Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The dusk of Black Sheep Gorge was crushed by horse hooves. Ma Chao patted the neck of his white horse, Aurora, and caressed the blood scabs on his spear with his fingertips. The letter of distress sent by Ma Dai three days ago was still hidden in the inner pocket of his armor. Now, dozens of bonfires were lit at the valley entrance ahead, and the wolf-head battle flags of the Xianbei people fluttered in the cold wind. The fifty thousand cavalrymen of the Yuwen Dashi army were already on the alert.

"Just in time!" Ma Chao's pupils shrank slightly, and he pointed his spear fiercely at the enemy formation. "Zhang Xiu and Niu Jin, each lead 5,000 men to circumvent the two wings! The rest of the soldiers will follow me to charge head-on!"

War drums thundered as the Xiliang cavalry shattered the frozen ground, their hooves clattering and rock-shaking the cliffs. Yuwen Dashi, grinning, tore off his bearskin cloak. Twelve poison-tipped eagle-feather arrows flew from his bowstrings, their tails of wolf hair drawing eerie arcs in the twilight. The Xiliang warhorses in the front row cried out and fell to the ground. The riders, thrown to the ground, vomited black blood, their skin festered at a visible rate.

"You rats only know how to stab people!" Ma Chao roared, ripping the bronze shield from his saddle. Poison arrows clanged against the shield, sending sparks flying. Aurora, his white horse, neighed as it bore its master like a silver meteor, charging into the enemy lines. Behind him, eight hundred personal guards formed a cone-like formation, their spears like a forest, tearing through the Xianbei's defenses.

Yuwen Dashi's pupils constricted, and he seized his mace and charged forward. Sparks flew as the two horses collided. Ma Chao's golden tiger-head spear clashed with the mace, and Yuwen Dashi felt a numbness in his palms, barely able to hold the weapon. Before he could react, Ma Chao's spear suddenly shifted, aiming for his throat! In the nick of time, Yuwen Dashi rolled sideways off his horse, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

"Kill!" Qi Fuyun charged from the left, wielding his mountain-splitting axe. Ghost Hair Knife's scimitar slashed low to the ground, striking at the white horse, Aurora's legs. Zhang Xiu roared, spurring his horse forward, his spear cleaving through the crowd. Niu Jin's Mo Dao whistled as it slashed at Ghost Hair Knife. Amid the chaos, Yuwen Dashi seized the opportunity to climb onto another warhorn and blew his ox horn. Suddenly, clappers rang out from the cliffs on both sides, sending countless tumbling logs and rocks cascading down, blocking the Xiliang army's retreat.

Ma Chao reined in his horse and retreated, sneering at the blocked valley entrance. He wiped the blood from his face and pointed his spear at Yuwen Dashi: "Your tricks are not enough!" The white horse Aurora raised its head and neighed, its hooves digging up the frozen soil. Following its master, it turned and led the cavalry into a tide-like retreat into the twilight.

The night was as dark as ink. The silver mane of the white horse Aurora blew tiny ice crystals in the wind. Ma Chao's spear slammed a Xianbei sentry into the air, and the echo of the grappling hook and chain falling into the ravine startled the crows. Zhang Xiu led his death squad, climbing vines and rushing to the top of the cliff. In a flash of cold light, three patrolling Xianbei soldiers, blood gushing from their throats, were thrown off the cliff before they could even hit the ground.

"Oh no! The Han army is behind us!" A shrill warning pierced the night. Yuwen Dashi overturned the table and spilled his freshly filled cup of mare's milk onto the map. Before the Ghost Hair Knife's scimitar was unsheathed, Niu Jin's Mo Dao had already severed half of his cloak, the blade slicing off a few strands of gray hair just by his ear. The Xianbei camp erupted in chaos, countless dark figures rushing out with weapons in hand, only to collide with each other in the panic.

"Form a formation! Form a formation!" Yuwen Dashi's mace swept across, knocking over two soldiers trampling each other. He looked up and saw a familiar sight of silver armor in the moonlight—Ma Chao standing alone on the high slope, his white horse Aurora neighing with its head held high, the Xianbei flag rising from its hooves. Poisonous arrows whistled towards the Han army, but Ma Chao's wielding spear, emitting a silver gleam, deflected the arrowheads, which fell to the ground one after another.

"Yuwen Dashi! Today is your day of death!" Ma Chao shouted, and the Western Liang cavalry behind him surged down like a tide. Qi Fuyun swung his mountain-splitting axe in an attempt to stop them, but Zhang Xiu's spear entangled the axe blade. As the two clashed, Niu Jin's Mo Dao slashed diagonally, splitting Qi Fuyun's bearskin cloak in two.

Fear flashed in Yuwen Dashi's eyes, but he gritted his teeth and faced the enemy. The mace clashed with the tiger-headed golden spear, sending sparks flying into the tent and starting a fire. Taking advantage of the thick smoke, he suddenly turned his horse and galloped towards the canyon's exit: "Retreat! To the western pass of Black Sheep Gorge..." Before he could finish his words, a poisoned arrow whizzed past his ear—Ma Chao had ordered his men to cut off his retreat the night before.

The Xianbei camp collapsed completely, the cries of the Han army and the wails of the Xianbei echoing through the valley. Yuwen Dashi, gazing at the surrounding Xiliang cavalry, suddenly roared like a trapped beast, brandishing his mace and charging left and right. Ma Chao sneered, and his white horse, Aurora, pursued like an arrow, his spear pointed directly at the beleaguered figure.

Yuwen Dashi's back was already drenched in cold sweat. The blood and ice on his mace mingled with it, weighing heavily on his arms until they numbed. He yanked on the reins, his horse stumbling over the scattered corpses. The cries of the pursuers behind him were like a death warrant. "West! Towards Zhangye!" He roared, swinging his mace to smash the fleeing soldiers blocking his path, only to catch a glimpse of Niu Jin's Mo Dao cleaving through the night, nearly slicing off his shoulder guard.

The Xianbei cavalry were panicking on the mountain path, their horses and riders frequently falling off the cliffs. Yuwen Dashi suddenly reined in his horse and gazed at the burning torches on the cliff face ahead. Ma Chao's silver armor gleamed coldly in the flames, while his white horse, Aurora, pawed the frozen earth impatiently with its iron hooves. "Damn it!" He swung his horse around, only to see Zhang Xiu leading his light cavalry, flanking them, their spears like a forest, blocking their retreat.

At the critical moment, a ghost-hair sword suddenly darted out from the side, its scimitar entwining Zhang Xiu's spear shaft. "My lord, hurry!" Yuwen Dashi gritted his teeth, whipping his mount hard into the dense forest on the left. Arrows whizzed by, and he could clearly hear the screams of his companions behind him, but he dared not look back. Only when the dawn light pierced the clouds and the clatter of the pursuing horses finally faded did he collapse on his horse, gazing at the thousand or so remaining soldiers around him, a salty, sweet taste welling up in his throat. In this battle, nearly half of the fifty thousand elite Xianbei soldiers had been killed, and he had become a stray dog ​​in front of Kebineng's tent.

After a long rest, gathering the remaining troops, the setting sun shone like blood. Yuwen Dashi sat slumped on the rubble of a broken wall, gazing at the devastated camp. The blood on his mace had long since congealed into a black scab. Ghost Hair Knife knelt on one knee, blood still dripping from his scimitar. "Sir, although we have lost more than half our men, the Great Chanyu still has elite troops under his command. If we turn back now and reunite with him, perhaps we can regroup!"

Qi Fuyun, wrapped in a torn bearskin cloak, let out a beastly growl from his throat, "Indeed! Ma Chao's cavalry may be formidable, but we have Wuwei City at our backs. We can defend it from the danger, so we might have a chance of victory!"

Yuwen Dashi suddenly erupted, kicking over the copper pot beside him, spilling the boiling kumis onto the charred earth. "Go back? With these less than 20,000 remaining soldiers?" He pointed westward with red eyes. "The Great Chanyu gave us five days to hold off the enemy, and now, after only one day, most of our 50,000 elite troops have been lost!" His hoarse laughter was filled with despair. "If we go back now, will the Great Chanyu's military law spare us?"

He yanked out the short blade from his waist, cutting a deep wound on his palm that was visible to the bone. Blood dripped onto the tattered wolf-head totem on the Xianbei flag. "The blood of Xianbei men will either be spilled on the battlefield or splashed on the Great Khan's execution ground! Rather than going back to die, it is better to regroup here!" Yuwen Dashi's eyes swept across the pale faces of his soldiers. "Even if Ma Chao had three heads and six arms, he would have to step over our corpses to get through here! At sunrise tomorrow, the entire army will be in formation! I want to see if his Xiliang cavalry can break through our three lines of defense!"

Ghost Hair Knife and Qi Fuyun exchanged a glance before finally tightening their grip on the hilts. A cold wind swept across the ruins, carrying the blood-stained battle cry of Yuwen Dashi far into the distance. An even more brutal battle was quietly brewing beneath the blood-red setting sun.

At dawn the next day, frost clung to Yuwen Dashi's mace, reflecting a chilling light. Twenty thousand remnants of the Xianbei army formed three shield formations, their wolf-head battle flags rustling in the morning breeze, yet they couldn't conceal the fear in the soldiers' eyes. Yuwen Dashi reined in his horse and gazed at the billowing dust in the distance—Ma Chao's Western Liang cavalry had arrived as expected, their white horse Aurora's silver mane like flowing light in the rising sun.

"Well done!" Yuwen Dashi roared, "Today I'll show you the true power of the Xianbei cavalry!"

Ma Chao pulled the reins in front of the battle formation, a sneer curling his lips. "Oh? You don't want to play log-rolling and stone-rolling anymore, you want to fight me head-on?" He took off his helmet, letting the wind blow his black hair. "Zhang Xiu, Niu Jin, let's show them what the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is!"

War drums thundered, and the Western Liang cavalry suddenly accelerated. Zhang Xiu led the charge, his spear wielding a cold star as he charged directly at the Xianbei's front line of shields. Hu Che'er and Hu Chi'er led the cavalry on both wings, cutting in like sharp knives, the sound of their hooves numbing the ground. Yuwen Dashi roared, brandishing his mace, but suddenly Ma Chao raised his hand—

"Split attack!"

The moment the command flag was waved, the Xiliang cavalry split up like a tide, instantly cutting the Xianbei formation into several sections.

Yuwen Dashi's mace, swirling with a whiff of blood, slammed into Zhang Xiu's face. Beneath the Xianbei general's mane-like hair, his eyes glowed an eerie red with bloodshot. Zhang Xiu remained unfazed. His chestnut horse reared to attention, his spear entwined like a dragon, and he capitalized on the opponent's momentum, flipping sideways. As their mounts crossed, Yuwen Dashi suddenly dropped his mace and drew his sword, striking Zhang Xiu in the stomach with a cold glare.

"A trifle!" Zhang Xiu roared, slashing with the butt of his spear. With a clang, the scimitar flew away. Before Yuwen Dashi could react, the spear, like a venomous snake, pierced his throat. The Xianbei general ducked back, his back slamming hard against the saddle. He then unsheathed the short blade from his waist and slashed at the front legs of Zhang Xiu's horse. The white horse neighed in pain, reared up, and flung Zhang Xiu into the air.

Yuwen Dashi seized the opportunity to leap forward, his iron hooves sending icy dust flying into Zhang Xiu's face. In the nick of time, Zhang Xiu twisted mid-air, leveraging the momentum and stabbing his spear into the ground. The recoil sent him soaring like an arrow, the tip of his spear piercing Yuwen Dashi's left shoulder guard, sending blood gushing out. The Xianbei general cried out in pain and reached for Zhang Xiu's ankle, only to have the spear sever three of his fingers.

"Prepare to die!" Zhang Xiu spun and swung his spear across Yuwen Dashi's knees the instant he landed. The Xianbei general fell to his knees, and before he could rise, Zhang Xiu advanced, spear point pressed against his throat. Yuwen Dashi's eyes widened in fury, a low growl of a trapped animal emanating from his throat. But when he met the other's icy gaze, his breath suddenly deflated—the coldness of someone accustomed to life and death.

"Puff!" The spear sank into Yuwen Dashi's throat, and Yuwen Dashi's screams abruptly ceased. Zhang Xiu kicked the corpse aside, and blood dripped from the tip of his spear, blooming red plum blossoms on the frozen soil. He looked up at the defeated Xianbei army, lifted Yuwen Dashi's head with his spear, and shouted, "Who else?" The sound was like thunder, shaking the remaining Xianbei soldiers to their core.

"Sir!" Qi Fuyun's eyes were bloodshot as he lunged forward with his axe, only to be slashed off by Niu Jin's sword. He screamed and fell in a pool of blood. Seeing the situation was dire, Guifadao feinted his sword and led the remaining troops through the encirclement. The Xiliang cavalry pursued them relentlessly, raining arrows like locusts.

Ma Chao reined in his white horse, Aurora, and watched the Xianbei army's rout. He lifted Yuwen Dashi's head with his spear and laughed loudly, "Pass my order to Wuwei at full speed! Let Kebi see for himself what happens to those who try to stop the Xiliang cavalry!"