With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Lin Ye sat upright atop the Crimson-Eyed Tiger Guard, with Liu Yun beside him, her lips tightly pressed together and her expression resolute. Behind them followed ten thousand of the court's remaining elite cavalry.

He ultimately accepted Nangong Wan's military order, which was practically tantamount to suicide.

Looking back at the array behind him, Lin Ye knew that this was the last mobile force under General Zhenwei's command.

The garrison in Lulong City was mainly composed of infantry, with the aim of defending the city; cavalry was already scarce.

Previously, a force of 10,000 cavalry had been dispatched to block the enemy; the remaining 10,000 iron cavalry were all the trump cards they could muster.

Of course, the Lin family army's three thousand cavalrymen were not included, which was also a prerequisite for Lin Ye to agree.

The situation was already extremely precarious. If he insisted on not complying, given Nangong Wan's desperate mentality at this moment, he might very well forcibly conscript the Lin family's cavalry to carry out this rearguard mission.

Rather than letting one's own elite forces fill that bottomless pit, it's better to personally step in and take the risk upon oneself.

As for Liu Yun, he insisted on going along, and even his subordinates, such as Lin Qiang, volunteered to join the battle.

Lin Ye knew that this trip was fraught with danger, and if it weren't for his unparalleled lightness skill, which gave him a chance to escape, he wouldn't have even brought Liu Yun along.

In the end, he could only suppress Lin Qiang and others' request to fight on the grounds that "the Lin family's army needs a commander, and cannot be without a leader," and only took this trusted bodyguard with him.

"Walk!"

Lin Ye gave a low shout and didn't look back. The Crimson-Eyed Tiger Guard roared to the sky, its hooves whipping up the wind, and charged out first.

Liu Yun urged the Cracked Claw Wolf King to follow closely, while the ten thousand cavalry behind him followed like a black iron torrent, rushing headlong towards the two groups of Northern Xiongnu cavalry that were about to encircle the main army.

High in the sky, several gargoyles hovered beneath the clouds, guiding this desperate army to the enemy's location.

On the rain-soaked plains, two torrents representing death and revenge are about to collide head-on.

Lin Ye knew that he had to use himself as "bait" to firmly pin down those 20,000 vengeful Northern Xiongnu wolf riders to this land.

Soon, they ran headlong into two Northern Xiongnu pursuing armies. From afar, through the gargoyles' vision, Lin Ye could already see that the enemy was splitting into two groups, intending to flank and bypass their lines.

Even if he led his troops to charge one of the routes, the other cavalry could easily bypass it.

Moreover, the actual casualties caused by a single cavalry charge are limited, and the enemy can continue to advance.

If this happens, our side will be left behind by the enemy, just like the previous obstructing force, and will be unable to achieve the goal of holding off the enemy.

In a flash, Lin Ye no longer hesitated.

He leaped from the back of the Crimson-Eyed Tiger, his internal energy circulating, and his voice booming like a bell as he shouted towards the Northern Xiongnu army.

"Lin Ye is here! Your junior captain has already been killed by my hand, yet you still dare to invade; you are simply courting death!"

The voice, imbued with inner strength, surged forward like a tide, echoing across the wilderness.

Fearing that the other party might not have heard him clearly, he mustered all his strength and repeated the same announcement twice more.

When the first chorus sounded, the two sides were still some distance apart, and the roar of galloping warhorses masked much of the noise.

Although Lin Ye used his internal energy to amplify the sound, making it travel extremely far, the Northern Xiongnu vanguard still could not hear it very clearly.

However, a shaman warrior accompanying the Northern Xiongnu army looked up upon hearing the sound and saw the figure leaping up in front of him.

That extraordinary lightness skill reminded him of a rainy night a few days ago, when the same shadow swept past them, and they were helpless.

The shaman warrior felt a chill run down his spine and immediately spurred his horse forward, heading straight for the front lines.

At this moment, Lin Ye's second and third shouts rang out in succession, and his figure gradually became clearer in the dust. The shaman warrior no longer hesitated, turned his horse to face his own cavalry, and shouted loudly.

"The Northern Han commander at the front is the murderer who killed the Junior Commandant! All troops, listen to my command: Kill! Avenge the Junior Commandant!"

The two groups of 10,000-strong Northern Xiongnu cavalry, which were originally preparing to turn around and maneuver, immediately turned their horses around at the command of their respective commanders and surged towards the Northern Han cavalry like a torrent.

Lin Ye's plan has worked.

Closer, closer.

As the warhorses charged at full speed, the open field between the two armies rapidly shortened. The hooves kicked up billowing yellow dust, like two surging, turbid waves, approaching with destructive force.

The moment they entered the range of the arrows, both sides launched their first round of long-range attacks simultaneously.

The Northern Xiongnu cavalry were highly skilled horsemen. As soon as they drew their bows, they unleashed a dense barrage of arrows. The arrows soared into the air, drawing hundreds of cold arcs before raining down on the Northern Han army formation like a sudden downpour.

Lin Ye took the lead, his long spear flashing like a ball of silver light.

Arrows whistled through the air, yet could not get within three feet of him. The clanging sound was incessant as the incoming arrows were swept away by the spearhead.

However, the ordinary soldiers behind him did not possess such martial skills. Even though they tried their best to raise their leather shields or riding shields to block, many arrows still managed to slip through the gaps or pierce through the shields.

"Ah—" A short scream rang out as a cavalryman was struck in the face by an arrow and fell backward off his horse.

The out-of-control warhorses leaped and collided with neighboring riders, causing the originally orderly charging formation to be slightly disrupted.

People kept being hit by arrows and falling from their horses, some were directly overwhelmed by the iron hooves of the pursuing cavalry.

Some were lucky enough to survive, but they rolled in the mud and dust, only to be trampled over by their comrades or enemy cavalry surging up from behind.

The Northern Xiongnu relied on their horseback archery skills honed from childhood, allowing them to draw their bows and nock arrows even during high-speed charges.

After firing the first volley of arrows, they quickly drew their bows, nocked arrows from their quivers, and drew their bows again, their movements as fluid as breathing. In the blink of an eye, the second volley of arrows had already left the bowstring.

As they got closer, some of the stronger archers even gritted their teeth, trying to steady themselves on the bumpy horse, and fired a third arrow!

This was precisely the Northern Xiongnu cavalry's "three arrows in battle".

In contrast, most of the Northern Han cavalry could only manage to fire two arrows during their charge.

The first arrow could still be aimed accurately, but as the turbulence intensified and the enemy and our own forces became close, the second arrow was mostly out of aim and could only be roughly launched to try to cover the area.

Many soldiers only had time to fire one arrow before they had to put away their bows and arrows, raise their spears or draw their swords, and prepare to engage the enemy.

During the short charge of just a hundred paces, men on both sides were repeatedly struck by arrows and fell from their horses.

The sharp whistling of arrows, the neighing of warhorses, the screams of the wounded, and the scraping of armor against weapons.

All these sounds blended together, pressed down by the thunderous hoofbeats into a dull, continuous roar, as if the earth itself were trembling.

After the rain of arrows, life and death hung in the balance.

The two torrents were so close that the ferocious faces of the enemy cavalry could be seen clearly, and the cold glint of their scimitars could be seen.

Before the whistling of arrows had completely faded, the two armies' cavalry were already within arm's reach.

Through the swirling dust, the soldiers on both sides could even see the glaring eyes beneath each other's faceplates, the distorted mouths contorted by their roars, and the chilling killing intent reflected on their weapons.

"Level spears—!" A short, sharp command erupted from the Northern Han army ranks.

Upon hearing the sound, the cavalry at the front all lowered their bodies, laid their lances, which were over ten feet long, flat, tucked the butts under their armpits, and formed a deadly steel jungle with their sharp tips, aiming at the surging Northern Xiongnu cavalry.

"Ha!" Almost simultaneously, the Northern Xiongnu cavalry let out a beast-like roar.

They did not pursue dense formations of long weapons, but relied on their superb horsemanship and bravery to raise their incredibly curved scimitars high in the final moment of the charge.

The gleaming blade traced dazzling arcs of light through the air, and the combined power of man and horse seemed to cleave and smash through all obstacles in its path!

"Bang! Boom—!"

The next second, a torrent of steel and flesh collided head-on without any fancy moves!

The Northern Han army's spear formation displayed terrifying penetrating power the moment they made contact.

The sharp spearheads, aided by the immense momentum of the charging warhorses, easily pierced through the thin leather armor of the Northern Xiongnu cavalry and even pierced through the warhorses beneath them.

Countless Northern Xiongnu knights were impaled in the chest by spears, spitting out blood, and were then thrown off their horses by the enormous impact.

Some spear tips even pierced through two people in succession, linking them together, until the Northern Han cavalrymen holding the spears lost their hands due to the reaction force or fell off their horses.

However, the scimitars of the Northern Xiongnu cavalry and their fearless charges also brought bloodshed.

They would use their superb horsemanship to sidestep the thrusting spears at the last second before the arrows could be released, then close in and swung their scimitars like lightning, viciously slashing at their opponents' necks, shoulders, or unarmored ribs.

With a flash of light, heads wearing Northern Han helmets flew up with expressions of disbelief. The headless corpses were carried forward a few steps by warhorses before collapsing, gushing blood.

Some Northern Xiongnu cavalrymen did not dodge or flinch at all. As their spears pierced their bodies, they used the momentum of their charge to slash their scimitars into their opponents' faces or chests, creating a tragic scene of mutual destruction.

The galloping warhorses collided head-on.

The dull thud of bones breaking was sickening; the horse neighed and rolled to the ground, throwing its rider off its back, only to be engulfed by the surging hooves from behind.

Scenes of men and horses falling and being thrown into chaos were constantly unfolding on the front lines of the battle between the two armies, creating more confusion and death.

Once a Northern Xiongnu cavalryman was pierced by a spear or cut off from his horse, he would almost immediately fall into the deepest hell.

Before the heavily wounded soldier could even struggle to his feet, or even let out a scream, countless hooves the size of bowls trampled over him.

Beneath the iron hooves, flesh and blood were instantly turned into a blurry mass of minced meat, mixed with dust, broken armor, and tattered flags, making it impossible to distinguish their original appearance.

The horsemanship of the Northern Han cavalry was generally inferior to that of the Northern Xiongnu who had grown up on horseback. In order to avoid falling off their horses easily during high-speed charges and close combat, many cavalrymen would use leather belts or cloth ropes to roughly tie their thighs or waists to the saddle.

At this moment, when these soldiers are struck in vital areas by the scimitars and die, their bodies do not immediately fall to the ground.

One after another, the unclaimed warhorses, carrying their dead yet still “sitting” in their saddles, blindly followed the charging torrent.

Some of the fallen soldiers had their heads bowed, while others had huge wounds on their bodies, their internal organs barely visible, yet they were still bound to their horses, swaying and swinging with the jolting of their warhorses, as if they were still charging forward.