If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The wind and snow grew increasingly violent, and the wilderness in front of Eagle Beak Gully was completely turned into a slaughterhouse.

The strong stench of blood, carried by the biting cold wind, permeated the entire wasteland.

The news that the three hundred cavalrymen of the Canglang tribe had been defeated and their main banner broken at the shallows of the Broken River was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, causing a huge uproar among the barbarian allied forces.

Wugu reined in his agitated black warhorse, looked at the heavy spear formation in front of him that resembled an impregnable wall of bronze and iron, and then looked to the southeast where the shallows had been completely turned into a muddy wasteland. The last trace of arrogance in his eyes was finally replaced by panic.

If they can't break through from the front, they'll be trapped on the flanks.

The hundreds of corpses piled up in front of the heavy spear formation had completely blocked the path of the charge. If they continued to charge, they would only become targets for the Han crossbowmen.

"Retreat! Turn your horses around and retreat north!"

Wugu roared hoarsely, his heavy saber flashing in a frantic arc through the air:

"Leave the battlefield and return to the grasslands!"

The remaining six hundred or so barbarian cavalrymen, as if granted a pardon, hurriedly turned their horses around, trying to break free from the entanglement with the heavy spear formation, and fled northwards in the direction they had come from, towards Luoyan Slope.

However, just as the vanguard of the barbarian cavalry had turned around and galloped less than two miles, the rider at the very front forcefully pulled on the reins.

Deep in the snowstorm ahead, the once open pass for retreating north has long since changed its appearance.

"Put down boulders! Roll over logs!"

The old soldier Gao Bai stood atop the rocky ridge, blowing a sharp, piercing whistle from his bamboo whistle.

More than 30 hunters who spend their years climbing and scaling cliffs in the deep mountains and forests, along with veteran soldiers of Qingya, worked together to pry open hundreds of huge rocks and thick logs that had been stuck on the edge of the cliff.

"Boom—!"

Heavy logs and boulders, carrying immense force, roared down the steep, icy cliff face, completely blocking the narrow valley passage for escape to the north!

The dozen or so barbarian cavalrymen at the front of the pack couldn't get out of the way in time. They and their horses were smashed by the rolling boulders, breaking bones and falling to the ground with screams of pain.

Above the cliff, more than twenty powerful bows and crossbows fired in rapid succession from above. The steel arrows, coated with antifreeze tung oil, pierced through the air and impaled the barbarian soldiers charging in front of them in the pile of rubble.

Their escape route was completely blocked by Qingya Fortress!

"Head west! Charge through the official road past the Iron Gate Pass!"

With bloodshot eyes, Wugu saw that the northern route was cut off and immediately turned his horse around, leading the main force diagonally southwest.

But the team had only traveled less than three miles when they came into view a mobile steel fortress that had risen from the ground.

In the direction of Tiemenbao, Guo Shan commanded over a hundred heavy supply wagons, one after another, forming a sturdy, arc-shaped formation stretching for half a mile.

The barbed chevaux-de-frise erected on the outside of the wagon were as dense as thorns, and fifty armored soldiers and thirty crossbowmen of the caravan were positioned behind the firing ports of the wagon, ready to fire heavy arrows.

"put--!"

Guo Shan pointed his broadsword forward.

Hundreds of armor-piercing short arrows, gleaming with a dark light, whistled out, weaving an impenetrable net of death across the western wasteland, forcefully repelling dozens of barbarian cavalrymen who attempted to charge!

To the north, a green cliff blocked their retreat; to the west, an iron gate sealed off the trade route; and to the east, a deep canal and a quagmire sank into the mud. Behind them, Xiao Hongluan led 160 heavily armored infantrymen of the Heavy Spear Battalion, advancing with orderly and heavy steps, like a slowly moving steel mountain, closing in head-on!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The sound of iron boots crushing the frozen earth was uniform and synchronized. As the front-line shield bearers advanced, they rhythmically struck the shields with the iron shafts of their heavy spears, producing a terrifying metallic roar.

The encirclement is tightening at a visible rate.

Wugu, like a ferocious beast locked in an iron cage, led hundreds of cavalrymen as they ran back and forth across the narrow wasteland.

Every time he tried to change his breakout direction, whether by traversing mountain passes or crossing dry gullies, the Zhenbei Army's defense line would appear in advance, ready for battle.

The beacon fires echoed each other, the sentry posts stood watch over each other, and the canals and trenches were interconnected.

At this moment, the true value of the [Four Fortresses Defense Map] was fully demonstrated on the battlefield.

The four seemingly scattered and isolated border fortresses, through the organic connection of terrain, beacon fires, waterways and fortifications, were completely transformed into a seamless and overwhelming net at this moment!

"Four dilapidated fortresses... put together, and they actually form a wall..."

As Wugu watched his followers fall one after another under the attack from all sides, his voice revealed a deep despair and fear.

……

"The encirclement is complete; it's time to close the net."

On the high slope of the central army, Xu Qingshan looked down with deep eyes at the hundreds of remaining enemy soldiers trapped on the flat beach at the bottom of the ravine.

He slowly drew the standard longsword from his waist, its blade reflecting a clear, cold gleam in the dim snowlight.

"Zhenbei Cavalry, mount your horses."

Xu Qingshan leaped onto a magnificent, pure black warhorse and reined it in.

Behind him, the sixty elite Zhenbei cavalrymen who had been hiding in the low-lying snow valley all mounted their horses in unison, drew their sabers, and nocked their horn bows.

These sixty men are all veterans who have followed Xu Qingshan through numerous bloody battles, and they are the sharpest blade in the entire Zhenbei Army!

"Follow me to break through the formation!"

Xu Qingshan gave a low shout, and the warhorse let out a high-pitched neigh. With all four hooves exerting force, it trampled the snow and rushed down the hillside like a black lightning bolt!

Sixty riders followed closely behind, like a black iron torrent pouring down from the heavens, carrying a terrifying momentum that could destroy everything in its path, and charged straight into the center of the barbarian coalition from the chaotic rear!

"Enemy cavalry are charging in!"

Terrified screams erupted from the barbarian army ranks.

Xiao Qi, who was charging at the forefront, gripped his horse's belly tightly with his legs, leaned slightly forward on the horse's back, and drew his powerful bow to its full extent.

His gaze was as cold as an eagle's, piercing through dozens of feet in the chaotic battlefield, locking onto the burly flag bearer beside Wu Gu who held a large black wolf-head banner.

"collapse--!"

The bowstring vibrated.

A fine steel arrow pierced through the wind and snow, swift as a shooting star, and accurately pierced the throat of the flag bearer!

The flag bearer fell backward, and the heavy main flag tilted and fell to the ground once again.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Zhou Laoqi galloped wildly on Xu Qingshan's left, wildly swinging his broadsword. The bright blade flashed through the air, cutting fierce streaks of light and directly cleaving two barbarian guards off their horses, along with their swords. He also severed the protective wings of the guards beside Wugu!

Sixty armored cavalrymen, like a red-hot knife cutting into butter, instantly tore a bloody path several meters wide through the remaining barbarian central army.

In the very center of the formation, Wugu turned his head and met Xu Qingshan, who was charging straight at him on horseback!

In the face of life and death, the despair in the eyes of this fierce grassland beast transformed into the madness of a cornered animal fighting desperately.

"Xu Qingshan! Prepare to die!"

With a powerful kick to the horse's belly, Wu Gu's black horse roared and charged forward. He gripped the heavy scimitar inlaid with rubies tightly with both hands, gathered all his strength, and brought it down violently towards Xu Qingshan's head with a howling gale!

Two warhorses passed each other in the wind and snow!

In the blink of an eye, Xu Qingshan remained calm and composed.

Just as the scimitar was about half a foot above his head, Xu Qingshan's body shifted slightly to the side on the saddle, the blade grazing the fine iron armor on his shoulder and sending up a string of dazzling sparks.

At the same time, Xu Qingshan's long sword slashed diagonally upwards from below!

"Sizzle!"

A chilling glint of light flashed in the twilight.

The steel longsword, taking advantage of the opening in Wugu's attack, precisely sliced ​​through his thick leather robe and wrought iron breastplate, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on Wugu's solid chest!

Hot blood sprayed onto the pristine snow, releasing thick white steam.

"ah--!"

Wugu let out a shrill, painful howl. The bones in his arm holding the knife trembled violently, and he almost fell off his horse from the heavy blow.

After being injured, Wugu completely lost his will to fight. Knowing that he was no match for Xu Qingshan in a head-on confrontation, he took advantage of the momentum of his horse and simply abandoned it. He rolled and tumbled into the unfrozen dry riverbed ditch, trying to escape under the cover of the dense reeds and the remaining snow.

However, he had only staggered a few dozen steps when a crisp splashing sound at the bend in the river ahead froze him in place.

Amidst the wind and snow, Aman, holding the reins with one hand, rode a swift blue horse, standing quietly in the cold, murky shallow water.

In Aman's hands, a small, double-barreled crossbow was already leveled and cocked, the cold iron arrow pointing straight at Wugu's brow.

On Aman's young face, which was devoid of any expression, were only a pair of cold eyes, like those of a lone wolf in the snowy plains.

He looked at the barbarian chieftain, collapsed in the mud, covered in blood and panting heavily, turned his head slightly, and spoke calmly and clearly to the approaching hoofbeats behind him:

"Centurion."

"He has nowhere to run."

The sound of horses' hooves gradually subsided above the riverbank.

Xu Qingshan wore a black cloak, and his long sword pointed diagonally at the ground. The blood dripping from the tip of the sword melted into small, deep red pits on the snow.

He dismounted, his boots crunching softly on the loose snow.

As the wind and snow swept across the sky, Xu Qingshan, sword in hand, strode forward slowly along the river.