Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1310 - 1303: Feudal Military Forces

Chapter 1310: Chapter 1303: Feudal Military Forces

It must be said that the intervention of the Advance Team played a decisive role in this battle because most of the generals were first shot by their firearms, which exploded their Inner Cores, and then they were beheaded by the vanguard.

Still, the Demon Clan vanguard harbored discontent, believing that the Advance Team’s methods were a form of despicable sneak attacks.

This was actually understandable. More than thirty years after the second Otherworld War, the people of the Western Continent also had intense debates over the Earth’s military weapons and equipment they had seized and sold.

Some believed that a battle between knights should be a fair and frontal contest; these Earthly military armaments were dishonorable weapons only to be used by cowards.

However, others thought that Earth’s military equipment was far more practical, especially weapons like the AK, which could basically be mastered after five minutes of training. In contrast, knights required decades of training to achieve similar effectiveness.

Now in the East Continent, the Advance Team encountered the same disputes that had plagued the Western Continent for over thirty years. But actually, setting aside accusations of sneak attacks or fair fights, the significance of the Advance Team’s weapons in combat was undoubtedly critical.

Thanks to the intervention of Tangmo and Cheng Ziang, the Demon Clan vanguard, who were originally engaged in an intense struggle, quickly disposed of their immediate foes and then joined the fight against the hundred-plus Dongsheng soldiers.

The Demon Clan’s Ten-People Formation could only address defensive issues. Given the high coverage of the Dongsheng army’s armor, their combat was remarkably difficult. It often took a ten-person squad a great deal of effort to fully decapitate a single Dongsheng soldier.

And the accompanying musketeers were frequently disrupted due to the constant movement and changing formations, unable to load their ammunition normally, resulting in a firing rate even lower than that of matchlock guns.

But they witnessed the undeniable power of the muskets at close to medium range; almost no Dongsheng soldier could withstand a direct shot, and even those holding shields were easily penetrated.

As a result, although the musketeers were inefficient, their mortality rate was very high. Some squad captains realized this and deliberately stabilized their formation, giving musketeers the opportunity to load their ammunition, relying almost entirely on the musketeers’ output.

But the turning point came with the addition of the Demon Clan vanguard. These ferocious fighters, accustomed to brute force and particularly fond of heavy blunt weapons, found the fully armored Dongsheng soldiers suddenly hard-pressed.

Of course, not all Demon Clan vanguards were inclined to turn and attack the Dongsheng army; some vocally cursed Tangmo and Cheng Ziang while turning to chase down the unarmed conscripts.

This practice left both men feeling both angry and at a loss for words. Born in a civilized society, they could hardly comprehend why these soldiers would pursue and kill unarmed civilians.

The sudden inclusion of the Demon Clan vanguard didn’t immediately turn the tide of the battle, but as soon as they shouted that phrase in the Kyushu language, the morale of the entire Dongsheng army plummeted instantly.

With one hand fighting the Dongsheng troops, the Demon Clan vanguard shouted in the Kyushu language, "The General is defeated, the General is defeated!"

On the battlefield, this statement had a significant impact on the ordinary Dongsheng soldiers, especially when they saw the heads of generals hanging from the waists of the Demon Clan vanguard. They instantly accepted this proclamation, and consequently, the battle lines began to crumble. The soldiers started to flee in all directions, no longer able to contend with the Demon Clan army.

It was always said that morale was crucial in ancient armies; today, Tangmo and Cheng Ziang witnessed this scene firsthand and began to believe it.

They saw that the Dongsheng army had formed a battle line and had even held back the Demon Clan army’s wedge attack, but just because of that one phrase, everyone lost the courage to resist. The battle line fell apart in an instant, and they were no longer able to organize an effective defense.

As the Dongsheng army’s battle line disintegrated, the Demon Clan army began to break formation and scatter to pursue the fleeing Dongsheng soldiers. At this point, the soldiers’ armor became a burden to them as they were easily overtaken by the lightly armored Demon Clan troops, who executed them after their pitiful pleas for mercy.

Standing on the high ground, Tangmo and Cheng Ziang’s eyes widened as they witnessed everything unfolding before them. The indifferently retreating Dongsheng soldiers were fleeing heedlessly, with some even discarding their armor to lighten their load. What was originally a evenly matched battle had completely turned into a one-sided massacre.

Indeed, in ancient wars, the greatest casualties didn’t occur during the intense clashes between two armies, but rather when one side crumbled and the other pursued and slaughtered. At such times, the retreating side had almost no power to resist and could only be slaughtered at will.

Contrarily, during a standoff between two armies, the casualty rate was not actually very high, due to the rate of armor coverage and battle formations among other factors. This was actually the so-called "group effect": when everyone resisted, no one receded due to casualties; however, when everyone fled, no one dared to muster the courage to fight back.

Despite this, the battle had lasted for over two hours. In fact, during more than one hour of that time, the Demon Clan’s army was vigorously pursuing and killing the fleeing Dongsheng soldiers, as well as those innocent conscripts.

Tangmo and Cheng Ziang always believed that civilians should not be dragged into war, but they were helpless to change the tradition of the Demon Clan’s army because, by nature, it was still a feudal army.

They were well aware of what feudal armies were like, with the saying going: "When bandits pass, comb through; when soldiers pass, rake through." In the eyes of the common people, there was little difference between a feudal army and bandits, the latter being even more ruthless.

Thus, all they could do was pray that the innocent conscripts would escape the massacre of the Demon Clan’s army. As for those conscripts who hid, they could only pretend not to see them, even signaling them to stay hidden.

"Alas, the rise and fall of a nation brings hardship to its people," Tangmo lamented as he looked around at the destroyed farmhouses and fields.

"Don’t be so melancholy and sentimental, like Luo’er. These conscripts came to West Outer Heaven following the Dongsheng army’s campaign, not as native residents," Cheng Ziang shrugged and comforted him.

"But no matter what, they were conscripted by the Dongsheng Empire, it was not their wish to come to West Outer Heaven," said Tangmo, his words laced with emotion, "I wonder if Luo’er has a way to solve this problem."

"Don’t think of your Luo’er as a god. It’s a feudal army; haven’t history books told you what they are like?" Cheng Ziang shrugged.

"As long as our thinking doesn’t devolve, there will always be more solutions than problems," muttered Tangmo.

"Actually, if you think about it, it’s not like there’s no solution at all," Cheng Ziang looked around and then said.

"What solution?" asked Tangmo curiously.

"Labor force!" Cheng Ziang pointed to the trampled fields around them, "The Demon Clan needs to supplement their labor force from the outside; otherwise, with their population alone, they would not be able to effectively develop."

"For Abisien to develop, labor force is an unavoidable factor, they must absorb outside labor force and expand their own production in order to build up enough strength before the Dongsheng Empire’s next invasion, or else it will be a vicious circle."

"That’s actually a good idea, it’s just that there’s no way to tell Luo’er right away," Tangmo said, falling into a quandary.

"Relax, if I can think of this, do you think your Luo’er wouldn’t?" Cheng Ziang spread his hands and smiled, "Letting these conscripts go now wouldn’t do much for Abisien. Don’t forget, Wufeng City is still in the hands of the Dongsheng army. This is only a raid, not an occupation. To say something cruel and unpleasant, there really isn’t a need to care about the life and death of these conscripts."

"You’re right, but..." Tangmo nodded, then silently looked down.

"And there’s more..." Cheng Ziang was speaking when, suddenly, a conscript brandishing a sickle attempted to ambush him. He quickly subdued the conscript and with an easy elbow strike, knocked him unconscious.

"These people aren’t necessarily all that pitiable," Cheng Ziang said, letting go of the unconscious conscript who fell to the ground, then dusting off his hands, "We don’t have to do anything, and we won’t feel guilty."

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