Chapter 214: Dark Clouds Press the City

Dark clouds pressed the city; the city walls seemed about to collapse!

When beacon fire smoke rose up, squadrons of heavy cavalry kept approaching the Wang City. Mo Xiaobai stood on the City Wall and quickly understood what “ten thousand men are nothing to worry about” truly meant.

“The Kushan Cavalry are truly armed to the teeth.”

In his past life and this one, Mo Xiaobai had never faced the unique Kushan Cavalry before. The thousands of riders closest to the wall were all Heavy Cavalry, wearing armor similar to Han Army horse armor, but far better protected.

Breastplates, arm guards, thigh guards, leg guards, and even shoulder armor wrapped around their backs.

Mo Xiaobai quietly watched the Kushan army forming ranks below, while the Fatty beside him frowned and twitched: “My goodness, these people from Central Asia are too willful. Even we Han people wouldn’t dare equip such armor.”

At the Jilu Fortress, the Fatty had seen many Han Army cavalrymen. There were Heavy Cavalry, but they only got a breastplate and thigh guards at best. Protecting the upper limbs and thighs was already amazing.

Back then, they looked very impressive. A Han Army Heavy Cavalryman looked like a General. But now, seeing the Kushan cavalry, the Fatty felt the Great Han Heavy Cavalry name was no longer fitting.

Compared to the Great Han Heavy Cavalry, this was truly “Heavy” Cavalry!

Full metal protection. Except for the eyes without eye covers and fingers without metal gauntlets, almost every body part was under iron armor.

A-Dai was also there, looking at the cavalry below, and asked a morale-crushing question in a low voice: “With this kind of protection, arrows probably won’t work. Can Han crossbows break through?”

Luckily, Li Ji and Mo Xiaobai were on both sides of him. If those words had reached the Soldiers’ ears, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, Li Ji and Mo Xiaobai were not affected by A-Dai’s words.

Unlike the worried expressions of Luyu and A-Dai, Mo Xiaobai looked at the cavalry below with a flash of envy and possessiveness in his eyes: “Maogong, those warhorses below are among the best Dayuan Horses in the world. In the past, Emperor Wu of Han sent troops to launch an expedition to Dayuan for them. I think you can see their characteristics and advantages.”

“Did my Lord become tempted?”

As a Famous General of the Great Tang, Li Ji knew the fame of the Dayuan Horse well. He also clearly understood why the Kushan Empire could organize such a Heavy Cavalry force while the Great Han could not.

Blood-sweating Dayuan!

The best horses in the world, with unbeatable load-bearing capacity, endurance, and speed. Even the top blood-sweating horses were superior to the White Qilin Horse that Luyu brought.

“The rise of the Kushan Empire was not accidental. Especially after controlling Dayuan and the northern borders of India, their warhorses and smelting technology saw a qualitative leap. Comparing just these two aspects, they could even surpass the Great Han of today. I must admit this and feel no shame.”

Mo Xiaobai did not answer Li Ji’s question directly. As he spoke, his voice rose higher: “They have excellent armor and strong warhorses, so what? Do they think putting men in iron shells will make them invincible? Do they think they can force the Great Han Army to come out of the city and beg for surrender?”

“Soldiers of ours, what does our mighty Great Han Army rely on to fight?”

“Courage from a hundred battles!”

“Power from ten thousand years!”

“Confidence to stand proudly in this era!”

“And the determination to never admit defeat!”

On the wide City Wall, Mo Xiaobai roared and drew his Baron’s Sword from his waist:

“If they want to fight, we, the strong soldiers of the Great Han, will accompany them to the end!”

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

In the vast Western Regions desert, the simple words shouted by the Han Army spread far and wide.

The wind stopped.

The smoke rose and fell.

For the mighty Han Army, to proclaim their strength.

Just one word was needed!

Fight!

…

“Paka, what are those Han People saying?”

About seven hundred meters from the Wang City, three Kushan War Generals, protected by their Heavy Cavalry, looked far away at the distant City Wall.

The scene they expected, where Han People would be scared stiff by their iron cavalry, did not happen. Instead, they heard roars like wolves and tigers, followed by the continuous booming of heavy drums.

The drumbeats were deep, and each one felt like it hit the bottom of their hearts, making them feel uneasy.

“They, heh~ they are talking about fighting.”

“Fighting? With just these Han People hiding behind the city walls?”

The lead Kushan War General suppressed the pressure from the heavy drums and sneered: “Send a round of mounted archery at them, and they will probably run away in shame.”

“Paka, take your Mounted Archer unit. I want to see the Han People coming out of the city and kneeling before me within one incense stick’s time!”

“Yes, General!”

The Kushan War General named Paka performed an ancient Chinese-Kushan salute, moved his horse forward two steps, and immediately gave his military order with a unique hand gesture.

As the order passed down, the right flank of the entire Cavalry Unit moved quickly.

Heavy Cavalry came out this time too, but unlike the iron-shelled troops in the front, these riders looked mostly like Han Cavalry, though with some differences.

Han Cavalry mostly used close-range weapons, while this group of Kushan Cavalry each held a longbow.

“Maogong, they are starting to attack.”

Watching the movements of the distant Kushan Cavalry, Mo Xiaobai spoke in a slightly hoarse voice: “I leave the command to you. Including myself, everyone is under your command.”

“Yes!”

Li Ji clasped his hands in salute and then said firmly: “Prepare shields. Everyone else take cover immediately. No Crossbowmen are allowed to fire unless I give the order!”

When a full three thousand Kushan Mounted Arrows came galloping from the east side outside the city wall, all Han Army soldiers could clearly see the shining arrowheads.

“Swish, swish, swish~~”

As a traditional Central Asian Mounted Archer force, this group of cavalry had mastered city assault archery long ago. How high to raise their arms, where to start drawing the bow, the angle of the arrows—all of this was already burned into their minds.

An overwhelming storm of flying arrows, mixed with the sound of breaking strings, whistled towards them.

At that very moment, Li Ji’s command spread across the entire city wall:

“Raise shields!”

Hundreds of large shields rose on the City Wall with a sharp “clang”, protecting almost everyone tightly.

“Clang, clang, clang, clang~”

The sound of metal collisions never stopped. Each impact carried huge force. Mo Xiaobai and Luyu also held large shields. As dozens of arrows hit them at once, the hands gripping the shields shook.

“Hiss~ Such strong force~”

“Didn’t these people just climb out of the snow mountains? How do they still have so much strength?”

The Fatty’s mouth twitched slightly, but the nervousness on his face slowly disappeared. He grinned and said: “But the Western Regions shields are quite sturdy. It’s just that the cost is too high.”

“War is always fought with money.”

Mo Xiaobai held his shield with both hands, but his eyes kept peering out through the gaps: “Do you think Ban Chao spent these years in the Western Regions doing nothing? These are all his accumulated resources. They won’t be so easily broken by the Kushan people.”

“But Fatty, you really need to lose weight. Otherwise, the shield won’t even protect your fat buttocks.”