roccoschili Chapter 209 The cannons roared in Wolong Valley; the Hu family generals were defeated at the jaws of
Chapter 209 The cannons roared in Wolong Valley; the Hu family generals were defeated at the jaws of
The desperate escape of Wang Jin, the old official of Jizhou Prefecture, was but an insignificant part of the chaos of this world.
But Huyan Zhuo is the main point to discuss.
Seeing that they had fallen into an ambush, Huyan Zhuo was more anxious than anyone else.
"All troops, listen to my command!" Huyan Zhuo suddenly raised the steel whip in his hand, his voice booming like a bell, echoing through the valley. "Turn your horses around! Break through to the end of the valley! The vanguard battalion will clear the way and remove obstacles, and the rear infantry will come to support us immediately!"
Upon hearing the order, the soldiers, though filled with fear, were also well-trained. Turning the linked horses around in the narrow valley was already difficult, but now, for their lives, the soldiers fought with all their might. Armor clashed against armor, hooves clashed against hooves, and the formation slowly shifted amidst the chaos.
However, just as the linked horse formation had not yet completely reversed, another loud bang came from the direction of the valley tail!
"boom!"
This explosion, though not as deafening as the one at the valley entrance, was still clearly audible. Immediately afterward, flames shot into the sky from the valley's end, thick smoke billowing up and completely engulfing the exit. Hu Yanzhuo's pupils contracted sharply, his heart sinking to the bottom. Their escape route was cut off!
The valley entrance and exit were completely sealed off, and the three thousand linked horses were now trapped like turtles in a jar!
We have no choice but to move forward!
A line of horses charged toward the pile of rocks, trying to break through the valley entrance.
However, a fat monk leaped out from behind the pile of rocks.
Lu Zhishen's body was covered in bulging muscles, and he carried a 62-pound water-milled monk's staff in his right hand.
"With me here, who dares to cross me!"
He shattered the scorched earth beneath his feet with a single step, his staff whistling through the air.
Several government soldiers raised rattan shields to defend themselves.
The staff struck the card, sending pieces of wood flying.
The government troops were thrown over by the immense force and fell into the fire pit.
Wu Song followed closely behind, his two snowflake-patterned iron swords already drawn from their sheaths.
He didn't reply, but instead moved swiftly, his long sword flashing horizontally.
The government troops clutched their throats and fell to their knees.
Huyan Zhuo reined in his horse at a distance and saw the two fierce generals clearly.
"Stop arguing, let's go!"
The government troops, fearing the men's fierce presence, retreated.
Three short, sharp sounds of a copper bell rang out from above the mountain wall.
Lu Zhishen withdrew his staff and wiped the soot off his face.
"withdraw troops!"
He strode towards the slope.
Wu Song wiped the blood off the blade and sheathed the sword.
The two men led the ambush troops and slipped into the shadows deep within the valley entrance.
Just then, countless torches suddenly lit up the cliffs on both sides of the valley. In the shadows, numerous figures appeared. A large banner bearing the character "Li" fluttered in the wind, and beneath it stood a man clad in black armor, holding a command flag—none other than Li Hanxiao, the strategist of Liangshan!
Li Hanxiao suddenly swung the command flag down!
"put!"
A command, like a declaration of death, echoed through the valley.
In an instant, hundreds of "Tiger Crouching Cannons" roared simultaneously from the cliffs on both sides of the valley! Blazing tongues of fire spewed from their muzzles, and countless iron filings, pebbles, and gunpowder rained down like a torrential downpour. These were no ordinary cannonballs, but Ling Zhen's specially made "Helpless" shells, each filled with a large number of sharp iron pieces and pebbles, possessing astonishing destructive power!
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Iron shot rained down, densely striking the armor of the linked horses with a piercing sound. Many soldiers, unable to dodge in time, had their armor pierced, letting out shrill screams. The horses, terrified, struggled frantically. In the narrow valley, the advantage of the linked horses vanished, becoming a hindrance instead. Unable to separate or run, they could only neigh and trample in vain.
Immediately afterwards, thousands of archers unleashed their combined power, swarming oil-soaked rockets into the valley like locusts. The rockets pierced the night sky with sharp whistling sounds, landing precisely within the linked cavalry formation.
"boom!"
The oil ignited instantly, bursting into flames. The armored horses were engulfed in flames, and the soldiers let out painful howls. Illuminated by the firelight, the Liangshan soldiers on both sides of the valley looked like monstrous demons crawling out of hell.
At the same time, countless logs and boulders roared down the cliff, crashing into the valley like a meteor shower. The heavy logs, carrying immense force, smashed the linked cavalry formation to pieces, shattering armor and leaving mangled flesh. Boulders flew everywhere, smashing heads, breaking bones, and tearing tendons.
At this moment, Wolong Valley was completely transformed into a living hell!
The towering flames and thick smoke transformed the entire valley into a gigantic crematorium. The choking smoke filled the valley, and many soldiers, even before being wounded by swords or spears, suffocated and collapsed in the thick smoke. The linked horses had nowhere to hide in the narrow canyon; they were scorched by smoke and fire, struck by rubble, and burned by the flames. They struggled and neighed, but could not escape this prison of death. The formation completely collapsed; horses and soldiers mingled, trampling and killing each other.
Seeing his army trapped in a desperate situation, Huyan Zhuo's eyes widened in fury. He spurred his horse, attempting to charge forward out of the valley. However, his chain of horses had only taken a few steps when they let out a painful neigh, their forelegs buckling and they collapsed heavily to their knees. A sharp rivet was embedded in their hoof!
He then discovered that the valley ahead had been covered with a dense array of horse spikes by the Liangshan bandits. These spikes, buried under the loose soil, were specifically designed to puncture horses' hooves. With their hooves pierced, the linked horses were unable to run, collapsing one after another in a row, completely blocking the valley.
"Discard the horse!" Huyan Zhuo roared, his voice hoarse.
He dismounted, gripping his two whips tightly, and carefully avoided the spikes on his feet as he charged forward. The soldiers behind him followed suit, abandoning their cumbersome chained horses and dismounting on foot, attempting to carve a bloody path through the rocks and flames.
However, Liangshan's deadly tactics were far from over. Just as the government troops dismounted and struggled forward on foot, roars of wild beasts suddenly echoed from behind the boulders blocking the valley entrance!
"Awoo!" "Roar!"
Stimulated by the flames and cannon fire, dozens of wild beasts, including tigers, leopards, wolves, and insects, captured by the Liangshan army over several days, were driven into the valley through the gaps blasted open at the entrance. Terrified by the raging fire and deafening cannon fire, these wild animals completely lost control. Their eyes turned bloodshot as they scattered and fled in all directions, indiscriminately attacking people and biting horses in their path.
"what!"
A government soldier was pounced on by a hungry tiger, his screams instantly drowned out. On the other side, a frenzied wolf charged into the ranks, tearing at a soldier's throat. The appearance of these beasts completely shattered the already collapsed formation of Huyan Zhuo's army.
The surviving horses, already terrified, were now even more frightened by the beasts, becoming utterly disoriented and uncontrollable. They rampaged through the valley, trampling countless dismounted soldiers on foot beneath their iron hooves, sending flesh and bones flying.
Of the three thousand elite armored soldiers, only one in ten survived amidst the deafening explosions and raging flames, the rain of arrows and the rolling logs and rocks, and the roars and charges of wild beasts; almost the entire army was wiped out.
Huyan Zhuo's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the hellish scene before him. His elite troops, the linked cavalry he had personally trained, had been reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. The screams of the government soldiers, the neighing of the horses, the roars of wild beasts, and the explosions of gunpowder mingled together, like the wails of ten thousand ghosts, piercing his very heart. He gripped his whips tightly, his knuckles white, veins bulging. He had lost, utterly and completely.
He suddenly raised his head and stared intently through the thick smoke and firelight at the large "Liang" banner fluttering in the wind on the cliff, and the blurry figure under the banner.
"Bandits of Liangshan! I am Huyan Zhuo..."
His roar was instantly swallowed by an even more violent explosion. From the direction of the valley entrance, several more boulders collapsed, completely extinguishing the last glimmer of hope.
At that moment, one of his personal guards was knocked away by a charging wild boar and crashed heavily to the ground. The boar's eyes were red, its tusks bared, and it was about to pounce. Without thinking, Huyan Zhuo lashed out with both whips, one to the left and one to the right, smashing them hard against the boar's head.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
The wild boar let out a mournful cry and collapsed, convulsing. Huyan Zhuo didn't stop. He turned and looked at the remaining soldiers still struggling in the flames, powerless to resist. He saw a young soldier, struck in the chest by a rocket, writhing in agony. He saw a chain of horses, its spine broken by rolling logs, still struggling in vain.
He was defeated, utterly defeated. Everything he was so proud of was completely swallowed up by the Crouching Dragon Valley.
He looked around; flames soared into the sky, thick smoke obscured the sun, and corpses littered the ground. He slowly raised the two whips in his hands, their blades reflecting the firelight and emitting a chilling aura. He stared at the large banner bearing the character "Liang," his eyes showing no sign of retreat, only boundless rage and resentment.
He knew he was in dire straits.
"kill!"
He let out a beastly roar and charged headlong into the sea of fire ahead.
Huyan Zhuo tightly gripped the reins of his black horse, Ti Xuewuzhui, with one hand and held a steel whip tightly with his right.
Amidst the billowing smoke, three gray figures leaped out from behind a pile of rocks at the valley entrance.
The three gray wolves were thin, and their neck hair stood on end in the cold wind.
The beast ignored Huyan Zhuo, its six eyes fixed intently on the gaps in the black horse's leg armor.
The gray wolf on the left was the first to attack, it lowered its back and darted out close to the ground.
The target was aimed directly at the hind hooves of the black horse.
Huyan Zhuo slammed down with his iron whip, the wind whistling through the air.
"clang!"
The iron whip struck the broken stones, sending sparks flying.
The gray wolf twisted its body suddenly in mid-air, landed on its four paws, and bounced backward about ten feet.
Two beasts followed closely behind on the right.
One leaped up to about half a person's height and grabbed at the horse's belly.
The other one crouched low and lunged straight for the horse's throat.
Huyan Zhuo stepped to the side, blocking the horse's head with his entire body.
He swept his right steel whip across a semicircle, sealing the horse's head.
The gray wolf that pounced on the horse's throat withdrew its paws mid-air, pushed off the ground with its hind legs, and forcibly veered off course.
Startled, the black horse let out a rapid neigh and pawed at the ground with its front hooves.
Huyan Zhuo gripped the reins tightly with his left hand, his body pressed against the horse's head.
The three gray wolves did not disperse; they formed a triangle and slowly moved around the man and horse.
The gray wolf directly in front pounced again.
Huyan Zhuo lashed out with his whip.
Just as the iron whip was about to strike, the wolf braced itself on its forelimbs and its body strangely leaned back.
The other two gray wolves seized the opportunity to flank from behind, their sharp teeth biting at the base of Wuzhui's tail.
Hu Yanzhuo heard the wind rustling behind him, as if two eyes had grown in the back of his head, and swung his whip backward with his right hand.
The iron whip struck the air with a muffled thud.
The gray wolf twisted in the air, its claws scratching the leather armor on the horse's rump, leaving a white mark.
Hu Yanzhuo's forehead was covered in a fine sweat as he stood on the pool of blood, constantly adjusting his center of gravity.
These three beasts are extremely cunning; they will leave at the slightest touch and will never engage in a direct confrontation.
They lingered around the horses, taking advantage of Huyan Zhuo's eagerness to protect them, and launched surprise attacks in turns.
The black horse was restless, its hooves making heavy thuds on the gravel.
The gray wolf on the left suddenly let out a low growl.
The three beasts attacked simultaneously: one bit the horse's forelegs, while the other two leaped onto its back.
Huyan Zhuo shouted and stomped his feet firmly on the ground.
The steel whip danced at his side, creating a dense blur of afterimages.
The gray wolf's claws slapped against the iron whip, producing a dull thud of flesh impact.
A gray wolf was struck in the waist and abdomen by a steel whip, rolled several times on the ground, and then got up again.
It shook off the dirt, lowered its body again, and revealed its blood-stained fangs.