Chapter 91: Little Man, Quite Domineering

TN: Northern Border -> Northern Frontier

“Ahhh! Argh!”

When the Divine Arm Crossbows fired, screams of misery immediately rang out from the Northern Naiman cavalry four hundred meters away.

The Naimans clad in iron armor were a minority after all; the vast majority wore only leather armor or even no armor at all.

Therefore, more than twenty Northern Naiman soldiers charging at the very front were shot directly off their horses.

“What?”

“How can the Liao people’s arrows shoot so far?”

The Northern Naiman general was greatly shocked.

But the order he received was to detour to the rear of the Liao army at all costs and ruthlessly stab Xiao Sima in the backside.

So, the casualties of a mere twenty or so soldiers could not shake his resolve at all.

“Charge! Continue charging for me! Whoever dares to fear battle, their whole family dies!”

The Northern Naiman cavalry continued to charge forward, but before they could rush out twenty meters, a second wave of crossbow bolts followed closely.

“Argh! Ahhh!”

Another burst of miserable screams; the leather armor on the soldiers’ bodies was pierced.

The formidable power of the Divine Arm Crossbow bolts penetrated their bodies directly.

Another dozen or so soldiers fell from their horses.

And next, what greeted these Naiman cavalrymen seemed to be an endless barrage of crossbow bolts.

When the soldiers in the third row fired their bolts, the soldiers in the first row had already loaded their bolts again.

After all the soldiers in the third row squatted down, upon Chen Laojiu’s command, the soldiers in the first row stood up and pulled the trigger.

Repeating in this cycle, the volley of Divine Arm Crossbow bolts seemed continuous, leaving the Naiman cavalry no chance to catch their breath.

A distance of merely four hundred or so meters, which usually required just one charge for the Naiman cavalry to cover in moments.

But today, this seemed to have become a road of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

At least more than two hundred Naiman cavalrymen died miserably on this bloody road. Even towards the end, even those Naiman soldiers wearing iron armor were not spared.

Such a tragic casualty ratio severely struck the morale of the Naimans.

So much so that the subsequent Naiman soldiers charging forward, seeing the corpses of their companions all along the way, only felt increasing panic in their hearts.

Their will to fight was completely worn away. Many soldiers could no longer even care about the deterrence of military orders and began to flee in panic in all directions.

And at this time, the cavalry unit under Li Xiao’s command was already ready, and certainly wouldn’t let go of the opportunity to beat a drowning dog.

Flanking the Divine Arm Crossbow hundred-man team stood one hundred heavy armored cavalry, like war beasts rushing out of mythology.

They were encased in heavy iron armor from head to toe. The sunlight spilling onto the armor surfaces reflected a chilling, dazzling cold light, like an indestructible steel barrier.

Each armor plate was closely linked, emitting crisp clashing sounds that intertwined with the heavy breathing of the warhorses, playing a prelude to death.

Standing at the very front was naturally Li Xiao, clad in Toadskin Armor. Wrapped entirely under the armor, only a pair of eyes full of chilling killing intent stared straight ahead.

He raised the horse lance in his hand and roared in a low voice: “Scatter them!”

“Kill—”

The cavalry army under Li Xiao’s command began its charge.

One hundred heavy armored cavalry were like a sharp spear, surging forward with an indomitable and majestic momentum.

Thousands of light cavalry followed closely behind like a tide. The sound of hoofbeats was like thunder as thousands of troops galloped across this grassland, shaking the earth until it trembled.

Facing this terrifying offensive that could topple mountains and overturn seas, the eyes of the Naiman cavalry opposite were already filled with horror and panic.

Li Xiao’s heavy armored cavalry crashed into the Naiman cavalry like a flood of steel. Spears thrust out mercilessly, instantly tearing open bloody wounds.

The light cavalry followed closely, wielding long sabers to harvest lives like cutting vegetables. The Naiman cavalry formation was like fragile ants, scattered into pieces one after another.

Blood splattered everywhere, and screams of misery were endless.

Moments later, the Naimans collapsed directly, and the remaining soldiers fled frantically.

Xiao Yanyan rode her fast horse to Li Xiao’s side and asked with concern, “You aren’t injured, are you?”

After all, Li Xiao had been charging at the very front line during the battle just now.

Li Xiao, wrapped in a heavy face mask, only revealed two eyes. looking at Xiao Yanyan, he said, “Look at my appearance—who could hurt me?”

Wearing Toadskin Armor, Li Xiao was wrapped up like a big iron ball.

The light cavalry Naimans couldn’t cause him any harm at all. The only thing that could stop Li Xiao was probably how long his stamina could last.

Moreover, Li Xiao, having just gone through a bloody battle, was emotionally agitated and had no mood to coax Xiao Yanyan at all.

Seeing the fresh blood on her leather armor, he knew she had just been killing enemies alongside the light cavalry, and he couldn’t help but feel irritable inside.

He said in a domineering voice, “You troublesome woman, I told you to stay honestly in the rear, why did you run over here again?”

After scolding her, Li Xiao glared fiercely at Xiao Yanyan’s guards and cursed, “Protect the Princess well.”

“If anything happens to her, not only will Lord Xiao skin you alive, but I, Li Xiao, won’t let you off either.”

After cursing at the guards, the adrenaline in Li Xiao’s body wasn’t so off the charts anymore.

He looked at Xiao Yanyan again and huffed, “I guess I’ve sold my life for your Xiao family today.”

“If you don’t repay me properly in the future, see if I spare you?”

After finishing, Li Xiao didn’t wait for Xiao Yanyan to reply and shouted directly to his heavy cavalry: “Change horses!”

“Follow me to stab Buyruq Khan in the backside.”

“Capture Buyruq Khan alive, and everyone will be heavily rewarded.”

“Yes, sir!”

Having just won a big victory, the soldiers’ adrenaline was also off the charts, and morale was high; they were howling.

Let alone capturing Buyruq Khan alive, even if they had to go thousands of miles to kill Yelü Zhilugu, the soldiers at this moment wouldn’t object.

Soon, Li Xiao and the others changed to fresh horses, and also prepared a spare one for the final sprint.

Before leaving, Li Xiao shouted to the Khitan guards: “Protect the Princess well.”

Then, he spurred his horse directly forward, waving his blood-stained horse lance, and chased back along the direction the Naimans had come from.

Watching Li Xiao’s back gradually receding, Xiao Yanyan held the reins, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly, and huffed lightly: “Little man, quite domineering.”

A smile slowly appeared on her face, and then she waved her horsewhip: “Hyah!”

“Princess…”

“Princess, it’s dangerous ahead, don’t go.”

“Yes, if any accident happens to you, the Prince will really skin us alive.”

But Xiao Yanyan disregarded everything, her beautiful eyes looking at the guards behind her with a fierce look: “Get lost.”

“My brother and Li Xiao are both fighting bloody battles ahead.”

“If they die, what meaning is there for me to live alone?”

“Might as well die together.”

“Hyah.”

As her voice fell, Xiao Yanyan whipped her warhorse, following Li Xiao’s army.

And these Khitan guards could only follow anxiously.

On the frontal battlefield, Buyruq Khan was commanding the great army, attacking Xiao Sima’s central army.

As Tayang Khan’s brother, the two brothers were similar in physique and appearance.

Buyruq Khan was even sturdier than Tayang Khan, like a big ball of meat riding on a horse.

Watching the troops of the Beihai tribes retreating in defeat in the distance, a smile of excitement appeared on Toqto Bolad’s face.

“Hahaha.”

“That person was indeed right; the Beihai tribes are all vulnerable.”

“They are not the opponents of my Naiman warriors at all.”

“Order Tuobahua not to care about those Beihai troops; focus on the Liao central army and attack with full force.”

“I want to see Xiao Sima kneeling before us begging for mercy.”

“Hahaha.”

Toqto Bolad laughed wildly.

The humiliation and anger he suffered when he went to Xiao Sima’s camp a few days ago were all swept away.

Having endured for so many days, now was the moment for him to take back all the dignity he had lost.

“Tell the boys, defeat the Liao people, and everyone will be heavily rewarded.”

In a great mood, Toqto Bolad began to promise big rewards.

But soon, the arrival of a piece of news was like a bolt from the blue, directly slapping him in the face.

“Report, Great Khan, the Liao army is charging from our flank.”

The moment he heard this, the smile on Toqto Bolad’s face instantly froze. His eyes widened round as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

He stood there dumbfounded, the smugness on his face instantly replaced by terror and anger.

Then he looked sharply at the scout and roared, “What is going on? How could they appear there!”

“Where is Baduhaba?”

This was the Naiman general he had sent to attack Xiao Sima’s rear.

Now there was no news of Baduhaba, yet the Liao army had reached his own backside.

“General Baduhaba is defeated.”

“The troops have already scattered.”

Hearing the scout’s words, Toqto Bolad almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

He hadn’t stabbed Xiao Sima in the backside; instead, his own situation had become precarious.

The main force of the Northern Naimans was attacking Xiao Sima’s central army from the front, and Baduhaba’s troops hadn’t returned.

Now, the number of soldiers around Toqto Bolad was not many.

“Block them!”

Toqto Bolad drew his scimitar and shouted angrily.

Once this Liao army charged through, the Naiman army fighting frontally with Xiao Sima’s central army would fall into a pincer attack from front and rear and would collapse very quickly.

At that time, the Northern Naimans would be finished.

Thus, Toqto Bolad ordered all remaining troops to intercept Li Xiao.

“Kill—”

In the distance, the great army led by Li Xiao came charging in. Wherever they went, dust and smoke rolled, and the earth shook and mountains swayed.

Their impact was unstoppable, as if they were going to crush the entire world.

Amidst the panic of the Naiman army, the terrifying heavy armored cavalry was like a sharp spear, directly tearing the Naiman defense line in front of them to shreds.

These Naiman soldiers were like fragile ants, scattered into pieces one after another.

Seeing this scene from the rear, Toqto Bolad’s face instantly turned pale, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

He gripped the reins tightly, veins popping out on the back of his hand, and roared loudly: “Hold steady for me! No retreating!”

But his voice was quickly drowned out by the shouts of killing on the battlefield; the soldiers couldn’t hear his orders at all.

The Naiman army collapsed.