Cheng Chumo’s horse lance could no longer bear the weight of two people. After impaling the second person, driven by the horse’s momentum, it bent into a great bow. He shouted loudly and thrust the horse lance forward. With a cracking sound, the lance shaft tanned from old vine strips broke in the middle. The Abbasids’ resistance was growing increasingly strong, and their military formations were gradually thickening.
Originally, he didn’t need to personally take the field, but news from the hot air balloon firmed his resolve to personally charge the formation. The Camel City was blocked at the valley entrance and was trying to break through the enemy’s defense line—all of this required time.
The defense line behind him also needed reinforcement. The fifteen-li-long Black River Valley was crammed with over a hundred thousand people slaughtering each other here. Without a solid defense line, it wouldn’t work.
The deputy general’s suggestion was to retreat, but Cheng Chumo refused. Out of trust in his brothers, he chose to hold fast here until the last moment, until the Camel City came over and completely crushed the Abbasids.
Father had once said something—the outcome of war actually depended on who could persist to the end. Cheng Chumo deeply agreed. Now was the time to compete in willpower. He also didn’t believe that a sea of flames could block his brothers outside the valley.
Raising his hand, he shot a crossbow bolt, bringing down an Abbasid officer wearing leather armor from his horse. Cheng Chumo began turning his horse’s head to slowly retreat. Along the way, Abbasid arrows were like overwhelming swarms of locusts, clanging against his armor. He didn’t care about these. All those participating in this assault were his personal guards, and the armor on their bodies all came from the hands of Yun family craftsmen. Although the Yun family wasn’t famous for selling armor, it was already a consensus that the Great Tang’s best armor came from the Yun family.
Lowering his face mask created a completely sealed small world. The armor on the warhorse was the same. The seemingly thin armor from the Yun family, when fitted on the warhorse, provided excellent protection.
Of course, in such dense concentrated shooting, there would always be unlucky ones. An arrow shot at an angle from the distance, drilling like a venomous snake into the belly of Cheng Liu’s warhorse. The warhorse wailed once and fell to the ground. He struggled to pull his leg out from under the warhorse, feeling his thighbone had already broken. Using his horse lance to support his body, when he looked up, he discovered he had already separated from the main force. Damn it, he was dead for sure. Without a horse, he couldn’t get back to the defense line, and the Abbasid cavalry opposite had already begun charging.
The dense rain of arrows striking him kept him from standing steady. The arrow in his chest had almost shattered his chest armor. The arrow that hit his face mask forced him to spit out two teeth.
Just as he had braced his horse lance behind him, preparing for a final desperate fight, two ropes looped around him, dragging him swiftly backward at a gallop.
Damn it, he might as well have died. His armor rubbing against the sandy stone ground generated very high heat in a short time. He felt his buttocks and back were about to be roasted. He barely managed to flip over, letting his chest and abdomen touch the ground. Alternating which side was roasted made him feel a bit more comfortable. In this life-and-death moment, he really wanted to curse. He didn’t know if he would be completely roasted by the time he reached the defense line.
However, when he turned his head to observe in all directions, he suddenly wanted to laugh, because there were many others sharing his fate. Cheng San was most pitiful—the rope was looped around his ankle, and he was being dragged at a gallop, loudly cursing.
Having someone more miserable than himself made him feel much better. The hellish ordeal didn’t last too long. Colonel Chen Shu charged over from an angle—he had come to respond to the general. After the warhorse dragging him slowed down, he immediately untied the rope and removed the armor from his body at the fastest speed…
Not many had the chance to remove their armor. Cheng San hadn’t moved. When he rolled to his side to help, he discovered this fellow had a stray arrow stuck in his foul mouth.
Supported by his comrades through dozens of barbed wire barriers, Cheng Liu still tightly clutched the armor he had just removed. The young master had just said that today they would probably have to fight a bloody battle to the end.
The Camel City was frantically spitting out crossbow bolts. Almost in the first round of firing, it completely destroyed the gate of the Abbasid camp. Under the covering fire of crossbow bolts, the auxiliary soldiers who had just stopped laying roads began dismantling the remaining camp’s wooden stakes. If the stakes were too thick and large, they would immediately attach explosive projectiles and detonate them, thoroughly removing these obstacles.
The mountain on the right was steep and precipitous, difficult even for apes to climb. But the mountain on the left had slightly gentler terrain. The Abbasids were very good at utilizing terrain, re-forming battle lines on the gentle slope, continuously rolling down boulders from the mountain to block the road.
The Camel City’s formation changed again, from one column into three columns. Two of the columns simultaneously fired fire oil bombs at the mountain, instantly igniting the entire mountain. The temperature in the valley changed. The scorching airflow rose in spirals, causing the hot air balloons above the Camel City to also spin. A long, miserable scream came. Yun Ye looked up to see a scout gesticulating wildly as he fell from the balloon.
Damn it! He had already told them they must secure their ropes properly. This bastard, having flown countless times, was carelessly unconcerned. Now he had used his own life to demonstrate the importance of ropes.
When the sun rose, Yun Ye’s Camel City had already advanced five li into the valley. One hundred thousand Abbasids were gathered in the narrow valley area. They couldn’t even mount large-scale charges, only able to futilely divide their forces time and again to attack the Camel City.
Seeing the bodies lying scattered everywhere on the ground, Liu Fang said worriedly, “I don’t know if Cheng Chumo can still hold on over there. We’re pressing too hard. I’m very worried they’ll become desperate. Once Cheng Chumo’s position can’t hold, it will be very difficult for us to deal with Yusuf.”
Yun Ye once again issued orders to his staff to ignite the mountain on the left, saying to Liu Fang without the slightest hesitation, “No problem. Chumo can hold on. Order Liu Zhengwu to accelerate the marching pace. Only if we quickly crush over will the danger on Cheng Chumo’s side be reduced. The scout just sent news that the Abbasid allied forces in the rear have discovered the battle situation here and are rushing over at full speed. The cavalry will probably arrive in half an hour. At that time, Chumo will face pressure from both sides. That will be the real crisis. My only concern is whether the twenty thousand auxiliary troops will be useful.”
Du Ruhui interjected, “No need to worry about them. When this old man recruited soldiers, he recruited all those with families and dependents. As long as we still hold the advantage, those auxiliary troops won’t betray. They themselves know clearly that once they betray, their wives, children, elderly and young will immediately be executed by the garrison troops. So this old man asserts they wouldn’t dare!”
Yun Ye squinted his eyes watching the Abbasid cavalry crash over like ocean waves. He shook his head, sighed, and said to Liu Fang, “The Abbasids are indeed more terrifying than any opponent we’ve encountered. This momentum of fierce fighting without rest even knowing they’ll die is not something the Turks or other ethnic peoples can compare with. The power of religion to bewitch people’s hearts is truly terrifying.”
Liu Fang chuckled and said, “Haven’t you also been exporting religion to the people of this land? This old man doesn’t believe Han Zhe and Xi Tong will stand by with folded arms. After all, this is their last chance to show goodwill to you, this Western Regions overlord. The one fighting in the narrow space is Cheng Chumo. They can’t not know what position Cheng Chumo holds in your heart.”
“If something happens to Cheng Chumo, I think you might do the most terrifying things. So this old man dares assert that they’re probably guarding at the valley exit, waiting to appear when you most need reinforcements. Only this way can their interests be maximized.”
“We can’t place all our hopes on them. One is a religious charlatan, one is a horse bandit. Although I’ve risked my life with them before, when it involves the interests of their own people, it’s hard to say what they’ll do. Once a person has a position, they become impure. What I most detest is friends saying sorry to me and such nonsense. Once they say that phrase, they’re preparing to continue being sorry to you.”
“Fan Hongyi, fifteen thousand sons of Guanzhong—I’ll give you ten thousand. Go around the valley to support Cheng Chumo’s vanguard. In this battle, this commander is staking everything on one throw, putting all capital on the table. I don’t believe the Abbasids can escape this calamity.”
The horn sounds on the Camel City rose again. Yun Ye himself also descended from the Camel City, mounted Wang Cai’s back, preparing to personally command the final five thousand elite cavalry. This mounted patrol force was very important. Places the Camel City’s defense couldn’t reach required it to provide supplementary defense. Five thousand elite cavalry was already the minimum standard in the Camel City’s combat manual. Yun Ye’s importance in the Camel City was still less than in this mounted patrol army. Old Wu She rambled on beside him, constantly cursing why Liu Jinbao hadn’t prepared armor for him.
“Now is not yet the time for you to personally command cavalry. We have a better candidate.” Liu Fang grabbed Wang Cai’s reins, pointing behind. Yun Ye turned to look back and saw Xiao Miao had already donned helmet and armor, bidding farewell on the Camel City to the tearful Na Rimu. Standing beside her was that Persian steward, wearing a short skirt, holding a large shield in his left hand, wielding an excessively large greatsword in his right hand.
He Tianshang and Gou Zi had already been dispatched by Yun Ye to Beiting to strengthen the defenses there. At that time, he had worried about Turkic bandits still harassing the garrison cities. He hadn’t been willing to send Xiao Miao out, but unexpectedly at this moment, she had great use.
“Husband, I’ll go. You need to oversee the overall situation on the Camel City. Let me command this mounted patrol.”
Yun Ye was about to say something, but Wang Cai lost his temper. He didn’t like fighting, didn’t like running back and forth on the dirty battlefield getting covered in dust. Neighing once, he hid behind Yun Ye.
“You’d better return to the Camel City. This old man will also go back. With your skills, it’s better not to take risks. Just leave this cavalry to Xiao Miao. She understands battle formations better than you or I.” Wu She spoke, and had already turned with hands behind his back to ascend the high platform, leaving the space to Yun Ye and Xiao Miao.
“Be careful!” Yun Ye thought for a moment, then grasped Xiao Miao’s hand and squeezed it hard. He pulled out a command arrow from his chest and handed it to Liu Jinbao, saying, “Take care of her!”
Xiao Miao laughed lightly, then mounted her warhorse. Lightly flicking the whip once, she galloped toward the cavalry guarding the left front of the Camel City.