The Demon Lords-Chapter 716 - 151 Despair_2

As the saying goes, the best-laid plans can be upended by a single change. General Zheng's divine assist from far away at Snow Sea Pass, like a butterfly flapping its wings to cause a tidal wave, had perfectly played into Lord Jingnan's arrangements at Wang River, making the unfolding situation incredibly advantageous for him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Still the same Pixiu, still the same gilded armor, still the same frost-cold Kunwu knife, and still the same man charging at the very head of the grand army. Behind him were the two most elite and battle-hardened iron cavalry units in all of Yan.

A head-on charge, a direct and honorable battle—for the Yan Army, this was their inherent advantage! The Yan people possessed this confidence, and the Yan cavalry, this faith!

General Zheng had always admired Lord Jingnan for charging ahead, the focus of thousands of eyes. This scene was likely a dream most men had cherished in their youth. However, not every commander was Tian Wujing. Tian Wujing dared to do so because he was a formidable warrior capable of defeating the Sword Saint in single combat. If all commanders were to emulate Tian Wujing, and a commander was cut down from his horse in a direct charge, it would be an entirely different story.

At this point, more than 80,000 cavalry, under the command of Lord Jingnan, began to gallop eastward. Everyone's riding speed was maintained at the same rate. Rather than heading to the battlefield, it seemed more like a warm-up. A powerful army is typically boisterous before battle, while a truly fearsome one remains incredibly calm, much like the great army behind Tian Wujing.

As the figures of the wild people's army grew clearer, Lord Jingnan's blade began to fall.

The Kunwu blade swung north, and a ten-thousand-strong cavalry unit on the far left detached from the main army, accelerating north for a flanking maneuver. The Kunwu blade swung south, and similarly, a ten-thousand-strong cavalry unit on the far right broke away, speeding south to flank. With every fall of the Kunwu, a ten-thousand-strong cavalry unit would detach from the main force and move towards its designated primary attack direction.

When Zheng Fan, then a military novice, had followed Li Fusheng south to the Qian State and encountered a Qian army, Li Fusheng himself had grabbed a horse lance and joined the Assault Battalion to have some fun, paying no mind to commanding the troops. This was because he led the North Border Army, a formidable force capable of pursuing and fighting the Barbarians in the desert. Every high-ranking officer under him, from generals to senior staff, knew what to do and where to position themselves once a battle commenced. Most importantly, they did not fear death. It wasn't that every man faced death with serene indifference, but they all understood a crucial principle: on the battlefield, there were times when one had to make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good!

In fact, a primary reason for the Desert Barbarians' decline was the near annihilation of the Golden Family and its direct lineage during the Barbarian King's western expedition. This catastrophe left the subsequent Desert Barbarians in a leaderless state of disarray. The Barbarians had not become inept at warfare, nor had their skills in horsemanship and archery declined; otherwise, General Zheng would not have been so keen on recruiting Barbarian soldiers for his own forces. Their fundamental problem was the loss of collective cohesion. Even when they formed alliances, they often harbored their own agendas, much like the newly resurgent wild people.

This was why the House of the Earl of North Border had been able to suppress the Barbarians for a century. For generations, the Earls of North Border were the absolute masters of Beifeng Prefecture. Even successive Yan Emperors found it difficult to interfere directly. In fact, it had become a tradition for each generation of Emperors to send a prince to grow up alongside the next Earl of North Border, fostering a strong relationship. Consequently, the three hundred thousand soldiers of the North Border Army, though divided into six commands, always perceived themselves as a unified military bloc, a true feudal military governorship. Of course, this system had its drawbacks. For instance, during the feigned conflict between the Yan Emperor and the Earl of North Border, the North Border Army genuinely considered marching on Yanjing to enthrone their own Lord.

The main body of the army was progressively detaching units. The more than 80,000 iron cavalry, while accelerating, split into nine separate columns.

Which was the central army? It no longer mattered.

Which was the main attack? There was no need to distinguish. Every column was a main force; every column was a primary assault.

When General Zheng was still a military novice, his understanding of cavalry warfare was limited to the dramatic scenes in movies and television series: both sides' cavalry would deploy, the camera would pull back for a wide shot, and then the charge would begin. Later, General Zheng came to understand that such depictions were merely for spectacular visuals. In reality, no cavalry commander in their right mind would command their forces in such a manner. Moreover, with the limited space of a battlefield, if everyone charged forward indiscriminately like a swarm, it would easily lead to the farcical scenario where the front lines became congested with fighting, while a large contingent at the rear, unable to advance, could only watch helplessly.

Dividing his cavalry into nine columns was like unleashing nine incredibly sharp steel blades. The objective was to slice through and dismantle the wild people's main force from multiple directions.

The art of war requires both the commander and the soldiers to execute it together. An outstanding commander, paired with the most elite cavalry, could forge a truly terrifying combat power!

Here, one was Yan's widely acknowledged god of war. The others were Yan's two most elite iron cavalry forces. At this moment, their morale and spirit had surged to their zenith. They bared their fangs at the wild people before them!

Li Fusheng bellowed, "The Will of the Assault Battalion!"

The ten thousand cavalry behind him roared in unison, "No surrender, only death!"

...

The wild people's great army crossed the river very smoothly.