemy is preparing to raid the rear army!!"
Messengers from afar relayed the warnings, alerting the generals.
"The flanks and rear are entrusted to our Great Gan cavalry and hidden forces. Fight with peace of mind!"
Lu Yi urged the attack, personally beating the drums. The soldiers of the three armies fought bravely, determined to capture Helan Mountain at all costs!
This was an excellent opportunity. Whichever side, Great Gan or barbarian, retreated first was doomed to be routed!
In a narrow path, the brave prevailed; the defeated would surely face a relentless pursuit!
Liang Xiao, holding the Setting Sun Bow, saw the barbarian iron cavalry emerge from the city fortress on both flanks and attempt to outflank them. He immediately drew his bow and shot three arrows towards the northeast wind.
The three Dragon Tooth Arrows flashed by like streaks of golden light.
Lu Changhe was the first to see the signal. He raised his spear and shouted, "Sons of Great Gan, crush the enemy!!"
Liang Xiao then took out ten more Dragon Tooth Arrows and shot them furiously towards the southeast, fearing that the Great Gan cavalry on the other side might not see.
Zhuo Ying caught sight of the distant flowing light and switched to a long saber, roaring, "Iron cavalry clear the way, break through and charge!!"
Thirty thousand Great Gan iron cavalry on each side, with rumbling war cries and pounding hooves, shook the mountains and rivers!
With sandstorms raging, the two Great Gan cavalry units deliberately took a detour, specifically to intercept the barbarian iron cavalry and prevent them from flanking the rear.
As they spotted each other from afar, the killing cries were deafening, and they charged towards the enemy fearlessly.
One side fought to protect Yan Zhi Mountain and prevent Helan Mountain from falling!
The other was determined to reclaim Helan Mountain, avenge their wrongs, and honor their ancestors!
Both sides stirred up dust storms, their horses neighing and warriors roaring in an unprecedented clash.
Amidst the exchange of arrows and bolts, the barbarian iron cavalry suffered heavy casualties, while the Great Gan cavalry also lost dozens of men!
"How can their defense be so strong..."
Realizing their crossbow bolts couldn't penetrate the enemy's "cotton armor," and that they themselves had lost thousands of men, the barbarian iron cavalry were both shocked and enraged. They made a swift decision to close in, aiming for close-quarters combat!
After firing a volley of crossbow bolts, the three thousand five hundred white-robed soldiers replaced them with Zhuge Repeating Crossbows they had prepared. Shielding their vital points with their left hands and holding the repeating crossbows with their right, they swiftly advanced to within ten paces of the enemy.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Puff puff!"
Thousands of Zhuge Repeating Crossbows unleashed ten arrows simultaneously, showering the enemy vanguard like falling blossoms, instantly cutting down over two thousand barbarian iron cavalry!
Countless barbarian iron cavalry were shot off their horses, trampled to death by the charging cavalry behind them, further slowing the advance of their comrades.
"They can only fire once! Kill them quickly!"
At this point, the barbarian iron cavalry, though outwardly fierce, were inwardly panicked. Forcing themselves to remain calm, they charged towards the Great Gan cavalry.
The Great Gan cavalry from the rear, not to be outdone, arrived in succession, launching volleys of crossbow bolts.
This time, the white-robed soldiers, as the vanguard, were armored on both man and horse, withstanding the arrows. They then used their Zhuge Repeating Crossbows to kill thousands more, and with swords and spears, they impaled the enemy on horseback in a single engagement!
The elite vanguard of the barbarian iron cavalry suffered heavy losses from the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows. Facing the most invincible cavalry of Great Gan, their formation quickly fell into disarray.
In the initial clash, the barbarian iron cavalry, who had initially outnumbered the Great Gan cavalry by half, saw their vanguard rapidly collapse, followed by chaos in their own ranks.
As the iron cavalry engaged in fierce battle, two units of longbowmen, each numbering two thousand, accompanied by two thousand heavy infantry for cover, arrived on the battlefield and unleashed volleys towards the rear of the barbarian iron cavalry!
Suddenly, the barbarian iron cavalry found themselves attacked from both sides, their ranks in disarray!
The barbarian iron cavalry had yet to inflict significant casualties on the Great Gan cavalry, but they had already lost tens of thousands!
"Why are there infantry here too?? Eliminate the enemy archers immediately!!"
Furious, the barbarian cavalry generals led a unit towards the longbowmen, enduring three volleys of arrows and suffering over two thousand casualties before finally closing the distance to within their own archers' range.
The heavy infantry raised their massive wooden shields to block arrows for the longbowmen, who then unleashed another volley to reap their harvest.
The Great Gan cavalry from the rear had already circled around and were charging from the right flank of the longbowman unit.
"Those who offend Great Gan shall be punished, no matter how far! This vengeance will be repaid for generations to come!!"
Every Great Gan cavalry soldier carried immense hatred as their sabers, spears, and arrows attacked in unison.
Helan Mountain was Great Gan territory!
Eleven years of hatred would be repaid today!
Eleven years of shame would be washed away today!!
As the two sides clashed, the barbarian iron cavalry in the front ranks were either shot off their horses or cleaved to death by steel sabers and impaled by spears.
In contrast, the Great Gan cavalry, thanks to the hastily made cotton armor and the suppression fire from the longbowmen and the cavalry from the rear, suffered casualties of only about a hundred!
The morale of the barbarian iron cavalry plummeted. Under the combined attack of the Great Gan cavalry and longbowmen, they quickly broke and fled repeatedly.
The white-robed soldiers bravely led the way, immediately pursuing the fleeing enemy.
Sixty thousand Great Gan cavalry pursued the remnants of tens of thousands of barbarian iron cavalry, slaughtering them all the way, blood flowing for miles!!
Within the barbarian camp, Great Gan forces continued their advance, shooting down all the barbarian iron cavalry.
Yue Qingtian pushed aside his heavy shield, his great saber ready, and using his left hand for leverage—
With Yue Qingtian's thunderous roar, a barbarian heavy cavalryman, along with his armor, was split in two by Yue Qingtian, sending the approaching barbarian cavalry behind him into a panicked retreat!
Finally, a cavalry general recognized Yue Qingtian's physique and roar as that of the fierce general who had once slain nine men in a single engagement. He roared, "Kill this man first! Wear him down to death if you have to!!"
Faced with the powerful bows and crossbows of Great Gan, the barbarian iron cavalry knew they had no retreat and had to fight to the death, charging towards Yue Qingtian.
Yue Qingtian laughed wildly to the sky, raising his great saber, ready to continue his bloody work.
"General, you are in danger! Retreat!" the Qingtian Guards behind him repeatedly warned.
Just then, a streak of light shot from afar, seemingly piercing through the void.
A barbarian heavy cavalryman was pierced through his armor by a Dragon Tooth Arrow. The impact of the arrow sent his bloody corpse flying backward, impaling another barbarian cavalryman.
The latter stared wide-eyed at the bloody chest of the comrade in front of him, an expression of disbelief on his face as both of them fell from their horses.
Two men killed by a single arrow!
As everyone watched in terror, they heard the neighing of horses from afar. Following the sound, they saw Liang Xiao arriving behind Nie Yuan, who was commanding the Qingtian Guards. With a ferocious glint in his eyes, he nocked an arrow.
Another streak of light flashed by, and a barbarian cavalry general was shot off his horse on the spot!