69novels Chapter 922 A bloody battle, fighting and retreating!
Chapter 922 A bloody battle, fighting and retreating!
"Gao Yao! You thief! Where can you escape this time?" Xiang Yu's voice echoed like thunder across the empty plains, numbing his eardrums. He had been smoldering with rage for a long time. Ever since his meeting with Yi Xiaochuan and learning of Gao Yao's actions, especially his persecution of Xiaochuan and Yu Shu, Xiang Yu had vowed to rip this village to pieces. However, the pursuit proved far more difficult and frustrating than he had imagined.
Gao Yao, with only 20,000 infantrymen, despite being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, unexpectedly employed the tactic of "all is fair in war" to its fullest extent. He first set up a false front, sending out multiple small units under the banner of their main general to disperse in different directions. He then exploited the terrain, setting up fake camps in narrow areas and emitting smoke from cooking fires to create the illusion that the army was resting. He even sacrificed a rearguard unit, feigning the main force's capture, thus luring Xiang Yu and Yi Xiaochuan into splitting up their forces to pursue him, only to find them empty-handed.
On several occasions, Xiang Yu thought he had captured Gao Yao's main force and led his cavalry to charge forward, but what he waited for was only an empty camp or a small group of troops to lure the enemy. Gao Yao's real main force had already taken advantage of this precious time difference and quietly slipped away in a farther direction.
"When it's empty, it's real; when it's real, it's empty... Gao Yao, you really have this trick figured out." Yi Xiaochuan sighed inwardly, his face full of complexity. He was once a young man in modern society. He and Gao Yao traveled to this chaotic world together. They were brothers who shared weal and woe. However, the tricks of fate and the corruption of power had long since turned them into sworn enemies. Seeing Gao Yao now using all kinds of tricks just to escape, Yi Xiaochuan felt both wary of his methods and an indescribable sadness. He knew that Gao Yao's goal was very clear - Xianyang! As long as he escaped back to the sturdy imperial capital, with the city defenses and remaining forces, he would have a chance to breathe, and might even make a comeback.
Xiang Yu, a man of straightforward principles, could not tolerate such evasive tactics. Days of being toyed with felt like hitting cotton with all his might, his chest suffocating. To describe himself as "suffering terribly" was an understatement. While his cavalry were valiant, their fighting was exhausting, and their morale had suffered to a certain extent.
Finally, in this open area known as "Falling Horse Slope," Xiang Yu and Yi Xiaochuan, leveraging their cavalry's superior speed and superior judgment, successfully blocked Gao Yao's main force. After days of fleeing and splitting up, Gao Yao's infantry phalanx now numbered fewer than 15,000 men. With their backs to a shallow river, their formation remained relatively tight, yet each face bore signs of exhaustion and despair. Facing a cavalry force several times their size and imposing in its imposing manner, the outcome seemed predetermined.
But Gao Yao stood in front of the formation.
He wore neither the ornate official uniform nor the dark black armor of a Qin general. Beneath his helmet, his face was sinister and cold. He clutched a strangely shaped, gleaming sword in his hand—a weapon he had crafted by combining modern knowledge with Qin-era craftsmanship. It was far sharper than ordinary weapons of this era. His eyes, devoid of the fawning or sinister venom he had displayed in court, were replaced by a desperate madness and a chilling calm. He knew this was a battle of life and death, with no escape possible.
"Xiang Yu! Yi Xiaochuan!" Gao Yao's voice was sharp and high-pitched, piercing the murderous atmosphere of the battlefield. "Do you think you're sure to win? Today, even if I, Gao Yao, die in pieces, I will drag you down with me!"
"Arrogant!" Xiang Yu laughed in anger, pointing his tiger-headed dragon-shaped halberd forward. "Soldiers! Destroy the enemy formation and capture Gao Yao alive. You will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be granted the title of marquis!"
"kill--!"
Forty thousand cavalrymen launched simultaneously, like a flood bursting through a dam, like a dark cloud sweeping across the sky and earth. With the power to destroy everything, they launched an overwhelming charge towards Gao Yao's infantry phalanx. The earth trembled, and the air was torn apart by the sound of horse hooves.
Yi Xiaochuan also drew his sword, but he did not rush out immediately. Instead, he watched the battlefield nervously. He knew Gao Yao and knew that this man would never sit still and wait for death.
As expected, facing the cavalry's charge, Gao Yao's infantry remained undeterred. Banners waved within the formation, the front row's shieldmen pressed their massive shields firmly, and the spearmen thrust their several-foot-long spears through the gaps between their shields, forming a dense forest of spears. Simultaneously, the sound of mechanical mechanisms echoed from within the formation, and countless crossbow arrows shot into the sky like locusts, tracing a deadly parabola and landing among the charging cavalry.
This was the Southern Border Army's standard infantry-versus-cavalry tactic, but under Gao Yao's command, it proved remarkably tenacious and effective. The charging Chu cavalry were instantly thrown to the ground, their screams echoing. But the impact of the cavalry, especially the personal guards led by Xiang Yu himself, was too great. Like a red-hot knife cutting through butter, they instantly ripped through the infantry phalanx.
A bloody melee ensued. The cavalry, relying on their speed and impact, charged left and right through the infantry formations, their sabers brandishing in a shower of blood. The infantry, relying on tight formations and coordinated comrades, desperately resisted with spears, halberds, and swords. Often, several lives were sacrificed to defeat a single cavalryman. The battlefield instantly became a giant meat grinder, with lives being lost moment by moment. The river ran red, and the land was soaked.
Xiang Yu led the charge, his tiger-headed, coiled dragon halberd transforming into streaks of black lightning, easily shredding shields, armor, and even human bodies in his path. Like a god of war descending to earth, he charged straight for Gao Yao's central army. He had only one target—Gao Yao!
Gao Yao also saw Xiang Yu charging towards him. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, knowing that a head-on collision with Xiang Yu was inevitable. He sternly ordered his personal guards to hold off the pressure from other directions, while he himself, spurring his horse and brandishing his longsword, charged towards Xiang Yu!
"Xiang Yu! Die!"
The two main commanders finally faced off on this battlefield filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
This is a clash between top generals, and also a showdown between long-standing enemies!
"clang--!"
A deafening roar drowned out all the noise on the battlefield!
Xiang Yu's Panlong Halberd came crashing down with the force of a splitting mountain, while Gao Yao fiercely swung his sword to block. The halberd and sword clashed, sending out dazzling sparks. Gao Yao's entire body trembled violently, his knuckles bursting open, and blood instantly stained the hilt of his sword red. The warhorse beneath him let out a mournful whine, its hooves giving way, and it nearly collapsed to its knees.
The difference in strength was almost invisible! Xiang Yu was born with supernatural strength and was the bravest of the three armies. This halberd, released in anger, was enough to split mountains and crack rocks. Although Gao Yao had practiced martial arts over the years, his body had been immersed in power and tempered by the brink of life and death, making it far stronger than an ordinary person. With the help of the system, he was no less powerful than Xiang Yu. The collision between the two made it impossible for anyone to exist within a few feet.