xymnovel Chapter 62: The two armies clashed, engaging in fierce combat.
Chapter 62: The two armies clashed, engaging in fierce combat.
"Hold your ground! Crossbowmen, prepare!" Qin Lin's calm voice pierced the battle line. The officers behind the front shield wall whispered the order back and forth.
In the blink of an eye, Bayan took the lead and rushed across the last section of the pontoon bridge, his warhorse's hooves pounding the muddy south bank! His eyes were fixed on the silent steel wall ahead and the faintly visible "Qin" character banner behind it.
"Kill—!" he roared, not bothering to adjust his formation, relying on sheer brute force to charge straight into the Southern Army's shield formation! He swung his axe in a wide arc, with a piercing whistle that tore through the air, and with the force of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, he cleaved down towards a shield directly in front of him!
"clang--!!!!"
A terrifyingly loud bang, far exceeding the ordinary clash of metal, suddenly exploded! Sparks flew like fireworks at the point where the axe blade and the iron shield made contact! The Southern Army swordsman and shield bearer who was hit was named Zhao Tiezhu, a famous strongman in the army.
Even so, this earth-shattering blow struck him as if he had been struck by lightning. His arms trembled violently, his bones ached terribly, and he swallowed back a mouthful of blood with a sweet taste in his throat.
His boots sank deep into the mud, but thanks to his superhuman strength and rigorous training, the giant shield only trembled violently and a deep dent appeared in the center, but it did not break or retreat even half a step!
"Thrust!" Almost the instant the axes and shields clashed, a short command rang out from the rear officer.
Wang Zhong, who had been poised to strike, thrust his long spear out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole through the pre-reserved opening above the shield!
The thrust was swift and ruthless, angled with deadly precision. It wasn't aimed at Bayan, but rather precisely pierced the exposed area between the chest and abdomen of his warhorse, exposed from the charge! The spear pierced through the leather armor and penetrated deep into his internal organs!
"Heave-ho!" The warhorse let out a mournful cry, its front hooves buckled, and it collapsed forward with a thud! The enormous inertia flung Bayan away like a tattered sack, sending him crashing heavily onto the muddy riverbank, splashing up a large amount of mud and water.
"Kill!" Li Jianyuan almost instinctively followed Wang Zhong and thrust out his long spear, targeting another Ula cavalryman who had rushed ashore with Bayan.
The cavalryman reacted quickly, swinging his scimitar to parry. With a clang, Li Jianyuan felt a numbness in his hand as the spear tip was deflected.
But he remembered Wang Zhong's teachings, and with a flick of his wrist, he swept the spear shaft horizontally, smashing it into the cavalryman's shinbone with a "crack".
The cavalryman screamed and fell from his horse. Before he could get up, he was pierced by several long spears thrusting from the side.
A bloody battle of attrition has now fully erupted!
The sounds of metal clashing, roars, screams, the neighing of warhorses, the slicing of blades into flesh, and the whistling of crossbow bolts instantly drowned out the roar of the Onon River.
The Ula cavalry, relying on their momentum, kept ramming the Southern army's shield wall, trying to break through with the weight of their warhorses and their brute force.
But the Southern army's lines remained unmoved; the long spears behind the shield wall were like a living steel jungle, reaping lives with precision and efficiency.
Cavalrymen kept crashing into the shields and bouncing back, only to be pierced by several long spears. Some warhorses were also pierced by spears, tumbling to the ground along with their riders, only to be finished off by the Southern army's swordsmen and shieldmen.
Bayan, covered in dust, scrambled up from the mud, retrieved his axe, and found his arms and cheeks bleeding from cuts made by rubble.
His eyes were filled with shock and anger; he couldn't believe that his sure-fire attack had been blocked, and he had even lost his warhorse.
"Follow me! Smash these tortoise shells!" he roared, leading his personal guards and a regrouped cavalry to charge at the shield wall once more, hacking with axes, slashing with swords, and even trying to tear the shields off with their bare hands.
But he was met with an even denser barrage of spears and short spears and throwing axes launched from behind the shield wall.
The Ula cavalry suffered heavy casualties, and the corpses of men and horses piled up on the riverbank, almost blocking the exit of the pontoon bridge, making it increasingly difficult for subsequent troops to get ashore.
On the right flank, Timur's pontoon bridge was finally barely usable.
The Khorchin infantry were the first to surge across the pontoon bridge. They were equipped with a more varied array of weapons, wielding scimitars, spears, and maces, and charged haphazardly toward the right flank of the Southern Army's lines.
"Fire!" The commander of the Southern Army's right wing waved his command flag, and the crossbowmen and archers, who were on high alert, fired their arrows simultaneously!
"Whoosh whoosh-!"
In an instant, arrows rained down like locusts, covering the landing area with deathly screams. The Dongyi infantry, lacking effective large shields for protection, were immediately thrown into chaos.
The powerful crossbow bolts could even penetrate the simple leather shields, pinning the soldiers behind them to the ground.
Screams filled the air as hundreds of people at the forefront fell like stalks of wheat being cut down.
The infantry that followed were terrified by the oncoming rain of death, their charge stalled, and they were crowded together on the narrow beach, unable to advance or retreat.
Timur watched from the rear, his heart bleeding. These infantrymen were mostly ordinary herders from the tribe, his core force.
"Cavalry! Cavalry, charge! Break through their arrow formation!" he commanded in a fit of rage. The Khorchin cavalry began their risky charge onto the swaying pontoon bridge, attempting to disperse the Southern army's ranged forces once ashore.
However, the Southern army's formation was tight, and the crossbow bolts were fired almost continuously. Coupled with the corpses on the beach and the chaotic infantry blocking the way, the cavalry could not charge at all and instead became live targets for the crossbow bolts, suffering heavy losses.
Li Jianyuan had lost count of how many times he had thrust out his spear and how many attacks he had blocked.
His armor was stained with blood, whether his own or that of his enemies, and his left shoulder armor had been grazed by a heavy axe, leaving a gash that burned with pain.
During one of his parries, a fierce Ula cavalryman seized the opportunity to charge forward, his scimitar aimed at his neck! Li Jianyuan leaned back in alarm, the blade grazing his neck guard and leaving a cold sensation.
He broke out in a cold sweat, then roared and retaliated, thrusting his spear into the gap in the armor under the opponent's armpit.
Warm blood splattered onto his face, but he gritted his teeth and struggled to pull out the spear.
Wang Zhong remained nearby to provide support, the two of them back to back, like a part of a rock, firmly nailed to the front line.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour.
The riverbank had become a scene of carnage, with corpses piled up like mountains. Blood had stained the muddy banks and the river water a glaring dark red, and the strong stench of blood had overpowered the earthy smell of the river.
Of the 20,000 cavalrymen of the Bayan tribe, more than half had fallen on the riverbanks and in the shallow waters. Bayan himself had also suffered several new wounds, was panting heavily, and his offensive was weakening.
Timur's infantry suffered even greater losses, with nearly half of his 40,000 men killed or wounded. Most of the survivors were wounded and demoralized. They were pinned down on a narrow beachhead and only managed to avoid collapse thanks to sporadic cavalry attacks and pressure from the rear guard.
On the Southern side, although the formation remained intact and morale was still high, the continuous fierce fighting and the Eastern Yi army's relentless attacks, regardless of casualties, also brought considerable losses.
The forward shield wall has many dents and damages, requiring rotation and repair by reserve troops. Long spears are frequently broken and blades are dulled.
The number of casualties is also rising, with initial estimates exceeding three thousand.
But the entire defensive line remained as solid as if cast in bronze and iron, standing firm and unmoving.
On the north bank, the main tent of the Eastern Barbarian army.
Helan Cangfeng was no longer as relaxed as before. The food and wine on the low table in front of him remained untouched, and his face was so gloomy it could drip water.
The news brought by the scouts and the fleeing soldiers was getting worse and worse.
"Report! General Bayan, the vanguard on the left flank, has suffered a setback and heavy losses. Requesting reinforcements!"
"Report! General Timur's right-wing vanguard has been halted by a hail of arrows from the Xia army, suffering over half its casualties, and is finding it difficult to expand its beachhead!"
"Report! The pontoon bridge is blocked by corpses, hindering the crossing of follow-up troops!"
"Useless! All of you are useless!" Helan Cangfeng finally erupted, sweeping the silver bowl full of fine wine in front of him to the ground. The wine splashed and soaked the luxurious carpet.
His chest heaved violently, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was filled with disbelief and shock, as well as fury at the thwarted plan.
"Sixty thousand troops! A full sixty thousand! You've been fighting for over an hour, and you can't even hold the beachhead on the other side? And more than half of you have been killed or wounded? You've utterly disgraced the reputation of the warriors of the Eastern Barbarians!"