The Demon Lords-Chapter 577 - 74: Winner and Loser_1

The cavalry charged up to the front of the camp. The riders at the forefront threw out their grappling hooks, snagging the palisade ahead, then began to maneuver towards the flanks. Using the power of their horses, they began to "uproot the stockade."

The cavalry following behind drew their bows, tasked with suppressing the wild people in the camp.

A fraction of the cavalry from the rear readied their horse spears and began to conserve their horses' strength. The remaining men had already dismounted, preparing for combat on foot.

The camp had deep ditches and various obstacles. Forcing groups of cavalry to charge in an environment ill-suited for it would only result in men and warhorses packed together, becoming easy targets.

What the vanguard needed to do was to tear open a breach in the camp and create enough battlefield area for the subsequent troops to advance.

This level of coordination—an entire army executing a complex set of actions with clear divisions of labor, all with such order—was a result of the training Liang Cheng implemented during his battles against the wild people's settlements in Skybreak Mountain.

This tactic even once resulted in a humorous episode. The wild people's camp had clearly surrendered and lost their will to fight. Still, Liang Cheng executed two of his own lackadaisical officers and, under his order, had his army re-attack and conquer an already "surrendered" wild people's camp.

People always long for the romantic notion of great victories achieved with nonchalant ease, but they are unaware that a truly strong army owes its success to the accumulation of rigorous training in ordinary times.

From afar, Tian Wujing, who was observing the situation, spoke up at this moment,

"How is it?"

Wang Ge and the other commanders all showed appreciation on their faces. As seasoned veterans, they were well aware of how difficult it was to carry out such a strictly orderly attack, especially when the primary method of combat was on foot.

Tian Wujing said,

"My Yan Army fears no opponents in field battles, but siege warfare is clearly our weakness. If we march south in the future, the fortresses and cities of the Qian State will be an obstacle that our Great Yan iron cavalry cannot avoid."

Wang Ge replied,

"My Lord, Chief Zheng indeed has a remarkable way of training troops."

"After this war, all of you go and learn from him."

"We obey your command."

"We obey your command."

Tian Wujing then issued another command,

"Wang Ge, Zhang Cheng, no need to wait any longer. Reorganize your troops and prepare to follow up."

It was obvious even to a layman: if such an offensive could not tear open the wild people's camp, then those inside were not wild people but the West Army Division of the Qian State, renowned for their defensive warfare.

After both Commanders Wang Ge and Zhang Cheng acknowledged the order, they galloped back to their respective formations. Subsequently, nearly ten thousand cavalry began to press forward.

Meanwhile, in the northwest of the camp, after a breach was opened in the wild people's camp without much difficulty, Zheng Fan's men had already begun to advance swiftly. Close combat between both sides had commenced.

In this attack, the quality of the one thousand soldiers of the Jingnan Army under Zheng Fan's command went without saying. As for the remaining defeated soldiers from Jin State, their morale was not an issue when facing the wild people; moreover, the knights of the Three Jin were inherently of good quality. After a bout of charging and clashing, the breach in the camp began to widen.

On the arrow tower, A'lai continued to stroke the scar on his face. The King of the Wild People had already left.

A'lai could clearly see the situation becoming increasingly untenable. Moreover, from his high vantage point, he could see a large number of Yan soldiers already advancing from the west.

It wasn't because his warriors were unwilling to fight to the death. In fact, with their "king" present and accompanying them, they all fought with great fearlessness.

However, the problem was that the Yan soldiers were not cowards either. When there was no significant disparity in morale between the two sides, the differences in other aspects of their quality began to stand out.

The Yan people's armor, weaponry, and their disciplined battle formations proved challenging for the wild warriors, who were still accustomed to the chaotic fighting style of tribal warfare. Often, when the wild people charged, the Yan soldiers would first hold their ground and stabilize their formation, not immediately counter-attacking. After a period of stalemate, the Yan forces would then choose several points to launch a coordinated assault, quickly overwhelming the wild people on that front and forcing them to retreat.

A'lai remembered words the King had once spoken. He had said that their Sacred Clan was still a long way from true enlightenment.

But first, they had to find that road.

A'lai knew the obstacle stopping the wild people from continuing on that road wasn't the Yan people before them, but the Snow Sea Pass of Jin State.

"HAH!"

A'lai stood up.

He raised the King's Flag that was planted behind him.

It was a flag made from the hide of a snow leopard from the snow plains. A'lai held it high and waved it.

Fight on, warriors of the Sacred Clan!

Your "King"

Is with you!

At this moment, A'lai felt as though he was a real king. He truly had become the person he looked up to daily.

The King had also said that every warrior of the Sacred Clan is their own king, and also a king of the clan.

A'lai had not fully understood the meaning of this at first. During a drinking session with other chieftains, he heard them speculate: was the King perhaps starting to feel uneasy about the number of warriors each of them commanded?

Now, A'lai truly understood the meaning of the King's words.

When your clan needs you to step forward, you are the king of your clan.

Unfortunately, A'lai couldn't write. The script of the wild people had been lost generations ago. Apart from a few lorekeepers who could read the ancient texts, most of the wild people were unfamiliar with their own script. Those like the King of the Wild People, who had seen the outside world, had instead learned the Xia language and Xia script.

A'lai desperately wanted to record what he was feeling right now, to leave it for other clansmen to see if there was a chance. He yearned to share the excitement and understanding he was experiencing.

"AAARGH!!!"

With a roar, Fanli swung his twin axes. Clad in his "tin can" armor, he crashed through like a bulldozer, successfully breaching the wild people's defensive line. The troops immediately followed, tearing the opening wider.

From then on, the wild people's defense in that area had completely failed. The battlefield was no longer confined to a small area and began to expand rapidly.

Simultaneously, the thundering of hooves resounded from behind. After the vanguard had successfully opened up the battlefield, Wang Ge and Zhang Cheng led their reinforcements directly into the fray without dismounting.

The momentum of the charging warhorses combined with the sharpness of their blades made the wild people warriors—fierce, unafraid of death, and eager to protect their king—lose their final ability to resist.

Line after line of defense was carved open and crushed. Fierce Yan Army soldiers stormed in, and the battle situation began to collapse like an avalanche. The wild people were completely routed, their command structure shattered, leaving them to be surrounded and cut off in pockets, awaiting annihilation.

Meanwhile, inside the camp, the last reserve force of fewer than eight hundred troops had not yet engaged in the fight.

A'lai stopped waving the flag in his hands.

Sometimes, this sense of powerlessness is the most despairing. In this world, there is no principle stating that you will inevitably win just because you've given it your all.

A'lai turned, holding the King's Flag in one hand and gripping a pillar of the arrow tower with the other as he slid down. When he landed, many of the nearby wild people immediately gathered around him.

The wild people did not realize that their king had been replaced.

"Mount up and charge out!" A'lai roared.

He understood clearly that the King had asked him to take his place to buy time, not to arrange a "dignified" death for him.

The wild people around him immediately mounted their horses. The defenses at the front of the camp had already collapsed, so A'lai, without hesitation, led the last group of fewer than a thousand wild warriors in a charge out from the rear of the camp.

Zheng Fan, leaning on his saber, his armor smeared with blood, gasped heavily and said to Liang Cheng beside him,

"We won, didn't we?"

Liang Cheng's expression was rather serious. He looked at Zheng Fan and said,

"My lord, there seems to be a problem."

...

"Lord, that's the flag of the King of the Wild People," said Commander Li Dingdong to Lord Jingnan.

Tian Wujing's gaze hardened slightly. He shook his head and said,

"There's something wrong with this battle."

The problem had shown signs from the very beginning.

"Are you worried that this is a ploy to lure us in deep, my Lord?" Li Dingdong asked.

"No, that's not what I am thinking," Tian Wujing replied. "If that King of the Wild People dares to play 'lure the enemy deep,' then I would indeed like to see just how big a stomach he has to devour us. What I am worried about is not that they are luring us deeper, but that they truly only deployed such a small force here. Make the illusory appear even more illusory; sow doubt upon doubt."

At this point, a look of helplessness appeared in Tian Wujing's eyes.

He suddenly thought of a possibility, and at this moment, it seemed increasingly real.

A King's Tent, a King's Flag, standing there, had halted the Yan Army's advance.

And now, it seemed even more so: a vast camp left with fewer than ten thousand troops, practically served up on a platter.

To sacrifice ten thousand soldiers merely to delay my advance... whatever they are plotting must be vastly more important than these ten thousand lives. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Tian Wujing's gaze slowly moved towards the southeast.

"Lord, that King's Flag…" Li Dingdong asked.

A commander of his rank might know how to fight the battle at hand, but grand strategy was not his forte.

"Your troops will pursue," Tian Wujing ordered.

Li Dingdong immediately organized his army and set out.

Tian Wujing continued to sit on the Pixiu's back. The battle ahead was practically decided, and he had always shown little emotional reaction to victories already secured.

Instead, at this moment, a phrase Zheng Fan had once uttered flashed across his mind:

"Pig teammate."

The phrase sounded novel, yet its literal meaning was quickly grasped.

He heaved a sigh.

Tian Wujing reached out and stroked the Pixiu's mane.

The Pixiu showed a look of enjoyment; it loved this kind of affectionate interaction with its master.

Much like a woman who appears outwardly cold and noble; she only reveals her softer, more captivating side to someone she deems worthy.

Situ Lei, you had better not be that pig teammate.

...

「In the summer of the 1st year of Yongping of Great Yan,」

The eighty-thousand-strong army of Cheng State launched another northern expedition beyond Snow Sea Pass. They were ambushed at Lake Nuò, and the entire army was annihilated. Snow Sea Pass was breached, and the wild people poured through the pass.