Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1443 - 1436: Fratricide

Chapter 1443: Chapter 1436: Fratricide

The Demon Clan’s army was no longer the cautious army that feared a single misstep would plunge them into the abyss.

After gaining a substantial amount of civilian land, the Demon Clan’s army had sufficient logistics support and troop replenishment. Especially with the implementation of a plan allowing Kyushu residents to join the army, which later extended to allowing anyone to join the Demon Clan’s army.

So, the Demon Clan’s army now not only included members of the Demon Clan and Kyushu residents but even some Shanyue people and members of the Ghost Race.

The Ghost Race were the indigenous people of Aximiya Island in the southern part of East Continent. The Kyushu Empire once attempted to invade Aximiya, but the campaign ended in a crushing defeat, with even the Emperor killed. The Ghost Race gained fame from this war, and since then, regardless of how many dynasties Kyushu went through, no one dared to target Aximiya Island again.

Members of the Ghost Race were quite short, averaging about one and a half meters in height, with women even shorter, typically ranging between one meter thirty and one meter forty.

Moreover, from the available data, there were no apparent significant advantageous characteristics, so Zhuyan Yu, who studied such matters, believed that the Ghost Race should be considered a part of the Human Race, unlike the Demon Clan, who were distinct from humans.

The experience of Elves told Zhuyan Yu that there were many different groups in this world that might not be native evolutionary tribes, but rather were artificially modified by the Ancestors and placed in the world.

Typical examples were Elves and Dwarves. And from the current situation, it was very likely that the Demon Clan was also a project modified by the Ancestors. However, what intrigued her was, if her guess was true, why didn’t the Ancestors grant the Demon Clan people longevity like the Elves?

Of course, even though the Ghost Race was short, they were tough opponents. These cunning little fellows always came up with strange ideas to deal with their enemies. For example, when Yichuan Long led his Light Cavalry to attack their positions, they fell into the traps of the Ghost Race several times, with many casualties.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Ba Path experts were durable, the damage caused by Yichuan Long’s raids might have been less significant than the losses suffered by his own side.

The people of the Ghost Race had no affection towards the Kyushu Empire but rather sympathized with the Southern Yao Race, so many of them secretly slipped away to West Outer Heaven to join the Demon Clan army. Yunji didn’t dare integrate them with the Kyushu residents, so they had to form separate regiments with members of the Demon Clan.

On the battlefield, the army flags flapped loudly as both armies confronted each other in formation. The hilly terrain was not conducive to Cavalry mobility combat, which Yichuan Long was well aware of, but could do nothing about.

He originally intended to take the relatively open plains first, but he overlooked the marching speed of the Demon Clan army. The Demon Clan army advanced more than ten li ahead, firmly occupying the hilly terrain.

Now Yichuan Long was stuck, either to fight in the hills or to retreat to the plains. However, in the current situation, retreating was not viable; it could easily turn into a rout. By then, the battle could not be fought, as they would be directly chased down by the Demon Clan army.

Thus, with no other options, he had to make a stand. He didn’t aim to completely crush the Demon Clan army but to severely weaken them, preventing them from reorganizing for effective resistance for a while. That would mean victory in this battle.

The Demon Clan army was the first to attack, being the offensive side. With continuous cannon fire, large-caliber mortars launched Delayed Bursting Shells into the sky, then they heavily fell into the enemy ranks and exploded.

Originally intended for siege attacks, the mortars in the Demon Clan army were repurposed as field artillery for killing. The Demon Clan’s mortars were operated in a pull-launch firing mode, significantly increasing the firing speed.

Continuous shells fell into the ranks of the Nine Thousand Battalion, knocking people down constantly. Once a Fragmentation Grenade exploded in the crowd, it was as if reaping wheat, with a particularly bloody scene.

Accompanied by the thunderous sound of artillery, the Demon Clan’s line infantry began to march in unison to the sound of drums and horns, advancing to within a hundred meters of the enemy for a volley.

The Nine Thousand Battalion still primarily used melee weapons, and although there were quite a few archers, they posed little threat to the heavily armed Demon Clan army.

In fact, if the three major aristocratic families had united, they might have been able to defeat the Demon Clan’s army. But now, with the Yichuan Clan and the Dangyang Family relations so strained, there’s no use expecting them to send help.

Moreover, because the Demon Clan’s army advanced too quickly, the Zixia Clan’s troops were unable to come to the rescue in time, turning the situation into the Yichuan Clan single-handedly resisting the Demon Clan’s offensive.

It must be said that Yichuan Long was somewhat capable in managing troops; even under the heavy bombardment of the Demon Clan’s artillery, the formation of the Nine Thousand Battalion did not show major signs of faltering, which was no easy feat.

However, they should not think that merely bracing themselves would suffice to survive this war, as the Demon Clan’s line infantry had already moved within shooting range.

The line infantry of the Demon Clan had learned their lesson this time, and they wouldn’t deliberately advance into the effective range of muskets. Instead, they started firing volleys once they reached a distance of a hundred meters. Although their accuracy greatly decreased, the volume of simultaneous fire was overwhelming.

Once their opponents couldn’t withstand the volley, they would be forced either to retreat or to advance to attack. Either choice played perfectly into the hands of the line infantry.

With the familiar posture and slogans, following the command of the Demon Clan’s leader, the Demon Clan’s troops conducted their first volley. A continuous series of thunderous explosions echoed through the sky, and a cloud of white gunpowder smoke instantly enveloped the line infantry, scattering in the wind.

After the first volley, the second and third rounds followed in quick succession. The line infantry troops, accustomed to this procedure, had become somewhat numb. They breathed in the thick gunpowder smoke, skillfully loaded their muskets, and awaited their turn to fire in the first line.

Despite not reaching an effective firing range, the volleys from the Demon Clan still inflicted severe damage on the Nine Thousand Battalion. The thick shields could not block the bullets, and with each volley, hundreds of soldiers fell simultaneously, plunging the morale of the Nine Thousand Battalion to rock bottom.

Yichuan Long knew he couldn’t let the Demon Clan continue firing like this; they had to take the initiative to charge. So, with the sound of a shrill bugle, the vanguard of the Nine Thousand Battalion led a charge towards the Demon Clan’s troops.

Yichuan Long directly ordered the vanguard to charge, which Cheng Ziang and Yunji had not anticipated. Because organization was crucial on the battlefield, it was exceedingly difficult to reorganize after a charge; typically, such a move was reserved for a decisive battle.

For example, if the enemy was on the brink of collapse, a charge could be launched to defeat them outright; the troops could then be rallied without facing an enemy attack.

However, Yichuan Long ordered a direct charge by the vanguard. If the vanguard failed to overcome the Demon Clan’s forces, they were as good as lost because there would be no time for them to reassemble.

Moreover, an even more fatal issue was that if the vanguard broke and fled, it was likely to affect the soldiers behind them, causing a cascading failure—an incredibly risky move by Yichuan Long.

Faced with the charge of the Nine Thousand Battalion, the Demon Clan’s army did not panic but instead began rapid-fire tactics, suppressing the charging enemy with firepower to maximally reduce their numbers and morale.

It’s important to understand that the line infantry of the Demon Clan were not to be trifled with, as a qualified line infantryman needed not only shooting skills but also the courage to engage in bayonet fighting. Before the attack, the Demon Clan’s line infantry were already equipped with bayonets, poised for just such an opportunity.

As the line infantry of the Demon Clan continued their volleys, more and more soldiers from the Nine Thousand Battalion fell. However, at a distance of less than a hundred meters, the line infantry could not fire many times, and soon both sides were embroiled in close-quarter combat.

Although they were all from Kyushu, the Demon Clan’s soldiers did not consider these men their kin; fratricide even occurred on the battlefield, simply because of differing allegiances.

The resistance of the Demon Clan’s troops was extraordinarily staunch, causing the assault by the Nine Thousand Battalion to stall, firmly holding them at the battle line.

At the same time, the artillery from the rear of the Demon Clan continued to fire upon the battlefield, creating a barrage zone to prevent the Nine Thousand Battalion’s reinforcements from supporting the vanguard, thereby securing opportunities for their frontline line infantry.

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