Not only the King of the Grasslands, but many cavalry soldiers ahead also saw the sparse figures in the distance holding up war flags like ants trying to stop a chariot. However, most people did not realize what that meant.
Even before setting off, the Grassland King had vividly described everything to them. Without sufficient support at Yanmen Pass, they could not stop the Grassland tribe's army, which could freely wield their scimitars to reap the lives and wealth of the people of Xichu and then triumphantly return.
No one could stop them.
No one!
But...something was wrong, things were not right. The Grassland King, with his keen intuition like a wolf, already sensed something was amiss. However, the army he had ordered to march all the way to the northwest capital of the empire had become engulfed in the fervor of plunder, and they could not stop for a few insignificant enemies.
Indeed, when swept up in a fervent group, it was difficult for a person to make rational judgments. Therefore, even though a few people felt that the figures ahead were not right, the thirty-thousand iron riders still swept forward like a torrent.
As the Grassland troops rapidly approached, getting close enough to see the scimitars held high in the hands of the frontline cavalry and hear the heavy breathing of the warhorses, Xiang Ling suddenly swung his right arm and hurled the long spear he held.
The long spear, with a war flag on top, traced a beautiful arc in the air and fell into the eyes of all Grassland cavalry soldiers. However, the spear did not hit any enemy but landed around fifty meters in front of the vanguard cavalry.
Before the vanguard cavalry could be puzzled by the spear that had not inflicted any harm on them, a change occurred.
The long spear served as a starting signal or a switch, as it touched the ground, countless "points" appeared in a straight line around the point of contact with the ground—suddenly, abrupt deep pits appeared, and the ground around each pit collapsed at an extremely fast speed, quickly connecting the points into a line.
Of course, the so-called line was only from a bird’s eye view; for the Grassland people, it was a trench six meters wide and stretching nearly a kilometer.
"...When was this dug?"
Tiran unconsciously looked at Mo Yi, and he could only think that this guy was most likely responsible for this oddity.
"A little earlier than when we left the city."
Seeing the smug smile on Mo Yi's face, it was indeed this guy who had not left, "Automaton-type tunneling machine, the idea proposed by His Highness Ling. I tried to realize it with machinery and later mass-produce it in the military factory at Yanmen Pass... Although this thing can only achieve maximum efficiency in the hands of those who know machinery, relying solely on the automaton core for construction of military facilities or excavation projects is sufficient."
As Mo Yi said, many machines about the size of a storage cabinet quickly climbed out of the trench with several mechanical legs moving briskly, even faster than the cavalry.
"This thing... T2 bacteriophage? Or a terror robot? I understand why those guys like Sainz only made a cruise ship to make extra money, no wonder they have no interest in the East, it turns out there's no market..."
Watching the appearance of those machines, the princess inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.
With machinery directly used in military affairs, and even mass-produced for excavations that were originally done by engineers, the level of popularity surpassed that of West Land still using magitech cannons and magic rifle-armed units by a large margin.
Putting aside those facts, coming back to the present, this princess was not just a character who relied solely on Holy Rank or Earth Immortal-level strength, but this trench was a perfect embodiment of tactical execution.
Dozens of meters may be just a moment for galloping war horses, but such a short amount of time is simply insufficient to make a cavalry unit of thirty thousand stop. And to jump over... a six-meter distance is indeed achievable by some war horses, but only by a portion of them, and those in the rear would have their line of sight blocked, unaware of the danger ahead and unknowingly rolling into the pit one after another.
Sending a few scouts to coax the steppe people into traps with risky maneuvers came at the cost of only minor injuries, but the results were tremendous. Tiran could see from afar that almost the entire vanguard of the steppe people had fallen off their horses, adding numerous cries of agony amid the heavy sounds of hooves.
Some quick-reacting cavalrymen urged their mounts to leap over the trap with a burst of speed. But before they could even regain their composure from the shock, several shining streaks from the sky cleanly impaled them along with their horses.
Zhilan, who had arrived above the trench early, controlled nine swords to strike simultaneously. The swordsmanship of a sword cultivator was entirely beyond what ordinary cavalrymen could withstand. Each sword strike was as effortless as chopping leeks, splattering blood continuously on the overturned soil of the trench, gradually intensifying the battlefield's bloody smell.
"It seems like I have no business here, right?" Tiran didn't initially approach the situation with a spectator mindset. Although she had participated in activities such as hunting down beast tides and defeating warlocks before, and had seen many adventurers dead on the spot, this was her first real step onto the battlefield. Moreover, she had never witnessed a scenario where four were up against thirty thousand.
Yet, upon seeing the scene now, she felt that the battle might end even without her having to lift a finger. "Maybe that's the case. Although His Highness Ling doesn't say it out loud, deep down he probably wishes for Your Highness Tiran to witness his valor," Mo Yi interjected with a sarcastic tone out of the blue.
...Your Highness Ling has let down your unwavering loyalty, my apologies! Tiran was tempted to say to Mo Yi, how about we team up and you help me woo His Highness Ling, and in return, I'll help you save Aya – everyone wins. But before Tiran had a chance to voice this thought, Mo Yi had already focused his attention on the battlefield ahead, releasing over a dozen circular mechanized devices resembling flying saucers from his storage artifact.
Although the floating cannons were ingeniously assembled from various precision parts, after tempering, they could be considered as magical artifacts. Linked with Mo Yi's primordial spirit, they could be mind-controlled to form arrays and launch attacks freely, displaying considerable power. Tiran had seen Mo Yi use these during the Martial Arts Festival, but back then, he only used three cannons and already demonstrated impressive combat capabilities. If it wasn't for his rapid progress after consuming some medicine during that time, or if he had held back his strength intentionally.
Watching the three at the forefront bombarding recklessly, Tiran felt her scalp tingling. Wait, Xiang Ling seems not to have joined in yet, but the combination of the trench, aerial floating cannons, and Zhilan's flying swords had already caused a significant slaying of the steppe people. What was even more critical was that the cavalry in the rear, unaware of the situation, kept charging forward, pushing the vanguard relentlessly into the trench.
Ultimately, the trench could not stop the advance of the steppe people, but as they tread through it, filled with the bodies of companions and warhorses, at least two thousand steppe cavalrymen had fallen in the ditch. While the steppe people's military strength appeared mighty on the surface, their charge had been effectively contained. Even after crossing the trench, their speed was less than half of what it was originally.
At this crucial moment, Xiang Ling, who had been waiting for a while, finally took action. With no war cry or trumpet sound, Xiang Ling silently swung his long spear, erupting a burst of crimson light that roamed ferociously within dozens of meters. The effect was similar to thunder striking the ground, with just one blow sending more than a hundred steppe people, who had just crossed the trench and were angered by the trap, flying several meters in the air, man and horse crashing down lifelessly before touching the ground.
Tiran suddenly felt that he might have something in common with this princess in terms of combat – simple, rough, and invincible.
As a nomadic people from the grasslands, the people of the grasslands have always admired wolves and eagles, with these cavalry often likening themselves to wolves. To be honest, based on the experience gained from many years of fighting between the soldiers of Yanmen Pass and the people of the grasslands, it is not entirely boastful, as the cavalry tactics of the grassland people do have some merit.
Different from traditional large-scale cavalry charges, they excel in operating in groups of three to five riders, constantly harassing larger enemy forces with hit-and-run tactics using mounted archery, then swiftly retreating, gradually wearing down the opponent layer by layer like peeling potatoes, just like a pack of wolves hunting large prey.
However, this time the pack wolf tactics were useless. If we must make a comparison, the opponents are neither large prey nor fierce beasts like lions or tigers, but rather massive killing machines like the Type 8 tanks.
Zhilan and Moyi's mechanized floating cannons on the left and right flanks also followed, continuously sweeping away the grassland people approaching from both sides, leaving no worries behind and turning Ling into an emotionless humanoid reaper.
So far, Tiran has yet to sense any obvious signs of applying the rules such as time dilation or space rupture from Xiang Ling, but the sheer power of that crimson light is outrageously strong, nearly reaching a level of instant death on contact. If one is lucky, they may leave behind a whole corpse, but a direct hit would obliterate one's form completely.
Emmmm... if it were me, I probably could reap as well, but the sheer power of Frost Chi alone falls short compared to Xiang Ling's red light, at least not reaching that level of power with a single normal attack.
Eh, is this all about mowing down enemies effortlessly?
...
The Grassland King was dumbfounded.
In just five minutes from the chaos at the vanguard to bodies scattered across the fields, thousands of elite cavalrymen of the Royal City perished, while the enemy only had four individuals.
Under the Grassland King's command were valiant warriors, four guardsmen, and six wolf head commanders, all renowned warriors in the grasslands, with strength on par with the Ninth Rank classification in West Land. However, as the reports from the vanguard just came in, the four wolf head commanders leading the charge had vanished without a trace, not even able to withstand a single encounter.
The guard returning to report was covered in blood, his left arm severed. According to him, he was merely grazed by that red light and fell heavily wounded; only by playing dead among the corpses did he manage to survive.
In a regular battle, the Grassland King would have unhesitatingly beheaded a retreating senior officer to boost morale, but now the Grassland King had entirely lost that intention.
What in the world was that thing?!
The Grassland King's current emotions were probably a mixture of shock and anger, well, perhaps more astonishment, as the sounds of battle cries from the vanguard were now barely audible.
Is everyone dead?
After a moment of hesitation, the Grassland King harbored a thought in his mind that he dared not consciously entertain.
What comes next...
The next moment, his pupils reflected a crimson light.
