Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1347 - 1340: Safe Return

Chapter 1347: Chapter 1340: Safe Return

The news of the frontline defeat plunged the leaders of the Demon Clan into profound shock and regret. The shock arose from their disbelief that Dongsheng’s military force still remained so formidable, while the regret stemmed from the fact that Luo’er and others had already expressed their opposition at the time, but the Demon Clan leaders, caught up in the frenzy of war, completely disregarded it, leading to the defeat.

Twenty thousand troops vanished in a puff of smoke; the painstakingly assembled line infantry was completely annihilated. This sent the morale of the Demon Clan plummeting from its peak to rock bottom, and a depressive atmosphere suffused the streets and alleys of Ziye Ning.

And coincidentally, not long after they had moved to Ziye Ning, the Valley of Regret outside the city was once again filled with the wails of the undead. Although Gao Feng’s human scientists had already explained the basic principles behind it, this bout of wailing still sent a shiver down the Demon Clan’s spine, shattering the confidence that Luo’er had barely managed to build up again.

If Luo’er’s anxiety was solely focused on the safety of Cheng Ziang and his companions, then the leaders of the Demon Clan were far more worried. They even started considering whether to retreat their forces back to Lingyuan City, abandoning the cities and lands they had occupied for over half a year to avoid another counterattack by the Dongsheng army.

Among the Demon Clan leaders, the Beast Head Tribe Leader had the strongest opinion. Upon hearing of the frontline rout, their first thought was to withdraw to the Northern territory and stop dealing with the affairs of the South West Outer Heaven.

Tuya even proposed an absurd plan, suggesting that the Beast Head Tribe take Lingyuan City as compensation for their military support, leaving the rest of the cities to the Beast-Ear Race. Those they can defend will be theirs; those they cannot, the Beast-Ear Race is welcome to flee back to Lingyuan City.

Tuya’s proposal immediately sparked intense indignation in Linglan. She slammed the table, jumped to her feet, and, pointing at Tuya’s nose, scolded him. Both parties left in displeasure, and the fractures within Abisien widened at a visibly alarming rate.

A week after news of the frontline defeat arrived, Cheng Ziang and his group finally returned to Ziye Ning. Seeing his comrades return unharmed, Luo’er cried tears of joy and hugged each of them fervently.

"It’s only been a short while, why are you acting like a resentful woman confined to her quarters?" Cheng Ziang said with a wry smile, resisting the embrace.

"Who’s to blame when you don’t write back in time? Luo’er has been so worried that he’s lost weight these days," Tangmo complained softly.

Hearing her complaint, Baiyue immediately grew anxious and hurriedly walked up to Luo’er, wanting to see how he looked. But as soon as she approached, Luo’er grabbed her in a tight embrace.

"Luo’er..." Baiyue struggled weakly, her fair face turning flush with redness as she let out a moan-like sound.

"Looks like he’s planning to hug everyone today," Tangmo shrugged, indifferent to Luo’er and Baiyue’s display.

"Boss, I’ve missed you too." After several months apart, Hu Daoke seemed even more excited than Luo’er, embracing him proactively. Because of the strength of his embrace, Luo’er couldn’t help but cough.

"Hey, hey, hey, pig-brain, you’re going to squeeze Luo’er to death!" Seeing Luo’er’s condition, Cheng Ziang hurriedly kicked Hu Daoke and scolded him.

Feng clenched her fists, her eyes flickering with excitement as she anxiously awaited Luo’er’s embrace. When Luo’er approached her, he lifted her into a hug, and due to her petite and frail frame, Feng was easily swept up and spun in a circle.

"He has never even held me like this," Tangmo muttered grumpily, seeing Feng’s sincere smile.

"Luo’er, Luo’er, what about me?" Fulajie’er suddenly appeared, throwing her arms open and cheering.

"Right, right, right, and Xiao Fula too," Luo’er said joyfully.

"Hold this instead, you can’t embrace her," Cheng Ziang said, removing a pendant from his neck and handing it to Luo’er.

Luo’er received the pendant, holding it tightly in his hand, feeling its warmth against his cheek. Seeing Luo’er’s reaction, Fulajie’er was a bit disheartened, but still showed a content smile.

"It’s so good that everyone is safe," Luo’er said, somewhat moved and choked up.

"Alright already, you’re the Captain, when did you become so melancholic," Cheng Ziang patted his shoulder, "Tell me about the front lines, you must be eager to know."

"What exactly is the situation on the front lines?" Hearing his words, Luo’er dropped his expression and asked eagerly.

"Cavalry, the Dongsheng Empire’s cavalry, over ten thousand cavalrymen, a mere twenty thousand men, which isn’t enough for them to even glance at. Although the Demon Clan’s army used various methods to eliminate nearly six thousand of the enemy, they were still crushed by the heavy cavalry’s flanking maneuvers." Cheng Ziang couldn’t help sighing when he thought about that day.

"Sigh, I had advised against sending out troops early on, suggesting we stop and consolidate our current territory, but they wouldn’t listen..." Luo’er said sternly.

"I said the same thing, yet the front lines wouldn’t listen either. Luckily, I had the foresight to only take Feng and Xiao Fula to the front, otherwise, we might have really been completely wiped out," shrugged Cheng Ziang.

"What is the current attitude of the Dongsheng army?" Luo’er continued.

"From what we can observe at the moment," Cheng Ziang said, "the Dongsheng army has simply driven out the Demon Clan army that attacked Big South East Peace but did not take the chance to counterattack. Clearly, they don’t want to counterattack, but at the same time, they don’t want to lose Big South East Peace either."

"In that case, Xuan did indeed keep his word, retracting Dongsheng’s military presence in West Outer Heaven in such a manner. If they were to go down fighting to the last man, I’d say the Demon Clan army would have a hard time attacking Wufeng City," Luo’er analyzed.

"Darn it, if I run into that guy again, I must blast him with my gun," grumbled Hu Daoke, who had suffered losses several times.

"Don’t be so reckless, Xuan indeed is a good channel of communication," Cheng Ziang looked at him.

"Wow, even you’re saying that. Brother, you almost lost your life because of him last time," Hu Daoke shook his head incredulously.

"Considering the Demon Clan army has suffered heavy losses, with the line infantry completely annihilated, does this mean the Demon Clan has lost its ability to counterattack?" Cheng Ziang didn’t respond to him but turned to Luo’er.

Luo’er gave him a strange look and shook his head, "How come your thinking aligns with that of the Demon Clan’s leaders, acting as if musketeers are some sort of rare troop type? Isn’t the advantage of muskets that they’re easy to train?"

"But the problem of manpower... You know, the Demon Clan hardly has anyone left to draft into the army; the fields are worked by Kyushu people taken by force..." As he was speaking the words ’Kyushu people,’ Cheng Ziang suddenly froze and quickly realized.

"You must have thought of it too," shrugged Luo’er, with an indifferent expression, "Aren’t Kyushu people human? The Demon Clan captured over a hundred thousand Kyushu people, aren’t they the best source of troops?"

"No way, ask Kyushu people to help the Demon Clan fight against Kyushu people?" Hu Daoke stared wide-eyed at Luo’er, struggling to understand his thoughts.

"As long as the ideology doesn’t falter, there are always more ways than difficulties," Luo’er said, "To us, these Kyushu peasant farmers seem like Kyushu people who shouldn’t fight for the Demon Clan against the Dongsheng Empire, their fellow Kyushu people. But we mustn’t forget the internal conflicts of the Dongsheng Empire. Analyzing these conflicts, we would see that to the empire’s army, these drafted laborers are basically low-ranking people, expendable at any moment; isn’t this the best leverage point?"

"Luo’er is indeed far-sighted," murmured Baiyue, unable to refrain from praising Luo’er.

"That’s why I’m not at all worried about the Demon Clan army being completely destroyed, because even if they are, we have ways to reorganize a new resistance force. What I have been mainly worried about this whole time is you guys," Luo’er said sincerely.

"I’ve seen it coming, too; the Demon Clan army has indeed been too presumptuous and is bound to tumble eventually," Cheng Ziang spread his hands.

"After the fact!" scoffed Hu Daoke disdainfully.

"But us being reassured doesn’t mean the Demon Clan leaders will be," Luo’er reverted to a serious expression, "This defeat for the Demon Clan has caused serious rifts within Abisien, and by now, the leaders are probably fighting among themselves."

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