Chapter 58: Luring the Wolf into the Trap

Ju Yi led his eight hundred elite cavalrymen, tracking the trail all the way to the Daoist temple.

Scouts thoroughly inspected the interior and exterior of the temple before returning to report to Ju Yi, "General, there are traces of someone tending to their wounds inside the temple. We also found a set of footprints leading away from the temple toward the back mountains. The tracks are extremely fresh; the person couldn't have left more than an hour ago."

Ju Yi gazed toward the back mountains, where three densely wooded ridges converged to form a mountain basin. Although the terrain did not appear perilous at first glance, such a setting was exceptionally well-suited for an ambush.

Ju Yi let out a self-deprecating chuckle and said, "She is nothing more than a stray dog. What capability does she have to set up an ambush?"

With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Continue the pursuit! We must capture this woman tonight!"

The cavalrymen roared in assent, then wheeled their horses around, bypassed the temple, and galloped toward the back mountains.

By this time, the sun had completely dipped below the horizon, and a crescent moon hung slantwise in the sky, plunging the earth into dim twilight. Though not pitch black, the night carried a mysterious and obscure atmosphere.

Before long, the cavalrymen charged into the dustpan-shaped basin.

While the terrain here was not strategically vital, the surrounding mountain forests blotted out the night sky, enveloping everyone within in deep shadows.

At that moment, the sound of fluttering wings erupted from the night sky on the left.

Spotting this, Ju Yi instantly reined in his warhorse, raised his right hand to signal the troop to halt, and turned his head toward the source of the noise. He saw countless birds startled and flying up in a panic from the left-hand forest.

Ju Yi's mind raced with lightning speed, and he shouted, "Fall back, quickly!"

Barely had his voice faded when sharp, whistling sounds tore through the air from all directions.

Before the cavalrymen could react, a volley of arrows rained down, unseating riders and sending horses crashing to the ground. Desperate cries shattered the prior silence of the mountain forest.

Ju Yi immediately led his forces toward the exit of the mountain basin.

Just then, the cavalrymen charging at the very front suddenly tumbled over as their horses hit obstacles.

Noticing this, Ju Yi quickly reined in his mount and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Caltrops! Halt immediately!"

Upon seeing this, the rest of the cavalry frantically brought their horses to a stop.

At that instant, arrows continued to rain down upon Ju Yi's army from all directions.

Invisible in the pitch-black night, the incoming projectiles left the cornered cavalrymen with nowhere to hide, picking them off their saddles one by one.

Unfazed by the crisis, Ju Yi shouted, "Raise shields!"

The cavalrymen hurriedly lifted the shields in their hands, swiftly forming a protective barrier.

The arrows kept coming, hammering relentlessly against the shields. From time to time, soldiers were struck by arrows slipping through the gaps and plummeted from their mounts.

Ju Yi surveyed his surroundings. He realized that while the terrain at the basin's exit appeared flat, the enemy had clearly heavily fortified that exact location based on the current onslaught.

They would undoubtedly anticipate a breakout attempt from their own side in that direction, and charging that way would likely walk right into the enemy's trap.

Ju Yi then glanced at the dense forests on either side. Although arrows continued to pour out from both flanks, seizing the high ground on either side might just allow them to turn the unfavorable tide in one fell swoop.

Right at that moment, a series of deafening roars suddenly erupted from the exit. The momentum was astonishingly fierce, sounding as though tens of thousands of enemy troops were about to launch an assault.

The cavalrymen turned pale with fright, stricken with panic and utterly at a loss.

Ju Yi felt a flicker of surprise in his heart. According to the art of war, show weakness when strong, and strength when weak. If the enemy had laid an ambush at the valley mouth, logic dictated they should conceal their movements. To make such a grand and noisy display was clearly a diversion.

At this thought, Ju Yi sneered coldly, "Whoever set this ambush is quite fond of playing ghosts, but how can such petty tricks fool my eyes?"

With that, he pointed at a squad of cavalry nearby and ordered, "First squad, disarm the caltrops!"

The squad of cavalry roared in confirmation and sprang into action immediately.

They leaped from their saddles and advanced swiftly under the cover of shields. The moment they spotted a tripwire or caltrop, they slashed it apart with their sabers.

Within moments, they had cleared all six tripwires blocking the path ahead.

The squad leader shouted back to Ju Yi, "General, the tripwires have been cleared!"

Ju Yi drew his saber and shouted loudly, "Brothers, follow me to break through!"

Like a surging tide, the cavalry poured out toward the mouth of the basin.

At that moment, numerous human figures materialized amidst the shadows of the trees ahead, directly blocking their path.

Elated by the sight, the cavalrymen let out a battle cry and charged forward, intending to trample and scatter the enemies blocking their way.

Suddenly, countless long, sharpened tree trunks were heaved up by those figures, forming a dense and bristling wall ahead.

Seeing this, the charging cavalry tried desperately to halt, but it was too late to check their momentum, and they crashed headlong into the barrier.

Instantly, the unfortunate riders who collided with it were pierced through like honeycombs by the razor-sharp timber.

The cavalrymen behind pulled back on their reins in panic.

Just then, the enemy soldiers let out a coordinated battle cry and pushed forward, leveling the sharpened tree trunks directly at the cavalry.

Brave troopers rushed forward, attempting to engage in hand-to-hand combat, only to have their bodies skewered by the enemy's wooden spikes.

Facing this predicament, the cavalrymen felt utterly helpless. Pressed hard by the enemy's advance, they were forced back step by step.

Ju Yi observed his surroundings, his mind frantically searching for a countermeasure.

At that moment, a series of shrill, panicked screams echoed from behind.

Ju Yi hastily looked back, but in the encroaching darkness, he could not make out exactly what was happening. A wave of anxiety spiked in his chest as he demanded, "What is going on?"

A frantic voice shouted from the rear, "Th-This is bad! There is a massive pit behind us, and many of our brothers have fallen in!"

A shock ran through Ju Yi's heart, and he suddenly grasped the enemy's entire strategy.

From the very beginning, the enemy's intention had been to herd them directly into the pit for slaughter!

A deep sense of bewilderment arose within Ju Yi. He still could not fathom who the adversary was, to have calculated and outmaneuvered him so thoroughly.

At that moment, he saw hundreds of enemy soldiers advancing relentlessly with their long tree trunks, forcing his own men into continuous retreat with no room to counterattack.

In such confined terrain, the makeshift spear-array formed by the enemy's timber was the ultimate nemesis of cavalry. Though his troops vastly outnumbered the enemy, they were utterly powerless against this formation under the present circumstances.

Ju Yi's gaze shifted to the forests on either side, and an idea sparked in his mind. He shouted, "Split into two squads and seize the high ground on both flanks immediately!"

In this critical hour, he deduced that their only path to survival was to capture the flanking heights with the utmost speed.

He could only hope the enemy's troop numbers were insufficient; otherwise, his entire army would face total annihilation.

The cavalry immediately split into two groups of over two hundred men each, dashing toward the forests on either side.

A sudden thought struck Ju Yi, and he bellowed, "All troops, dismount and attack on foot!"

Hearing the command, the two squads of cavalry instantly jumped down from their mounts, holding shields in one hand and sabers in the other, and began scrambling up the steep slopes of the mountain forest.

Right then, sharp whistling sounds rained down from above.

The officers and soldiers immediately raised their shields, and the clanging echoes of impacts rang out without end.