The Demon Lords

Chapter 436 - 50: Dare not_3

The makeshift military encampment’s outer wall, while not as sturdy as a true city wall, was still relatively easy to climb. Inside, Qian army spearmen thrusted with their long spears, and archers loosed arrows. A small portion of the scaling Yan soldiers fell midway. Yet, those behind them remained undeterred, like a horde of madmen unafraid of death, continuing to follow their commander upwards.

Fortunately, their fellow soldiers from the rear retaliated with arrows. Because they were more fearless and their archery skills far surpassed those of the Qian army, they managed to suppress the Qian forces within the encampment for a time.

By then, Li Fusheng had already led the first wave of armored soldiers onto the encampment wall. They engaged the Qian army in fierce combat, clearing space for the subsequent troops to ascend.

Zheng Fan had also reached the foot of the encampment wall. A Ming was to his left, Siniang to his right, the blind man behind him, and Fanli before him.

For the loyal officers, the state of the war was irrelevant; as long as their lord was unharmed, everything was acceptable.

Chief Zheng did not insist on "going out to party" by himself. After all, if he were to mess up and get himself killed, it could very well lead to the collective demise of the loyal officers.

"What in the hell kind of battle is this!"

Zheng Fan roared, though it was unclear at whom his dissatisfaction was directed. He only knew that his precious reserves, hoarded and kept virtually unscathed since the war began, were now vanishing at an alarming rate.

But Zheng Fan knew clearly that the best way to minimize casualties was to crush the Qian army inside as quickly as possible. If this dragged on, their own losses would only escalate!

At this moment, perhaps because Li Fusheng and his vanguard of armored soldiers had successfully withstood the pressure and broken into the military encampment, the threat to the Yan Army outside began to lessen. Consequently, a group of riders, exerting their combined strength, managed to wrench a section of the stockade fence from the frozen earth.

CLANG...

A gap of about ten meters or so was opened up.

Yet, surprisingly, the Qian army inside did not retreat in fear. Instead, they shouted and swarmed forward, attempting to plug this breach in the encampment.

The Qian soldiers in this encampment were of good quality, at least much more capable and willing to fight than the Qian State garrison troops encountered in the cities along the way.

"Fanli!" Chief Zheng roared.

"ROAR!"

Fanli echoed with an enraged bellow, twin axes in hand, and was the first to charge the gap. Clad in iron armor from head to toe, including a massive iron helmet, he resembled a rampaging bull as he crashed into the Qian soldiers before him.

Although Fanli was not an absolute master in the truest sense due to being limited by Zheng Fan’s own strength, his physique and raw power were exceptionally effective on the battlefield.

BOOM!

Fanli, by himself, actually forced the vanguard of Qian soldiers to fall back.

At this, Zheng Fan and the others surged in right behind him.

The blind man’s mental force was now so depleted he couldn’t use it for anything else; he could only focus all his ability on protecting himself, Siniang, and his lord from stray arrows.

As for A Ming and Fanli, a few arrow wounds were not a major concern.

Yan soldiers continuously poured in through this breach. Gradually, the Qian soldiers attempting to seal the hole could no longer hold their ground and began to retreat. In such a contest of blood and courage, the first to withdraw often signified a rout.

The Qian army’s momentum was broken. More and more Yan Army soldiers charged in, and the battle began to rage within the military encampment.

Deprived of the encampment’s protection and the terrain advantage, the individual martial prowess of the Yan Army soldiers became strikingly evident. The fighting within the encampment quickly became a one-sided affair.

Finally, with Li Fusheng taking the head of a Qian general, the already deteriorating Qian army completely collapsed. They ceased all resistance and began to flee through the encampment’s other exits.

This military encampment had been taken by the Yan Army.

Just then, Qian troops from the encampment on the opposite bank of the river emerged and began crossing the frozen river to provide aid. However, this encampment had fallen too swiftly. Before the reinforcements could even arrive, the Yan Army had already seized it. More ludicrously, the arriving Qian reinforcements were swept up by their own fleeing comrades from the fallen encampment, and the relief force also turned tail and fled.

The Yan Army soldiers, who had been preparing to meet a second wave of assault, were left utterly dumbfounded by this spectacle, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

However, Chief Zheng truly was torn between laughter and tears. During that charge on the encampment, nearly four hundred of his Green Willow Fortress cavalrymen had been killed in action, with twice that number wounded.

This level of casualties made Chief Zheng, accustomed as he was to small-scale operations where every loss was keenly felt, experience a pain so intense it was like his heart was being wrenched from his chest.

Ultimately, Zheng Fan had not yet evolved into the kind of person who could casually utter the phrase, "a general’s triumph is built upon a mountain of bones."

The blind man was utterly exhausted. He always appeared to linger at the rear, yet his contribution was the greatest. The most terrifying thing on a battlefield isn’t truly the clash of blades or the whiz of arrows, but a sudden, insidious attack that kills you before you even know what hit you.

As soon as the fighting ceased, the blind man slumped to the ground, head bowed, and began to rest.

Fanli’s armor was damaged in multiple places, and he had sustained several wounds as well. Siniang was currently tending to them. Fortunately, he was tough and his hide was thick, so his injuries were not critical.

Zheng Fan turned his head to look. Sure enough, atop the densest pile of corpses, he saw a familiar, somewhat stooped figure seated there.