Chương 530: Siege on Yongtein: Final Day (7)
But despite his strong words, things were not going as well as he expected. The military headquarters was heavily fortified and manned by five thousand soldiers. Although Cardinal Hui, Lady Mingyu, and the others created a strong offense, there was a limit to what they could do without Martial Energy. They were still fundamentally human after all. The waves they made were too small to capsize the ship. As Princess Ming defeated her tenth opponent, she realized this too, that the battle was not headed in their favor. At this rate, the Jian and Jun Families would arrive first! General Songlin was also clearly struggling. He could defeat the odd group here and there through the element of surprise, but against a cohesive, elite force, he was far from adequate. The Shui Family rarely mobilized their army, which meant he lacked practical experience, and it showed. His progress was too slow and clumsy. Seeing this, the Prime Minister could not help, but chuckle. It looked like Imperian Qiang was the one who underestimated them instead.
On the kingdom's side, General Petra unleashed everything she had to push the council back. This was their last chance to win. She needed to risk everything! Even the maimed, limping, and dying soldiers were handed a sword and thrown to the frontlines. If they could block a single hit, or hit anyone once, then that would be a net positive. Similarly, the noncombatants like the messengers, scouts, cooks, blacksmiths, and physicians were gradually being sent as well. There was no need for them anyways assuming they lost. That was how desperate things became! In her tent, Elizabeth saw the number of physicians dwindle down with their fates being obvious. She felt sick. This was not the way she hoped the battle would turn out. Mustering up the willpower, she tried to leave her bed, but her body resisted every motion. The mere act reopened many wounds, bloodying her bandages and leaving her worse than before. She wanted to curse. Was there nothing she could do, except pray?
Sadly, it was not enough. Although the kingdom showed exemplary resilience and resolve, they were outnumbered, exhausted, and low on supplies. The council gradually regained their tempo and stabilized the battlefield. As they evacuated the remaining militia, fresh soldiers took their place. It was like two different worlds. The kingdom's tired soldiers could defeat the poorly trained civilians handily; however, against the council's actual army, they started to suffer. It would often take two or more from the kingdom's side to defeat one from the council. Their combat effectiveness was that poor! This was what General Petra feared the most. Once the deterrence of the Ten Dawns and the Featherwind Sect disappeared, the Imperial Council would beat them through sheer numbers alone!
The two sides slammed into each other like two tsunamis, killing a vast number of people every second. It was so extreme that everywhere they looked, many corpses would be beneath their feet. The unbearable stench of death, the deep oceans of blood, and the gruesome distorted bodies… Fighting and fighting until they perished… The realization dawned on many soldiers, leading them to hesitate, breakdown, or even flee. Morale became a serious issue. General Petra tightened her fists. Going by conventional theories, an army would rout when casualties reached fifty percent or more. This figure could swing higher or lower, depending on how overwhelming their enemy was. Currently, the kingdom's army had exceeded this figure by a significant margin. Their formations were already dangerously close to collapsing. A push in the right place could rout them directly! More than that, she was worried about any mutinies or calls to surrender. That would fracture their leadership, and rapidly spiral out of control.
"General Petra, may we meet again." The Legion General, who swapped his military uniform to a suit of armor, saluted her. It was clear what he intended to do.
"I wish you good luck."
The man rushed out and left, bringing a deathly silence to the commanding tent. The battle had already entered its final stage, which meant that no tactic or strategy had a large impact anymore. It had devolved into a slugfest, where the last man standing would win. It was just that simple. However, because it was simple, the outcome was also simple. General Petra mulled over the decision to retreat, but it was an insane proposal. The resulting chaos would kill tens of thousands and lead to the army's complete dissolution. It would be suicide! That decision was ruled out, except… what could she do? A sense of helplessness appeared on her strong face. Had she failed?
In the east, less than an hour away from the capital, two massive armies marched through the forest, proudly bearing the banners of the Jian and Jun Families. Two men on horseback were near the front, chatting amongst themselves. The first was Minister Keigon, who wore a large, but practical set of ceremonial armor. He was already a big man, so when he wore a bigger set of armor, atop of a big warhorse, his figure was extreme to say the least. He had dwarfed most of the people around him. In comparison, the person riding next to him was a lot smaller. It was an older gentleman with a firm, but stately look, as though he had witnessed the vicissitudes of time. Streaks of white decorated his black hair, which was neatly combed back. His appearance was impeccable. Despite being physically much smaller than Minister Keigon, his presence did not lose out at all. Many would find the prime minister's likeness in him, and they were correct. He was Lord Fuwu Jian, the patriarch of the Jian Family and Prime Minister Pon-Wai's father!
Minister Keigon looked at the man beside him deeply. "Your family hid its strength well. I didn't expect the Jian Family could mobilize over sixty thousand troops."
"Everyone has a trick or two up their sleeve. I believe your family is no different," Lord Fuwu replied with a smile. His uncanny resemblance to the prime minister made Minister Keigon uncomfortable.
"Regardless, with your sixty thousand and my eighty thousand, we have more than a hundred forty thousand at our disposal. Even if the kingdom somehow wins Yongtein, we'll have more than enough people to take it back."
"That's right. We should be thinking about our next opponents then, namely the Li Family and the Alzar Kingdom's mainland. From what I heard, the Li Family has regained control over the Samfeng Province, broken through the Quiton Gates, and is currently moving south through the Jun Family's territory. It won't be long before they become a problem too."
Minister Keigon snorted. "Isn't that why you brought your large army here? We were both expecting to fight the Li Family after this. The kingdom's retaliation won't be light either."
"War is such a troubling affair," Lord Fuwu said, to which the other patriarch scowled. It was his territory being invaded, not the Jian Family's. What did Lord Fuwu have to complain about?
"Let's pick up the pace. I wouldn't want anything unexpected to happen."
"I agree." Under their orders, the two armies accelerated to Yongtein. The kingdom's window for victory was rapidly closing!
In the skies above, the five elder birds were observing the battle closely, and how the kingdom looked to be losing. It baffled them, because from what they knew, the kingdom was a genuine Rank 3 civilization with multiple Rank 3 Kings under their banner. They should have been able to defeat the Imperial Council without much effort, except the opposite was happening. It was like a group of savages defeating a trained army. The absurdity rendered everyone speechless.
"They shouldn't be losing this badly, right?" Elder Crus made an ugly face.
"They're mortals, so this much was expected," Elder Terus said.
"Should we step in?" Elder Ludin asked.
"They have over three hundred thousand people. How are we supposed to fight against that? We don't even have our original strength anymore." Elder Unvo shook his head. "I suggest we retreat."
"And where would we go? The Imperial Council already knows we betrayed them. If we add the Alzar Kingdom's Rank 3 Kings into the mix, then I don't have to explain the rest. Not to mention, our ship is damaged. We couldn't leave the human world, even if we wanted to."
"Then what should we do?"
"…We do have one option," Elder Argo said with a heavy tone. Under the four birds' watchful gaze, he took out the remnants of the Featherwind Pearl. He looked at it sadly. "We all know that repairing it is next to impossible at this point. However, it still has its uses… For example, the energy contained within is enough to unleash another few Grand Rank 2 attacks. Therefore, I propose we use it to attack the council's army."
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực