Chapter 373 I will let you taste the power of Nan Zhao's men!
Xiao Nanyue only stayed in Luoshui City for ten days. After his troops had rested and their food supplies were in place, he immediately led his troops south, aiming for the next city - Qixing City.
He has always been strict in managing his army. Whenever he conquered a place, he would leave part of Xiao Nan's army to garrison it. This was to appease the people, prevent unrest in the rear, and also to provide supplies to the rear. In case of obstruction in the front, there would be help from the rear.
Today, he personally led an army of 100,000 to the foot of the Seven Star Mountain, but his way was suddenly blocked by a massive Nanzhao army.
Amidst the rolling dust and smoke, Xie Lan, the Crown Prince of Nanzhao, stood in front of the battle formation, with flags fluttering behind him, obviously he had been waiting here for a long time.
The two armies faced each other, and the atmosphere was filled with murderous intent.
Xie Lan's gaze was fixed on the man in black riding the black horse in the front.
Xiao Nanyue was not wearing any armor, only a black brocade robe and a jade belt around his waist. However, his majesty was more intimidating than iron armor, as if he was a natural-born ruler of the battlefield. One glance at him made people dare not look directly at him.
"Prince Xiao,"
Xie Lan sneered, his voice icy:
"I never thought that you and I would meet again so soon."
Xiao Nanyan reined in his horse, looked at Xie Lan for a moment, and then bowed.
"Your Highness, I hope you are well."
"Are you okay?" Xie Lan laughed in anger.
"Prince Xiao, a few months ago, you broke into the forbidden area of the Nanzhao Imperial Palace at night. Father spared your life and let you leave the border. What about you? You brought an army of 200,000 to invade our land. Is this how you thank us?"
The smile in Xiao Nanyan's eyes faded, replaced by a cold look:
"The last time I traveled to Nanzhao, I narrowly escaped death. Could it be that the Southern Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never harbored any murderous intent? If it weren't for my familiarity with the formation, I would have long since become a dried-up skeleton in the underground palace."
Xie Lan retorted harshly, "You trespassed into the Forbidden Palace, you deserve to die!"
"I broke into the palace to see my woman."
Xiao Nanyan raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife: "What's wrong?"
"You!" Xie Lan was choked and speechless, then shouted angrily:
"You were so cold to Xiyan, repeatedly putting her in danger of death, and treating her like a plaything. It's only natural that she doesn't want to go back with you. I, Nanzhao, have no intention of marrying Tianqi, so you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible!"
Xiao Nanyan's tone was calm, yet filled with overwhelming confidence: "With the enemy at the gates, I believe the Southern Emperor and His Highness will change their minds."
"Then you try it!"
Xie Lan drew his sword and pointed it at the other party:
"Today, I will let you taste the power of Nan Zhao's men!"
Before Xie Yin finished speaking, the war drums behind Xie Lan suddenly started beating.
The Nanzhao soldiers surged forward like a tide, their swords and spears flashing coldly in the sunlight.
Xiao Nanyue just raised his hand, and the Xiao family army behind him was like a tiger that had been gathering strength for a long time. They surrounded the Nanzhao army in an instant and gradually approached it.
Xie Lan was not to be outdone. His attack was as fierce as a flood bursting through a dam. Arrows rained down like locusts, and his cavalry crushed the dust. Every charge was carried with overwhelming force.
Xiao Nanyue stood in front of the formation, his black robe rustling in the wind, but there was no panic in his eyes.
He raised his hand to stop the soldiers behind him from charging, and swung his sword in his hand, drawing a cold arc:
"Pass the order down, shield formation forward, crossbows loaded—do not kill the enemy unless necessary."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Apocalypse Army's formation suddenly changed.
The soldiers in the front row all raised their heavy black iron shields, instantly forming an impenetrable iron wall. With a few muffled "bangs", all of Nan Zhao's rain of arrows were blocked outside the shields.
At the same time, the crossbowmen behind the shield formation stood up from their knees, their arrows pointing not directly at the enemy's formation but obliquely at the sky.
"put!"
With Xiao Nanyue's order, thousands of crossbow arrows broke through the air, drew an arc in the air, and accurately shot towards the front of the Nanzhao charging cavalry.
Rows of crossbow arrows were neatly nailed into the ground, forming a dense arrow barrier.
The Nanzhao war horses at the front were frightened and stood up one after another, neighing and refusing to move forward. The following cavalrymen were unable to stop in time and collided into a ball in an instant, and the momentum of the charge suddenly slowed down.
Xie Lan was furious upon seeing this and swung his sword to cut off several stray arrows:
"Break through their shield!"
The Nanzhao soldiers rushed forward with shouts, but saw that the Apocalypse Shield Formation suddenly split to the sides, revealing the tripwires that had been prepared at the rear.
The ropes were cleverly hidden in the dust, and as soon as the enemy approached, the soldiers pulled them up suddenly. The Nanzhao soldiers in the front tripped and fell in an instant, and their formation was in chaos.
Xiao Nanyue led a vanguard team on horseback, wielding his sword like flowing clouds and water, and each sword strike accurately knocked down the weapons in the hands of the enemy.
The same was true for the Xiao family army behind him. Amidst the flash of swords and shadows, the weapons of the Nanzhao soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Most of them were just knocked back or tripped, and there was little blood.
This "only stop but not kill" was the death order given by Xiao Nanyan. Xiao Nanyan didn't want to kill too many people and increase Xiyan's disgust. What he wanted was Nanzhao's complete submission.
Sure enough, the offensive of the Nanzhao soldiers was broken again and again, like a fist hitting cotton, with no power at all.
Xie Lan watched helplessly as his troops were forced back step by step until they had nowhere to retreat, with the pass of Qixing Mountain behind them.
"Retreat into the mountains!" Xie Lan gave the order decisively.
Xiao Nanyue knew that if he wanted to capture the Seven Star City, he had to destroy the Seven Star Mountain.
Nanzhao has an undulating terrain with numerous peaks and ridges. There must be many ambushes set up in the Qixing Mountain.
However, if you don't learn the tiger's school, how can you get the tiger cub?
After thinking about it, he waved his hand towards the soldiers behind him:
"Fifty thousand troops will be stationed outside the mountain, and the remaining fifty thousand troops will follow me into the mountain!"
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