In order to find traces of Ma Chao, the enemy troops were divided into several teams and searched intensively in the south of the Tao River. They were so furious that they barely missed any valley.
The Qiang people relied on their rich experience to find the traces of the horses. They searched all the way and suddenly found the enemy's sentry horses. They were overjoyed and chased them.
War horses galloped on the grass, and the Qiang soldiers waved their swords and roared on their horses, both to boost morale and to intimidate the enemy.
After Ma Dai led his troops back to the bunker, the defenders stood ready with their bows and arrows ready.
The cavalry roared in and surrounded the Di people by the lake. In the lead was a man riding a tall horse with a tuft of hair on his head and shaved temples, looking fierce.
"This is Wu Kezhuang, the warrior of the Dangxiang tribe!" Ma Dai recognized the man at a glance and said solemnly: "This thief was defeated by his elder brother back then and has always held a grudge."
Xu Shu glanced at the enemy troops and first ordered Shi'a to prepare, saying: "So, this is the main force of the Qiang people in Dangxiang?"
Ma Dai nodded and said: "Yes, the Qiang tribe respects strength. There are three warriors in Dangxiang. Except for the tribal leader, they all have military power. Wu Kezhuang is the strongest and naturally has the largest number of troops."
Xu Shu smiled and said: "Although Agui fully supports us, the Di people have always been defeated by the Qiang people. I think the morale of the Di army is not high and they are timid in fighting. It is just right to use this man to sacrifice the flag to strengthen the army's power!"
While he was talking, the enemy troops had already rushed forward. The war horses were wandering back and forth, heads raised and neighing. Wu Kezhuang urged the horses to come closer.
He scanned the crowd and shouted: "We are ordered to exterminate the traitor Ma Chao and the rest of the party. It has nothing to do with you Di people. Those who know what you are doing should step away immediately, otherwise there will be disaster of annihilation of the clan."
"Wait until I kill this thief and establish my authority." Ma Dai was furious and stepped forward on horseback.
Although Xu Shu didn't understand the Qiang people's shouting, he could guess the general idea and hurriedly ordered: "Don't kill this person or cheat defeat!"
Ma Dai understood and came out of the battle and shouted: "Wukezhuang, you are a capricious villain and do not deserve the title of Qiang warrior. Today I will get rid of you, a traitor, on behalf of the Qiang King."
Wu Kezhuang held the mace and laughed and said: "Hahaha, Ma Dai, go and tell Ma Chao that times have changed. Now it is Cao Jun's world. If you want to go against Prime Minister Cao, then don't blame us for being ruthless."
Ma Dai raised his knife and said in a deep voice: "Come and die quickly!"
Just as Wu Kezhuang was about to fight, a general next to him rode out and said loudly: "Your opponent is Ma Chao, leave these bastards to us."
Ma Dai raised his sword, clamped the war horse between his legs, and the horse rushed forward. The two horses crossed each other, and he slashed the man under the horse.
The Qiang people were in an uproar, but the Di people here cheered in unison. They had been suppressed by the Qiang people over the years, and the tribes were scattered in the marginal mountains. They were very relieved to see this scene.
"Bastard!" Uk was furious, not knowing who he was scolding.
Urging his horse to the front of the formation, he swept the mace in his hand. Ma Dai raised his sword to parry. Hearing a loud clang, the two mounts stood up and retreated.
Xu Shu immediately ordered the Di people's generals: "Later, when I saw General Ma's retreat, I asked everyone to hide in the grassland, pay attention to the signs, and don't go the wrong way."
The Diren general was looking at it with interest. He was startled when he heard the words. He quickly whispered an order to the people behind him. Immediately, everyone's shouts became much weaker, and there was fear in their eyes.
I thought Ma Dai would be proud of them, but I still had to run away. Although the Evil Spirit Grassland was terrifying, it might not be able to withstand the siege of tens of thousands of people.
Everyone watched the battle nervously, holding the reins tightly and retreating at any time if something was wrong.
Ma Dai and Wu Kezhuang fought against each other. After twenty rounds, he became a little unable to resist. He barely managed to hold on until thirty rounds, and was already in a hurry and surrounded by dangers.
The Qiang people waved their weapons on their horses and shouted like a pack of wolves, cheering for their leader and shouting to kill Ma Dai and avenge their dead companions.
Ma Dai shouted loudly, and regardless of the mace coming at him, he raised his knife and slashed at the opponent, hurting both sides.
Wu Kezhuang had the chance to win, so he would not fight him desperately. He hurriedly moved his horse to the side, and Ma Dai turned his horse's head and walked towards the main formation.
Wukezhuang led his troops to pursue him. The Qiang people became more energetic and rushed forward with a clamor. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Di people fired a few arrows at random, hit their horses and fled.
The Qiang people chased after them, howling and even blowing loud slogans. They liked to chase their opponents like this, cannibalizing and killing them.
The Di soldiers seemed to be turning left and right on the grassland, and they seemed to be running away in a hurry, but in fact they were looking for the mark. Xu Shu had already ordered Shi A to explore the road and lead the Qiang people into the depths of the grassland.
Wu Kezhuang was waiting on the horse and laughed loudly. The enemy troops were like a flock of panicked sheep, unable to distinguish their direction. The Qiang soldiers scattered in all directions, outflanking them from a distance like a pack of wolves.
At this time, someone had fallen into the swamp, but this did not prevent others from pursuing. The excited Qiang people just wanted to kill the enemy, and only a few stopped to save their companions.
The others continued to pursue, and after turning around several rivers, they saw the Di people getting closer and closer. There was another huge river bend in front of them, and the enemy troops were running wildly along the river.
Wu Kezhuang urged his horse to get closer and chased after him. He laughed and said, "You are all dead this time."
The Qiang soldiers were chasing after them on horseback, whistling, and rushing forward with their scimitars. Suddenly, several people on the left shouted at the same time, and they fell into the mire with their horses, unable to struggle.
Wu Kezhuang also felt that his mount was moving slower and slower. When he looked down, he saw a swamp, and he hurriedly tried his best to withdraw.
His horse was a good horse for thousands of miles, but the others' mounts were powerless. They were all stuck in the mud, and the more they struggled, the deeper they sank.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the Qiang people's cries became less and less, sparse, leaving only screams and struggles.
Wu Kezhuang reined in his horse and turned around, horrified. He saw waving arms everywhere in the pond and grass behind him. Some of them had half of their bodies sunk in, and some had only their heads left. The scene was extremely terrifying.
"This is a swamp, retreat quickly!" Wu Keqiang roared, looking at the Di people retreating, gritted his teeth and said: "Follow their footsteps and chase them!"
The Qiang people were frightened and furious, and chased along the river bank again, but by this time Ma Dai had already formed a team and was waiting to work.
Wu Keqiang roared and rushed forward on horseback. Ma Dai raised his sword to catch it. The two fought again. The other Di soldiers also fired arrows at the stranded pursuers.
There were only three to four hundred Qiang people who were pursuing them, but they relied on their bravery and thought that with the strong warriors of Wu Ke, it would be easy to defeat the enemy, so they did not take the Di people seriously.
Two rounds of arrows rained down, and less than a hundred people standing were suddenly panicked. They no longer cared about showing off their skills. They turned around and ran away with their tails between their legs like a dog that had been hit by a brick.
Wu Kezhuang was in anger, his eyes were red, and he was holding a mace to fight Ma Dai, but this time he found that after thirty years, he could not resist.
Just when they were frightened, the followers on the left and right turned around and ran away. Only then did they realize that their side did not have the advantage at this time. They were confused and wanted to retreat.
Ma Dai was so experienced that when he saw that Wu Kezhuang was about to escape, he swept over with his broadsword. Wu Kezhuang hurriedly raised his mace to block.
Unexpectedly, this was a false move. The blade suddenly flipped upwards, drew an arc, and came towards the shoulder. The heavy sound of breaking wind rang in his ears.
Wu Kezhuang was so frightened that he had no time to react. An arm was cut off from his shoulder, and several ribs were exposed randomly. His blood and internal organs were bubbling like water in a swamp.
"Ah -" Wu Kezhuang fell off the horse and could not die for a while. His whole body twitched and twisted on the ground, and his screams were horrifying.
