CH 69

From Gaodu to the rear echelon in Xicheng valley, going straight through the valley was nearly twice as fast. Lu Ge chose that path, even though it was narrow and disadvantageous to cavalry. No matter who it was that robbed their camp, they had no way of getting all that grain and cloth anywhere fast. The more time they saved, the better their chances were.

But when their horses galloped into the ravine, Lu Ge’s heart skipped a beat. He seemed to have forgotten something. Before he could get his thoughts in order, fiery arrows descended like comets upon the mouth of the valley before them. Boom! The eruption of a raging inferno! 

Shit! They weren’t after the provisions, their goal was to lure them back and ambush them! He’d fallen for their trap!

However, it was too late. The warhorses neighed, refusing to approach the outway. Horses instinctively feared fire. They’d go out of control even under the most experienced rider.

“Retreat! Hurry, get out of the valley!” Lu Ge shouted, realizing something was amiss. But backing out of the cramped ravine was easier said than done. Before the cavalry at the front could turn their horses around, a troop of spearmen rushed out from the thickets lining the valley and blocked the road.

His eyes nearly red with rage, Lu Ge roared, “So a rabble of footsoldiers dares to stop us – men, charge!” 

How laughable – a mere hundred people had the guts to ambush them? He’d make those insolent cretins regret it when he massacred them all!

Several cavalrymen about-faced, preparing to charge the footsoldiers. Yet Lu Ge called for them to halt, “Get off your horses! All of you, off your horses and fight!”

“What?” Lu Long lurched, “Why aren’t we rushing them?”

“It’s too narrow. You won’t make it through. The dead horses will clog up the road.” Lu Ge had already jumped off his horse and drawn his saber, “They haven’t got as many people as us. Get off your horses and slaughter ‘em!”

Standing opposite of a dense mass of speartips, Lu Ge’s killing intent soared. It was his first time coming across an enemy like this since he’d rebelled. But so what if they got ambushed? So what if they couldn’t use their horses? He’d teach these bastards just what he was made of!

Hearing his order, the Xiongnu all dismounted. Wielding bows or sabers, they all dashed towards the mouth of the valley.

※

So they hadn’t tried a cavalry charge. Standing at the center of the formation, Yiyan impassively watched them dismount. It didn’t matter if they didn’t charge. They’d chosen to set up ambush here to force them to fight on foot after all. As long as their formation held steady and they weren’t attacked from the rear or flank, the Bravesage Battalion feared no one! 

Their spear formation was adamant as a boulder. The enemies hollered as they neared. Three hundred steps, two hundred, one hundred… Yiyan shouted, “Shields up!”

This time, the first row was comprised not of spearmen, but of shieldbearers. At his order, the staunch soldiers raised their wooden shields high. The next moment, a rain of arrows plunked into their wooden shields. Their light leather armor couldn’t block arrows, and the Xiongnu were excellent shots. Fighting on foot wouldn’t stop them from launching a salvo of arrows.

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“Kill!” 

No more instructions to heft spears and thrust. Every order was compressed into one short call. The spearmen leaped out from behind the shield wall!

With a three meters’ distance, not even the sharpest of sabers could bite into flesh. But spears could! Longspears whished through the frigid air, through the dreadful battle cries, through the enemies’ bodies! Through their chests, stomachs, throats, spears sank in and blood spurted out!

Pained shrieks echoed through the valley. A dozen enemies fell – even more crowed forth. They weren’t mountain bandits nor highwaymen. They were tried and true Xiongnu warriors. Ten measly deaths couldn’t shake their resolve. But they were met by another row of longspears, and another row, and another… One row of spears stabbed out after the other, accompanied by one round of shouting after the other, crashing into them endlessly as the tide.

Lu Long gaped at the towering forest of spears in disbelief. What was this? Why did a formation like this exist?! 

Lu Ge had had enough. He yelled, “Shoot arrows!”

“Brother! Our own people are still…” Lu Long sputtered in fright. How could he order them to shoot right now? The vanguard was all tangled up with the enemy!

Lu Ge’s arrow was already nocked, aimed, loosed. Another Xiongnu warrior gritted his teeth and shot too. They were too close; they had no choice but to launch them in a projectile arc. The arrows hailed down indiscriminately along the battle line between the two forces.

A number of the Xiongnu vanguard tussling with the enemy collapsed after being impaled. Most of them, though, saw the spear formation waver! A large section of the once tight-packed and impenetrable formation had crumbled. Those fearsome spearmen were screaming in agony. 

A chance! It was a chance to close the three-meter gap! Needing no reminder, the battle-hardened Xiongnu warriors pounced. Longspears were effective at mid-range but useless in close-quarters combat!

A row of spearmen broke rank. It was the auxiliary troops that had clashed with the enemy first. For most of them, it was their first time on the battlefield. They didn’t yet know how to adapt, how to do anything other than dumbly repeat the motions that’d been drilled into them. The enemy’s sudden onslaught broke their rhythm. And with long unwieldy spears in their hands, they could not do battle with the enemies closing in on them. More wailing rang out. The entire spear formation was at risk of falling apart.

Yiyan gripped his saber and shouted, “Sabermen, to the front! Primary forces, recover the spear formation! Everyone else, with me!”

Then, Yiyan and the ten soldiers trailing closely behind him weaved through the mass of soldiers, sprinting to the front of the formation. Each of them bore an oval shield, made of sturdy wood and coated with metal. These were the shields of the Liang Estate’s cavalry. At distance they could block arrows, up close they could parry blades. But right now, they formed a stout bulwark, barreling into the enemy, pushing into their formation! 

Just one blow, and the Xiongnu’s advance halted as if they’d slammed into a colossal mountainside! But it wasn’t a mountainside they’d crashed against, it was the elite of the Liang Estate! Sabers flashed from behind the shields!

Like the Xiongnu cavalry, the Liang Estate’s cavalry were no strangers to the battlefield, no less courageous or valiant. They were well-fed, equipped with leather armor, and responsible for nothing more than training for war. Plus, there were even several stalwart Jie barbarians among the cavalry!

Yiyan and his small team tore effortlessly through the Xiongnu’s frontline like a pack of wolves ravaging a flock of sheep. They bored deep into the Xiongnu ranks! Who had time to nock and draw their bows under such relentless assault?

In the back, Zhu Er huffed and puffed and yelled, “Form up! Everyone form up! Don’t look at ‘em as people, those are our meal tickets! Our tax exemption and fields! You all better get on your feet!” 

He was trembling, like the first time he went to battle, with exhilaration, terror, and helpless trepidation. But his knees weren’t knocking together and his hands weren’t shaking. And there wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his eyes or in his mind! Spurred by all the old veterans, the nearly scattered auxiliary forces stood up once more and got into formation.

Their captain, their battalion leader was diving into the enemy’s ranks. What would they do?

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Marching to the same rhythm, the spear formation began grinding its way towards the enemy horde! 

The Xiongnu’s frontline had caved. They were a confused mass of boiling froth, from inside to out. Yiyan’s squad drew their attention away from the main force. They’d have to turn around, encircle the rabid tigers in a wall of flesh, if they wanted to off them. But the moment they turned, the spear formation would be at their backs, ready to send them to deaths’ door.

Even the most elite soldiers couldn’t deal with this kind of situation! Their formation was broken already, and the enemy was scything them down like grain! How could they resist? What could they do?! Their will to fight had broken before their formation had!

He had to kill him – kill him at all costs! Unlike the others, Lu Ge roared in fury and plunged into the frenzy, barreling towards the tall Jie youth. He’d noticed already that he was the commander propping up this strange military! If he killed him, he’d have the chance to gain the upper hand!

His saber guillotined down with the weight of all the lives it’d taken. But it was blocked by a rugged shield. After his unsuccessful sneak attack, a pair of uncanny blue-gray eyes locked on to him. Their color was disturbing, and the violence within them frightening as that of a feral wolf’s. Lu Ge felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he didn’t back down. He shouted, “Lu Long!” 

Beside him, Lu Long brandished his saber. Like his cousin, he knew this was their only chance to turn the tables. They had had four hundred people! Four hundred people! How could they just somehow lose like this in this valley!

The two of them clenched their jaws. Yiyan wasn’t intimidated at all; on the contrary, his heart was clear as ice and his mind was deadly calm. This was the enemy commander. Kill him, and the enemy would break! He only had to kill them!

The shield bashed towards him; Lu Ge dodged to the side and raised his blade for another strike, but missed. The shield was nowhere to be seen, in its place was a dagger, a cold ghostly light glinting on its edge. A backhanded knife grip! It couldn’t be too fast, but the knife was stabbing towards his face before he finished the thought. Lu Ge burst into a cold sweat as he threw himself back, tumbling on the ground. He wasn’t afraid the enemy would round on him, because ah-Long would defend him.

But when he sprang up again, a human head rolled to a stop by his foot. It was Lu Long’s head, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, unable to rest in peace. 

“AAAAAHHHH!!!” Lu Ge was going insane! How could it be! How could he have killed ah-Long in just a single strike?!

The person before him was unmoved by his wretched howling. A saber sliced through the wind, chopping down on him with enough force to split a mountain! Lu Ge brought his saber to bear, forcefully meeting his blow! A piece of his blade chipped off with a groan, but he blocked it! Except, another shadow gusted through the air and kissed his throat.

The knife in his left hand accurately pierced his windpipe.

At that moment, all Lu Ge could see was the blue sky, the gray mountain ridge, and those odd blue-gray eyes. A gurgle sputtered out of his throat, his saber slipped out of his hands and clanged to the ground. He grasped at his throat as if he was trying to stem the gushing torrent. But his two hands could not slow the inexorable creep of death. 

The sky was getting darker, the wind was unbearably cold, the thick stench of blood that kept him company every day. To think, that he had lived only a few short days, just these few short days….

That silhouette disappeared from view. Lu Ge toppled backward into a puddle of his own blood.

“The enemy leader is dead!” Yiyan yelled as he bent down to retrieve his shield, “Sabermen, advance!”

The Xiongnu had now devolved into utter chaos. Some mounted their horses, thinking they could charge out of the gorge; others threw themselves madly onto the enemy’s spears. Against a formation like this, there was no way out but death. Either death by fire or death by blade! Then wanted to survive, they wanted to live! 

But Yiyan didn’t stop. Their sabers and spears, sharp as new, sealed off the valley completely. The horses neighed, the screams died down. The acrid smoke alone throughout the gorge.

“Captain, there aren’t any more enemies,” a corporal quietly reported to Yiyan.

“How many casualties?” Yiyan asked as he flicked the blood from his saber.

“Eleven auxiliary forces, six primary forces. And there’s another twenty heavily injured,” the corporal replied solemnly. Though they won against an enemy that was twice their number, their own militia had taken serious losses. Aside from the dead, nearly everyone was wounded to some extent. 

Yiyan sheathed his saber and said coldly, “Gather up the horses and previsions. Marching formation! Back to the estate!”

The battle was over. Everything else, he only had to leave to his lord.

On the horizon, the dying sun’s crimson rays graced the crimson valley. A troop of bloodied soldiers walked their horses and drove their carts into the distance.