Finally, Fan Wuji, the vanguard commander of the Longcheng army's northern expeditionary force, who was galloping on horseback with his main banner as a signal flag to guide 10,000 Xuanjia light cavalry to avoid the enemy's sharp edge, also realized this.
Just a few miles away was the formidable Panlong Pass, and he and the ten thousand Xuanjia light cavalry behind him had nowhere left to retreat!
With a roar, Fan Wuji revealed a resolute determination to die for his cause.
As he turned his horse around, he gave the order: "Central Army Banner Guard, listen up! Use the banner as a signal flag to guide the entire army, turn your horses around, and form ranks to meet the enemy!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
After saying that, Fan Wuji reined in his warhorse.
The warhorse, which was already in tune with its master's thoughts, immediately understood his intentions and suddenly braked by raising its front hooves to slow down while galloping.
After charging for several dozen meters, it hurriedly stopped, facing the oncoming Turkic cavalry, which outnumbered it several times over.
Immediately afterwards, the soldiers of the Central Army's Banner Guard also spread out in a fan shape to both sides, guided by the banner, with their commander Fan Wuji at the center.
After charging for some distance, they turned their horses around and circled back, raising their sabers high behind their commander Fan Wuji and the central army banner, forming a battle formation to meet the enemy.
At the same time.
The Turkic cavalry, which had been relentlessly pursuing the Xuanjia light cavalry, also stopped their pursuit under the orders of their commander, Huobo Guiren. They roared wildly, drew their scimitars, and assembled into battle formation.
Ten thousand light cavalrymen in black armor from Longcheng and thirty thousand heavily armored cavalrymen from the Turks faced off in the open field less than ten miles from the natural barrier of Panlong Pass in Shuobei City.
The two armies were separated by a distance of about a thousand paces, a distance deliberately left so that their warhorses could accelerate and sprint.
On this day, the northwest wind in the Panlong Pass area was very strong and urgent.
In the wind, yellow sand filled the sky, stinging people's faces.
Fan Wuji, the vanguard commander of the Longcheng army's northern expeditionary force and one of the thirty-six Heavenly Stars of the Po Lu Army, resolutely and decisively drew his sword amidst the whistling wind and the panting of the warhorses.
The ring-pommel sword in his hand gleamed coldly, its blade pointed directly at the Turkic army a thousand paces away. He let out a sharp shout:
"All Xuanjia light cavalry generals, listen to my command! Follow me and charge into the enemy camp! We must not let the enemy cavalry break through Panlong Pass! Charge!"
"kill!"
Behind them, more than 10,000 Xuanjia light cavalrymen roared in unison, their swords, spears, halberds, hammers, axes, and whips all aimed at the enemy.
On the other side, Huobo Guiren, the Turkic vanguard general riding on a tall horse, also raised his scimitar high, first tilting his head back, closing his eyes, and silently praying to the sky.
A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes and let out a domineering and arrogant roar:
"The brave warriors of the northern grasslands, the sons protected by the Eternal Heaven, the road to the prosperous land of the Han people is right before our eyes."
Countless sums of money, grain, gold, silver, jewels, and women were also before him;
"Following the direction indicated by this general's precious sword, and under the protection of the Eternal Heaven, we will break through Panlong Pass and plunder money, grain, and women from Han territory!"
"Charge, warriors of the grasslands!"
"Awooo—"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Tens of thousands of barbaric and arrogant Turkic cavalrymen roared in unison, imitating the howls of steppe wolves, shouting and brandishing all sorts of weapons in their hands. They slammed their legs into the stirrups and pounded the bellies of their warhorses as they charged toward the Xuanjia Army of Longcheng, which was backed by Panlong Pass.
Thump thump thump!
Thump thump thump!
In an instant, tens of thousands of tall warhorses galloped wildly across the yellow earth at the foot of Panlong Pass, their iron hooves trembling as they pounded the ground.
The thunderous sound of horses' hooves was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, making the blood of the cavalrymen on both sides surge and their adrenaline soar.
At this moment, the soldiers on both sides had long forgotten about fear and timidity; only their instinctive reactions remained: gripping their swords tightly, clenching their horses' bellies, and accelerating, accelerating ever faster.
Until, without any doubt, the two cavalry armies, charging face to face, clashed together.
boom--
In the blink of an eye, the two armies clashed.
The roar of thousands of troops, their shouts, and the clanging of metal weapons mingled together in a cacophony.
Fan Wuji, who was the first to charge into the enemy formation, raised his sword and with one stroke, cut down a Turkic cavalryman facing him, separating his body from his head.
A little further away, the Turkic vanguard commander Huobo Guiren was not to be outdone. With a flash of cold light from his scimitar, he slashed a black-armored cavalryman facing him from his lower left abdomen to his right chest. Blood spurted from the half-foot-long wound, smearing Huobo Guiren's face.
The latter remained unmoved as blood splattered across his face, even sticking out his tongue to lick the blood that slid down his cheek, making his murderous face appear even more ferocious.
He then swung his sword again, unleashing a flurry of horizontal and vertical slashes at the approaching Dragon City Xuanjia cavalry.
Since both sides' cavalry encountered each other while on a forced march, neither side had time to don heavy armor for combat, and they were only wearing light armor and cloth armor, which greatly reduced their protective capabilities.
In addition, the total number of troops deployed by both sides in this sudden encounter exceeded 40,000.
Once the two armies clashed and were engulfed in melee, the cavalry's traditional charge tactics and formations became utterly useless.
All that's left is the simplest hand-to-hand combat on horseback, where you slash me with your sword and I return the favor with mine.
Whoever has greater endurance, resilience, fighting spirit, and will to survive has a greater chance of survival.
Gradually, the Longcheng Xuanjia cavalry, which was outnumbered, slowly fell into a disadvantageous position in the melee. They were divided into large and small squares by the Turkic cavalry, who fought with superior numbers, and each fought independently, unable to connect with the others.
After successively killing dozens of Xuanjia light cavalrymen, Huo Boguiren's ferocious face once again revealed a savage and arrogant expression.
Then, seeing Fan Wuji trapped in the siege of the Turkic cavalry, his blade pointed directly at the formidable Panlong Pass, he laughed wildly and unrestrainedly:
"The left and right armies will continue to encircle and annihilate the Han cavalry. The generals of the central army will withdraw from the battlefield and follow me to take Panlong Pass. Hahaha!"
Soon, Huo Boguiren's personal guards waved command flags, guiding the central army to withdraw from the battlefield and head towards Panlong Pass, a few kilometers away.
"Hey!"
"You Turkic scoundrels, don't run away! If you have the guts, stay here and fight this general for another three hundred rounds!"
Seeing this, Fan Wuji, trapped in the encirclement, fiercely swung his sword to kill the Turkic cavalry that swarmed towards him like locusts, while roaring at the top of his lungs:
"Left and Right Guards, listen to my command! Support me as I charge out! We cannot allow the Turks to seize the strategic pass of Panlong Pass! Kill them!"
"kill!"
Not far away, the Left and Right Guards, who were also surrounded by enemies several times their size, immediately unleashed a powerful fighting spirit upon receiving the order. They fought fiercely and slashed their way through the encirclement, managing to break through the enemy lines and support the vanguard commander, Fan Wuji, as he charged out.
Immediately afterwards, Fan Wuji spurred his horse and galloped away, relentlessly pursuing Huo Boguiren.
snort!
"Overestimating yourself, you're asking for death!"
Huo Bo Guiren also spotted Fan Wuji pursuing them. He immediately turned his horse around, brandished his curved sword, and charged back.
However, the majority of the Turkic cavalry's central force, following Huo Boguiren's orders, left the battlefield and headed straight for the Panlong Pass, a natural fortress.
Clang!
With a loud crash, sparks flew everywhere.
Huo Bo Guiren, who had returned to the battlefield, and Fan Wuji, who had been pursuing him, finally met as their warhorses charged at high speed. The short swords in their hands clashed together, producing a piercing metallic clang.
"You Turkic traitors, I am Fan Wuji, the vanguard commander of the Longcheng army's northern expeditionary force! Prepare to die!"
Fan Wuji introduced himself, turned his horse around again, and brandished his ring-pommel dagger as he charged toward Huo Boguiren.
On the other side, Huo Bo Guiren, riding on horseback, let out a cold laugh, drew his sword, and charged forward, muttering incantations:
"Han general, your defeat is inevitable. Why fight like a cornered beast? Panlong Pass, a natural barrier, is already in the hands of my Turkic army. I advise you to dismount and surrender immediately. I will spare your dog's life and have you serve as my servant, cleaning up my excrement and urine."
"Hey!"
"You scoundrel, die!"
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
As they spoke, Fan Wuji and Huo Boguiren exchanged three blows, each strike deadly.
Unfortunately, the two were evenly matched in martial arts, and the outcome remained undecided.
They turned their horses around again and clashed with their swords, but they were still evenly matched and fell into a melee.
In an instant, the yellow earth where the two armies clashed was awash with blood, corpses littered the ground, and countless warhorses, having lost their masters, stood alone at the edge of the battlefield, neighing in vain.
Beneath the horses' hooves lay yellow earth, already stained brown with blood.
Thump thump thump!
Thump thump thump!
After an unknown amount of time, outside the battlefield, where only the shouts of soldiers and the neighing of warhorses remained, a thunderous sound of hoofbeats suddenly rang out.
From afar, getting closer and closer.
Fan Wuji, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Huo Boguiren, the vanguard general of the Turks, looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the Turkic iron cavalry, which had been heading straight for Panlong Pass with murderous intent, was now fleeing back in a disheveled state along the same route.
Every now and then, Turkic soldiers who lagged behind would be shot down from behind by arrows, tumble off their horses, roll several times on the ground before stopping, and then be trampled over by countless hooves as thick as bowls, clearly beyond saving.
Before long, a golden figure, clad in golden armor, appeared against the setting sun at the edge of the battlefield's field of vision of the soldiers of both armies.
The golden figure grew larger and larger, and the sunlight reflecting off the golden armor became increasingly dazzling.
Closely following behind were countless elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry soldiers clad in fine steel fish-scale armor and wielding sharp weapons.
One after another, scarlet flags with four-clawed yellow dragons bearing the four large characters "Northern Expeditionary Army" were raised, fluttering in the wind.
"Your Highness, it's Prince Jin!"
With tears welling in his eyes, Fan Wuji roared with wild joy, "Brothers, it's His Highness Prince Jin leading the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to our aid! Kill them!"
At the same time, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, riding proudly atop the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's charging formation and becoming the lone arrowhead of the cavalry charge, held up his halberd with one arm.
With a pointed halberd, he commanded domineeringly, "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, launch a full-scale attack! We will not retreat until we break through the enemy camp!"
"kill--"
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