As soon as the twenty men jumped over the trench, the crossbowmen in the trenches crawled out and fired a barrage of shots at their backs, wiping out all twenty men.
At this moment, the Iron Cavalry Guards seized the opportunity to lead their men forward and slashed wildly at the crossbowmen. A single cannon shot sent five men flying, and the horses, startled, reared up, almost throwing the Iron Cavalry Guards off.
The Iron Cavalry Guard felt the firepower of the cannon for the first time, and his heart trembled. Before he could even feel fear, another shot came down and killed the guard next to him.
Another shot blasted the thirty iron cavalrymen who were at the forefront and had unknowingly huddled together, paralyzing them and rendering them unable to charge any further.
In an instant, hundreds of people were killed or wounded, but they couldn't even touch Xie Jun.
Chapter 129 Xie Lanzhi is evenly matched
With the cavalry behind them holding off those in front, they crossed the trenches smoothly. The closest cavalrymen had already reached within five meters of the catapults when Xie Bing suddenly detonated his crossbows, blasting the vanguard off their horses with a loud bang. Those following behind realized something was wrong and immediately retreated.
Xie Bing's men now only have one shot left.
The captain was very annoyed. The marshal said that five cannons would last for three days, but they had almost used them all up in one day. What should they do next?
The captain eagerly awaited the sun's setting. As night approached, perhaps he could organize another charge; the gunners wouldn't be able to see them and wouldn't dare fire indiscriminately.
But with the sun high in the sky, at midday, they completely ignored his wishes.
After being driven back from the third charge, the Iron Cavalry Guard felt a blockage in his ears and could barely hear. Even when the people around him shouted loudly, he could only hear faint voices. After a while, his ears cleared up and he could hear again.
Realizing the immense power of the cannons, and considering they also had firearms, why were they constantly getting hit? Shangwei, enraged, said, "No need to charge anymore, let the gunners go first."
"yes!"
Twenty gunners hid at the back of the column. They began loading gunpowder, using something that looked like an ear pick to repeatedly fill the gunpowder, press it in, fill it again, and press it in again until it was compacted.
At that moment, the medicator shouted, "Medication application complete!"
"Fire!" The Iron Cavalry Guards raised their swords and shouted towards the mountaintop, "We must take this hill before sunset!"
The arquebusiers advanced 500 meters under the cover of the iron cavalry's shields, and finally hid in the piles of stones. The arquebusier captain began to shoot at the leader of Xie's soldiers, hoping to make a great contribution.
When Captain Xie saw that the cavalry had stopped attacking, he cleverly ordered his men to crouch down and observe the enemy through the gaps in the wall, forbidding them from showing their faces.
So when the gunners arrived with their ammunition, they were met with this scene: Xie Jun, who had just emerged from the hilltop, had all vanished. It was as if they were retreating.
The firearms handlers also waited patiently.
There are always people who are careless when they get up, and as soon as they stand up, their heads crack open.
He fell right at the captain's feet. The captain, seeing his subordinate's brains splattered out, was horrified: "This is the deadliest weapon of the Hun firearms!"
The gunman was reloading. Xie Shangguang held his flintlock pistol and waited for the cavalry to come up. He didn't see anyone either, so he crawled along, covered with leaves. He just crawled behind a large rock and squatted down when he touched someone's hand. The rough hand also shook his hand.
Then the two looked at each other, Hu Xiong Tie Mao and Xie Shi Tie Mao winked at each other, paused for a moment, and then looked at their hands clasped together.
A firearmsman: "..."
Xie Shangguang: "..."
Then the two of them screamed in fright at the same time, followed by a gunshot: bang!
Xie Shangguang, wielding a flintlock pistol, killed the firearms operator. Because his flintlock pistol was short and fast, he could kill even without aiming at such close range. The firearms operator, for the first time, was killed before he could even raise the muzzle properly due to the weapon's excessive length.
Xie Shangguang's screams and gunshots caught the attention of the nearby gunners, but they assumed it was one of their own men who had killed him and paid no attention to the scene.
After Xie Shangguang finished refilling the tinderbox, he picked off the leaves and threw them on the body of the gunner who had been killed. Then, he looked around and realized that he had inadvertently crawled to the side of the gunners' intersection without being noticed by the gunners next to him.
He even counted them; there were still nineteen.
He only has nine fireballs, and he might not be able to hit them all.
The captain on the mountaintop immediately ordered his men to remove their military caps and raise them. Just as the hundreds of men raised their caps, a series of gunshots rang out, piercing through more than a dozen helmets. Xie Bing, whose helmet was pierced, was so frightened that he dropped it, exclaiming, "Mother, Mother! What kind of weapon is this?!"
The first wave of fire is complete.
Xie Shangguang began to quietly climb...
Then, just as he looked up, there was a slight movement on his right, like the fluttering of a butterfly. The next second, Xie Shangguang felt someone step on his head. The person leaped up, displaying superb lightness skills. A black shadow flashed, a long sword gleamed coldly, carrying killing intent, and he slashed one after another.
Like picking and chopping melons in a melon field.
With a "whoosh," a gunner who was frantically loading medicine was killed.
The other firearmsmen looked up and first saw a black cloak like a great banner, spreading across the sky like a giant net. Suddenly, everything went black, and blood splattered everywhere. As soon as she landed, five heads fell to the ground as well. Her body, wrapped in the cloak, fell to the ground.
After Xie Lanzhi appeared, she counted: "There are fourteen left."
"Someone's sneaking up behind us!" the gunners shouted, and the remaining fourteen men desperately retreated while refilling their gunpowder.
Twenty-five seconds, now only fifteen seconds remain.
The longsword continued to slash, and the iron cavalry behind noticed and charged forward, wanting to strike Xie Lanzhi. Unexpectedly, Xie Lanzhi did not dodge. She used her internal energy to perform a thrust, and the longsword pierced directly through the horse's neck and into the cavalryman's body. The cavalryman, holding his broadsword, looked at her in horror as if he were looking at a monster. Finally, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground along with his horse.
Xie Lanzhi drew her long sword, and the sword broke.
She frowned and said, "It's really not durable."
The remaining firearmsmen looked at her as if she had seen a monster. Xie Lanzhi then bent down, picked up the cavalryman's broadsword, and charged at the firearmsmen.
One slash! Two slashes! Three slashes! Blood continued to splatter behind the pile of stones, staining the large rocks red.
One by one, the gunners fell, until finally the last three were finished. One of them finished loading his weapon, and suddenly he was no longer afraid. He raised his gun at Xie Lanzhi and shouted, "Go, die! Monster!"
With a "bang," the bullet struck the person's groin. Before the gunner could react, he had already been lifted up, his feet off the ground, taking the bullet for her.
Xie Lanzhi slammed the firearm in her hand down on the man, knocking him unconscious, and then chopped off his head with a single stroke. The broadsword immediately chipped. Only one firearm user remained. He was so terrified that he hadn't even refilled the flint and powder; he was trembling all over, his lips pale, completely incapacitated, and he slowly crawled backward.
"When you were killing people from behind, you weren't acting like weak lambs like you are now." Xie Lanzhi suppressed her murderous aura, feeling that she couldn't stay here any longer, so she turned back, picked up three small firearms, grabbed more than twenty fire tinder, and carried Xie Shangguang up the mountain.
Xie Shangguang, holding a flintlock pistol, perched on Xie Lanzhi's shoulder, looking utterly bewildered: ???
The last gunner crawled back to his camp, where he was helped up. He reported in shock and fear, "General, we... our entire army has been wiped out."
The Iron Cavalry Guards thought they had misheard.
The gunner was still shaken. When he mentioned the monster, his lips trembled: "It was a woman, a woman... She came from the right and killed everyone!"
"Are you joking?" The cavalry guard dismounted, grabbed the man by the collar, pulled him close, and shouted in surprise and anger, "I'm asking you if you're joking?!"
The gunner immediately shook his head: "No, it's really a general. I'm the only one who escaped back!"
"All the other brothers died at the hands of the monster!"
"A woman?" the Iron Cavalry Guard asked, half-believing. "What kind of woman?"
The firearms highlighted Xie Lanzhi's features: black armor, a fierce look, a black cloak, a long sword, and most notably, a female general.
Even the slow-witted Iron Cavalry Guards realized that it couldn't be just a female general, especially since the opponent was charging straight at the arsenal alone.
This is utterly unbelievable! The commander charges ahead! Who plays like this?!
There was also a monster, and the other party was not only a monster, but also a madman. Otherwise, she wouldn't have started a war against their Xiongnu kingdom in Huayin!
Wait, does the fact that the commander-in-chief charged first mean that their artillery is insufficient? That's why they had to take out the highly threatening artillerymen first.
The Iron Cavalry Guard reacted quickly. He immediately pushed aside the firearm in his hand and ordered, "Organize the Iron Cavalry to attack immediately and charge forward in one go!"
"Xie Jun's artillery was definitely not enough, which is why the commander-in-chief risked his life to launch a surprise attack on the artillerymen!"
Upon hearing this, the cavalrymen cursed, "The people of the Central Plains are indeed cunning!"
"So many firearmsmen died without ever being used, leaving only one. If word gets out, it will be a disgrace to us!"
"Therefore, we must eliminate Xie Bing to restore our prestige!!"
"Otherwise, with so many gunners dead, we won't be able to explain it to Wang!"
His cavalrymen were seething with murderous intent, eager to charge forward and skin those Xie soldiers alive to avenge themselves.
Iron Cavalry David immediately gave the order: "Brothers, charge!"
"Charge! Kill Xie Jun and capture Xie Ying alive!!"
"Capture Xie Ying alive!!"
"Capture Xie Ying alive!!"
The shouts echoed all around, reaching even the mountaintop. Upon hearing them, Xie's men immediately cursed, "Damn it, you wish!"
"If you have the guts, come at me and kill one of us!"
"Two of you, kill them both!"
"Let's fight them!"
The Iron Cavalry Guard, with its remaining eight hundred men, charged forward, while Xie Bing's thousand men, spears in hand, rushed down the mountain. The two armies clashed, the sounds of swords clashing and spears clashing mingled with angry roars. The battle was fierce; Xie Bing, with five against two, quickly gained the upper hand in terms of formation.
The iron cavalry were equally formidable. Whenever one of them broke through the enemy lines, they would skillfully coordinate with the outer iron cavalry to cut and slash back and forth, suppressing most of Xie's troops for a time.
The fighting below was fierce. Xie Lanzhi rode her horse toward the side path, but she was soon stopped by the iron-clad guards, who were glaring at her menacingly with two golden staffs in their hands.
"Where are you going, Xie Ying!" The Iron Cavalry Guard recognized her as the female general. He had long heard rumors of her ruthless killing, and now, seeing her in person, it was indeed true.
"We've finally met!"
Xie Lanzhi thought he knew Xie Ying and had dealt with Xie Ying before.
She politely clasped her hands in a fist salute to him: "General, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
Finally, she added, "What is your surname?"
Iron Cavalry Guards:..?
"Xie Ying, how dare you play dumb!"
"Give me your life!" The Iron Cavalry Guard immediately spurred his horse toward her, his golden staff transforming into a cudgel, which he spun and thrust toward her face.
Xie Lanzhi held an ordinary dagger and blocked it, but the staff flexibly bent and struck her side.
She immediately bent down and dismounted. Waiting for the hoops to turn back, she jumped back onto the horse, kicked the hoops, and the cavalryman felt a sharp pain in his hands. The hoops were bent noticeably, and he and the cavalryman fell off the horse. He tumbled down the hillside for over ten meters before regaining his balance.
Xie Lanzhi originally wanted to press her advantage, as this was the first time she had faced the enemy's general head-on. However, Xie's soldiers kept calling for reinforcements from the mountain, so she had no choice but to abandon them and flank them from behind.
The cavalry had been surrounded before, and this sneak attack didn't go smoothly. Five soldiers immediately intercepted Xie Lanzhi, trapping her in the middle and positioning her perfectly at a death angle. She then swiftly swung her high-speed slashing blade, easily killing all five men.
Seeing this, the soldiers all changed targets and charged towards her. Perhaps it was because she was cutting too fast and too conspicuous.
Xie Lanzhi spurred her horse backward, hoping to stall for time, but then she discovered that there were still iron cavalry reinforcements gathering at the foot of the mountain, and there were quite a few of them.
"Looks like we need to finish this quickly!" Xie Lanzhi charged straight at the horde of cavalry, her spears bending as she charged, blood flowing from the shafts into her fingers, staining her hands bloody.