In order to find Ma Chao's whereabouts, the enemy divided into several teams and conducted an intensive search in the south of Tao River, causing chaos and leaving almost no valley untouched.
Relying on their rich experience, the Qiang people found the traces of the horses and followed them along the way. Suddenly, they discovered the enemy's scout horses and were overjoyed and started chasing after them.
War horses galloped across the grass, and the Qiang soldiers waved their swords and shouted loudly, both to boost morale and to intimidate the enemy.
After Ma Dai led his troops back to the bunker, the defenders drew their bows and arrows and prepared for battle.
The cavalry came roaring and surrounded the Di people by the lake. Leading the group was a man riding a tall horse. He had a tuft of hair on his head and his temples were shaved. He looked ferocious and evil.
"This is Wu Kezhuang, a warrior from the Dangxiang tribe!" Ma Dai recognized him at a glance and said in a deep voice, "This thief was defeated by my brother that year and has been holding a grudge against him ever since."
Xu Shu looked around the enemy army and ordered Shi A to go and prepare, saying, "So this is the main force of the Dangxiang Qiang people?"
Ma Dai nodded and said, "Yes, the Qiang tribe respects strength. The Dangxiang have three warriors, and except for the tribal leader, they all have military power. Wu Kezhuang is the strongest, so naturally he has the most troops."
Xu Shu smiled and said, "Although Agui fully supports us, the Di people have never been able to defeat the Qiang people. I see that the morale of the Di army is low and they are afraid of fighting. It is just right to use this person as a sacrifice to boost the army's prestige!"
As they were talking, the enemy army had already rushed to the front. The war horses were wandering back and forth, raising their heads and neighing. Wu Kezhuang urged his horses to come forward.
He glanced at the crowd and shouted, "We are ordered to wipe out the traitor Ma Chao and his followers. You Di people have nothing to do with it. If you know what's good for you, leave immediately, otherwise you will be exterminated."
"Wait until I kill this villain and establish my authority." Ma Dai was furious and rode forward.
Although Xu Shu did not understand what the Qiang people were saying, he could guess what they were saying and quickly ordered, "Don't kill this man. He is pretending to be defeated!"
Ma Dai understood and shouted, "Wuke Zhuang, you are a fickle villain and do not deserve the title of a Qiang warrior. Today I will help the Qiang King get rid of you, the traitor."
Wu Kezhuang raised his mace and laughed, "Hahaha, Ma Dai, go tell Ma Chao that times have changed. Cao's army rules the world now. If you want to go against Prime Minister Cao, don't blame us for being ruthless."
Ma Dai raised his knife and said in a deep voice: "Come and die!"
Just as Wu Kezhuang was about to fight, a general rode out from beside him and shouted, "Your opponent is Ma Chao, leave these bastards to us."
Ma Dai raised his sword, clamped his legs around his horse, and charged forward. When the two horses crossed, he cut the man to death with one blow.
The Qiang people were in an uproar, but the Di people cheered in unison. They had been suppressed by the Qiang over the years, and their tribes were scattered in the marginal mountains. They felt very relieved when they saw this scene.
"Bastard!" Wu Kezhuang was furious, and he didn't know who he was scolding.
He urged his horse to the front of the battle and swept across with the mace in his hand. Ma Dai raised his sword to block. There was a loud bang, and the two men's horses stood up and retreated.
Xu Shu immediately instructed the Di generals, "If you see General Ma retreating later, tell everyone to hide in the grasslands, look for the marks, and don't go the wrong way."
The Di general was watching with great interest, and was startled when he heard this. He quickly whispered a message to the people behind him. Immediately, everyone's shouting became much quieter, and there was fear in their eyes.
They thought Ma Dai could make them proud, but he still had to escape. Although this 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, ready to retreat at any time if they noticed anything wrong.
Ma Dai fought with Wu Kezhuang, and after twenty rounds he could no longer hold out, and barely made it to thirty rounds, when he was already in a panic and in danger.
The Qiang people on horseback waved their weapons and shouted like a pack of wolves, cheering for their leader and shouting to kill Ma Dai and avenge their dead companions.
Ma Dai roared, and ignoring the mace coming at him, he raised his sword and slashed at the opponent, pretending that both of them would suffer losses.
Wu Kezhuang was confident of victory, so why would he fight him desperately? He quickly turned his horse to the side, and Ma Dai turned his horse around and headed back to the main camp.
Wu Kezhuang led his troops to chase after them. The morale of the Qiang people was greatly boosted, and they rushed forward shouting. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Di people fired a few arrows at random and fled on their horses.
The Qiang people chased relentlessly, shouting and even blowing loud slogans. They liked to chase their opponents like this and devour and hunt them down.
The Di soldiers seemed to be turning left and right on the grassland and seemed to be fleeing in panic, but in fact they were looking for the marks. Xu Shu had already ordered Shi A to explore the road and lead the Qiang people into the depths of the grassland.
Wu Kezhuang and others laughed loudly on their horses. The enemy army was like a frightened flock of sheep, unable to tell the direction. The Qiang soldiers scattered in all directions and surrounded them from afar like a pack of wolves.
At this time, some people had fallen into the swamp, but this did not prevent others from chasing. The excited Qiang people only wanted to kill the enemy at this time, and only a few stopped to save their companions.
The rest of the people continued to pursue, and after turning several rivers, they saw the Di people getting closer and closer. There was a huge river bend in front of them, and the enemy was running wildly along the river.
Wu Kezhuang urged his horse to chase after them and laughed, "You are all dead this time."
The Qiang soldiers rode their horses in pursuit, whistling and swinging their scimitars to rush forward. Suddenly, several people on the left shouted at the same time, and both they and their horses fell into the mud, unable to get up.
Wu Kezhuang also felt that his mount was moving slower and slower. He looked down and saw that it was a swamp. He hurriedly retreated with all his might.
His horse was a fine one, but the others' mounts were helpless and all sank into the mud, the more they struggled, the deeper they sank.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the shouting of the Qiang people became less and less frequent, leaving only screams and struggles.
Wu Kezhuang reined in his horse and looked back in horror, to see waving arms everywhere in the pond and grass behind him. Some had half their bodies sunk in the water, and some had only their heads left. It was an extremely terrifying scene.
"This is a swamp, retreat quickly!" Wu Kezhuang roared, looking at the Di people going away, gritting his teeth and saying, "Follow their footsteps!"
The Qiang people were terrified and furious, and they chased them along the river bank again, but Ma Dai had already organized his troops and was waiting for them.
Wu Kezhuang roared and rushed forward on his horse. Ma Dai raised his sword to catch the arrow, and the two fought again. The rest of the Di soldiers also fired arrows at the exhausted pursuers.
There were only three or four hundred Qiang people left, but they were confident in their bravery and thought that with the help of their Wukezhuang warriors, it would be easy to defeat the enemy, and they did not take the Di people seriously at all.
After two rounds of arrow rain, the less than a hundred people standing were suddenly panicked and no longer cared about showing off their strength. They turned around and ran away with their tails between their legs, like a stray dog hit by a brick.
Wu Kezhuang was filled with rage, his eyes were red, and he fought to the death with Ma Dai with a mace in hand. However, this time he found that after thirty rounds, he could not hold out any longer.
Just when he was frightened, his followers turned around and fled. He then realized that he was not at an advantage at the moment, and his mind became confused and he began to think of retreating.
Ma Dai was very experienced. He saw that Wu Kezhuang was trying to escape, so he swept his sword at him. Wu Kezhuang hurriedly raised his mace to block it.
However, it turned out to be a feint. The blade suddenly flipped upwards, drew an arc, and rushed towards the shoulder. A heavy sound of breaking wind sounded in the ears.
Wu Kezhuang was so frightened that he had no time to react. An arm was chopped off from the shoulder, and several ribs were exposed. Blood and internal organs were bubbling like water in a swamp.
"Ah--" Wu Kezhuang fell off his horse and was unable to die for a while. His whole body twitched and twisted on the ground, and his shrill screams were horrifying.