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Chapter 424 Hammer and Anvil
In the early morning, a thin mist covered Pingqiu City.

There was a small hill on the east side of Pingqiu, the only high ground within 20 miles. The Great Zhou army, ready for battle, lined up on the hill, with the dragon flag of the Great Zhou emperor fluttering in the wind.

King Fang Xuanmei of Pingyuan was well versed in warfare. He divided his 120,000 imperial guards into more than a hundred small square formations of a thousand men each, and distributed them around the hillside, with their backs to the mountain.

Twenty thousand cavalrymen out of the 120,000 imperial guards served as the general reserve, stationed in the gaps on both sides to cover the flanks. Once the foreign cavalry tried to attack the Zhou army from the front and back, they would immediately counterattack and engage in a fight with them.

Under the premise that the army's combat effectiveness was at a disadvantage, in order to win this battle, the court summoned almost all of its sixth-level forces.

There were a total of eleven Great Six-turn monks participating in this battle. They were scattered throughout the military formation, ready to provide reinforcements at any time with their high mobility.

In the military formation at the foot of the mountain, the soldiers in full armor tensed their bodies. Even the well-trained Central Imperial Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty would inevitably feel a little timid when they learned that they were about to fight against a foreign race.

Fang Zun stood on the top of the hill, looking silently at the distant horizon.

Civil and military officials lined up behind him, and Qimen Tiger Guards lined up on both sides. The rising sun shone on them, and their armor reflected the dazzling light.

"Your Majesty, this place is too conspicuous and easy to be attacked by the enemy. Please retreat behind the mountain for the time being." Fang Xuanmai stepped forward and said.

"No need, I am here." Fang Zun said, "I want the soldiers of the Great Zhou to clearly see that the emperor of the empire is fighting alongside them."

Fang Xuanmei saw that he had made up his mind, so he clasped his fists and said solemnly, "I will definitely ensure that Your Majesty is safe."

The emperor took out a jade seal from his arms and stared silently at the dragon pattern on it.

"So many people are willing to risk their lives for you, and I don't know why they are so desperate."

He whispered to himself.

The morning sun rose slowly from the other side of the battlefield, and a slight vibration came from the distant horizon, like a huge dragon stirring up the wind and clouds underground.

"What exactly is the emperor's duty? I have thought about this question countless times."

"Killing each other, repaying kindness with hatred, abandoning all virtues and character, just to sit on the dragon throne. Is it really worth it?"

The crimson armor of the King Kong Cavalry reflected the morning light like blood-red mist, and the wolf flags of the grassland roared in the wind.

"The noble family usurped power, but the people did not support them. All they got was a palace, half a city, and the hatred of the past."

"This is the emperor, the emperor of the Great Zhou."

Fang Zun held the imperial seal tightly, and all the past events played out before his eyes like a kaleidoscope.

He heard his brother roaring at him like a demon crawling out of hell. He heard his father begging him dejectedly, begging him to forgive the sins of an emperor.

The people wailed, questioning him, why did you sacrifice their innocent lives for the dispute with the Uehara Wang family. The Changyuan Iron Guards asked with hatred and grief why the emperor wanted to waste their blood.

They were obviously the most loyal soldiers, but in the end they could not even die on the battlefield.

"Do you see it now?" Fang Zun seemed to be convincing himself, "Shangyuan Wang Clan is far more unscrupulous than I am. At least I have never intended to abandon this land."

The strong wind on the top of the mountain blew the emperor's hair, which was black with a bleak white.

The people did not understand him, and the court officials did not trust him. Fang Zun could only hold the jade seal tightly in his hand and exchange his blood for the remaining power of the dragon.

He is the emperor and is destined to do something for the world.

If you cannot create a prosperous era, then clear the obstacles for it.

"Formation!"

Following Fang Xuanmei's order, the imperial army's infantry formation began to slowly shift. The caltrops were scattered, the chevaux de frise were set up, and the ends of the spears were inserted into the soil.

A heavy shield as tall as a person came crashing down, and countless iron shields and armors intertwined to form a steel wall.

The wind was blowing sand all over the wasteland, and the sound of the foreign cavalry's horses' hooves was like spring thunder, shaking the earth, and they were getting closer and closer.

"Boom!"

The Zhou army's war drums sounded, and the dull drum beats produced a sad and uplifting sound. The blood in the veins was pumping rapidly, and the soldiers' palms were oozing with sweat, which wet the ends of their spears.

Fang Zun took the drumstick from the drummer, waved his arms, and struck the drum himself.

His bright yellow dragon robe was particularly eye-catching on the battlefield, and countless Great Zhou soldiers who witnessed this scene could not help but feel inspired.

"It's His Majesty! His Majesty is beating the drum for us!"

For the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, their main motivation for joining the army has never been for the illusory loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, but for the high salaries of the Imperial Guard. They need this money to support their families.

Of all the class groups, soldiers are the most loyal. If a soldier deserts, it is probably because they think the battle is not worth their life.

Why can princes and nobles live in peace and prosperity in the rear while soldiers like us have to risk our lives on the battlefield?
But now, the emperor of the empire, the most honorable person in the Great Zhou, is fighting side by side with them. This kind of blessing cannot be expressed by just one word of encouragement.

The soldiers all had this thought in their minds:
If I can survive this battle, I will be able to proudly tell my children and grandchildren that on that day outside Pingqiu City, His Majesty the Emperor personally beat the drum to cheer me on.

Soldiers never worry about the lack of wealth, but only about the inequality. The emperor fights with them on the same side, and this is the greatest fairness.

Fang Zun's actions inspired the soldiers and shocked the high officials of the court. They had never thought that the cold and indifferent emperor who had schemed so many things would beat the drum himself one day.

"Ugh……"

Shangshu Zuocheng Wang Yan sighed deeply, feeling extremely complicated.

Once upon a time, he had also had such a dream. The Great Zhou was united with its ruler and ministers, the family was prosperous, the world was peaceful, and they all overcame the difficulties together.

It’s a pity that all his passion was eventually worn away by the court.

"Give me a drumstick." said Wang Yan.

The old minister, who was over fifty years old, rolled up the sleeves of his official robe, walked to a drummer, took the drumstick from him, and beat the drum with the emperor.

Shen Chengyong, Pei Wenyi... More and more ministers joined in beating the drums. The old ministers were frail, and their drumbeats were low and weak, but they were far more deafening than any other drumbeats.

Facing a powerful enemy, life and death were difficult to determine. Putting aside all previous prejudices and gains and losses, they were now all subjects of the Divine Zhou.

The atmosphere surrounding the Great Zhou army changed from its previous gloomy state to become high-spirited and inspiring.

This was an unprecedented unity between the emperor and his subjects, but it came a little too late.

The Vajra heavy cavalry slowly stopped, and the alien light cavalry continued to move forward, and had already arrived within a few hundred steps of the Great Zhou army.

There was no nonsense between the two nations with deep blood feud, and the brutal battle broke out instantly.

Following an order from the alien vanguard general, the archers began to move around the Great Zhou army formation, and arrows flew through the air with shrill explosions.

The place where Fang Zun was located was naturally the focus of attack by the foreign archers. Arrows fell like raindrops and were all bounced off by the air flow of blood.

Eunuch Xue stood beside the emperor. The loyal old eunuch would not let anything that could hurt the emperor get close.

The long-range troops of the Great Zhou began to fight back, responding with arrows.

The Northern Ya Imperial Guards were also equipped with a large number of three-bow crossbows. Hundreds of crossbows fired at the same time, and the giant arrows as thick as bowls could easily kill the foreign cavalry.

But the foreign archers moved very fast, and it was difficult for the three crossbows to hit them. The Great Zhou army formation was fixed, and became their fixed target.

Although they were protected by huge shields and armor, the rain of arrows was too dense and chaotic, and the cries of soldiers being shot by arrows could be heard from time to time.

The King Kong heavy cavalry were watching eagerly from a distance, waiting for any disturbance in the Great Zhou army formation, and then they would pounce like hyenas.

This is a common tactic used by foreign armies against the infantry of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although simple, it is extremely effective.

The number and quality of the cavalry of the Great Zhou Imperial Army were far inferior to those of the foreign cavalry, and they had almost no countermeasures against the harassment of their light cavalry. They could only shoot at them from a distance, testing the patience of the archers on both sides.

But... today is different, Zhou Jun still has a little advantage.

They have high-level Five Elements monks.

A sixth-turn family priest of the Gold Five Element had been accumulating strength for a long time, and a huge iron rain had been gathering behind him for a long time.

"Foreign thief!"

With his white beard standing up, he roared and released a light golden elemental force suddenly. The iron rain turned into a steel storm and shot out. It crossed dozens of feet at lightning speed and collided head-on with a team of alien light cavalry.

The storm made of steel instantly tore the alien cavalry into pieces, along with their horses. Metal fragments flew everywhere, and dozens of fierce alien cavalry were turned into bloody residues.

The rest of the Five Elements monks also took action. The majestic elemental force turned into a torrent that swept out, causing great damage to the alien light cavalry team.

The Five Elements monks were the Great Zhou's trump card against the alien races. Their attack range was extremely large, and they were naturally suited to warfare. The brilliant elemental torrent tore a gap in the alien race's light cavalry line like a whirlwind, and the Great Zhou soldiers who were suffering from the rain of arrows were immediately overjoyed.

"Well done! These foreign barbarians must be burned to death!"

Amid the high emotions, no one noticed a flash of white in the distance.

It was an extremely fast arrow, and its target was the sixth-turn Gold Five Elements monk!
The noble family's priest noticed the cold arrow and he could clearly feel the strong blood fluctuations on it.

This is not an ordinary cold arrow, but an arrow shot by Mingwu who is at least six levels!

He did not dare to be careless and quickly mobilized the elemental power to form a thick metal shield, ready to use it to block the incoming arrows.

The arrow came into contact with the strong elemental force, and it actually made a hissing sound similar to molten iron and water. The metal shield could not stop the arrow at all. The arrow spun and pierced through layers of metal, but in an instant it was close to the face of the family's worshiper.

"What is this?!" He was so frightened that his soul was scared to death, but the distance was so short that he couldn't organize his defense again.

"boom!"

The heavy goose-wing-shaped sword was swung out from the side, carrying with it a strong bloody energy, and it cut the arrowhead in half.

The crystal white arrow and tail wing separated and fell to the ground.

Xiao Fuwei sheathed his sword, picked up the arrowhead and examined it carefully in his palm.

The surface of the arrow is smooth and flat, like the cross-section of some unknown material. This thing... can actually penetrate the elemental shield?

As the commander of the Xuanzhong Guards, Xiao Fuwei had never heard of the existence of such a thing!

"Thank you, Master Xiao!"

The noble family's priest thanked him gratefully, feeling somewhat relieved that he had survived the disaster. If it hadn't been for Xiao Fuwei's timely rescue, he would have become a corpse now.

Xiao Fuwei had no time to exchange pleasantries with him. Just now, he thought of a possibility that made him feel cold all over.

There may be more than one arrow!
"Not good!" Xiao Fuwei shouted, "Return to the main camp immediately! Go to His Majesty!"

Before the noble family's priest could react, Xiao Fuwei's qi intuition was already sending out crazy alarms.

Damn, it’s too late.

Xiao Fuwei cursed in his heart. He suddenly grabbed the clothes by the back of the worshiper's neck and flew back, instantly creating a distance of more than ten meters.

A rain of arrows consisting of hundreds of arrows covered their area in all directions. Although the concentration of blood on these arrows was not as thick as before, the material of the arrowheads was too strange.

No matter whether it is a shield formed by blood or elemental force, it can easily penetrate it without any hindrance at all.

Xiao Fuwei swept his sword horizontally to block several arrows shot at him, but some of the arrows still pierced his body, and Mingwu's protective blood armor was as thin as paper.

Xiao Fuwei retreated again and did not stop until he was out of the shooting range of the alien army.

The heat dripped onto his fingers, and Xiao Fuwei then realized that the noble family priest he was holding in his hand had already died.

An arrow hit his throat, and the protective magic weapon was ineffective. The whites of the worshiper's eyes bulged out, as if he died with his eyes open.

This was a sixth-turn cultivator, a being at the pinnacle of personal power, and he died just like that? !
"Fuck him!" Even Xiao Fuwei, who is usually calm and composed, couldn't help but curse.

Every Five Elements Sixth Turn Great Monk is created with countless resources. How can he not feel heartbroken when he dies so easily?

What kind of arrow is this!?
He looked up and found that not only on his side, but the fluctuations of the five elements' power on the entire battlefield had completely disappeared.

The rest of the noble families who are offering sacrifices to the gods may also be in danger.

Even so, the drumbeats on the top of the mountain did not stop, and the emperor was still there.

"Boom!"

Like the devil's whimpering, a shrill horn sounded. Xiao Fuwei had heard this sound before.

This was the signal for the steppe people to launch a full-scale attack.

The foreign cavalry that had been surrounding the Great Zhou army and shooting arrows turned around, formed an attack formation, and rushed straight towards the Great Zhou army.

Using light cavalry to charge the heavy infantry square head-on, are these foreigners crazy? !

Xiao Fuwei thought in disbelief.

It was as if the roar of a ferocious beast shook the mountains and forests, and a violent red light rose from the bodies of the foreign light cavalry.

This is a strengthening method of the Murong clan's holy blessing, which can weaken the fear of these soldiers and horses and make them become bloodthirsty and crazy.

If there is no such blessing, not only humans, but even war horses will not carry out such a suicide attack.

"Engage the enemy! Engage the enemy!"

"Raise your spears!"

The heavy infantry of the Imperial Guards protected their bodies under the huge shield, with one end of the spear piercing the soil and the other end sticking out from the gap of the shield, ready to meet the impact.

The Central Plains dynasty, which had been at a disadvantage in many battles against the grassland cavalry, naturally knew how to deal with their cavalry. The key to using infantry to defeat cavalry was this long spear formation.

This is a Great Wall of Steel made of flesh and blood on the plain!

With a powerful enemy approaching, Fang Xuanmei's consolidated central army remained motionless. All the men clenched their weapons, their muscles bulging, ready to strike.

"laugh!"

The foreign light cavalry rushed forward with sabers in hand. Before they could touch the Great Zhou infantry, they first crashed into the chevaux de frise, then stepped on the caltrops, and finally were pierced through the body by the three-meter-long spears. They were almost pierced into skewers by the spear tips, and blood splattered everywhere.

On a mountain not far away, civil and military officials of the Great Zhou court witnessed this tragic and heroic scene.

"How can the light cavalry without armor and formation break through the dragon shield wall formed by our elite troops?" A general sneered, "It's just a way to die!"

"You foreign thief, how reckless!"

"A bunch of uncivilized savages!"

All the generals were somewhat disdainful, but Xiao Fuwei did not think so.

Murong Wei of the Murong tribe was a good fighter. He once led a long-distance raid across thousands of miles and destroyed Bolor, one of the vassal states of the Great Zhou in the Western Regions, in one battle.

This person is definitely a tactical master, how could he do such a stupid thing?

"No...no..."

Xiao Fuwei's eyes were fixed on the vanguard of the Longxiong Shield Wall.

After the cavalrymen in the first row were killed, the bodies of the men and horses did not stop due to their huge inertia but instead smashed into the shield wall, causing the originally neat and rigid defense line to waver slightly.

The cavalry in the second row were so bloodthirsty under the blessing of the Holy Blessing that they completely ignored the tragic death scene in front of them and rushed forward with sabers in hand.

Then came the third row, the fourth row... The Longxiong shield wall turned into a millstone of flesh and blood, strangling all the charging foreign cavalry.

The balance of power between the two sides seems to have reversed, and now it is the heavy infantry phalanx that is slaughtering the aliens!

This happened along the entire front line of the Great Zhou army, which was hundreds of feet in front of it. Wailing sounds were heard everywhere, and the land of Pingqiu was already soaked and dyed red with blood.

Xiao Fuwei roughly estimated that in just such a short period of time, several thousand foreign light cavalrymen had died! And this number was still increasing rapidly!

But achieving such a significant victory was not without cost for the Great Zhou.

Rows of alien cavalrymen advanced one after another, fighting to the death, and with their powerful impact force they actually created several huge gaps in the Longxiong shield wall!
What was even more critical was that due to the chaotic pile of corpses, the reserve troops simply had no time to fill the gap!
Xiao Fuwei's expression suddenly changed, his blood turned cold, and he subconsciously clenched the sword in his hand.

He knew what the aliens wanted to do.

"Om!!"

The trumpet sounded again, like the knell of death.

At the edge of the skyline, the King Kong Front, which had been motionless, began to slowly accelerate.

The sound of horse hooves became more and more regular, until finally it came together and turned into a noisy and trembling red thunder.

Their target was the central army where the emperor was.

(End of this chapter)