Chapter 27: Decisive Battle Against the Xiongnu, A Rain of Arrows Blankets the Earth

Chapter 27: Decisive Battle Against the Xiongnu, A Rain of Arrows Covers the Earth

Qin Army Grand Formation

"Messenger, deliver the letter of surrender to Touman!" Meng Tian summoned a scout.

"Understood!"

"Chanyu, look, someone from the Qin army is running out of their formation," a tribal leader beside Touman pointed toward the Qin lines.

A soldier riding a sturdy horse delivered the letter to the foot of the city wall and turned back immediately. Soon, the letter was brought to Touman. He tore it open to find the following message:

"Little Touman, I have heard that since your youth, you have been clever and studious, uniting the northern grasslands with your curved blade and establishing the first nation of the steppe people. I admire this greatly. However, you fail to restrain your tribal subjects, repeatedly harassing our Great Qin’s borders and harming our people, committing monstrous crimes against our Great Qin. Yet, His Imperial Majesty of Great Qin, ever possessing a benevolent heart, does not wish to see the people of two nations suffer such harm. He is willing to grant you one chance: if you lead the Xiongnu tribes and the allied forces to submit to Great Qin, don our imperial attire, and learn the culture of the Central Plains, I shall grant you all a chance to live! Otherwise, wherever my great army passes, not even a chicken or dog shall remain; all shall be buried alive! — Meng Tian, Commander of the Great Qin Northern Expedition."

"Damnable! The Qin are being far too arrogant!" Touman glared at the letter, his explosive rage terrifying the thousands upon thousands atop the walls. As they passed the letter around, roars of fury erupted one after another.

"King of the Xiongnu, let us attack! We must make the Qin taste the bitterness of defeat!" the various tribal leaders shouted.

"Very well!"

"Report! Enemy traces have appeared on the left and right flanks of the main army!" a scout ran toward the command platform beneath the great banner.

"It seems the Xiongnu have no intention of surrendering," Yang Zimo said, sitting in his chair and smiling at Meng Tian.

"Then let us show them the sharp edge of Great Qin's steel!" Meng Tian stood up and began issuing orders. "Prepare to engage the enemy! Ready the arrow formations!"

Rumble!

Thunderous sounds erupted from both sides of Touman City. Hundreds of thousands of warhorses galloped, kicking up clouds of dust that surged toward the Qin army like a sandstorm.

"Warriors! Follow me and slaughter them!" The Xiongnu army split into three, charging toward the Qin formation like three great rivers.

"Arrow formation!" inside the Qin ranks, the signaling officer saw the order from the command tent, picked up his iron megaphone, and bellowed.

"Click, click, click!" The sound of mechanical winches winding filled the army. The crossbow carriages were loaded with massive bolts as thick as a man's arm. The crossbowmen split into three ranks, adopting lying, kneeling, and standing positions, bracing their heavy bows and powerful crossbows.

Under the azure sky, only scattered white clouds drifted by. On the ground, aside from the thunderous gallop of the warhorses, the only sound left was the synchronized breathing of the Qin soldiers.

Touman and his followers stared intensely at the battlefield, watching hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen charging in a three-mile-deep formation. A surge of arrogance filled his heart, as if the entire world were within his grasp.

Only Vivian, standing to the side, watched the Qin formation and murmured to herself, "The Qin are powerful; the Xiongnu coalition is unlikely to hold." Had they not noticed that from the moment the Qin entered the field until they shifted their formation, there had been no sound other than the transmission of military orders?

"Dong! Dong! Dong!" The dull beat of war drums echoed rhythmically across the battlefield. The Qin heavy cavalry, led by their generals, began to trot and accelerate, charging to meet the Yuezhi and Donghu cavalry flanking the main army.

"Eight hundred paces!" a lieutenant shouted, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Five hundred paces!" The vanguard of swordsmen and spearmen could already see the savage expressions on the faces of the tribal warriors.

"Three hundred paces!"

"Longbows, volley fire!" Seeing the Xiongnu cavalry pass the marker arrows, the lieutenant roared.

"Hum!" A shadow flew from the formation, followed by another. Tens of shadows soared, forming a black cloud that rushed toward the galloping Xiongnu.

"Ah! Ah!" Xiongnu cavalrymen fell from their horses one after another, only to be trampled into the earth.

"Crossbows!" the lieutenant roared again. "Fire!"

"Swish, swish, swish!" Before the Xiongnu could escape the initial rain of arrows, they were struck by the heavy crossbows.

Three hundred paces was a journey of less than half a minute for the horses. Even with the three-stage firing pattern, each soldier could shoot at most five arrows. This twenty-four-second charge was a path to hell for the Xiongnu. Twenty thousand longbowmen and thirty thousand crossbowmen loosed four hundred thousand arrows, like a swarm of locusts descending to devour.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Accompanied by the sound of arrows piercing flesh, the vanguard of the Xiongnu was baptized by the rain of death. Men and horses tumbled, those struck by the arrows becoming pincushions before being submerged by the tide of their own army.

"Xiongnu warriors, do not fear! Once we cross this distance, it will be the end of the Qin! Lie flat on your horses and follow me!" Modu shouted from the front.

"Kill!" The Xiongnu cavalry drew their own bows and fired back at the Qin formation.

"Raise shields!" the commander bellowed.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The Xiongnu arrows struck the iron-reinforced Xuanwu shields, leaving only shallow dents. Cries of soldiers being struck echoed, but even in the tightest defense, there are gaps. Some unlucky souls were hit, but thanks to the Qin armor and face visors, most took wounds to the legs or non-vital areas. Only a few were struck in the throat and died instantly.

"Kill!" Seeing the Qin army within reach, Modu roared again.

"Brace spears!"

"Hah!" The Qin spearmen shouted in unison, angling their twelve-foot spears against the Xuanwu shields. They drove the butts of the spears deep into the turf, gripping the shafts with their right arms and left hands, crouching low to form a forest of steel that blocked the cavalry charge.

"Die!" Modu pulled his curved blade, spurred his horse, and, protected by his elite guard, slammed into the Qin line.

"Boom!" The violent collision shattered the heavens.

The infantry line of spears and shields was immediately dented. Blood sprayed, bodies flew, and the small breach became a vent for the Xiongnu to pour their rage. The following cavalry rushed through, slowly widening the gap.

"Brothers, hold the line!" at the buckling defense, a captain roared.

The shield-bearers behind stepped up to replace their fallen comrades, while the spearmen thrust at the riders or used long hooks to drag them from their mounts, leaving them to be hacked to death by the swordsmen.

The sounds of hacking, screaming, and carnage echoed everywhere. The entire battlefield transformed into purgatory. On the flanks, the cavalry forces clashed in a back-and-forth struggle, limbs flying and blood soaking the earth, slowly staining the grass deep crimson.