Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 164 Defeat the Enemy
In their first encounter, the Jie tribe's renowned heavy arrows proved extremely effective.

Puff puff!
With the terrifying sound of arrows piercing flesh, human border soldiers fell one after another.

"Hold on, hold on!"

Accompanied by the shrill roar of the mid-ranking officer.

The shield bearers in the first row desperately braced their shield stakes, making sure they were firmly embedded in the mud to prevent the Jie tribe from taking advantage of the situation and tearing a gap in their shields.

That would cause far more casualties than a barrage of heavy arrows.

Once the Jie tribe's heavy arrows create a breach, the subsequent heavy cavalry force will, like bloodthirsty beasts, carve off a group of soldiers along the outer perimeter of the gap in the army formation, as if tearing flesh from their flesh.

This process continues, layer upon layer, until the enemy's morale collapses.

This has been the common tactic used by the Jie heavy cavalry group for many years.

It's not particularly sophisticated; in fact, it's rather rudimentary.

Countering this tactic is actually not difficult.

In the current situation where there is no technological gap in weaponry, the only options are to either charge with heavy cavalry or have an army so strong that it can counter-encircle the Jie tribe.

Unfortunately, neither of these two methods could be achieved by any of the northern armies, including the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It was precisely by relying on such rudimentary tactics that the Jie tribe had been invincible against many small tribes in the northern border for decades. Even the suzerain state, the Great Zhou Dynasty, had been defeated and had to reluctantly acknowledge the Jie tribe's dominant position in the northern border.

The more victories the Jie tribe won, the more smaller tribes chose to join them, making them increasingly powerful, to the point that they now have the power to subtly bully the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, Gu Xuan's initiative to lead the border troops into battle this time was clearly well-prepared.

Buzz!
A strange bowstring sound rang out from behind the Great Zhou army formation.

That was the artillery battalion behind the main formation, which launched a counterattack the instant after the Jie tribe attacked.

Then came the rumbling sound of the wind.

Suddenly, over a hundred artillery pieces started up simultaneously, and a dense barrage of stones slammed heavily onto the Jie heavy cavalry, causing hundreds of casualties due to the force of gravity.

This created a gap of about a hundred paces between the Jie tribe and the Great Zhou.

At that very moment, the first few rows of the Great Zhou army suddenly parted into more than a dozen small gaps under the command of flag signals and officers.

This is clearly an extremely unusual situation.

If the Jie tribe were to seize this opportunity, a small number of heavy cavalry would immediately rush in, using their high mobility and momentum to kill many soldiers along the perimeter.

however.

On the Jie tribe's side, the heavy cavalry, who suddenly accelerated in an attempt to fill this gap, instinctively sensed something was amiss.

However, given this situation, they had no choice but to retreat or turn around, otherwise they would only collide with or trip up their comrades.

And in their suspicious and fearful gazes.

Within the Great Zhou army formation, a dozen or so ballistae, gleaming with a dark and cold sharpness, once again revealed their bloodthirsty aura, like visitors from hell.

Boom boom boom!
With a dull thud of torque, dozens or even hundreds of ballistae, like the will of death, instantly pierced the bodies of nearly a hundred Jie cavalrymen.

Some of them even continued their trajectory, shooting into the warhorses of the knights behind them.

The scene was instantly bloody and horrific, with warhorses neighing, knights screaming, and the sounds of battle echoing everywhere!
Furthermore, the human border army also had a large cavalry force that attacked from both sides, like two large felt hammers, heavily smashing down on the three Jie tribes that had launched the initial attack.

But immediately afterward, following the signal flags on the city wall, two small reinforcement forces of the Jie tribe, each numbering no less than a thousand, rushed out of the city to launch a counterattack against the human race.

The two sides had only been fighting for a quarter of an hour when there were already at least a thousand casualties!

However, despite the bloody scene, the casualties were merely an appetizer, given the current level of sturdiness of both sides' armor.

The real large-scale casualties usually occur after one side has completely collapsed and is being pursued and driven away; that is when the real reaping battle takes place.

This is also one of the reasons why the Jie people were able to endure arduous battles.

Over the years, they have persevered through hundreds of battles, winning the final victory and securing the ultimate reaping.

Other tribes or the armies of the Great Zhou Dynasty, though they knew only a little bit, were always slaughtered in the end due to various reasons, such as morale collapse or the collapse of their formations.

Therefore.

In this great battle.

Whether it was the Jie tribe's high-ranking officials led by Dai Shang, or the human tribe's main generals with Jiang Bushi at their core, they all issued orders one after another with calm and iron-like expressions. Although they were very nervous inside, they did not show it on their faces.

For a time, the war reached a stalemate.

And this way.

The real deciding factor will be the reinforcements that each side receives.

……

Let’s talk about it.

On the Jie tribe's side, after sacrificing dozens of elite scouts, they discovered the elite human forces behind them.

The core leadership, led by Dai Shang, naturally also implemented targeted defensive measures.

In Chanshan City, they deliberately set aside a defensive force of over ten thousand.

Although at least half of them were white-haired veterans or young men, the other half were renowned heavy infantrymen of the Jie tribe.

The reason why the Jie tribe left so much of their power untapped is...

On one hand, it was to protect the grain and supplies in Chanshan City.

On the other hand, it was also out of respect for the more than three thousand elite troops led by Gu Xuan.

The situation is indeed different now than before. Even the old Jie king, Nuchi, has been killed. The Jie tribe may be facing a life-or-death crisis, and they cannot afford to be careless.

A large force of tens of thousands should have no problem stopping that small but elite human army.

This is the opinion of everyone in the Jie ethnic group.

however.

The course of the war still exceeded their expectations.

Gu Xuan led his three thousand elite warriors, sweeping away the remaining Jie forces outside Chanshan City with overwhelming force, and arrived directly at the north gate of the city.

Behind the city wall, which was over three meters high, lay countless Jie heavy archers, their shadows fixed on the approaching human army like venomous snakes.

If they launch a direct assault, even with the formidable army led by Gu Xuan, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

But clearly, Gu Xuan had no intention of launching a full-scale attack.

With his command, the three thousand men set up camp and formed a battle formation, seemingly having no intention of taking the city in one fell swoop.

Is this a plan for a long-term siege?!
This was the question that arose in the minds of every Jie soldier after witnessing this scene. But soon, their doubts vanished, for they saw a strange and terrifying sight!

Suddenly, from the rear center of the human army formation below, arcs billowing black smoke shot into the sky, hurtling towards Chanshan City.

"Fire attack!"

Seeing this unknown scene, the Jie soldiers almost instinctively roared hysterically.

Despite the city's development to this point, Chanshan City naturally has its own fire prevention measures, such as covering the roof with a layer of moist clay and separating the warehouses within the city, etc.

But these methods only worked for the Rockets' offense in the past, and things are different now.

The facts prove this to be the case.

When the small fireballs hurled by the humans hit the city, the damp clay layers and stone slabs did not serve any fire-prevention purpose.

Almost instantly, half of Chanshan City was on fire.

"How could this happen?!"

Dai Shang and other high-ranking Jie people had extremely cold eyes. While they were furious, they hurriedly ordered the fire to be extinguished.

Soon, the truth finally came to light.

It turns out that the small fireballs thrown by the humans all came from a camel camp of several hundred people hidden in the army, launched from torsion crossbows mounted on the camels.

These were solid bullets filled with specially made kerosene. Once they landed, the kerosene would splatter everywhere, burning fiercely on the bodies of the Jie soldiers in the city, as well as on the granaries and other structures.

Even with their frantic efforts to extinguish the fire, the Jie people in the city could hardly prevent it from spreading.

Needless to say, this was one of the preparations made by the human race for this proactive conquest.

In order to maximize the killing of the fierce Jie tribe, and also to minimize the casualties of their own soldiers.

At the same time, they also defended the city to the death in order to deal with the possibility of heavy infantry from the Jie tribe.

Gu Xuan put forward this idea, and with the cooperation of veteran generals such as Jiang Bushi, he mobilized almost all the long-time artisans in the northern border army, and finally gathered the oil bombs to be used in this expedition before setting out.

Gu Xuan led three thousand fierce warriors this time, including three hundred soldiers from the Camel Fireball Battalion.

In addition to carrying enough dried meat and other rations for fifteen days, each soldier also carried at least one petrol bomb on horseback for this special operation, carefully wrapped in a waterproof cloth.

After the launch was initiated, three thousand elite warriors automatically formed a battle formation to guard the Camel Fireball Battalion at the very center.

Under the command of the officers, they methodically transported the oil bombs from their horses toward the center.

Sure enough, at this critical moment, the camel firebomb battalion proved remarkably effective.

As the flames of Chanshan City raged, countless heavily armored Jie soldiers screamed and writhed in agony, ultimately unable to extinguish the oil stains on their bodies, and died silently.

In less than a quarter of an hour, as many as four or five hundred Jie soldiers had been burned to death.

The smell of burning flesh was nauseating and incredibly horrifying.

Not only the remaining Jie people in the city, but also the heavy cavalry attacking outside the south gate smelled it, and felt extremely nauseous and annoyed.

Even some of the human soldiers on their own side vomited.

However, compared to other groups, the Jie soldiers who were burned to death were only the smallest number of their losses.

The real loss lay in the burning of several large granaries and armories in Chanshan City!
As a result, all the Jie tribe troops inside and outside the city were almost immediately plunged into a desperate situation!

Without food and weapons, they would face hunger the very next day. How could they continue fighting or hold out against the human army for a long time?

No one expected that the fire oil bombs suddenly produced by the Zhou side this time would have such terrifying power!

Oh oh oh!
With the sound of wind in the air, nearly two thousand oil bombs were thrown into Chanshan City, instantly causing a sea of ​​fire.

This is almost a rehearsal for a military revolution, which will lead to a further development of siege warfare on this land.

After this, it is estimated that all countries, tribes, or powers will ponder how to avoid being easily breached by such terrifying incendiary bombs.

however.

At this moment, the Jie people had no time to think about any of this.

There were nearly 10,000 Jie soldiers in the city. Apart from the hundreds or thousands who were burned to death, most of them could no longer endure the ever-growing and spreading fire in the city.

Therefore, several thousand Jie soldiers fled to the outside of the city in a sorry state.

Many of them were once able-bodied heavy infantrymen who had served within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but at this moment, many of them had their hair and beards scorched and their faces were even blistered, making them look quite disheveled.

Faced with such a golden opportunity, the elite human forces led by Gu Xuan naturally would not let it slip by.

And the reason they attacked with camel fire oil bombs first was precisely for this moment!
Besides the camel troop of several hundred people forming a circular formation to protect themselves from external threats,

Rumble!
The remaining two thousand-plus human soldiers mounted their horses and then split into two columns of cavalry, like two incredibly sharp blades, charging towards the chaotic Jie soldiers outside Chanshan City!
These human knights were all warriors handpicked from the border troops, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and capable of taking on multiple opponents single-handedly.

Among them were even one or two hundred warriors who had fought alongside Gu Xuan to kill King Nuchi of Jie that day.

Buzz!

Several dense arrows flew out, piercing the air and making a chilling sound in mid-air.

With just a single volley of arrows, hundreds of Jie soldiers fell with screams, mouths agape, right hands clutching their throats, looking as if they had died with their eyes wide open.

At this moment, just as they had committed atrocities against many humans within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, this time it was happening to them.

of course.

Most of the Jie people reacted quickly, dodging and using obstacles to cover themselves the instant the arrows were fired.

But their efforts were largely ineffective, only delaying their deaths for a moment.

As the first volley of arrows passed, the human heavy cavalry arrived at their side.

Puff puff!
One after another, iron spears pierced the body, accompanied by a sound that involuntarily instilled fear.

Those were the unique long weapons of the human race, which, aided by the speed of warhorses, frantically pierced the gaps in the armor of the Jie people, each thrust taking the life of a Jie soldier.

After one charge ended, the human heavy cavalry restarted and accelerated, plowing through the land, dividing and surrounding thousands of Jie tribesmen, killing them one by one.

Seeing this horrific and bloody massacre scene.

In the distance, the newly appointed King Dai Shang and his men, who had temporarily hidden themselves, all had red eyes!

They never expected that the elite human forces behind them would so easily breach Chanshan City in such a way, forcing them out of the city's protection and then carrying out a massacre.

It should be noted that these 10,000-plus Jie heavy infantrymen were meant to defend against attacks from both sides, and could also be considered their last desperate move, but they unexpectedly met with misfortune from the very beginning.

Moreover, almost all of their provisions and supplies were destroyed.

It can be said that from this moment on, the Jie tribe's passive situation was already determined!
(End of this chapter)