Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1369 - 1362: Copycat

Chapter 1369: Chapter 1362: Copycat

Upon their first victory under the newly unfurled banner, there was no doubt that the news once again invigorated the army of the Demon Clan, as the shadow of being completely annihilated a year prior seemed to slowly dissipate. The Demon Clan once again believed that they could defeat the invading forces of the Dongsheng Empire on their own.

However, this time, the Demon Clan’s army no longer dared to act as rashly as before and only advanced steadily after the Cavalry had repeatedly scouted ahead.

After the failure to stop them with ten thousand men, the Dongsheng army seemed to have realized the severity of the situation, began to gather the scattered troops, and called in other units. Having mustered a force of forty thousand in total, they officially launched an attack against the Demon Clan’s army, striving to block them outside of Big South East Peace and protect this significant city on the southwestern border of West Outer Heaven.

The two armies once again encountered each other in the open field and began to position themselves in preparation for battle. Curiously, the location where the two forces met was precisely where the Demon Clan’s army had been completely wiped out years earlier.

It must be Heaven’s will at work in the unseen depths, for the Demon Clan’s army had perished here in the past. Now, returning once more, they were determined not to repeat their previous defeat but instead to turn this place into a graveyard for the Dongsheng army.

At noon that day, the two armies took up their positions on the battlefield, readying themselves for a decisive fight to the death. Yunji highly valued this battle, so as soon as the fight began, she dispersed the Cavalry to find the Dongsheng heavy Cavalry, which they dreaded most, and sought to annihilate them. If not possible, they were to report their movements at all times.

The Dongsheng army and the Demon Clan’s army stood four hundred meters apart, their formations spreading out. This time, the Dongsheng army seemed to have learned from past mistakes and, whatever happened, refused to take the initiative to attack, preferring instead to wear down the Demon Clan’s army.

However, for the Demon Clan’s army with its long-range artillery firepower, the passive stance of the Dongsheng army became an excellent opportunity for them to exploit.

The Artillery of the Demon Clan began to show its might, with Mortars continuously lobbing Fragmentation Grenades into the Dongsheng army’s ranks, inflicting casualties on their living forces. Even the infantry guns were adjusting their elevation, attempting to strike the enemy by lobbing their shots.

Truth be told, a distance of over four hundred meters might be considered the rear for the Dongsheng army, but for the Demon Clan’s army, it was hardly a challenge. Even if the two sides were a thousand meters apart, the Demon Clan’s artillery could still reach them.

The commander of the Dongsheng army had made such a serious mistake from the start because, facing an enemy with superior firepower, their only choice was to attack, not to stand off at a distance.

The reaction of the Dongsheng army was also problematic. After being bombarded by the Demon Clan’s army for more than an hour, they finally realized that standing off was meaningless for them, which led them to decide to take the offensive.

During this time, the Demon Clan’s Artillery inflicted severe casualties on the Dongsheng army. By doing nothing and waiting, the Dongsheng army suffered over a thousand killed and wounded by the Demon Clan’s artillery fire, severely impacting their morale. It was indeed a case of an army suffering defeat without having yet engaged in battle.

Thus, the Dongsheng army commenced their offensive, but surprisingly and yet predictably, the first to be dispatched by the Dongsheng army were not soldiers but Generals serving as the vanguard.

Cheng Ziang remembered that these individuals had been betrayed last time, suffering heavy losses, and he had barely seen them again in later battles. He had thought that these fellows had all run back to their country, only to see them back in the fray.

About thirty Generals, mounted on tall horses, charged toward the Demon Clan’s army, with the rest of the Dongsheng army following closely behind. It seemed they intended to use the Generals to break through or have them attract firepower to cover the army’s advance.

Regardless, these individuals could not be ignored. Cheng Ziang was acutely aware that in this Otherworld, magic could change many things about the world.

Sensing that something was amiss, Cheng Ziang called over Hu Daoke and Feng, ready to use their Yuanzi weapons to bring down all of these charging Generals and prevent them from breaching the Demon Clan’s army’s formation.

After preparations, the three of them opened fire simultaneously, targeting these Generals. Hu Daoke’s firepower was especially ferocious. His Yuanzi machine gun, equipped with a cooling device, continuously fired at the distant Generals, and coupled with the Artillery’s buckshot, it wasn’t long before more than thirty Generals were struck from their horses, tumbling and rolling on the ground incessantly.

Yunji had never before witnessed the firepower of these Western Continent foreigners, and she was surprised at how ferocious it was. When those "bullets" hit the ranks of the Dongsheng army, clouds of blood mist immediately burst forth, clearly visible even from a hundred meters away.

However, despite her astonishment, she was well aware that this was their Demon Clan’s war, and these Western Continent people were only here to help. She couldn’t place all her hopes for victory on them, and it was impossible for the Demon Clan army to arrange its forces around these foreigners. Therefore, the help from the Western Continent could only serve as icing on the cake and would never become the main force in the war.

The Dongsheng Generals who led the charge were quickly annihilated, causing the Dongsheng army’s commanders to break out in a cold sweat. But since the troops had already started advancing, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and push forward.

On the side of the Demon Clan army, Cheng Ziang set down his Origin Submachine Gun and picked up his binoculars. Originally intending to observe the Generals, he unexpectedly saw a very interesting scene.

"How interesting, the Dongsheng army has also started to form line infantry. I bet those guns were captured from the Demon Clan," Cheng Ziang said with a smile as he put down his binoculars.

"Let me see, oh indeed," chuckled Hu Daoke as he took a quick glance through his own binoculars.

Feng’s eyes widened with anticipation as she watched Cheng Ziang. Noticing her gaze, Cheng Ziang gave a wry smile and handed his binoculars over to her. Feng eagerly started to look through them.

"Who do you think will win in this exchange of fire?" Cheng Ziang asked curiously.

"It’s hard to say. The firearms equipped by the Demon Clan army aren’t that great either, even though they’re newly made. After all, they’re still smoothbore guns," Hu Daoke shrugged as he spoke.

"I bet the Dongsheng army has no idea how to use this batch of line infantry," Cheng Ziang stated confidently.

"So, you think they’re going to use their firearms like sticks for a bonfire?" Hu Daoke asked.

"That’s not what I mean. I’m saying: firearms, line infantry, it’s a whole system of combat. You have to learn the whole thing. Knowing only how to shoot, but with a mentality still stuck in the feudal era of melee weapons, even if you gave them AK47s, they’d still only use them to hit people. Don’t forget, what was the external world’s name for the Iran-Iraq War again?" Cheng Ziang said.

"So, you mean the Dongsheng army is copying blindly?" asked Hu Daoke.

Cheng Ziang, looking at the advancing Dongsheng army and the continuously firing Demon Clan artillery, said calmly, "Well, we all fall into a misconception, which is thinking that with the advancement of firepower, the courage of infantry to engage in close combat actually decreases. But in fact, this isn’t correct. At this stage, the combat willingness and the courage to engage in close combat of line infantry is actually far greater than that of the feudal era’s melee weapon troops."

"How so?" Hu Daoke inquired.

"Once war enters the era of exchange of fire, defense becomes not so important. The times of the cold weapon era where everyone wore full armor and hacked away for a long time, resulting in only a few dozen deaths, are gone forever. Due to the increase in firepower, improving defense becomes a burden, and at this stage, most armies would opt for minimal armor or even no armor at all. Just look at the Dongsheng line infantry opposite us, aren’t they only equipped with light armor?" Cheng Ziang pointed as he explained.

"That’s true..." Hu Daoke took a glance and concurred.

"Without the protection of armor, soldiers instinctively feel a sense of crisis, especially when people keep falling during an exchange of fire, which deals a severe blow to the morale of the troops. Therefore, under such circumstances, the combat will and morale of line infantry tend to be higher than traditional melee infantry, because otherwise, they might completely collapse after just a round or two of exchanged fire."

Cheng Ziang continued, "The Never Setting Empire didn’t conquer the world solely with their advanced weaponry; the most important aspect was their soldiers’ strict discipline and the willingness to fight. When facing formidable enemies, these British lobster soldiers not only dared to shoot, but they even dared to initiate charges. That is the reason for the Never Setting Empire’s glorious success."