Chapter 116: Battle of the Wilderness

"Tamu."

"Charha."

North of Wuan County, on the road leading to Qingfeng Pass, two units of cavalry met.

They were the armies led by Tamu and Charha, respectively.

"Is there any news of the Great King?" Tamu asked urgently.

Upon receiving news of the defeat at Yancheng, he had abandoned the plundered supplies, killed all the slaves he had prepared to transport to the Grassland, and traveled light.

"None. The last news was at Wuan County. If the Great King had escaped Yan Commandery, he would certainly have sent us a message. Since neither you nor I have received one, the Great King is likely still in Yan Commandery, perhaps even in Wuan County." He looked toward the south.

Tamu nodded. "We must not let the Great King fall into the hands of Yan Wang; that would be a disgrace to our Black Iron Royal Tent. Let's go, to Wuan County."

Charha nodded and had his soldiers blow the ox-horn bugle. He took the lead and headed south.

The Northern Di cavalry moved once again, their horses' hooves kicking up dust from the ground.

They rushed toward Wuan County like a moving dust storm.

Wuan County.

Lv Chang stood on the city wall, keeping watch; he grew exceptionally nervous every time a scout returned.

"Have you still not found any traces of Kutu?" Lv Chang asked.

The scouting cavalry shook their heads.

Lv Chang patted his own head; the news of the great victory at the Battle of Yancheng had already reached here along with the cavalry coming from Yancheng.

This left the soldiers garrisoned in Wuan County feeling both happy and jealous.

They were happy, naturally, because His Highness Yan Wang had defeated the Northern Di.

They were jealous because they had not personally participated in this battle.

However, he had received confirmed intelligence that Kutu had led his remnants here.

This was equivalent to military merit delivered to his doorstep; it would be a terrible pity if he could not secure it.

It was just that the cavalry moved too fast; they had only just caught up, and they had already run off again.

But he believed that as long as they continued the encirclement, Kutu would certainly not be able to escape.

Although horses run fast, their endurance is poor.

They often need to rest for a period after running a certain distance, otherwise, they will run themselves to death.

Moreover, there is no natural pasture in Yan Commandery.

And it was impossible for Kutu to carry a baggage train while fleeing.

It would not be long before they were exhausted and their horses worn out.

Just as he was thinking this, a soldier came from the direction of the North Gate.

"My Lord, it is bad; a large number of cavalry are coming from the north."

Upon hearing this, Lv Chang immediately looked out toward the north of the city; sure enough, a multitude of cavalry were galloping over.

They were Northern Di cavalry.

And given the large number of these cavalry, they must have come to rescue Kutu.

"Damn it, the intersection cannot be held." Lv Chang was somewhat anxious.

Once off the road, an army easily loses its way.

Therefore, during wartime, one must often travel along the roads.

Now that the Northern Di army had arrived, a single battalion of soldiers at the intersection could not possibly stop them.

However, these cavalry seemed to be merely passing through, with no intention of laying siege to Wuan County.

Crossing past the city, they split into several groups of cavalry and headed off along different roads.

Seeing this, Lv Chang became even more certain that they were there to rescue Kutu.

"Leave two thousand men inside the city; the rest come with me out of the city." Lv Chang hesitated for a moment before making his decision.

Yan Commandery is the Yan Commandery of the people of Yan; how could he let the Northern Di come and go as they please?

Furthermore, this proved that Kutu was still within Wuan County, so he could not let him escape easily.

Previously, four thousand men had already been guarding the roads, pursuing and suppressing Kutu.

Now, four thousand men remained in the city; aside from the twenty-odd cavalry responsible for scouting, all others were infantry.

Having assembled the soldiers, he immediately led them out of the city to pursue the direction of the Northern Di cavalry.

He did not ask to defeat these cavalry, even dragging them out for a period would suffice.

As soon as the Wuan County army left the city, they were immediately discovered by the Northern Di cavalry.

Charha received the news, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He said to Tamu, "These Yan Wang soldiers are truly arrogant to the extreme. You lead the men to continue searching for the Great King; I am going to slaughter them until not a single piece of armor remains."

"Charha, the most important thing right now is the Great King; do not be reckless. The Great King was defeated even at Yancheng; these Yan Wang soldiers must have some ability."

Charha ignored Tamu's advice; to him, these Yan Wang soldiers who had left the city were provoking him.

He had to give these soldiers a taste of his power.

It would only take half an hour for him to defeat these soldiers.

Thinking of this, he ordered his subordinates to turn back.

Seeing Charha leave, Tamu lashed his horsewhip in hatred and continued south.

Outside the gates of Wuan County.

As soon as the Northern Di cavalry turned back, Lv Chang immediately ordered his soldiers to form up.

Two thousand soldiers immediately shifted into four Square Formations.

In each Square Formation, the perimeter consists of Long Spear soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, with three layers in the front, middle, and rear.

Behind the Long Spear soldiers are three rows of Crossbowmen; they draw their strings and aim at the galloping Cavalry.

The Shield-bearers are behind the Crossbowmen; once contact is made, they will rush to the front to clear out the remaining enemies.

There are four such square formations, with a gap of five or six meters between each one.

Once the enemy surrounds them, they can launch attacks from all four directions.

This square formation was discussed and devised by Yan Wang and General Chang after they were equipped with the Pulley Crossbow.

It is said to be specifically used for dealing with Cavalry in the open field.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

The Charha Cavalry charged over, and rounds of Arrows flew toward the Wangfu Army.

The Wangfu Army stood as steady as a mountain, and the Arrows made clanging sounds as they landed on their Armor.

These soldiers are all wearing Plate Armor, providing tight protection.

"Whoosh, whoosh..." After one round of archery, another round followed, and by this time, the Cavalry were getting closer and closer.

But the Wangfu Army soldiers in the formation still did not fire.

They want to let the Northern Di soldiers get very close before striking.

This can cause them the greatest casualties.

Charha is directing the battle from the rear.

After two rounds of archery, the formation of Yan Wang's soldiers remained completely orderly, and there were no massive casualties among the soldiers as he had foreseen.

He felt a sense of unease.

But by this time, the Cavalry had already charged to the front of the Yan Wang army formation.

Some soldiers even passed through the gaps in the army formation and circled to the rear.

"Fire!" Just at this moment, Lv Chang, who was located in the center of the army formation, shouted loudly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." A burst of sounds of objects being pierced by projectiles rang out.

A large number of Crossbow bolts were fired from all four sides of the square formation, flying toward the approaching Northern Di Cavalry.

Some of these Northern Di Cavalry were only ten-plus meters away from the army formation.

Before the immense power of the Crossbow bolts, the Northern Di Cavalry in the front were directly pierced through.

"Ah... hiss..." A chorus of human screams and the miserable neighing of horses came at the same time.

Charha saw hundreds of Cavalry falling from their horses.

Even more Cavalry had their horses shot while galloping, causing both man and horse to tumble to the ground.

Charha was extremely furious.

The lost Cavalry made him almost lose his sanity.

"Can my four thousand Cavalry not destroy your mere two thousand men?" Charha roared in anger.

Turning his head toward the generals beside him, he said: "Blindfold the horses' eyes, and smash the army formation open for me."

Warhorses are not creatures without fear; seeing sharp Long Spears, a Warhorse will not stupidly crash into them; the instinct of a living creature will make it stop forcibly or avoid them.

Therefore, sometimes in order to forcibly charge an army formation, the Northern Di people sometimes blindfold the horses' eyes.

"Charge!" Under his command.

Two rows of Cavalry, consisting of five hundred men each, galloped toward the army formation.

In the center of the army formation, Lv Chang saw this scene, his expression grave.

The Northern Di Cavalry lined up in a single line in the open field.

These lines kept closing in.

In their eyes, the Northern Di Cavalry became clearer and clearer.

A Northern Di Warhorse is generally six feet tall, and with the Northern Di Cavalry sitting on top, they are a full eight feet tall.

And a Warhorse weighs over a thousand catties, and even heavier with the Cavalry.

A collision with such weight can directly ram a soldier to death.

"Hold the Long Spears!" Lv Chang roared; now only by using Long Spears can they withstand the Cavalry's charge.

As his order fell, the Long Spear soldiers braced their Long Spears against the ground, the spear tips slanted toward the Cavalry, their feet stepping on the spear butts, using their entire body's strength.

"Boom! Sizzle!"

At a distance of one hundred meters, the Northern Di Cavalry suddenly accelerated, the Warhorses crashing into the Long Spears like afterimages.

The immense impact force shattered the web of the Wangfu Army soldiers' hands.

And the Northern Di Cavalry's Warhorses were instantly pierced through by the Long Spears.

Some Long Spear soldiers' spears slipped due to the impact, and they were knocked backward by the collision of the Warhorses.

Borrowing the power of the impact, the Northern Di soldiers fell into the army formation.

Climbing up from the ground, they picked up their Curved Blades and began to fight hand-to-hand with the Wangfu Army soldiers.

The Crossbowmen dropped their Crossbows, drew their sidearms, and joined the battle.

"Damn it, I'm not afraid of you in close combat." Lv Chang raised his Long Sword and charged toward the Northern Di soldiers.

Tall and wearing full Plate Armor, he was like a steel god of war.

As the Long Sword swung down, a Northern Di soldier raised his blade to block.

When a great force was transmitted, his Curved Blade was knocked to the ground.

Before he could pick up his Curved Blade, he felt the world spinning upside down.

His head had already fallen to the ground.

"Kill!"

More Northern Di Cavalry charged over, and the soldiers of both sides became intermingled.

The collision between the Cavalry and the Infantry turned into a close-quarters melee.

In the distance, Charha's expression first relaxed, but then it turned ugly.

Although the Yan Wang soldiers' battle formation had become chaotic due to the collision.

His soldiers did not gain any advantage in the melee; instead, they kept falling under the blades of the Yan Wang soldiers.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the words of Tamu.

He was hesitating over whether to continue sending out soldiers to join the melee.

Just then, he suddenly saw Tamu, who had gone far away, returning.

Tamu arrived at his side with an anxious expression, "Do not worry about these Yan Wang soldiers anymore, the Imperial Guard Cavalry of Yanguan has arrived."