Cornelius quickly realized he was surrounded, trapped like meat in an enemy's maw, with no escape and at their mercy.
"Damn it, who are they? How do they have such a powerful army!"
Cornelius had fought in the Lord's War for over a decade, but this was the first time he'd encountered such a formidable force. His face was grim.
As an excellent commander, he had been outmaneuvered and surrounded without detecting the slightest change. Cornelius knew he faced a formidable enemy, and their commander's skill was undoubtedly superior to his own.
Cornelius then saw three cavalry units appear on his left, right, and rear. There was nowhere left to run. Before him, Bai Qi's Qin crossbows awaited. Cornelius felt truly doomed.
"This cannot continue, or all my soldiers will perish!"
Cornelius, a commander hero of SSS quality, immediately addressed his soldiers: "Follow me! We are surrounded. Only by breaking through can we survive!"
With cavalry on three sides, it was madness for infantry to engage cavalry head-on. Cornelius unhesitatingly ordered his soldiers to form a shield wall at the front and charge rapidly towards Bai Qi.
Cornelius's army consisted of four types of soldiers. He chose his most defensive Ironclad Soldiers to lead the charge, holding their shields high. This unit, the Ironclad Infantry, possessed formidable defense, making them difficult for arrows to penetrate.
"Charge!"
The Ironclad Soldiers formed two ranks, shields held forward to block the arrows for the other soldiers.
Cornelius's army still had many men. The previous volley of arrows had only inflicted a few thousand casualties. The remaining soldiers remained behind the Ironclad Soldiers, ready to engage at any moment.
Although Cornelius wished to launch his own archers, their arrows could not reach Bai Qi's army.
Cornelius was astonished by the range of the enemy's arrows; it was truly shocking.
Seeing Cornelius rally his troops, Bai Qi ordered his soldiers to halt and await the enemy's approach.
As the enemy army charged to within two hundred meters of Bai Qi and his men, the enemy's vanguard suddenly began to fall into rows of pre-dug traps.
Cornelius's Ironclad Soldiers, shields in hand, all tumbled into the traps. Their heavy iron armor, coupled with the weight of their shields, sent them plunging into the pits. The soldiers behind them then fell on top, crushing many to death in an instant.
Cornelius had never expected to fall into the enemy's trap again.
The enemy had clearly dug pits and waited for their advance, as if they had known exactly how they would attack.
At this moment, Cornelius felt the shadow of death looming over him.
"Fire arrows!" Bai Qi commanded calmly.
A hail of arrows rained down upon the now chaotic enemy, inflicting thousands more casualties.
Seeing the disarray, Cornelius immediately regrouped his forces, reformed their ranks, and ordered another charge towards Bai Qi and his men.
Not charging meant certain death.
Charging also meant likely death.
But not charging guaranteed death.
Charging offered a sliver of hope.
Cornelius, filled with helplessness, could only resort to this method to carve a path through the enemy.
But Cornelius was not foolish. He sent scouts ahead to check for traps before proceeding, but this drastically slowed their advance.
Meanwhile, the cavalry units behind Bai Qi were closing in.
The [Great Qin Black Armored Army], though lacking cavalry charge bonuses, were formidable soldiers. Even without the cavalry charge buff, they benefited from Bai Qi's various commander bonuses.
Combined with the bonuses from the territory's buildings, their charge speed and impact were terrifying.
Cornelius's rear Long Spear Infantry formation would have been effective against normal cavalry, but the cavalry from Zhou Yan's territory were no ordinary mounts. They were powerful monsters, many composed of elite or leader-quality bosses.
Facing the enemy's formations, these mounts leaped forward, soaring over the long spears of the front-line soldiers and landing among the rear ranks, trampling their enemies beneath their hooves and feet.
These mounts were not simple beasts. The smallest were the size of small cars, and with their charge speed, a single leap could cover over ten meters.
The enemy soldiers in the rear, caught completely off guard by the cavalry's incredible jumping ability, were crushed before they could even react.
The soldiers atop the mounts raised their weapons, slashing and hacking at the surrounding enemies, cutting them down from their mounts.
As more and more cavalry units bypassed the enemy's front lines, countless enemy soldiers were trampled to death by the mounts. Each of these mounts was as large as a small car, and their weight was immense.
With the enemy being assaulted from three directions by the cavalry, the outcome of the battle was sealed.
The enemy formations were utterly shattered by the cavalry charge, and then the terrifying impact of the rear cavalry erupted, sending enemies flying or crushing them beneath the mounts.
The ground was slick with enemy blood. The soldiers under Cornelius, despite their efforts, were no match for the tiger-like cavalry.
Although they tried their best to resist and fight back.
But!
They were defeated.
Crushed utterly, with countless dead and wounded.
It wasn't that they were too weak, but that their opponents were simply too strong.
Cornelius's army was rapidly dwindling. From an initial thirty thousand, only half remained.
Cornelius himself had come under combined attack from several generals. Their strength was immense, their cultivation levels high, and they had already killed several of his soldiers. The generals could not stand idly by while he continued to slay their men.
Cornelius was shocked by the combined assault from these generals, who, despite their low ranks, possessed terrifying combat prowess. Gradually, Cornelius sustained injuries.
Finally, under the combined onslaught of Meng Wu, Meng Yi, and Meng Tian, Cornelius's head was severed by Meng Tian, and he died.
A commander hero of SSS quality, a powerhouse who had dominated for over a decade, was annihilated by Bai Qi.
With Cornelius's death, the remaining enemy forces were nearly wiped out by the cavalry.
Not a single enemy surrendered; all fought to the death.
The enemy was also incredibly tenacious, inflicting over a thousand casualties on Bai Qi's side even in their dire situation.
This demonstrated the formidable strength of Cornelius's army.