Chapter 25: Six Hundred Iron Cavalry, Night Assault
“How is it?”
After Li Dashan and the other two arrived in front of him, the Old Master asked in a deep voice.
“Everything is normal!” Li Dashan wiped the rainwater from his face and said.
Then he began to report his scouting situation.
“The Geluolu People in Sanhe Fort number about three thousand, most of them living in tents outside Sanhe Fort.”
“A small portion live in houses in the village.”
Sanhe Fort’s original Han People only numbered around one thousand, so the houses in the village couldn’t accommodate three thousand Geluolu People at all.
Only tribal leaders and Geluolu People with higher status had the qualification to live in houses.
The rest of the Geluolu People could only set up tents outside the village.
“The Geluolu People outside Sanhe Fort are mainly distributed on the east and north sides. We should charge straight through from the east.”
“Then charge into Sanhe Fort from the north.” Li Dashan suggested.
“Previously, the Geluolu People broke through Sanhe Fort from the north.”
“The battlements in many places have collapsed, the moat has been filled in, and the Geluolu People haven’t had time to repair them, which is perfect for our attack.”
Hearing this, the Old Master nodded lightly.
Then he exchanged glances with Zhao Tiezhu, Qin Kaishan, and Luo Ping; all three agreed with the idea.
Thus, the battle plan was decided!
“Any other abnormalities?” the Old Master continued to ask.
Clearly, this time it wasn’t just about troop deployment.
“None~” Li Dashan shook his head and said.
“The Geluolu People haven’t noticed our night raid attempt; there are no horse trap pits dug around the perimeter of Sanhe Fort~”
Although horse trap pits are a sharp tool for defending against enemy attacks, nomadic people generally don’t dig them, as they can easily break their own horses’ legs.
Moreover, Li Dashan’s words implied not just horse trap pits and other traps, but also that he hadn’t discovered anyone from the south entering Sanhe Fort.
This was very important!
It concerned the success or failure of this night raid!
Although the Old Master was unwilling to suspect the people from the four forts, these matters had to be guarded against.
It had to be foolproof!
Behind the Old Master, Li Xiao watched his serious expression, as if he were teaching him with actual actions how to conduct a night raid and fight a battle.
This made him feel doubly fortunate in his heart.
“After all, I’m much luckier than Temüjin!” Li Xiao said to himself.
Both were youths who lost their fathers, but Temüjin became destitute, his followers all left, and he lived a life of poverty with his mother and younger brother, nearly losing his life to enemies several times.
It wasn’t until his twenties that Temüjin began to rise.
By the time he reclaimed everything that belonged to his father and ascended to the position of leader of the Kiyan tribe, he was nearly thirty.
He wasted too much time in the early stage; otherwise, Temüjin’s achievements might have far surpassed history.
Li Xiao, on the other hand, was very fortunate.
The Old Master was still here!
The Old Master was the stabilizing force of Hexi Fort, and also Li Xiao’s strongest backing.
As long as the Old Master had one breath left, Hexi Fort wouldn’t fall into chaos.
Li Xiao also had time to grow and gradually take over the actual power of Hexi Fort step by step.
In the instant Li Xiao was lost in thought, the Old Master had already learned the situation at Sanhe Fort and turned to the crowd behind him, saying:
“Kill all the Geluolu People!”
“Blood debt must be paid in blood!”
Hearing the Old Master’s cold and low voice, everyone unconsciously gripped their spears and war sabers tightly.
Their faces gradually became ferocious, their gazes filled with killing intent.
Six hundred cavalry rapidly closed in on Sanhe Fort.
It was already deep into the night, and with the thunder and rain, the Geluolu People were long asleep.
Moreover, the rumbling of thunder and lightning masked the sound of the war horses galloping.
As a result, the Four Fort Allied Army was already very close, yet still undiscovered by the Geluolu People.
“Rumble~”
“Clang clang clang clang clang~”
Hearing the growing rumble of war horses, many sleeping Geluolu People in the tents were awakened.
Some opened their eyes in a daze, full of confusion.
“Why is the temper of the sky god getting worse? Was my prayer just now not sincere enough?”
But the experienced Geluolu People quickly noticed the problem.
The rumbling wasn’t coming from the sky, but from the ground.
“No, this isn’t the sky god’s anger; it’s an enemy raid.” A Geluolu herdsman covered in knife scars with a ferocious face suddenly shouted loudly.
More and more herdsmen reacted, shouting and yelling in panic.
“Cavalry is coming!”
“Get up quickly~”
“Mount up and kill the enemy, stop them~”
These Geluolu herdsmen didn’t even have time to put on clothes; they grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tents.
But immediately after, these Geluolu People were shocked by the scene before them.
Six hundred iron cavalry charged in a fan formation toward the Geluolu camp east of Sanhe Fort, the war horses galloping like thunder, shaking the land slightly, gaining speed.
From the sky, one could see a spectacular sight, like a mass of dark clouds rolling up mud and sand across the sky, the iron cavalry surging forward, madly intent on devouring the Geluolu camp entirely.
Tent after tent of the Geluolu camp had no obstacles for protection, fully exposed to the iron cavalry charge of the Four Fort Allied Army.
Like a lone boat in a storm, teetering on the brink.
“Kill~”
The Old Master charged at the forefront, gripping a spear, roaring loudly.
The Old Master in battle mode was nothing like the usually taciturn old man; instead, he was like a domineering god of slaughter.
Cold and fierce, charging forward recklessly!
Unlike the Old Master’s cold restraint, Grandfather Qin Kaishan was an outgoing person.
Usually laughing and joking, able to get along with everyone, and on the battlefield, he was also adept at boosting morale.
“Little brats, the Geluolu women’s are right ahead.”
“Charge through, and I’ll give you women to use!”
“Everyone gets one~”
“But if anyone acts like a coward, I’ll chop off his balls and turn him into a woman.”
Qin Kaishan rode on his war horse, leading the charge while not forgetting to turn back and roar loudly at the soldiers to boost morale.
“Ooo ooo ooo~”
“Grab the women~”
The youths stepping onto the battlefield for the first time might have been a bit nervous, but hearing Qin Kaishan’s words, they instead broke into hearty smiles.
Their fear of battle and death instantly dissipated a lot.
There was nothing to fear from the Geluolu People; kill the Geluolu men, and their cattle and sheep, war horses, and women would all be theirs.
Moreover, the Old Master, Qin Kaishan, Luo Ping, and even Li Xiao were all charging at the front.
This gave the others tremendous encouragement; following such a fort master, what was there to fear even in dying in battle?
Just charge ahead with heads down!
“Kill the enemy~”
Beside the Old Master, Li Xiao also gripped a spear, the coldness on his face gradually replaced by killing intent.
His gaze was sharp, his whole body radiating sharpness, the only thing visible in his eyes being the Geluolu People panickedly running out of the tents.
“Kill~”
Li Xiao roared lowly.
A Geluolu man had just crawled out of his tent, shouting in a hoarse, panicked voice: “Enemies are coming; everyone get out and fight.”
Just as he prepared to mount his horse to fight, the expression on his face turned to utter terror.
Looking toward the direction of the war horses’ rumble, he saw cavalry after cavalry emerging from the dark night like ghosts from hell, gripping spears and war sabers.
Charging out from the shrouded darkness, their ferocious faces killing toward him, emanating a chilling murderous aura.
At this moment, it seemed as if cavalry surrounded them on all sides, the war horses galloping and rumbling, shaking the trembling earth.
He had no idea how many enemies he faced, as if already trapped in an ambush on all sides.
“Han People, Han People are coming~”
This Geluolu man shouted in terror, scrambling to mount his horse and flee.
But the next second, he felt intense pain in his back, followed by a massive force.
His entire body flew into the air.
A bloodstained spearhead pierced through his back, protruding from his chest.
It was Li Xiao!
Under the war horse’s rapid impact, he instantly pierced through this Geluolu man’s body with his spear.
The powerful momentum even hurled the Geluolu man’s corpse into the air.
“Thud~”
It smashed heavily to the ground, blood flowing into the puddles on the ground. The Geluolu man’s eyes were wide open; though not dead yet, this moment was more painful than death.
Li Xiao rode past on his horse, as if crushing an ant, without even a glance, continuing to hack at the next target.
Merely two breaths later, his spear pierced through another Geluolu man’s neck.
……
Sanhe Fort was just a village surrounded by adobe walls, unable to house all the Geluolu People.
So at least half of the Geluolu People had pitched tents in the open area outside the village.
And these people became the Four Fort Allied Army’s first attack targets.
In this darkness, six hundred iron cavalry surged forward like an iron-blooded flood.
Like demon knights from hell descending suddenly in the dark night, their sharp spears like the grim reaper’s sickle of death, reaping the lives of Geluolu People one after another.
The unprepared Geluolu People were completely routed.
Screams of fear from women and terrified cries from children rose from the tents.
The men rushed out of the tents in panic, only to find they didn’t know how many enemies there were, couldn’t find their war horses, couldn’t find their companions.
The entire camp was a chaotic mess, all the Geluolu People scurrying like headless flies, unable to organize.
“Kill~”
“Kill all the Geluolu People!”
Roars full of killing intent from the Four Fort Allied Army came from all directions, the galloping war horses making all the Geluolu People tremble in fear.
Thinking they were surrounded by tens of thousands of iron cavalry.
A Geluolu man, in his panic, tried to flee with his family, but had just helped his wife onto the horse.
Enemies charged out from the darkness; the short dozen meters were crossed in an instant.
“Ah~”
The man gripped his spear to stab the enemy, but the next second felt the world spinning as a war saber slashed across his neck.
Blood spurted, and the headless corpse crashed heavily to the ground.
“Aaaaah~”
On the war horse, the young Geluolu woman watched her husband die gruesomely under the enemy’s blade, her face showing terror and pain as she wailed and screamed loudly.
Li Xiao merely glanced indifferently at the headless corpse on the ground and murmured lowly: “The third one!”
