Some of the warhorses that crashed into the main phalanx of spearmen toppled the men in the front row and disrupted the formation. Fortunately, there were too few of them, and all the soldiers came from the system... Perhaps they were slow to react or just not very bright—if they were knocked down but not dead or crippled, they would simply get back up and rejoin the ranks. Watching this, William Reed, who was supporting from the side, felt as if he was about to burst into flames with excitement.

“Look! Look! The Lord’s elite, that’s what true elites look like!” William Reed roused his equally fired-up comrades, shouting, “We dare not look up to their greatness, but we must follow closely behind!”

The system soldiers charged forward with unstoppable momentum, their fearless, death-defying demeanor enough to make anyone shudder. But who would know that Henry Clark felt both delighted and helpless inside?

[Intelligence is key. Maybe I need to upgrade to the ‘Castle Age’ for the NPCs to get smarter?]

While constantly dispatching troops, Henry Clark suddenly froze for a moment and muttered, “Tuoba Xianbei?” He quickly ordered the soldiers about to crash into Arthur Hayes to steer clear.

[Isn’t Tuoba Xianbei the one who founded Northern Wei? And which emperor of the Tuoba Xianbei was it? It seems it was his comprehensive Sinicization that gave the Han people a chance to continue as a glorious nation.]

Clearly, Henry Clark only knew about Northern Wei, but not the already established state of Dai. In fact, this state of Dai was quite formidable, but in the early stages, it was set up by the combined schemes of the Murong Xianbei and Yuwen Xianbei. However, after Yuwen Xianbei finished tricking Tuoba Xianbei, they themselves fell into a huge pit, were wiped out by the Murong Xianbei, and then split into the Khitan and the Kumo Xi (the “imperial clan” and “secondary clan” that later founded the Liao dynasty).

The four people charging forward on Arthur Hayes’s side had already been taken down by the spearmen. Seeing the enemy’s fearless, death-defying look, her face instantly turned pale as she kept thinking to herself, “They’re not the Jie, the overlords of the Central Plains. When did such a powerful army appear in the Central Plains, and why do they call themselves the Han army?!”

Seeing the spear-wielding soldiers approach with expressionless faces, marching forward in silence, Arthur Hayes suddenly felt like she was about to die. But in the next moment, those spearmen actually bypassed her and charged toward the Xiongnu Tiefu tribe. She was so tense and had held her breath for so long that her body went limp and she plopped down on the ground.

The arrows fired earlier by Henry Clark’s archers had never stopped. Of course, they were shooting at the Xiongnu Tiefu tribe, who had formed up defensively. The results were unclear, but at least it kept them suppressed.

After the earlier attrition, those still advancing were 50 swordsmen, 61 spearmen, and 50 archers. When they fought, they never shouted or yelled; even if not mortally wounded, they fought with all their might, giving the impression of being true elites among elites. Especially one squad of swordsmen, facing a charge from several Xiongnu Tiefu cavalry, first blocked with their shields, then slashed wildly with their swords, managing to take down 6 cavalry at the cost of only 3 men—a feat that convinced all onlookers that this self-proclaimed Han army was truly a powerful force.

A so-called strong army always has strict discipline and the ability to endure heavy casualties without faltering. The spearmen at the front clashed with the Xiongnu Tiefu cavalry. Although the Tiefu cavalry couldn’t accelerate properly due to limited space, the spearmen still suffered significant losses.

Infantry naturally have a disadvantage against cavalry, as the horsemen have the high ground, and foot soldiers instinctively fear the towering horses. The system-produced spearmen, however, felt no fear; their disadvantage was simply being infantry, and they only knew how to rigidly follow orders, so their casualties were inevitably high.

William Reed saw his comrades fighting to the death—charging in silence, fighting in silence, dying in silence. He was both shocked and envious, wishing he could join them. Unable to hold back, he ran to Henry Clark, knelt on one knee, and said, “My lord, I beg to fight!”

“Wait.” Henry Clark felt pained by the deaths of the system soldiers, but that’s war—killing the enemy means being killed as well. He watched, waiting for the best moment. “Alright, lead the soldiers and attack from the flank.”

William Reed immediately broke into a delighted grin and responded loudly, “Yes, sir!” As he ran, he called out to his comrades, “The lord has given permission! All soldiers, follow me and fight with all your might!”

Chapter 11: Xiongnu Tiefu Tribe

Nearly a hundred Jin soldiers, most of them cheering loudly, though some seemed hesitant, but in the end, all shouted and charged forward with William Reed.

Compared to the system soldiers, the Jin soldiers had no formation at all when charging. They ran and shouted, whether from overexcitement or sheer terror, and some of their cries were downright hysterical.

At the right moment, Henry Clark also ordered the soldiers who had just completed the pincer movement to close in, gradually compressing the Xiongnu Tiefu cavalry. In the end, they killed about thirty, captured nearly forty, but also allowed twenty or thirty Xiongnu Tiefu cavalry to break out, scaring Henry Clark into immediately ordering some soldiers to organize a defensive line—otherwise, a charge could spell disaster.

[What a pity. System soldiers are stuck in their class and can’t change roles. The Jin soldiers are too weak, so nearly five hundred warhorses collected are wasted.]

Yes, Henry Clark did have warhorses, but it was just too difficult to form cavalry.