Otherworld Advance Team -
Chapter 1315 - 1308: Anxious Stage
Chapter 1315: Chapter 1308: Anxious Stage
In fact, if not considering cultivators, the Demon Clan’s army has somewhat superior military equipment compared to the Dongsheng army. The Dongsheng army overly relies on their generals, resulting in their military technology falling behind that of the Demon Clan.
The military technology of the Demon Clan’s army was also entirely forged by war, for if they could not gain a technological advantage, they would easily be annihilated.
Though they continued to face defeat, each attack launched by the Dongsheng army all the more difficult. If it were not for the generals mindlessly overpowering the enemy, by the time of the Battle of Lingyuan City, the Dongsheng army would have been incapable of combating the Demon Clan’s army.
The backwardness of the Dongsheng army was not only evident in military technology but also reflected in their tactical thinking. Despite having convenient aerial transport methods, they astonishingly did not employ the Island Hopping Strategy, which would have allowed them to seize strongholds and divide and conquer the Demon Clan’s forces.
Regarding this, the Advance Team could only surmise that the Dongsheng Empire internally does not wish to immediately eradicate the Demon Clan but desires to maintain them as targets for internal strife.
During an exchange that lasted for over half an hour, the Dongsheng army neither launched an ambush with their cavalry nor initiated any substantial counterattack. Instead, they repeatedly suffered casualties, at one point reaching a ratio exceeding ten to one.
Faced with this scenario, Cheng Ziang suddenly thought of something. From previous understanding, within the Dongsheng army, it is usually the commanders who are responsible for directing the operations while the generals solely charge into battle.
Considering the current situation, a stronghold equipped with over a hundred soldiers and about ten generals, distinctly lacked a commander as a battle director. That was likely the primary reason why the Dongsheng army appeared helpless when facing an attack.
As mentioned before, generals belong to cultivators. In the Dongsheng Empire, what cultivators do daily is engage in cultivation. As for studying, they have no interest; their sole focus is on enhancing their martial prowess.
Hence, this led most cultivators to be illiterate boors. They can’t even write their own names, let alone lead troops into battle. Moreover, fatalistically, they take pride in this instead of considering it a disgrace.
Thus, when they face such predicaments, they either take matters into their own hands or simply yell for their brothers to hold the line; beyond that, they have no other strategies.
Soon, just as Cheng Ziang predicted, the Dongsheng army, unable to sustain further casualties from the exchange of fire, initiated a counterattack. Leading the charge were the generals who lacked the ability to command troops.
Such a charge did not throw the Demon Clan’s army into disarray; on the contrary, they were awaiting the enemy’s counterattack.
As the signal for changing formation resounded, the Demon Clan’s formation disbanded, reforming into the Ten-People Formation. At the same time, the Demon Clan’s advance forces immediately launched a counter-charge, intercepting the oncoming generals.
Both forces then collided on the same battlefield where they had exchanged fire, with the Demon Clan’s advance cutting off these generals and engaging them, while the Dongsheng army also began to attack the Ten-People Formation.
However, as it turned out, the Ten-People Formation was not easy to combat. The Dongsheng soldiers, facing a formation as defensive as a turtle’s shell, capable of attacking with pikes and firearms, were at a loss.
After several exchanges, the tall and robust Dongsheng soldiers not only failed to gain any advantage but suffered the loss of more than a dozen men.
Whenever they tried to push away the shields, they faced stabs from pikemen as well as counterattacks from sword-and-shield soldiers. Moreover, they were constantly at risk of being shot by gunners, whose bullets could easily penetrate their armor.
Seeing the forces begin to engage, Tangmo and Cheng Ziang were not idle, hastily mounting their horses to rush to the frontline, prepared to assist the Demon Clan’s vanguard in dealing with those generals.
Because the Demon Clan’s horses were relatively short, even while mounted, they could not shoot; they could only get as close to the combat zone as possible, preparing to dismount and shoot.
Upon reaching the battle zone, the clash between the Demon Clan and Dongsheng armies entered an intense phase, and the Demon Clan vanguard was fighting intensely with Dongsheng generals. They engaged in an isolated area, where Dongsheng soldiers dared not approach, only blindly attacking the Demon Clan’s Ten-People Formation.
However, as previously stated, during the era of melee weapons, casualty rates on the frontline of a direct battle were actually very low; the main casualties stemmed from the defeated retreating and being intercepted.
The Demon Clan’s army was tightly organized in both offense and defense, and they had musketeers who provided long-range firepower, leaving the Dongsheng army rather helpless.
Furthermore, the Dongsheng army, due to their high armor coverage, found themselves tough-skinned. The Demon Clan soldiers had to stab and slash numerous times just to barely kill one, or they had to rely on musketeers reloading their bullets to shoot.
Upon entering the combat zone, an unexpected arrow shot towards him, forcing Cheng Ziang to quickly dismount, scared into a cold sweat. It seemed that being high up offered a good view, but it was also exceptionally dangerous, making him an easy target.
After dismounting, Tangmo followed suit. She seemed quite composed unlike Cheng Ziang’s clumsy manner. The reason was that she was a mage and could create shields to protect herself.
After dismounting, Cheng Ziang dismantled his rifle into a pistol. Seeing his action, Tangmo grabbed him sternly and asked, "What are you thinking? I’m warning you not to mess around."
"Oh, a pistol is handy, and I can free up the other hand for a melee weapon," Ziang blinked, explaining.
"I’ll be keeping an eye on you, do not charge into battle," Tangmo still looked doubtful.
"I know," Ziang said as he detached the components into a pistol and then held it in his left hand while drawing the long saber from his back with the right.
At that moment, the Demon Clan’s Ten-People Formation established a battlefront, blocking the attacking Dongsheng soldiers from reaching the musketeers behind them. Despite this, some managed to slip through.
Ziang saw a Dongsheng soldier, carrying a pike, breaking through the line. Instead of confronting the musketeers, he headed straight for him.
Faced with this situation, Ziang was notably thrilled and advanced to meet the soldier. However, the soldier had only taken a few steps when he suddenly exploded, armor fragments flying everywhere. The shockwave knocked him to the ground, emitting painful cries before he was quickly finished off by the chaotic stabbing of a Demon Clan pikeman.
"You..." Facing this scene, Ziang couldn’t help but turn around and glare at Tangmo.
"Trying to show off, what would you do if things went south?" Tangmo said expressionlessly.
"Ah..." Unable to argue with her, Ziang heaved a deep sigh and turned back.
Unexpectedly, the Dongsheng army, despite heavy casualties from ranged exchanges, were holding their ground in close combat. Though they couldn’t overcome the Demon Clan’s Ten-People Formation, correspondingly, the Demon Clan’s army also failed to defeat them, leading to a deadlock.
Meanwhile, the standoff between the Demon Clan’s Advance Team and the Dongsheng General had intensified, with casualties on both sides; however, the losses were heavier on the Advance Team’s side.
Ziang knew that if they didn’t provide support soon, things would get critical. He glanced back at Tangmo, kissed the pendant pulled from his neck, and activated his mobility device to leap over the entire battle line under the astonished gazes of those around.
While soaring mid-air, Ziang wasn’t idle; he continuously aimed his pistol and fired at the Dongsheng soldiers below, especially targeting the crossbowmen.
With a large leap, Ziang directly bypassed the frontline and arrived at the area where the General and the Advance Team clashed. Seeing his actions, Tangmo, furious, cursed loudly but felt helpless; she could only pull out her magic wand from her waist and started chanting spells and casting magic.
After all, Tangmo was a mage, and her role in the Advance Team had always been as a supportive mage; this had never changed. So, it shouldn’t be overlooked that despite using a gun, her destructive capabilities as a mage were formidable.
As the spell continued, magical power gathered rapidly over the heads of the Dongsheng army, and nearly everyone could feel the swift convergence of magic around them.
When the magic had gathered to a point where it was almost visible, Tangmo switched spells. The gathered magic emitted a blinding light and erupted into a fierce blaze.
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