Chapter 39: Total Annihilation of the Tartar Cavalry!

For these pursuing Tatars,
they harbored a deep, burning hatred for Zhu Ying, and an even deeper hatred for the Ming army.

Over several days of marching, Zhu Ying had led his men in a deliberate retreat, leaving the Tatars with the impression that the Ming army had panicked and lost their way, knowing only how to flee.

This was precisely the illusion Zhu Ying intended to instill in the Tatars, prompting them to pursue recklessly at all costs.

Finally!

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense,
they reached a low-lying valley.

The Tatar Myriarch was seen leading five to six thousand Tatar cavalry in a rapid, aggressive pursuit.
Upon catching sight of the depression ahead,
they did not hesitate for a moment, pressing on relentlessly.

"Myriarch,"
a Tatar chiliarch asked anxiously as they galloped forward, eyeing the terrain ahead, "The terrain here is extremely low. Could the Ming army be setting an ambush here?"

"The Ming army has already been chased into a panic by our brave warriors. This place is still our territory, and not far ahead lies the Red Flag Tribe. I have already sent word to them, instructing their young men to cut off the Ming army's retreat route."
"If I, Mainuha, do not hack this detachment of the Ming army into pieces, I will have no face to face our chieftain."
"Lads, quicken the pursuit! We must annihilate this Ming detachment completely."
"Charge!"
The Tatar Myriarch roared.

Over six thousand Tatar iron cavalry swept forward, rapidly closing in on the valley mouth.

The Ming soldiers concealed above all gripped their bows tightly, their eyes burning with murderous intent.
At this moment, they were all waiting for Zhu Ying's signal.
The very second Zhu Ying ordered them to loose their arrows, a torrent of death would rain down.

Yet,
Zhu Ying was in no hurry. His gaze remained fixed as he watched the Tatars walk steadily into the trap.

"You'll do."

Zhu Ying's gaze locked onto the central banner of the Tatar army.
Beneath that banner,
a Tatar commander clad in iron armor came into his view.

Distinguishing Tatar commanders from ordinary soldiers was simple, especially from a commanding vantage point where everything was clear at a glance.

Zhu Ying drew his treasured horn-bow, notching an arrow to the string.
With a flex of his muscles, the taut string drew back effortlessly.

When more than half of the Tatar cavalry had ascended into the valley,
"Die!" Zhu Ying muttered coldly in his heart.

*Swish!*

The arrow sped from the horn-bow with a sharp ring, shooting straight toward the Tatar Myriarch below.
It happened in the blink of an eye.

The Tatar commander was still charging forward when suddenly—
*Thud!*

The sharp arrow pierced straight through the Myriarch's chest, the immense force lifting him entirely off his horse and flinging him backward.
*Thud.*

He crashed heavily to the ground.
Before the Tatar soldiers could even process what had happened,
the corpse of their Myriarch was trampled beneath the hooves of their comrades' charging horses.

"Tatar Myriarch killed. Collected 100 points of all attributes," the system prompt echoed.

The moment Zhu Ying's arrow tore through the air,
almost instantly,
the Ming soldiers, who had long been poised and ready, began firing frantically downward.

A hail of arrows rained down.
In an instant,
rows upon rows of Tatar cavalry were shot from their horses.

Following Zhu Ying's prior orders, the initial volley targeted the Tatar rear guard, using their bodies and those of their fallen horses to block their escape route.

"First, Second, and Fourth Thousand-Household Battalions, charge with me!"
"Fifth Thousand-Household Battalion, take the high ground and provide cover fire!"
"Charge!"

Zhu Ying shouted in a booming voice.
Spurring his horse into motion,
he brandished his saber and plunged directly into the Tatars below.

"We swear to follow the Garrison Commander to the death!"
"Charge!"

Three thousand-household commanders and one acting commander immediately led their men to follow Zhu Ying into the charge without the slightest hesitation.
Having survived multiple fierce battles under Zhu Ying's leadership, they had developed a tacit understanding: they only needed to follow their commander and charge.

Up on the high ground,
nearly a thousand Ming soldiers dismounted, drawing their bows to rain a torrential storm of arrows down upon the Tatar rear. The arrow-storm fell like rain, and holding the high ground—coupled with Zhu Ying's sniper-like assassination of their Myriarch—threw the advancing Tatar vanguard into absolute chaos. Charging forward was impossible, and retreating was blocked; their plight was utterly wretched.

At this moment, the Tatars were completely thrown into disarray.

"The Ming army has set an ambush here!"
"We've been ambushed by the Ming army!"
"Fall back... retreat quickly!"
"Don't panic! Our retreat route is cut off, we can't fall back. We can only charge forward!"
"Lads, don't panic, charge with me!"
"The Red Flag Tribe has sent reinforcements! We only need to break through to survive, charge..."

The Tatar cavalry descended into pandemonium. Faced with the relentless rain of arrows falling from above and comrades tumbling from their saddles left and right, panic spread rapidly. They couldn't even catch a glimpse of the Ming soldiers, only the dense, whistling storms of death descending upon them.

Right at that moment!
At the very vanguard of the panicked Tatar forces,
"Charge!"

Zhu Ying led his forces crashing in.
With a sweeping arc of his blade,
several Tatars directly in his path were cut down, their fresh blood spraying across the ground.

"Killed Tatar cavalry, collected 20 points of strength."
"Killed Tatar cavalry, collected 20 points of physique."
"Killed Tatar cavalry, collected 50 points of lifespan."
……

Slaughtering enemies to harvest attributes—the panel prompts continued.
After every major battle, Zhu Ying grew stronger, making this sortie all the more ferocious.

Just as before,
Zhu Ying charged alone at the very front.
Even faced with thousands of Tatars, he showed not a shred of fear, slaughtering his way forward in a frenzy.

Today,
Zhu Ying would completely bury the Tatar cavalry.
Today,
Zhu Ying's total attributes would break through the 1,000-point mark, allowing him to move as freely as a fish in water on future battlefields.

"Kill!"
"Kill!"

The battle cries shook the mountain ridges.
In this foreign land, the magnificent bearing of the Ming soldiers was fully displayed.

Charging.
Slaughtering.

Compared to previous head-on confrontations, the outcome of this ambush battle was naturally quite different.
The enemy was routed far more easily, and leaderless, they stood no chance against the Ming soldiers.

As time wore on,
Zhu Ying carved a bloody path through the enemy, while thousands of Ming soldiers followed closely behind him, relentlessly butchering the Tatars.
Meanwhile, the thousand soldiers on the high ground kept their bows drawn, picking off the remaining Tatars.

Favorable weather, advantageous terrain, and unity of the people—
the Ming army had secured every single advantage this time.

Just over an hour later,
the battle was drawing to its close.

"Spare my life!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Mercy..."
"I surrender, spare my life..."

At this point,
fewer than a hundred Tatars remained, huddled in encirclement and crying out in terror for mercy.
Quite a few others struggled amidst the piles of corpses, desperately clinging to life.

Zhu Ying cast a cold glance over them and said indifferently, "No survivors."

As the words fell,
the Ming soldiers did not hesitate. Swarming forward, they swiftly dispatched the remaining Tatars.

"Garrison Commander!"
"Only seven or eight hundred men managed to escape; the rest of the Tatars have all been wiped out!"
Wei Quan strode over, reporting with undisguised excitement.

The surrounding soldiers were also bursting with high morale, looking at Zhu Ying with gazes filled with profound reverence.
They had penetrated deep into the northern borderlands over ten days ago,
acting like a sharp dagger thrust into the enemy's heartland, and after this battle, they had completely annihilated the Tatars' last remaining myriad-strong cavalry force.

Such a monumental merit,
such a glorious result—
when they had first stayed behind, they never could have imagined it.

Yet Zhu Ying had led them to achieve it all.