Chapter 83: The Allied Forces Annihilated

Half of the Linhu forces were lost, and the ground was littered with arrows. At first, Gelilang did not believe it. But after witnessing it with his own eyes, he became convinced and understood Wusu’s intentions.

“Damn it! Wusu must be planning to retreat!”

“No, we must also fall back—let’s take down the Linhu first!”

Badan was stunned at first, then overjoyed. “Yes! The Linhu are fleeing, forcing our Yuezhi army to withdraw! Marshal, please permit me to lead the vanguard.”

“Very well. Badan, take your men forward at once. I will first shake off the northern army, then we’ll withdraw!”

He knew they couldn’t win, but Gelilang was not afraid. After all, no matter how formidable the northern army’s arrow formation was, they still had to get close.

Badan had just assembled his troops and was about to depart when he saw the Linhu running back toward them.

“Hmph! We’ll surround them once we’re farther from the northern army!”

Badan was fuming, but with the northern army at their backs, he dared not engage the Linhu directly just yet.

Gelilang sneered. It was just as well that Wusu had returned; it would be easier to surround them once they made camp and dismounted.

Before long, Wusu, his face filled with despair, hurried to Gelilang’s side.

“Wusu, do you realize your crime?” Badan roared.

Wusu had no time for this buffoon. Without ceremony, he cried out, “Marshal Gelilang, we—we’ve been surrounded by the northern army!”

“There are tens of thousands of cavalry—at least forty or fifty thousand iron riders!”

Wusu had wanted to go back for their horses, dried meat, and other provisions, but the rear camp had already been encircled by tens of thousands of armored cavalry.

“Nonsense! If there were so many cavalry, how did you Linhu manage to escape?” Badan glared at Wusu. The Linhu now numbered only about ten thousand, with little additional loss.

There was no sound of a great army thundering nearby; Gelilang was skeptical too. None of the scouts had reported anything unusual.

Wusu could only sigh inwardly. He no longer intended to explain.

“Your Linhu forces retreated without orders, sapping the morale of our alliance! Now we can only withdraw. When this is over, your Great Khan will surely hold you accountable!” Gelilang thought to himself that tonight would be Wusu’s funeral.

Wusu nodded indifferently. None of it mattered now. Soon enough, he would see how the Yuezhi’s fine horses would try to escape.

Without supplies and fresh horses from the rear camp, their cavalry would not get far. The Linhu horses, exhausted from running back and forth, were in no condition to outrun the Yuezhi.

If they were to die, they would die together. Wusu no longer bothered to explain, especially as northern army scouts were already hunting down Yuezhi cavalry squads. He had nothing more to say.

On the surface, Gelilang claimed disbelief, but inwardly he was anxious. After a while, when none of the scouts returned as scheduled, he began to worry.

“Could they have more troops? Isn’t the northern army’s camp only sixty thousand strong?”

“Wusu, keep your eyes on the northern army. Badan, your men will lead the way.”

Wusu was startled, but could only agree. Otherwise, the Yuezhi might attack them on the spot.

Not long after—

A strange rumbling echoed from both sides. Marshal Gelilang quickly mounted his horse.

“Marshal, the northern army is on the move!”

At the same time, Yimu ordered the infantry forward, and ten thousand militia cavalry swept around both flanks to encircle the alliance.

“Marshal! Look! What is that?” the commander of the guards said in alarm.

With each earthshaking step, mechs nine meters tall came down from behind the hillside. Before long, several Black Tigers appeared before Gelilang’s eyes.

“These must be mechanical beasts!” Gelilang was somewhat knowledgeable, but such towering mechs were beyond anything he could have imagined.

At that moment, Badan came running back.

“Marshal, Wusu wasn’t lying! There really are tens of thousands of cavalry! They’re all coming!”

The war chariots appeared then as well. Though still some distance away, their deep, rumbling tracks were intimidating enough.

“Marshal, over here—look over here!”

Looking left and right, front and back, Gelilang finally glared at Wusu nearby.

“Damn you, Wusu! You concealed this from us!”

If not for the northern army’s arrival, Gelilang would have killed him on the spot.

Wusu chuckled inwardly; they were surrounded on all sides. Soon, none of them would survive.

“Marshal, we must break out now! I’ll have my warriors hold them off for a while!”

Well said! Gelilang nodded at once.

“Wusu, have your men hold off Yimu’s cavalry at our rear. Badan, your men will block those tens of thousands of cavalry! The rest, follow me—let’s fight our way out!”

Without waiting for anyone’s response, Gelilang led the charge toward the war chariots. Compared to the towering mechs and Black Tigers, he thought the ten chariots would be easier to handle.

“At your command!” Badan shivered with dread. This time, they were doomed.

Forty or fifty thousand cavalry, all clad in armor and helmets! One look at their gear, and it was clear they were not to be trifled with!

As the Yuezhi fled in panic, Wusu laughed. Even as Yimu gave the order for his cavalry to accelerate the pursuit.

“Brother! Why is it always us?” The young Maosu was furious and resentful. Staying behind meant certain death.

Wusu shook his head. “We can’t escape! Even if we returned, the Great Khan would never forgive us!”

Hearing this, Maosu could only sigh.

“All right, everyone dismount and surrender! If I’m to die, I’ll make sure Gelilang suffers too.”

Wusu had no intention of any noble last stand. He stayed behind precisely to make it easier for the northern army to pursue the Yuezhi.

With a sigh, Maosu followed suit.

They threw down their weapons and even abandoned their horses. Wusu led his warriors straight toward Yimu’s heavy infantry.

“Hmph! Go around them,” the cavalry commander sneered, ignoring the dismounted men.

Surrendering without a fight gave Yimu all the face he could wish for.

“Ha! General, the Linhu surrender at the very sight of you, abandoning even their horses!” Yimu’s strategist immediately flattered him.

“Of course! The army is mighty—what are the Linhu or the Yuezhi compared to us?”

Victory was theirs! Yet, remembering that the Xiongnu had already surrendered, Yimu could not help but sigh.

His old adversary had not fallen by his own hand. Instead, Fuyu Xite had reaped the reward.

Gelilang was clever enough, but far too conceited.

“Charge—charge forward!”

Marshal Gelilang waved his hand and roared, sending several thousand great steeds galloping ahead at full speed.

A few hundred meters away, the ten war chariots slowly halted, their cannons beginning to aim.

Fsssh—boom—boom—

Bang—bang—bang—

With a flash of light and a scraping roar, ten small fireballs erupted among the charging cavalry.

Amidst heart-rending screams, another volley of fireballs fell. By the third round, over a thousand cavalrymen were dead or wounded, and the survivors fled in panic.

“Damn it, head for the rear!” Gelilang knew time was short; they could not waste it fighting these ten monsters.

“It’s over, Marshal! The northern cavalry are here!”

“We’re finished!”

After ordering his guards to scatter, Gelilang saw the enemy cavalry rolling toward them from behind.

“How can this be! Wusu, you useless fool!”

Not even a quarter of an hour had passed—had the Linhu truly collapsed so quickly?

With no other choice, the Yuezhi charged the ten steam chariots again. After losing several thousand more, Gelilang was lucky enough to escape.

But after being chased for an hour by chariots and Black Tigers, the Yuezhi horses, exhausted and famished, could run no more.

The commander’s prized steed, too, was now plodding along like an old cart.

“Pang Nuan, Li Mu, Touman! May you all rot in hell! Damn you all!”

“Heh! Dismount and surrender! Surrender now!”

As the would-be future king of the Yuezhi, Gelilang had never imagined he would see the day he’d surrender.

Of course, that title of “future king” was nothing more than his own fantasy.