NOVPUBJuo Yi truly had no other choice. His vanguard, though wielding knives and equipped with small round shields, was fundamentally heavy crossbowmen at heart, a type of soldier whose crossbow arrows had such devastating power that they could break enemy formations and cut down foes with ease.
Even though Hua Xiong’s Xiliang Iron Cavalry was not well-outfitted, the riders of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were top-tier elites, much like the extreme speed innate to the White Horse Righteous Followers, the dash of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry lay in their formidable defense.
In other words, a naked Xiliang Iron Cavalry armed with just a knife was essentially no different from an average cavalryman donning leather armor. Moreover, Mount Tai was by no means destitute at the moment, and all of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were uniformly clad in leather armor, with critical areas reinforced with iron plates. In terms of counterbalancing troop types, the vanguard didn’t have much of an advantage to begin with.
One could say that if the vanguard hadn’t proved so effective and if the surge in their attacks after unlocking the Military Spirit hadn’t been so significant, and since the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were not as elite as the Vanguard Death Soldiers, this battle would not have been so easy for Juo Yi, even if he could still win.
"I was careless. Next time, no matter the situation, I’ll activate Military Spirit right away. This kind of loss is too heavy," Juo Yi lamented, eyeing Hua Xiong’s infantry as they steadily withdrew. He then glanced at his own Vanguard Death Soldiers, realizing the enemy’s troop types were too varied to be countered by a single type.
"Send word to General Yann. Tell him not to pursue," Juo Yi quickly ordered his subordinates to notify Yann Liang not to act rashly, seeing that Yann Liang was eager to lead a charge. After all, under Hua Xiong’s command, there were still around four thousand troops capable of fighting. Moreover, by observing the enemy’s calm and orderly retreat, Juo Yi knew they had not lost their combat power.
By the time Yann Liang received Juo Yi’s orders, he could almost see the fuzz on Du Yuan’s face. However, respecting Juo Yi’s firm command, he ultimately pulled back and then scattered his forces to gather the routed soldiers.
When Yann Liang returned, Juo Yi was already seated in the main chair, contemplating whether or not to incorporate other troop types into the vanguard on top of their current level. After his battle with Hua Xiong, Juo Yi had come to a full understanding of the words Li Ru once said back in Xiliang.
"Synergy between troop types can prevent the issue of single troop types being countered. Of course, if you develop a single troop type to its limit, the question of being countered is irrelevant," Juo Yi silently pondered the words Li Ru once said.
Then, due to limitations in time, manpower, and resources, Li Ru didn’t have the luxury to focus on troop synergies; the more diverse the troops, the more challenging the coordination, but also the greater the potential combat power. However, without enough time to devote to military administration, Li Ru could only opt for the simplest approach.
That is the inflexible, dogmatic attack strategy of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry: an assault with everyone charging in a Spearhead Formation, interweaving and circling to the rear when there’s no weak point, and thrusting with javelins during the trampling before mindlessly pressing on to crush the enemy with brute force.
In short, Li Ru had taught them that—a uniform attack pattern of such nature meant that concerns about being countered become irrelevant. If an army were to field ten thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry against the fully organized Qiang Cavalry, they would still crush the opposition despite the counters, sometimes mindless aggression can indeed be terrifying.
"Thud!" Yann Liang’s fist came crashing down on the table, jolting Juo Yi out of his reverie.
"You’re back, how did it go?" Juo Yi, startled, was about to burst out scolding but, upon seeing the grim expression on Yann Liang’s face, he sighed and spoke, knowing it was tough for Yann Liang.
"The routed soldiers have been gathered, but my forces suffered nearly a third in casualties!" Yann Liang said, his face clouded with gloom. "Adding the wounded and the missing, less than half of my ten thousand infantry and cavalry remain."
"Not bad, if I had arrived later today, you would have witnessed the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, which compared to the White Horse Righteous Followers that prioritize archery with close-combat as auxiliary, would absolutely subvert your worldview," Juo Yi waved his hand and said. Had he arrived a quarter-hour later, and had 2,500 Xiliang Iron Cavalry entered the battlefield, the outcome would definitely have been decided, and Yann Liang certainly couldn’t have withstood this annihilating kill!
"Frustrating, why didn’t you chase after and kill Hua Xiong?" Yann Liang said discontentedly, as in his mind, Juo Yi should have charged forth to kill Hua Xiong.
"If I had gone, even if I had won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory. Hua Xiong’s soldiers may not yet possess a ’Military Spirit,’ but their military discipline is strict, and their combat will is almost on par with the Vanguards, and in terms of military discipline alone, he’s even better than me," Juo Yi waved his hands and explained.
Yann Liang was at a loss for words; was this an implication that it was only natural for him to lose to Hua Xiong?
"My Vanguards also suffered a thirty-percent loss; the Xiliang Iron Cavalry are too troublesome," Juo Yi said with a wry smile, "Heavy crossbows are indeed insufficient against such troops. If it had been the White Horse Righteous Followers, with today’s attack, even five or six thousand White Horse soldiers would have perished."
"..." Yann Liang opened his mouth, hearing this for the first time.
"Forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you," Juo Yi waved his hand and said.
"I think we should still retreat our battle line a bit, especially since your Vanguards have already taken a thirty-percent loss. If we encounter the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry now, we’d really be in trouble," Yann Liang said, not minding Juo Yi’s teasing tone but instead speaking with a wary expression.
The reason Yann Liang had dared to venture so deeply into Yanzhou was precisely because of the support of Juo Yi’s Vanguard Death Squad—a myth of invincibility, and the legend of three thousand defeating the White Horse had emboldened Yann Liang to ride freely through Yanzhou. Yet, just now, he realized that Juo Yi’s Vanguard Death Squad was not invincible after all.
"I know what you’re thinking," Juo Yi waved his hand and said, "This is just an accident. Elite troops do not equate to invincibility. There’s an inherent rock-paper-scissors aspect to this, it’s just not usually visible. However, my Vanguards happen to counter the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, so you can rest easy."
"And what about Hua Zijian?" Yann Liang let out a sigh of relief but then remembered Hua Xiong.
"If you weren’t there, and both his and my troops were complete, it would be evenly matched; winning would still equate to a pyrrhic victory," Juo Yi said earnestly. His Vanguards had only clashed with Hua Xiong’s cavalry to see a brief measure of strength, while Hua Xiong’s infantry, with only half of Yann Liang’s numbers, were pressing and even surrounding Yann Liang in battle. This was no longer the level of ordinary elite soldiers.
"How is that possible?" Yann Liang nearly jumped up.
"Not only is it possible, but this is also under circumstances where Hua Zijian hasn’t unleashed the ’Military Spirit.’ I strongly suspect that Hua Xiong’s legion possesses a ’Military Spirit.’ The fight was tough, and their manipulation of the ’Cloud Qi’ towards the end was clearly abnormal," Juo Yi glanced sideways at Yann Liang and said. However, he too was just suspecting, after all, Hua Xiong hadn’t used the ’Military Spirit,’ and one would expect that such trump cards would have been revealed by then.
[It’s probably because they don’t have enough ’Military Spirit’ to deploy, or maybe it’s just awakened.] Juo Yi thought somewhat uncertainly, considering that everything about Hua Xiong’s entire legion seemed a bit off, its quality in every aspect not inferior to the Vanguards, yet it didn’t display the Vanguards’ impressive collective combat power. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
