Ma Chao's right flank achieved even more decisive results than Guan Yin.
The commanding general dispatched by Gouliduo to oversee this sector was directly unhorsed by him within three rounds.
Demoralized, those Turkic cavalrymen broke into a rout after just one volley of explosive packets.
Prince Taiyuan was now early deceased in Taiyuan; not only him, but his offspring too were riddled with holes by the "heartless cannon."
If cremated, it was estimated that at least two jin of碎石 (suì shí - gravel) would be produced.
The remaining Wang family troops and the residual slave soldiers sent by Gouliduo had already begun to slack off.
They ceded the main offensive role to Sibi Mengtian.
He who doesn't seize an opportunity is a bastard; having someone else block Tang army gunfire for them was a dream come true.
Sibi Mengtian lived up to the "fierce" in his name. Witnessing the Tang army's seemingly endless barrage of bullets, he dismounted and, picking up the carcass of a warhorse, used it as a shield.
His subordinates were equally ferocious. When a comrade was hit by bullets, before he could fall, his brothers behind him would grab him, use him as a shield, and charge forward against the gunfire.
Zhuzi exclaimed, "Holy crap! What do these guys eat to grow so strong? And that fellow carrying the horse, isn't that horse supposed to weigh a thousand jin? Does he have that much strength?"
Could he be the reincarnation of the former Emperor's deceased and formidable father?
It was a pity that Elder Brother Guan and the others weren't here; otherwise, they might have had a worthy contest.
"Get me a sniper rifle!"
Zhuzi slung the Yun Yi Shi onto his back, reached behind him with his right hand, and received a loaded Long Ya sniper rifle.
Two soldiers voluntarily stood before him, holding up the tripod for the Long Ya sniper rifle. The recoil of this weapon was too great; only the freaks like Elder Brother Guan could shoot while standing.
For him to shoot while standing, someone had to hold the tripod steady, otherwise, the recoil could injure him.
Holding the Long Ya sniper rifle, he aimed at the freak carrying the horse carcass and fired.
*Bang!*
The bullet flew out, hitting the horse carcass in front of Sibi Mengtian, causing a burst of blood. It didn't penetrate!
"Again!"
Zhuzi handed the spent rifle back and received another loaded Long Ya sniper rifle.
*Bang!*
Still not penetrated!
Three shots, four shots.
With each bullet hitting the horse carcass, Sibi Mengtian felt as if he had been heavily struck. The force transmitted from the horse carcass made him involuntarily stagger back half a step.
But a smile played on his lips.
"Hahaha, come on, shoot! I'm not afraid!"
Having endured the impact of four bullets, feeling as though he had found a way to counter the firearms, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
The Tianhuo Army soldiers, facing the rapidly approaching Sibi部 soldiers, maintained their composure, firing in a steady, rotating volley.
From the start of the battle until now, the pile of corpses in front of the Tianhuo Army had reached at least a meter high, forming an excellent trench.
The remnants of the Taiyuan Wang family were stunned. They had never imagined a battle could be fought so brutally!
Zhuzi took the Long Ya sniper rifle that was handed to him again, aiming at the blood hole on the horse carcass in Sibi Mengtian's hands!
At a distance of less than a hundred meters, hitting the same spot repeatedly was as easy as playing house for a Long Ya sniper rifle equipped with a four-times scope.
*Bang!*
The fifth bullet, carrying immense kinetic energy, left the muzzle and once again struck the blood hole precisely.
*Puff!*
Sibi Mengtian stared in disbelief at the bullet hole in his chest.
This time, it hadn't been blocked!
*Bang!*
Struck in the chest, he involuntarily released the warhorse carcass in his hands. The carcass fell to the ground, splashing a pool of red blood. Moments later, Sibi Mengtian also fell to the ground in defeat, his eyes staring blankly at the sky as he exhaled his last breath.
"Leader!"
"Leader!"
The tribal soldiers behind Sibi Mengtian, seeing him fall dead, cried out in panic.
Then, the entire contingent of Sibi tribal Turkic soldiers became enraged.
"Kill the Tang! Avenge our leader!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Zhuzi was then utterly bewildered, because while they shouted about avenging their leader, they were trampling over Sibi Mengtian's corpse and charging towards the Tianhuo Army.
"Damn it, is this how you avenge someone? Can't you see your leader's guts are being squeezed out?"
Why did these guys seem to have a screw loose?
The Sibi部 soldiers, using their comrades' corpses as shields, had reached within ten meters of the Tianhuo Army, and the next step would be close combat.
Just then, the last rank of firearm soldiers quickly slung their rifles behind them, picked up the explosive packets at their feet, ignited them, and hurled them with all their might.
The first four ranks of the Tianhuo Army ignored the explosive packets flying over their heads and continued firing.
*Boom boom boom boom!*
A series of explosions cleared an area in front of the Tianhuo Army's formation.
The Sibi部 soldiers' horse carcasses could no longer protect them this time, and screams erupted everywhere.
Meanwhile, Helu Zhen, who was attacking from the rear of the Tianhuo Army and the mercenaries, also faced a setback.
Their setback came from the traps Zhuzi and his men had laid behind the lines at the start of the battle!
Numerous deep pits, filled with oil, then covered with branches to form the edges of the pit, and finally topped with dry grass.
On their journey from Suyab, Zhuzi and his men had brought over a thousand barrels of oil. To avenge the Marquis's death, they had brought all their accumulated assets in the Western Regions.
Money was used to recruit soldiers and purchase provisions.
Then, with these soldiers and provisions, they had seized a large number of Dayuan horses, also known as Ferghana horses.
Unfortunately, the raw materials for gunpowder were also scarce in the Western Regions. By the time they departed, they had only managed to secure five thousand explosive packets, one per person.
Otherwise, Zhuzi would have planned to blow his way all the way to Jieli's lair.
The mercenaries in the rear, seeing the Helu cavalry fall into the oil pits, promptly fired flaming arrows.
The flaming arrows ignited the oil, and the entire rear of the formation instantly became a fiery inferno.
Helu Zhen, who a moment before had been overjoyed at the prospect of charging into the enemy lines, was in the next moment horrified to see flames licking up his body from the black liquid on the ground.