The moment the war drums sounded, Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu, and the other two, who were at the front of the army, immediately formed a small three-man formation and charged straight towards Xie Zhiyu in the Xiongnu army.

Upon seeing the three Han generals, Xie Zhiyu felt somewhat intimidated, but he did not retreat. Instead, he issued the same order to attack.

As the bugle calls sounded, the 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers lined up at the front of the center charged forward. The 40,000 soldiers in the central army were divided into two formations, the middle and the rear, ready to fill the gaps in the front ranks.

It must be said that Xie Zhiyu's ability to deploy troops has indeed improved significantly after these years of frequent battles.

His formation maximized the advantage of numbers, with three square formations in the center connected front and back, plus cavalry guarding the left and right flanks.

If Dong Zhuo and his men wanted to defeat the Xiongnu army, they had no choice but to fight head-on, using 25,000 men to break through the three square formations of the Xiongnu central army.

If the Western Regions allied forces lose their momentum even slightly, they will fall into a stalemate, thus turning into a war of attrition. In the long run, the Xiongnu vassal army will be able to achieve final victory by virtue of its numerical advantage.

Soon, Xu Chu, Xiahou Dun, and the other two rushed straight to within fifty paces of Xie Zhiyu. More than twenty guards who were protecting Xie Zhiyu also rode up to meet them and blocked Xu Chu and the others. The two sides clashed first.

Faced with the siege of more than twenty Xiongnu knights, Xu Chu and his two companions once again formed a triangular formation.

Xu Chu led the charge, his broadsword slicing through enemies' weapons and severing their bodies with each swing. Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan flanked him, wielding equally formidable spears and swords.

The two sides fought for only a short while before ten Xiongnu knights were cut down by Xu Chu and his two companions.

At the same time, the front ranks of the two armies clashed violently.

In an instant, shouts of battle, sounds of collision, cries of agony, and the neighing of warhorses resounded in all directions.

Looking down from mid-air, the soldiers on both sides resembled two dense swarms of ants, intertwined and inseparable.

These people from the Western Regions had never engaged in large-scale open-field warfare before. They lacked all sorts of formations, coordination, and tactics, relying solely on their fierce courage.

Fortunately, the Western Regions allied forces were in high spirits due to their previous duels, and they inflicted heavy casualties on the Xiongnu vassal army as soon as they made contact.

"Stay close to me, let's kill!"

While cutting down enemy soldiers, Dong Zhuo, who was leading the army, kept shouting to the soldiers behind him.

On the other side, Xu Chu and his two companions also quickly finished their battle. After glancing at their surroundings, the three abandoned Xie Zhiyu and charged towards the center of the battlefield.

Facing Xu Chu and his two companions, even the fierce Xiongnu knights were as easy as cutting melons and vegetables, let alone the Xiongnu vassal army, which was like a peasant army.

Wherever the three went, there were cries of agony and scattered limbs everywhere.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the Western Regions Allied Army behind them all instinctively followed behind the three.

Not long after the battle began, the front ranks of the Xiongnu army were breached by the fierce attacks of Xu Chu, Dong Zhuo, and other generals. As time went on, the breach grew larger and larger.

Upon seeing this, Xie Zhiyu immediately ordered the 20,000 subordinate soldiers in the middle rank to go forward and block the entrance.

The Western Regions allied forces, which had been launching a fierce offensive, were immediately halted, and even Xu Chu, Dong Zhuo, and others slowed their advance.

For a moment, the soldiers on both sides had no target, no direction, and all they could do was slash their weapons at the enemy's body.

Fortunately, with Dong Zhuo, Xu Chu, and others holding the line, the morale of the Western Regions allied forces did not dissipate. They continued to charge forward fearlessly, slowly advancing.

Two quarters of an hour later, as casualties gradually increased, the middle rank of the Xiongnu army soldiers also began to break down and showed signs of collapse.

Xie Zhi frowned and gave another order, commanding the 20,000 soldiers in the rear to advance, and also ordered the cavalry on the left and right flanks to be ready to charge at any time.

On the high platform outside Gaochang City, Yuan Shao, who was closely observing the battle between the two sides, couldn't help but frown.

As the saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane and eventually be exhausted." The 25,000 soldiers of the Western Regions allied forces had defeated two formations of the Xiongnu's subordinate army, and their overwhelming momentum had already dissipated.

Sure enough, shortly after Xie Zhiyu sent out 20,000 soldiers from the rear, the advance of the Western Regions allied forces was halted. Even Xu Chu, Dong Zhuo, and others stopped and began hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

As their morale waned, the casualties of the Western Regions allied forces began to gradually increase.

After about half an hour of fighting, the Western Regions allied forces had suffered more than 5,000 casualties. Facing wave after wave of Xiongnu soldiers, Xu Chu and his men were gradually finding it difficult to move.

Sensing his own army's decline, Yuan Shao immediately turned to the messenger and said in a deep voice, "Order Zhang Xiu to attack and charge into the enemy's rear!"

"Here you go!"

The messenger responded loudly and immediately rode away.

"Follow me and kill!"

Upon receiving the order, Zhang Xiu roared and charged ahead towards the center of the battlefield.

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and five thousand Western Region cavalry followed closely behind.

Seeing the Han army deploy its cavalry, Xie Zhiyu also looked at the messenger beside him and ordered, "Order the cavalry on the left wing to use mounted archery to flank and harass them!"

Although the opposing side only sent five thousand cavalry, Xie Zhiyu still did not intend to use cavalry in the battle.

Now he only had 30,000 cavalrymen left. Every one that died was one less. His only thought was to hold off the enemy cavalry and buy time for the central army to win.

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