Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Before Luo Ying had fully adapted to his new body, the rumbling sound of hooves was already approaching from afar.

The rebel cavalry unit had arrived!

The first thing that caught their eyes was the rising dust, followed by the trembling ground. It felt as if the galloping noise of the warhorses, cascading from afar to near, could shake one's soul.

Luo Ying, who lived in a peaceful era, found it hard to imagine such a scene.

In fact, without having seen it firsthand, many people had great misconceptions about the numbers on the battlefield.

In simulated wartime scenarios and actual drills, people living in peaceful times were often shocked to find discrepancies between their intuition and actual figures.

For instance, merely three hundred cavalrymen were already enough to fill one's entire field of vision, creating an overwhelming sensation.

These three hundred cavalrymen, even when marching normally without forming a dense formation, could still charge forward with earth-shattering momentum.

To an ordinary person, there would appear to be no difference between three hundred, three thousand, or even thirty thousand cavalrymen.

That's because a few hundred cavalrymen already pushed the limits of one's visual field; more would be indistinguishable.

Moreover, ancient battles involving tens of thousands of men would stretch for dozens of kilometers across vast battlefields, likely surrounding an entire city in reality.

Even from a high vantage point, it was impossible to capture the full extent of such a scene.

Thus, the true distinction of ancient famous generals compared to ordinary people was that they could visualize the entire battlefield in their minds through messenger reports and accurately issue commands allowing their major forces to move according to their plans.

Even the top cavalry officers could lead tens of thousands of cavalrymen in a fervent invasion across the battlefield, precisely identifying enemy weak points and breakthrough opportunities, then piercing through in an instant…

Such a scene often exceeded the imagination of people from peaceful times.

Of course, it also exceeded the imagination of ancient scholars unfamiliar with military affairs.

Hence, it's no surprise that ancient historical records contain many absurdities that completely defy military common sense.

At this moment, facing the shock of this cavalry unit, Luo Ying was incredibly shaken.

This was an elite rebel cavalry unit, overwhelming and ubiquitous.

Although they weren't equipped with heavy armor like the later 'Iron Pagodas', where both rider and horse were heavily armored, they were still well-armed, with the cavalry dressed in high-quality standard armor.

The horses' chests were also protected by simple armor.

"General! The enemy is close, we can shoot arrows now!" a Deputy General suggested beside him.

Luo Ying quickly responded and nodded, "Shoot the arrows!"

The troop he commanded was a pure infantry phalanx; although there were cavalry on both wings, they weren't under his command.

Following Luo Ying's order, the archers in the front launched their arrows!

"Swoosh!"

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

A dense flurry of arrows rose into the sky, tracking parabolic trajectories in a salvo.

Some of the cavalry horses whined as they were hit, but only a few fell, while the majority continued their thunderous advance.

A second volley of arrows came pouring down!

This time, due to the closer proximity of the enemy, the damage was more significant.

Although ancient arrows were valuable, when facing a cavalry unit, archers had to be generous with their shots before the cavalry reached them, firing as many volleys as possible.

Firing volleys ensured the accuracy of the arrows, while more shots meant maximizing damage to the cavalry.

Otherwise, if the cavalry closed in before all arrows were fired, a crushing defeat was inevitable, and all the precious arrows would simply benefit the enemy.

After the volley shooting, the enemy cavalry's momentum was noticeably impeded.

In the case of heavily armored cavalry like the 'Iron Pagodas', such an intensity of arrow rain would hardly cause significant casualties.

The Qi Army, aiming to better counter such heavily armored cavalry, had developed the powerful Divine Arm Bow.

But at this moment, the rebel cavalry's armor was limited, and the horses' protection was low, so the arrow rain still posed a credible threat.

Ordinary cavalry might have considered retreating under such circumstances.

But since this was the elite rebel cavalry, they continued their charge.

The frontline archers promptly slung their bows on their backs and switched to spears to form up, while the rear archers continued shooting.

The Liang Dynasty was a dynasty rich in martial virtue; archers weren't a standalone troop type.

The military treatises of the Liang Dynasty recorded that an army was composed of 12,500 men, equipped with "12,500 bows, 37,500 bowstrings, and 375,000 arrows."

This meant every soldier in the Liang army was equipped with a bow, averaging three bowstrings and thirty arrows.

Among them, 7,500 wore Ming Guang Armor, including 2,500 Mo Blade Soldiers. Even the Mo Blade Soldiers were equipped with a bow, thirty arrows, and besides the Mo Blade, they also carried long spears.

The other soldiers were subdivided into 2,500 ordinary armored soldiers and 2,500 light troops. The armored troops were outfitted with bows, arrows, long spears, heavy knives, and shields, while the light troops were equipped with bows, large quivers (holding 100 arrows), crossbows, and long spears.

Thus, it is evident that the quality and combat capabilities of the soldiers of the Liang era were extraordinary.

These soldiers were essentially all-round warriors, capable of releasing arrows from a distance, holding enemies at bay with long spears closer up, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a heavy shield in one hand and a heavy knife in the other.