Chapter 297: Heavy cavalry and elephant troops—the Allied forces never saw them coming

When Cao Cao received the battle report from Ding Yuan Shao's side, he was struck with astonishment.

"Liu Bei has actually improved the trebuchets and bed-mounted crossbows, allowing them to not only defend cities but also fight in the field!"

Cheng Yu said in a low voice,

"My Lord, the chariot formation that Ding Yuan Shao spent a fortune to build has been destroyed in a single stroke!"

Cao Cao gave a cold snort.

"Such obsolete things—only Ding Yuan Shao would still be playing with them."

At the same time, he felt fortunate that he hadn't taken the center position; otherwise, those bed-mounted crossbows and thunder-bolt catapults would have been greeting him!

He shouted loudly,

"Order Yue Jin to continue the attack!"

"Xu Zhu and Xia Hou Dun, lead your troops to assault the flanks of Gao Shun's Camp-Crushing Battalion!"

"Understood!"

"Tell Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and charge! Charge! Charge!"

"Understood!"

Gao Shun's side moved as well!

Gan Ning and Huang Zhong each led a unit of elites to engage Xu Zhu and Xia Hou Dun!

When enemies meet, their eyes turn red with hatred.

"Kill!"

In close-quarters combat, blades, spears, swords, and halberds were all aimed at the opponent, the fighting becoming inextricably fierce!

"Rumble!"

With thundering hooves, Dian Wei and Cao Chun led Cao Cao's most elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into the fray!

Zhang Fei and Chen Dao also led Liu Bei's personal guard cavalry to meet them!

A rain of arrows and crossbow bolts bombarded them, but this time the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were prepared; each man carried a shield, limiting the lethality.

Chen Dao made a prompt decision.

"Shoot the horses!"

Although the horses were armored, their defense was still relatively weak.

Despite the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's desperate defense, nearly a thousand men fell.

Cao Cao's heart bled—those were his elites!

However, the two sides were now closing the distance.

"Spears!"

Dian Wei roared, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, using the momentum of their horses, hurled the short spears in their hands!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The short spears also caused hundreds of casualties among the personal guard cavalry!

Before the two sides had even engaged in close combat, both had already suffered losses.

Soon, the two elite cavalry forces collided in an instant.

Zhang Fei and Dian Wei swatted away surrounding enemy soldiers and clashed once again!

The main armies were also locked in a stalemate!

Sun Ce had sent out fifty thousand troops this time, and seeing the twenty thousand-plus cavalry charging toward them, he said,

"It's Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao!"

"Liu Bei wants to use cavalry to crush us!"

Zhou Yu nodded.

"My Lord, our army should prioritize holding our ground. Once the enemy's momentum fades, we will counter-attack!"

"Agreed!"

"Order Cheng Pu and Chen Wu to hold firm at all costs, and use long spears and longbows to exhaust Liu Bei's cavalry!"

Facing the long spear and longbow units, Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao did not hesitate.

The horns blared urgently.

The two cavalry forces swept forward like a whirlwind!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Sun Ce's longbowmen began firing a rain of arrows at the cavalry!

Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao's front-line cavalry also used crossbows to bombard Sun Ce's army!

Soldiers on both sides were constantly struck by arrows and fell!

The earth shook as the two sides drew closer!

Cheng Pu shouted,

"Spear formation!"

Countless long spears turned the formation into a hedgehog array!

This was a sharp weapon for dealing with light cavalry.

If the cavalry charged, even if they weren't injured themselves, their warhorses would be pierced.

Sun Ce sneered.

"Does Liu Bei think his cavalry is invincible? I will make him return in defeat this time!"

"Rumble!"

The shaking of the earth seemed to intensify suddenly!

Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao led the cavalry to split into two groups, charging diagonally toward the flanks!

Zhou Yu looked, and his expression changed drastically.

"No! It's heavy cavalry!"

Sun Ce looked and saw a unit of nearly two thousand heavy cavalry charging out from between the two groups of cavalry.

Black helmets and black armor—armed to the teeth!

Each was mounted on a tall, powerful horse; not only were the men armored, but the horses were as well, and everyone held a long spear!

These warhorses were the best Liu Bei had selected from hundreds of thousands of horses in Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and even the Western Regions; they were taller than ordinary warhorses and had much greater load-bearing capacity.

They could withstand the weight of fully armed heavy cavalry!

This was a sharp weapon for plains warfare, and Sun Ce would be the first to test its power!

The heavy cavalry did not hesitate in the slightest, charging into Sun Ce's spear formation like a flood!

In an instant,

Sun Ce's front ranks collapsed like a landslide; they were routed almost upon contact!

They had never encountered such an army; the long spears struck their armor and merely sent sparks flying!

The steel torrent crushed Sun Ce's entire front-line infantry defense!

Once the heavy cavalry emerged, they were truly unstoppable!

Sun Ce's spearmen and shield-bearers were scattered one after another!

Cheng Pu was a veteran general in the army.

He issued orders continuously, trying to dissipate the heavy cavalry's momentum by having the infantry retreat once, twice, and a third time to change the rhythm!

And it actually had some effect; the heavy cavalry's charge stalled, and to charge again, they would need to gallop for a while.

Unfortunately, the heavy cavalry's mission was already complete!

Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao seized the opportunity to lead the other cavalry in like a whirlwind, slaughtering their way into the formation!

Infantry who had lost their formation were no match for cavalry!

Cheng Pu and Chen Wu fought desperately, but they still couldn't stop the soldiers from routing.

It wasn't that the Danyang and Lujiang troops weren't trying hard; it was simply that they couldn't withstand being charged by heavy cavalry and then flanked by light cavalry!

Sun Ce wanted to join the battle,

but Zhou Yu hurriedly advised,

"My Lord, we cannot fight them head-on right now. Let someone cover the retreat, and we will fall back to the camp and use the heavy crossbows on the ramparts to defend!"

Sun Ce knew he couldn't let his emotions dictate his actions!

"Let Chen Wu lead the Lujiang elites to cover the retreat!"

"Understood!"

Sun Ce led the main army back toward the camp.

Guan Yu and Zhang Zhang Liao pursued for a while, but did not approach the camp, focusing instead on surrounding the ten thousand or so Lujiang elites led by Chen Wu!

Soon, the infantry was split into several pieces!

Chen Wu exchanged a few blows with Guan Yu and was knocked off his horse!

"Bind him!"

Seeing their commander captured and with no hope of escape, the Lujiang troops threw down their weapons and knelt to surrender!

Guan Yu ordered Zhang Zhang Liao to escort the surrendered troops back.

He himself led the cavalry to guard the side of Liu Bei's center army, preventing Sun Ce from turning back to attack, and waiting for an opportunity to act!

In the center, the battle was intense!

The Vanguard Battalion, elite infantry, heavy shield-bearers, halberdiers, and spearmen were all crammed together.