Chapter 49: A Charge of Ten Thousand Horses, the Terrified Aha!

This charge!

It was unprecedented.

Zhu Ying commanded only about three thousand troops, yet under the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses, they unleashed the crushing force of an army numbering in the tens of thousands.

"Brothers!"

"Release arrows!"

Zhu Ying let out a thunderous roar.

Gripping his precious eagle bow, he raised his aim high, loosing arrows toward the Tartar encampment.

"Kill!!"

The battle cries reached the heavens.

Countless arrows took flight alongside the screams, raining down upon the Tartar camp.

Under the shroud of night, countless Tartars within the camp faced a desperate flight, while death lurked everywhere in the darkness.

The arrows fell like torrential rain.

"Ah... ah..."

Many fleeing Tartars were struck down by the volley of arrows before they even had a chance to react.

The Tartar soldiers, facing this onslaught, found themselves in a desperate struggle; their defensive lines were instantly shattered by the stampede of horses, and countless Tartars were trampled to death in the chaos.

Zhu Ying led his soldiers into the heart of the Tartar camp, charging forward amidst the thundering hooves.

Compared to the previous charge, this assault felt far more effortless.

"Kill!"

Zhu Ying roared.

Watching the Tartars scatter in all directions, he swung his battle saber with fury.

With every stroke, one or even several Tartars met their end.

"Killed a Tartar soldier, gained 10 points of Inner Breath, gained 10 days of lifespan."

"Killed a Tartar soldier, gained 10 points of Strength, gained 15 days of lifespan."

"Killed a Tartar soldier..."

The prompts from the status panel rang out incessantly.

As Zhu Ying's attributes all reached the thousand-mark threshold, although the attribute gains from killing enemies had decreased, he had gained a different kind of bonus: the lifespan attribute was now separate from the other attribute gains. Every enemy slain granted him a certain amount of lifespan.

"Brothers!"

"Same as always—do not get bogged down in combat! Charge straight for the main tent of the Tartar camp!"

"If we slay a few high-ranking Tartar officials or take down their leader, that will be a true great achievement!" Zhu Ying bellowed.

Amidst the stampede of ten thousand horses, Zhu Ying remained at the vanguard, leading the charge.

Three thousand soldiers followed in his wake, maintaining their relentless assault.

Of course, the greatest weapon in this offensive was the stampede of horses driven by the Ming soldiers.

Frightened warhorses charge like wild beasts, let alone ten thousand of them.

The horses tore into the Tartar camp, crashing through everything in their path, bringing a level of carnage comparable to the slaughter of ten thousand men.

The entire tribal camp was a scene of devastation and chaos, filled with continuous wails and screams of agony.

Inside the camp!

The Chieftain's tent.

"What is it?"

Ahaxu jolted awake from his bed, looking toward the outside of the tent with a face full of terror.

Such a massive sound. Such a massive commotion.

It was impossible for Ahaxu not to hear it.

"Chieftain!"

"The Ming army is attacking our camp!"

"Please, Chieftain, make a decision!"

A personal guard rushed to the tent and reported loudly.

"How is that possible?"

"Weren't they in a tribe dozens of miles away?"

"Why have they suddenly appeared at our camp?"

Ahaxu's expression was one of panic.

Currently, ninety-five percent of his tribe's military strength was dozens of miles away from the camp, engaged in a pincer movement against Zhu Ying under Agun's arrangement. Furthermore, they were all infantry. To ensure Agun could complete the encirclement, Ahaxu had even handed over his last two thousand personal cavalry to him.

Now, his camp held only five or six thousand armored soldiers. How could they possibly hold them off?

"Chieftain!"

"The Ming army... the Ming army is charging with ten thousand horses!"

"Their numbers may exceed ten thousand!"

"Please, Chieftain, evacuate immediately, or it will be too late!" the guard shouted.

"Exceeding ten thousand?"

Ahaxu's face changed drastically. "Didn't Agun say the Ming army's total strength was only a few thousand? Why are there ten thousand?"

"The Ming army attacking our camp this time definitely exceeds ten thousand, perhaps even more!"

"Please, Chieftain, evacuate quickly!" the guard cried out.

"Agun, you have misled me!"

Ahaxu cursed in fury.

He scrambled to his feet, grabbing his saber and running toward the exit of the tent.

"Retreat! Mobilize all personal guards! Retreat!" Ahaxu dared not stay a moment longer and shouted commandingly.

But at this moment, for the Ming army bolstered by the stampede of ten thousand horses, it seemed it was already too late for him to escape.

Wherever the horses charged, they left only destruction and ruin in their wake.

The Tartar tribal tents were not built of brick or stone; they were utterly incapable of resisting the impact of the charging horses.

Under the momentum of the stampede, there were no obstacles in the path. Zhu Ying led his men, blades swinging, hacking down the panicked Tartars.

"Set fire!"

"Destroy everything you can!"

Zhu Ying roared.

"Understood!"

The countless soldiers behind Zhu Ying responded in unison.

Many soldiers immediately produced pre-prepared fire starters, opened them, and hurled them into the various tents throughout the Tartar camp.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky within the camp.

It was just like the destruction of the Tartar Blue Banner tribe by Zhu Ying's forces before.

While leading the charge, Zhu Ying killed and burned simultaneously, showing absolutely no restraint.

Outside the main tent.

Ahaxu ran out looking disheveled; several thousand personal guards had already gathered outside.

This was the last of the forces left to defend the camp; the others had likely been scattered by the Ming cavalry.

"Chieftain!"

"I have prepared the horses. Please mount up, Chieftain, and evacuate quickly!"

A thousand-man commander among the guards shouted.

Ahaxu said nothing, hurrying toward the horses.

But suddenly!

*Clatter. Clatter-clatter-clatter.*

The sound of countless hoofbeats thundering toward them arrived.

Ahaxu looked toward the sound in terror, and his face instantly paled. "Defend! Quickly, fire arrows!"

Before his eyes, countless warhorses, appearing as if possessed by demons, charged wildly toward them.

Facing this onslaught, the surrounding thousands of Tartar guards raised their long spears, forming a perimeter around Ahaxu.

At the same time, they rapidly loosed arrows at the oncoming horses.

Though their formation of several thousand men seemed significant, against this cavalry charge, their resistance was negligible.

Because Zhu Ying and thousands of Ming soldiers were driving them from behind, these unbridled horses had no choice but to charge, crashing forward with reckless abandon.

"Ah... ah..."

"We can't hold them!"

"Protect the Chieftain!"

"Shields up!"

"Get the torches!"

"Hurry!"

Facing the impact of the countless horses, the perimeter of the camp became a scene of carnage. Countless Tartar soldiers were instantly tossed aside or trampled to death.

Their defense of several thousand men felt like a mantis trying to stop a chariot against the weight of the stampede.

As the wave of horses swept past, screams rang out continuously.

Countless Tartar soldiers lay on the ground, writhing in agony, but the stampede continued, charging relentlessly.

As the dust settled, fewer than a few hundred soldiers remained around Ahaxu, holding shields and using torches to ward off the animals, barely managing to keep him alive.

After all, both horses and wild beasts held a certain fear of fire.

However, even though they had barely managed to survive the initial impact of the charge, their true crisis was only just beginning.