At some point in the morning, the Horse Gang, who had been following the grain team for more than ten days, finally launched their attack. The first sound to break the darkness was not the sound of a horn, but the shrill sound of arrows.
Hundreds of arrows drew arcs in the air as they shot down from above the meadow. They tore through the cold air and the lingering sleepiness in the camp, whistling as they plunged down.
Even though the grain team was mentally and physically prepared for the attack, they still fell into chaos. In the rain of arrows, they screamed in fear and hid in all directions, trying their best to crawl into the carriages around the caravan.
The sharp and ice-cold arrowheads pierced through the sturdy carriage boards and were unable to penetrate any further. However, there were still some arrows that easily pierced through the torsos and limbs of the civilians and soldiers, causing blood to spurt out and causing miserable howls of pain. In the blink of an eye, they had caused great damage and death.
The Yan cavalry at the southernmost part of the low-lying land was not in the camp. They were attacked by the arrows at almost the same time, but because of Ning Que's reminder last night, they reacted faster. They all picked up simple shields in front of them or hid behind the rocks, watching the arrows fly over their heads nervously.
The Yan horses neighed and galloped in the low-lying land. A few horses could not withstand the arrow wounds on their bodies and fell heavily to the ground. Ning Que ordered the Yan cavalry to ignore the thinning arrow rain and gather their mounts as quickly as possible.
"Everyone, get on your horses and prepare to charge!"
Ning Que jumped onto the Big Black Horse and looked up at the edge of the rising meadow in the northeast.
He was familiar with the Horse Gang's fighting style. These bandits did not have any supplies and did not have the habit of carrying a large number of arrows with them. Even though they had planned this attack for a long time, the Horse Gang still could not deal a fatal blow to the grain team by attacking from a distance. In the end, the Horse Gang still had to charge through the camp.
It was as if a black forest had suddenly sprouted at the edge of the rising meadow in the northeast. Hundreds of mounted bandits dressed in leather armor and thick cloth appeared there silently. The scimitars in their hands seemed exceptionally cold under the first ray of sunlight. It was so cold that everyone in the low-lying area breathed heavily.
On the slope of the meadow, a masked Horse Gang at the front slowly raised the machete in his hand and gave the order to attack.
Ning Que noticed that the Horse Gang leader was not holding a machete, but a straight one.
Hundreds of mounted bandits dashed down the meadow in the direction of the straight blade. In the beginning, the clattering of hooves was a little messy and slow, but as the horses sped up, it became more and more concentrated and orderly. Over a thousand strong hooves stomped heavily on the slightly hardened surface of the meadow, causing the entire ground to shake.
In the early hours of the morning, the Wilderness was like a boundless drum. The orderly sound of horse hooves was like a heavy hammer falling on the surface of the drum. Every time the drum fell, the earth would shake. The sound of the drum was like thunder, and the sound of horse hooves was like thunder.
The camp, which had just been baptized by the rain of arrows, had just calmed down a little from the chaos. The soldiers and commoners, who were holding weapons and even wooden sticks, guarding behind the carts, could feel the ground tremble beneath their feet. They heard the deafening hoofbeats, and looked at the Horse Gang coming down like a black flood from above the meadow. They could not help but show a look of despair.
At this moment, more than ten disciples of Black Ink Garden from the Great River Kingdom tightly grasped the black wooden handles at their waists. They pulled out slender swords and stood up. They shouted at the soldiers and civilian workers beside them to raise the weapons in their hands and walked to the back of the carriage.
These disciples of Black Ink Garden were only teenagers. This time, they had received an edict from the Divine Hall and came to the Wilderness for training. Before this, they had never seen such a dangerous and bloody battlefield. However, the people of the Great River Kingdom, who were deeply influenced by the temperament of the Tang Empire, were also persevering and did not know what fear was.
Looking at the approaching Horse Gang, the ferocious faces of the Horse Gang, the bright scimitars in the hands of the Horse Gang, and listening to the arrogant whistling of the Horse Gang, the young and childish faces of the Black Ink Garden disciples did not show a trace of nervousness or despair, because the calmness made them more determined and resolute.
The calmness and determination of the Great River Kingdom girls influenced the Yan soldiers and civilian workers in the camp. They subconsciously raised the crude wooden spears in their hands. Although their hands holding the spears were still trembling uncontrollably, at least they finally had the courage to face the bleak situation and the ferocious enemies.
The sound of horse hooves was getting louder and louder, and the Horse Gang was getting closer. The smoke and dust between the meadow slopes at dawn was getting thicker, the air was getting colder, and the atmosphere was getting more and more tense. Everyone in the camp had panic in their eyes, but they still had a glimmer of hope. They breathed faster and faster, waiting for the moment when the Horse Gang would rush to the front of the carriage.
Ning Que was also waiting, but the time he waited was shorter.
He looked at the faintly discernible hundred Horse Gang on the meadow to the northwest. These Horse Gang had snuck in last night, and now they appeared on the meadow. However, they did not charge at the Yan cavalry. It was obvious that they wanted to suppress the Yan cavalry, so that the five hundred Horse Gang could gather all their strength and charge at the camp successfully.
Ning Que would not fight with these hundred Horse Gang. He turned his head to look at the smoke and dust on the meadow slope to the north, and saw that the hundreds of Horse Gang were about to rush down the slope and into the low-lying area. He pulled down the bamboo hat on his head and pulled out the podao from his back, signaling the two hundred Yan cavalry following him to get ready to charge.
"Don't ask how to charge, just follow my horse."
He looked at the nervous Yan cavalrymen beside him and said this without any pre-battle encouragement. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pointed his podao at the meadow on his right and kicked the horse's abdomen with both legs.
The Big Black Horse neighed twice, kicked its hooves, and galloped forward like an arrow!
…
…
The five hundred Mounted Bandits were like a black tide. They relied on the gentle slope of the meadow to increase their speed. In the span of a breath, they had already charged down the meadow and arrived at the low-lying area between two meadows.
The low-lying area was covered with black soil and coarse gravel. It looked rather solid and was about a hundred feet wide. The camp of the grain team was in the center of the area. With the speed of the Horse Gang, it would not take them too long to reach the camp from the low-lying area. What was more frightening was that if there were no traps or tripwires to slow down the Horse Gang, the hundreds of Horse Gang could easily crush the grain team camp with their speed.
There were no tripping ropes or pits. There were no obstacles on the flat and solid low-lying ground. The soldiers and commoners at the back of the caravan looked at the clearly visible faces of the Horse Gang and felt a chill down their spines. Their hands, which were tightly holding onto their spears, trembled even more violently than before. If they did not know that they would die if they surrendered and fled, they would probably just need someone to shout and everyone would throw down their weapons and scatter in all directions.
There was a great disparity in strength between them and the grain team. The grain team was located below the meadow, and they had lost the terrain. Without any preparation, how could they stop the ferocious Horse Gang? It seemed that there was no way to save the grain team. Although the two hundred Yan cavalrymen from the south had already started galloping towards them, the Horse Gang had already charged into the camp and started a massacre by the time they arrived.
Furthermore, the two hundred Yan cavalrymen did not choose to come to their aid in a straight line. Instead, they strangely ran towards the meadow slope in the east. What were they trying to do? The cavalrymen slowed down when they ran up the slope, and it was extremely exhausting. Did they want to become the target of the Horse Gang's arrows, or … were they trying to escape?
Thinking of Ning Que's insistence on not setting up any tripping ropes and traps last night, and seeing the two hundred Yan cavalrymen running towards the east, Zhuo Zhihua had a bad feeling. She did not want to admit that the Senior Brother from the Academy was such a despicable person, but other than being afraid of death, what else could explain his actions?
There was no time for Zhuo Zhihua and the girls from the Great River Kingdom to feel sad and indignant. They could only use the corner of their eyes to look at the Yan cavalrymen and the big black horse in front of them, which seemed to be getting further and further away.
The Horse Gang surged towards them like a black cloud, their thousand hooves kicking up a thousand black gravel and dust.
…
…
There was a heavy thud.
For some unknown reason, one of the mounted bandits at the very front fell heavily on the hard black gravel ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The warhorse whined and could no longer stand up. Its front hooves seemed to have been broken.
Following that, there was a series of heavy thuds. Dozens of cavalrymen at the front of the crazily charging Horse Gang fell miserably on the ground, just like the Horse Gang at the front. The valley was in a state of chaos!
Zhuo Zhihua, who was gripping her sword tightly, did not know what had happened. Her eyes were filled with confusion. Then, the confusion in her eyes turned into ecstasy, as more and more Horse Gang fell on the seemingly hard black gravel ground.
…
…
The Horse Gang charged down the gentle slope of the meadow. By the time they reached the low-lying land in the middle of the meadow, their speed had already been raised to the maximum. Under normal circumstances, this speed would undoubtedly be the most perfect. However, the problem was that this was not a normal charge, because this low-lying land was not normal ground.
In the desolate and cold wilderness, it was rare to see a low-lying land between two long sloping meadows. This place was originally an ancient river, but it had dried up and disappeared thousands of years ago, leaving only the remains of the riverbed. As the sand and wind attacked and piled up, the appearance of the river could no longer be seen. The two sides of the river had turned into green meadows in spring and frosty white in winter, and the riverbed had also turned into seemingly solid black gravel.
Even the Horse Gang, who ran amuck in the Wilderness, did not know that this low-lying land was an ancient river. Ning Que did not know either. But last night, when he brought the grain team here and set up camp, he discovered the problem of this low-lying land. Under the thin layer of sand, all were round pebbles that were as smooth as before.
The middle of the ancient river was deep, and the soil accumulated over thousands of years was the thickest. Coupled with the dead vegetation, there was not much problem for horses to travel. However, the edge of the ancient river bank, which was now the edge of the two meadows, was only covered with a very shallow layer of black gravel. If one exerted a little more force, or even if the wind was a little stronger, it was possible to touch or see the round pebbles below, as well as the irregular natural pits.
This was not a trap. It was not a trap set by Haotian for the Horse Gang. If the speed was not too fast, even the heaviest Nanshan horse carrying two people would not be trapped in the accumulated gravel over the years. However, the Horse Gang rushed down the gentle slope of the meadow, and their speed was too fast. The impact force between the horse's hooves and the ground was too great.
Therefore, the edge of the low-lying land under the gentle slope of the meadow became a trap set by Haotian for the Horse Gang.
…
…
The horse's hooves moved so fast that they almost left afterimages. They stepped heavily on the low-lying land, and their strong hooves sank deeply into the gravel. They wanted to get up, but they slid away. Because they were moving too fast, the war horse could not maintain its balance, and fell heavily with the Horse Gang on it.
A horse's hooves kicked away the black gravel, but it happened to be stuck between the round stones under the ground. At such a high speed, the warhorse could not stop its downward momentum, and its heavy body was pressed horizontally. With a crack, the horse's hooves were broken, revealing blood-colored muscles and white periosteum. It was a tragic sight to behold.
The dozens of Mounted Bandits at the front had fallen, and the majority of the Mounted Bandits at the back had already noticed the problem. However, because of the damned reason — their speed was too fast — they were unable to pull the reins to stop their charge. One after another, the horses charged into the edge of the low-lying area, and then fell heavily onto the ground, letting out dull thuds from time to time.
If the hundreds of Horse Gang that rushed down the gentle slope of the meadow were like a black tide, then the seemingly ordinary black gravel outside the camp of the grain team was like the famous breakwater on the coast of the Song Kingdom, a subsidiary of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom. Countless invisible round stone pillars appeared, hard and mercilessly smashing the tide.
The tide came in wave after wave, and broke into foam wave after wave. The waves in front fell first, and the waves behind followed. Each wave was higher than the last, and each wave pressed on the last, and each wave was more miserable than the one before.
The scene in the slanting valley was extremely bloody and cruel.
Countless horses fell to the ground, and countless Horse Gang fell to the ground, their legs broken by the heavy bodies of the horses. They frantically pushed the horses, but it was useless. The lucky horses and Horse Gang directly fainted or died, while the unlucky horses and Horse Gang were howling in pain, especially the Horse Gang at the back, who had charged at high speed but fell miserably. They were densely squeezed together, and blood oozed out like pulp, smearing on the ground under the morning light.
…
…
The fighting power of the Horse Gang was much stronger than that of the grain team. Although there were at least a hundred Horse Gang casualties in the previous charge, as long as they were given time to regroup, even if they abandoned their horses and charged on foot, they would still bring great pressure and danger to the camp.
If the hundreds of people in the camp of the grain team were the elite soldiers of the Tang army who were good at fighting, or even if they were ordinary soldiers, they could rush out of the formation of wagons with weapons and kill a Horse Gang with a casual stab. Perhaps the first wave of the Horse Gang's charge would be repelled.
Unfortunately, most of the people in the camp were farmers. Under the protection of the wooden shields, they might have the courage to defend with wooden sticks and spears, but they did not have the courage to charge out of the camp to kill the enemy. More importantly, the three hundred Horse Gang at the back had narrowly avoided the natural traps in the low-lying land. At this moment, they were holding bows and arrows, vigilantly observing the movements in the camp.
Therefore, whether or not they could defeat the first attack of the Horse Gang depended on the two hundred Yan cavalrymen in the south. At this moment, the people in the camp understood that the two hundred Yan cavalrymen abandoned the valley and chose to ascend the meadow not to escape, but to avoid the traps that Haotian had hidden in the ancient river.
…
…
The two hundred Yan cavalrymen moved ahead of time. However, as they were charging in the opposite direction of the meadow, it was a huge drain on their horse power. Therefore, they were not fast, especially when compared to the big black horse that looked like a bolt of black lightning.
The moment the Yan cavalrymen moved, the hundred Horse Gang who were monitoring and suppressing the Yan cavalrymen on the meadow to their left immediately moved. These Horse Gang rushed down the meadow as fast as they could, wanting to make a detour and kill the Yan cavalrymen from the side. However, they did not expect the Yan cavalrymen to not follow the center of the slanting valley, but towards the meadow instead.
The hundred Horse Gang saw that they could not catch up with the Yan cavalrymen. They waved their whips and whistled as they increased their speed. The sound of hooves thundered down the meadow, and they suffered the same fate as their companions who were charging in the north.
The cold winter wind of the Wilderness hit Ning Que's face, making his cheeks feel hot. Ning Que heard the cries of pain coming from behind and knew that the Horse Gang would not be able to catch up with him. He calmed himself down and began to think of some strange questions.
— — The cold wind could make my face hot, was it because the wind was too strong and caused friction? But if that was the reason, how thick and hard must my skin be?
Being able to remain calm in the face of a major event was a description of some outstanding human qualities. However, temperament was cultivated later on. Ning Que was used to seeing life and death since he was young. He had been through many trials and tribulations. Whenever he encountered a major event that involved life and death, he would habitually think about trivial things and then return his emotions to extreme calmness.
Just like how his hands, which were holding the boxwood bow, were so calm that even when the wind blew against them, they did not tremble at all.
…
…
Step, step.
Straighten.
Draw the bow.
Mispoint.
Twist the rope.
Release.
When the arrow left the bowstring, it was like dew dripping from the surface of a leaf. It was slow and then slightly deformed. The center of the arrow bulged outwards. With the rotation, the bulge drew an arc in the air. The arrowhead was swaying, and the feather tail was swaying. It followed a complicated curve and finally became a straight line, tearing the air and flying into the distance.
The arrowhead lightly touched the rough skin that had been tortured by the scorching sun and wild wind. It was like tearing the air, easily tearing the skin like paper and tearing the flesh like cotton, bringing out thick blood and broken bones. It did not stop swaying until it pierced deep into the throat. However, the feather tail was still swaying, but it became faster and made a buzzing sound when it trembled.
Three Horse Gang members were shot in their throats. Blood spurted out and they fell off their horses before they could even scream.
Ning Que's bamboo hat was tied tightly by the rope. No matter how strong the winter wind in the Wilderness was, it could not be blown off. There was no emotion in Ning Que's eyes that were exposed outside the mask. He only focused on the approaching Horse Gang.
Nearly two hundred Horse Gang members were trapped between the round rocks at the edge of the low-lying land. They were in a sorry state. Three hundred Horse Gang members were at the back, trying to forcefully rein in their territory. Their formation was extremely chaotic, especially the defense on the side. If there was a broadsword that forcefully slashed down from the side of the Horse Gang, the Horse Gang would definitely be defeated.
He led two hundred Yan cavalrymen and charged diagonally from the meadow. He wanted to make such a broadsword.
…
…
(There are still five thousand words left today) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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