Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1815 - 1303: Spear Quilt Showdown and Ryu-Tetsu Horses

"Hachiman Mahasattva! This... are these Ezo people?!"

"Impossible! Such a tall stature, such resounding heavy armor, such fearless momentum, and such a tight formation... How could these be Ezo warriors?!"

"Buddha! Look, look at the village port there! There really are three large ships, as big as the customs ships, even longer than the customs ships!..."

"Hiss! Could it be that some samurai family is involved? But these strange features, they don't look like Wa people at all, but rather... the Shandan people from across the sea?..."

Amidst the Wa military formation, the old General Shigeyasu Kudo furrowed his brows, watching the Ezo village a few hundred meters away. The Cold Swamp Tribe's village was built on a flat seaside, with just a crude wooden wall at the front, nowhere near the strategic construction of the Victory Mountain Manor. Similarly, the village's defenses were weak, with no wall on the seaward side, just a fence easily navigable to infiltrate the village. Although the Ezo settlement was sizable, it was riddled with vulnerabilities, not suitable for a stubborn defense.

Therefore, the "Ezo army" chose to engage with their main force outside the village, relying on the wall behind them for formation. Archers took positions on the walls and rooftops, providing support from above. Such Ezo combat tactics, Shigeyasu Kudo had encountered multiple times when fighting the Neipu Clan before.

"Usually, the Ezo archers have decent archery skills, using the Purple Fir Bow, posing a substantial threat to Doumaru-equipped samurai. But their tribal warriors facing head-on have poor equipment, morale, and discipline, often crumbling at the first blow, at most holding out temporarily... But as long as the Leather Armor samurai spear team charges bravely, they can quickly scatter the Ezo frontlines, crush the archers in one or two moves, and let the cavalry pursue and cleave. But this time..."

Old General Shigeyasu Kudo looked gravely at the over hundred armored Pike Warriors arrayed under the opposite wall. The enemy was clad in heavy armor, backed by the wall, forming a "Spear Quilt" at the front, with Ezo skirmishers covering the flanks, leaving almost no defensive weaknesses! Those gleaming golden spear tips, although clearly ancient and expensive bronze weapons, remained deadly in the hands of elite samurai! What troubled and astounded him even more was...

"They are all wearing bronze Doumaru, and their morale is so high! This kind of fearless spirit in facing the enemy, this confidence in frontal combat, clearly shows they are battle-hardened veterans! Where on earth did they come from? They could not possibly be Ezo!..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Hmm... Odd spindle-shaped longships, old and expensive bronze equipment, and many Shandan faces... Could they be Jurchen pirates? The Jurchen Shandan tribes coming south from Birch Tai?..."

"Ah, Jurchen pirates?! Kudo Retainer, are you referring to the Dao Yi invasions depicted on temple murals? But those ancient legends have always been stories to frighten children..."

"No, Young Master Kaozaki. That is not legend, but a brutal war that truly occurred. Those East Sea Jurchen were genuinely formidable warriors and archers, and only martial families skilled in battle could contend with them! Our martial family's rise began with that great war..."

Old General Shigeyasu Kudo shook his head, adopting a stance as if facing a great enemy. The surrounding Kaozaki retainers, too, lost their previously relaxed demeanor, becoming solemn. The appearance of these hundred-plus armored "Shandan" brought pressure far exceeding that of the eight or nine hundred Ezo warriors, even surpassing the elite retainer group of the Nanbu clan. To break such an enemy, one would truly have to risk their life! Moreover, the enemy had already set their formation, leaning against the wall, with archery support waiting for them!

"Such a tightly defended Spear Quilt, I cannot allow our main family's samurai to charge head-on! Such grievous casualties would be unbearable for our family. The direct samurai of the Kaozaki family must not suffer excessive losses against the Ezo… we need to find a way to have the Ishikari Tribe's Ezo warriors probe and harass from the flanks, see if they can disrupt the enemy's formation!"

Old General Shigeyasu Kudo took over battlefield command and swiftly mobilized the forces. First, he had the main samurai retreat dozens of steps, selecting a slightly elevated area to form a similarly defensive "Spear Quilt." Both spear formations faced each other without either side advancing. Meanwhile, on his command, the Ainu tribal skirmishers on the flanks constantly engaged in close skirmishes, advancing and retreating, leaving blood and bodies in the Millet Fields and plains.

"Is this the Wa samurai team? Not tall, but their momentum appears strong, and their formation is very tight. They are all equipped with iron spears, half wearing dark gray armor, likely iron armor. Many have weapons for close combat at their waists, unlike the kingdom's hand axes, instead the typical Wa knives… Some have small flags on their backs, like the feathers of a Warrior Captain, clearly subordinate commanders..."

"Hiss! This kind of tight organization, combined with this iron equipment... We might be able to defeat them, but the casualties will not be small! And those ten mounted samurai, plus two mounted commanders, are also a significant trouble! His Majesty once said, mounted samurai excel at rear ambushes, resembling very dangerous Obsidian blades..."

Atop the wall, "Great Chief" Zuwaro held a long tube, closing one eye and observing through the other at the opposite end. This was the "Divine Eye Telescope" brought as support last year on longships, an astonishing "Magic Artifact" created by the Divine Revelation Place through His Majesty's direct divine revelation!

The key raw material for this magical artifact is a naturally transparent top-tier gemstone, nearly twenty times the price of gold. The gemstone requires prolonged crafting and finishing by artisans, assembly and adjustments by the Divine Revelation Priest, and finally the blessing of the Chief Divine, to achieve the miraculous effect of bringing sights hundreds of meters away before one's eyes. Reportedly, across the entire Kingdom of the Lake, there are only about ten of these "Divine Eye Artifacts." His Majesty granted two to the exploration frontline of the Western Sea. Sadly, one sank into the endless far northern deep sea with a longship lost in a storm. Only this one reached Zuwaro's hands...

"Strange! These Wa samurai trekked a thousand miles to get here, and instead of attacking, they've set up a defensive spear formation? What are they thinking, also fearing core troop losses?... Hmm? That person on the large horse is their main commander? They appear young, yet fight with such steady tactics..."

Zuwaro also frowned, using the Divine Eye Artifact to observe for a long while, even clearly seeing the fierce expressions of the samurai on the opposite side. The opponents were evidently formidable, with powerful samurai momentum, yet refrained from advancing, instead letting the Ishikari tribes on both sides continuously skirmish and entangle.

"Situation on the flanks... The Beiyu Clan faces the Ishikari Clan, a six hundred against four hundred advantage is... hmm? Equally matched?... "

Zuwaro rubbed his nose and turned the Divine Eye Artifact to the flanks. There, three to four hundred Ishikari tribes thundered in battle cries, tangled with the five to six hundred warriors from the Beiyu Cold Swamp and Cold Shore factions. The adversaries' blood boiled at the sight of each other, yet the Ishikari Clan had a higher proportion of ironware, more Leather Armor equipped, and had visibly higher attacking morale than the Beiyu Clan. They pressed the Beiyu warriors out of the city, advancing up to the village walls where the swift arrows from the walls shot down six to seven warriors, briefly hinting at a retreat.

It wasn't until a group of about ten battle-frenzied Ishikari warriors ran headlong into the front gun samurai formation, resulting in iron spears piercing their chests and abdomens, hitting helmeted heads... In just a moment, those dozen Ishikari warriors perished before the formation, including a Tribe Chief with a Bear Helm! The attacking Ishikari tribes burst into panic, then dispersed around.

"Ancestor! Guardian Divine Might of the Black Bear! Great Bear Chief has fallen in battle!... The valiant Great Bear Chief was killed by those strange Beiyu tribes using spears!..."

Old General Shigeyasu Kudo did not share his hypothesis of "Shandan people" with the so-called Ishikari ally. Thus, even after a chieftain died at the spears, the Ishikari tribes believed the enemy to be the Beiyu Clan, a group they always pressed in confrontations. They assumed the chieftain's death resulted from the Wa people, who just formed formations this time, not really participating!

Soon, two Ishikari Great Chiefs hurried over, urging their Wa allies to act. They brought elite warriors from the tribes, suffering three to four dozen casualties in such a short time! If the Wa did not act, they would cease fighting...

Moments later, the Wa spear formation slowly advanced, raising spears as they moved forward. The ten mounted warriors, armed with horse bows, rode forth, beginning to circle around the formation. The horses were very short, just around 1.3 to 1.4 meters, unsuitable for charges, only for pursuing a routed enemy. On the battlefield, they utilized Ryu-Tetsu Horses' mounted archery, these warriors shouting loudly as they circled and shot arrows! Behind them, they bore extravagant and colorful back flags, resembling moving giant bears, intimidating the mysterious Shandan foes!