Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1331 - 1324: The Confrontation Between Cold and Heat

Chapter 1331: Chapter 1324: The Confrontation Between Cold and Heat

"Pathetic, this weapon. If they used our Kedal metal sword, it could slice the opponent’s weapon in half with one strike," Hu Daoke couldn’t help but joke when he saw the first round of their duel.

"Keep it down, will ya? Your blabbermouth, always eager to spill all our secrets!" Cheng Ziang shot him a disdainful look.

"You kid," Hu Daoke exclaimed, frustrated, "I was speaking in Tasta language. Do they understand Tasta?"

Cheng Ziang just shrugged his shoulders, ignoring him.

After the first exchange, both sides began to adjust and charge forward for a second round of slashing. General Banshan indeed possessed astonishing strength, but he also had his limitations.

Focusing on strength meant that General Banshan mainly used his magic to maintain his power, not paying too much attention to defense. This resulted in great strength but weaker defense compared to the general who was just decapitated.

In fact, it is possible to achieve both strength and defense, but it requires double the effort, and generals usually focus on only one area; those proficient in both are quite rare.

Although the Dongsheng army had many cultivators, being a general was not the most coveted role. There were far better careers than being a general in Kyushu. So those who became generals were not necessarily weak, but they were not particularly outstanding either.

If one was proficient in both areas, they could consider joining the Nine Thousand Battalion, which is the most desired path for cultivators. It offers high pay, good benefits, and you mostly stay within one province instead of being dispatched to the distant West Outer Heaven like a general.

Facing General Banshan, Bai Po had his own strategy: to forsake all defenses, attack full-force, and constantly watch for the enemy’s strikes to dodge accordingly.

Defending against General Banshan was pointless; not to mention whether the weapon could withstand it, but also because such powerful hits were too much for even Bai Po to withstand multiple times. So rather than gambling on a block, it made more sense to exploit his weak defense and strike directly.

As both charged on their horses and clashed, it happened in the flash of a moment – as if nothing had happened, yet everything had happened.

Bai Po lay on the back of the beast, his right hand dragging a blood-stained sword. The general he had dueled was now decapitated, his body carried a few steps by the horse before slowly falling off.

"What a clean cut!" The sight not only whipped the Demon Clan’s army into a fervor, but even Hu Daoke couldn’t help but roar excitedly.

It must be said, duels between commanders are truly spectacular to watch and greatly boost the morale of troops, especially noteworthy during a time of visible-range warfare.

After Bai Po had decapitated two generals, Dongsheng’s army did not send another general forward, and the duels concluded there, paving the way for the upcoming grand finale of the battle.

"Luo’er, look at that guy!" Everyone was watching the fight when suddenly Baiyue took the binoculars from Feng’s hands and handed them to Luo’er.

"What did you see?" Luo’er took the binoculars, noticing the Dongsheng army’s commander and generals seemed to be arguing about something.

"That guy there is Xuan. Should we take him down?" asked Baiyue, pointing towards the distance.

"No need, we might work together in the future; no point in going for the kill," said Luo’er, shrugging as he took off the binoculars.

"After all that’s happened, you still trust him?" Cheng Ziang said, with a hint of annoyance.

"Let’s be merciful where we can. As long as none of us are hurt, I don’t particularly resent him," Luo’er replied, still appearing quite indifferent.

Since it was visible-range warfare, the generals of both sides were often within sight of each other. For the Advance Team, this distance was the front line, but for Dongsheng and the Demon Clan, it was already considered relatively safe territory.

As the mobilization for battle began, the sounds of drums and military calls echoed across the battlefield. The Demon Clan’s army didn’t blow the traditional bugles, but instead used a kind of short horn designed by the High-peak people. The sound it made was high-pitched and bright, differing from the low tones previously emitted by bugles.

Accompanied by the melodious military calls and drumbeats, the Demon Clan’s army began to advance in formation. The arrangement was the same as during previous drills, still consisting of three rows of gunmen and one row of pikemen. However, compared to before, each row now had over a thousand soldiers.

Although a thousand might seem like a large number, on the Dongsheng side, the front line was composed of three groups, each surpassing a thousand soldiers—more than three times the number of the Demon’s army.

As the Dongsheng army was on the defensive, they didn’t launch an offensive but instead formed ranks and set up shields, waiting for the Demon Clan’s army to approach. Behind the shield-bearers were several rows of crossbowmen continually firing arrows at a forty-five-degree angle, attempting to inflict damage on the advancing Demon Clan army through arcing shots.

However, what they witnessed soon after was remarkable. It seemed as if an invisible shield had appeared in front of the Demon Clan army, blocking all incoming arrows.

"My god, it’s a Defense Rune chart. Originally, the Western Continent’s Allied Army used this method to deal with Earth’s artillery barrages. I can’t believe the High-peak people actually taught it to the Demon Clan," Tangmo exclaimed upon seeing this.

Within the ranks of the Demon Clan’s army were several hand-pushed carts advancing with the troops, evidently stopping the incoming barrage of arrows.

The reason why the Otherworld is called the Magic World is due to the existence of magic, a fact that the firearm-enthusiast Advance Team seemed to have forgotten. However, luckily, the High-peak people had not.

In history, the Defense Runes of the Otherworld Allied Army were even capable of resisting large-caliber artillery fire from Earth’s forces. Although these carts were certainly not up to that standard, the enemy’s firepower also wasn’t at the level of Earth’s forces, making it almost impossible to break through the defense.

The lively rhythms of military calls and drumbeats resonated across the battlefield. With the shield protecting them, the Demon Clan’s formation remained solid and composed as they marched towards their opponents.

The formation advanced until it was less than twenty meters away from the Dongsheng army before stopping, at which point the commander began to make fine adjustments.

Twenty meters was neither too far nor too close. For an army equipped with cold weapons, twenty meters was still within the range of archery, but for the Demon Clan’s army armed with muskets, this was their engagement distance.

The commander adjusted the formation while observing the incoming arrows. As the flurry of arrows slightly subsided, he believed the moment had arrived. The military calls and drumbeats immediately shifted, and the Defense Shield covering the formation’s front slowly disappeared.

"Ready!" the commander shouted loudly, raising his command saber.

As he gave the command, the gunmen lowered their muskets from their shoulders, pointing a thousand dark muzzles at Dongsheng’s shielded army.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, as tension reached its peak on the battlefield. Even Luo and others at the back couldn’t help but hold their breath and watch the Demon Clan’s first attack with wide eyes.

"Fire!" Following the commander’s order, his command saber swung down heavily. A thousand muskets fired at once, the deafening blasts echoed across the battlefield, and a thick cloud of white smoke enveloped the area in front of the formation.

"Reload!" The commander, without pausing to observe the situation beyond, mechanically issued the second command based on their training.

"Fire!" Another roar, and once again the battlefield thundered, the air filling with even thicker smoke, at times obscuring the sun.

A breeze came in, dispersing the white smoke, revealing the scene beyond. After two rounds of shooting, the opposing side was in complete disarray, with bodies and fallen shields littering the ground.

These shields, which had been of enormous use in the age of cold weapons, stood no chance against the direct fire of muskets. As the continuous blasts of gunfire went off, a third volley of bullets fired, causing the Dongsheng troops to fall like dominoes.

Yet, those Dongsheng soldiers were still tenacious, trying hard to maintain their ranks. After the first row fell, the second row would step over their bodies to stand in the front, until they too fell.

They thought that three rounds of firing would push the Demon Clan to their limit, expecting a charge to be launched soon.

But they were mistaken. After the third round of firing, there followed a fourth, fifth, and sixth round. The Demon Clan had no intention of charging; they just kept up the continuous firing, annihilating their enemy’s effective strength.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.