Chapter 774 – Ma Teng Dies in Battle
The route that the Guards Legion was trying to break out through was a tragic route covered in fresh blood.
There were continuously people who fell and people who successfully broke out.
On the battlefield where blades swung, no individual could decide their own fate. The soldiers could only form into a line and use teamwork to decide their survival.
The huge battlefield was a fight between people trying to break out and those trying to stop them.
Killing shouts filled the skies, and blood flowed like rivers.
The cries of the iron armored beasts could also be heard.
On the battlefield, dust flew and blood boiled; the place was like a furnace that contained the fates of hundreds of thousands of people.
Huo Qubing led the 5th division and charged fearlessly forwards. With the iron armored beasts opening the way and the infantry and cavalry covering them under the lead of Ma Teng, they finally charged out.
"Do not let Huo Qubing escape!"
The Alliance Army did not give up just yet as they sent their most elite Cavalry Force to chase after the Shanhai City troops.
The cavalry all set out on elite Mongol Warhorses, which were on the same level as the Qingfu Horses that the Guards Legion rode on. Helplessly, Huo Qubing could only activate his specialty.
Cavalry Battle: raises troops morale by 30%, raises cavalry movement speed by 50%, raises cavalry killing strength by 35%, raises cavalry forces stamina by 40%.
The specialty of a God General was just so overpowered, widening the gap in an instance.
However, the Alliance Army was like a pack of hunting dogs, chasing behind them and not giving up before they had successfully caught up.
The Guards Legion fled till nightfall. Apart for quietly resting up for three hours, they did not stop any other time. Only then were they able to successfully escape from the enemy.
The process was extremely brutal and intense; words could not describe it.
...
Dongchuan Prefecture, unnamed wilderness.
"Stop, rest up!"
Huo Qubing asked the troops to rest up for the second time as he noticed that the Qingfu Horses were already foaming, and it seemed like they were not able to hold on.
With a 'Shua!, the high speed moving army instantly stopped. Their actions were still exceedingly orderly.
The soldiers did not bother about their wounds that were still bleeding; they took out their water canteens, first feeding their war horses and also giving them military grain pills. To them, their horses were their lives, even more important than their spouses.
Seeing their horses in such a state, the cavalry soldiers felt pain in their hearts.
As the strongest legion in the territory, they received the best treatment. For example, only the Guards Legion was given military grain pills.
Thanks to this, they were able to hold on till now. When escaping, the soldiers did not even have time to get off their horses to eat, much less cook food.
As for the cities that they had already taken down, they did not dare to enter as they did not know if there were any enemy ambushes.
When they were attacking Dongchuan Province, to end the battle quickly, the Guards Legion had hurried from city to city. They did not even have the time to lay down effective control of any of the cities.
The news the Guards Legion had lost had probably already spread to all the cities in the prefecture, so who knows what the people inside were thinking.
As the situation was an emergency, to successfully break out, the Guards Legion even abandoned the grain, heavy equipment, and two P1 Type Cannons on the battlefield.
During their escape, the grain transport group also fell prey to the enemy. Not only was large amounts of grain intercepted by the enemy, even the men transporting the grain were killed.
The Alliance Army was a pack of hungry wolves, not even hesitating to attack civilians.
When the leader of the Garrison Division soldiers in charge of protecting the civilians saw that, he gritted their teeth and told them to go hide in the forests to try and escape.
This ambush was a catastrophe for Shanhai City.
...
Huo Qubing looked at the remaining generals and soldiers beside him, looking really exhausted. The continual activation of his specialty had a huge toll even for a God General like Huo Qubing.
"Go calculate how many men we have left." Huo Qubing instructed the deputy officer.
"Yes general!"
The situation of the various troops was reported extremely quickly.
Although the Iron Armored Beast Division was strong, their stamina could not be compared to war horses. Even if they managed to breakout, they were still killed in the chase.
Ma Teng's division, which was in charge of holding off the enemy, was encircled and none of them escaped. In the end, only around 10 thousand of them managed to get out, less than a division.
When Huo Qubing heard the report, he was totally silent; he did not know how he would explain this to the Monarch.
Although the intel departments had messed up, he had not conducted a detailed scouting before attacking Yongren City despite his role as the main general.
If not, even if the enemy laid in wait in the Shu Lands, they would not have been able to cross the border and surround them without them finding out.
For the sentries of the Guards Legion to be removed by the enemy so easily was truly an embarrassment.
"Return to Consonance City!"
After resting up for two hours, Huo Qubing ordered once more. Dongchuan Prefecture was not a place where they could stay behind in anymore. Now they could only take it step by step, returning to the headquarters before discussing further action.
After a short while, the cavalry disappeared in the wilderness.
Dongchuan Prefecture, Yongren City.
As night fell, the battle finally ended.
Corpses were strewn across the battlefield, blood flowing like rivers.
During this battle, to crush the 1st legion of the Guards Legion Corps, the Yanhuang Alliance Army had paid a heavy price. They lost 30 thousand men and the Alliance Army lost 40 thousand men.
The Yanhuang Alliance Army mainly lost troops when they tried to surround the Iron Armored Beast Division. On the other hand, the Alliance Army had suffered losses under the hands of the mountain barbarians and Ma Teng's division.
Of course, their battle rewards were extremely great too.
During this battle, they had killed 45 thousand people and captured 15 thousand. Even general Ma Teng had fallen on the battlefield.
The Guards Legion was an extremely strong army. Even under such circumstances, they did not want to surrender. The prisoners obtained were basically forced into surrendering.
Hence, they were mostly cavalry.
At the later stages of the battle, the mountain barbarian warriors basically all activated their berserk state. In the end, only two thousand mountain barbarians were captured because the side effects of the berserk state made them weak, and they could not resist capture.
If not, it would be difficult for any of them to survive.
The mountain barbarian tribe was just so fervent and passionate. They would rather die than be prisoners just like their ancestor Chiyou. Although they were brutish, they were true men.
The Yanhuang Alliance commander Wuqi looked at the battlefield and exclaimed, "As expected of the Guards Legion of Shanhai City!" Under such a situation, they still managed to kill so many.
Although they won this battle, it was the case killing a hundred enemies but losing a thousand of your own. After this battle, there was not much change in the numbers of both sides.
Such an outcome had totally exceeded Wuqi's expectations.
Before the battle had started, who would have thought it would end like this?
Of course, after all, they won!
The greatest meaning to this battle was not the remaining numbers on both sides but their morale.
Think about it. Even the strongest Guards Legion of Shanhai City was crushed. To the Alliance Army and Yanhuang Alliance Army, who else would they fear?
Hence, they held the strategic initiative.
On the contrary, the rumored Invincible Shanhai City Army suffered such a loss, and it would be hard for them to adjust in a short time.
The battle in the main battlefield slowly started to favor Yunnan City-State.
"Let's return!" Wuqi ordered.
After hurriedly cleaning up the battlefield, the Yanhuang Alliance Army and the Alliance Army did not spend too much time in Yongren City and teleported away to Qin Feng's Tengchong City.
This arrangement showed that Yunnan City-State was not following Shanhai City's tempo.
Who knows what they were planning?
After the army left, the defenses of Dongchuan Prefecture were temporarily left to Swordsman City. Based on the agreement, they would send 40 thousand troops over.
'Letting go of Dongchuan Prefecture' was one of the agreements, and this entire battle planning was started a few months ago.
Apart from that, they had another mission, which was take charge of the prisoners.
Similarly, based on the agreement, all the prisoners from the battle would be split amongst Yanhuang Alliance. Yunnan City-State would get none of them.
The way the Yanhuang Alliance did things was just so overbearing.
...
As the army left, Yongren City became peaceful once more. Apart from the stack of bones outside the city, it was like nothing had happened.
Anyone would know that this place would become famous for this battle.
Shanhai City Guards Legion Corps 1st legion had been ambushed here and nearly all fell. This news quickly spread throughout the wilderness.
This was the biggest defeat for them since they appeared in the wilderness. The ones who lost was also the most famous Guards Legion.
The entire forums exploded.
Even players from other regions were focusing on this battle.
All of a sudden, voices from many media outlets expressing their condolences and dissing Shanhai City became extremely common. Many experts predicted that the arrogant Shanhai City was going to trip and fall this time.
Not mentioning whether they could take down Yunnan City-State, if they could retreat in tact was already a problem.
The dark clouds above Yunnan welcomed the bright light of the sun. The light of victory started to wave at Yunnan City-State.
In the eyes of the experts, the result of this war was starting to becoming clearer and clearer.