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A contingent of the Zhao Army, tasked with intercepting the vanguard of the Qin Army, hurriedly arrived at the designated location. To their surprise, the terrain recorded on the map differed significantly from the actual landscape. The map depicted peaks, while in reality, they found themselves in a low-lying hilly area. How could they intercept the enemy here?
Occupying the hills would make them visible to the Qin Army from afar. A direct confrontation was clearly not an option, as General Lian Po had repeatedly advised avoiding such situations before their departure. Zhao Zhi, the Zhao General in charge of this battle, compared the map again and let out a heavy sigh. If they retreated five miles, there would be a suitable defensive position.
However, their brother units were already deployed along the line, and retreating would leave their flank exposed to the Qin Army. Therefore, their chosen position could not be changed; they could only move forward and not backward. Aside from the barren hills, there were no advantageous terrains nearby. They decided to send scouts along the route to find suitable positions for interception while ordering the soldiers to set up a defensive formation along the way.
Since Zhao Zhi's soldiers were primarily infantry, they had no choice but to hold their ground. The Zhao Cavalry Unit was reportedly ready; their mission was to penetrate the rear of the Qin Army in hopes of surrounding this advancing Qin Cavalry. This meant that at this moment, they were at the bottom of a bag—if they let anything slip through, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Brothers! The Qin Barbarians are invading as if it were uninhabited land; what do you think we should do?"
With this question, someone shouted back loudly, "That's because we haven't shown up! Don't you all agree?!"
The busy soldiers immediately responded with enthusiasm, and their fighting spirit against the enemy surged. Feeling invigorated by their work, they accelerated their preparations significantly. They unloaded all the horses from a few supply carts and piled them up to block the road. Then they reinforced the connections with wood to prevent impacts from cavalry charges.
When infantry faced cavalry, one of the biggest fears was being charged by cavalry into their formation. As long as these obstacles existed, they could protect the infantry hidden behind them. After all, wasn't infantry meant to serve as a shield? This would surely make facing off against the Qin Army less daunting!
Zhao Zhi personally inspected the fortifications and ordered immediate repairs for any issues found. As long as they ensured that their makeshift barricades held firm, they could naturally withstand any rapid assaults from quick-response units. Just as the soldiers were busy securing their defenses, scouts who had gone ahead to find interception positions rushed back. They found General Zhao inspecting the front lines and dismounted to report urgently: "General! The vanguard of the Qin Army has been spotted ahead; they're less than two miles away!"
The Qin Army was indeed fast!
Upon hearing this news, the soldiers exchanged glances and quickly set down their tasks to grab their weapons.
Zhao Zhi wasted no time upon receiving this information. He ordered five hundred soldiers equipped with Zhao Crossbows to quickly take their positions and commanded everyone to prepare for battle. After all, with Old General's instructions in mind, he truly wished to form ranks against the enemy!
Frustration!
As the entire Zhao Army took their positions, they focused intently on the road ahead. Occasionally, a few dry yellow leaves would flutter in the wind, but otherwise, it was quiet. In that moment of stillness, the ground seemed to tremble. Dust began to rise, and the freshly fallen leaves were swept to the roadside.
Just as people began to suspect whether the Black Mountain Old Demon had emerged, the black-armored Qin Army Cavalry suddenly appeared through the dust. Then came the thunderous sound of hoofbeats, breaking the tranquility of the land.
Seeing the menacing Cavalry Unit across from them, Zhao Zhi tightened his grip on his spear. Watching the dust settle from the wooden frames of the war chariots, he asked several generals nearby, "Is anyone willing to go out?"
"I am willing!" With a loud shout, the bearded Zhao General Lu Zhijie stepped forward.
Everyone in the army knew that in the early stages of confronting an enemy, it was all about momentum. If they were pressured from the start, their fighting spirit would only dwindle. Zhao Zhi nodded and waved his hand forward. As the war chariots parted to clear a path, Lu Zhijie's troops marched out with determination.
Worried that General Lu might be at a disadvantage, Zhao Zhi ordered another unit of Zhao Army to support him. Shields were raised in front for defense against enemy arrows. Spears were prepared for stabbing any cavalry that broke through. Behind them were a full squad of archers, ready to deliver deadly strikes from a distance. The crossbowmen remained at the forefront of their position for cover.
Once all units were ready, Zhao Zhi felt slightly reassured. Squinting at the approaching cavalry, he suddenly noticed that they had all halted their horses and stopped in place.
Lu Zhijie, who had charged out, shaded his eyes and carefully observed why the enemy had inexplicably stopped. He saw that the Qin Army's cavalry had spread out from a point into a line, filling up the entire plain without further movement. The two armies were now nearly two hundred meters apart, making shouting impossible.
Regardless of who they were, at least both generals would need to step forward for dialogue. While exchanging names, they could also display their army's strength. But why had the Qin Army stopped? Seeing their hesitation, Lu Zhijie simply stood with his hands in his pockets and waited for them to approach.
As the dust settled and peace returned to the land, Zhao Zhi finally realized that thousands of Qin soldiers were not waiting idly; they were preparing their crossbows. This reminded him of some words spoken by Zhao Yan before his sacrifice: two hundred meters!
This is bad!
Zhao Zhi suddenly understood that the firepower of the Qin Army was formidable enough to disregard what seemed like an impossible distance. Two hundred meters! After thinking this, he shouted loudly, "General Lu, retreat! Prepare shields for defense!" Before his words could finish, he noticed a mass of black clouds across from him suddenly shake violently.
As the dust on the ground rose again, the entire front line of the Zhao Army fell as the Sentries collapsed. At the same time, painful screams echoed from the Defensive Formation as the sound of Hoofbeats rushed in like a gale. Thunder rumbled from within the dark clouds, and flashes of Cold Light shimmered in the air against the sunlight.
"Be careful, General!"
The Soldiers beside Zhao Zhi quickly moved to shield him from the front, and then a force pushed Zhao Zhi back two steps. As he reached out to steady one of the Soldiers, he realized that two triangular arrows had pierced through the Soldier's body. This was a soldier wearing two layers of thick leather armor! How could this happen so effortlessly!?
As the Qin Army Cavalry drew closer to the Zhao Army's Defensive Formation, crossbow bolts began to rain down from behind their encampment. With a piercing whistle filling the air, unprotected Zhao Army Soldiers fell one after another as they were struck by arrows.
Dragged into the defensive fortifications by his guards, Zhao Zhi witnessed this scene with fury boiling in his veins. He shouted for the surviving Soldiers to lie down immediately, but due to the surrounding noise being too chaotic, his voice barely traveled far. The spilled lamp oil was ignited at some point, and in the flames, he saw bodies still struggling before being knocked down by arrows. These Soldiers were brothers who had fought alongside him on the battlefield for years; he never imagined they would suffer such losses without even seeing what their enemy looked like.
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