After a great battle, the grasslands outside Canyon Pass were strewn with broken blades, shattered armor, and mutilated corpses. The anguished neighing of warhorses mingled with the howls of wounded soldiers, like hell on earth...
All four thousand cavalrymen of Qingliang Prefecture had been lost. On the imperial army's side, the ten thousand infantry and ten thousand light cavalry led by Wu Pingnan had also been almost completely wiped out. More than half had been slaughtered in the trap at First-Line Heaven; most of the rest had been annihilated, leaving fewer than two thousand cavalry to flee back to the central army camp in disgrace.
Even with the advantage of terrain on their side, Qingliang Prefecture's achievement was enough to earn a place in the Great Qian Dynasty's history books.
After all, Dangshan Pass had no fortified walls, and there was no cover atop its cliffs.
This victory had depended entirely on the loyalty and courage of those four thousand cavalrymen...
By now, nearly eight hours had passed since the fighting began. It would soon be one in the morning.
When people in ancient times marched to war, they had no modern military equipment or firepower. They relied entirely on their own two legs to run and maneuver, and battles lasting through the night were commonplace.
There was little time left. Only four hours remained before Ren Ye received the Princess Tomb's Mystical Ability inheritance.
Zuo Xuan's expression was calm, but inwardly he was frantic. He repeatedly reminded himself not to panic. The more critical the moment, the more firmly he had to hold his ground.
He ordered his remaining army of more than thirty thousand to halt outside Canyon Pass, then had the drum carts lined up abreast and their drums beaten repeatedly, calling the scattered routed soldiers back.