Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1371 - 1364: Bloody Slaughter

Chapter 1371: Chapter 1364: Bloody Slaughter

Because of the gap in weaponry compared to the Demon Clan army, during such times, the Dongsheng military could only grit their teeth and take hits, having no chance whatsoever to strike back.

They seemed to still follow the Demon Clan’s initial tactics, hoping to close in to a distance of thirty to twenty meters before opening fire, but the Demon Clan army of now was no longer the Demon Clan army of the past; they simply wouldn’t give the Dongsheng military this opportunity.

As the two sides narrowed the distance between them, the Dongsheng military’s losses escalated. The Demon Clan’s mortars, being howitzers, did not cease firing like the infantry guns but continued to rain fire on the Dongsheng military unabated.

When the two sides entered the effective range of the smoothbore guns at fifty meters, the Dongsheng military began to suffer even more severe casualties. A volley from the Demon Clan army could strip away a layer of the Dongsheng force, entire rows of men would collapse in unison.

As the Dongsheng military pressed closer, the Demon Clan army adjusted their firing method amidst the sound of bugles, adopting a tactic of close-range firing.

This method was simple; it involved not using a ramrod after loading the projectile but instead simply blowing into the muzzle of the gun and then raising it to fire.

The advantage of doing this was speed, omitting about three steps compared to the conventional method: withdrawing the ramrod, packing the bullet down, and then replacing the ramrod. By saving these three steps, the firing efficiency could increase by about 30 percent.

Of course, the cost of this was also obvious, as both the bullet’s power and range would be greatly reduced. Since the projectile was not in contact with the gunpowder and air was compressible, when the gunpowder exploded, the projectile would receive much less kinetic energy, reducing its potency significantly.

This trade-off was typical—sacrificing power for increased firing speed—because as the enemy drew closer, even if the power decreased, that wasn’t a problem; what mattered was the need to increase the rate of fire, or else when the enemy began to counterattack, the own side would suffer heavy casualties.

The Dongsheng military was getting closer and had almost reached their firing range. At that moment, rapid gunfire erupted from the Demon Clan army, and immediately following that, the distant Dongsheng forces began to suffer severe casualties, their lightly armored soldiers getting battered to a pulp.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Ziang grabbed Hu Daoke, who was ceaselessly firing, and asked.

"Helping out, ah. Last time we didn’t do anything and ended up losing," Hu Daoke said as he released the trigger.

"This their war..." Cheng Ziang said somewhat speechlessly.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Don’t forget, it was the Dongsheng military that shot down the Helrandum. We’re already their enemies," Hu Daoke said irritably, "Just because our Advance Team has no casualties, should we calmly watch the Dongsheng military invade West Outer Heaven? Isn’t that a bit too heartless?"

It was rare to hear such a resounding statement from Hu Daoke, and for a moment Cheng Ziang found himself at a loss for words. After a brief silence, he also picked up his own rifle and began to help with the firing, followed closely by Feng.

The sudden support from the Demon Clan army disrupted the Dongsheng military’s rhythm. At this distance, whether with Yuanzi guns or smoothbore guns, a person could be killed; however, due to the explosive effect of the Yuanzi gun, the casualty it inflicted was devastating, seriously damaging the morale of the Dongsheng troops.

After sustaining heavy losses, the Dongsheng army’s line infantry finally reached shooting distance, but before they could form up and fire, the Demon Clan army had already sounded the whistle for a charge.

Faced with the Demon Clan army charging fiercely, bayonets fixed on 1.8-meter long muskets, the Dongsheng military finally began to panic. They managed only a hasty volley on the command of their officers before being forced into close combat with the Demon Clan army.

However, even though the shooting was rushed, the lethality of the weapons was not diminished. Under the intense volley, the Demon Clan army began to suffer noticeable casualties.

But obviously, these charging warriors seemed not to care about the losses, just as Cheng Ziang had said, because of the converts’ zeal, they had to bravely kill the enemy to prove themselves.

The Dongsheng army didn’t get a second chance to shoot. They even struggled to use the three volleys. By the time the second group finally got into shooting position, the Demon Clan army had already reached their front.

At that instant, the soldiers of the Dongsheng army were shocked to discover that these fierce soldiers, representing the Demon Clan’s charge, were actually their own compatriots. But they had no time to react before they were completely overrun by the Demon Clan army.

The battle moved into close combat, and the uniformly dressed Demon Clan line infantry madly stabbed at their former comrades with their bayonets. The Dongsheng army only put up a symbolic resistance before they completely collapsed and began to retreat in defeat.

They tried to regroup several times, but they were soon scattered by the Demon Clan army and plunged back into disarray. These soldiers couldn’t understand why their former compatriots were so valiant, why they would willingly sell their lives to the Demon Clan and butcher their own people.

Just as Cheng Ziang had said, even in the firearm era, infantry charges remained one of the best tactics. Muskets could certainly kill, but courage could also kill, and the damage it caused could even be higher than that of the weapons themselves.

Even the Earth armies that had entered beyond-visual-range warfare still needed courage as an essential quality in their soldiers. Even with more advanced weapons, they still emphasized that the essence of war was the people, not the weapons.

The frontline Dongsheng army quickly fell into disarray, then turned to flee, with the Demon Clan army relentlessly pursuing. Soon, they were pushed back to the second line.

The fearless line infantry didn’t care about anything else; they directly charged the Dongsheng army’s second line. At the same time, other Demon Clan forces also began their charge, with the Demon Clan cavalry taking the lead, flanking the Dongsheng army from both sides.

The second line of the Dongsheng army put up only a slightly more stubborn resistance than the first line, but it also quickly fell apart. At this point, the Dongsheng army was completely defeated, and even their commanders did not hesitate to turn and run, with no regard for their troops.

The Dongsheng army was utterly routed, scattering across the plains like ants poked from their nest, with the Demon Clan’s ferocious line infantry in relentless pursuit.

The battle continued until nightfall before the Demon Clan army began to regroup and tally the results. The statistics of the Demon Clan army were belatedly delivered by the next day’s noon.

In this battle, Dongsheng’s army of forty thousand was annihilated, including their esteemed line infantry. The Demon Clan army captured and executed over twenty thousand, with more than eight thousand casualties from Dongsheng, and the remaining more than ten thousand were taken as prisoners.

It is worth mentioning that due to the fanaticism of the converts among the Kyushu civilian line infantry, they crazily charged and slaughtered their former compatriots to prove their loyalty, resulting in the Dongsheng army’s death toll far exceeding the number of injuries.

According to incomplete statistics, more than three thousand members of the Dongsheng army died directly from the Demon Clan army’s bayonet charges, and around two thousand from cannon fire and musket shots, totaling over five thousand dead.

It could be said that in this battle, the Demon Clan army finally avenged their total annihilation from a year ago. Initially, the Dongsheng army had wiped out twenty thousand of the Demon Clan forces; now, the Demon Clan had returned the favor, taking even more than twenty thousand from Dongsheng, thoroughly eradicating the Demon Clan’s fear of the Dongsheng forces.

After two battles, the already shrinking Dongsheng army suffered another heavy blow. Now they were powerless to venture out of their city to resist and could only defend within their walls. For the Demon Clan army, clearing the Dongsheng army that lay before them meant they had all but taken Big South East Peace into their possession.

After a brief adjustment, the Demon Clan army formally set out for Big South East Peace. On their way, they encountered no interception from the Dongsheng forces, and everyone was confident that they would soon retake Big South East Peace and further expand the territory of the Demon Clan to the south.

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