Ch.62Plains Battle (3)

Zhao Yunchang was leading his soldiers toward Luzhou.

Although the soldiers were very tired, he knew that if they rested here, the same discord as before would surely arise.

So he continued encouraging his soldiers as they headed toward Luzhou.

Suddenly, from far away, a Western Xia cavalryman approached Zhao Yunchang urgently, kicking up dust.

The messenger was in such a hurry that as soon as he dismounted, he bowed to Zhao Yunchang and began reporting.

“Your Excellency! Big… big trouble. Tens of thousands of Mongol cavalry are charging toward us!”

“Mongol cavalry, you say? Are you absolutely certain about what you saw?”

“Y-yes, sir. They will raid this place soon!”

At the messenger’s words, Zhao Yunchang felt in his bones that there wasn’t even time to verify whether this information was true.

He turned his head and quickly began surveying the surroundings.

Despite the urgent situation, Zhao Yunchang could calmly assess the terrain.

It was a plain, but there were scattered hills.

Zhao Yunchang drew his sword and shouted loudly.

“Everyone head for the hills! Move quickly to the hills before the enemy arrives!”

Facing cavalry on open plains would be foolish.

Well aware of this, Zhao Yunchang ordered his soldiers to move to the hills.

The startled soldiers began hurrying toward the hills.

“Lieutenant.”

“At your command, Your Excellency.”

“Deploy the Iron Hawks immediately to block the Mongol cavalry.”

Western Xia operated a military unit known in Central Plains language as Scorpion Cavalry.

They wore armor that bound rider and horse together so that even if the rider died, the horse would continue moving, lowering enemy morale.

Even apart from this special effect, they wore iron wire armor that gave them superior defense compared to light cavalry.

This made them suitable for facing the approaching Mongol cavalry.

“Engage the enemy with the Iron Hawks, but avoid a full-scale battle. That will buy time for our troops to reach the hills.”

“I receive your command.”

The lieutenant who received Zhao Yunchang’s order mounted his horse.

Then he began leading the Iron Hawk unit toward the Mongol forces.

“All troops! Move quickly!”

Despite Zhao Yunchang’s urging, the soldiers’ movements remained sluggish.

This was not only because they hadn’t rested for a long time, but also because they were suffering from severe thirst.

Moreover, it was now the time of day when the scorching sun beat down.

This made it difficult for soldiers wearing heavy armor to move properly.

The problem was that they couldn’t distribute water from the supply wagons with the enemy approaching.

While that would solve their immediate thirst, it would temporarily loosen military discipline, making it difficult to respond to a sudden enemy attack.

Therefore, they needed to move to the hills first before distributing water.

Zhao Yunchang understood this well.

To encourage the sluggish soldiers, he shouted in a loud voice.

“The first to reach the hill will be the first to receive water, and the most of it!”

At Zhao Yunchang’s shout, the soldiers’ eyes began to change.

This was because they could immediately quench their thirst if they reached the top.

And they would get the most water to their heart’s content.

This also implied that the last person might not get any water at all.

Realizing this, the Western Xia soldiers began climbing the hill with fire in their eyes.

As the soldiers began climbing the hill more quickly, Zhao Yunchang breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he turned his head to look in the direction the Iron Hawks had gone.

“Now it’s a race against time.”

If the Mongol cavalry arrived before the soldiers reached the hill, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

The outcome of this battle would depend on how long the Iron Hawks could hold out.

* * *

“Great Khan! Enemy cavalry is approaching from that direction!”

At Bulqa Khan’s shout, I looked where he was pointing.

Just as he said, strange-looking iron cavalry wearing chain mail armor were approaching.

Judging by how the horse and rider were bound together with armor, these must be the Scorpion Cavalry, the Iron Hawks.

They had superior defense compared to the Ulus cavalry with their layered leather armor.

Generally, it was best to avoid direct confrontation with such troops.

Chain mail armor was also excellent at blocking arrow attacks.

This made it difficult to use the Ulus’s main tactic of feigned retreat.

In other words, to face them, we would have to engage in close combat between cavalry, even if it meant taking casualties.

Thinking this, I instructed the soldiers to take up their flails.

The soldiers drew the morning stars that had been hanging from their saddles.

I was about to order Munglig to face them.

At that moment, Bekhter, who was on my left, gave me a look.

The meaning of that look was clear to anyone.

He wanted me to entrust this task to him.

“Bekhter!”

“Command me! Great Khan!”

“I entrust you with the vanguard.”

“I will live up to your expectations.”

Since they were on galloping horses, Bekhter briefly showed his respect to me.

I acknowledged my son’s gesture with my hand and gave additional orders to Munglig and Bulqa.

“Bulqa and Munglig. Assist Bekhter.”

“We receive your command.”

“I will follow the Khan’s orders.”

Bekhter, Bulqa, and Munglig, who had received the orders, gradually increased their speed.

The soldiers following them also began to speed up.

At the head of the unit was Bekhter, brandishing his morning star and glaring at the enemy.

“Follow me! Spirits of the steppe! The call of heaven howls through my body!”

At Bekhter’s cry, Munglig and Bulqa also responded to his words.

“Follow Bekhter! Spirits of the steppe! The call of heaven dwells in Bekhter’s body!”

“Our ancestors are watching over us. Do not fear death. It is time for the great steppe to howl!”

The soldiers also responded.

“For Bekhter!”

“For the warriors of the steppe!”

“Heaven and earth look down upon us!”

When morale had reached its peak, Bekhter straightened his body.

Then, revealing his large frame like a bear on the hunt, he roared loudly.

“Uaaaaargh!”

With Bekhter’s cry, the flail in his hand flew toward the enemy.

* * *

A mounted close combat battle began on the eastern plains.

In the confrontation between the light Mongol cavalry and the iron Iron Hawks, it was the Mongol cavalry that launched the first attack.

“Ha! Ragged peasants who just feed horses dare to covet Western Xia! Iron Hawks! Show these enemies the power of iron-clad cavalry!”

Light cavalry was fast and skilled at rear attacks but lacked defense.

For this reason, they often lost when fighting against iron-clad cavalry.

This was why Mongolia had shown weakness against the Jin Dynasty’s iron cavalry unit, the Mengwu Mouke.

The difference in strength between iron cavalry and light cavalry was clear.

Therefore, the lieutenant could only think that these steppe peasants didn’t understand the terror of iron cavalry.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to charge in like puppies unaware of the tiger’s ferocity.

In any case, Mongolia’s defeat was practically a foregone conclusion.

Confident of victory, the lieutenant ordered his men to respond to the Mongol attack.

At the lieutenant’s command, the Iron Hawks increased their speed to counter the Mongol cavalry attack.

As the two forces collided, the lieutenant could only blink at the unbelievable result unfolding before his eyes.

“Wh-what is this…”

“Uaaaaargh!”

With a chilling roar like a bear, the general’s flail smashed an Iron Hawk’s head.

The headless body couldn’t swing its sword and simply collapsed.

The monster who had crushed the Iron Hawk’s head in one blow didn’t stop and continued swinging his flail.

The Iron Hawks around him began to fall one by one as they were struck by the flail.

“Is… is that monster human?”

The lieutenant couldn’t help but tremble as he watched the general sweeping through the battlefield.

Not only was his size intimidating, but the aura emanating from his eyes was not that of an ordinary person.

Not a hint of hesitation.

Not a trace of fear in those predator’s eyes.

This was.

Undoubtedly the eyes of a predator.

While the lieutenant was thinking this, his eyes met those of the monster.

The lieutenant couldn’t help but tremble involuntarily.

“H-huh…”

Fear gripped the lieutenant’s body like prey being hunted.

Noticing this, the lieutenant decided he needed to move before losing control of his body to fear.

“Young monster! I will punish your arrogance!”

Saying this, the lieutenant charged toward the monster.

As if the monster had anticipated the lieutenant’s approach, he swung his flail at him.

The lieutenant barely blocked the monster’s flail with his sword.

But the strong impact traveling through the sword made the lieutenant’s hand tremble involuntarily.

“Th-this impossible strength… A-are you that red monster Ulaanbaatar?”

Though they couldn’t understand each other’s language, at the mention of Ulaanbaatar, a strange light appeared in the monster’s eyes.

Seeing this, the lieutenant realized that whatever the connection, this monster was related to Ulaanbaatar, and he gritted his teeth.

“Fine! You devil! I will crush you and shatter Mongolia’s vain ambitions!”

With those words, the lieutenant swung his sword again.

The monster tried to retrieve his swung flail to attack the lieutenant.

Seizing that moment, the lieutenant dropped his sword and immediately ducked.

Then he drew the dagger attached to his leg and thrust it toward the monster’s exposed neck.

“Haha! Stupid young monster! You still have much to learn!”

With the flail not yet retrieved, the monster’s neck was defenseless.

At this rate, the monster’s neck would be pierced by the lieutenant’s thrust.

Thunk.

“Uh…”

The lieutenant looked at his shoulder.

An arrow was lodged precisely in the weak point of his armor, at his side.

Due to the sudden arrow attack, the lieutenant’s dagger thrust failed to reach the monster’s neck.

“Hiiieek!”

The lieutenant, finally realizing he was going to die, let out a belated scream.

A chilling smile.

The monster who had been smiling, showing his white teeth, looked at the lieutenant.

And the monster’s flail was coming down on his head.