The eastern mountain pass saw Hannibal mobilize all his light cavalry to strike the flanks of the Great Qian army, which was concentrated on defending the front lines.
Tens of thousands of light cavalry bypassed the front lines of the battlefield to avoid being shot by Divine Arm Bows, Three-Bow Bed Crossbows, or even Demonic Sorcery Iron Orbs.
Though light cavalry, these soldiers were still armored and carried small shields, capable of withstanding ordinary crossbow bolts.
"The front is unstable, halt the advance!"
The Sky-Sun cavalry, striking from the flanks, halted at the command of their officers, waiting in place. They looked into the distance, their hearts filled with trepidation.
An army appeared in the distance, akin to rows of steel city walls!
Ten thousand Great Qian heavy cavalry, who had been prepared, were each clad in plate armor, their horses in steel armor. They held heavy shields covered in steel plating in their left hands and long spears in their right. Their saddlebags contained Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and a pile of crossbow bolts.
Behind the heavy cavalry were ten thousand Divine Archers, wearing padded armor and carrying longbows. Large wooden shields were placed beside them, and their horses were equipped with sabers, dao swords, and other melee weapons.
The Great Qian Elite Cavalry, assembled with the finest military equipment and personnel of the Great Qian, were truly clad in full armor and armed to the teeth. Today, they were split in two, guarding the flanks!
Scouts dispatched by the Sky-Sun cavalry gazed from afar at the Great Qian Elite Cavalry, their hearts pounding.
In a trance, the scouts seemed to hallucinate: the eyes under the helmets of these soldiers glowed red, like demons from Western legends, silent but ready to devour at any moment.
In reality, the members of the Great Qian Elite Cavalry merely regarded the distant enemy with disdain, like tigers that had starved for days and descended from the mountains to hunt, encountering prey...
Taciturn, a murderous intent arose!
If not for their heavy armor, which made pursuit of the Sky-Sun cavalry difficult, they would have charged without regard for the cost.
For now, they stood their ground!
With twenty thousand Great Qian Elite Cavalry on each flank, unmoving as mountains, they became the steel Great Wall of the two flanks.
"Is this the enemy's most elite heavy cavalry and horse archers?"
The previously exultant Sky-Sun cavalry finally faced difficulties.
Their instincts told them that they absolutely could not break through this enemy defense line.
As a people skilled in cavalry warfare, the Sky-Sun cavalry could employ various tactics in battle.
For example, when approaching the enemy, they would not charge, but instead, circle the enemy formation and rain down arrows. If the enemy advanced, they would retreat; if the enemy stopped, they would continue to rain down arrows, harassing and depleting them until the enemy broke or could no longer send reinforcements to the front lines.
Alternatively, cavalry would bypass the main enemy formation from the flanks, attacking weak points or the junctions between formations, charging into the enemy to create chaos.
There was also cavalry where both man and horse were heavily armored, wielding long spears, and charging the enemy. Just before contact, their speed would increase to the maximum, relying on the powerful inertia of their speed to knock over enemies. 138 Reading Network.
The tactic Hannibal was currently employing was a combination of these three, which, in normal times, would have been sufficient to sweep aside all enemies on the European continent.
But now, the Great Qian nation used elite heavy cavalry to protect its flanks, while longbowmen provided ranged fire. These longbowmen could even ride horses and travel with the army, and the vanguard was protected by a shield wall, cooperating with the fierce Great Qian crossbows, completely suppressing Hannibal's three-in-one tactics.
The Sky-Sun tribe's proud cavalry tactics were completely stifled. Hannibal, hoping for a crucial breakthrough from the Sky-Sun cavalry, also ordered the vanguard to continuously charge the shield wall with heavy cavalry.
At this critical juncture, the elite heavy cavalry on the flanks made them hesitate. With the enemy's defenses, they were in no fear of the mere crossbow volleys of light cavalry.
However, if they retreated now, it would mean missing the opportunity to raid the enemy's rear, and they might even be pursued and suffer heavy losses. The previous charges of the heavy cavalry would become meaningless!
After only a brief encounter, the Sky-Sun light cavalry found themselves in a dilemma, unable to decide whether to advance or retreat.
They knew very well that the Great Qian army had other cavalry waiting in reserve. If they were defeated by the heavy cavalry, other cavalry would undoubtedly swarm out to pursue and annihilate them, with unimaginable consequences!
After a moment of shock, these Sky-Sun cavalry immediately requested instructions from Hannibal.
Before the message could be relayed into the fortress, Liang Xiao's military order had already been issued.
The Great Qian Elite Cavalry, towering like mountains, without shields, seizing the moment when the enemy's charge slowed, finally mobilized in full, like a torrent of steel, rushing towards the Sky-Sun cavalry!
In an instant, the heavy iron hooves brought thunderous sounds to the ground, like mountains collapsing and the earth cracking.
The Divine Archers on the flanks charged at the forefront with their longbows, their target fixed on the Sky-Sun light cavalry.
"The enemy is attacking!"
The Sky-Sun light cavalry, awaiting Hannibal's urgent orders, quickly realized the Great Qian Elite Cavalry was moving, and everyone became alert.
"It's the longbowmen! The longbowmen have broken out of the heavy cavalry's protective circle!"
The Sky-Sun cavalry discovered that the heavy cavalry, being too heavily equipped, was lagging behind the Divine Archer squad. Both shocked and delighted, they spurred their horses and charged towards the Divine Archers.
Hannibal, quickly briefed on the situation on the flanks by his messengers, exclaimed, "While the enemy's heavy cavalry has not yet arrived, immediately kill the longbowmen, disrupt their formation, and absolutely do not give them a chance to shoot!"
The Divine Archer squad, charging at the forefront, quickly reined in their horses. The entire squad subsequently halted, dismounted on the spot, drew their bows, and aimed forward.
"Swish swish swish!"
There were ten thousand Divine Archers on each flank, unleashing a true volley of ten thousand arrows.
Thousands of Sky-Sun light cavalrymen were hit by arrows and casualties mounted. Large numbers of Sky-Sun cavalry were still charging from the rear, forming small-scale stampedes.
Without heavy armor, these light cavalry were as fragile as paper against longbows. The front ranks, with blood splashing and unwilling eyes, released their crossbows. However, due to the excessive distance, the bolts could not reach the Divine Archers.
The light cavalry, at full speed, charged towards the Divine Archers, intent on quickly breaking their formation and killing them.
But a distance of a hundred paces was enough for the Divine Archers to mount their horses and retreat.
"Boom boom..."
The Great Qian heavy cavalry skirted around the Divine Archers from both sides, blocking the front of the Divine Archer squad. Each soldier held a long spear, and their horses were equipped with Great Qian bows.
"So fast??"
The Sky-Sun light cavalry was surprised.
The Great Qian warhorses' acceleration was no less than that of the Sky-Sun cavalry's fine steeds!
It must be because they captured those barbarian horse farms back then!
At this moment, they realized the tactic of the Great Qian Elite Cavalry: the Divine Archer squad, relatively lightly equipped, would shoot down the enemy, lure them into charging, and the heavy cavalry behind would arrive in time to reinforce, restoring the standoff scene they had first encountered.
The Sky-Sun cavalry's round of charge yielded no advantage; instead, they lost over two thousand men for nothing, and over three thousand suffered arrow wounds of varying degrees.
But what truly shocked and dismayed them was that these Great Qian heavy cavalry remained as silent as if they were the only soldiers, unlike other units that would roar and summon their Qi. They were like silent gourds, merely retracting their spears in place and then taking out the Great Qian bows from their horses, drawing the bowstrings taut.
Another volley of Great Qian bows was shot. Even though the Sky-Sun light cavalry had anticipated it, over three thousand more were hit by arrows, with more than half falling from their horses or dying!
"Circumvent immediately! Make the enemy's heavy cavalry run themselves ragged!"
The Sky-Sun cavalry quickly adjusted their strategy, circumventing the Great Qian heavy cavalry once more, and then continued to harass the flanks of the Great Qian army that had lost the protection of the Great Qian Elite Cavalry, while also looking for opportunities to ambush the Divine Archers.
Hannibal, commanding from afar, saw the general situation on the distant battlefield, his entire face contorted with extreme anger.
He now faced a choice.
Should he continue to implement the original tactic, letting the Sky-Sun cavalry charge, break the Great Qian army's shield wall, and disrupt their formation?
Or should he abandon the original tactic and send the Sky-Sun cavalry to face that elite force he had never heard of head-on?