Chapter 58 – Fight to the Death
Translated by Bloodfalcon
Current translation is MTL, it is not translation checked, proofread or heavily edited yet.
“Why those people have passed, and now you do not let us pass?!” Forever and ever there will be people who will discontent with one's decision. This kind of people will never realized that when Liu Mang let them pass, he is already jeopardizing them and Urban Army. This kind of people only know that Liu Mang is the one who currently making them perish.
Thus is the cruelty and the needs for phalanx formation existence.
Liu Mang's eyes throw cold glance. Liu Mang simply thought “You're the one seeking death right? So don't blame me on what about I do to you!” Actually they have the third option, if one may think, that is to built defense line along with Urban Army. If they think this way, then they maybe have opportunity to survive this battle but they do not and they are blocking Urban Army and disrupting their formation, so he have no choice but to kill them.
"SHAAAA!"Liu Mang issues order without hesitation.
“Puff! Puff!” And then, allied force become corpse by Urban Army. These supply troops really terrified and finally divided by two, some of them helped Urban Army construct defense line, and some of them just lying on the ground, waiting for death.
“SHA, SHA, SHAAAAA!” Zhang Kai's Yu Province cavalry troops has arrived in storming manner. The one who has most bad luck are those supply troops who have given up resisting. Their bodies trampled over and over again until they become meat patty by those mighty cavalry troops.
“Clip, clop!” Liu Mang finally knew firsthand how cavalry troops might in cold weapon era. This feeling of earthquake is enough to make one frightened, let alone cavalry troops prowess.
Liu Mang noticed that Urban Army soldiers faces are painted with fear already. Hey, they are mostly newly recruited soldier, so this is their first battle and their first battle, they are facing with cavalry!
Liu Mang also afraid. This is battlefield, this is war, where the conclusion is “You or me who die”. So Liu Mang, remembering what Lu Bu taught him, calm himself down. He cannot be confused or flustered. General is the soul of an army, if he show one weakness, then Urban Army will be annihilated. Liu Mang shouted “Brothers! All of you forget our slogan?! Our oath?! Together, we live or die; together, we share riches and honor!? This is our first battle! Are you all afraid like chicken?! Have you all forgotten all of that?!”
“Together, we live or die; together, we share riches and honor! Together, we live or die; together, we share riches and honor!!” Cheng Yu and his troops is the one who shout first. This kind of atmosphere is infectious to all humans who are staying right now. Their fear perishes and changed into different kind of madness, so Urban Army also roared “Together, we live or die; together, we share riches and honor!! Together, we live or die; together, we share riches and honor!!”
Looking at Urban Army's restored morale, Liu Mang smiled and then start taunting the enemy “Come On! Come On!”
Liu Mang ordered “Great shield row, raise your shield! Second row put your spear on the great shield troops shoulder! Third row, raise your spear! Fourth row, draw your bow!”
“Ha Ha Ha, Lu Bu Army already scattered by our first charge!” Zhang Kai who has decimated supply troops become extremely arrogant and start acting up “SHA SHA SHA! Lu Fengxian, you are but mediocre compared to me, Zhang Kai!”
Zhang Kai really underestimate the phalanx formation of Urban Army “A mere thousand infantries tried to stop my Yu Province cavalry?! Brat, you are an easy prey and easy merit!” Said Zhang Kai after seeing Liu Mang's phalanx formation. This war is easy as pie, and Zhang Kai will get the most merit of them all, so he become really greedy.
”Brothers, rush them, they are our merit and wealth! Easy as pie, Ha Ha Ha Ha!” Zhang Kai shouted.
"150 steps, 140 steps, 130 steps, 120 steps, 100 steps, 80 steps!"Liu Mang scream his order “Fourth row, arrow volley!”
When Liu Mang issued orders from fourth row of phalanx formation until the end row, they send volley to the enemies. With exception of first having only great shield, second and third rows having spears, all of Urban Army soldiers are equipped with long bow. Moreover this is cavalry troops charge, so no need to aim, like all volley tactic, hit everywhere.
“Abominable!” Zhang Kai using his sword tried to deflect arrows. Even if he is a general, he can only protect himself during arrow volley. An arrow find its way to Zhang Kai's body, “AH!” Instead of stopping to calm himself down, he pull the arrow using his teeth. Blood gushing everywhere, but he did not care at all instead just increasing his bloodlust.
Zhang Kai can deflect arrows, but the other cavalry soldiers whose martial arts are not as good as him, started to fall one by one.
“You got big balls!” Zhang Kai's eyes have an overwhelming kill intention. These cavalry soldiers are Zhang Kai's subordinate, they are promised promotion. Now, no less than a hundred soldiers died under volley.
“Rush! I must rip that general!” Zhang Kai roared wildly.
Suddenly the speed of cavalry soldier, who was originally fast, become 100 times faster.
“Kill them all!” Zhang Kai's face become more bloodthirsty. Every time one of his Yu Province cavalry dead, increase his anger.
“Boom!” The strong wave of cavalry troops were met with Urban Army great shield row. The momentum of cavalry troops charging made the great shield troops stagger, but fortunately there are spearmen behind them.
“Puff Puff!” 2.8 meter spears stabbing those cavalry soldiers, making those who dare to charge similar to Hangtulu.
TL: Hangtulu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanghulu
The great shield soldiers who at the front row, also suffer a lot of soldiers. They have protection of great shields, so the cavalry soldiers cannot injure great shield soldiers. But when horses ram them, that is when they suffer internal injuries. Several great shield soldiers already vomiting black blood mixed with damaged internal organ.
“Second row give your spear to first row and switch positions!” Liu Mang scream again. This idea is to supplement those who are injured from the first row, so second row spearmen become the first row great shield soldier to stop cavalry charge.
“Third row spearmen, press on! Fourth row put down your bow and raise your spears, prepare to switch with third row!” Second row spearmen, all of them, already have stabbed their spears to cavalry soldiers and with blood gushing everywhere, it will be hard for them to see, so third row have to press on again on them!”
“What the fuck is this tactic?!” Zhang Kai is not stupid. At first when his vanguard troops made contact Lu Bu army, he is already slaughtering them, therefore he cannot imagine that now his vanguard army is blocked and starts to suffer a very hurtful casualties.
The great shield soldiers and spearmen is similar to barricade to stop cavalry troops
Horse screams everywhere, the whole battle has made the battlefield become pitiful.
“RUSH, RUSH, RUSH!” Zhang Kai ordered while biting his tooth. The loss of Yu Province Cavalry made him very sad, but he had to rush. He can see, although right now, his cavalry troops charge has been stopped by phalanx formation, there is one big flaw in this tactic and that is lack of troops. Usually 2,000 cavalry soldiers can press 10,000 infantries. So one cavalry troops can only be replaced by one heavy-armor infantry.
But that trade is also not so good, because cavalry has mobility, which infantry do not have.
So right now, even though Zhang Kai knew that he cannot break phalanx formation, he actually knew that the opposite division have too few soldiers. Due to horse charge, sooner or later, they will be able to breakthrough their defense line. Do they really think with those less than 1,000 infantries able to stop us, 2,000 cavalry troops? Keep dreaming okay.
Let alone, when they are hit by 3,000 troops of Chen Lan army from their flank.
“SHAA, SHAA, SHAAAA!” Cavalry troops kept charging again and again, Urban Army also kept persevere.
“Persevere, Persevere!” Liu Mang also bet his life in this battle, because if the formation was breached by cavalry, they are dead completely.
“SHAAAA!” Above the sidewalk, finally Chen Lan army arrived with 3,000 troops to flank Urban Army. If they managed to join the cavalry, then Urban Army will perish.
“Cheng Yu, you take over my position, direct our brothers here!” Said Liu Mang while pulling up his horse rein.
“Personal bodyguard, come with me to engage the enemy!” Now he can only use his 100 personal cavalry bodyguards, 100 versus 3,000! Ha-ha, even a stupid person know what the outcome of this battle, but now Liu Mang do not have a choice at all. Even though this is a fight that is impossible to win, what he needs now to buy time. So that Boss Lu who is still at Mt. Bagong dispatch troops to rescue him!
“General, you are our division commander in chief! How can you engage the enemy yourself? Just let me go and engage them!” Cheng Yu also knows that, 100 cavalry versus 3,000 infantry troops, the end is a narrow escape. How can he let Liu Mang, the commander in chief, take risk?
“You stay here and command! As long as you persevere, I will not die! Personal bodyguards charge!” Liu Mang waved his long sword towards Chen Lan army.