"Hulge! Hulge! Hulge! Hulge!"
Thousands of Zhen'ao people roared, surging towards the Cui Po Battalion, which numbered only fifteen hundred.
The Zhen'ao warriors charged in a chaotic formation, their weapons a motley assortment of blades, spears, axes, hammers, clubs, and fishing forks. Their armor was equally varied: leather, chainmail, lamellar, beast hide, and cloth – a motley, mismatched collection. The beast hide and cloth, in fact, were more like coverings for modesty or concealment than actual armor.
Despite this disarray, the charge of the barbarian-like Zhen'ao warriors was ferociously fierce and astonishing. They advanced with roars and shouts, each man powerfully built, with savage features that bared sharp teeth like wild beasts, their expressions glinting with bloodlust and excitement. Of course, a few Zhen'ao individuals also displayed looks of despair.
The reason for this despair was the sight of iron shields like iron towers and a forest of broken horse-slaying sabers, their edges gleaming with a chilling cold under the sunlight.
"Bang!" With a thunderous crash, the charging Zhen'ao warriors collided head-on with the Cui Po Battalion, pushing the wedge-shaped formation backward. Some Zhen'ao warriors were even flung into the air, tumbling over the formation's apex.
The consequence of falling atop the wedge formation was to be pierced by countless sharp blades.
"Steady as Mount Tai!" Xu Mancang, bracing his large shield, roared back.
When defending with a formation, the greatest fear and taboo is dispersion, for once scattered, they would be annihilated one by one.
"Firm as a rock!" The more than fifteen hundred soldiers of the Xue Bi Army's Cui Po Battalion, all clad in heavy armor, black helmets, bronze masks, and black cloaks, with short swords at their waists, held long broken horse-slaying sabers and enormous iron shields that could cover their entire bodies.
The more than fifteen hundred soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion roared in unison, unleashing the might of a thousand armies.
The two sides crashed together fiercely. The Cui Po Battalion soldiers were pushed backward, like a small boat in a stormy sea, enduring the tempest. Though they swayed and vibrated, tossed back and forth, they did not capsize.
The soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion used their iron shields to protect their vital areas – heads, necks, chests, and bellies. They leaned forward, holding their shields to resist the Zhen'ao warriors. They retreated only a few steps before stopping, their powerful legs stamping deep imprints into the ground. The pressure was greatest at the tip and flanks of the wedge formation, making those positions the most dangerous. Hence, the soldiers stationed at the tip and flanks were the strongest and most valiant.
Xu Mancang, the commander of the Cui Po Battalion, and his deputy, Hu Gujin, stood side-by-side at the wedge's tip, fiercely resisting the onslaught of the Zhen'ao warriors.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The Zhen'ao warriors could not topple or scatter the Cui Po Battalion soldiers. The latter remained tucked behind their large shields, protected by heavy armor. Enraged, the Zhen'ao warriors swung their various weapons, smashing them against the iron shields, producing a cacophony of sounds.
Although the Cui Po Battalion soldiers kept their bodies entirely behind their iron shields, no defense is perfect. Blades and spears occasionally found their way through, wounding or crushing the soldiers. Blood spurted from their mouths, yet as long as they were not dead, they remained standing behind their shields, unyielding.
All the Cui Po Battalion soldiers understood that at this moment, any widespread collapse would create a breach in the wedge formation. Once a breach appeared, the Zhen'ao warriors would surge in, and without mutual protection, their only path would be death.
However, due to the Cui Po Battalion's superior armor and shields, and the soldiers' disciplined training, both physical and mental, coupled with the Zhen'ao warriors' crude weaponry, the damage inflicted upon the Cui Po Battalion was minimal.
As the two sides remained locked in a struggle, suddenly, everything fell silent, as if the very air had frozen.
"Kill!" After a moment, Xu Mancang, the commander of the Cui Po Battalion, roared, giving the order to attack.
"Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!"
At Xu Mancang's command, over a thousand blades suddenly extended from behind the shields, swift and deadly like venomous snakes striking. The sound of flesh being pierced rang out continuously. The Zhen'ao warriors pressed forward, unable to dodge, and their inferior armor could not withstand the sharp blades. In an instant, over a hundred of them were impaled and fell.
Over a hundred streams of blood spurted out, forming blood-red lines in the air. These lines coalesced into a mist of blood, a spectacular sight. Beneath this mist lay a heap of corpses, sprawled in disarray.
"Retract! Slash!"
At another command, the outermost Cui Po Battalion soldiers moved in unison, withdrawing their shields and swinging their sabers, cleaving another hundred Zhen'ao warriors to the ground. Limbs and severed parts littered the ground, a scene of extreme cruelty and cold-bloodedness, gruesome beyond imagination.
As the outermost Cui Po Battalion soldiers attacked, any who were wounded would retreat into the formation, and replacements would immediately fill their positions.
"Zhen'ao warriors, kill! Kill these mongrels! Our souls will return to our ancestors, receiving eternal sacrifices!"
"Hulge! Hulge! Hulge! Hulge!"
Even the ferociously brutal Zhen'ao warriors, under such savage slaughter, showed signs of fear, retreating in disarray. However, urged on by their leaders' frantic shouts, they charged forward again, roaring. And having tasted blood, the Zhen'ao warriors became even more bloodthirsty and frenzied.
The Cui Po Battalion soldiers attacked with wide, sweeping cuts. In moments, the corpses, severed limbs, and broken pieces piled up like mountains before them.
The two sides clashed fiercely, their killing cries echoing throughout the wilderness and the entire city of Youzhou.
"Now is the time, throw!" He Liulang, commander of the Chi Mei Battalion, who had been hiding far away, saw the Zhen'ao warriors swarming forward again. He roared and hurled a massive Qiankun Thunder into the open ground between the two armies.
The three hundred or so Red Sand warriors of the Chi Mei Battalion, twisting their waists and swinging their arms, launched over three hundred Qiankun Thunders. They filled the sky like a swarm, and upon landing, the three hundred or so Qiankun Thunders began to spin and roll on the ground.
The charging Zhen'ao warriors were greatly confused. What kind of weapon was this? Or what was it?
Other than knocking over a few Zhen'ao warriors, it seemed to have no other use. So, many Zhen'ao warriors stopped in their tracks. Some even picked up the crackling, sparking Qiankun Thunders, examining them closely in their hands...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Instantly, a red light flashed, and earth-shattering explosions erupted within the Zhen'ao ranks. The densely packed soldiers were blown to their feet, blood and flesh flying. Those closest to the Qiankun Thunders, their faces covered in shrapnel and shards of glass, rolled on the ground, emitting heart-wrenching screams. Some had their arms severed, and stood in a daze, oblivious, while others, terrified, dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground, and prayed to the heavens.
The Zhen'ao warriors did not fear being cut down, nor bloody scenes, nor combat. But the Xi people believed in gods and worshipped spirits.
In reality, the Qiankun Thunders in Zhou Fugui's hands at this moment were far less potent than volleys of arrows or the slashes of Xu Mancang and his men. Their deterrent effect far outweighed their actual lethality. However, at such close range, with Zhen'ao warriors examining them in their hands... If they didn't explode, who would? Who would be injured if not them? The soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion had shields and heavy armor, so even if affected, the damage was negligible.
"Boom... Boom... Boom..."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A moment later, hundreds more Qiankun Thunders were hurled, and another round of deafening explosions erupted outside the city of Youzhou. Hundreds more Zhen'ao warriors were blown down, though the vast majority were likely terrified into submission.
"Ah..."
"Mother!"
"Run! The Thunder God has come! The Thunder God has descended!"
From within the Zhen'ao ranks, someone shouted, "The Thunder God has come!" This instantly terrified the remaining Zhen'ao warriors. Some ran wildly, covering their heads, others prostrated themselves on the ground, praying to the heavens, while some, driven mad by fear, cried and laughed hysterically.
"Haha, cowards!" Xu Mancang, commander of the Cui Po Battalion, laughed heartily at the sight, holding his shield in his left hand and raising his broken horse-slaying saber with his right, pointing forward with force.
Xu Mancang completely forgot that he himself had almost wet his pants when he first saw this "divine object"...
"Cui Po Battalion!" Hu Gujin, deputy commander of the Cui Po Battalion, shouted loudly, raising his saber.
"Invincible!" The soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion responded with a unified roar, raising their sabers.
With minimal cost, they had defeated the enemy. The morale of the Cui Po Battalion soldiers soared, their spirits as high as the heavens!
"Advance!" Hu Gujin roared again, raising his saber.
"Ho ho! Ho ho! Ho ho!"
The soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion, holding their sabers and shields, advanced, stepping over the corpses of the Zhen'ao warriors. Beneath their feet, there were still Zhen'ao warriors who were gravely wounded and not yet dead, but they were all stabbed to death, coldly and brutally, ruthlessly and bloodily. The soldiers of the Cui Po Battalion then strode over the corpses, raising their sabers and shields, advancing towards the remaining Zhen'ao warriors.
To deal with the brutal, one must be even more bloody and brutal to intimidate them.
Indeed, the remaining Zhen'ao warriors trembled, either from fear or rage, but they no longer dared to confront the Cui Po Battalion and the "Thunder God" behind them. Not only the Zhen'ao warriors, but more of the Eastern Sea Army had already lost their souls, two out of three, six out of seven, with their remaining souls and spirits wetting their pants...
With such heavy casualties, and most crucially, the loss of fighting spirit, this was a devastating blow to Rong Chengkui and his men, who were accustomed to ruling the seas.
Rong Chengkui trembled all over, staring blankly at the scene, unsure if he was overcome by anger or fear.
"Wuwuwu..."
"Ice Sea Snowfield, the might of the Bear Tribe, unstoppable, nothing can withstand it!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Victory! Victory! Victory!"
The border Xue Bi Army launched a full-scale assault, their battle cries echoing across the mountains and plains. The Eastern Sea King Murong Hong, already terrified out of his wits and having wet his pants, fled towards the coast with hundreds of retainers.
Perhaps at sea, they could save their lives. This was the thought of many in the Eastern Sea Army and the Zhen'ao warriors.