Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1782 - 1664: Dingling War Chariot (Part 2)
Just watching the numerous Northern Huns elite troops falling on the battlefield, several times the number of the Han Army, Qui Fu felt an unbearable heartache. But regardless of how heart-wrenching it was, he knew he couldn’t delay any further. If they endured another wave of his Legion Talent, it would be more than a mere blow to morale.
At this moment, Qui Fu could not spare any thought as to why Wei Yan could employ the exact same Legion Talent as he did. The current state of the Northern Huns allowed these high-ranking generals hailing from the Northern Huns to have a profound understanding of manpower and population.
"Retreat!" Qui Fu roared, hesitated no longer, and immediately turned to leave, while Wei Yan immediately squeezed his horse’s belly to pursue into the dark mist ahead.
Unfortunately, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were ultimately short-legged cavalry, and after a short pursuit, they were outpaced by Qui Fu’s Northern Huns Elite Cavalry. Just as Wei Yan was hesitating on whether to continue the pursuit, a dark shadow suddenly appeared on the northern plains, prompting Wei Yan to turn his horse around.
"Withdraw first and send a messenger to notify Military Advisor Zhuge." While retreating, Wei Yan spoke in a grave tone, as the Dingling elite led by the valiant general Yizhong were charging from the distance.
Seeing Yizhong, Qui Fu closed his Legion Talent. However, without the cover of Qui Fu’s Legion Talent, the embarrassment was laid bare before Yizhong, whose face showed a mocking expression.
"It seems that the Northern Huns are not as formidable anymore, which is good. If the Northern Huns were as powerful as they once were, we Dingling people wouldn’t have a chance to rise. Now it’s time to let the Han Dynasty witness the strength of us Dingling people." Yizhong thought coldly.
"Inform them that we are their allies and are here to reclaim their honor. Nothing else needs to be said." Yizhong instructed a messenger, who then rode towards Qui Fu. Upon hearing this, Qui Fu’s initial action to confront them came to a halt.
Yizhong drove past, not glancing sideways. However, as he passed by Qui Fu, the still somewhat normal marching speed suddenly accelerated. Five hundred war chariots erupted with a speed not less than the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, kicking up dust across the prairie.
The Northern Huns Elite Cavalry led by Qui Fu were completely engulfed in dust before they realized what was happening, and by the time the dust settled, the army led by Yizhong had already charged over a hundred paces away, leaving Qui Fu’s face dark with anger.
"Damn it!" Qui Fu mumbled with a murderous expression as he gazed at the backs of the Dingling people. When had the descendants of the Kunlun Deity ever been treated with such disdain?
"Move!" Qui Fu calmed himself as much as he could and spoke to his elite troops. At that moment, he clearly saw the shame and anger in the eyes of all his soldiers. The self-proclaimed kings of the prairie, leaders of the Various Huns, the descendants of the Kunlun Deity, were humiliated by one of the Various Huns, the Dingling people.
Wei Yan made a swift retreat back to the camp after a rapid pursuit, and at this time, the Han Army’s repairs to the outer camp were not yet complete. Fortunately, after Wei Yan discovered the second wave of the Huns’ siege troops, he had sent someone back to notify the others in advance, and there was already some degree of defense in place.
Shortly after Wei Yan entered the camp, the Dingling people led by Yizhong also arrived at the front line. Observing the Han Army camp in the distance, particularly the areas where the fences had been knocked down, Yizhong grinned slightly.
"Hahaha, I was just saying the Northern Huns are unreliable, yet it seems they have some capability after all. At least they’ve paved the way for us there. Show the Han Army the might of us Dingling people right there!" Yizhong laughed wildly as he gazed at the partially repaired outer camp, which was merely blocked by caltrops and deer antlers.
Five hundred war chariots were arrayed in a line, pulled by two oxen and three horses, with one charioteer and six warriors for each chariot. They charged forward under the astonished eyes of the distant Han Army.
This charge, more terrifying than heavy cavalry, under Yizhong’s command, dashed madly towards the breach in the Han Army camp.
With actions more agile than cavalry mounted on chariots, the Dingling people displayed the ferocity of the war chariots at will, breaking through the caltrops and deer antlers with the vanguard.
"War chariots?" Zhuge Liang watched this scene from afar, squinting slightly. This type of troop, long eliminated in the Central Plains due to geographic constraints, seemed incredibly fierce at this moment.
However, during the previous period, Zhuge Liang hadn’t been idle. The varying depth trench channels originally dug to defend against the Northern Huns cavalry seemed more suitable for dealing with such chariots that demanded higher terrain.
"Legion Attack!" Shortly after the Dingling people charged in, Yu Jin issued this command. Although not many soldiers could be slain, merely disrupting the terrain would suffice to inflict fatal damage on these chariots, which had long been removed from the battlefield. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
Several massive Legion Attacks slashed towards the direction of the Dingling people’s charge. Yizhong sneered as he mobilized Cloud Qi to block part of it, while the rest poured out onto the ground without hindrance, rendering the already ravine-filled battlefield even more complex.
Nevertheless, Yizhong, as if oblivious, maneuvered his chariot at full speed into the complex terrain, where an astonishing scene unfolded.
The wheels of the several hundred chariots seemed to suddenly gain adhesion, maintaining charging speed regardless of the high-speed movement or complex terrain, with the chariots’ ups and downs controlled within a certain small range.
"Release arrows!" Calm amidst the chaos, Yu Jin gave a new command, yet this rain of arrows posed almost no real threat to the Dingling people equipped with great shields on their chariots.
Concurrently, the Dingling cavalry following behind the chariots successfully completed a coordinated maneuver. After navigating through the volley of arrows, they charged towards the Han Army camp along with the chariots, aiming to decisively break through the Han Army camp.
"Order Yu Jin to lead the front camp soldiers to retreat immediately, and not to appear before the chariots." Zhuge Liang took a deep breath, disregarding the blame for losing the front camp, and issued a direct command to abandon it. Wei Yan, Yin Li, and others were taken aback.
"Execute swiftly!" Zhuge Liang commanded with a grim expression. The opponent’s chariots clearly had some auxiliary Legion Talent, with ordinary terrain unlikely to cause issues. In such circumstances, any troops facing the chariots head-on were courting death!
"Order Zhang Liao to attack from the flanks, encircling to attack the chariots from behind. All soldiers directly opposing the chariots should withdraw laterally!" Zhuge Liang instructed the messenger.
"Order Wu Dun to prepare tung oil and fire arrows, and once the Dingling chariots slow down, attack with fire!" Zhuge Liang commanded Wu Dun.
"Wei Yan, you will lead the Xiliang Iron Cavalry also to attack from the flanks. The flexibility of chariots is significantly lower, yet their impact force is unmatched by any cavalry." Zhuge Liang told Wei Yan. "Mirror my Legion Talent, and I will accompany you!"
Having received their orders, the generals quickly departed to fulfill their respective commands. Zhuge Liang activated Xun Youi’s Spiritual Talent and Xu Huang’s Legion Talent while accompanying the troops.
Of course, Zhuge Liang did not know whose Legion Talent this was, only recognizing it as one of the rogue talents. Much like Zhang Liao’s Legion Talent, it could be divided into blocks or, more precisely, applied to each soldier individually.
The effect was simple: within the attack range of all soldiers’ melee weapons, any object entering this range would face a counteractive force. Although the force wasn’t significant, it directly affected the attack speed.
The main reason Zhuge Liang wanted Wei Yan to mirror this talent was to directly engage in melee combat next to the chariots despite enemy archers, taking down those collaborating Dingling Elite Cavalry. Without these companion cavalry, he had methods to deal with these chariots.
Such a task could only be accomplished by the thick-skinned Xiliang Iron Cavalry. In contrast, the defensive talent of Li Jue was too costly, whereas Xu Huang’s Legion Talent was more universally applicable.
After mirroring this talent, Wei Yan immediately understood what to do, and with Zhuge Liang activating Xun Youi’s Spiritual Talent in the marching state, Wei Yan’s detachment directly entered a state of being overlooked by the Dingling people. Only after Wei Yan’s fierce attack did they take notice.
