Chapter 1441

On both sides of the mountain road, there were nothing but dense forests and sheer cliffs.

The Commandant guarding Tianjing Pass sat on his horse, directing the main army forward while constantly having scouts report the situation ahead, his expression grave and tense as he watched the forests on both sides.

"General, no enemy troops have been discovered within three miles ahead."

The scout who had galloped back arrived at the side of the Tianjing Pass Commandant to report.

"Scout, scout again, clear the area five miles ahead," the Commandant of Tianjing Pass ordered. "If you discover enemy troops, return and report immediately."

After receiving the order, the scout turned and went to scout again.

The cliffs on both sides of the twilight-drenched gorge were like blades, and the valley floor, wide enough for only three horses to ride abreast, was piled high with rotting leaves.

The soldiers traveling through the valley placed every step with extreme caution, as if afraid of startling the spirits of the mountains or the beasts lurking within.

Taut nerves, carrying the scent of tension, permeated the valley.

A young soldier followed behind his squad leader, the hem of his cloth garment fluttering in the cold wind blowing through the valley.

"Squad leader, why do I feel so chilly?" the young soldier whispered.

The squad leader walking in front turned his head to glance at the soldier behind him.

"Keep your eyes sharp, stay alert. If we really run into enemy soldiers later, run hard toward the back. Remember, don't block the middle of the road; run along the sides."

The squad leader's voice was very low, audible only to Li behind him.

Hearing the squad leader's words, Li's eyes showed confusion.

Seeing Li's expression, the squad leader offered an extra explanation.

"We have cavalry behind us; if there's a charge, they'll definitely be the first to come. If you're blocking the middle of the road while fleeing, once the cavalry charges, they won't care if you're the enemy or who you are—they'll just trample everything in their path. If you're blocking the front, you'll definitely be trampled into meat paste. Do you understand?"

This time Li understood and nodded vigorously.

Veteran soldiers always seem to have a premonition of the killing intent on the battlefield.

Even though the scouts ahead reported no enemy troops.

The elderly squad leader seemed to have already smelled the faint, metallic stench of war and bronze.

The young soldier behind him was named Li.

He was a new recruit enlisted not long ago.

Because he looked like the eldest son who had died in battle on the Mobei grasslands many years ago, the squad leader always took extra care of him.

After hearing the squad leader's words, Li followed closely behind him, gripping his only weapon, a long spear.

Just as the squad leader turned his head to continue marching forward.

A sound of wind being torn apart rang out.

Pfft!

The sound was extremely fast, arriving instantly; in the blink of an eye, the squad leader who had been speaking a second ago was struck in the temple by a sharp arrow.

The powerful arrow shot straight through the squad leader's temple.

Without a helmet for protection, the squad leader didn't even let out a groan before collapsing to the ground.

"Squad leader!"

Li let out a cry of alarm.

Hum!

A buzzing sound like birds startled into flight.

Li subconsciously looked up at the sky.

A black, oppressive rain of arrows fell from the sky.

Rumble!

Rolling logs and boulders on the cliffs crashed down.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! It's an ambush! An ambush!"

Shouts erupted from the mouths of the awakened soldiers.

Pine logs as thick as bowls smashed into the ranks, limbs and shattered armor splattering against the grey-blue rock walls.

Whistles from the enemy troops came from the top of the valley, and the buzzing of hundreds of horn bows vibrating simultaneously drowned out the terrified neighing of the Tianjing Pass soldiers' horses.

"Raise shields! Raise shields! Gather together! Raise shields for defense!"

The Commandant of Tianjing Pass, riding in the ranks, shouted loudly.

Soldiers with shields trembled as they raised their wooden shields over their heads.

However, the volleyed arrowheads formed a downward parabola after rising; the iron arrowheads pierced through the wooden shields with a dull thud, stabbing directly into the soldiers' arms.

Yet even so, the soldiers dared not lower their shields.

If they lowered them, it wouldn't be their arms being struck, but their heads.

But even so, soldiers were still being shot down one after another.

Boulders from the cliffs smashed through dead wood, crashing into the crowd with small fragments of rock and splattering black soil.

In an instant, wails arose everywhere.

The lucky Li looked at the squad leader who had fallen before him, then at himself, holding only a long spear.

At this moment, the squad leader's dying words began to drive his legs, which had been numbed by fear.

Run.

Run along the sides of the road.

Clear the way for the cavalry to charge.

Lifting his numb legs, Li turned and ran toward the rear.

Driven by the instinct for survival, he only wanted to escape this place quickly.

Thump, thump!

Thump, thump!

Thump, thump!

Footsteps as heavy as war drums sounded from the other end of the valley.

Rows of soldiers, holding large shields half a person tall and clad in heavy armor, their builds burly, marched with rhythmic steps toward the Tianjing Pass defenders who were huddling for defense.

Behind the giant shields were long spears three meters in length.

Seeing this, the Commandant of Tianjing Pass did not dare to linger for a moment, spurring his horse to gallop wildly toward the rear.

With the commander fleeing, the surrounding soldiers naturally scattered in defeat.

After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, the Tianjing Pass defenders fled wildly in the direction they had come.

Qu Yi rode his horse behind hundreds of soldiers holding large halberds and clad in heavy armor.

A cold sneer played on his lips as he continuously pressed forward.

"White Horse?"

"Hmph, hmph."

About a mile away, Gongsun Zan was leading his White Horse Followers forward and soon saw the routed troops fleeing from ahead.

Looking at the shields bristling with arrowheads and the panicked expressions on the faces of the fleeing soldiers, Gongsun Zan knew that they must have encountered an ambush ahead.

"It's bad, General! There's an ambush ahead!"

The Commandant of Tianjing Pass, who had luckily escaped, shouted loudly.

Gongsun Zan locked his brows, but showed no sign of surprise.

In fact, these thousand Tianjing Pass defenders were used by Gongsun Zan as bait.

Before setting out, this was Gongsun Zan's plan.

Since there was an ambush ahead, the first to suffer would be these thousand Tianjing Pass defender decoys.

The question now was how many ambushers there were.

"How many ambushers are there? Could you see who the enemy general was?" Gongsun Zan asked loudly.

The panicked soldier pointed behind him: "The ambushers in the valleys on both sides are too numerous to count, but there are over a thousand in the valley path itself."

Only a thousand?

Gongsun Zan looked at the valley path ahead that could still be traversed.

The road here was still considered wide, enough to accommodate three horses riding abreast.

This width was enough for a cavalry charge.

A thousand-plus...