From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 62 One Man Guards the Pass

Lin Yan drew several arcs with his scabbard, pointing to the lines he had just drawn, and said, "The barbarians are most vulnerable when their formation is crowded together as they come up from the narrow path. Five teams will press forward from the front, while five teams on each flank will charge down from the low cliffs, cutting their vanguard in two."

Fang Dahai stared at him for a long time before uttering a single word: "Big".

"A large formation is better."

Lin Yan stood up. "Xiong Kuo, you lead the supply battalion to attack the main front. Fang Dahai, your three hundred men will defend the low cliff on the left flank."

Ye Qingxue, your light cavalry will guard the right flank cliff. Sun Dayong, you will lead the scout team to relay orders. All orders will be given using smoke signals: three black smoke signals indicate an attack, two red smoke signals indicate a retreat.

Ye Qingxue asked, "And you?"

"I brought thirty veterans and positioned them right in the middle, at the very front."

Ye Qingxue frowned, but didn't say anything.

No one else said anything.

Unbeknownst to many, in just two months, Lin Yan had already won the recognition of everyone in the military with his own strength.

Including Ye Qingxue, a woman with a mysterious background.

Although she said she had entered the military at a young age, for some reason, Lin Yan always felt that this woman's identity was definitely not that simple.

However, since Ye Qingxue didn't say anything, Lin Yan didn't press her for details.

......

The barbarians launched their third attack at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

Leading the charge were the elite Blood Wolf tribe, about two thousand men, pushing ladders and battering rams straight up the narrow passage.

The leader was a burly centurion with a cultivation level at the peak of the first-grade Body Tempering stage. He carried a nine-ringed broadsword on his shoulder and charged forward while shouting a barbarian war song.

The narrow path was so narrow that the two thousand barbarians were crammed into a long line. The front had already reached the bottom of the slope, while the back was still in the narrow path.

Lin Yan stood at the top of the slope, raising the command flag with his right hand.

Three plumes of black smoke rose.

Xiong Kuo led 120 veteran soldiers from the supply battalion to meet them from the front of the slope.

These veterans' swordsmanship had been honed to a high level through martial arts practice and Iron Coffin Cliff. They were arranged in teams of thirty, with five teams forming an arc, swords and shields in front and spears behind, pressing down steadily.

The vanguard of the barbarians had just surged up the slope when they collided with Xiong Kuo's fifth squad.

Barbarians are fierce in individual combat, but they can't move freely when they encounter a dense formation of thirty men. If they slash at the enemy, there are three shields waiting for them, and their comrades are crowding behind them, making it impossible to retreat.

At the same time, three hundred remaining soldiers from Dahai on the left flank above the low cliff and one hundred light cavalry from Ye Qingxue on the right flank charged down simultaneously.

The two flanks, like two sickles, cut in from the side, creating a large gap between the vanguard and the follow-up troops of the barbarians.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the five hundred men of the barbarian vanguard were cut down on the slope, and the follow-up troops were stuck in the narrow passage and could only watch helplessly from below.

Thanks to the formation, Lin Yan's side withstood the first wave.

However, the generals did not show any signs of relief; they all knew that this was only the first wave.

The large formation stopped on the slope, and Xiong Kuo led the five teams in front to retreat steadily.

The barbarians' first attack was repelled.

More than three hundred barbarian corpses were left on the slope, while the supply camp lost more than forty men.

The barbarian horn at the narrow pass had changed its tune.

The second wave was even fiercer, with three thousand infantrymen and five hundred cavalrymen divided into three routes. One route continued to attack the slope from the front, while the other two routes climbed up the hillsides on both sides of the narrow path.

This time, the barbarians didn't squeeze through narrow passages; instead, they flanked the enemy and attacked from three sides simultaneously.

The remaining troops on the left flank, above the low cliffs, held off two routes, while Ye Qingxue's light cavalry on the right flank also held their own, but the pressure on the front suddenly increased.

Lin Yan stood in the center, leading thirty veterans and Xiong Kuo's fifth squad, shoulder to shoulder at the forefront.

The barbarian cavalry charged up the slope, their sabers slashing down but being blocked by shields. The soldiers behind them thrust their spears forward, and the veterans took turns attacking and defending, keeping their formation intact.

This time, it took a full half hour to suppress the barbarians.

The supply battalion lost more than thirty men, and the left vanguard battalion also suffered heavy casualties.

Battlefield casualties, when converted to paper, are just a number.

"This style of play won't last more than a few rounds."

Fang Dahai, with his severed hand in a sling, said, "The barbarians have at least ten thousand soldiers. It's not worth it for them to take turns charging. With our small force, every round we fight is one less round we'll have left."

Lin Yan knew that Fang Dahai was right.

But at this moment he had no other choice.

He looked up at the sky; the sun had just passed noon, and the barbarians' fourth attack had begun.

This time, Lin Yan recognized the leading general.

It was that barbarian general who shouted under the wall, the centurion whose ear was shot off by Lin Yan.

Today he wore a new suit of iron armor, and the nine-ringed broadsword he carried on his shoulder was replaced with a horse-slaying saber that required two hands to lift. Behind him followed three hundred of the Blood Wolf tribe's most elite cavalry.

Everyone wore double-layered iron armor, and the horses were also covered with leather armor on their chests.

Heavy cavalry!

Looking at these people, Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat.

Both men and horses were fully armored; this was clearly an impending all-out attack!

When the three sticks of black smoke rose, Lin Yan waved the command flag half a beat slower than the previous two times.

He realized that this group of barbarians was heading for his central army. The centurion's eyes were fixed on him, clearly wanting revenge for the half-ear.

"Lin Tou".

Xiong Kuo lowered his voice, "The barbarian cavalry's armor is too thick; ordinary swords can't cut through it."

"Change the spear."

Lin Yan immediately spoke up, "All shield bearers on the front, switch to spears, aim the spear tips at the horses' legs."

Even if you're fully armed, you can't possibly strap armor to the horse's legs.

Therefore, Lin Yan's strategy this time was to target the horse's legs.

Xiong Kuo responded and left.

The armored cavalry charged up the slope much faster than the infantry had done before.

The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves on the gravel blotted out the sky, and arrows and stones rained down. Before the spearmen in the front row of the supply battalion could even get their horses' legs, they were covered by a hail of arrows.

More than a dozen veterans fell after being hit by arrows, and the previously intact formation immediately developed a gap.

Lin Yan led thirty veterans to directly block the breach.

The armored cavalry charged into the ranks.

Lin Yan cleaved the foremost barbarian cavalryman in two with a single stroke, then slashed off the leg of the second horse with a swift motion.

The saber came crashing down with a gust of wind. Lin Yan dodged to the side, the blade grazing his ribs and tearing a gash in his armor.

He slammed his palm down on the head of the barbarian general's horse, unleashing a triple surge of power. The horse neighed and collapsed. Before the barbarian general could even regain his footing, Lin Yan's knife was already at his neck.

Before the barbarian could speak, a flash of light appeared, and Lin Yan severed the man's head.

Fresh blood shot into the sky.

Lin Yan stood there, long sword in hand, and roared, "Kill!"

The armored cavalry was routed, but the supply train was also nearly halved.

Sun Dayong had three knife wounds on his body, and Zhang Dabiao's left leg was broken by a horse and he was lying on the ground being bandaged.

Xiong Kuo's thick-backed sword had three more cuts. He squatted on the slope, panting heavily, looking down at the densely packed barbarian tents below, and said in a hoarse voice, "How come these bastards are never finished?"