Chapter 374
Chapter 374: Ambush!
If a cavalryman were to start accelerating from the peak of the mountain, how fast would they be by the time they reached the bottom?
At this moment, the Tibetan cavalry were clearly displaying this to the army before them. With their astonishing swiftness and the incredible robustness of their highlands steeds, the might from their charge was nearly unbelievable.
Hong long!
Like a comet had fallen from outer space, the first echelon of ten cavalry collided heavily against the giant tower shields. Hong long, a deafening explosion sounded, reaching up to over a hundred li away!
Steel against steel, halo against halo, Stellar Energy against Stellar Energy… All kinds of different powers were clashing violently with one another at this instant.
At the point where the cavalry collided with the tower shields, there were even bright sparks.
Neighhhh!
The loud collision and the ferocity from the encounter left the steeds behind neighing in agitation.
Weng, the tower shields reverberated intensely. Under this kind of powerful attack, even a piece of metal could be ground into pieces, let alone a human body.
Behind the tower shields, the shield bearers’ faces paled, and their bodies jolted under the impact. Some of them even had the areas between their thumb and forefinger splitting under the fearsome pressure, and fresh blood trickled down their hands.
But eventually, they still managed to stand their ground.
Holding back a Tibetan cavalrymen who had charged down at full speed from the top of a mountain; only a shield bearer could achieve such a feat.
Their powerful and sturdy bodies allowed them to achieve what would have been impossible for other soldiers.
But even so, the commandant of the army couldn’t find the slightest comfort in it. This was because the second, third, fourth, and fifth waves were about to arrive as well…
Hong hong hong!
One after another, the Tibetan cavalrymen collided heavily against those tower shields with incredible speed, and the deafening explosions sounded ceaselessly, with minimal intervals in between.
The shield bearers had barely withstood the first charge when the subsequent ones arrived right after. Under the continuous impact, their shields reverberated with great intensity, their knees trembled uncontrollably, the capillaries in their arms ripped open, and the halos beneath their feet shook weakly…
Pressure and injury was gradually heaping up on them. In just a short moment, they had already sustained fearsome injuries.
How many times could even a qualified shield bearer withstand the full power charge of elite cavalry?
The answer was seven times on average!
To be able to do so, every shield bearer would have to push their physical resilience to the very limit.
But even so, this was far from enough for them to fend off the Tibetan cavalry!
This was because their charge didn’t stop with just one wave of attack. No matter how powerful a shield bearer might be, how could he withstand relentless waves of impact by the cavalry?
Hong long!
It was just a few moments, but it felt as if it had been stretched beyond several eons. By the time the eighth echelon of Tibetan cavalrymen struck the tower shields, hong long! The seemingly invulnerable tall wall was finally torn through.
Hong long long, in that instant which the Tibetan cavalrymen charged into the opening torn through the shield bearers, everyone’s faces paled.
The formation consisting of two hundred shield bearers at the frontline was their greatest protective amulet. Their role was to slow down the speed of the Tibetans so that the other troops could better engage them.
After all, with the incredible momentum the Tibetan cavalrymen wielded when charging at full speed, other than the shield bearers, nobody behind them could possibly withstand their might!
The endless bloody history of war had already shown that once an army’s defense line was breached, it would be a calamity for the vulnerable troops hiding behind their cover.
“Everyone, calm down! Cavalry, prepare your charge!” Amidst the chaos, the commandant bellowed. However, it was already too late. With minimal space to start a charge, the cavalrymen couldn’t possibly build up sufficient momentum to match the Tibetan soldiers.
Given the current circumstances, the cavalry were completely helpless.
The entire plan banked on the shield bearers successfully keeping the Tibetan cavalry at bay. From the instant that a hole was torn through the front line, everyone’s fate was already sealed. What would be awaiting them was defeat and death.
The furiously charging three hundred Tibetan cavalrymen buffed by the Halo of White Yak and Halo of Fortress were a catastrophe to the Great Tang soldiers behind.
“Hahaha, kill those fools! This time, we shall wipe them out cleanly!” the Tibetan commander at the forefront roared in laughter as he led a group of cavalry through the breach.
By this point, he could already see the defeat of the Great Tang army. This time, no one would be able to escape from them, and there would be no more subsequent battles. After killing these men here and destroying the resting point, they would flee back to ü-Tsang and await their next orders.
Weng!
Just as the eight hundred Great Tang soldiers were about to face their ultimate doom, at this crucial moment, the loud neighing of steeds suddenly intruded into the battle, messing up the tides of battle.
From the right end of the Tibetan army, another group of two hundred suddenly charged out, and from the moment of their appearance, they were already charging at maximum speed. The imposing momentum their charge harnessed was surprisingly on par with the Tibetan cavalrymen!
“How could there be another Great Tang army there?!” Seeing the sudden appearance of the cavalry formation, the Tibetan commander’s face warped in astonishment. He had never anticipated this!
In the previous battles, such a scenario had never happened before.
What was even more unacceptable to him was that he was actually oblivious to the presence of this cavalry formation until they were already in proximity to him. This should have been impossible!
“Those cunning bastards!” Clenching his fists tightly, the Tibetan commander swiftly came to a realization. Without a doubt, those fellows had concealed their presence by using the commotion caused by the Tibetans own charge.
Considering how they were surrounded by the loud din generated by their own charge, how could they possibly hear any other noise?
Or rather, even if they had heard the commotion from the Great Tang cavalrymen, they would have just thought it came from one of their own.
That was indeed an intelligent move to make. Their opponent was truly cunning.
And what left him even more apprehensive was that the enemy had come from a faraway location, timing themselves to arrive at this crucial moment. Through this, not only would they be able to avoid detection, they would also be able to build up the momentum of their cavalry to the limit.
With their speed at the limit as well, the two hundred cavalrymen posed a fatal threat to their army, one that was even greater than the eight hundred men before them.
“Retreat! Turn to the left! Luosang, you shall lead your group to engage that army! You must intercept them at all cost!” Instinctively sensing the danger that lay within the charging cavalry formation, the Tibetan commander immediately roared a command anxiously.
The enemy was swiftly approaching their flank, their weakest point at the moment. If no countermeasures were made, they would certainly suffer heavy damages.
“Not bad, you reacted quite fast. However, it’s a pity that you’re too late!” Seeing the Tibetan cavalry before him making instantaneous adjustments to their formation to cope with the attack, Wang Chong sneered coldly in disdain.
The enemy commander was indeed formidable to be able to overcome the Big Dipper Army’s formation of tower shields. However, it was a pity that that was all he could do. He was still far from a match for Wang Chong.
In fact, upon seeing Wang Chong, the enemy commander had made a fatal mistake similar to the one committed by the Big Dipper Army commandant.
The greatest mistake the Big Dipper Army commandant committed was to engage the Tibetans at the bottom of the mountain, whereas the mistake the Tibetan commander committed was changing their formation at the last moment in order to deal with him.
A cavalry formation charging at full speed mustn’t change its direction easily, as doing so would result in significant deceleration.
The greater the change in the direction, the more severe the deceleration would be. Generally speaking, if the change in direction was be ninety degrees or more, the momentum that had been built up earlier would be dissipated into nothing.
If the enemy commander had chosen to persist with his strategy and charge straight ahead, he might have been able to deal fatal damage to the eight hundred Great Tang soldiers.
But now…
To put it simply, they were goners.
While the mistake the enemy commander had made did play a part in worsening the plight they were in, the moment that they had allowed Wang Chong’s group to get so close to them had already sealed their fate.
Raising his right hand, Wang Chong commanded, “Arrow Formation, charge!”
The two hundred cavalrymen immediately moved from their original positions to form a large Arrow Formation.
Hong long!
In just an instant, Wang Chong, Zhao Yatong, Bai Siling, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, Fang Xuanying, and the others had already stabbed viciously into the formation of the Tibetan cavlarymen.
The Flying Wedge Charging Formation against the Arrow Formation!
Two entirely different cavalry formations clashed for the very first time by the border of Longxi’s territory.
These two completely different cavalry formations were rarely seen even in modern day warfare.
Hong long!
As the two hundred men strong Arrow Formation stabbed deep into the Tibetan Army’s formation, Wang Chong also activated his war halo simultaneously.
An intangible ripple swiftly diffused from Wang Chong to cover the entire battlefield. The Halo of Fortress formed by the three hundred Tibetan cavalrymen immediately flickered before shattering entirely, while the tier of the Halo of White Yak fell instantaneously.
Bane of the Battlefield!
For the first time in several months, Wang Chong activated his war halo. With this, he nullified the crucial advantages that the three hundred Tibetan soldiers wielded, thus putting the Great Tang army in a decisive advantage.
Sensing the changes, the faces of the three hundred Tibetan cavalrymen turned livid.
Without the Halo of Fortress, they were no different from ordinary cavalrymen.
Hong long!
With a resounding war cry, the two hundred men strong Arrow Formation tore the Tibetan cavalry apart from within, utterly destroying their formation…