Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1370 - 1363: On a Narrow Path, the Brave Wins

Chapter 1370: Chapter 1363: On a Narrow Path, the Brave Wins

"Still the same words," he paused, then Cheng Ziang continued to speak, "In the era of cold weapons, if both sides were fully armored and their morale remained unbroken, even if they fought for an entire day, the casualties would be about the same. But once you enter the era of hot weapons, the casualties will increase geometrically because the power of the weapons will not be lessened by individual quality and will."

"Then it looks like we’re in for a tough battle, does that mean we should be preparing to beat a retreat?" Hu Daoke asked a bit nervously.

"Scared my ass, it’s not like you’re the one fighting, calm down," Cheng Ziang said with a mix of laughter and helplessness, "The Demon Clan’s army hasn’t been training for a year for nothing, you have to believe in their strength."

"But, these people are all from Kyushu..." Hu Daoke spread his hands and explained.

"Have you ever heard of a theory?" Cheng Ziang didn’t pick up on what he said, instead suddenly asking in return.

"What theory?" Hu Daoke was startled and asked.

"The zeal of the convert," Cheng Ziang enunciated.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Hu Daoke scratched his head and asked.

"It means that often the converts are even crueler than the original believers," Cheng Ziang explained.

"That’s not clear, be more specific," Hu Daoke said.

Pointing at the lined-up infantry, Cheng Ziang said, "While we are on guard against these people possibly defecting, we should also realize something. Anyone who wants to show their loyalty to the Demon Clan, to maintain their current stable life, will display a strong zeal of the convert. Simply put, that means fighting valiantly against the enemy in order to prove with their actions that they’ve completely severed ties with the Dongsheng Empire and now wholly belong to the Southern Yao Race, to West Outer Heaven."

"Oh!" Hu Daoke wasn’t illiterate, and with Cheng Ziang’s reminder, he immediately caught on, "You mean, if this bunch doesn’t fight valiantly, they’ll be seen by the Demon Clan as intentionally going easy, in cahoots with the Dongsheng Empire. So, to show their loyalty, they might be even more ruthless than the Demon Clan?"

"Yep, that’s pretty much it," Cheng Ziang nodded, satisfied.

"Hey, that’s interesting. So, does that mean we don’t have to run anymore?" Hu Daoke’s eyes lit up excitedly.

Hearing his words, Cheng Ziang didn’t know what to say and could only let out a sigh of helplessness.

Before long, Yunji’s messenger found them again with a task that was very straightforward, still about pre-battle motivation. Hu Daoke’s previous motivational talk had been very effective, although the lined-up infantry never ended up taking the field.

But this time it was clear the opposition meant business, so Yunji, out of caution, once again earnestly requested their help with the pre-battle motivation.

"Go on, you should know what to say by now," Cheng Ziang patted Hu Daoke’s shoulder.

"Why is it always me who has to take the stage when it should clearly be your task?" Hu Daoke asked discontentedly.

"Stop complaining," Cheng Ziang said, "It’s all the same who goes, you have a loud voice, shouting is effective."

"Now I get it, you’re using me as a megaphone, no wonder you insisted I come with you!" Hu Daoke pointed at him, gritted his teeth, and then huffily rode away on his horse.

Watching Hu Daoke’s departing figure, Cheng Ziang smiled and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "That’s right, just like that."

Hu Daoke rode his horse to the front of the infantry line, looked back at the marching Dongsheng troops and the continuously firing artillery, then turned his head and bellowed, "Brothers, the great enemy is before us, it’s time to prove your loyalty. Fight bravely for your homes, for your wives and children, for your tomorrow."

Taking a deep breath, he roared again, "Don’t expect mercy from those opposite of you. In their eyes, you are nothing but meaningless weeds, whose lives are not worth sparing. Don’t be hopeful, forgetting the families waiting for you at home. They yearn for your return, they wish even more for you to defeat the invaders. Go defeat them with your weapons, with your courage. Do not be fearful, do not be hopeful, fight for a better world."

After his rousing words, the infantry visibly became impassioned, and Hu Daoke even saw many with flushed faces, eager to join the fray.

"Good, good, just like that, shout with me," Hu Daoke nodded in satisfaction, then lifted his hands and yelled, "In a narrow path, the brave emerges victorious, advance, advance, advance!"

"In a narrow path, the brave emerges victorious, advance, advance, advance!" Hu Daoke’s rallying cry achieved a great success, and the field echoed with the infantry’s albeit unpracticed chants in the Demon Clan tongue. Not only the Kyushu natives but also the Demon Clan were affected by this atmosphere.

On the other side, the Dongsheng troop formation hastened because their commanders realized that they would surely break under the mighty firepower of the Demon Clan if they continued to advance at their normal pace. Therefore, it was urgent to get as close to the Demon Clan as possible and to enter the stage of close combat.

Still dominating the battlefield were the Demon Clan’s artillery, with solid shot from the infantry guns and fragmentation grenades from the mortars acting as two reapers of lives, crazily slaughtering the Dongsheng soldiers who were marching forward stubbornly.

Finally, after a long and bloody path, Dongsheng soldiers entered within a hundred meters, the range of the musket, and it was then time for the infantry to shine.

Accompanied by the familiar and melodious sound of the drums and bugles, the Demon Clan’s infantry moved past the artillery line and began to take their firm positions in rows.

"Ready!" commanded the Demon Clan, raising his baton. At his command, the first row of infantry lowered their flintlock guns from their shoulders, aligning rows of gun barrels at the advancing Dongsheng army.

Within a hundred meters was the range of smoothbore guns, but not the effective range; it was only when the enemy entered within fifty meters that maximum damage could be inflicted.

Previously, the Demon Clan did just that, but smoothbore guns could actually cause effective damage even at one hundred or even two hundred meters, although their accuracy was lamentable. Thus, a year after their defeat, the Demon Clan, advised by the High-peak people, adjusted the firing distances of their infantry from a few tens of meters to within a hundred meters.

"Fire!" Once everyone was ready, the Demon Clan commander forcefully swiped down his baton.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!" The continuous gunfire was deafening, and rows of muskets emitted large puffs of white smoke, overshadowing the sun and clouding the view so that the shooters couldn’t see the situation ahead.

In the distance, the advancing Dongsheng army was subjected to intense barrage. Even though the smoothbore guns were lacking in accuracy, the dense firing still inflicted significant losses, with the foremost ranks of soldiers falling like sheaves of wheat.

Nevertheless, evidenced by the severe casualties, the Dongsheng army, known for its strict discipline, remained undeterred, their marching pace unaltered.

In fact, the Demon Clan’s battle with the Dongsheng forces was entirely about the technological gap. If Dongsheng had the same level of weaponry as the Demon Clan, the expected outcome would have been similar losses on both sides.

But reality holds no ’ifs’, and the fact was that Dongsheng’s equipment was inferior to the Demon Clan’s. Even after a year, the Dongsheng army could only mimic the Demon Clan in equipping muskets, without developing their own tactics or strategies.

More threatening than the heavy rain of bullets ahead was the harassment from the Demon Clan’s cavalry on both flanks. Equipped with rifled muskets, their range far exceeded that of the regular forces. From the start of the Dongsheng’s advance, they continuously fired from the flanks, specially targeting the officers who might lead the troops.

Under their assault, Dongsheng suffered severe casualties. A considerable number of commanding officers were hit and killed, and if Dongsheng had not promptly assigned new leaders to replace them, the army would have likely broken.

Compared to a year ago, it seemed that Dongsheng’s cavalry were not participating in this battle. However, considering that the Dongsheng Empire was preoccupied internally and had recalled its surplus cavalry, the current Dongsheng army obviously could not afford to play their hand as before.