Chapter 385
Chapter 385 – Battle of Xiapi – Part 5
The rain of arrows crippled Yan Liang"s footmen . Two thousand men behind the s.h.i.+eld bearers were killed by the volley while 300 s.h.i.+eldsmen succ.u.mbed to the raining projectiles .
Han Dang gathered two battalions to form a 2,000-man infantry army . They took out swords and s.h.i.+elds, getting ready for melee combat .
Yan Liang"s remaining 6,600 men, injured or well-conditioned, rushed at the defensive array of 2,000 Han Dang"s swordsmen .
*BOOM*
Han Dang"s swordsmen clashed at against 2,500 s.h.i.+eld-bearers on the front . They used their s.h.i.+elds to bash against plank s.h.i.+elds, pus.h.i.+ng back the front soldiers .
Yan Liang"s soldiers planted on the ground to stop Han Dang Army"s advance . Afterward, they took out their short swords to fend off the attackers .
At the back lines of Han Dang"s side, the remaining 8,000 soldiers separated into four groups, 2,000 each . Two of the newly formed battalions rushed to the flanks of Han Dang Army, which they ran into the remaining two forces of Yan Liang"s footmen .
The 4,100 footmen who survived the arrow rain also divided into two armies . Each covered the flanks of the s.h.i.+eld bearers .
Again, Yan Liang"s flanking armies collided into Han Dang"s wing troops .
The number of the fighting personals were similar, but Han Dang had the advantage since he had 4,000 more men acting as archers .
The archer commanders pinpointed at the backlines of melee enemies, and the remaining 4,000 men pointed their crossbows at the enemies .
The second volley flew to the air and rained at the center s.h.i.+eld bearers, killing another half of their army . However, the arrows also killed friendly soldiers in the process as the forces were still entangled against each other .
Han Dang screamed, "Stop shooting! You"re killing your allies!"
The archers stopped firing and pulled out their spears, getting ready to reinforce the frontline instead of using their crossbows .
However, Yan Liang moved from their left flank and appeared behind his combating soldiers at the center, behind the s.h.i.+eld bearers .
3,700 Heavy cavalries formed a wedge formation behind Yan Liang .
"Breakthrough the center! Crush them!"
The charge from Yan Liang caught Han Dang off-guard .
"Reserve troops! Form spear walls and support the center!"
The command came late . Armored riders had already charged forward, which ran over their ally s.h.i.+eldsmen from the back and crushed the s.h.i.+eld and sword fighters at the center .
Han Dang was commanding his soldiers on a horse . He pulled back to his left flank, getting away from the slaughter .
3,500 Riders brokethrough the chaos at the center and reached the 4,000 reserved troops .
Before they could reach the unprepared spearmen, Huang Gai led his 1,000 light riders to Yan Liang"s right flank .
As if he was a linebacker who had marked the opposing running back in a football game, Huang Gai had been maneuvering his hors.e.m.e.n, following after Yan Liang"s movement behind their frontline .
Now, it was his time to ambush Yan Liang .
"GOTCHA, YOU LITTLE b.i.t.c.h!!"
Huang Gai roared as he interrupted Yan Liang"s charge .
The collision between horses sent 500 riders from both sides flying .
Also, Huang Gai found Yan Liang, who had turned around to protect his men .
*BOOM*
A halberd from Yan Lang and a halberd from Huang Gai clashed once more . The second duel between these two giants sent shockwaves and caused loud noise throughout the battlefield .
Thanked the sudden interruption, the 4,000 spearmen managed to complete their array before the remaining armored hors.e.m.e.n could reach them .
Spearwalls worked against the chargers this time as the riders failed to break their formation . All horses fell to the spears and threw off their pa.s.sengers .
Another one thousands of spearmen paid the price with their lives to stop the charge, but Yan Liang"s private soldiers were obliterated in ten minutes afterward .
Yan Liang and Huang Gai were still entangling in their duel when the cavalry battle concluded .
Seeing that he had lost, Yan Liang attempted to retreat .
"HAHAHA! YOU"RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, b.i.t.c.h!!"
Huang Gai laughed and chased after Yan Liang . Meanwhile, Han Dang also blocked Yan Liang"s escape path .
Noticing the obstacle, Yan Liang yelled at Han Dang, "GET LOST!"
*CLANG*
Han Dang blocked Yan Liang"s strike and delayed his horse . His objective had been successful .
Looking behind Yan Liang and seeing the chasing Huang Gai, Han Dang sneered .
"It"s over, moron . You"re dead . "
"YOU"RE THE DEAD ONE!! DIE!!"
Yan Liang slashed at Han Dang five times in succession within two seconds, which Han Dang blocked them all with difficulty .
Then
*SWUA*
Huang Gai caught up with Yan Liang and slashed his back, severing his body in half and ending the life of this great general .
"I told you . You"re not going anywhere . "
Han Dang stabbed Yan Liang"s fallen body with his halberd . Upon confirming that the general was dead, he shouted .
"GENERAL HUANG GAI HAS SLAIN THE ENEMY GENERAL!!"
The nearest soldiers from Han Dang and Huang Gai platoons also celebrated .
"GENERAL HUANG GAI HAS SLAIN THE ENEMY GENERAL!!"
"GENERAL HUANG GAI HAS SLAIN THE ENEMY GENERAL!!"
This piece of news spread across the southern front in a minute . Yan Liang"s soldiers who were still fighting looked at the commotion in shock and despair, while the quick thinkers ran away toward the city, retreating and trying to regroup with their allies .
On the other hand, exhausted ones could not run anymore . They pleaded their enemies, "Don"t kill us! We surrender!!"
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The battle at the south wall resolved with Huang Gai and Han Dang destroyed Yan Liang"s forces . Most of Xiapi southern garrison forces were eliminated, but Huang Gai"s side also suffered a heavy casualty .
From 15,000 men at the start of the day, 6,500 men survived the combat . Also, 5,000 of the men were injured .
Han Dang wanted to order his men to storm the city right away . Unfortunately, Yuan Shao had borrowed 10,000 soldiers from the other walls to protect the southern wall, and they had already completed their defense formation inside the city .
They lost their chance to breach the city today .
Huang Gai patted Han Dang"s shoulder .
"It"s alright . We did well today . "
"Ah . "
"A pity, though . I wish we have more ammo for the scatter shots . "
Huang Gai mentioned about the cannons, which could have potentially killed more soldiers than just a few hundred men today . Had they possessed more sh.e.l.ls than the current DIY ones, the battle result today would have been different .
"Say, can we steal one of these so our men can research on it?"
Han Dang looked at Xiapi city wall, "Yuan Shao had several cannons on the wall . I think it"s better to steal those . Cao Cao"s men should have recorded these toys, so we probably can"t just move it to our private army . "
"Right . Let"s steal Yuan Shao"s cannons after this . "
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At the north wall, Pu Jing took it easy by only using his souls to kill the defenders . Although it was exhausting him mentally, he could save his men"s lives .
For an entire day, the two souls slaughtered 10,000 soldiers on the top of the wall, sinking their morale to the bottom .
However, the moment he killed the 10,000th soldier, Lilim sent a few messages warned him .
for visiting .
"And also heard that you have a powerful subordinate that can put a dent on the giant east gates?"
"Yes . He is my bodyguard, my lord . "
"Good . Miao Cai, from now on, you"ll be the grand commander of my army . "
Xiahou Yuan widened his eyes in shock . He glanced at Guo Jia next to him and found that the strategist was grinning at him .
Guo Jia whispered to the surprised general, "Everything has gone according to our plan, Sir Xiahou . "