Chapter 618: Meat Grinder!
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After making short work of 5 White Armor soldiers, White Bones leapt down from the debris and scuttled up a building like a ghost. It continued along the dark alleys, ready to strike out anytime.
3 White Armor soldiers were continuing along the wasted parts of town, when all of a sudden, a dark shadow leaped out from behind them. Their heads flew through the air as their headless corpses slumped to the ground.
Tenpyo Saka disappeared into the darkness again, having killed those 3 soldiers. Her strength laid in assassination and with such a complicated terrain and dark environments, it was naturally the best condition for her.
The 190 members of the White Armor army had scattered around in town and their assault had just gone on for a short while when 30 of their members were disposed of. This forced them to gather again to proceed as a troop.
As they reformed, their speed naturally slowed but their defence became tighter, making it hard for anyone to launch sneak attacks.
Behind, there were another 1,000 Manchurian elite soldiers ready to blitz right through.
Yue Zhong led his Guards to withdraw temporarily, conceding some posts to the Manchu Empire.
There were too many enemy soldiers. If they were to be trapped, as strong as they were, Yue Zhong and his team would definitely die.
“It’s time! They can all go to hell!” Yue Zhong eyed the soldiers from afar, his gaze turning cold as he pressed the remote control in his hands.
Hong! Hong! Hong!
Terrifying explosions rang out one after another, as the entire devastated region blew up. Within those explosions, the 1,000-strong Manchu elite forces as well as the 160 White Armor soldiers were either killed instantly or heavily injured. Their wails and screams rang out as the ground was littered with corpses and dismembered body parts.
Ximen Lie wanted to establish the Great Han Alliance and there were plenty of explosives and remote-controlled bombs in his arsenal. He even had talents with the ability to construct bombs in his ranks. While the experts in the Radiant Sun Triad might not compare with the rest, it was still precisely because of their explosives that they carved out a territory for themselves.
Every single faction had something they could boast about in the Central Plains. Some had powerful leaders, some had numerous experts, while others relied on a certain strength of their own.
Yue Zhong brought them all together under the banner of the Han Alliance and forced them to a corner, pushing them to unleash their hidden trump cards and strength.
From afar, Xuan Zhen saw the earthshaking explosion in Tian Mu Town and a bad feeling rose up in heart.
A scout came up to him and kneeled: “My Liege!! Zhao Liang Dong and his team had died, while 500 of his 1,000-strong army had died, 200 heavily injured. Ji Wen and the rest are dead as well!”
When Xuan Zhen heard this, he immediately screamed out in fury and despair, “Damnable Yue Zhong! Bastard! This Emperor will certainly kill you! I will make sure your death doesn’t come easy!!!”
Having lost his 1,000-strong 8 Banners Army, Xuan Zhen truly felt the pinch. These were not some random survivors that had trained to become soldiers. Rather, they had been elite soldiers that had fought along his side ever since he started his conquest. They might not be comparable to the Gold Wolf Riders but they were still renowned in the Central Plains. With their deaths, Xuan Zhen felt like throwing up blood.
Xuan Zhen roared out in fury: “Kill!!! Kill!!! Kill!!! This Emperor will go out to kill those motherfucking Han dogs!!!”
Xuan Zhen had been an ordinary farmer prior to the apocalypse but this Manchu Empire was carved out painstakingly by him. After he had become Emperor, his skills and level had stagnated a little, being weaker than Quan Sheng but he was still one of the top few Evolvers.
“No!! My Liege, you cannot be rash!”
“Be appeased, my Liege!!! Be appeased! Those Han dogs are just ants. Our army will definitely win. Your precious body cannot be harmed!”
“Be appeased, my Liege!!!”
“……”
A number of the officials got down on their knees and began begging. The Manchu Empire was also an authoritarian state. Hence, Xuan Zhen held a high position in their minds. If he were to die, the entire country would be plunged into chaos.
The strong preyed on the weak, this was the rule in the Central Plains. If the Manchu Empire was to really crumble, the various factions would gobble them up without leaving anything. For the prosperity of the country and their own sake, they would definitely not wish for Xuan Zhen to be in jeopardy.
One of the officials suggested, “My Liege, it’s been a long day. The soldiers are exhausted. Why don’t we withdraw the troops for today and resume battle tomorrow?”
Xuan Zhen looked at the sky, noting that the sun had already set. There was not much daylight left and the Manchu forces were adept at battles out on the fields, not in city breaches.
Xuan Zhen pondered before giving the order reluctantly, “Withdraw!”
With that order, the Manchu troops that had been subjected to the numerous deaths and casualties quickly pulled out. They were still elite soldiers. After all, even with the withdraw, they didn’t collapse.
The Han forces had similarly lost a lot of comrades and many are heavily injured. Most of them were exhausted and had no energy left to chase after the retreating Manchu forces. Some even directly laid on the ground to sleep right after the Manchu forces withdrew.
After Xuan Zhen obtained the results of the battle, he had been upset. Having activated 4,000-troops to march on Tian Mu Town, they had actually lost 1,900 with 500 heavy casualties. Only the remaining thousand were fine. They had lost 6 out of 8 tanks, 18 of their IFV’s and 20 gun-mounted vehicles. All 3 White Armor forces had been wiped out. This was truly one of the most devastating losses that had struck the Manchu Empire. In addition, over a thousand 8 Banners soldiers lost to the Gold Wolf Riders, cutting the Manchu force by half.
On the other side, Yue Zhong’s forces had huge losses as well. Of the 6 big triads, the leaders of the Pink Triad, Heavenly Wheel sect and Golden Wolf Triad had died and their experts were wiped out. Of the 430 Han independent heroes, 260 had died, and the rest were in various states of injuries. As for the 7,000 survivors, 800 had died to the blasts and gunfire.
Most of the defensive measures of Tian Mu Town had been expended, their bombs utilized, and their landmines together with the traps are fully set off. Even their remote-controlled bombs had been fully spent and the soldiers were all exhausted to the point of collapsing.
The entire Tian Mu Town was in shambles and all the warriors were tired. They had held on forcefully through willpower as the pressure by the Manchu forces had been too much.
Yue Zhong led the remaining 8 Guards to walk amongst the people, consoling the broken and encouraging the hopeless.
When Yue Zhong appeared, most of these soldiers were all excited. His performance had amazed them. Killing over 200 soldiers, destroying 6 tanks and he had even been fighting at the frontlines the whole time. He led his Guards to provide assistance everywhere they could, repelling many of the Manchu elites. If it weren’t for Yue Zhong, Tian Mu Town would have long fallen.
Yue Zhong ordered Ximen Lie to pick out another 2,000 able-bodied people to be drafted into various units. He even provided guns and sabres to equip these temporary fighters.
These survivors were mainly a motley bunch. If it were a clash on the battlefield, they would easily be killed. However, in the current state of Tian Mu Town, it was still possible for them to do battle. Of course, this was discounting skill level.
By the time everything was done and night had fallen, Yue Zhong ordered for food to be distributed to all the soldiers.
The soldiers dug in with gusto, eating their buns and drinking a little hot wine. It would likely be their last meal anyway.
Pi Jian Yi came up to Yue Zhong and asked with concern, “Alliance Chief! What do we do now? If they continue tomorrow, we might not be able to hold on.”
Although Tian Mu Town now had an additional force of 2,000 soldiers, they were not versed in their weapons and it was impossible to expect them to fare well against experienced soldiers.
The Manchu forces had about 4,000 even after their heavy losses. If they truly hardened their hearts to go all out, Tian Mu Town was unlikely to remain standing.
After such a tough battle, Pi Jian Yi and the rest of the prideful experts had no choice but to admit that Yue Zhong was truly strong and had come to obey his commands wholeheartedly.
Yue Zhong’s gaze flashed with a solemn light, “I know. Tonight will be the crux. If we want to protect Tian Mu Town, it will depend on tonight’s outcome!”
Pi Jian Yi faltered, “Night raid? We have too many clowns and it’s not suitable for an extended battle. Chief, isn’t it too risky?”
Yue Zhong sat down and closed his eyes: “Rest well and recover!”
“Forget it! At most, I’ll just sacrifice this life of mine! In any case, I’ve killed my fair share today!” After which, Pi Jian Yi also sat down directly.
The rest of the 7 also sat down to regain their stamina.They were all exhausted, after having to run about everywhere to kill their enemies. Even if they were top Evolvers, their expenditure of their spirit and stamina was not low as well.