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

Chapter 166 Fierce Battle
Generally speaking, destruction is always easier than protection.

This battle to capture and defend the grain depot fully demonstrated this point.

The fifty human experts who set the fire in the past, though few in number, were all agile and well-prepared.

They sent some men to fight the Jie soldiers who were trying to stop them.

On the other side, they threw the last few oil canisters around the grain depot and launched rockets, instantly reigniting the fire that was almost extinguished.

Water and fire are merciless; once they spread, they are far beyond human control.

The Jie soldiers watched helplessly as the last granary was destroyed in the raging fire. Overwhelmed with despair, they were filled with extreme rage. Their eyes turned red, and they charged towards the human warriors before them.

however.

Seeing that the granary was already ablaze, the fifty warriors did not engage them in battle at all. Instead, they set up burning wooden pillars to block the two sides and then retreated quickly.

Gu Xuan, after receiving the signal from his subordinates, also chose to retreat.

With a roar, he swept across the enemy ranks with his great axe. The Great Zhou Divine King Technique was unleashed to its fullest extent, and seven or eight heavily armored Jie warriors in front of him were cut in half, armor and all.

Such terrifying martial prowess makes them virtually invincible in the narrow confines of city passageways.

Even though the Jie warriors were driven mad by the destruction of the granary, they were still terrified in the face of such a god of death.

Meanwhile, Gu Xuan's personal guards took advantage of the moment to use their spears to lift several thick pillars of fire, placing them across the road to stop the Jie tribe's attack.

finally.

Because the city's passageways were already narrow, and dozens of corpses and raging pillars of fire blocked the way, the remaining thousand-plus Jie soldiers could only watch helplessly as the human warriors retreated. Even though they were furious to the point of having bloodshot eyes, there was nothing they could do.

Let’s talk about it.

Given Gu Xuan's divine prowess and the martial prowess of his eight hundred elite warriors, he was naturally unafraid of the two thousand heavily armored Jie warriors opposite him, and it was entirely possible that he could even defeat and kill the enemy.

However, the enemy was no weakling either; they were also seasoned veterans.

After a fierce battle, the Jie tribe would be completely annihilated, but Gu Xuan's warriors would also suffer heavy losses, with few surviving.

This is a war of iron and blood, and no one can escape it.

However, the Jie army has now run out of food supplies, and its collapse is imminent.

As long as the Great Zhou maintains its composure and employs appropriate tactics, it can wait for the enemy to fall into disarray and then reap a great victory.

of course.

It's not that we're absolutely certain of victory; we still need to be wary of those ten thousand Jie heavy cavalrymen resorting to desperate measures, otherwise things could easily go wrong.

Therefore.

Gu Xuan immediately dispatched several messengers to transmit military intelligence to Jiang Bushi using a pre-arranged token.

The military intelligence report was very short, consisting of only a dozen or so words.

"The enemy's supplies have been destroyed. Hold your ground and wait for an opportunity to strike."

Meanwhile, Jiang Bushi, being a veteran general, had been observing the fire situation in Chanshan City for some time.

When he saw the flames that had been burning fiercely in the city again and the strange smell of burning grain in the air, he couldn't help but guess that something had happened, and he was both surprised and delighted.

Therefore, when they saw the military intelligence reported by the ancient propaganda.

Overjoyed, Jiang Bushi instantly understood the best course of action for the next battle and also roughly grasped Gu Xuan's intentions.

Boom boom boom!
As the war drums sounded with a unique rhythm, the flags in the human formation waved wildly, a signal to stabilize the battle.

Upon receiving the order, the human soldiers frantically retreated their ranks and remained on high alert to prevent the Jie tribe from resorting to desperate measures.

See this scene.

No matter how powerful and fierce Manggu, the commander of the Jie heavy cavalry legion, was, he didn't even take his own Jie king seriously. Yet, he couldn't help but sigh at this moment.

Obviously.

He also saw the commotion in the city behind him and smelled the burning military rations, which meant that the rations of his more than 10,000 elite heavy cavalrymen had been completely destroyed!

Without food, how long can even the bravest and most skilled soldiers hold out?
Needless to say, after such an intense battle, the energy expenditure is enormous, and the desire for a full meal is even stronger!

By this time, more than half of the morning had passed, but their lunch was clearly out of the question!

"Dai Shang, you deserve to die!"

Thinking of this, even though King Jie had already left and his whereabouts were unknown, Manggu still roared angrily.

He placed all the blame for the destruction of the grain and supplies on Dai Shang.

At this moment, facing the crisis of not being able to eat, several of Manggu's subordinate generals had long since disregarded their respect for King Jie and were also showing anger on their faces.

In their view, it was because King Jie had failed to properly safeguard the army's provisions while he was still at the rear that they were now in such a passive situation.

As for how Chanshan City actually caught fire, and how the human race's camel fire oil bombs dealt such a devastating blow, they naturally wouldn't think about it.

Therefore, what they need most right now is someone to vent their emotions on, even if that person is King Jie!

but.

Despite venting their frustrations, Manggu and the others ultimately found themselves in a state of helplessness!
With military rations gone, the question of what to do next was the most pressing issue facing them.

Undoubtedly, they have three choices.

First, with this legion of over ten thousand heavy cavalry continuing their powerful charge, if they can break through the enemy lines, they can obtain their military supplies and achieve a great victory.

But this is obviously difficult. Using cavalry to charge a well-defended chariot formation is tantamount to using a short weapon against a long one. Not only is it difficult to win, but even if you do win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Secondly, they could cease hostilities and force a retreat while being pursued by the humans. If they could endure two days of marching on empty stomachs, they could retreat to Kuoju City, the third largest city remaining in the Jie tribe. Although the reserves there were neither large nor small, at least they would not go hungry.

However, this put them at a great disadvantage, forcing them to retreat and fight on an empty stomach, a prospect that was both daunting and a potential way out.

Third, abandon all illusions, break up into smaller groups, and escape into the deep mountains and dense forests of the North.

This can be considered as preserving the green hills so that there will always be firewood to burn, but it is equivalent to directly giving up the glorious rise of the Jie tribe over the past few decades, and instead just eking out a living, hoping for that one in ten thousand chance of revival in the future, while also being subject to various sweeps by the human race.

……

This is a tough choice.

It is also an urgent choice.

Regardless, the situation forced Manggu to make a decision as soon as possible, because it was already close to noon, and the Jie heavy cavalry were nearly starving after several hours of fighting.

At this moment, Manggu broke out in a cold sweat!

He never imagined that he, as the commander of the tribe's heavy cavalry, would now be making decisions about the future of the entire race!
This was something that should have been done by the clan elders or wise men, and it clearly had little to do with him, this rough and domineering old warrior.

But due to the circumstances and a series of coincidences, this crucial matter ultimately fell to him.

In the very center of his own cavalry formation, Manggu discussed with several of his lieutenants and presented the three options mentioned above.

But those lieutenants, as his capable subordinates, were not much different from him in style; they were all rough and uncouth warriors.

"The general shall decide everything!"

After exchanging bewildered glances, the subordinate generals simultaneously bowed to Mang Gu and said, "This..."

Mang Gu was speechless. At this moment, he could not show any anger, anxiety or other abnormality, otherwise the morale of the army would definitely be thrown into chaos.

Therefore.

After a moment of panic, Manggu finally regained his composure and made a comprehensive decision.

That means we should charge forward with all our might one more time, and if that fails, we should retreat back to Kuoju City.

This is the result of combining option one and option two.

As for the third option, Manggu did not consider it, because that would be tantamount to giving up resistance completely, no less than retreating into the mountains and forests to become a savage again, which was not in line with his character.

Once the military order was issued, the subordinate generals had no objection.

Given the current situation, Manggu's decision is almost the most appropriate choice.

Rumble!
With banners waving, the three Jie heavy cavalry units, numbering over ten thousand, began adjusting their horses, preparing for an unprecedented charge.

They split into three directions and charged forward like three sharp knives that charged forward without hesitation, exuding murderous intent!
Needless to say, this kind of power is awe-inspiring and can be described as earth-shaking.

Meanwhile, the human army was facing the most dangerous situation since the start of this great battle!
Charge with the strongest force against the strongest shield; the victor will determine the final outcome of this battle!
And in fact.

Jiang Bushi and the others had already roughly guessed Mang Gu's decision and knew what kind of test they were facing.

"Hold on, hold on!"

Following the frenzied flag signals came the frantic shouts of numerous mid-level officers, who were practically screaming themselves hoarse, ordering their soldiers to hold their ground.

Behind the main formation, various artillery pieces and overhead crossbows were firing at the Jie cavalry with reckless abandon, trying their best to block them.

Under these circumstances, Gu Xuan and his more than two thousand elite cavalry did not participate in the battle, but instead watched everything from afar across the burning Chanshan City.

Even Jiang Bushi's 5,000 cavalrymen, after several clashes and the loss of half their men, took the opportunity, under the command of flag signals, to retreat into the infantry formation and cease fighting.

This is clearly somewhat cold-blooded, relying entirely on heavy infantry formations to resist the charge of the Jie heavy cavalry.

however.

This is the most correct and necessary choice for humanity at this moment.

After that, the only ones who could take advantage of the Manggu Legion's hunger and weakened fighting strength to inflict maximum damage on them were these human cavalry.

Rumble!
Ten thousand horses galloped, armored soldiers stood in a dense forest, and long spears formed a solid shape!

This is the ultimate showdown between ten thousand iron cavalry and ten thousand heavy infantry, a contest of iron and blood, where neither side will back down!

Arrows rained down across the battlefield, dust swirled, and everyone could no longer see clearly. They simply gripped their weapons tightly, facing their fate with closed eyes and unknown fear.

The iron cavalry charged out, swords and spears clashing, like water splashing from a silver bottle!

With a series of deafening roars, the two iron armies finally collided.

Amidst the chaos and carnage, countless human soldiers also suffered casualties.

Yu Yu Yu...

The sounds of warhorses collapsing and soldiers screaming in agony from severe injuries were incessant.

In just one charge, both the Jie and human tribes lost at least a thousand soldiers each.

Even with the Vajra Chariots providing support, the Jie cavalry still broke through the human race's great formation, with some even reaching the inner side of the formation very close to Jiang Bushi.

however.

Ultimately, it was only almost.

Despite suffering casualties of one or two thousand soldiers and losing numerous chariots, ballistae, and other equipment, the human race still managed to halt the desperate charge of the Jie army.

As the saying goes, once you make great progress, you will be exhausted again and again.

Ultimately, the Jie tribe was unable to break through the human race's heavy infantry formation.

This was actually expected by Gu Xuan, Jiang Bushi, Mang Gu and other high-level figures.

"Hey……"

Although Manggu showed no outward expression, he inwardly let out a long sigh.

Seeing that things were going badly, he made a decisive move, ordering the drums to be beaten and the flags to be waved, and commanding the remaining heavy cavalry that could move freely to retreat.

Judging from the situation, he was even willing to abandon the thousands of cavalrymen trapped in the human army's formation.

This may seem cold-blooded, but it was a last resort; otherwise, they would have been trapped even deeper.

Rumble!
The earth rumbled once more.

However, this time, it was a signal for the Jie army to retreat.

Upon seeing this scene, Jiang Bushi, the Governor of the Northern Border, and other high-ranking human officials were almost overjoyed!
Even Gu Xuan and the others, who were observing the battle from a distance, showed expressions of relief.

This situation clearly means that the most difficult time for the human race has finally passed, and what awaits them is the harassment and pursuit of the thirsty and hungry Jie heavy cavalry legion!

At this moment, Jiang Bushi didn't need to communicate with Gu Xuan at all. As a veteran, he naturally made the best choice.

With the signal flags issued.

The human heavy infantry legion continued to slaughter the remaining Jie cavalry in the formation. Once they lost their speed, these heavy cavalrymen were no different from standing targets.

On the other hand, Jiang Bushi also released the remaining two or three thousand cavalrymen to join Gu Xuan's cavalry.

A quarter of an hour later.

Gu Xuan led nearly five thousand cavalrymen, trailing far behind Mang Gu's seven or eight thousand heavy cavalry.

When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue...

This was the most concise military order that Gu Xuan issued to his generals and soldiers during this cavalry operation.

Given the current situation, there is no need to engage in a direct confrontation with the Jie tribe. Instead, we can simply wait until they are hungry, thirsty, and completely exhausted before launching a full-scale attack and reaping their spoils.

of course.

This still requires extremely high cavalry command skills and relies on the speed advantage of the human cavalry on Gu Xuan's side, who are equipped with light armor.

During this process, Manggu and others did consider retaliating.

Setting up ambushes, sending out scattered heavy cavalry to flank and harass from both sides of the road, and so on...

However, despite his good ideas, Gu Xuan refuted them one by one.

Firstly, the human race had already dispatched elite scouts to constantly monitor the Jie tribe's every move from afar.

Secondly, the roadsides are mostly deep mountains and dense forests, which are not suitable for cavalry raids. Separated from the cavalry and without food and supplies, they can only become like savages.

Like locking onto its prey, Gu Xuan led his cavalry in pursuit from afar, waiting for the enemy to be on the verge of collapse...

(End of this chapter)