fifth form

Chapter 3129 From Darkness to Light
When horses gallop, dust is kicked up; when tens of thousands of people gallop, clouds of dust rise up.

The riders behind couldn't see clearly ahead and could only follow mechanically on horseback, acting according to the commander's orders.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor failed to find the army deployed by the court, nor did they find the Empress Dowager and others, but they did find the army of the Xiong Kingdom.

Using the dust it kicked up, the Sky Shuttle rapidly descended at the rear of the Ferocious Kingdom's army.

Everywhere you go, there are bound to be some losers. Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor intercepted them twice, shooting down two fierce-looking people amidst the dust.

They forcibly reined in their mounts and quickly changed into the leather armor of the Xiong Kingdom people, as mounts were already catching up behind them.

"What happened?"

A questioning voice came from behind him, and just as the new emperor was about to continue his attack, he heard Zhang Xuezhou reprimanding him in a fierce Mandarin.

“Those two idiots lost their horses while riding recklessly and were even trampled by them. You’re no better off. I’ll report this to the centurion of Dongshan, and he’ll give you slow-moving fools a hundred lashes!”

After shouting and cursing, the two riders who had previously asked questions reined in their horses, intending to stop, but were so frightened that they whipped their horses repeatedly, kicking up dust as they galloped forward.

"You speak the Xiongnu language quite fluently," the new emperor said.

"Your Majesty has forgotten that I once ran a business in the Xiong Kingdom!"

Zhang Xuezhou quickly tied his face mask, stretched out his arm and threw the robbed Chinese man three zhang away. The man rolled several times in the dusty weeds, and was then mostly covered by a pile of dust.

The new emperor lifted the man up and then threw him far away.

There were a few minor mishaps during the two men's interception and the theft of the horse, but not many.

Having failed to infiltrate the core of the Han Dynasty, they were no different from following the Xiong Kingdom's army.

Even if they didn't spy on any secrets, they could at least figure out the exact location.

"Don't call me out in a place like this, or you'll get into trouble and won't be able to escape. I remember you once presented me with a manual on the art of the curved sword!"

The new emperor gave a few instructions, and then remembered the ancient texts of the Xiong Kingdom tribe that Zhang Xuezhou had once worshipped.

He tightened the mask that blocked the dust, and couldn't help but feel a bit bitter when he swallowed a mouthful of dust.

The strength of the Han army lies in its siege infantry, which is equipped with everything from digging pits and ramming sieges to heavy weapons for breaching city walls. However, this advantage is completely useless when fighting against the Xiong Kingdom.

If one rides slowly, one cannot even catch up with the Xiong people galloping at full speed.

This territory is surrounded by mountains, but once you pass through these undulating mountain ranges, it becomes a boundless wasteland, and once a horse has gone around in circles a few times, it becomes difficult to tell which way is which.

The Qin army halted at Yanmen Pass to build a city, unwilling to abandon its strengths and fight the Xiongnu with its weaknesses. The Han Dynasty also followed the experience of the past.

If we want to eliminate the main force of the Fierce Kingdom and the dominant cultivator group, we need to choose a battleground and fight with superior numbers to launch a war of annihilation.

Whenever the new emperor thought of the revenge mentioned by the Empress Dowager, and looked at the endless expanse of dust, he felt that the risk of this confrontation was constantly rising, and the strange emotions in his heart were also constantly increasing.

"There seems to be a battle ahead!"

As soon as Zhang Xuezhou gave the shout, the new emperor quickly pulled on the reins.

Zhang Xuezhou's judgment stemmed from the horn-blowing of the chieftain of the Xiong Kingdom.

Those at the rear were unaware of what was happening at the front; everything was arranged by instruments that could transmit sound. Whatever horn was played at the front, those at the rear would operate accordingly.

Amidst the deafening sound of horses' hooves, the whistling of horns continued, constantly relayed by the centurion who was in charge of directing the operation.

Before their last 100-person team could even reach this point, Zhang Xuezhou had already roughly figured out the situation.

The new emperor felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

"Should we use the Sky Shuttle?"

If a major conflict occurs, the new emperor will definitely intervene.

Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals; he couldn't possibly hang behind the Xiong Kingdom people and kill their soldiers, and killing dozens of Xiong Kingdom people would be pointless.

Moreover, the new emperor's archery skills were mediocre, and it would be quite difficult for him to kill dozens of people while riding a horse at full gallop.

"Wait... Awooo!" Zhang Xuezhou responded briefly, then joined the fierce cavalry in front of him in shouting. The new emperor had no choice but to join in and shout for a while.

Zhang Xuezhou is very outgoing; if you don't remove the headscarf he's wearing to cover his head and hide the dust, it's hard to tell what's underneath.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou's imitation of the Xiong Kingdom cavalry's riding posture was extremely similar, and he could even lift his leg and stand on the mount, shouting strangely, unlike the new emperor's slightly prostrate body.

If he were to act alone, the new emperor felt that it would be extremely difficult to make any progress. Even if he were to infiltrate the Xiong Kingdom's cavalry, he would be easily exposed, let alone obtain relevant information.

Galloping on horseback for over ten miles, a border post came into view.

Border posts are similar to open-air pavilions in mansions, but they have walls and doors. They can serve as emergency patrol fortresses, provide temporary food and lodging, and also act as transit points for post stations.

This border post, made of thick wood, was riddled with arrows like a hedgehog, its outer walls were cut down, and its gate was violently smashed off.

Inside the pavilion were the bodies of more than ten patrolling soldiers; their copper-clad wooden shields were either shattered or torn away by barbed arrows.

With a simple charge, the garrison at this border post was wiped out.

"It's not a direct clash between legions!"

The new emperor breathed a sigh of relief.

But when his gaze swept over the corpses in the border post, he couldn't hide the anger in his heart.

He couldn't maintain a blank expression like Zhang Xuezhou, and he found it even more difficult to shout like the other person.

His voice was hoarse and bitter, stuck in his throat.

When the centurion, who was reviewing military orders, lashed out with his whip, the stinging pain almost drove him mad.

"Fuck him!"

The new emperor originally wanted to take the whip hard, but when Zhang Xuezhou's voice came, he hesitated for a moment, but quickly grabbed the whip the instant it left his body by half a meter.

The whip's end and handle exerted force almost simultaneously; the new emperor's power, at the Sovereign Realm, was far beyond what these slave leaders could match.

Without him even needing to rouse his qi and blood, the whip lashed back, the handle slipping from the servant's grasp and then slamming heavily into his face.

"Guliwa!"

Zhang Xuezhou shouted, and then the new emperor tore off the slave's long sheep-horn helmet.

After simply putting it on his head, the new emperor called out "Guliwa" several times, knowing that he had become a slave chief in the brief exchange.

If a centurion is unable to perform his duties, his subordinates can take his place. This is indeed a military discipline completely different from that of the Han army.

This position didn't even require any military merits to rise to the rank. Although it was a temporary minor official position, he had far more freedom of movement than ordinary slave cavalry. He could even have two adjutants by his side, allowing Zhang Xuezhou to follow him all the way.

"what should I do?"

"Run forward with your helmets on, and see what the commander has to say!"

"Can I lure the commander into making a move, then defeat him and obtain a higher position to gather information?"

"The cultivation level of a thousand-man is close to that of a divine being, and he is accompanied by at least four hundred-man leaders, or even eight to sixteen hundred-man leaders. He cannot be dealt with easily. If you rashly display your strength, you will provoke a gang fight!"

After Zhang Xuezhou gave a brief explanation, the new emperor quickly abandoned his little idea and continued riding forward with the ram's horn helmet on his head.

"Oh la la..."

When the noisy and rapid shouts reached his ears from afar, the new emperor glanced at Zhang Xuezhou and saw that Zhang Xuezhou was also listening attentively.

"What did that commander say?" the new emperor asked in a low voice.

"The commander said that the vanguard legion captured a surrendered general of the Han Dynasty. After the general surrendered, he told us that there were Han troops lying in ambush dozens of miles ahead. We need to form a bull's horn formation to confront them. As soon as the enemy legion breaks through the ambush and loses its formation, we will launch a charge attack!"

Zhang Xuezhou whispered the message.

The new emperor felt his heart pound.

This ambush has not yet officially begun, but everything is already out in the open.