Chapter 27: The Focus of the World (IX)
The most staggering sight was at the forefront of the formation!
Dozens of brawny men, divided into groups of four or five, were actually carrying, hoisting, and pushing over twenty massive, ignited tree trunks using thick ropes! These giant logs were as thick as a man’s embrace, their tips wrapped in thick, oil-soaked cloth, now roaring with flames that reached toward the heavens!
"Ram them!"
"Ram these Tatars to death!"
The militia roared, moving with heavy, deliberate steps as if wielding a battering ram. Under the cover of a small contingent of infantry swordsmen, they charged fearlessly into the Jin lines, which had just been scattered by the stampeding bulls and were still struggling to regroup in a state of shock!
"Hold them! Quickly, hold them back!" a Jin commander screamed in terror, trying to organize the soldiers around him to raise their shields.
It was too late!
The burning logs, bearing the power to raze cities and destroy lands, were propelled by the flesh and blood of dozens of men and slammed violently into the densest part of the Jin ranks!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
An indescribable sound of impact echoed out! The Jin soldiers holding shields bore the brunt of it; they and their shields were sent flying backward, their bones shattered to pieces! The heavy logs, carrying terrifying momentum and scorching heat, rolled and crushed their way through the crowd! The flames instantly ignited the leather robes and hair of the Jin soldiers!
Those grazed by the edges of the logs were either left with broken limbs or tossed aside like ragdolls. Those struck directly in the chest did not even have time to scream before their ribcages collapsed, and the mixture of blood and viscera erupting from their mouths formed a blood-mist in the air!
"Ah!"
The screams of the Jin soldiers reached a crescendo! The core area of the entire camp had completely collapsed! Formation? Command? Everything had vanished into thin air!
All that remained were burning tents, stampeding fire-oxen, rolling logs, Song soldiers hacking and slashing in a frenzy, and Jurchen soldiers engulfed in total chaos, fighting isolated battles, consumed by fear!
Inside the camp, Jiangu Wulibu, who had just been imposing his will and driving Sun Yi into a desperate corner, was stunned by this earth-shattering turn of events! Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at the center of that hellish chaos.
"Where are you looking!" A ferocious glint flared in Sun Yi's eyes! Taking advantage of the distraction, he summoned his last bit of inner energy, performed a desperate roll to dodge the mace, and simultaneously slashed his ring-pommel saber upward with deadly precision!
*Slash!*
The blade sliced precisely across the inner thigh of Jiangu Wulibu, where he lacked heavy armor protection! The wound was deep to the bone! Scalding blood gushed out like a fountain!
"Ugh, ah!!!"
Jiangu Wulibu let out a miserable howl, his massive frame crashing to his knees!
Sun Yi struggled to rise, intending to finish him off, but was pulled away by Lu Feng-Hu, who had rushed over from the side: "Hurry! Link up with the reinforcements!"
The scales of battle had completely tipped!
Wang Bin’s saber was already notched and dulled; he snatched up a long blade, leading from the front like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, hacking and killing through the crumbling Jin ranks! "Kill! Leave no one alive!"
The heavy infantry led by Yang Keshi flowed forward like a stream of iron, crushing the remaining Jin gathering points one by one! Zhang Zhiyuan’s divine-arm bowmen advanced, precisely picking off any Jin leaders attempting to organize resistance.
The militia and local guards were blinded by bloodlust! They moved in small groups, like a pack of rabid wolves, surrounding isolated or wounded Jin soldiers, raining down blows with hoes, pitchforks, and carrying poles!
A blood-covered Jin soldier had just struggled to crawl out from the ruins of a log-crushed area when, before he could even orient himself, a heavy hoe descended with a whistling sound, cracking his skull wide open!
*Crack!* Red and white matter sprayed out instantly!
Nearby, a Jin soldier with a broken leg waved his scimitar in a scream, only to have a sharpened iron rod plunged deep into his eye socket by a local guard! Elsewhere, several militiamen, with the help of the Shengjie Army, tackled a resisting Jin soldier to the ground, raining blows upon his head and face with their tools until the body stopped moving!
Flesh and blood flew everywhere! Severed limbs and broken arms were visible everywhere! The burning flames, flowing blood, lingering smoke, and the thick stench of carnage coalesced into a nauseating atmosphere!
The Jin’s vaunted elite, their strict organization, and their fierce fighting spirit had completely collapsed in the face of this sudden torrent of death—composed of the brutal charge of mad bulls, the destructive crushing of burning logs, and countless civilians fueled by deep-seated hatred!
They had turned from cruel hunters into prey being mercilessly hunted!
Yin Shuke, under the desperate protection of his personal guards, stared with bloodshot eyes at that stubborn Taiyuan battle flag fluttering in the sea of fire!
***
How could this chaotic rout trap a wolf like him, who had fought his way out of the White Mountains and Black Waters?
Back at Darugu City, facing the 700,000-strong army (actually over 200,000) of the Liao Emperor Yelü Yanxi, he, Yin Shuke, had been nothing more than a mere Mouke!
At that time, the Wanyan Jurchens had only two or three thousand able-bodied warriors; the rest were a mix of various Jurchen tribes and surrendered miscellaneous troops! With such a ragtag force of twenty thousand, the Great Ancestor Emperor Wanyan Aguda had led them—a group of "wild men from the forest" in the eyes of the Liao—to cut through the dense forest of spears and swords of the Liao Imperial Guard!
He would always remember Emperor Aguda standing on a high ridge, pointing at the loose Liao formation and saying, "This is easily broken." They had followed Zongxiong and Loushi, cutting back and forth through the Liao ranks like a dull knife.
He remembered the biting cold wind against his face, and the sticky sensation that traveled up his arm every time his heavy mace smashed into the flesh of a Liao soldier!
He, Yin Shuke, had once personally led the Iron Pagoda heavy cavalry, charging in and out seven times through the vast Liao formations!
Warhorses neighed, armor clanked, and his mace brought forth a storm of blood, carving paths of mangled flesh through what the Liao thought was an impenetrable formation!
The gut-wrenching wails of the Liao soldiers were still his most exhilarating battle song! What did this little chaos, these few fire-oxen, these burning logs, and these Southern barbarians with their hoes amount to?
"Great Jin Baturus (warriors)!"
Yin Shuke suddenly drew the scimitar at his waist and shouted in the Jurchen language, "Descendants of Abukai Enduri (the Heavenly God)! Let these Southerners see what an eagle is! What a fierce bear is! Follow me and charge!"
His voice contained a primal, savage power, forged from fighting wild beasts in the White Mountains and Black Waters.
He kicked his horse’s flanks, and the steed reared up! Accompanied by the remaining dozens of his personal guard, he smashed through the chaotic crowd, charging straight toward the outskirts of the battlefield to link up with the Guai-zi Ma (light cavalry) units.
"Wuliya—! Mandagala—!" (A Jurchen battle cry meaning "Heavenly God help me! Kill all enemies!")
"Shaman protect us! Tear them apart!"
The fanatical Jurchen war cries, like the long howls of a wolf pack, instantly drowned out the shouts of the Song army!
The originally chaotic and crumbling Jurchen soldiers had their fear replaced by fanatical fighting spirit! The Moukes and Puniens near their leaders were the first to respond, beating their own soldiers with the backs of their blades:
"Get up! Kill! Ule Enduri (God of Changbai Mountain) is watching us!"
"For the Great Jin!"
The scattered Jin soldiers among the ruined tents, in the bloody slush, and beside the burning wood began to gather like iron filings drawn to a magnet!
They discarded their broken shields and picked up scimitars, maces, battle-axes, or even burning sticks! Their eyes were blood-red, their throats emitted beast-like growls as they reformed into small, irregular yet murderous battle groups. They met the momentum of the Shengjie Army, holding their ground like immovable reefs!
"Loose arrows! Shoot them through!"
Yin Shuke pointed toward the rear flank of the Song army!
The Guai-zi Ma light cavalry, who had long since regrouped and were prowling the edges of the battlefield like ghosts, moved at his command! These sharpest fangs of the Jurchens had finally revealed their cold light once more.
Suddenly, hoofbeats sounded like thunder!
Hundreds of Guai-zi Ma divided into several groups, circling like hunting falcons, sweeping across the flanks of the Song formation at high speed! Man and horse as one, they displayed chilling skill upon their bouncing saddles! Their tough composite bows were drawn into full moons!
*Hum!*
A dense swarm of arrows, like locusts, poured into the flanks of the Song infantry! These arrows were fired at treacherous angles with immense power!
*Thwip, thwip, thwip!*
A Song soldier, just raising his spear to strike, felt a burst of blood explode from the back of his neck as the arrow tip pierced through his throat, carrying bone fragments with it! He stared wide-eyed and fell silently.
A group of militiamen gathered together to attack a lone Jin soldier with pitchforks was instantly enveloped by the arrow rain from the side! Several screamed and fell, their formation dissolving instantly!
"Shields! Raise shields!" desperate shouts erupted from the Song ranks.
The Song swordsmen in the rear scrambled to raise their shields, attempting to provide cover.
"High arc! Rain them down!" Yin Shuke’s cold voice rang out again.
The Guai-zi Ma obeyed, controlling their horses to lean sideways, their bowstrings vibrating once more! This time, the arrows were launched at a startlingly steep angle, passing over the shields of the front line and descending from the sky!
*Swish, swish, swish!*
The arrows pierced the skulls of the crossbowmen hiding behind shields, who were straining to crank their Divine Arm crossbows! Their bodies stiffened, and they collapsed limply onto their own weapons.
A militiaman clutched his face and screamed, an arrow shaft with a still-quivering fletching stuck between his fingers!
Precise! Efficient! Cold-blooded!
Every volley from the Guai-zi Ma reaped lives within the Song formation.
They never lingered; once a strike landed, they would turn their horses under the precise signaling of Yin Shuke’s flag, carving a fluid arc to avoid the sparse return fire from the Song army, only to launch another shower of arrows from a different, lethal angle!
Yin Shuke’s command was like the most precise musical instrument; every order caused these deadly light cavalry to play an even more harrowing death symphony on the battlefield!
The casualty count of the Song army soared visibly! The morale that had surged moments ago due to the fire-oxen and burning logs was doused like a basin of ice water; it began to waver, and fear crawled back onto the soldiers' faces.
The roar of "Kill the Jin dogs" became sparse and strained under the precise, deadly rain of arrows.
"Archers! Crossbowmen! Fire back!" Wang Bin’s eyes were bloodshot, and he roared hoarsely! He watched his own soldiers being mowed down in rows, his heart aching as if pierced by knives.
The surviving Song archers gritted their teeth and, under the desperate cover of the shield-bearers, moved to the front. The heavy clicking of Divine Arm crossbows and the creaking of bows being drawn sounded out.
"Fire!"
A volley of arrows was fired, barely reaching the high-speed Guai-zi Ma groups.
However, the Guai-zi Ma were too fast! Their leather armor and superb horsemanship meant most arrows missed, and even those that hit often failed to cause fatal wounds.
And once the Song archers exposed their positions, they immediately drew even denser, more precise retaliatory fire! Each volley resulted in several Song archers falling!
"Brothers of the Archery Club! Shoot those mounted Tatars!" a militia leader screamed in despair.
Several men from the civilian archery clubs, relying on their individual prowess, fought to shoot at the passing Guai-zi Ma.
One of them actually struck a Jin horse in the belly, and the steed collapsed with a mournful neigh.
But the next moment, several mace-tipped arrows whistled through the air, pinning the archer and two men beside him to the ground!
Yin Shuke saw the dawn of victory! A fierce glint flared in his eyes, and he issued the order: "Charge! Pierce through them! Kill!"
The Guai-zi Ma erupted with even more fanatical war cries! They were no longer satisfied with mounted archery from the periphery; the riders in the front row suddenly lowered their bows and drew their gleaming scimitars! The entire cavalry troop, like a clenched fist, moved under Yin Shuke’s precise command to carve a strange, wide arc, appearing as if they were about to strike the Song left flank!
Yang Keshi roared for the heavy infantry to form ranks and raise their spears!
Just as the two sides were about to collide violently!
The front-line Guai-zi Ma suddenly pulled their reins! The warhorses left deep hoofprints in the snow and let out painful neighs; the entire cavalry troop, with incredible agility and superb horsemanship, turned like a rushing river hitting a boulder, crashing and diverting to the right! They narrowly avoided the edge of the prepared heavy infantry!
"No! The right flank!" Wang Bin’s heart sank into an icy abyss!
These deadly light cavalry, like sharks smelling blood, lunged fiercely at the unprepared Song right flank, composed primarily of garrison troops and militia! Having just been washed over by a wave of arrows, their formation was scattered!
Kill!
Scimitars slashed! Hooves trampled!
The fragile defensive line was instantly torn open by countless bloody gashes! Severed limbs flew into the air, and screams shook the heavens and earth!
Slaughter! This was a one-sided slaughter! The Guai-zi Ma cut through the formation like a red-hot knife through congealed butter, plowing alleys of flesh and blood through the crowd! Where they passed, they left only a mess of corpses and spraying mists of blood!