Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The grand spectacle of "Iron Cavalry Formation" has just ended, but the construction boom of the Hanyuan Army has not stopped.

While the cavalry was training day and night at Yinmachuan, refining new tactics, another elite force, which Xiao Chen also had high hopes for and aimed to counter the cavalry and become the mainstay of the infantry, was also quietly taking shape.

This is the "Mo Dao Team".

During the exercise, although the Red Army infantry repelled the Blue Army cavalry's charge with their tight formation and powerful crossbows, Xiao Chen and Wang Dashan both clearly saw that once the defensive line was breached, or if the cavalry outflanked them, the ordinary infantry, lacking strong counter-attack and close-quarters combat capabilities, would face the fate of being slaughtered.

The Cold Abyss needs a heavy infantry force that can advance like a wall, crushing both men and horses, an absolute force capable of withstanding or even repelling cavalry charges at critical moments and serving as a "mobile fortress" in open field battles.

To this end, Xiao Chen personally drew a sketch of the Tang Dynasty "Mo Dao" from his memory and proposed the concept of "heavy armor infantry".

Under the guidance of blacksmith Ou and Lu Fang, the craftsmen of the Armory and the Institute of Natural History finally created the "Hanyuan Mo Dao" that met the requirements after repeated experiments, failures, and improvements.

This knife is seven feet long in total, with a four-foot handle made of tough hardwood wrapped with iron. The blade is three feet long and is made of folded and forged steel with a hundred-fold pattern. It is similar in shape to a horse-slaying knife, but wider, thicker, and heavier. It has a single-edged blade, a thick back, and an angled tip, making it suitable for both slashing and thrusting.

The entire knife weighs twenty pounds, and only those with great strength and courage can wield it. When swung, it is powerful and heavy, its cold light flashing, exuding a murderous aura.

Accompanying the Mo Dao (陌刀) was a specially designed "Infantry Armor." This armor, made of a combination of fine steel lamellar armor and tanned cowhide, covered all vital organs and weighed forty jin (approximately 20 kg). The helmet was in the style of a tunic, with a neck guard and a mask. The rider carried a giant shield and carried a hand axe or short sword at the waist as a secondary weapon.

With the equipment issue resolved, the next step was to select soldiers. Xiao Chen ordered that from among the able-bodied men of the entire army and the refugees, those who were over seven feet five inches tall, possessed exceptional strength, were bold yet meticulous, and had unwavering willpower be chosen.

After rigorous physical fitness tests and courage assessments, three thousand people were selected to form the prototype of the "Mo Dao Battalion".

The training was truly grueling.

These three thousand warriors had to wear heavy armor and wield heavy longswords every day, practicing basic movements such as queuing, slashing, blocking, and thrusting hundreds of times.

Wang Dashan personally formulated the training outline, requiring every Mo Dao (陌刀) fighter to "lift heavy objects with ease, as if using one's own arm or fingers," and to be able to deliver a fatal blow in a tight formation with perfect uniformity.

"The Mo Dao Formation emphasizes forming groups of three, teams of three, and formations of three teams."

On the training ground, Wang Dashan explained tactics to the officers in charge of the training: "One person wields a sword to slash, two people hold shields to protect and prepare to take over. One group attacks, two groups stand by. The formation must be tight, advancing like a wall, not scattered. Facing a cavalry charge, the front row is like a rock, the rear row is poised to strike. On my command, advance like a forest, like a wall, men and horses will be shattered!"

The training is extremely arduous, with a very high attrition rate.

Many people are eliminated due to physical exhaustion or failure to meet the required standards, and the new recruits often need more time to catch up.

Those who remained were all outstanding soldiers, with robust physiques, bulging muscles, and a menacing aura in their eyes.

On this day, in the western suburbs of Zhenbei City, at a specially opened "heavy infantry training ground," Xiao Chen once again personally inspected the "Mo Dao Battalion's" progress in training.

On the training ground, a thousand Mo Dao warriors, clad in heavy black armor, wearing ferocious masks, and wielding gleaming Mo Dao swords, were arranged in three tight square formations.

They stood like a silent steel forest in the wilderness, an invisible pressure spreading out, even the sound of the wind seemed to stop.

"Target: 100 paces ahead, a formation of straw cavalry! Advance!" The commanding officer waved his flag.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The war drums sounded, their rhythm steady and powerful.

"Ha!" A thousand Mo Dao warriors roared in unison, their voices echoing across the land. To the beat of the drums, they advanced with synchronized, heavy, and resolute steps. Shields protected their front, Mo Dao blades pointed diagonally forward, the entire formation resembling a moving steel fortress, slowly pressing towards their target with an overwhelming force.

"One hundred steps! Eighty steps! Sixty steps! ... Thirty steps! Stop! Draw your sword!"

The formation came to an abrupt halt thirty paces from the target, their movements so synchronized they were breathtaking.

"hack!"

With a roar, the first row of three hundred Mo Dao soldiers gripped their swords with both hands and, using the strength of their waists and abdomens, swung them out fiercely! Three hundred cold lights drew sharp arcs in the air, accompanied by a whistling sound as they tore through the air, and slashed down hard!

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

A series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds rang out. A line of simulated cavalrymen was instantly cleaved into pieces by this terrifying force, splinters of wood and grass flying everywhere. The power was as if it weren't a slash from a blade, but a smashing blow from a heavy hammer!

"Enter!"

After the first row finished their slashes, they quickly sheathed their swords and retreated. The second row stepped forward, raised their swords, and slashed down! Then came the third row!

The three rows rotated in turn, like waves, one after another, each wave carrying destructive power. The "enemy formation" ahead was swept away by a violent storm and instantly turned to dust.

"Change formation! Form a circular pattern! Defend against cavalry charges!"

The formation quickly changed, with the outer soldiers slamming their shields heavily to the ground, forming an impenetrable shield wall. The soldiers in the rear placed their longswords between the shields, the tips pointing outwards like hedgehogs.

At this moment, a troop of heavily armored cavalry launched a simulated charge from the flank. The sound of hooves thundered, and their momentum was overwhelming.

However, when they crashed into this steel hedgehog-like circular formation, the expected breakthrough did not occur.

Faced with a dense forest of swords and a solid shield wall, the warhorse instinctively slowed down and gave way.

The cavalrymen's wooden spears pierced the shield wall, unable to penetrate deeply. But in the instant the cavalrymen slowed slightly, countless long-handled swords suddenly thrust out and slashed from the gaps in the shield wall!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The cavalrymen were thrown into disarray, and their offensive collapsed instantly.

"Counterattack! Disperse! Pursue!"

The circular formation instantly dispersed, transforming into groups of three, like tigers descending a mountain, pouncing on the "rout" cavalry. With flashes of blades, the "remaining enemies" fell to the ground one after another.

After the martial arts exercise ended, the thousand Mo Dao soldiers regrouped. Although they were panting and drenched in sweat, their military bearing remained impeccable, and their killing intent was not diminished in the slightest.

On the reviewing stand, the generals, including Wang Dashan and Zhang Meng, all wore solemn expressions, yet their eyes gleamed with excitement. They knew that once this army was fully formed, it would be a pillar of strength on the battlefield, a nightmare for any cavalry.

"Excellent! What a fine army of Mo Dao soldiers!" Xiao Chen clapped his hands in praise, his eyes gleaming. "With such a powerful army, what is there to fear from the iron cavalry of the world?!"

He descended from the high platform and stood before the ranks, looking at these towering warriors, and proclaimed loudly: "From this day forth, you are the 'Mo Dao Battalion' of the Han Yuan Army! Your title is—'Horse Slayer'! All soldiers of the Mo Dao Battalion will receive double pay, superior rations, and priority in resettlement for their families! I want you to become Han Yuan's strongest shield and sharpest blade! Let the enemy tremble in fear, and let the cold light of the Mo Dao illuminate the battlefield!"

"Victory! Victory! Victory!" The Mo Dao warriors raised their swords and shouted, their voices like a tidal wave.

The cold gleam of the longsword shone brightly across the northern lands.

The emergence of this heavy infantry unit completed the final piece of the puzzle in the Hanyuan Army's tactical system.

The army had a full complement of infantry, cavalry, archers, crossbowmen, engineers, and supply troops, all well-equipped, well-trained, and tactically advanced.

A truly powerful army, capable of contending for supremacy, has already taken shape.