novelraw Chapter 80 : Valley Decisive Battle (4/9)
Chapter 80 : Valley Decisive Battle (4/9)
Chapter 80: Valley Decisive Battle (4/9)
Three hundred zhang.
The rain of arrows was the first to clash.
The Jin cavalry archers and the elite of the Queshe Army exchanged three volleys of arrows that fell like sudden wind and rain.
Both sides had over a hundred riders fall from their horses, and the distance between them had already closed to a hundred zhang.
A hundred zhang — the line of life and death.
“Raise!”
A sharp command rang out from within the Guan Ning Army formation.
The front rows of cavalry from the Black-Armored Army, Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, and Pacifying Rebels Army moved in perfect unison.
They reached beside their saddles and lifted black, long-barreled weapons that gleamed with a cold metallic light.
“Anxi Firearms?”
The Jin army’s main general felt a chill in his chest; an ominous premonition surged forth.
“Fire!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”—the deafening detonations tore through the air.
A dense hail of lead bullets turned into a blazing storm of death, hammering mercilessly into the Jin army’s charging formation.
The front row of shield-bearing cavalry took the brunt of the assault—their sturdy shields, enhanced with engraved runes, were like paper before the armor-piercing rounds.
A string of wet splattering sounds followed as blood mist burst open—nearly a thousand heavy-shielded riders and their mounts collapsed in unison.
“Second volley! Fire!”
Zhao Shuijiao’s cold voice rang out once again.
The front barrier was gone, leaving the unprotected Jin cavalry fully exposed.
The second, even deadlier, storm of bullets swept through them.
Amidst the shrill screams, nearly two thousand more men and horses were mercilessly cut down.
A massive gap was torn open in the charging spearhead.
“Bastards! This general will have your heads!”
The Jin army’s Myriad Phenomena Realm main general’s eyes bulged with fury as he roared in rage.
Spirit power surged wildly around him, and with the support of his formation, a colossal manifestation composed of countless ferocious beast phantoms erupted behind him.
The beasts roared, exuding a destructive might, as they lunged toward the Pacifying Rebels Army formation ahead.
Just as the fatal moment came—
At the very front of the Pacifying Rebels formation, Yue Fei, who had been watching coldly, moved.
There was no overwhelming burst of aura—he merely squeezed his horse’s flanks lightly and dashed forward.
The spear in his hand, which looked utterly ordinary, was thrust casually forward.
Buzz!
A glint of golden light flared suddenly at the spear tip.
A spear ray as thick as a bowl, condensed to its utmost limit, shot forth—
like lightning tearing through the void, piercing directly through the Jin general’s widened pupils.
Pfft!
The spear ray did not slow, punching deep into the dense ranks of the Jin iron cavalry behind him.
Wherever it passed, men and horses were shredded alike—
it carved a dozens-of-zhang-long corridor of death through the surging tide of the charge.
The towering Myriad Phenomena apparition shattered like a bursting bubble.
“Gulp—”
A Jin deputy general of the Divine Power Realm witnessed his commander’s instant death. The army formation’s blessing vanished, and fear constricted his throat.
He had barely opened his mouth to shout “retreat” when his voice caught—
for a projectile wreathed in flame, ice, and the glow of metal slammed toward him.
It was too fast for him to react—his body exploded midair, torn apart into a shower of blood and flesh.
Without the protection of the formation, even a Divine Power Realm expert was as fragile as paper before the wrathful strike of a Myriad Phenomena Realm master.
With both main and deputy generals slain in an instant,
the Jin iron cavalry plunged into chaos.
Their barely reformed ranks collapsed completely into panic and disorder.
And at that moment, Yue Fei’s figure charged into them like a tiger into a flock of sheep.
His spear became streaks of killing gold; swathes of Jin cavalry were cut cleanly in half, rider and mount alike.
Blood dyed the yellow earth beneath his horse’s hooves.
Alone, with a single spear, he tore apart the Jin army’s attempt to regroup once more.
Without command, without formation, without morale—
the Jin cavalry faced the combined charge of the three armored legions—Black-Armored, Pacifying Rebels, and Guan Ning—and the outcome was sealed.
The steel torrent slammed brutally into the chaotic Jin formation.
It was not a battle—it was a massacre, a crushing annihilation.
Spears pierced, blades cleaved, hooves trampled.
The air was filled with dying screams, and corpses littered the field.
After the very first clash, nearly eighty thousand Jin cavalrymen fell forever in that cold valley.
This was the terrifying result of an elite commander overwhelming his opponent through absolute power.
Under Yue Fei’s lead, the three torrents of Black-Armored, Pacifying Rebels, and Guan Ning cavalry did not pause—they thundered onward, trampling over mountains of corpses,
and, with unstoppable force, charged toward the main Jin army at the heart of the valley.
Meanwhile, the remnants of the Jin army—already broken and terrified to their cores—
were mercilessly harvested by the pursuing Queshe Army like maggots devouring flesh.
The curved blades of the Queshe troops flashed in the bloodlight, putting a final, grim end to this one-sided slaughter.
At the same time, the two hundred thousand-strong Jin infantry force had completely entered the center of the “V”-shaped valley.
Marching with heavy steps, they advanced slowly toward Canglong Pass.
Atop the command platform in the central camp, Guo Donglin pondered, thinking that the right-wing army sent to annihilate the Anxi cavalry should soon be reporting victory.
Suddenly, his sharp ears caught the dense, rhythmic pounding of hooves coming from the mountain’s right-rear base.
The sound grew rapidly nearer, echoing around the mountain bend.
A faint smile of assured victory tugged at Guo Donglin’s lips.
“So, the Anxi army was so easily crushed? It has only been moments, and my Great Jin iron cavalry already returns triumphant—”
However—when that tide of cavalry emerged fully from the bend and galloped into view beneath the valley’s gray sky,
Guo Donglin’s smile froze. His pupils contracted sharply.
Those cold, black armored figures gleamed faintly beneath the leaden heavens.
This was no triumphant Jin cavalry.
It was the unmistakable Black-Armored Cavalry of Anxi Prefecture.
“All forces, to the rear! Prepare for battle!”
Guo Donglin’s furious roar thundered across the ranks, spreading through the entire infantry formation.
The well-trained Jin soldiers displayed remarkable discipline—
under the shouted orders of their officers, the massive square formation turned on the spot like a single entity.
Countless heavy shields slammed down in layers, forming a wall of steel.
From the gaps between the shields, rows of long spears jutted out at an angle—turning the rear ranks into a hedgehog of death.
At the same time, Guo Donglin’s aura erupted.
The blood energy of two hundred thousand Jin infantry surged into him like rivers converging into the sea.
A terrifying pressure—far beyond the mid-stage of the Golden Body Realm, reaching the late stage—descended upon the valley, suffocating all beneath it.
At the front, Guo Xiazhi, who was leading one hundred fifty thousand cavalry in fierce battle against the Yili Army and the defenders of Canglong Pass, felt that immense aura behind him.
He turned his head in shock and saw his elder brother, Guo Donglin, braced for battle, his power towering like a mountain.
A hint of worry flickered in his eyes; instinctively, Guo Xiazhi tightened his reins, considering whether to fall back and assist.
“Xiazhi, focus! Crush the enemy before you as planned—leave this place to me!”
Guo Donglin’s steady voice echoed within his mind, filled with unshakable confidence.
All doubt vanished from Guo Xiazhi’s eyes. He snapped his head forward again, fixing his murderous gaze on the enemy ranks.
He too drew upon the blood energy of his one hundred fifty thousand cavalry.
A surge of power, nearly at the mid-stage of the Golden Body Realm, burst skyward.
With a fierce roar, he raised his blade high, preparing to launch the final charge.