Raid Their Royal Court, Ten Thousand Horses Galloping!!

To Aha Chu—and even more so to the entire Jianzhou Tatars—

As a small tribe, they could only cling to larger ones. Otherwise, on this Northern Frontier where the strong devoured the weak, they would have been wiped out long ago.

Compared with the other Tatar tribes, the reason the Jianzhou Tatars had grown somewhat stronger was the support of the Yuan Court.

Even if the Yuan Court had weakened, to his tribe it was still that once-unrivaled Yuan Court.

If they offended the Ming Dynasty, his tribe could still migrate north and move far away from the Ming Dynasty. But if they offended the Yuan Court, they would find it difficult to survive anywhere on this Northern Frontier.

As the chief of a tribe, the first thing he had to consider was his people's survival. The same was true for Aha Chu.

"Agunu."

"I'll give you one last chance. You must wipe out this Ming Army force that has invaded."

"And Zhu Ying."

"You must capture him. Best if you take him alive; if not, tear him to ten thousand pieces," Aha Chu said coldly.

"This subordinate will never disappoint the chief."

"If I cannot annihilate Zhu Ying and the Ming Army this time, I am willing to accept death," Agunu immediately vowed.

"The Ming Army has cavalry. I will give you the last two thousand personal-guard cavalrymen of our tribe."

"I hope you will not disappoint me." With a sweep of his hand, Aha Chu revealed a grim resolve.

The Yuan Court had repeatedly sent people to demand reinforcements, ordering him to send troops. Refusal was a crime.

Thus, he had to deal with this Ming Army force.

Under the cover of night, the tribal seat of the Jianzhou Tatars was utterly peaceful.

As the most prosperous tribe within their territory, it was also surrounded by several tribal settlements, which guarded the main tribe at the tribal seat.

Together, those few tribes had a population of tens of thousands.

In the other tribes—especially those Zhu Ying had led his army to assault—the Tatars had already deployed heavy forces. It was also a trap. So long as Zhu Ying led his army to raid another tribe, those prepared troops would immediately form an encirclement and use their overwhelming numerical advantage against him.

Although their forces had all been sent to deal with Zhu Ying, several thousand soldiers still remained behind at the tribal seat. Outside it, numerous Tatar infantrymen patrolled beneath the night sky, and their sentry posts were even more thorough than those of the Tatar tribes closer to the Ming Dynasty.

After all, this was the seat of an entire tribe. Its defenses were naturally tighter.

Less than two li from the settlement, beneath the night sky, an army like a host of ghosts had already gathered. All around them were tens of thousands of warhorses, though the horses had been dispersed.

"Garrison Commander."

"Following your orders, the soldiers drove the warhorses here in batches. The scouts report that we have not alerted the guards at this Tatar tribal seat," Wei Quan reported to Zhu Ying.

"Very good."

Zhu Ying nodded, his gaze fixed on the distant tribal seat.

Beyond its sentry posts, firelight flickered. More than a hundred watchtowers stood tall, while hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Tatar soldiers patrolled outside.

"Are the brothers all ready?" Zhu Ying asked with a grave expression.

"Rest assured, Garrison Commander. They are all ready."

"We have told the brothers everything that needed to be told."

"In this battle, even in death, we will have no regrets," the Thousand Commanders said in unison.

Zhu Ying nodded and raised the Treasure Eagle Bow.

"Drive the warhorses straight at this Tatar settlement."

"With ten thousand warhorses charging together, with ten thousand horses galloping, that force will be enough to smash every one of the Tatar sentry posts."

"Our army will charge behind the horses," Zhu Ying said in a deep voice.

"This subordinate obeys."

The Thousand Commanders answered as one.

Once the Thousand Commanders had made their preparations and returned to their respective camps, Zhu Ying did not hesitate in the slightest. He shouted in a low voice, "Attack."

"Brothers!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The Thousand Commanders roared.

Immediately after.

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

The officers and soldiers roared one after another, lashing the surrounding horses with their whips.

At once, waves of horses' neighing rang out.

Thousands upon thousands of warhorses broke into a gallop, charging toward the Tatar tribal court.

Ten thousand horses galloping as one—what a magnificent sight.

The entire night was engulfed by the thunder of galloping hooves.

"Kill!"

Zhu Ying let out a low shout and charged forward with his battle saber in hand.

"We swear to follow the Garrison Commander unto death!"

"Kill!"

All the officers and soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs, following the stampeding warhorses as they charged toward the Tatar tribal court.

At the Tatar tribal court, the patrolling Tatar soldiers stared in panic toward the direction of the thundering hooves.

Many Tatar soldiers in the watchtowers were jolted awake as well.

"This is bad!"

"Enemy attack!"

"It's the Ming Army—they've come to kill us!"

"They didn't attack our tribal settlements. They've come to strike our tribal court!"

"Quick... report to the chieftain at once!"

"Set up defenses! Hurry, set up defenses..."

One Tatar soldier after another cried out in frantic confusion.

At this moment, none of them remained calm.

The ever-peaceful Jianzhou Tatar tribal court had fallen into chaos.

However, the Tatar soldiers stationed at the tribal court were also their elite, trained in tactics passed down by the Yuan Court.

At the front line of the tribal court, the Tatar soldiers in the watchtowers raised their bows one after another, while those within the tribal court gathered in haste, readying bows, spears, and every possible precaution.

"Loose arrows!"

As countless warhorses came charging in, beneath the curtain of night, all they could see were endless warhorses racing toward them, as though thousands upon thousands of Ming Dynasty cavalry were storming in.

From the watchtowers and within the tribal court behind the shut gates, the Tatar soldiers sent a rain of wild arrows flying madly into the dim, galloping mass beneath the night.

Under that chaotic rain of arrows, many warhorses were pierced through. But horses were not people—after taking arrows, they could only let out agonized neighs. They could not stop, and could only follow their companions in a mad charge onward.

In the blink of an eye, the stampede of ten thousand horses reached the tribal court's gates.

Facing the watchtowers and gates ahead, the warhorses were driven onward, charging without regard for their lives.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of crashing impacts rang out.

Many warhorses smashed to death directly against the gates, leaving them on the verge of collapse; others slammed into the palisades.

If these had been the walls of a city, the charge of ten thousand horses would have been nothing but throwing away lives.

But this was a Tatar tribe, a Northern Frontier tribe. How could their palisades and gates compare to city walls?

"This is bad!"

"These are warhorses driven here by the Ming Army!"

"The palisades are about to be breached! The gates won't hold much longer!"

"This is bad..."

Countless Tatar soldiers inside cried out in terror.

Especially those Tatars who had desperately blocked the camp gate—they were now bearing the impact of countless warhorses.

At last!

The fences and camp gate of the Tatar tribal court reached the limits of what they could withstand.

Boom!

The camp gate was smashed open by the charging mass of warhorses.

"Argh... argh..."

The warhorses thundered forward, trampling straight over them.

Countless Tatars let out agonized screams as they were mercilessly crushed to death beneath the horses' hooves.

"The Defender truly is wise."

"Gathering the warhorses not only lets us switch mounts, but also greatly strengthens our army's ability to storm the camp."

"With ten thousand horses galloping like a tidal flood, it is the equal of tens of thousands of troops charging forward."

"This battle—"

"We will slaughter this Tatar tribal court until not a scrap of armor remains."

"Brothers!"

"Kill!"

"Kill..."

Watching the stampede of ten thousand horses smash through the Tatars' defenses, countless Ming Dynasty soldiers roared in exhilaration.

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