Iron Dynasty Chapter 1019

“Chase!”

As the sun climbed in the eastern sky, Kasimov wasted little time before issuing the command to give chase.

On this mission, the Queen had dispatched him to rendezvous with Dolgor. Besides pressing Dolgor to head to Saint Petersburg, his other duty involved wiping out Dolgor, the defector from the Yakutsk battle.

The Queen could not abide betrayal, and the Russian nobility had pinned the Yakutsk defeat squarely on Gubat.

Furthermore, prior to this journey, he had vowed to slay the traitor Gubat. That commitment drove his unyielding pursuit of Gubat.

Though the idea of a trap flickered through his thoughts, the last clash had already claimed a third of Gubat's forces, and no commander would throw away so many lives just to draw in foes.

To Kasimov, it seemed Gubat might be racing to secure the safety of his tribe's women and children.

Yet even if danger lurked, he needed to press on. Gubat lay just ahead, fulfilling his pledge to the Queen demanded it. Risk-taking flowed in the veins of every Cossack, and he trusted the mobility of his Cossack riders to allow a smooth withdrawal if needed.

At Kasimov's command, the Cossack horsemen surged after Gubat, kicking up massive dust storms across the plains.

Deep in the valley, Feng Dongjin awaited Gubat's approach.

His wait paid off soon enough. Within an hour, Gubat came thundering in, trailed by riders in black barrel hats, green coats, and dark pants.

All these riders stood tall and sturdy, many sporting curled mustaches, their faces radiating menace.

“These are the Cossack cavalry.” A grave look settled on Feng Dongjin's features. The Cossacks' matching attire marked them as a rigorously drilled force, far beyond the barbarians' rough skills.

He at last grasped why the haughty Golden Tent Khanate had submitted to Tsarist Russia. Surely, the Cossacks' iron discipline had crushed them.

Watching the Cossack forces march unwittingly into the ambush, Feng Dongjin signaled with his hand. “Prepare to fire!”

The troops, who had dismounted, swiftly trained their rifles on the valley below. For stealth, they sprawled flat amid the underbrush. From the valley floor, spotting them proved utterly impossible.

Gubat glanced back at the pursuing Cossacks, then scanned the flanking forests. Much to his frustration, nothing caught his eye.

His spirits plummeted, spawning a dark suspicion. He feared Qi Guangyi and Feng Dongjin had turned against him, scheming to let the Cossacks finish him off. The notion filled him with utter hopelessness.

Still, a faint spark of faith lingered, urging him to bolt desperately toward the valley's far side.

In truth, per their pact, after drawing the riders into the pass, Qi Guangyi's group would strike once the entire Cossack force was inside. Then Gubat could wheel about for a sudden assault.

Kasimov observed Gubat's frantic lead of his riders. It only reinforced his belief that Gubat was merely flailing in his final moments.

He urged his own horsemen to quicken their pursuit of Gubat.

Yet midway through the valley, a swarm of dark specks burst suddenly from the surrounding trees.

Gubat, racing ahead, twisted around to witness it. He bellowed, “Plug the horses’ ears!”

Gubat's barbarian riders grasped his intent and the nature of those dark objects at once. As they shielded their horses' hearing, sharp bursts of blasts echoed from behind.

From the treeline, once the full Cossack contingent had ventured into the valley, Feng Dongjin ordered his men to drop their camouflage. Flanking the woods, twenty thousand rifle barrels locked onto the Cossacks. At his signal, a volley roared forth.

“Damn it, we fell into a trap.” Kasimov paled sharply. He had scrutinized the sides upon entry, spotting no threats. Now, the truth glared back.

The instant those troops emerged, he recognized them as Great Yu Empire fighters, for in these lands, only they donned proper uniforms—beyond any other clan's reach.

Recalling Dolgor's account of the three tribes' clash, dread gripped his chest right then.

But in that instant, a fierce “rumble” shook the air nearby, sparking a chain of blasts like distant thunderclaps. The valley erupted in a blaze of fiery blooms.

“Hiss…”

“Hiss…”

The deafening clamor sent the riders' mounts rearing and shuffling wildly. Several horses reared in blind panic, sowing greater disorder among those nearest the walls. Before they could grasp the chaos, explosions tore hundreds of Cossacks apart, spraying gore across the ground.

Such a horrifying spectacle was alien to these Cossack riders, who had long been the scourge of other peoples. Panic seized the ranks momentarily.

Still, their elite training shone through. After the initial shock, officers rallied them to pull back from the fray.

Yet as they pivoted to retreat, a horde of encircling horsemen appeared at their rear. These attackers unleashed gunfire from afar, then closed in with drawn blades, slicing into the mass like a dagger. Battle cries exploded throughout.

Gubat felt a jolt of alarm at first. Though braced somewhat, the grenades' thunderous fury still sparked primal terror. But he regained his composure swiftly, and eyeing the disordered Cossacks, delight spread across his face.

“My brothers, now is the time for our revenge! Follow me, kill!”

Roaring fiercely, Gubat whipped his steed forward toward Kasimov. This fiend had butchered his kin. Today, he vowed to fell him from the saddle, shaming the Russian Empress utterly.

“Kill!”

The rifle-mounted cavalry clashed head-on. Gubat's warriors surged with renewed vigor. These rifle riders, armed superbly and drilled to perfection, proved a formidable force. In seconds, they shattered the Cossack lines.

From the woods, Feng Dongjin surveyed the unfolding melee. The Cossacks now faced a crushing vise, with flankers pouring shot after shot into their core.

This shattered their ranks completely. Clumped in disarray, they lost all ability to fight effectively. The Cossacks, unfamiliar with such tactics, had overlooked how grenades would terrify steeds—especially with bursts amid the herd.

Thus, despite their discipline, the Cossacks' horses bucked wildly, beyond control.

One might say they battled a swarm of frantic, directionless insects now.