A sharp sound suddenly rang out in the opposite camp, and immediately afterwards, rows of infantry passed through the front row of cavalry, half-knelt on the ground, ready to charge.
"Throw!"
Whoosh—the spear pierced through the sky and fell from the sky in a semicircle. A flock of birds happened to pass by and were immediately pierced by the dense rain of spears. Blood spilled from the air and feathers flew everywhere. The people's mouths just opened in horror, but before they could even let out a scream of fear, they saw a rain of spears piercing towards them from the sky.
The shrill wails suddenly rushed into the sky, like a desperate elegy, soaring into the clouds, and the war horses neighed in unison, like wild beasts caught in an ambush.
"All troops in formation! Charge!"
Amidst the bloody storm, Chu Qiao sat on horseback, raised the silver sword in her hand, and rushed out first. Five thousand beautiful soldiers followed her in an orderly manner without hesitation. No one hesitated or wavered. Although the young soldiers showed a trace of fear and timidity on their faces, no one retreated or was afraid to fight.
He Xiao, who was guarding beside Chu Qiao, shouted sternly, "Brothers, we can't let them get close to the people!"
"Let's fight!" Deafening shouts of killing rang out, and the yelling made people's blood boil.
There was a vast ocean on the other side. These five thousand people rushed forward like a small wave, determined as if to commit suicide.
Everyone was stunned, the Yanbei people who were screaming in despair, the Yanbei army who were watching the excitement at Longyin Pass, the elite soldiers and generals of Daxia, including Zhao Yang. No one could have imagined that Chu Qiao, with only such a small number of people, would dare to directly and proactively attack Zhao Yang's army of 100,000. The opposing side was filled with swords and spears like a sea, like a cold hell. Suddenly, everyone understood. This place was a plain and Chu Qiao had no strategic location to defend. Letting Xia's soldiers rush to the pass would only drag the people into the battlefield. She made this choice in order to protect the innocent elders behind her.
Zhao Yang was slightly shaken, his eyes became a little dazed, looking at the Xiuli army waving swords and getting closer and closer, and the girl in green fur leading the way, his blood gradually became hot.
"Soldiers! Is your courage not as good as that of a woman?" The commander of Daxia shouted loudly, and the black ocean suddenly made a deafening roar.
"All troops, attack! Charge!"
"Kill the enemy!" The neat charge horns suddenly sounded, the iron-gray battle robes danced in the wind, the soldiers rode their horses and rushed forward bravely, as if an angry ocean broke through the levee, tore open a turbulent hole, and roared over like an overwhelming force.
"Disperse! Form a battle array!" Chu Qiao issued a military order. However, the so-called battle array of the Xiuli Army turned out to be just a long horizontal row facing the Daxia army. The team was so long, with five thousand people standing shoulder to shoulder, winding and connecting, protecting the entire Longyin Pass behind them. The warriors wore black armor with fiery red cloud flags embroidered on their shoulders, shining brightly in the sun. They held their swords diagonally in front of their bodies with both hands, controlled their horses with their legs, and looked at the cavalry formation on the opposite side where smoke and dust were rolling, their faces as calm as silent stones.
This is simply crazy suicide!
Dust and smoke filled the air as the Daxia troops came closer and closer, so close that one could even smell the breath from the horses' noses. Finally, with a loud bang, the two armies suddenly collided with each other. A violent storm arose suddenly. Flesh and blood collided with swords. The sound of weapons clashing rang in the ears. Waves of attacks came one after another, with swords flashing and blood splattering.
The close combat was as fierce as a terrifying night. The blood filled the soldiers' eyes. Layers of corpses piled up on the ground. Their ears were buzzing with the sounds of horse hooves, neighing, screaming, cursing, and charging, forming a symphony in their ears. The swords collided with each other, emitting a flaming light. The wounded could no longer groan, as the battle made them forget the pain in their bodies.
The ground was a mess and slippery, and the melted snow from last night's light snow looked like a bowl of red mud. The sword was chipped, the spear was broken, and his eyes were covered with blood. He could not see the road and figure ahead clearly. There was only one belief left in his mind: kill, kill, kill! Keep fighting and hacking, keep killing, until you have used up the last bit of strength in your body.
The girl's words before leaving kept echoing in the soldiers' ears: Whoever the enemy breaks through the defense line will be the sinner of the Xiuli Army!
If you don't have weapons, just pounce on them and bite off the enemy's neck. If you don't have horses, just grab their legs and drag them down with you.
The battle was brutal, fierce and terrifying. He Xiao took off the cumbersome armor and continued to look for the next target with red eyes. The other Xia soldiers were frightened by his fearless attitude and retreated fearfully, trying to leave his line.
The individual attack capability of the Xiuli Army is abnormally strong. One person standing there is like a machine that never gets tired. Even if their chest is pierced, their thigh is stabbed, and their arms are cut, they can still fight tenaciously while bleeding.
The officers and soldiers of the Xia army were shocked. They were not human beings. Yes, they were no longer human beings. They were a group of lunatics and devils.
Zhao Yang gritted his teeth in hatred. It was like this again, and it seemed to be like this every time. He didn't understand what kind of magic that woman had that made those soldiers so fearless and courageous. To have such powerful generals and soldiers is the most unattainable dream of all generals. Money, power and intimidation cannot do it, but she did it easily.
Military drums sounded, and one legion after another silently rushed towards the bloody battlefield. The officers of Daxia were puzzled. Even if the opposite side was really an iron wall, a gap should have been made. But why did the line of defense seem to be crumbling at any time, but still not fall down?
The three vanguard heavy cavalry teams had been completely wiped out, and the five infantry regiments had also been crippled. In front of that line of defense, the corpses piled up more than three feet high, like a low city wall. From early morning to noon, the battle showed no signs of ending, and the line of defense became increasingly solid from being shaky at the beginning. Zhao Yang knew that the Xia army was afraid of fighting. Facing such a crazy and suicidal attack, even he felt his temples throbbing.
The sky was gloomy and the sun was slowly being swallowed by dark clouds, as if it could no longer bear to watch the desperate killing below.
Zhao Yang even wondered, could this be Yan Bei’s trick? Did they deliberately send out such an elite force to lull themselves into complacency, escape from the pass, and then destroy their own heavily armored army? But if that is the case, why haven’t their people from inside the pass come to support them until now?
Zhao Yang was puzzled, but his will to fight was fading away layer by layer. Facing the Xiuli Army who were fighting with all their might, Zhao Yang gradually became afraid. Even if I win, what can I get? The corpses of five thousand Xiu Li soldiers? This is not a battle that can be ended easily. The idea of killing Chu Qiao and eliminating Yanbei's most difficult enemy is no longer so fanatical at this time.
At the last moment before the sun faded, the retreat call of Da Xia finally sounded slowly. The Xia army cheered in unison, and then retreated like a tide.
And no one in the Xiuli Army had the strength to continue the pursuit. Almost at the moment when the Xia Army returned to their outer camp, the soldiers of the Xiuli Army fell down collectively, as if they had exhausted their last bit of strength.
Zhao Yang quickly discovered this battle situation, so he decisively turned his horse around, ordered the messenger to blow the charge again, and galloped in the opposite direction of the soldiers, shouting: "Soldiers, follow me!"
The Xia soldiers turned back in panic, only to find that the line that had just blocked them like an iron wall was no longer there. Some clever veteran soldiers immediately realized that the Xiuli Army had already become a spent force facing an enemy that was twenty times larger than itself. At this moment, seeing themselves retreating, they finally fell.
So, the army turned their horses around and followed Zhao Yang, charging forward again.
"All troops, assemble!" A clear and calm voice slowly sounded in the cold north wind. The voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.
Then, just as all the members of the Xia army were rubbing their eyes in disbelief, staggering ghost-like figures began to crawl up one by one behind the wall of corpses. Their clothes were tattered, their faces were pale and uneven, and the swords in their hands were broken. They dragged their tired bodies and walked slowly forward, standing in their original positions, shoulder to shoulder, one, two, three, ten, a hundred, a thousand...
Everything seemed like a replica of the image in the early morning. The blood-stained soldiers stood up again, staggering into a long formation, looking as if they would fall down with a breath. But when they stood together, their bodies suddenly straightened up like a forest of stone, and the defense line was once again as solid as a mountain. He Xiao stood in front of the crowd and swung his sword fiercely. Thousands of voices shouted in unison: "Fight for freedom!"
It was like a sudden thunderclap that shocked everyone, without any need for bugles or drums. The Xia army stopped involuntarily, and a terrible feeling of despair suddenly arose in their hearts - we will not win.
It was not known who first came up with this idea, but soon this thought spread quickly throughout the army through eye contact. Facing the enemies whose clothes were torn and covered in blood, the soldiers of Daxia almost simultaneously felt terrible fear and strong respect.
Zhao Yang stood at the front of the team, his face as gloomy as water. Looking at the girl, whose body was already covered in blood red and whose figure was like a javelin, a feeling of sincere admiration surged up. Finally, Zhao Yang jumped off his horse, took off his helmet, and bent his noble waist deeply in front of the 100,000-strong army of Daxia, in front of the 5,000 living and dead soldiers of Xiuli Army, in front of tens of thousands of Yanbei people, and in front of millions of eyes in Longyin Pass!
The soldiers of Daxia also repeated this action. Facing this traitorous army that they once despised the most, they bowed deeply, and then repeated the enemy's charge almost in unison: "Fight for freedom!"
The Xia army left with a roar, and the world was bleak and gloomy. The autumn wind swept across the blood-stained grassland, and everything seemed like a dream.
The soldiers still stood where they were, no one fell down again, as if they were afraid that the Xia army would turn around and attack again.
Chu Qiao dragged the heavy sword and walked forward slowly with an upright posture. Her steps were heavy and her face was as pale as snow. Her blue fur coat was stained red with blood, and no one knew whether it was her blood or someone else's. The soldiers all looked at her, as if they couldn't believe that Xia Jun would retreat like this. She stood there, the wind blowing through her messy long hair in front of her forehead, sweeping across her beautiful eyebrows and face. Her voice was already hoarse and her eyes were slightly red. Like Zhao Yang, she bowed deeply to her army and said in a deep voice, "Soldiers, you have won."
A broken cry suddenly came from behind, like a bursting ocean, growing bigger and bigger. It was the people they were protecting behind them, and at this moment, they finally rushed forward with tears streaming down their faces.
Led by He Xiao, the Xiu Li Army bowed to her in unison, their sonorous voices blending into one sentence: "Your Excellency, you have worked hard."
"You guys, thank you for your hard work."
The sky was covered with dark clouds. Chu Qiao stood up and two lines of tears flowed silently.