Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 404: First Battle Victory
After leaving Longxi, there is an endless desert. It is scorching hot during the day and bitingly cold at night. The cavalry traveled at night and rested during the day. Even so, most of the cavalry felt dizzy, had chest tightness and shortness of breath, and found it difficult to adapt. Wuzhan had been prepared and added herbal medicine to the drinking water. After a few days, the cavalry gradually adapted.

When the Yuezhi saw the sudden arrival of the Qin cavalry, they were terrified. But after receiving the written instructions, they just passed through the city gates and watched the cavalry galloping past. Only then did they feel relieved.

According to previous calculations, the Western Expedition Army had to reach Yutian within 15 days, occupy advantageous terrain, and fight against Magadha.

Yutian is bordered by the Kunlun Mountains in the south and overlooks the vast desert in the north. It is a long and narrow road. By relying on this place, the enemy's cumbersome army can be cut off, making the enemy lose all its advantages.

……

As expected, the head of Huangshan, Lin Yazi, the head of Huashan, Bai Haotian, the head of Kunlun, Wen Jian, the head of Songshan, Zhang Di, the head of Lushan, Feijian, the head of Tianshan, Xiang Yuanxing, the head of Hengshan, Jingyu, and other disciples of their sects, about a thousand people, followed the Western Expedition Army, with the slogan, "Resist Buddhism, respect Taoism."

Wuzhan knows clearly that this is a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, a dispute over spheres of influence, and also a dispute over beliefs. On the surface, Buddhism and the three religions in heaven are at peace, and the top leaders will not interfere in this matter, but secretly they are sending elites within the religion to participate in it.

Moreover, this war will produce a large number of dead souls. The elites in the heavens will secretly refine them and increase their soul power. With so many soldiers coming from Magadha, how could they miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

After the Western Expedition Army arrived at Loulan, a sandstorm blew up in the desert. The sky was filled with yellow sand and it was impossible to see anything. The road was buried by sand dunes. The Western Expedition Army was forced to stop. Soon after, a severe cold weather hit, delaying them for another day.

It was obvious that someone had secretly cast a spell to prevent the Western Expedition Army from reaching Yutian. On the third day, Lingkongzi came back to report that 500,000 cavalrymen from Magadha had arrived at Yutian and occupied the important pass.

Having lost the initiative, the Western Expedition Army continued its march and arrived at Yutian one day later.

The two armies were facing each other. From afar, one could see 500,000 cavalrymen with flags flying, ready to form a battle formation as vast as a river or sea, stretching for miles. Such a sight made the Western Expedition Army's scalps tingle and their hearts tremble with fear.

Wuzhan ordered the extra horses to retreat ten miles. Meng Yi rode forward, and the enemy general also rode up to meet him. The general was huge, with his upper body naked, and his whole body was covered with strong muscles, like a giant ape. Neither of them could understand what the other was saying. The general made a thumbs-down gesture to Meng Yi, obviously looking down on the Western Expedition Army.

Meng Yi pointed to his head and shook his head, his meaning was obvious, "Your brains are not good enough."

The general was very angry and threw his sword to the ground, making it clear that he wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Western Expedition Army.

Meng Yi also threw out his sword at the same time. The two swords landed in one place, and the two men separated and returned to the front of their teams.

Meng Yi pointed his spear at the enemy and shouted, "Kill!"

With the sound of rumbling hooves, the cavalry kept speeding up and rushing towards the enemy. At the same time, the enemy also rushed towards them like a tsunami.

Wuzhan rode on the golden-winged Roc and waved the yellow flag in his hand. The Qin army bent their bows and drew their arrows, and shot out dense arrows with a "swish".

Countless arrows drew curves in the air and poured down like a waterfall, landing in the enemy's ranks. Thousands of cavalrymen or horses were immediately hit by arrows, fell to the ground, and were drowned by the flood of cavalry behind them.

The cavalry of Dantuo were equipped with shields, and most of the arrows were blocked. They put away their shields, held their spears, roared, and galloped like a stream.

Wuzhan waved another red flag, and the Qin cavalry began to disperse to both wings. Taking advantage of the momentum, thousands of nets were thrown out.

The cavalry of Tuo State who were rushing in the front were caught off guard and were caught in the flying net. They were immediately thrown to the ground and fell down. A large number of cavalrymen in the front fell down. Because the cavalry were too dense, the cavalrymen behind who were not in time to dodge also stumbled. The scene was like a river flowing into the abyss. Tuo’s army suffered heavy losses in the center.

The Qin cavalry divided into two and charged towards the two sides of Tuo State, swinging their long spears to directly sweep the horses' legs. This style of fighting was something the Tuo cavalry had never expected. Before their weapons even came into contact, they fell down and were trampled to death by their own people.

China's long history of war has inherited a wealth of military tactics, battle formations, experience, and qualities. Therefore, although the Tuo Kingdom had a large population, it was like a man with his hands and feet bound in front of the Qin army, unable to exert any strength.

The two wings of the Tuo cavalry were smashed to pieces by the Qin army, and the middle was blocked and could not be taken care of, so the 500,000 cavalry were immediately in chaos.

After the Qin army charged to the rear of the Tuo cavalry, they turned around and charged back from both wings without losing their momentum. The Tuo cavalry was unable to turn around, and their momentum was completely lost. Both wings were attacked again, like a giant insect in front of a colony of ants, with no resistance at all.

As soon as the black flag was unfurled, the cavalry rushed back and, without stopping, swept away the flying sand and yellow soil.

The cavalry commander of Tuo State was extremely angry. He had not even encountered a single enemy cavalryman, but the Qin army had actually fled. He thought that the Qin army was cowardly and did not dare to fight to the death, so he ordered their troops to pursue them.

One hundred thousand Qin cavalrymen galloped at full speed, and hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen behind them pursued them relentlessly, like a rolling torrent or tsunami, the earth roared continuously, and a magnificent landscape was formed in the desert.

After running for ten miles, the horses were exhausted and their speed gradually slowed down. Seeing that they were about to catch up with the Qin army, the Tuo cavalry rode their horses like crazy, wishing to crush the Qin army.

Seeing that Tuo's army was about to catch up soon, the Qin army put down their halberds and raised flying sand in the desert, making it impossible for the cavalry behind them to open their eyes.

Suddenly, the cavalry in the front fell down with a bang, and then the cavalry behind were tripped and stopped abruptly like water hitting a stone wall. It turned out that the Qin army had already set up tripwires here, and they were pulled up after the Qin army passed by.

The general of Tuo State saw that they had fallen into an ambush and ordered to stop the pursuit, but it was too late. The situation was completely out of control, with horses neighing and people screaming. The hateful thing was that these dead cavalrymen did not die under the enemy's spears, but under their own horses' hooves.

The yellow sand had dispersed, and blood had flowed into a river. Looking up, the Qin army had changed their horses and formed their battle formations. Meng Yi was holding a long spear, ready to go.

Seeing that more than half of his cavalry had been lost and the situation was hopeless, the general of Tuo State angrily ordered a retreat. Those cavalrymen who were not killed turned their horses around and fled in panic.

Meng Yi raised his halberd with a majestic look, "Kill!"

After this battle, the morale of the 100,000 cavalry was greatly boosted, and they rushed towards the enemy like a tiger descending from a mountain. The war horses of Tuo State were already exhausted after running for more than ten miles, and the Qin army had newly replaced war horses. It didn't take long for them to attack from the rear, slaughtering the enemy without any resistance.

The pursuit continued all the way to Yutian, where only a few of the 500,000 cavalrymen of Tuo were left, and they fled to the Pamir Mountains in defeat.

The endless yellow sand buried the corpses of Tuoguo's war horses and cavalrymen, as well as the broken halberds and spears. ...

In the void, some people saw this scene and were ecstatic. So many undead were what they had dreamed of. The undead on the battlefield were sucked away one by one.

On the other hand, Wuzhan's ability to command troops has already been highlighted. The next step is to find ways to secretly get rid of Wuzhan.

The Taoist disciples of the thirty-six sects watched this war from afar and were extremely shocked. They all stood in respect for Wuzhan. Looking at the four famous generals, who had such exquisite tactics to bring the advantages of cavalry to the fullest and wipe out the enemy in less than half a day and make the cavalry, which was five times that of the Qin army, run around in circles? But what they didn't know was that Wuzhan was the son of Li Mu.

After this battle, the Qin army suffered negligible casualties, and they rested in the fields, slaughtered sheep and cattle, and rewarded the entire army.

Seeing Wuzhan, Meng Yi said excitedly: "If it weren't for my brother's careful planning and his mastery of the military, how could we have enjoyed such a hearty battle? Even if I die in this desert, Meng Yi will die without regrets."

Wuzhan said: "Today's victory is attributed to the Chinese heritage. The West does not have this kind of heritage, so naturally they are confused and caught off guard."

Meng Yi asked: "With your arrangements, I believe we will be able to stop the enemy in Yutian next."

Wuzhan said: "The main force of Magadha has crossed Mount Buzhou and will arrive here in two days. Although this place is easy to defend, our army is only cavalry. The enemy is more numerous than us, and I am afraid we can't hold it."

"Didn't you say before that you would stay here?"

"That was because I deliberately leaked the military intelligence. On the one hand, I expected that someone would secretly help the enemy. Therefore, we were trapped in Loulan for two days. Second, after the enemy got the news, they marched quickly, separated the cavalry and infantry, and rushed to Yutian. We could fight a first battle and blunt their edge. Third, this place looks dangerous, but we can get out of the desert. By then, we will be attacked from both sides and surrounded. We will be unable to escape. Fourth, their cavalry is five times as large as mine. They must be eager to gain merit and come out to duel with us, which will fall into our trap."

After listening to Wuyan's explanation, Meng Yi exclaimed: "It turns out that everything is under your control, my dear brother. I have been worried for several days."

Wuzhan said: "The fewer people who know the military secrets, the better. Please don't blame me, second brother."

Meng Yi quickly waved his hands and said with a smile: "That's not what I meant. As long as we can win the battle, you can turn my second brother into a fool."

Wuzhan said: "The battles ahead are the most difficult to fight. We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Otherwise, we will be buried in the sand. Second brother needs to know the details and must not reveal them to a third person."

"Then don't tell me, brother. Accidents are bound to happen."

Wuzhan whispered, "This time is different from the past. After today's battle, I have been targeted by the supporters behind the enemy. Next, they will assassinate me. Don't worry, they can't kill me. What I am worried about is that they will use some tricks to transfer me away, just in case. By then, it will be up to my second brother to command personally, otherwise we will miss the opportunity."

Meng Yi tilted his ear towards Wuzhai, "Second brother understands, and will definitely do as you wish."

……

At night, Wuzhai was in the military tent when he heard someone outside saying, "The leaders of Huashan, Bai Haotian and Xia Kexin, want to see you, sir."

After hearing this, Wuzhan quickly came outside the tent and saw that the people coming were Bai Haotian and Xia Kexin, so he hurriedly invited them into the tent.

When Xia Kexin saw Wuzhan's face, she hurriedly asked, "Junior brother, your face?"

Bai Haotian interrupted and said, "You can't address me like that. You should call me Mr." He said to Wuzhan, "You have been spoiled and don't know the etiquette."

Wuzhan said: "Once a teacher, always a father. If I hadn't had my master, I would have died at the foot of Huashan. I will never forget this kindness. Senior brother, you don't have to be polite. It's just that I haven't had the time to go back to Huashan to visit you. I am sorry for being impolite."

Xia Kexin had always believed that Wuzhan had lost his soul to an evil demon, and she dared not recognize him. Today, when she saw Wuzhan commanding the Qin army to fight against Tuo State, she was worried about him. She came to meet him despite Bai Haotian's dissuasion. Seeing Wuzhan was still the same, she was very happy. "I knew that Junior Brother would not forget. Junior Brother, you haven't told me why your face has become like this."

Wuzhan smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just felt that I wasn't majestic enough, so I shaved it like this on purpose."

Xia Kexin asked with concern: "Then you can't not take care of yourself. You have such a beautiful face, how can you..."

Bai Haotian quickly winked at Xia Kexin, meaning that he should not mention this matter again, and said to Wuzhan: "Junior brother is very busy, and I shouldn't have disturbed you. But Kexin missed you and insisted on seeing you. I couldn't persuade her, so I came to visit you late at night."

Xia Kexin said: "I came here to tell you something important. Junior brother, don't worry about this war. Hide away quickly. Regardless of the outcome of this war, Heaven will destroy the Qin State. Especially for a person like Junior brother, Heaven will never let him go."

Although Wuzhan knew about this, he was particularly touched that Xia Kexin could tell him such important information in person. "Thank you, senior brother and sister, for taking the risk to reveal this to me. But as a subject, I should do my duty. I can't avoid it, and I have to face it."

"But Junior Brother, you can't defeat them. They... want..."

Bai Haotian snorted and interrupted, "Junior brother, we know very little, so please be careful."

Wuzhan said, "I will be careful. There is one more thing I ask you to remember. No matter what happens in the future, you must draw a clear line with me to avoid being implicated." He took out a bottle of elixir and two books from his arms. "This elixir was made by me and can help you overcome the calamity and ascend to heaven. These two books are the Taoism I have comprehended. I hope you can find it helpful. As for the one behind Huashan, you just need to do as I say to avoid any trouble."

Bai Haotian took the things and thanked excitedly: "Thank you, junior brother." You should know that his tribulation was achieved by compromising and being controlled by talented people.

Because the two of them came on a secret visit, after a short while of reminiscing about the past, Bai Haotian took Xia Kexin away.

……

After midnight, Bai Haotian suddenly rushed back and told them that Xia Kexin was missing.

(End of this chapter)