Longzang

Chapter 721 - Three Points Short
The one who could command an army of 200,000 was no ordinary person. The commander was Lu Gaozhi, the General of Anxi and Marquis of Huaiyuan of the Zhao State. Although Marquis of Huaiyuan was not as famous as Marquis of Ping'an, he was still a veteran general who had fought on the battlefield for fifty years.

Marquis Huaiyuan was an extremely steady strategist. He first ensured his own invincibility before planning to make the enemy vulnerable, and he rarely suffered a defeat in his life. When he led the infantry and cavalry army to take Hanyang Pass and draw Qingming's troops to its rescue, he was precisely responding to all changes with unwavering resolve.

However, Lu Gaozhi had never encountered such a situation before.

Based on Lu Gaozhi's military experience, he would not deploy his troops in a long, single-file formation. He divided his army into three forces: a central infantry force, and mixed infantry and cavalry forces on the left and right flanks to protect the central army's flanks. The three armies were each ten li apart and maintained constant communication.

This was originally a foolproof plan, but suddenly, all the scouts sent out returned, reporting an enemy attack. The enemy arrived incredibly fast, almost catching up with the scouts!
Lu Gaozhi took to the air to observe and saw hundreds of cavalry units appearing in various directions, each unit consisting of relatively small numbers. Looking around, he saw that the enemy was evenly distributed, and he couldn't pinpoint where the main force was located.

These cavalry squads arrived almost simultaneously and immediately launched attacks on the Zhao army from all directions. They were extremely arrogant, with many squads even directly inserting themselves between the front, middle, and rear armies in the central route to divide and attack.

In an instant, countless flashbangs and sonic grenades exploded among the Zhao army. Small cavalry squads opened fire as soon as they approached. Amidst the roar, swarms of gunpowder-coated iron pellets rained down on the Zhao troops; few were killed instantly, but many fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Each cavalry unit also carried a considerable number of cannonballs, which they hurled directly into the Zhao army ranks, killing many more.

Even though Zhao Jun was a battle-hardened elite, he could not avoid chaos.

Lu Gaozhi was trembling with rage. He wanted to order a counterattack, but the same question remained: where was the enemy's main force? Hundreds of cavalry squads had been scattered so easily; did they really intend to surround a larger force with a smaller one?

Left with no other choice, Lu Gaozhi ordered his troops to form ranks on the spot and launch a counterattack. However, the Zhao army's crossbows and homemade firearms were far inferior to Qingming's. Qingming's cavalry squads were extremely fierce in their firepower, mowing down large numbers of Zhao soldiers and forcing the heavily armored warriors in their formation to keep their heads down.

The sky was filled with flying swords and spears whistling through the air. When a Dharma General took to the air to retaliate, he was instantly riddled with holes by dozens of flying swords.

Lu Gaozhi, positioned in the central army and protected by numerous personal guards, was still somewhat overwhelmed by the countless flying swords hurtling through the air. His guards continuously unleashed their magical weapons, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the flying swords.

After observing for a while, Lu Gaozhi suddenly discovered that many cavalry squads did not fight independently. Often, several neighboring squads would cooperate with each other. One squad would charge into the enemy formation, causing chaos among the defenders, while the other two would cut off a portion of the Zhao army from the formation. Then, they would join forces with several other squads to quickly annihilate the separated troops.

After eliminating the Zhao army that had surrounded them, these squads would disperse again, each looking for an opportunity to fight, and then randomly combine with other squads to fight another battle of division and encirclement.

Whether out of superior skill and audacity or sheer arrogance and ignorance, these cavalry squads sometimes even encircled and annihilated isolated Zhao troops right under the noses of the main Zhao army. If a Zhao general could no longer restrain himself and led his troops in an attack, the surrounding cavalry squads would pounce like sharks smelling blood, instantly cutting off reinforcements and creating an even larger encirclement.

Once the encirclement was complete, the Qingming cavalrymen spurred their horses and galloped in circles, then raised their spears and fired wildly at the Zhao soldiers trapped inside.

A crack heavy infantry unit was inadvertently cut off and surrounded. The commanding captain, remaining calm under pressure, immediately formed a dense shield formation, protecting even their heads and impenetrable to bullets. However, a Qingming cavalryman picked up a cannonball and tossed it low into the shield formation. The next moment, the shields burst open.

Such shield formations are not uncommon; people have long since figured out how to break them. Against infantry artillery, every shield formation is a sitting duck.

In this way, the small battles of encirclement and annihilation in localized areas were added together, and the results became quite considerable.

Each Qingming cavalry unit was like a celestial sword, nimble and sharp, relentlessly slicing through the behemoth that was the Zhao army. Each wound, though small, would eventually lead to death from blood loss if they accumulated in large numbers.

Lu Gaozhi had never fought a battle like this before. The enemy, outnumbered and outgunned, was extremely audacious and their tactics were exquisite. Each squad acted like her fingers, nimble and precise. No matter how the Zhao army organized a counterattack, they all came up empty-handed. Several times, they were even surrounded by the enemy with more than a dozen squads, resulting in a major annihilation.

Lu Gaozhi felt a chill run through his body. All the military books he had learned since childhood flooded his mind, but it seemed that none of them were correct. He didn't even know how to fight back!

Finally, seeing that Zhao's army was on the verge of collapse, Lu Gaozhi had no choice but to sound the retreat horn. Several trusted men then led elite troops to cover the rear, protecting the main force as they slowly retreated towards the nearby mountains. As long as the high ground was occupied, the enemy cavalry could not move back and forth, thus greatly reducing the effectiveness of this tactic.

In the end, the elite rearguard units, at the cost of near annihilation, managed to cover the remaining troops and capture a small hill. The hill was surrounded by forest, which was not conducive to cavalry movement. Lu Gaozhi had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a series of extremely heavy footsteps, and then he saw a troop of chariots enter the battlefield.

Unlike the barbarian chariots with their dozens of hairy legs, the cultivators driving the Azure Nether Chariots wore boots mixed with Nether Iron, so they were not afraid of having their feet cut off.

Zhang Sheng appeared atop a chariot, standing with his hands behind his back, and said calmly, "General, instead of hurrying back to Zhao, are you planning to spend the night here? The Western Regions are dangerous; staying too long might lead to unforeseen complications, and it wouldn't be good if you couldn't get back." Lu Gaozhi arrived at the front of the formation and asked, "Who are you?"

"Taichu Palace, Zhang Sheng."

Lu Gaozhi said in a deep voice, "I am completely convinced of today's defeat. I never imagined that I could command troops in such a way, making the 100,000 cavalry so skillfully. You are truly extraordinary. In the future, you will surely become a great general!"

Eight immortal swords appeared around Zhang Sheng, and he said calmly, "General, you flatter me. But aren't you leaving yet?"

A thunderous roar suddenly rang out from Zhao Jun's ranks: "You mere Dao Foundation cultivator, how dare you spout such nonsense?! Grandpa will teach you a lesson!"

A general as tall as an iron tower leaped up, his face filled with murderous intent, and pounced towards Zhang Sheng. However, although his magical power was strong, his movement skills were only average, and Zhang Sheng had to wait a moment before he could fly over.

Just then, a shadow suddenly rose from the ground, and a hand several meters long descended, grabbing Zhang Sheng in one swift motion. A triumphant laugh echoed from the shadows: "Little Dao Foundation cultivator, your grandpa here is the real killer move! Watch me crush you! Hmm, you're so handsome, it's a bit of a shame to crush you..."

Another Zhao general emerged from the shadows, grinning maliciously as he frantically channeled his magical power into his large hand, then clenched it tightly!
But this grip was like gripping a steel ball; it couldn't even leave a mark, let alone crush it. The power of the person in the large hand was extremely profound, surpassing even his late-stage Dharma Aspect realm cultivation!

The surging power of the Dao erupted, directly destroying the Daoist hand. Zhang Sheng, who was as bright and pure as sword light, was gone, replaced by the beautiful and charming Bao Yun.

Bao Yun smiled slightly at the Zhao general, her pupils suddenly becoming unfathomable. The general froze instantly, then his face contorted with extreme fear, as if he had just witnessed something. Suddenly, blood flowed from his pupils, followed by a torrent of blood gushing from his seven orifices, and he collapsed backward.

The Zhao general, who had been flying slowly, shouted "Brother!" and then flew at full speed. But Zhang Sheng suddenly appeared and blocked his path. Around her, there were still eight immortal swords.

The Zhao general was extremely anxious and shouted angrily, "You blind little Daoji, get out of my way!"

He took out a gourd, removed the stopper, and with a single breath, drew eight immortal swords from Zhang Sheng's control, which then fell into the gourd.

Zhao sneered, "Eight pieces of trash of the Human Rank dare to come out and embarrass yourself? Get out of my way! I don't kill pretty women!"

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "It's too late to beg for mercy now."

Countless immortal swords suddenly appeared beneath the feet of the Zhao general. A total of 256 immortal swords of various colors transformed into a giant seven-colored sword lotus. Then the lotus petals closed, turning into a lotus bud, but blood kept gushing out from the gaps.

Then the sword lotus disappeared, and the general of the Zhao Kingdom at the mid-stage of the Dharma Aspect realm also vanished without a trace. Neither his physical body nor his Dharma Aspect left any mark, and the blood that had just flowed from the crack in the immortal sword seemed to have never existed.

Zhang Sheng bent down, picked up a gourd, casually put it in his pocket, and then looked at Lu Gaozhi, saying, "General, if we don't leave now, it will really be too late."

Seeing the chariots lined up and the cannons raised, Lu Gaozhi realized what was happening and hurriedly ordered his army to retreat away from the hilltop, then headed towards the Zhao state.

Zhang Sheng returned to Bao Yun's side, and then Li Zhi, Cui Yu, and others arrived. Li Zhi cupped his hands and said, "Today's battle was truly unprecedented and will surely be recorded in history!"

Zhang Sheng said indifferently, "It was just something I did casually, nothing to mention. You all go and clean up the battlefield."

Li Zhi and Cui Yu knew that Zhang Sheng had something to say to Bao Yun, so they went off to do their own things.

After the two had walked away, Zhang Sheng said, "When you impersonated me and appeared on the battlefield, your hand behind your back should have been a little further back. You were gentle enough, but you lacked the aura of 'I am the only one who can do this.' Future generations will inevitably have less admiration when they talk about today's battle..."

(End of this chapter)