kingnovel Chapter 2085 Who is the prey?
Chapter 2085 Who is the prey?
Outside the canyon.
Ma Chao suddenly raised the steel spear in his hand, which still gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the darkness, and no longer suppressed his voice. His thunderous roar instantly shattered the silent night sky:
"My men! The big fish is right in front of us! Follow me and charge in—!"
"Target: Canyon! All troops, assault! Leave no one alive!"
"kill!!!"
The pent-up fighting spirit and killing intent erupted completely at this moment!
The nearly 10,000 Chu cavalrymen roared like a flood bursting its banks, or like a primordial beast awakening from its slumber!
Iron hooves pounded the earth with thunderous roars, launching a devastating charge toward the narrow canyon entrance with overwhelming force!
Ma Chao took the lead, holding his spear horizontally with the tip pointing straight into the depths of the canyon. His eyes burned with the raging flames of ambition to achieve great deeds and the unwavering determination to kill his prey!
The night was utterly torn apart at this moment by the thunderous sound of horses' hooves and the soaring murderous aura!
When Ma Chao's thunderous shout of "Kill!" echoed through the night sky, nearly ten thousand Chu cavalry surged towards the canyon entrance like a black tide of death. The Tang army inside the canyon was also instantly alarmed by this sudden attack.
However, to Ma Chao's surprise...
The Tang army, which was flying the "Qin" banner and was outnumbered, did not show any signs of defeat after the initial brief commotion, nor did it attempt to flee into the depths of the canyon.
Instead, under the leadership of their commander Qin Hong, they quickly formed a dense defensive circular formation with their backs against the canyon walls.
Long spears stood like a forest pointing outwards, while archers and crossbowmen stood in the center of the formation, displaying extremely high combat skills and a willingness to die for their cause.
What caught Ma Chao's attention even more was Qin Hong, the commander of the Tang army.
Facing the Chu cavalry charging like a mountain pressing down, they showed no fear whatsoever.
Instead, he suddenly drew a pair of heavy iron maces from his waist, leaped onto his horse, and charged into battle, actually heading towards the direction of the Chu army's charge!
Instead of despair, his face bore an almost maniacal, ferocious grin and a resolute expression as he roared:
"Chu dog! You've come at the perfect time! Your Grandpa Qin has been waiting here for a long time!"
"Brothers! Commander Li is right behind us. We must not let Chu dog advance even a step!"
"Follow me and kill! Let these southern barbarians see what the true spirit of Tang Dynasty men is!"
Qin Hong's unusual, proactive stance in seeking battle, along with his suggestive words—"Tang Army Marshal Li Jing is right behind me"—was striking.
Like a boulder thrown into Ma Chao's heart lake, it halted his charge, and what surged up was an even stronger excitement and killing intent!
Li Jing is indeed here!
"kill!"
Ma Chao stopped thinking and thrust his spear forward, shouting sharply.
Regardless, crushing this enemy force in front of us first will put Li Jing like a turtle in a jar!
The next moment, the steel torrent crashed violently into the Tang army's spear and shield formation!
"boom--!"
The sounds of violent collisions, the neighing of warhorses, the clash of weapons, the cracking of bones, and the wails of the dying instantly filled the narrow canyon entrance, turning the once quiet night into a bloody slaughterhouse!
With their immense impact and numerical superiority, the Chu cavalry nearly deformed the Tang army's circular formation in their first charge, sending countless Tang soldiers flying and trampling, shield and all.
However, these Tang soldiers seemed to be infected by Qin Hong's valor, or perhaps they knew they had a life-or-death mission to protect their marshal, and they displayed astonishing tenacity.
They held their shields firmly, using their bodies to withstand the cavalry's charge, while their spears thrust forward wildly, stabbing Chu cavalrymen off their horses one by one.
The archers in the formation also fired wildly at extremely close range, arrows piercing through leather armor and spraying blood everywhere.
Qin Hong was even more unstoppable. He wielded his two iron maces and charged into the Chu army cavalry like a mad tiger.
Those maces were incredibly powerful; when they struck a cavalryman's armor, they would break bones and tendons; when they struck a horse's head, its brains would splatter.
He charged left and right, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
He single-handedly halted the Chu cavalry's charge, buying precious time for the circular formation behind him to regroup.
"Surround them! Outlast them!"
Seeing this, Ma Chao knew he had met his match and immediately changed tactics, ordering his cavalry to stop their forced charge.
Instead, they used their mobility to surround the Tang army, like wolves hunting their prey, constantly harassing them with arrows, searching for weaknesses in their formation to launch attacks, and gradually wearing down their strength and manpower.
The battle lasted from late at night until the eastern sky began to lighten.
At the entrance to the canyon, corpses littered the ground and blood flowed like a river.
Under the relentless attacks of the Chu army, the Tang army's circular formation was constantly compressed, and its numbers were drastically reduced.
The original force of three thousand men was reduced to less than one-tenth after more than two hours of fierce fighting.
But they held their line of defense to the death, not one of them retreated, not one of them surrendered.
Qin Hong was covered in blood, his iron mace was stained dark red, and his warhorse had already died.
At this moment, he stood on foot at the front of the battle, like a blood-red war god, still roaring and wielding his double maces, while his personal guards fell one by one.
The fierce battle raged on for two hours.
The morning sun finally pierced the last ray of darkness before dawn, clearly illuminating this tragic battlefield.
Golden light shone on the mountain of corpses, on the congealed dark red blood, and on the lonely figure that still stood tall.
Qin Hong leaned on an iron mace, breathing heavily. His body was covered with countless wounds, the deepest of which almost exposed his ribs, and blood was still seeping out.
He looked around and could not see a single Tang soldier standing besides himself.
All three thousand of his comrades have perished here.
The Chu cavalry slowly surrounded them, their eyes filled with both wariness and a hint of respect, as if they were looking at a ferocious beast trapped in a desperate situation.
Ma Chao spurred his horse through the crowd and arrived at the front of the formation.
His armor was stained with blood, but his aura remained calm.
His gaze swept darkly over the corpses of Tang soldiers scattered on the ground, finally settling on Qin Hong, who stood tall, covered in blood.
After a night of fighting and searching, the scouts he sent to explore the depths of the canyon have reported back.
The canyon wasn't deep, and apart from the traces of a fierce battle and some scattered abandoned supplies, it was deserted!
There was no trace of Li Jing at all!
A burning anger of being deceived and mocked, mixed with a sense of futile frustration, raged in Ma Chao's chest.
He stared intently at Qin Hong, his voice as cold as the winter wind, almost squeezed out from between his teeth:
"Qin Hong! I respect you as a true man! Speak! Where is Li Jing?"
Qin Hong raised his head, his face stained with blood, but his bloodshot eyes were unusually bright.