Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1342 - 1335: Tit for Tat

Chapter 1342: Chapter 1335: Tit for Tat

After marching for over half a month, the 20,000-strong army finally approached Big South East Peace City, a crucial stronghold held by the Dongsheng military. This was a very important and ancient city which, to use an Earthling’s concept, was the capital of the Qingqiu Clan.

It was only after this city had fallen that the Demon Clan’s military began experiencing continuous defeat, with the subsequent wars almost completely one-sided. Therefore, for the Demon Clan, especially the Qingqiu Clan, capturing this city was critical to achieving complete victory in the first phase of their counterattack.

By the way, the Demon Clan had a poetic way of naming cities, simply calling them what they appeared, without overthinking the meaning of the names.

Take Big South East Peace, for instance; the word "Big" carries no special meaning, just like in "Great Tang" or "Great Ming". It was merely an act of self-praise, so the city should simply be called South Dongan City.

Here, "South" refers to West Outer Heaven, and "East" refers to Kyushu. Together, they represent a city defending against invasions from West Outer Heaven to Kyushu. Therefore, when translating, Zhuyan Yu did not opt for a direct transliteration but rather conveyed the full meaning in a simplified translation.

The other cities also have interesting name meanings, like Qu Creek City, named after the winding streams outside the city; or Twonect City, named after a nearby mountain that regularly sees pairs of migrating birds coming to roost, hence "Twonect".

Or take Butterfly Fragrance City, situated in a vast canyon. During the blooming season, fragrance fills the air throughout the city. Moreover, many butterflies would come to chase among the blossoms, covering the city in butterflies, thus the name Butterfly Fragrance City—Die being butterfly, and Luo being fragrance, combined to form Butterfly Fragrance City.

Another point to mention is that Butterfly Fragrance City was so beautiful in the hearts of the Demon Clan that when the Dongsheng troops invaded, the city’s defenders even worried that the slaughter would desecrate their city, leading them to abandon it without a fight. It was the only city the Demon Clan surrendered without battle.

Returning to the battlefield, the Dongsheng military had finally stopped retreating. Instead, they mobilized 50,000 of their elite troops from within the city to prepare for a decisive battle with the 20,000 soldiers from the Demon Clan. Nearly 10,000 of these were cavalry, and the majority were infantry, with about 10,000 directly deployed to the front lines.

What Cheng Ziang and his companions had feared most still happened—the Dongsheng Empire had mobilized their finest cavalry forces. With the endless plains outside Big South East Peace City, the battle was expected to be grueling.

As this was a long-range war, Cheng Ziang, through his binoculars, could easily see the commanding general of the opposing Dongsheng forces. He passed the binoculars to Feng, who, after one glance, immediately confirmed, "It’s him, the one we’ve been looking for!"

"This guy is personally directing the battle. He really doesn’t want the Demon Clan forces to capture Big South East Peace City," Cheng Ziang remarked, his face growing serious.

On the other side, the commander of the Dongsheng military, Xuan, sat astride a tall horse, his sharp gaze sweeping over the neatly arrayed Demon Clan army. Seeing their organized formation, his already furrowed brow deepened.

"Marshal, the military formation is ready. Shall we attack?" inquired a deputy riding a horse, turning to salute.

"Advance the formation, everyone else hold position," Xuan ordered indifferently.

"This..." Hearing his command, the deputies exchanged glances, one braver than the rest ventured a reminder, "Marshal, aren’t we calling up the generals?"

"What generals to call, when they’re all hiding inside the city," Xuan replied, a sardonic smile appearing on his face.

"This battle, without a general’s support, I fear..." the deputy nervously said.

"They too have no generals on the opposite side, yet it doesn’t prevent them from attacking and seizing territories. What, do you think our Heavenly Dynasty’s forces can only fight with the help of mere generals?" Xuan retorted.

"So, your intent, Marshal, is..." the deputy hesitated.

"I just want them to see," Xuan spoke again, turning to glance in the direction of Big South East Peace City, then continued, "that even without generals, we can still defeat these Demon people. Don’t think too highly of generals. The Heavenly Dynasty’s soldiers are also expanding the territory of the Empire."

"Yes, Marshal Xuan is wise!" a crowd shouted in unison.

Facing the flattery, Xuan smiled faintly, his face quickly returning to its stern expression as he coldly ordered, "Advance the military formation!"

At his command, the Dongsheng army launched an attack on the Demon Clan’s forces. This time, the equipment of the Dongsheng army had no significant highlights, still equipped with thick vertical shields. However, these shields were primarily made of wood covered with a layer of iron sheet, providing mediocre defense overall.

Instead of immediately deploying infantry in line formation, the Demon Clan’s army continuously bombarded with artillery. Over a few hundred meters, the power of solid shot was maximized, and any shell that landed in the crowd drew a bloody streak, splattering flesh and blood wherever it hit.

In addition to artillery, mortars played a crucial role, with fragmentation grenades falling into the crowds, causing people to fall radially with each explosion, creating patches of blood-spattered vacuums.

However, as these were early models, the dud rate of the fragmentation grenades was very high, with nearly forty percent failing to detonate for various reasons. Therefore, overall, fragmentation grenades were less intimidating than solid shot.

The Dongsheng army, behind their shields, pushed forward. Drawing on over six months of combat experience, they opted for multiple ranks of shield formations, deploying at least three rows at the front, using the flesh of the shield-bearers to cover the advance of the main force.

The few hundred meters of advancement was incredibly difficult, facing fierce artillery fire from the Demon Clan’s forces, casualties at one point exceeded five hundred.

As the Dongsheng army continued to push forward, the Demon Clan’s forces finally began a new maneuver. The line infantry started advancing in formation to the front, moving neatly into position in front of the artillery at the sound of trumpets and drums.

"Ready!" Once the Dongsheng army came within about fifty meters, the Demon Clan’s commander raised his baton, issuing a chilling command.

"Fire!" With his command, over a thousand muskets fired simultaneously, shrouding the area in white smoke.

The distant Dongsheng army faced a barrage of crossfire, the front-rank soldiers collapsing en masse; they could distinctly hear the cracking sound of bullets piercing wood, and the clinking of bullets rebounding off the shields.

However, what truly terrified them was the whizzing sound of bullets overhead and the dull thud of bullets penetrating bodies. Coupled with the moans of their fallen comrades, it created a hellish scene.

And what made them feel most desperate was that this was just the beginning. Wave after wave of continuous strikes came like breaking waves, each time causing countless men to collapse.

It was somewhat better for those who could still scream upon falling; some just fell silently, dying without uttering a sound.

A terror spread among the Dongsheng army like a plague, everyone pushing forward while steeling themselves, praying not to be the next victim. Those who replaced the fallen front-rank soldiers looked particularly pale, facing the dark muzzles ahead with unprecedented fear.

Fragmentation grenades, which could explode at any moment, continuously fell from the sky, posing an even greater danger, typically killing or injuring a dozen people with each explosion. It could be said that the path forward was strewn with the blood of Dongsheng soldiers.

Fear, like a plague, spread among the Dongsheng army, all believing that they would fall before even reaching the Demon Clan’s lines.

Despite continuous reinforcements from the rear of the Dongsheng army, the severe casualties at the front were unsustainable. Suddenly, possibly starting from an undefined point, the front line just collapsed, exploding like a bomb.

The dispirited Dongsheng soldiers, like dogs that had lost their homes, threw down their weapons and turned to flee in disarray. First, the great pressure on the first rank led to retreat; as the sentiment spread to the second rank, deserters soon appeared there, followed by the third and fourth ranks.

The military formation that the Dongsheng army had barely maintained eventually collapsed under intense firepower, leading to extreme chaos as soldiers scrambled like ants whose nest had been disturbed.

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