bayedsolid Chapter 2266 What a fine job you've done!
Chapter 2266 What a fine job you've done!
The initial resistance was fierce.
Under Gongsun Yi's roar of "Fight to the death!" and the "Blood Wolf Guards" leading the charge, the Scorpion Clan cavalry also unleashed their last bit of fighting spirit, engaging the Chu army in a desperate battle.
However, this resistance lacks effective coordination and in-depth support.
They ran head-on into Feng Mulan's carefully prepared "hedgehog" formation.
The hook-and-sickle spears and armor-piercing spikes brought nightmarish casualties to the charging cavalry; many brave Scorpion warriors were hooked down along with their horses and then stabbed to death by a hail of spears.
From the flanks and rear, Zhang Shijie's naval forces launched elusive attacks, constantly creating local chaos and panic. Many units were separated and trapped in a desperate situation of fighting alone.
On the left, Liu Shijie's troops advanced steadily, compressing their last remaining space for maneuver.
The battle quickly transformed from organized offense and defense into a one-sided attrition and slaughter of the Scorpion Clan cavalry.
With its superior numbers, formations, equipment, and tactics, the Chu army gradually wore down the Scorpion Clan cavalry.
The scene on the battlefield was extremely tragic.
Having lost speed and space to charge, the Scorpion Clan cavalry were greatly reduced in power.
Their scimitars were unable to penetrate the shield formations of the Chu heavy infantry, and their arrows had limited effect against the Chu army's dense array and shield protection.
In contrast, the Chu army's every thrust of their spears, every volley of crossbow bolts, and even every sweep of their hook-and-sickle spears brought tangible casualties.
The corpses piled up at an alarming rate.
The warhorse neighed and fell, throwing the rider off its back, and was then trampled by countless feet.
The blood pooled together, forming a disgusting pool of blood in the low-lying area.
The air was thick with an extremely strong stench of blood and the putrid smell of ruptured entrails.
Gongsun Yi's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost frantically directed his subordinates to fight back, but defeat was inevitable.
He witnessed firsthand how his prized "Blood Wolf Guard" fell one by one under the siege of the Chu army's heavy infantry.
Seeing that the troops on the flanks had been cut into pieces by Zhang Shijie's small force, and seeing that the rear guard was beginning to show signs of collapse under continuous pressure.
"Hold on! Hold on for this general!"
Gongsun Yi roared, his voice already hoarse and cracked.
He swung his sword and felled a Chu soldier who rushed close, but immediately two or three more spears came thrusting from different directions.
He parried one arrow, dodged another, but the third one pierced his horse's neck!
The warhorse let out a miserable neigh, and the rider sprang up, throwing him off.
Gongsun Yi rolled on the ground and was about to leap up when several Chu soldiers thrust their spears at him!
He swung his knife and desperately parried, facing a perilous situation.
The guards around him fought desperately to save him, engaging in fierce combat with the Chu army, but their numbers dwindled.
In less than an hour, under the continuous high-pressure attacks and precise tactical coordination of the Chu army from three sides, Gongsun Yi's scorpion army, which originally numbered tens of thousands, had very few troops left capable of putting up an organized resistance.
In the center of the battlefield, the scorpion cavalry group that was still fighting had visibly shrunk in size.
They were divided into several increasingly smaller isolated islands, struggling to hold on against the raging onslaught of the Chu army; their annihilation was only a matter of time.
Feng Mulan stood in her command position, calmly observing the battle situation.
Seeing the rapid attrition and collapse of the Scorpion Clan cavalry, she felt little joy, only a solemn sense of having accomplished a strategic mission.
She knew that annihilating Gongsun Yi's forces would not only lift the siege of Jianghuai City, but also sever a vital arm of Helian Hui.
This cleared a huge obstacle for the upcoming final battle at Changtingpo.
She raised the command flag in her hand, ready to issue the final order to encircle and annihilate this stubborn enemy.
The sun was setting in the west, past noon, and the scorching afternoon sun beat down on the land outside Jianghuai City, a land repeatedly soaked in blood.
The sweltering heat, mixed with the overwhelming stench of blood and the putrid stench of decaying corpses, was nauseating.
The long-running encirclement and annihilation battle is nearing its end.
The once overwhelming and arrogant Scorpion Clan cavalry.
Under the relentless pressure and precise attacks from Feng Mulan, Zhang Shijie, and Liu Shijie, the ice melted away rapidly, like snow under the scorching sun.
At this moment, fewer than two thousand cavalrymen remained gathered around the tattered wolf-head banner of General Gongsun Yi of the Scorpion Clan.
They were confined to a small area less than 100 feet in diameter.
Everyone was wounded, their warhorses were panting heavily, their armor was shattered, their weapons were dulled, and their eyes were filled with the despair of trapped beasts and their final madness.
From all directions, there were countless Chu army spears, gleaming blades, and cold, murderous eyes.
The Chu army's encirclement was like an iron barrel, layer upon layer, impenetrable.
Surrounded by a group of elite guards, Feng Mulan rode slowly to the inner edge of the encirclement, stopping about fifty paces from the mound where Gongsun Yi was.
Her crimson armor was splattered with dark red bloodstains, but her expression remained as cold as ice, her phoenix eyes revealing only the composure to control the battle and the determination to finish off the enemy.
She raised her hand to signal a halt to the offensive, not out of pity, but to witness the end of this stubborn enemy, and perhaps also to give this encirclement and annihilation battle a clear end.
Gongsun Yi stood on the mound, his magnificent battle robes already tattered, revealing the scarred chainmail underneath.
The tattoos on his face, symbols of glory and ferocity, were covered in blood and dust. Only his eyes, like those of a dying wolf, flickered with resentment, malice, and a hint of madness at the end of his rope.
The jeweled scimitar in his hand had several chips on its blade.
Upon seeing Feng Mulan appear, Gongsun Yi's chest heaved violently. He took a sudden step forward and, with all his might, let out a hoarse yet malicious roar, the sound particularly jarring in the suddenly quiet battlefield:
"Feng Mulan! You vixen! Chu Ning's lover! How dare you stand here?!"
He brandished his scimitar, pointing it at Feng Mulan, then abruptly turned towards Changtingpo, roaring furiously with spittle flying:
"Look what you've done! You've disregarded the life and death of your Great Chu Emperor just to ambush and kill me here!"
"Chu Ning is currently being besieged by my Khan, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and Prince Chu Xuan, and his life hangs by a thread! Yet you are wasting your time here, getting entangled with me!"
"When Chu Ning is beheaded one day, you will be the culprit who killed your emperor!"
"You disloyal and unjust woman, how dare you call yourself the Imperial Noble Consort of Chu?"
"Soldiers of Chu, do you hear this? Your emperor is about to be killed, and your imperial concubine is here watching!"
Gongsun Yi's roar was both a desperate, furious outburst and an extremely insidious psychological tactic.
He attempted to undermine the morale of the Chu army soldiers surrounding them and create chaos by claiming that "the emperor is in danger and the imperial concubine is ruining the country."
Even if it can arouse the slightest doubt or hesitation, it might provide a glimmer of hope.