218: Chapter 218 An Unexpected Horse Trap

On the Gobi Desert, a dense mass of cavalry was charging, constantly accelerating.

"Awoo, awoo..."

The knights on the backs of those black horses unsheathed their scimitars, waving them continuously in the air and letting out wild, ferocious roars with savage expressions.

"Warriors, charge! Break their will to resist! Let their men become our slaves, and their women and livestock our spoils of war!"

The fleshy-faced Right Great Danghu roared loudly, boosting his side's morale.

"Awoo, awoo..."

These cavalrymen were truly like vicious wolves, charging ferociously toward the heights where the Qinglan Tribe was located.

"Assemble! Assemble! Assemble!"

Qing Ying ordered the troops to gather and prepare for battle.

But the Right Great Danghu had already eliminated the scouts sent by the Qinglan Tribe, intending to catch them completely off guard.

The cavalry from the Liefeng Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, Lingyu Tribe, and Qinglan Tribe gathered in haste, and the scene was a chaotic mess.

More numbers are not always better.

The more people there are, the higher the difficulty of coordination.

At the same time, facing the combined attack of the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King, who were far stronger than them, they themselves felt they couldn't win, causing their combat effectiveness to plummet.

"A motley crew!"

The White Sheep King looked on with a face full of disdain.

"Right Great Danghu, it seems we will soon achieve victory!"

"Indeed!"

The Right Great Danghu deeply agreed.

He puffed out his chest high, just like a proud rooster.

"Right Great Danghu."

The White Sheep King waved the horse whip in his hand, pointing directly toward the Qinglan Tribe's pastures and said, "I see that by tonight, we can be eating the Qinglan Tribe's cattle and sheep and sleeping with their women on their own pastures!"

The Right Great Danghu licked his lips and said in a greedy tone, "Not just the women of the Qinglan Tribe, but also those of the Liefeng Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, Lingyu Tribe, and Tuan Tribe!"

"Especially Jin Xishan, the daughter of the Tuan Tribe's leader."

"This woman is more beautiful than those of the Central Plains. If we capture her alive and present her to Modu Chanyu, we will surely receive his favor and be more highly regarded by him."

"Is that so!"

The White Sheep King asked curiously, "Is this woman truly so extraordinary?"

"Indeed!"

The Right Great Danghu said, "If the White Sheep King doesn't believe it, you'll know once we capture Jin Xishan."

"Good."

The White Sheep King nodded.

Currently, he was only a Lesser King General.

If there really was such a beauty and he presented her to Modu Chanyu...

If he could gain Modu Chanyu's favor and be allowed to annex more tribes...

Then he could be promoted from a Lesser King General to a Great King General!

The White Sheep King's eyes were filled with longing for a bright future.

On the Qinglan Tribe's pastures, Qing Ying with difficulty gathered ten thousand cavalrymen.

Seeing the panicked expressions on the knights' faces,

He carried out pre-battle mobilization, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Warriors! Our women and children are right behind us. If we don't want our women taken and our children enslaved, we must repel the enemy!"

"Warriors, do you have confidence?"

Confidence?

The cavalrymen of the Liefeng Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, Lingyu Tribe, and Qinglan Tribe looked at each other.

What Qing Ying said was true. If they didn't repel the enemy, their women would be snatched away and their children would become slaves.

But seeing that dense mass of cavalry charging toward them like an all-encompassing sandstorm, their momentum overwhelming, their hearts quailed.

The enemy's forces were more than double theirs, and they had the support of Modu Chanyu.

This battle was over before it had even begun.

All that sustained their will to fight was the indignation in their hearts.

As Qing Ying looked at the morale of the cavalry, his heart sank to rock bottom.

With morale like this, once they collided with the cavalry of the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King, they would likely collapse instantly and be taken prisoner.

"Wait!"

Just as Qing Ying was about to lead his troops into a decisive battle against the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King, he was stopped by Tian Ju.

"What is it?"

Qing Ying asked Tian Ju with an unfriendly expression.

"Look."

Tian Ju said calmly.

"Hmm?"

The leaders all showed puzzled expressions.

Following Tian Ju's gaze, they saw the lead horses of the Right Great Danghu's forces suddenly dip, and the riders on their backs tumble forward.

Due to inertia, the cavalrymen rolled repeatedly on the ground.

"Neigh!"

The mournful cries of horses rang out.

More and more horses' front hooves dipped, and the riders fell from their mounts.

As soon as they hit the ground, they were trampled by the horses charging from behind.

"Pfft!"

They spat out mouthfuls of blood.

"Horse Trap Pits!"

Neither the Right Great Danghu nor the White Sheep King was laughing anymore.

Their expressions became incredibly grim.

The White Sheep King's expression was the most unsightly of all.

He never expected that attacking a tiny tribe like Qinglan would involve Horse Trap Pits!

Horse Trap Pits were a type of military defense facility invented in the Central Plains, used to obstruct and delay the movement of enemy cavalry.

Horse Trap Pits were generally deep pits dug into the ground, mostly square or circular, usually about 1 to 3 meters deep, with sharp stakes or other obstacles placed at the bottom.

The size of the pit depended on actual needs, generally large enough to trap a horse.

To increase concealment, the mouth of the pit was usually camouflaged with branches, weeds, and loose soil, making it look no different from the surrounding ground.

When enemy cavalry moved quickly, it was difficult to detect the camouflaged Horse Trap Pits. Once a horse stepped in, it would fall, resulting in broken legs for the horse and causing the horse to collapse, thus stripping the rider of combat effectiveness. It also blocked the advance of subsequent cavalry, creating favorable battle conditions for one's own army.

The mindset of the steppe people was to utilize the speed of their horses as much as possible, using scimitars to hack at the enemy.

This kind of Horse Trap Pit could only have been made by people from the Central Plains.

"Could it be that there are Central Plains people in the Qinglan Tribe?"

The White Sheep King said, "If there are Central Plains people in the Qinglan Tribe, they should be starting to attack with bows and arrows now."

As if to verify his words, two thousand cavalrymen suddenly charged down from the heights. Armed with bows, they fired continuously, and many cavalrymen who had just scrambled up from the ground were shot and killed by arrows.

"Avoid the Horse Trap Pits!"

The White Sheep King was clearly experienced in dealing with Horse Trap Pits and dispatched riders to notify the frontline cavalry units.

A large number of cavalry units split up, bypassing the Horse Trap Pits and charging toward the heights.

"Not good!"

"They're charging again!"

The people on the heights panicked once more.