The wolf clan's distinctive howl echoed across the grassland. Facing the encircling army, Qin Mu watched expressionlessly. Only when the wolf riders had surrounded him at the foot of the mountain did he raise his hand and put on his bronze mask.
Seeing that there were only a few hundred people on the mountaintop, the wolf pack became even more excited and charged forward with howls.
Suddenly! The wolf clan felt the sky darken and hurriedly looked up, only to see densely packed human figures appearing on the hillside, blocking out the sunlight.
Before they could react, the people on the hillside took two quick steps forward and threw what they were holding.
It was something familiar, because they had something similar: the javelin of the humans. The wolf tribe learned from this that they could use polished animal bones for hunting. However, their animal bones were far less powerful than javelins.
These thoughts surfaced in their minds, and the wolves realized that something was terribly wrong. The clever ones quickly shrank their bodies and crouched down.
The sounds of "plop plop plop" kept ringing around them. When the wolves looked up, they found that many of their companions had been impaled in the ground by javelins and were screaming in pain.
A wolf-man pulled out a javelin from his chest and charged forward. He knew that running was futile at this point; turning his back to the enemy would be suicide. Only by charging to the front and using his bone knife to cut off the enemy's head could he survive and receive the chieftain's reward. Even if he couldn't win in battle, he could still secure victory by waiting for the cavalry to surround him from both sides.
The werewolf continued charging upwards, swinging its javelin and bone knife with all its might, ignoring the arrows coming from above.
The werewolf was very lucky; he was unharmed all the way to the top of the mountain. Just as he was overjoyed and was about to slash at his enemy, he realized that the enemy in front of him was wearing a full suit of iron armor, with even his face hidden behind the armor, only a few dark holes showing.
Qin Mu plunged his sword into the throat of the wolf that had climbed the hilltop, then kicked it, sending the wolf flying backward and tumbling down the hill, knocking down several of its companions in the process.
Attacking from below is inherently difficult. Although the slopes of the grassland are not steep, and are even quite gentle, it's still not easy to charge up, let alone face enemy attacks. The wolf pack initially thought there were few enemies, which is why they wanted to devour them all at once; little did they expect so many to suddenly appear.
The red-eyed wolf riders charged uphill from the flatter terrain on both sides, but halfway up, they discovered a group of enormous creatures charging towards them.
The triangular cows climbed up the hillside from behind and, driven by the soldiers on their backs, ran downhill. Although these cows had no battlefield training, they naturally quickened their pace as they ran downhill.
Many people probably have this experience: when going downhill, even if you don't want to run, you unconsciously speed up, especially when someone is urging you on.
The triangular bulls were already large, and when they ran, they were incredibly imposing. When their stubbornness kicked in, they ignored any obstacles in their path, lowered their heads, and charged forward at an even faster speed. This was their old habit; whether it was fighting among themselves or some other provocation, they loved to charge. Sometimes, even a large tree blocking their way could drive them to crash into it.
Faced with the massive creature charging menacingly towards them, the wolf clan had nowhere to dodge, so they could only brandish their weapons and meet it head-on.
Qin Mu didn't know what it felt like to be rammed by a cow, but it must have been unpleasant. The wolves, along with their warhorses, were sent tumbling down the hillside. The cows' short horns had one advantage: there was no need to worry about the horns getting stuck and difficult to pull out; they could simply ram them.
Although three hundred on each side wasn't a large number, their sheer numbers and firepower were formidable. Moreover, they had reinforcements. After the last javelin was thrown, two hundred heavily armored triangular bulls launched a frontal charge.
With a single stomp of the triangular bull, the wolf's body sank into the ground, like a shrimp, its feet and head almost touching. It was obvious without even looking that the creature's entire torso was broken; it had been trampled into the ground like a vegetable by the triangular bull.
Some wolves clutched their legs and howled in agony, their legs trampled and buried in the ground. The wolves wanted to pull their legs out, but dared not; the immense pain only caused them to howl incessantly, blood spurting from their legs, bringing even greater psychological trauma.
Compared to those whose hands and feet were stepped on, those whose chests and heads were stepped on were considered lucky, because they did not have to suffer pain or witness their own bodies turning into mud.
Seeing his 20,000-strong army routed, Wang Xiong's expression changed. Although half of them were newly conquered tribes, the cavalry were his elite troops. Seeing the heavy cavalry charging down the mountain and continuing their advance towards him, his face darkened further. He then waved his hand, ordering his 3,000 wolf riders to meet them. He was determined to kill all 200 or so cavalrymen who dared to offend him, even though they looked like large, strange men. He trusted his personal guard.
Three thousand wolf riders were not at a disadvantage even against ten thousand ordinary human cavalry. He naturally did not expect that he would be no match for two hundred cavalry. Sending out three thousand wolf riders was only to support the front.
Wang Xiong believed that his three thousand wolf riders would quickly wipe out this small group of cavalry. He was still very envious of the human race's heavy armor.
The armor-piercing wolf-tooth arrows had no effect on heavy cavalry; the three thousand wolf riders quickly clashed with the heavy cavalry. A surge of bloodthirsty energy rose, shattering the wolf clan's blood-and-mist aura. A broadsword was brandished, and a cloak representing the Six Doors emerged from among the wolf riders.
Wang Xiong was dumbfounded. Before he could even feel happy, he discovered that many of his wolf riders, on whom he had placed high hopes, had been killed and were falling at an extremely rapid pace.
Looking into the distance, Wang Xiongxin felt even more devastated. His 20,000 soldiers had been driven to the foot of the mountain, and some of the more timid ones had even begun to flee.
"Escape!" This was Wang Xiong's first thought, and it was so clear in his mind.
When Wang Xiong saw several heavy cavalrymen cutting through the wolf riders, this thought grew stronger. His body, which had been cold, suddenly gained strength. He slapped the wolf's head and ran away into the distance.
Wang Xiong, leading several hundred wolf riders, was already in the distance and had been noticed by Qin Mu and his group. When the large banner ran away into the distance, Huang Sanjian's eyes lit up. He killed a wolf with a single slash, leaped up, jumped onto a red-eyed horse, and chased after it into the distance.
Wang Xiong didn't flee quickly, knowing that while wolf riders were powerful in short bursts, running slowly was preferable for a prolonged race. Huang Sanjian hadn't been chasing them long before appearing behind them. Seeing someone pursuing them, Wang Xiong roared angrily, "Go and kill him!"
Wang Xiong's personal guard commander immediately stopped his mount and, with four of his men, charged toward Huang Sanjian.
Seeing that someone had stopped, Huang Sanjian knew their intentions. He flipped his hand, drew his bow, and shot an arrow into the distance.
Wang Xiong's personal guard commander, seeing Huang Sanjian fire an arrow at him from behind, hurriedly turned around and saw Wang Xiong suddenly fall from his wolf rider. This terrified him. If anything happened to Wang Xiong, even if he returned safely, death would be his only fate. Shocked, he rushed towards Wang Xiong.
Fortunately, Wang Xiong quickly got up from the ground, which relieved him. At this moment, he didn't care about intercepting Huang Sanjian. He pushed one of his men aside, then pulled Wang Xiong onto his mount, frantically urged the wolf riders, and galloped away into the distance.
Knowing that Wang Xiong had a skilled fighter by his side, Huang Sanjian didn't continue the pursuit, mainly because he couldn't catch up even if he wanted to. He killed the wolf clan member who had lost his mount with a single strike, picked up the heavy banner he hadn't had time to take, smiled with satisfaction, and then turned back to the battlefield.
Wang Xiong's escape dealt a significant blow to the wolf clan. The wolves, who had been fighting, lost all will to fight and began to scatter and flee.
When the wolves flee, it's not so easy to catch them, since the triangular bull can't really sprint over short distances.
A resounding victory! Over 3,400 men faced 23,000 and won easily. Of course! This was because the wolf clan was careless, while Qin Mu and his men were well-prepared.
The ambush with crossbow bolts and javelins inflicted heavy damage on the wolves from the start. The key factor was the triangular bull; the wolves had never seen such a massive creature before, creating immense psychological pressure. Most people facing a huge beast wouldn't immediately think of fighting. Even with the wolves' warlike nature, this size advantage was unavoidable.
The charge of the Triangular Bull is unstoppable; its massive weight of several tons forces even top-tier fighters to temporarily retreat.
Another point is that Qin Mu's forces are stronger and better equipped. How could they possibly lose to a wolf clan that was half hastily assembled? However, an overwhelming victory was still not easy.
More than four thousand wolves escaped, and most of those without mounts were hunted down on their way out. What pleased Qin Mu most was acquiring fifteen hundred red-eyed horses.
Wolf pack members were the best laborers; every captive they captured was thrown into the mines. No one pitied these guys; they were worked to death and no one cared—they were everyone's favorite source of labor. However, this time Qin Mu didn't spare any prisoners; he killed them all again, leaving behind a mound of corpses on the grassland.
Qin Mu spared no effort in equipping his men. Even if they didn't have enough iron armor, they were all made of leather. The soldiers of the Baili family were also carefully trained by the Baili family and were equipped in the same way. After a great battle, only a little over a hundred people died.
After settling the wounded soldiers, Qin Mu took out wood to burn the fallen soldiers and then put their ashes into pottery jars.
In the secret realm, Qin Mu collected a lot of wood. When he left, he had his camp dismantled and stored it all in the Heavenly Mystery Tower. He took out the wood and burned it without any problem.
In the afternoon, Qin Mu sent two hundred wounded soldiers back to the pass with their ashes, also as a message to the rear. He believed that the defeat of this wolf tribe force would leave the wolf tribe uncertain and suspicious. They would not continue their advance until the situation was fully investigated.
From the prisoners, they learned roughly about the wolf clan's movements. This vanguard was indeed the Silver Wolf Clan of Xueyantuo, but in greater numbers, numbering over two hundred thousand. As for the direction of the wolf clan's main attack, these lower-ranking officers were unaware.
Qin Mu knew he couldn't stop over two hundred thousand wolves, so he decided to outsmart them. After dealing with the aftermath of the battle, they held a meeting and devised some countermeasures.
Huang Sanjian, Zhang Yi, Baili Rou, Xi Junmai, and the Bu brothers split into three groups, each leading five hundred men, to search for nearby tribes and herders. Once found, they were killed, giving the wolf clan the illusion that a large army had entered the grasslands.
The remaining people were not idle either. Qin Mu led his men to make traps, setting up several huge trap circles on the grassland, firstly to guard against a large-scale attack by the wolf clan, and secondly to slow down the wolf clan's march.
Making traps is actually very simple. Qin Mu brought a lot of wood, made the wood into long sticks, stuck them in the ground, and the sharpened sticks will cause a lot of trouble for the wolf clan.
On the grasslands, only wooden sticks were convenient for making such a large number of traps. There was no need to find a location; they could simply be stuck into the ground. Overnight, tens of thousands of wooden sticks were made and planted in the ground before Qin Mu led his men to retreat.
Shortly after their retreat, another force arrived near the battlefield. This was an all-cavalry force, and its superior skill was evident from its movements.
"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!" Every now and then, red-eyed horses would rear up and let out painful cries.
Upon inspection, the wolves discovered the traps on the ground. Although the wooden sticks didn't cause much damage to the warhorses, the sheer number of them meant some were inevitably pricked, which was a blow to morale. The wolf leader was furious, especially at the distant mound of fallen steeds.
The wolf chieftain desperately wanted to leave with his men, but he couldn't simply ignore the numerous corpses of his own kind. They also knew that leaving a large number of bodies unattended would bring misfortune to the grasslands. More importantly, if they didn't deal with it, their men would have negative thoughts; they would wonder if they too would be left to rot in the wilderness if they died in battle.
The message was relayed to the rear, and the wolf clan leader ordered the corpses to be collected and then burned.
After finishing these tasks, the wolf pack set off again, but they cleverly took a detour instead of proceeding directly.
After the wolves left, the grass rustled in the distance, and two figures rose from the ground and chased after the wolves in the direction they had gone.
On the grasslands, if you're not in a hurry, walking is better than riding a horse. The lush grass can cover most of your body, and as long as you pay attention, you won't be easily spotted.
One disadvantage of the grasslands is the water problem! If you are not familiar with the terrain, it is difficult to find water, which is very inconvenient for large-scale troop marches.
The wolf pack is very familiar with the terrain, and their camps are often located near a lake, which they call "haizi" (海子). Bathing is not a thing for them; the main concern is that their mounts need plenty of water.
After a day's journey, the wolf pack set up camp and hurriedly crawled into their sleeping bags; as cavalry, they didn't have tents.
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