When Gongsun Zan led his troops forward, Yuan Shao’s great army had already been arranged. Juo Yi led the Heavy Shield Spear Infantry at the front, with thousands of Vanguard Death Soldiers wielding great swords and heavy crossbows following behind.
"Yuan Benchu, come out and answer me!" Gongsun Zan leaped onto his horse and prepared to speak as he rode out of the ranks.
"Thud!" A crossbow bolt struck the ground with a loud sound. Juo Yi coldly watched Gongsun Zan, not needing to answer. The living would write everything about today; the dead could only enter into the earth.
Gongsun Zan angrily looked at the crossbow bolt lodged in front of his horse’s hooves. He lifted his head and glared at Juo Yi, who stood before everyone, "Humph, is that all the courage Yuan Benchu has? He doesn’t even have the guts to come out and answer?"
Without speaking, Juo Yi led the silent vanguard. They were here to kill, not to converse, disdaining to respond to these questions, and even less willing to do so. Their sole objective was to slaughter their opponents.
Confronted with this icy, merciless gaze and the eerily silent and forbidding military formation, Gongsun Zan couldn’t help but frown and snorted coldly as he turned his horse around, without any further hesitation.
"Order the left and right wings to attack! Break their ranks! I will show Yuan Shao what true strength is!" Gongsun Zan angrily issued his command to Yan Gang.
"Understood!" Soon after, Gongsun Zan’s main camp resounded with a series of dense drumbeats, followed by the earth-shaking sound of horse hooves and the classic phrase, "Where loyalty lies, we follow unto death, witnessed by the heavens above, with our White Horse comrades as proof," and then it surged over like a tidal wave.
Watching the white horses surge towards him like mighty waves, Juo Yi felt a wave of calmness within. As he had expected, the proud Gongsun Bogui indeed sought a perfect battle. Iron Cavalry would attempt to break the formation, but alas, for the well-prepared Juo Yi, this was but a mere dish!
Under the lead of their corporals, each Great Halberdier slowly bent down, watching the onrush of white like a tide without moving an inch, leaning on their Great Shields, crouching there, waiting for Juo Yi’s command.
As Juo Yi bent down, he was utterly calm. The stomps of horse hooves seemed to slow down countless times at that moment; he could distinctly feel each surge brought by the White Horse Soldiers, like muffled thunder shaking the ground.
Juo Yi silently watched the White Horse Soldiers storm in, growing closer and closer. He was waiting for the right moment—one hundred steps, seventy steps, fifty steps. The White Horse Soldiers’ arrow rain had already fallen, but it only negated the Cloud Qi. To the Great Halberdiers with their Heavy Armor Great Shields, it didn’t pose the slightest impact; they remained quietly crouched on the ground.
"Kill!" Only thirty steps remained! Juo Yi suddenly sprang up, his only Short Spear thrown with force. In the next moment, the Great Shields thudded heavily on the ground, and spears were braced against the shields, with the slightly inclined Great Shields waiting just for this moment!
"Thump thump thump!" Eight hundred Short Spears felled at least three hundred White Horse Soldiers from their mounts. Then the front of the White Horse Soldiers suddenly fell into disarray. As Juo Yi braced his Great Shield, he collided with the front of the White Horse Soldiers. Many Great Halberdiers were directly knocked away, but the chaos caused by the Short Spears felling horses made the White Horse Soldiers’ formation even tighter.
At that moment, the hidden move Juo Yi had kept in reserve was finally unleashed—three thousand Heavy Crossbows fiercely shot into the ranks of the White Horse Soldiers.
After the one volley of Crossbow Bolts was spent, the Vanguard Death Squad didn’t even glance at the results, discarding their Heavy Crossbows. As they had practiced, they pulled out the Great Swords carried on their backs and charged towards the front. The Great Halberdiers valiantly crippled the speed of the White Horse Soldiers, while the Vanguard Death Soldiers fiercely cut down the now sluggish White Horse foes!
"Slay them all!" Yuan Shao roared as he watched Gongsun Zan’s White Horse Soldiers plunge into complete chaos. The thousand Heavy Armor Cavalry he had kept hidden, cavalry that could scarcely run ten kilometers without their horses dying, at last charged forth. Led by Yann Liang and Wen Chou, the Super Heavy Armor Cavalry finally thundered into action, gaining speed and increasing their impact force!
The White Horse Righteous Followers’ central line of defense was savagely cleaved by the oncoming rush of black iron armors and white horses. Regrettably, in that instant, the invincible defense line formed by the White Horse Righteous Followers was as fragile as paper and, unable to withstand even a second’s resistance, was violently breached by the heavy armored troops led by Yann Liang and Wen Chou.
"Kill!" Yann Liang frenziedly expended his own Inner Qi. Under the suppression of the White Horse Soldiers’ Cloud Qi, he was unable to utilize much beyond his extraordinary physical quality. Yet, fueled by his loyalty to Yuan Shao and his own valiant strength, he led the Heavy Cavalry described by Juo Yi in a fierce assault towards the Command Banner!
Upon witnessing the black troops’ vicious strike against the White Horse Righteous Followers, Juo Yi knew his objective had been achieved. With a ferocious cry, he cut down a commander of the Righteous Followers and then, leading the Vanguard Death Squad, he furiously fought the now slowed White Horse Righteous Followers, throwing the entire Righteous Followers’ ranks into chaos.
"My lord, quickly order the archers to fire in the direction of the Great Halberdiers!" Sheni Pei bellowed. He had realized that as long as the Great Halberdiers held their ground, the White Horse Righteous Followers would be nothing but a compressed mass, less effective than even infantry when deprived of their speed!
"Archers, fire!" Yuan Shao roared, and then commanded Feng Ji by his side, "Yuantu, you are in command of this battle! Only if I take the lead will we crush the White Horse Righteous Followers before Gongsun Bogui can react! Kill!"
Having spoken, Yuan Shao drew his Precious Sword and cried out loudly, "Generals, follow me in killing the enemy! Today, we shall break Gongsun Bogui! Kill!" Then he charged at the forefront against the White Horse Righteous Followers.
In an instant, with Yuan Shao’s attack, the morale of his entire army surged, even the Great Halberdiers burst forth with such force that they further shrank the already limited maneuvering space of the White Horse Righteous Followers!
"If our lord fears not death, what do we have to fear? Kill, kill, kill!" Juo Yi bellow alongside as he decapitated a chiliarch of the White Horse Righteous Followers, then he strove toward the White Horse Righteous Followers’ Command Banner with all his might!
"My lord, this is bad, quickly order the White Horse Righteous Followers to retreat!" Tian Kai shouted loudly. In just a few minutes, the triumphantly spirited Gongsun Zan had not yet come to his senses, and his most elite White Horse Righteous Followers were already entangled in a bitter fight.
"Out of my way!" With bloodshot eyes, Gongsun Zan kicked Tian Kai aside. He was determined to kill Yuan Shao; his White Horse Righteous Followers were invincible, how could they be stopped by merely eight hundred Great Halberdiers?
Enraged, Gongsun Zan led his troops in a furious charge, completely cutting off the retreat for the White Horse Righteous Followers and also sealing their chances of regrouping. The fastest troops in the world were tragically turned into the filling of a sandwich cookie at this moment, utterly stripped of their mobility!
Even as the brave and skilled White Horse Righteous Followers, seasoned in battle, quickly dismounted upon realizing they had lost the advantage of mounted combat, they could not reverse the tide of battle. The Vanguard Death Squad’s great swords were far more suitable for infantry combat than the White Horse Righteous Followers’ cavalry sabers. Moreover, the organized combat power of the Vanguard Death Squad, under the command of their corporals, far surpassed that of the dismounted White Horse Righteous Followers!
Juo Yi, holding his breath, cut his way through the enemy lines, his black armor stained a blood-red color. At that moment, he finally laid eyes on the White Horse Righteous Followers’ Command Banner.
"Juo Yi?" Yan Gang stared angrily at the man who had brought his pride and joy, the White Horse Righteous Followers, to such a desperate state. Wielding his cavalry saber, he charged forth to fight.
Juo Yi did not dodge or parry, taking a blow head-on, then grabbed Yan Gang’s cavalry saber with his left hand and with his right hand, he beheaded Yan Gang with his great sword! Then, before the surrounding White Horse Righteous Followers could react, he harnessed all his Essence, Qi, and Spirit and hurled his great sword with all his might, directly severing the Command Banner.
"Hahaha..." Juo Yi spat blood from his mouth, having never intended to leave the battlefield alive. Once the White Horse Righteous Followers’ Command Banner was cut down, his mission was complete. "My lord, in the next life, I shall repay your kindness!" He then pulled out the cavalry saber strapped to his side and threw himself into the fray against the White Horse Righteous Followers. (To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)