Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1251 - 1244: Both Fleets Make Contact

Chapter 1251: Chapter 1244: Both Fleets Make Contact

"I still don’t understand," Hu Daoke said, "Is morale really that important? In terms of war, isn’t it that whoever has the most advanced weapons and tactics has a better chance of winning?"

"How should I put it, you have experienced modern warfare since you were young, so you don’t understand the form of warfare in ancient times," Cheng Ziang shrugged.

"Then tell me!" Hu Daoke asked defiantly.

"Actually, in terms of casualties, the casualties in ancient warfare may not really surpass those in modern warfare," Luo’er explained voluntarily, "In ancient warfare, in this kind of head-on battle, the losses on both sides are not considered high. Tens of thousands of troops could fight together for a day, and the casualties might amount to only about a thousand or two, which is already considered high."

"How is that possible?" Hu Daoke asked incredulously.

"Why not," Cheng Ziang shrugged, "In modern warfare, you just need to pull the trigger to instantly kill someone. But in the age of cold weapons, you need to chop or stab with force to kill someone. If the opponent’s armor is excellent, you might only be able to inflict a slight injury. Think about it, how much strength do you have, how many people can you kill, can you endure it, can your weapon endure it?"

"So most of the time, both sides’ soldiers are just making futile efforts. Spears and swords can indeed kill the enemy, but armor and shields can effectively defend. So, you can’t just kill someone with one slice or one shot; the opponent might just get slightly injured. Therefore, this kind of warfare goes on from morning to evening, and actually, the casualties on both sides are just about that," Luo’er continued.

"Thus, in cold weapon warfare, the worst casualties are not during the confrontational phase, but during the phase when one side collapses and the other chases. In this kind of ancient battle, the disintegrated army can hardly regroup to resist and can only be slaughtered by the enemy. This is also why, in ancient warfare, organization and morale absolutely cannot be lost because when you lose, you are truly done. It is very difficult to reorganize the troops again," Cheng Ziang added.

"Are you guys performing a double act here? One sentence each..." Hu Daoke said dejectedly.

"So back to this battle," Luo’er said, "not to mention whether this form of warfare is intentional, but just consider the generals fighting one-on-one. Actually, even if they were to engage in direct combat, not many people would necessarily die. It might be better to start with a duel between military generals to undermine the opponent’s morale."

"However, it’s quite obvious that the commander of the Dongsheng army prefers to eliminate their own general," Baiyue analyzed.

"Honestly, I find it hard to imagine, they are already at war, yet they are still thinking of crippling themselves, what in the world is he thinking?" Hu Daoke shook his head, puzzled.

"The Dongsheng army has no external enemies, all the enemies are within," Cheng Ziang said, sneering mockingly.

"Luo’er, when will the air fleet arrive?" Zhuyan Yu seemed to think of something and turned to ask Luo’er.

"Tomorrow, they will complete the research on the Scouring Sky Beast by then, and the fleet will then arrive at the outskirts of Lingyuan City," Luo’er replied.

"Are we really going to get involved in this war?" Tangmo asked worriedly.

"It’s hard to say, it’s best to let Captain Reimer decide on this matter by himself; we shouldn’t reveal our intentions too much," Zhuyan Yu pondered.

"But if we don’t intervene," Taran said with a sorrowful expression, "the disaster that occurred to our people hundreds of years ago will once again befall Lingyuan City."

"Don’t worry, Taran," Luo’er said, patting his head reassuringly, "the Dongsheng Empire does not intend to drive all members of the Demon Clan into the sea, there will be a turning point."

"Aren’t we the turning point?" Taran looked up at him and asked.

Luo’er was momentarily at a loss for words and only lifted his gaze towards Zhuyan Yu, who was squinting thoughtfully without showing any inclination.

"Regardless, if things continue to move in the worst direction, then we will definitely intervene," Luo’er said earnestly.

"Really?" Taran asked excitedly.

"Yes," Luo’er nodded solemnly.

After a day of battle, both sides sounded the retreat and began to gather the bodies on the battlefield. Not a single soldier perished from either side, with nearly all the casualties being generals.

The Dongsheng forces lost over thirty generals, and the Demon Clan Coalition also had more than twenty casualties. But with Bai Po present, the casualty ratio of the Demon Clan Coalition still looked relatively better.

Both sides agreed to fight again the next day, so after resting for the night, both armies regrouped and formed up on the battlefield, leading to a new round of duels among the generals.

Once again, Bai Po took the lead, slashing down over a dozen generals and instilling fear in the Dongsheng forces. Yet the fight lasted until evening when both sides once again sounded the retreat without any soldier engaging in combat.

After these two battles, the Dongsheng forces had lost more than seventy percent of their generals. If they did not retreat now, the fight on the third day would surely be the final battle. Without the support of their generals and with inferior numbers, the Dongsheng forces were likely heading for a disastrous defeat.

However, Luo’er and others were surprised to see that the Dongsheng forces were still holding their ground without any sign of retreat; it was unclear what the commander named Xuan was planning.

As the aerial fleet completed their study of the Scouring Sky Beasts, they were hurrying towards Lingyuan City. Before their arrival, two transport planes took advantage of the night to fly into Lingyuan City. It was the first time the dwarves had the chance to meet these members of the Demon Clan, and they were exceptionally excited.

However, due to some limitations, these dwarven scientists initially had no opportunity to deeply learn the Demon Clan’s language. Thus, often, they needed the Advance Team to act as interpreters to help facilitate communication.

Linglan warmly welcomed these guests from the West Continent. For her, during these times of crisis, she would not miss any opportunity.

Thus, in the parlor, Luo’er frankly translated Linglan’s request, hoping the aerial fleet could help Lingyuan City overcome the crisis. However, these clever dwarven scientists frequently changed the subject, keeping tight-lipped about any offers of help.

It was clear that these dwarven scientists did not dare make their own decisions, thus the only hope rested on Captain Reimer of the aerial fleet. Luo’er believed that as long as he agreed, resolving the crisis in Lingyuan City would not be a problem.

At present, the aerial fleet’s mode of engagement was already at the later stage of beyond-visual-range warfare, making this kind of combat relatively easy.

Moreover, importantly, the technology of the aerial fleet came from the Magic World and would not face the awkward situation of Earth’s technology being inapplicable in Otherworld. This meant that the aerial fleet’s technological advantage over the Dongsheng forces was solid and not dependent on being on home turf or away.

Regardless, as the first power the aerial fleet encountered upon arriving in the East Continent, the dwarves still felt somewhat favorable toward these members of the Demon Clan. Therefore, they expressed willingness to persuade Captain Reimer to help Abisien hold Lingyuan City, to make it a temporary base for the aerial fleet.

After resting for a night, the aerial fleet finally arrived as hoped over Lingyuan City, waiting on standby.

Just when everyone felt hope was drawing near, suddenly, someone with sharp eyes spotted around a dozen dark figures appearing in the southeastern sky over Lingyuan City. On closer look, they turned out to be Kunzhous from the Dongsheng Empire.

Logically, the Kunzhous would not be deployed to the front lines but were just means for transporting troops. Thus, seeing the Kunzhous here meant only one thing—the reinforcements from the Dongsheng Empire had arrived.

With the arrival of the Kunzhou fleet, the aerial fleet also tensed up. Every aircraft aboard the flagship Helrandum was launched into the sky, readying for combat.

Meanwhile, the High-peak people also tried to send someone to communicate with the Kunzhou fleet, to identify themselves and prevent conflict.

Although they had once shot down a Kunzhou with a single shot, the cost was enormous. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, Reimer was not keen on engaging so many Kunzhous in battle.