strictlysupreme Chapter 2258 Calm Down?
Chapter 2258 Calm Down?
The deputy commander of the Xuanjia cavalry led two thousand riders to try to intercept Zhao Yu, but Zhao Yu didn't even look at them, only shouting orders to his subordinate general:
"The 3000th squad, stop them!"
Immediately, he brandished his silver spear and led his main force to continue their encirclement without hesitation.
The remaining thousand white horse riders howled and charged forward, using their flesh and blood to desperately entangle the attacking Xuanjia flanking force.
On the main battlefield, the battle quickly escalated into a brutal melee and slaughter. White and black figures were completely intertwined, indistinguishable from one another.
One side relied on heavy armor and sharp spears to form ranks and charge forward, advancing step by step; the other side relied on agility and bravery to engage in guerrilla warfare, dividing and encircling the enemy.
Sparks from clashing weapons flew continuously in the darkness.
The heavy spears of the black-armored cavalry pierced the leather armor of the white-horse rider, spraying blood like rain.
The white horse cavalryman's sabers struck the black armor, sending sparks flying as he searched for the seams and weak points of the armor.
The bowstrings twanged, and arrows whistled through the air at extremely close range, with men from both sides falling from their horses, struck by arrows.
The warhorses neighed and charged at each other, tearing at one another. The fallen soldiers were quickly trampled into a bloody pulp by the chaotic hooves.
Luo Xuan, clad in dark, gleaming armor and wielding a ten-foot-long spear, charged left and right through the formation, his spear flashing, and several white-horse-riding warriors had already fallen beneath his spear.
He shouted loudly, directing his troops to maintain their formation and attempt to regroup for a new, concentrated charge to break up the White Horse Cavalry.
Luo Cheng and Li Gan, on the other hand, countered by sending out elite squads to harass the flanks and rear of the Xuanjia Cavalry.
They specifically target isolated or disorganized enemies, never allowing them to easily regroup.
Both sides understood that this was a war of attrition that was about time.
The Xuanjia cavalry were to hold off all the Baima cavalry, while Luo Cheng and Li Gan's troops were to relentlessly pursue the eight thousand Xuanjia cavalry, thus creating an opportunity for the main force to escape the battlefield and head towards Changtingpo.
The ferocity of the battle quickly exceeded both sides' expectations.
Every moment, brave soldiers fall, their blood soaking the land.
Although the White Horse Cavalry had a slightly larger number of soldiers, the Black Armor Cavalry had a clear advantage in equipment and striking power.
Although the Xuanjia cavalry were fierce and brave, the agility and resilience of the Baima cavalry made it difficult for them to move an inch.
The two were like two raging beasts, tearing at each other in the most primal way. Neither could quickly overpower the other, yet neither could easily escape.
Surrounded by his personal guards, Zhao Yu took one last look at the battlefield, which was now completely shrouded in the sounds of fighting, fire, and death.
He watched as the white and black waves repeatedly washed, collided, and annihilated, and heard the desperate roars and screams of his comrades, his heart breaking.
But he knew he couldn't stop.
"Faster! Faster!"
Zhao Yu lashed the horse's rump hard with his whip, and the warhorse, in pain, sped up again.
Behind him, more than 10,000 white-horse cavalrymen swept across the edge of the battlefield like arrows released from a bow.
They left behind the bloody battle and the eight thousand elite Xuanjia cavalry who were determined to stop them, in the receding darkness.
Their goal lies ahead, at Changtingpo, where the fate of the world is decided, beside the emperor to whom they swear to serve to the death!
Every minute of time gained was soaked in the blood of our comrades.
The fighting on Changting Slope has lasted for two whole days.
The darkest hour before dawn had passed, and a deathly pale light appeared on the eastern horizon, gradually outlining the tragic scene of corpses strewn across the battlefield and smoke billowing everywhere.
The air was murky, thick with the stench of blood, sweat, and dust kicked up by repeated trampling of the soil.
The shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the dying groans did not diminish as dawn approached; on the contrary, they became even more jarring and real in the increasingly clear light.
Helian Hui, like a trapped beast stuck in a quagmire, was personally overseeing the battle.
He commanded the last remaining Scorpion Clan cavalry under his command, facing Chu Ning's last line of defense, which had shrunk to its limit.
And the remnants of Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry, who were being held back, launched wave after wave of almost frenzied attacks.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his face showed a mixture of exhaustion, anxiety, and a cruel excitement at the prospect of something about to be his.
There were very few people left standing around Chu Ning, and he had also managed to hold back and divide Ma Chao's reinforcements by sacrificing lives. Victory seemed to be just around the corner.
With just one last burst of strength, they could finally cut down the Chu dragon flag that had been fluttering all night!
Just then, a rapid, almost frantic sound of horses' hooves came from the outskirts of the battlefield.
A scorpion scout, covered in blood and with his helmet askew, practically tumbled off his horse and scrambled to Helian Hui's horse, his voice distorted by extreme terror and the long march:
"Report! Report to the Khan! Something terrible has happened! A large number of Chu cavalry have been spotted to the southeast!"
"They're flying...flying a white horse banner! They're less than ten miles away and are charging at full speed!"
"What? White Horse Cavalry?"
The sinister smile on Helian Hui's face, which seemed poised for victory, froze instantly, then transformed into disbelief, astonishment, and rage.
"Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry? What are they doing here? Where's Li Shiming? Weren't Li Shiming's Black Armor Cavalry supposed to intercept them? Huh?!"
The scout lay prostrate on the ground, trembling: "Your subordinate... Your subordinate is unaware of the Tang army's battle situation."
"All we could see were white horse cavalrymen sweeping across the mountains and plains at incredible speed, raising clouds of dust into the sky—definitely more than ten thousand riders! Our scattered scouts along the way were utterly incapable of stopping them..."
"Useless! Li Shiming is a piece of trash!!"
Helian Hui's rage erupted like a volcano. He suddenly raised the scimitar in his hand, wishing he could shatter Li Shiming in the void before him.
"Eight thousand elite Xuanjia cavalry! Known as the cream of the Tang Dynasty's iron cavalry! They couldn't even stop a mere twenty thousand White Horse cavalry?"
"Did he fail to block it, or did he not even try? Was he deliberately trying to see me and Chu Ning fight to the death so he could reap the benefits? Bastard! You treacherous barbarian!"
He was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he spat out a torrent of curses at Li Shimin and the Tang army.
Just when Chu Ning was about to be beheaded, this cooked duck was about to fly away again, and a new force that could change the course of the battle arrived!
The shock of falling from heaven and the anger of being betrayed by his allies almost drove him to madness.
"Khan! Khan, please calm your anger!"
Beside him, an older, resolute-faced scorpion tribe commander hurriedly stepped forward. He was Helian Hui's uncle and a highly respected veteran in the tribe.
He lowered his voice and urged urgently and clearly, "This is not the time to hold the Tang Emperor accountable!"
"The White Horse Cavalry will arrive in the blink of an eye. Our army must make a decision immediately! Whether to fight or retreat, we need your swift decision!"
These words were like a bucket of ice water, bringing Helian Hui, who was in a fit of rage, to a slight jolt.
He gasped for breath, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the gradually brightening horizon in the southeast, as if he could already see the dust kicked up by the white cavalry.