Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1333 - 1326: Capturing Wufeng City

Chapter 1333: Chapter 1326: Capturing Wufeng City

The Dongsheng army, whose morale had collapsed, was in complete disarray, constantly crowding and trampling over one another, which inadvertently led to many unnecessary casualties. Fortunately, there were no moats outside Wufeng City, otherwise, the vast majority of the Dongsheng soldiers would have fallen into them.

Luo’er and his companions widened their eyes in astonishment at the scene before them, as over three thousand of the Demon Clan’s army chased and fought against more than ten thousand Dongsheng soldiers. The Demon Clan warriors were ferocious like wolves and tigers, while the Dongsheng soldiers had lost all will to resist, allowing themselves to be slaughtered.

Although they could understand why this was happening, they still couldn’t help feeling incredibly shocked when they saw it with their own eyes.

They could almost visibly see the role morale played in this battle—as if it were a fog, every Demon Clan warrior that emerged from it became bloodthirsty, and even their commanders charged to the front lines, massacring the fleeing Dongsheng soldiers with impunity.

Not long after the Dongsheng commander fled back to the city, he ordered the city gates to be shut, leaving most of the soldiers he had led out trapped outside, to be slaughtered by the Demon Clan’s army.

Such behavior was shameful, but it was within reason. As the phalanx of infantry charged, the Demon Clan’s army stationed at the rear began their tidal assault. If the city gates had remained open at that time, Wufeng City would have fallen immediately.

The battle continued deep into the night, leaving the battlefield in utter chaos. The Demon Clan’s army suffered minimal losses to claim over ten thousand casualties from the Dongsheng forces. The Demon Clan’s army killed most of the Dongsheng soldiers outside the city and took a small number captive, capturing a large amount of spoils of war as well.

Though Luo’er was dissatisfied with such an outcome, he was powerless to change it. Under those circumstances, it was nearly impossible for the Demon Clan’s army to take many Dongsheng soldiers captive—they were all seeing red.

With that, Luo’er had to settle for a less ideal situation. As long as they captured Wufeng City and the Demon Clan did not massacre the inhabitants, he would turn a blind eye to the army’s actions.

After all, at the root, this war was still between Abisien and the Dongsheng Empire. Without considering the causes and consequences, to blindly demand they exercise restraint was either foolish or sinister.

After the battle for Wufeng City, two days of tallying up confirmed that over fifteen thousand Dongsheng soldiers were casualties, with over three thousand captured—a severe loss.

On the Demon Clan’s side, there were fewer than five hundred casualties, and thanks to effective logistics, most of the injured were saved. In the end, a little over a hundred Demon Clan soldiers had perished, marking the battle as an epic victory.

The siege continued, with the Demon Clan’s army repeatedly challenging the enemy, but this time the Dongsheng soldiers refused to come out, likely scarred by psychological trauma.

With challenging proving futile, the Demon Clan’s army hurried to build siege engines in preparation to forcefully take Wufeng City.

The Demon Clan’s army didn’t have the luxury of time to lay siege. Logistics supplied by Lingyuan City could only sustain them for just over a month. If they failed to capture Wufeng City within that time, the Demon Clan’s army would retreat without a fight.

Therefore, seizing the city was almost inevitable. Failing to capture Wufeng City meant that the Demon Clan’s army risked losing the strategic initiative and the capability to counterattack. And once the Dongsheng forces regrouped and attacked again, the consequences would be unimaginable.

There’s a saying: "Strike while the iron is hot, for it grows weaker the second time and may be exhausted the third." If the Demon Clan’s army failed in their offensive this time, their morale wouldn’t be as high when they returned, and a repeat of their recent outnumbered victory would be impossible.

Understanding of human nature was Luo’er’s forte, clearer than most. Thus, not only was the Demon Clan’s leader anxious, but Luo’er too was consumed with worry, considering the future path of the Demon Clan’s army.

Luo’er adhered to his own sense of justice, which is why he took the future of the Demon Clan’s army to heart. In his view, the Demon Clan’s army’s resistance against the Dongsheng Empire’s invasion was a just war of defense, while the Dongsheng Empire was an unquestionable aggressor.

It was for this reason that he put great effort into helping Abisien reform its system of governance, integrating the loose tribal alliance of Abisien into a united Demon Clan nation.

Such anxiety found a turning point on the tenth day. According to the Demon Clan Scout report, Dongsheng’s army displayed significant troop movement, with a large number of forces being withdrawn from Wufeng City. This situation could only mean one thing: the Dongsheng Empire had decided to give up on Wufeng City and retreat to defend the southern urban strongholds.

Given the gravity of the matter, the Demon Clan leaders demanded verification of this intelligence. After confirming that the Dongsheng troops were indeed gradually retreating, the Demon Clan’s army decided to launch a full-scale assault.

Fifteen days after the last battle, the Demon Clan’s army once again mounted a fierce attack, this time determined to directly capture Wufeng City.

From early morning, the Demon Clan’s army kept bombarding the city with mortars. Simultaneously, the Demon Clan’s vanguard troops provided cover for the advancing infantry artillery, firing at the city’s battlements and gates.

The Dongsheng defenders on the battlements were actively resisting, continuously launching arrows and shells down at the enemy. Their cannons were acquired from the Demon Clan; since Wufeng City was previously under Demon Clan control and had been seized afterward, the cannons were captured by the Dongsheng army and incorporated into the city’s defenses.

However, compared to the improved cannons of the Demon Clan, the firepower of the Dongsheng army’s cannons was considerably weaker, posing even less of a threat than bows and crossbows.

The Demon Clan’s linear infantry troops were deployed beneath the city, continuously firing toward the battlements to suppress the enemy. The intense firepower suppression made it impossible for the Dongsheng defenders to even raise their heads, forcing them to take cover behind the crenellations and return fire.

The focus of the Demon Clan’s army was not the walls, but the gates. After the cannons were positioned, they started an incessant barrage against the gates, planning to blow them open and then storm into the city.

Realizing this, the Dongsheng army also reacted. They gathered various materials to block the gate and moreover filled it with earth.

Under the powerful artillery fire of the Demon Clan, the outer city gate was the first to be breached. However, the inner gate became troublesome because the Dongsheng army had piled up too many materials, rendering the shells unable to blast through.

The battle lasted from morning until afternoon. Although it seemed prolonged, the fighting was not intense. The resistance from the Dongsheng defenders was very weak, while the Demon Clan’s army was persistently focused on breaking the gate, resulting in a deadlock for both sides.

A change occurred around four in the afternoon. The smoke from inside Wufeng City grew thicker until gradually, the attacking Demon Clan’s army saw the city walls themselves beginning to burn. The gate, earlier blocked with materials, was now visible with leaping flames.

The Demon Clan’s army could not determine whether the fire had started due to fragmentation grenades or if the Dongsheng defenders lit it to stop their advance. But these details were no longer important because as the fire continued to grow, the part of the city wall under attack by the Demon Clan’s army soon burst into a raging inferno.

The Dongsheng defenders on the walls either jumped off or were burned to death, in a very tragic situation. Seeing this, the Demon Clan’s army also gave up the siege, but they could not save such a large fire, only retreating to a safe distance to wait for the blaze to extinguish itself.

The fire persisted until late at night, and in the early hours, a heavy downpour from the sky put out the flames in Wufeng City. The fire that had once illuminated the Demon Clan’s camp now dimmed.

When day broke, the Demon Clan’s army saw the charred remains of Wufeng City’s walls, blackened and crumbling, with the cracks of the rammed earth visible behind the completely burned wooden stakes.

Treading on the muddy ground, the Demon Clan’s army launched another attack. This time, the Dongsheng defenders finally gave up all resistance. The Demon Clan’s army took the city gates and occupied the ramparts with little effort, jubilantly announcing the capture of Wufeng City.

This victory was the first counterattack and conquest of a city for Abisien since suffering a series of defeats. Such a triumph greatly boosted the morale of the Demon Clan’s army, giving them reason to believe that with their current armed forces, they could defeat the once invincible Dongsheng army.

As Wufeng City served as the northern frontline base for the Dongsheng army, not only were there soldiers in the city, but also a large number of conscripted farmers responsible for cultivating the surrounding land to supply logistics for the northern campaign.

Luo’er was very concerned about these people. Under his supervision and that of the Demon Clan leaders, the Demon Clan’s army did not engage in their customary slaughter upon entering the city but instead did no harm to the farmers. Such actions left the farmers within the city profoundly grateful and even garnered a trace of goodwill towards the Demon Clan’s army.