Chapter 209

Yuwen Hua rode his warhorse in a circle, yet found not a single opening for cavalry to charge through, and Yuwen Tianxian likewise noticed the arrangement of this battle formation—

Outside the chariots and ballistae, a vast field of poisoned iron spiky stakes had been laid.

Within the iron stakes, between the chariots and the formation, large crossbow platforms were placed, each fitted with steel spikes pointing outward, and rotary crossbow mechanisms were mounted atop them, connected by ropes; when a man touched the rope, the mechanism rotated and fired toward the point of contact.

Yuwen Hua's expression changed instantly as he turned to Yuwen Tianxian.

That calm general stared fixedly at the arrangement of these 【chariots】, 【rotary crossbows】, and 【poisoned stakes】 for a long while, then said: "This is my battle method—yet in just one instance, he has woven everything I excel at into his own formation."

"Leveraging the great river behind, the chariots and crossbows, he fully amplifies the infantry's advantages while nullifying cavalry's flanking maneuvers… I have never seen such a formation before."

Li Guanyi's eyes locked onto the front.

As expected, this Yuwen Tianxian, compared to the opponents who faced the 【Moon-Crescent Formation】 before, was even calmer, even more solid; cavalry galloped along both flanks, searching for weaknesses in the 【Moon-Crescent Formation】, while shielded heavy infantry advanced steadily forward.

Spearmen, swordsmen, archers and crossbowmen all remained behind the shields.

Yuwen Tianxian's tactics were like a rolling boulder covered in blades—slow, yet heavy with momentum, brutally overwhelming; this general, Yuwen Tianxian, was mediocre in every single skill, yet when combined, and amplified by his personality—

【Never make a mistake】!

He was a nightmare-level opponent for a novice general.

That was why Lei Ting had entrusted Yuwen Hua to him.

Li Guanyi suddenly slashed his right hand downward.

The 【Moon-Crescent Formation】 unleashed a volley of arrows—deliberately using weak bows and small arrows; it wasn't unusual, for aside from the original five hundred private soldiers of the city lord's mansion, most were coerced young men dragged up the mountain; bluntly speaking, it was impressive if they didn't shoot their own comrades.

That five hundred did not fire.

Thus, this first arrow barrage exposed every flaw of novice archers.

The shielded heavy infantry on the other side couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Some even deliberately shook their shields, easily snapping the arrows midair; even Yuwen Hua couldn't help laughing loudly—he spurred his horse forward, reached out, snatched one arrow out of the air, and roared: "Li Guanyi, can these arrows even kill anyone?"

"Hahaha, your formation is fine—but what good is it?"

"Cowardly turtle! One day, it will be broken!"

Thus, the Yuwen army accelerated noticeably; the heavy infantry pushed forward in defense, their protection stronger but their stamina drained immensely—the massive shields were thrust rapidly to maintain mobility, aiming to break the line while the infantry's strength was at its peak.

Yet even so, the army under Yuwen Tianxian's command remained steady.

Thousands held their formation; though filled with contempt, their ranks did not falter—three thousand armored soldiers stood solemn, weapons silent, advancing slowly; that terrifying pressure would have shattered Li Guanyi's own troops long ago, had their morale not been blazing.

Even Li Guanyi had to admit:

Truly, a famed general!

This formation's encirclement, combined with a Sixth Heaven famed general—even if a Jianghu Grandmaster were trapped inside, he might kill hundreds, yet would surely die beneath Yuwen Tianxian's spear tip; and now, in this formation clash, the commanding generals would not strike first.

Because Li Guanyi had seized the Fire Qilin's power; as commander, his aura was entangled with Yuwen Tianxian's—whichever struck first would lose initiative and face a Lei Ting strike; meanwhile, the five hundred private soldiers beneath the massive shields gripped their bows tightly, while the new recruits held crossbows.

They stared fixedly at the advancing heavy infantry.

Advance eighty paces.

Advance one hundred paces.

They were close—closer—

They had entered crossbow range, yet still did not move.

Only when they reached half the range—

At that moment, Li Guanyi swept his weapon sharply—the true elite of the 【Moon-Crescent Formation】 unleashed a volley; the heavy infantry, focused solely on the chariot-mounted ballistae, saw only arrows and instinctively raised their shields as before.

They did not press the shield's bottom against the ground.

Zzzzzz!!!

Only when the clear, piercing sound of arrows filled the air did they realize their mistake—but it was too late; a sudden rain of high-arcing arrows exploded into a bloody storm, and Yuwen Tianxian's weapon thrust forward sharply.

He shattered one particularly powerful arrow!

In Li Guanyi's hands, the Break-Cloud Thunderbow roared violently; the boy's ink-black pupils glowed crimson-gold, like burning charcoal in flame: "Keep firing!" Crossbow bolts rained down madly, mixed with arcing arrows—the enemy could no longer hold.

Yuwen Tianxian ordered: Shield formation!

Massive shields locked together, their bottoms sprouting sharp spikes that dug deep into the earth.

"Archers!"

The regular army's archers prepared to fire.

Li Guanyi drew the Break-Cloud Thunderbow, pinning down Yuwen Tianxian.

The boy's eyes burned fiercely: yes, the regular army's archers were no weaker than his five hundred Beicheng city lord's private archers—but the enemy had only six hundred archers, while here, everyone else carried crossbows!

After understanding Yuwen Tianxian's nature, Li Guanyi instinctively discovered the famed general's greatest weakness: his strength lay in having no flaws—but when the enemy excelled in one area—

Yuwen Tianxian, he had flaws everywhere!

Three thousand infantry: shieldmen, spearmen, archers and crossbowmen, sword-and-shield troops—all present, but none exceeding eight hundred; even the strongest shieldmen couldn't match the defense of Li Guanyi's 【Moon-Crescent Formation】 chariot-ballistae, and at this distance, his spearmen and sword-and-shield troops could not close in!

And here, Li Guanyi's archers—

One thousand eight hundred!

"So-called military doctrine doesn't speak of overcoming weakness with strength—it speaks of using my strength to strike the enemy's weakness!" The boy's pupils contracted sharply; from military texts, he had forged his own truth—aggressive, reckless—but—

All heroes under heaven are gamblers!

Lei Lengmeng, seeing the moment had come, gritted his teeth and swung his great hammer: "Hold steady!!!"

The hammer crashed down—the chariot-ballistae fired!

Zzzzzz!!!

The Mo Family's giant chariot-ballistae fired few bolts, but each was as thick as half a spear; as the enemy formed their shield wall, these bolts became a dark shadow, sweeping across in an instant.

The shields cracked; gaps opened, and the bolts pierced through multiple men at once.

Blood exploded instantly; screams rose in chorus.

Li Guanyi shouted: "Keep firing!"

Crossbow bolts rained out wildly; Yuwen Hua gripped his battle spear and swept away every bolt aimed at him, then instantly realized that the ship behind Li Guanyi's formation was continuously ferrying crossbow bolts—within an instant, he understood: if he did not cut off Li Guanyi's supply, this terrifying barrage would never cease.

The carriage crossbows were single-use, yet they had already shattered the heavy shields.

Even though the heavy shield-bearers had not suffered many casualties, nearly all the shields were now shattered; the arms and wrists of the shield-holders were bent and twisted to varying degrees, indicating a drastic reduction in defense against the arrow rain.

"Li Guanyi…"

Yuwen Hua roared in fury, gritted his teeth, and shouted: "Charge! Heavy cavalry, hold against their bolts and charge through!" After thinking it through, only a heavy cavalry charge offered any possibility—and if the Yuwen clan retreated now, their reputation would suffer a massive blow.

"Comrades, the moment to charge is now!"

He led his wave of heavy cavalry into the charge; among them were fierce riders who ignored the crossbow bolts, sweeping their heavy spears to shatter bolts aimed at vital points, letting the rest pass unheeded—man and horse as one, they charged forward with savage ferocity.

Just before reaching the line, they suddenly leapt upward.

They leapt directly into the formation—but before the warhorses could land.

Within the 【Queyue Formation】, the soldiers, trained for no more than a month, performed but one action—

Gripping their long spears, they thrust upward with savage force!

That was the greatest weakness of the fully armored cavalry.

In an instant, a dozen spears pierced the horses' bellies, churning wildly; the heavy cavalrymen, man and horse clad in armor weighing thousands of jin, were suddenly thrown off-balance by this explosive burst and crashed heavily to one side.

The cavalrymen were still alive!

They drew their swords, trying to rise and fight—fear surged through the other soldiers.

Fan Qing roared, leapt forward, wrapped his arms around the heavy cavalryman's neck, yanked open his faceplate, and drove a dagger backward straight into his eye—the iron-clad rider thrashed violently; ten men barely held him down, yet he still died.

Fan Qing gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring from his forehead.

At the same time, looking at the corpses of the elite iron cavalry from the finest army in the land, he felt an impossible sensation—

He had killed… killed a fully armored heavy cavalryman?!

He had killed him?!

Hahaha—he, he killed him!

The horrific stench of blood signaled that one of the strongest military units in the land had fallen here; among these raw new soldiers, an impossible feeling surged—like lost strength had returned, like their wounds had vanished instantly.

Every heavy cavalryman who charged in met this fate.

The thirty-three veteran soldiers from the former Taiping Army executed the ground-grabbing and stabbing technique after cavalry dismounts with greater skill than Fan Qing; in an instant, the 【Queyue Formation】 swallowed over a dozen heavy cavalrymen, without a single ripple of chaos.

Li Guanyi, still serving as commander, remained locked in stalemate with Yuwen Tianxian.

Rainstorms of arrows and crossbow bolts poured out endlessly.

The three thousand infantry had already suffered nearly a hundred deaths in a short time.

The army's formation had begun to fray slightly.

Yuwen Tianxian had gathered his battle aura and launched an attack, surging forward with a sudden spear thrust—the Bai Hu roared and lunged at Li Guanyi, who countered with the 【Huo Tian Da You】 technique; the two auras clashed violently in the sky.

BOOM!!!

A massive wave surged through the air, qi scattered wildly.

Yuwen Tianxian let out a long howl; the Bai Hu assumed a challenge posture. Li Guanyi did not respond—he merely countered with 【Huo Tian Da You】. This was the difference between attacker and defender—

If Yuwen Tianxian withdrew, he would escape the 【Queyue Formation】's assault.

But that would strike a devastating blow to the Yuwen family's reputation.

Yuwen Hua roared: "Li Guanyi, coward!"

The youth simply drew his bow and shot one arrow—Yuwen Hua rolled beneath his horse's belly to evade it. Li Guanyi turned to Fan Qing and others: "Keep firing! Load every crossbow to full capacity—shoot hard!"

"Yes!!!"

At this moment, Yuwen Tianxian personally led his cavalry, splitting light and heavy cavalry to both flanks, beginning their charge not against the carriage crossbows on the wings, but deeper still—

They charged into the water.

Yuwen Tianxian was far calmer and sharper than any opponent the 【Queyue Formation】 had ever faced.

He instantly recognized the formation's weakness.

If large numbers of cavalry pierced the flanks or cut off waterborne supply lines, the 【Queyue Formation】 would become an isolated fortress—then, merely surrounding it without attacking would be enough to make the formation collapse from within.

Intense flames coalesced; the Fire Qilin appeared above the battlefield.

Li Guanyi turned to Fan Qing and said: "I entrust you with command of the formation."

Fan Qing's expression changed slightly; he gritted his teeth and replied: "Yes!"

Li Guanyi smiled, placed his helmet over his face, and the black armor covered the last inch of his skin. He mounted the Fire Qilin; a cold, deadly steel shell enveloped his body, making him appear solemn and majestic, like a true general.

His voice emerged from within the steel, calm and deadly.

"We each have our own battlefield to face."

"I will bring you all out alive."

Li Guanyi gripped the Tiger Roaring Heaven Spear; the tiger's mouth on the spear roared like a real tiger. The Fire Qilin, wreathed in flame, leapt out of the 【Queyue Formation】 to intercept Yuwen Tianxian.

The Fire Qilin trod fire; the boy clad in Tie Futu armor swung his spear.

Yuwen Tianxian, riding a strange beast and commanding battle aura, turned his mount and slammed directly into Li Guanyi.

BOOM!!!

The weapons collided, the impact echoing like distant thunder; a shockwave exploded around them, bending arrows mid-flight. Above their heads, the auras of the two Bai Hus clashed and tore at each other relentlessly.

"You finally came out, Li Guanyi."

The black tiger beneath Yuwen Tianxian roared continuously; the Fire Qilin's eyes burned crimson, fangs and claws bared—no longer cute, no longer merely majestic, but ferocious and domineering. Yuwen Tianxian said: "Your formation is good—but that's precisely why I must kill you!"

Li Guanyi said nothing; he merely controlled the Fire Qilin's qi with 【Da Zai Qian Yuan】.

He clashed technique against technique with Yuwen Tianxian.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Tianxian's cavalry on both flanks had already charged into the shallower waters.

They raised their crossbows and fired at the ships.

It's a fire arrow!

A series of explosions rocked the ships, which burst into furious flames; soldiers aboard all leapt into the water at once. Yuwen Tianxian's long spear swept horizontally, colliding with Li Guanyi's battle halberd. Yuwen Tianxian relied on his own strength, while Li Guanyi drew upon the Fire Qilin's power.

The boy's physique could not sustain such prolonged output; blood already trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Yet his battle halberd relentlessly suppressed Yuwen Tianxian's spear. Neither could summon the army's momentum—this clash of generals was only possible in small-scale engagements. But at this moment, Yuwen Tianxian heard the boy's voice: "Yuwen Tianxian, you've lost."

A sound like muffled thunder suddenly erupted, rolling toward them.

Yuwen Hua unleashed a qi pulse, shattering one of the ships, then frowned: "What is that sound? Is it about to rain?"

He looked up—but saw no dark clouds. Yet the muffled thunder grew louder, drawing nearer.

Yuwen Tianxian suddenly sensed something wrong, but the boy's pressure intensified abruptly. The Fire Qilin's primal energy on the Tiger Roars Heaven Halberd turned savage. Yuwen Tianxian roared in fury: "Hua'er, retreat quickly!!!"

"It's a water attack!!!"

"A water attack?"

Yuwen Hua froze slightly. Historical records mentioned water and fire tactics, but in reality, such stratagems were rare, nearly impossible to execute. Upstream, as Li Guanyi's Fire Qilin energy surged into the sky, Ling Pingyang lowered his gaze.

He watched the martial aura in the distant sky and murmured:

"Lord, the young master's brilliance rivals yours…"

The old man drew his sword and slashed through the ropes holding back the water dam.

The simple dam collapsed.

With the sharpened floating rafts prepared by the old man—each tipped with poisoned blades—they surged downstream, carried by the floodwaters that had been dammed for days. Ling Pingyang spoke calmly: "My plan is complete, young master. Now, it is your turn…"

The old man held his sword and bowed deeply, solemnly saying:

"To our young master's triumph."

When Yuwen Hua looked up, the rushing flood was already upon him. He tried to flee, but the water beneath his warhorse's hooves suddenly swirled with hidden currents. The horse reared in panic. Yuwen Hua clenched his legs against its flanks, and the warhorse let out a piercing neigh.

With great effort, it still struggled onto the shore.

Yuwen Hua gasped for breath, turned to look—and turned pale. The raging river, carrying sharpened floating logs and the shattered, burning fragments of the fire ships, crashed down violently. Cavalry and horses, even infantry, were swept away by the hidden currents.

They collapsed with a thunderous crash. Meanwhile, the men within the 【Queyue Formation】 surged forward, avoiding the rising floodwaters. Nature's power was terrifying—in an instant, hundreds of cavalry were crushed. The cultivators struggled.

Yuwen Hua suddenly shuddered in alarm and shouted: "Retreat! Retreat!!!"

The cultivators struggling in the water saw that the rear of the 【Queyue Formation】 had turned—those ragtag peasants, now facing them, stood atop earthen mounds, clad in cloth robes or light armor, red cloth strips tied to their left arms, fluttering like flames.

Then they raised their crossbows, aiming at them.

The next instant, the whistling of crossbow bolts filled the air like a gale.

The northern cultivators clad in armor became perfect targets in the suddenly swollen, churning waters. The thuds of bolts piercing flesh were muffled and countless.

The river turned red with blood.

At this moment, the light cavalry had nearly lost all combat capability. Over a hundred heavy cavalry still managed to return to solid ground despite the water attack—but all were wounded. Yuwen Tianxian's eyes darkened. He knew: defeat spreads like a collapsing mountain. He was losing.

Yet he could still control the situation.

At that moment, chaos erupted behind his army. Two groups of cavalry charged out from either flank, clad in light armor, following Li Guanyi's orders. Changsun Wu'chou, wielding a long spear, skewered a battle-supervision captain in armor and sword, laughing loudly:

"By the general's command, our three hundred light cavalry have arrived!"

In truth, each side had only fifteen cavalry—but who knew?

Amid the front-line chaos, these thirty cavalry were fierce. Their mounted archery wiped out the battle-supervision unit, striking only at the edges like a swift blade—killing only a few each time, then wheeling back. Ropes tied to their horses' tails kicked up clouds of dust.

On a hillside, Generals Ling Pingyang watched this slaughter. His heart surged. Behind him, five hundred heavy cavalry felt the same. They had believed they came as a mighty force to rescue Li Guanyi.

But what lay before them was a confrontation so classic it could be written into military treatises.

By instinct and experience as a cavalry commander, Ling Pingyang did not charge into battle. He knew: if this young man truly possessed such strategy, he needed no five hundred heavy cavalry to win.

Just this battle alone would make Li Guanyi a famed general.

And these five hundred heavy cavalry? They were here only to make this inevitable historic battle shine even brighter.

With even greater glory!

When over seven hundred of Yuwen's infantry fell, Yuwen Tianxian regained control of his troops, reformed his lines. Even with casualties reaching thirty percent, he held his army from collapsing—but abandoned Li Guanyi to reorganize.

Li Guanyi gasped heavily, blood on his lips.

Yet he swung his halberd violently. The Fire Qilin roared, surging into the sky. The Qilin's roar exploded overhead, and every warrior in the 【Queyue Formation】 held their breath. Fan Qing's heart pounded to its limit.

In that instant, his mind went blank—let alone the others.

But someone had already reacted.

The thirty-three veteran soldiers of the Taiping Army!

Their Wu Gong was inferior to Fan Qing's, but now they hesitated not at all.

They stepped forward—and in an instant climbed onto the siege crossbow, then leapt upward.

At that moment, the enemy infantry's front line had barely touched their own. These thirty-three veterans landed on the backs of the enemy's giant shields, rolled down, and thrust their weapons forward—carving a bloody path through the panicked enemy ranks.

Yuwen Tianxian stared sharply at the boy.

Li Guanyi raised his hand, removed the Turkic helmet, and threw it down. This young Han general's brow glowed bright, blazing like fire, blood on his lips, as he raised his weapon high.

He did not seek a hollow victory. He did not seek survival!

Why can't we win decisively?!

The Tiger Roars Heaven Halberd roared as it had in days of old, then slashed down violently.

Its blade pointed forward.

The young Han general blazed like fire.

He shouted: "Charge with me!!!"

Fan Qing jolted. A surge of hot blood flooded his mind. He was filled with passion. He thought only: I'll risk my life. His body surged upward, following the thirty-three veterans.

He leapt forward!

Fear remained—but another force suppressed it.

One thousand eight hundred men, yet most still possessed combat capability; all were bloodstained, roaring as they charged forward, the thirty-three veteran soldiers naturally adjusted formation, each responsible for over fifty men.

Li Guanyi formed the spearhead.

The thirty-three veteran soldiers spread backward, becoming the two flanks.

Then came the martial artists who had entered the realm, then those with internal Qi, layer upon layer extending backward.

Those with the highest Wu Gong at the front bore the greatest pressure, while the flanks handled finishing blows—this was the unique battle formation formed by martial artists on the battlefield.

【Crane Wing Annihilation Formation】!

Fan Qing felt a thread of his internal Qi surge forward, then accumulate layer upon layer; the Qi of the one thousand eight hundred men, anchored by the thirty-three veteran soldiers, surged into the absolute core, completing the most basic battle formation of the Taiping Army.

The Qi in Li Guanyi's battle halberd surged violently as he swept it horizontally.

A tiger's roar exploded, instantly sweeping all front-line infantry off their feet, then charging forward—in that instant, the perfectly synchronized one thousand eight hundred men became a single spear, piercing through the enemy's formation.

Like parting waves with a cleaving blade!

Then instantly splitting apart, dividing the enemy infantry, spears thrusting in unison.

The Yuwen army, suffering thirty percent casualties, completely collapsed, instinctively retreating backward—turning the battle into a pursuit, achieving victory against greater numbers and superior strength.

Generals Ling Pingyang watched this scene from the hillside; he exhaled, tightened his reins, and muttered, "Marshal Yue, we did not need to come to save them."

"But defeating and annihilating are not the same thing—in this chaotic age."

He reached out, grasped his heavy lance, then calmly pulled his warhorse forward, saying:

"Let us carve a path for the Fire Qilin through this 【Heaven and Earth】."

"Yue Family Army."

He raised his lance, his voice calm and solemn, radiating authority:

"Charge."

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