The appearance of Lin Tian's army indeed surprised the people of Peacock Kingdom.
However, they were accustomed to bullying the weak common folk.
They believed that although Lin Tian's army was numerous, it was composed of weak civilians.
At most, they were just slightly stronger low-lifes.
Such people, in front of their war elephants, were like a dish of food, easily crushed.
Thus, upon seeing Lin Tian's army, they attacked directly without even reporting the matter to the King of Peacock Kingdom.
Their numbers were not large, only two thousand.
However, among them were twenty war elephant riders.
Those twenty war elephant riders, mounted on elephants, possessed significant oppressive power.
But when they truly charged, they discovered that Lin Tian's army was completely different from what they had imagined.
Firstly, it was the sheer number of Lin Tian's army.
Previously, when they saw Lin Tian's army, they thought the numbers were considerable.
But at that time, they still regarded Lin Tian's army as commoners and did not take them seriously.
However, during the actual charge, they realized that Lin Tian's army seemed to be endless.
The dense formations of troops were more than ten times their number.
They even felt that if each soldier of Lin Tian's army spat, they could drown them.
This made them incredibly nervous, swallowing hard.
"This... how is this possible? How can they have so many people?"
"Hiss! This number is truly terrifying. Are they really people from our Peacock Kingdom? When did our Peacock Kingdom have so many people?"
"Why do their armor and weapons look so formidable? Are we... are our small numbers truly a match for them?"
Feeling fear, they regained their reason.
With their reason restored, they clearly realized that their enemies were not as simple as they had imagined.
Many among them even wondered if they had made a mistake about something.
Or, could they turn around and flee?
With such terrifying numbers and such neat military equipment, could their small force truly cope?
Upon considering this, many of them felt a sense of dread.
Fortunately, someone among them spoke at this time.
"Brothers, do not be afraid. Our war elephants are invincible. Although they are numerous, their combat effectiveness is limited, and they cannot be our opponents!"
"Let us charge first, break through their ranks, and then use the war elephants as the vanguard to directly break out of their encirclement!"
"At that time, even if they want to pursue us, they will have no way!"
Such words made many breathe a sigh of relief.
The ability to kill and escape offered them a way out.
If they had to fight here endlessly, they didn't know when it would end.
With a path to survival, these soldiers of Peacock Kingdom clearly charged with more fervor.
Their morale even rose.
"Soldiers, kill! Let these low-lifes see what true nobility is!"
With that, dozens of their war elephant riders charged forward like madmen.
As they charged, the soldiers under Lin Tian clearly felt the ground tremble.
They had encountered many opponents before, but they had never encountered an army like war elephants.
Especially many of them, encountering elephants for the first time.
The towering figures of the elephants put immense pressure on many.
However, at this moment, Lin Tian made the first move.
He took out the bow and arrows beside him, and pulled them back with full force.
"Whoosh!!"
The arrow shot out, directly towards the soldiers of Peacock Kingdom, felling a war elephant rider on the spot.
The elephant beneath him, as if in a panic, did not know how to move.
Then, Lin Tian's voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Archers, shoot down the war elephant riders on their elephants first. Do not give them a chance to approach!"
"Other soldiers, hold your spears and stab at their war elephant riders!"
"Once their war elephant riders are dead, these people are nothing but a bunch of useless fools!"
The reason war elephants were powerful was their immense size and strength.
Once they charged, even those mounted on warhorses were no match for them.
But once these war elephant riders were shot down, the combat effectiveness of the elephants was largely diminished.
Although they still posed some danger to humans, the elephants would primarily follow their biological instincts and avoid danger.
Upon hearing Lin Tian's words, everyone immediately understood what to do.
Soon, a volley of arrows rained down upon the war elephant riders.
Seeing the sky filled with arrows, the war elephant riders were filled with despair.
"No! I don't want to die!"
"Ah! Block them, quickly block them!"
"Shields, quickly use our shields to block those arrows, otherwise we will all die!"
The better-equipped war elephant riders were provided with shields.
This was because they knew that on the battlefield, they might encounter attacks from all sides at any moment.
Therefore, they understood that protecting themselves was paramount.
Furthermore, given the massive size of elephants, they bore no burden even when carrying heavy shields.
This led many of them to craft shields.
However, this was only for those war elephant riders who were very well-equipped. The slightly less fortunate ones could not afford such large shields.
As a result, within moments, over ten war elephant riders were shot down on the spot.
More than ten elephants stampeded wildly amidst the arrows.
Instantly, the army of Peacock Kingdom descended into chaos.
The soldiers behind them, fearing that the elephants would charge towards them and trample them, became even more terrified.
Only the war elephant riders mounted on the elephants could barely maintain their balance.
However, they too felt an overwhelming sense of crisis from the arrows of Lin Tian's army.
This made them desperately seek a way out.
"Kill! Charge forward, break through them, do not let them form ranks!"
"Break out, everyone follow us and break out! We will all break out and then ask the King for reinforcements!"
"The one who shot the first arrow must be their general. All soldiers, obey the order, charge towards their general! Kill their general! Once their general is dead, their army will collapse on its own!"
"Kill!"
Various shouts filled the air, and the charge of the war elephant riders became even more ferocious.
Such a fierce charge was their desperate fight for survival.
And Lin Tian, within the army, was undoubtedly their primary target.
...