Cavalry had long been known as the kings of field battles, but heavy cavalry stood apart from ordinary cavalry. Not only were the soldiers clad in heavy armor, impervious to blades and spears, but even the horses wore layers of protective armor, making their attack power formidable. A single cavalryman could take on six or seven infantrymen, while a heavy cavalryman could easily handle twenty or more.

This advantage was even more pronounced in siege battles, where heavy cavalry played a crucial role. With a force of over fifty thousand heavy cavalry, capturing a city became a simple task. The city defenders were mostly infantry, and each time they emerged from the city gates to engage the enemy, only a limited number could exit at once. Before they could even form a proper battle formation, the cavalry would charge and scatter them, leaving them utterly defenseless. Because of this, Mo Xiao’s army galloped across the plains with hardly any rivals. After entering the central plains, they became unstoppable in battle, winning every engagement.

Now, the Lin family’s army was about to face this nightmare of a force. Fortunately, Lin Dan had led her troops to a major victory, greatly boosting their morale. They had also seized a large number of warhorses and armor, which allowed them to upgrade their equipment. She even trained a five-thousand-strong heavy cavalry unit and led them on raids across the plains, instilling them with a fierce and bloody spirit. Because of this, the upcoming battle held a glimmer of hope.

In the distance, the war drums thundered. Nearby, Lin Dan had already donned her heavy armor and was slowly walking toward her horse. Amidst the towering, burly men, her figure seemed even more slender, but her aura remained undiminished. As she passed, the soldiers on either side removed their helmets and knelt in salute. They revered her from the bottom of their hearts and had long been completely loyal to her. Without her, there would be no Lin family’s army of today, and certainly no tiger-like force that the Xiongnu referred to as demons.

The armor, weighing fifty or sixty jin, seemed weightless on Lin Dan’s body as she nimbly mounted her horse and commanded, “Move out.”

“Lin Dan!” A hoarse voice suddenly called out, causing her to pause and look back.

Ding Mujie slowly approached with a forced smile. “Lin Dan, I wish you victory. On the battlefield, blades and swords have no eyes, so be careful!”

Before Lin Dan could respond, Li Xian confidently declared, “With a fierce general like General Lin at our side and a brilliant strategist like Mingde^[1]highest virtue advising us, our Great Wei army is sure to win this battle. Enough talk, let’s go! You can wait for our triumphant return.”

Mingde was Ding Mujie’s courtesy name. In recent days, he had wholeheartedly strategized for Li Xian, and the two had gone from strangers to close friends.

After their farewells, the warhorses set off in unison, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust. The swirling sand obscured Lin Dan’s figure and blurred Ding Mujie’s vision. He suppressed the fear and sorrow welling up inside him and only when the army had vanished from sight did he wave his hand and said, “Let’s go find a high vantage point to watch the battle.”

A group of soldiers immediately escorted him to a nearby hill. As the military advisor to Prince Zhuang, and with his frequent strategic victories, Ding Mujie now held considerable status within the army.

———pr

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

The two armies met on a vast plain and began forming their ranks. Technically speaking, the Lin family’s army, numbering over a hundred thousand soldiers, was a lot bigger than Mo Xiao’s forces. However, these troops were mostly infantry, who stood no chance against heavy cavalry. However, Mo Xiao did not underestimate the Lin family’s army. Over the past few days, he had heard from his scouts about Lin Dan’s achievements and reputation, and before he knew it, he had developed a sense of admiration for her.

Seeing Lin Dan’s face, both strikingly beautiful and cold as ice, he couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh. “Excellent! This is the kind of opponent that I, Mo Xiao, imagined!”

Lin Dan remained still.

Mo Xiao didn’t bother with challenges or taunts. He simply raised his hand and commanded, “Attack!”

The Xiongnu heavy cavalry, clad in armor, advanced like a massive wall, pressing forward with overwhelming force. A cavalryman in the front ranks of the Lin family’s army suddenly raised a small flag and waved it a few times. The troops behind him immediately began to shift formations. The infantry marched forward in orderly rows, ten men per line and five men per column, forming neat squares that shielded the cavalry behind them.

Cavalry versus cavalry was the best tactic. Sending cavalry against infantry was akin to offering themselves up to the enemy. Mo Xiao was unsure of what the Lin family’s army was up to, and a hint of doubt crossed his mind, but this slight hesitation was not enough to instill fear of the Wei army in him.

As the sound of approaching hooves grew louder, the Lin family’s army’s infantry held their positions at the front, unwavering, while their cavalry remained comfortably protected behind them, showing no intention of charging forward.

At a distance of two hundred zhang, one hundred and fifty zhang, and then one hundred zhang, the enemy army approached closer and closer, yet the Lin family’s army still showed no reaction, as if they were waiting for death. This situation was obviously abnormal. There must have been a trick! Just as Mo Xiao realized this, the Xiongnu cavalry at the front suddenly fell into a pit, and the riders behind, unable to stop in time, trampled over them, causing even greater casualties.

Mo Xiao looked carefully and discovered that at some point, the Lin family’s army had dug trenches across the previously flat land. These trenches were covered with bamboo nets and then concealed with grass, making them impossible to notice from afar. The trenches opened up like gaping mouths, swallowing the onrushing Xiongnu cavalry whole. The fallen riders filled the pits before those behind could proceed.

The heavily armored soldiers and warhorses, already cumbersome, had no chance to get back up after falling and were crushed under the iron hooves of their comrades. Fortunately for Mo Xiao, he had stayed back to command the rear, otherwise, he too would have been caught in the trap. By now, it was too late to retreat, and the Xiongnu soldiers had no choice but to ignore their fallen comrades and continue charging forward.

The infantry of the Lin family’s army stood their ground. When the Xiongnu cavalry got close enough, the soldiers pulled out long poles known as ‘cavalry blockers’ and held them diagonally in front of their bodies. In an instant, the well-ordered square formations transformed into lines of hedgehogs, making it impossible for the enemy to approach. The Xiongnu cavalry, unable to stop in time, crashed into the poles, resulting in further casualties.

One Great Wei soldier ran backward, waving a small flag. Seeing this signal, the Lin family’s army immediately adjusted their formation. The infantry at the front dropped their broken poles and retreated, while the light cavalry, who had stayed in the rear, charged forward. However, their weapons were not the usual swords or spears, but six feet long scythes. Instead of slashing at the enemy’s heads, they bent low and used the sharp blades to strike at the horses’ hooves.

The Xiongnu heavy cavalry were encased in armor from head to toe, practically impervious to weapons. Even their warhorses were shielded under layers of thick iron armor, leaving only their eyes and hooves exposed. The Lin family’s army had targeted this very weakness. Once a horse’s hoof was injured, the weight of its armor would cause it to collapse, and there would be no getting back up. The very protection that the heavy armor provided also severely limited their mobility.

The light cavalry of Great Wei quickly struck the horses’ hooves and then darted away, skillfully weaving in and out of the Xiongnu cavalry and causing extensive damage. When one horse fell, it often led to a cascade of others collapsing behind it, resulting in heavy losses. This strategy and these weapons were entirely foreign to the Xiongnu, who were utterly baffled by this unexpected onslaught.

Seeing yet another wave of Xiongnu cavalry fall, their numerical and combat advantage had all but disappeared. Only then did Lin Dan, leading her five thousand heavy cavalry, charge out from the rear and begin slaughtering with abandon. This time, the Lin family’s army abandoned all tactics and engaged in direct combat with the Xiongnu. After months of roaming the grasslands, their bloodlust had been fully awakened, and wherever they passed, they cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter. The Xiongnu cavalry was overwhelmed and was forced to abandon their helmets and armor in a desperate retreat. Mo Xiao, shaken by the string of disasters, turned and fled when he saw Lin Dan charging toward him with her sword raised.

He never could have imagined that in just a few months, the Wei army would undergo such a transformation. They had become ruthless, ferocious, and brave, far more determined than the Xiongnu cavalry. The once toothless and sickly tiger of the central plains had now turned into a roaring lion, and the wolves of the grassland were no longer a match for it!

“Retreat! Retreat now!” Mo Xiao shouted at the top of his lungs. Less than half an hour into the battle, more than half of his seventy-thousand heavy cavalry had been slaughtered. If he didn’t flee now, his entire force would be wiped out. Though he was the Chief of the Xiongnu, many tribes only submitted to him on the surface, harboring disloyalty in secret. If he could not maintain sufficient military strength to intimidate them, they would undoubtedly turn against him.

Conquering the central plains had been his ploy to divert their attention, a pie in the sky, but now, that pie had turned into poison, and he had no choice but to spit it out.

There was no way Lin Dan would let him escape so easily. She chased after him for several hundred miles into the depths of the grasslands before finally halting. By the time she led her cavalry back to the battlefield, the battle was over. The Lin family’s army had nearly annihilated the Xiongnu forces with minimal losses, achieving a decisive victory.

Without Mo Xiao to command them, the remaining Xiongnu troops posed no further threat. Lin Dan led her heavy cavalry to hunt down the remnants across the grasslands, gradually establishing her fearsome reputation. Whenever people heard that General Lin was coming, Xiongnu children would not even dare to cry and would immediately run to hide in their tents. If they saw her cavalry from a distance, they would abandon their flocks and tents and flee as fast as they could. In the past, it was always the Xiongnu who raided the people of the central plains— never the other way around.

The Lin family had defended the borderlands for generations and fought countless battles with the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu hated them to the bone, fully expecting to exterminate the Lin family this time. But they hadn’t anticipated the rise of Lin Dan, a fierce and ruthless warrior who nearly wiped out the Xiongnu in turn. Could it be that the Lin family truly was the nemesis of the Xiongnu?

Mo Xiao’s hatred for Lin Dan was beyond measure, yet even so, he was powerless against her. In terms of martial arts prowess, Lin Dan was invincible across the grasslands. In terms of courage, she only knew how to attack, never retreating, with every drop of her blood carrying a relentless determination to fight to the death. To oppose her was to be prepared for complete annihilation.

Twice, Mo Xiao reassembled his army, and twice, Lin Dan shattered them. He had grown fearful of her and eventually retreated to his homeland. Unable to provoke her, he sought peace, submitting a formal request for a truce to the Emperor of Wei. Lest Lin Dan come to his hometown one day and completely annihilate him.

He had heard that Lin Dan had once vowed to avenge her family by exterminating the Xiongnu. If Mo Li hadn’t pushed her to the brink, Mo Xiao wouldn’t have ended up in such a pitiful state.