Chapter 33: Resistance At Every Step
Ang Ri rode Tai Yue Luan circling in the air, watching the distant Da Yao cavalry rapidly retreating. Ang Ri felt no joy in forcing the Da Yao troops to retreat; the enemy had actively avoided him. Over the past half month, the opposing Da Yao troops had always done this—completing blocking battles then leaving, resolutely refusing to engage prolonged fights. As for himself, he also couldn’t linger too long, because the enemy wasn’t fully withdrawing but observing him from afar.
Once Ang Ri circled for too long, a Palace Attendant riding a griffin, along with one or two squads of Dragon Horse Cavalry, would charge up! He had suffered losses in the previous engagements.
That Palace Attendant would dive from high altitude to force him into low air, then the Dragon Horse Cavalry would swarm forward. If not for his crow people clansmen blocking desperately, he would have stayed here.
Ang Ri circled while looking at the river below; batches of corpses tumbled in the rapids, among which three enormous corpses stood out—these were three war elephants.
Three days ago, the main force of the Southern Border Tribes allied army prepared to swim across this river two li upstream. That swimming spot was somewhat deep but very gentle; the Southern Border Tribes planned to use war elephants to tow wooden rafts across. But as they crossed, armored soldiers from Da Yao appeared, first charging to rout the flying head tribesmen preparing to fell trees on the shoal. After the impact, they directly set up a heavy crossbow formation on the riverbank—ah no, it should be called a simplified “Moon-Quelling Formation,” because the four crossbows at the center of the gun shield soldier array were no longer pullable by one person. The three bow arms on the crossbows, with the longest one a person’s length, required four people footing pedals to pull them open. The three giant elephants crossing the river were shot blind in the eyes and swallowed by the river waters. Subsequently, the remaining heavy crossbows poured seven hundred arrows onto the snake people tumbling in the river within half a shichen. Even those completely dead, floating on the river surface and bobbing with the waves once or twice, were given an extra arrow. It was truly ferocious.
The Southern Border tribes’ thousands of troops, separated by a river less than ten zhang wide, watched the less than two hundred Da Yao soldiers arrogantly shoot and kill—dead silent.
After that battle, corpses drifted downstream, hanging on the shallows now, revealing this easy swimming spot. But now the Southern Border Tribes were exceptionally deferential about crossing; the dead corpses emitted a foul stench, while large fish swam in and out of the wounds, enjoying a taotie feast.
Ang Ri sighed, and the gradually approaching black dots in the distance signaled him to land back at base.
“Easy to get a thousand troops, hard to find one general.” Ang Ri silently recited this phrase, now fully agreeing: “Recruiting a thousand soldiers is easy, but finding a general to lead them to victory is hard. Now Li Huo Sect mindlessly drives the vast Southern Border Tribes northward, but the generals who know how to fight are on the opposing Yao Army side.”
At this moment, Ang Ri greatly acknowledged Wu Fei’s military commander ability, because even compared to what he had seen in Haotian Realm before, the Da Yao troops’ maneuvers and adaptability on the battlefield showed no gap with those legendary generals he had witnessed in Haotian Realm.
Ang Ri’s evaluation: Divination of heavenly timing, use of terrain, control of military momentum—all impeccable.
Ang Ri piloted Tai Yue Luan to evade the incoming Zhao Tu, muttering to himself: “Xi Ren Realm has yet to be affected by calamity waves, long lacking killing intent, but not short on seeds of famous generals. Once winds and clouds change, these generals will surely soar serpent riding mist!”
Then he looked up at the bright moon in the high sky: “Moon Empress, was my choice to lead the clan back here really right?”
Ang Ri landed back in the forest where his allied tribal army was camped. Tai Yue Luan landed there, the surrounding treetops forming a circle of green ripples spreading from the wind. The pursuing Zhao Tu stopped the chase, signaling the Dragon Horse queues behind him to maintain stealth mode and continue ambushing behind. Zhao Tu watched Ang Ri’s landing direction, gaze fixed quietly. He raised the Thousand Mile Mirror from his chest to his eyes, scrutinizing that jungle, frowning.
Because that place had thick killing intent; Zhao Tu sensed something unusual! Heeding Wu Fei’s warning of “avoid entering forests,” oh, most times Zhao Tu ignored this order. After getting the griffin, he often dived to harass Southern Border foreign races on the ground, but now, he felt pursuing would make him the fool!
…Below the dense tree canopy…
After Ang Ri landed, many crow people held daggers waiting on the branches. This wasn’t entirely the crow people’s bravery, but relative to the treetops, the monsters below made the crow people quite uncomfortable.
At this moment below the trees, various mountain imps and vine monsters crouched here, and among these monsters unusually mixed a “humanoid” squad nearing Da Yao people’s size.
This squad totaled sixteen people, all wearing black daoist robes, talismans on their foreheads, and blood jade in their mouths.
Ang Ri piloted Tai Yue Luan seeking open space, carefully avoiding these sixteen eerie Daoist Priests. Actually, these weren’t people, but Li Huo Sect’s Sha Shi—people born at yin hour yin moment, continuously fed fire killing intent to cultivate. The yao calculation array in the blood jade rhythmically regulated killing intent and spiritual energy.
Compared to the surrounding tall non-human monsters, this silent sha shi squad was what made all creatures here most uneasy.
Behind these sha shi, a horse cart pulled not a sedan but a bronze coffin, its wandering verdigris appearing ancient and sinister.
Sitting on the coffin cart was a young cultivator who showed no oddity—lips with color, pupils with spiritual light, more normal than most battlefield soldiers, tinkering with a small cauldron. He was Li Huo Sect direct disciple Jia Mude.
Jia Mude saw Ang Ri on Tai Yue Luan and asked about what he had seen in the air just now.
After Jia Mude confirmed the enemy shore troop strength remained only a few hundred, not thousands, he nodded and summoned the Snake People Leader. He also retrieved a gourd from the bronze coffin with a hand wave.
In Ang Ri’s eyes, the Snake People Leader clearly resisted upon seeing the item from the bronze coffin. But then Jia Mude scolded him in a language Ang Ri didn’t understand. After the Snake People Leader hissed excuses, Jia Mude evidently threatened something, and the Snake People Leader finally reluctantly took the gourd emitting purple qi, extremely unwilling.
Ang Ri stared at the Snake People Leader’s departing direction, clearly curious about what medicine was in that purple gourd. He pondered that once his usefulness to Li Huo Sect declined someday, his crow people clan would likely meet the same fate.
The Snake People Leader reached his own squad in the vanguard of the main army, tilted the gourd mouth downward. As purple pills rolled out mixed with cloud qi turning into fine rain falling on these snake people, they began bulking up, shedding skin, scales turning from fine to blade scales with sharp angles, and bumps grew on their backs sprouting wings.
Jia Mude: “This gourd is ‘Dragon Feast Pills,’ able to awaken the dilute bloodline in scaled species.”
The words appeared in Ang Ri’s ears.
Ang Ri pressed relentlessly: “Then what is the cost of taking them?”
Jia Mude adjusted his sitting posture on the coffin, turning to Ang Ri with a eerie smile: “The cost is immortality!” And eternal tirelessness, eternal undefeat!
Ang Ri’s pupils contracted sharply, watching the mutated snake people ahead—their mad mouths cracked to inconceivable degrees. Snake people mouths were already large, but now the cracks extended to the cheeks.
Jia Mude: “This— is no longer normal enhancement, but primordial mutation. Doing this harms Heavenly Harmony.”
“Heavenly Harmony?” Ang Ri muttered.
But Jia Mude’s next tone wasn’t as arrogant as he imagined, instead somewhat helpless.
Jia Mude murmured: “If we don’t harm Heavenly Harmony, we’ll be buried.”
…Bronze coffin, clanging from Jia Mude’s slaps…
The distant mutated snake people cleaved waves on the shallows, rapidly crossing the river. On the opposite shore, the Yao Army seemed to sense their excessive danger, thus yielding the crossing. After Southern Border’s main army confirmed their mutated snake people had seized the opposite bank, they all swarmed across.
Thus the Southern Border tribes passed the last trench before reaching Yongji Pass. But after crossing, that batch of mutated snake people troops had swum afar to begin pursuit.
Actually, even if they obeyed orders to stay, the current Southern Border troops wouldn’t dare coexist with these mutated monsters. All felt the farther those monsters rolled, the better.
…Camp switch, perspective shift to Yongji Pass…
Wu Fei was unaware that a Haotian Realm exile rated him a seed of famous general. Oh, even if he knew, he’d think Ang Ri was bluffed; his level was far from reaching it.
Wu Fei thought: Famous generals at least command ten thousand troops, multi-line, um, able to advance several armies in parallel. During this parallel advance, how to deploy food and grass! Soldier Immortal Han Xin deployed food and grass to points along march routes. Its deployment concerns troop deployment—can’t just point casually, sending a thousand heavy cavalry to hole up in a small village! If so, that heavy cavalry would slaughter horses in days! Of course before that, more likely the heavy cavalry would mutiny, seize other troops’ food and grass, and ignore commands for ten or twenty days. Um, to obey commands, need higher rear orders.
Of course deadlier is rewards and punishments for merit! Not to mention, transporting grain ten km vs hundred km—merit absolutely not linear, longer routes higher risk of enemy surprise attacks. Needs exponential emphasis, dispatch reliable generals, heavy rewards and punishments to stabilize rear lines.
As for what rewards and punishments are appropriate, like haggling in the market by elders—personal experience accumulation, not for outsiders!
Xuan Chong: As for me (Wu Fei) now, my proficiency is far off. Currently, only a thousand-man military force under flexible operation, not all deployed but rotating out of closed-door cultivation: one-third resting inside the pass, one-third mobile outside “trimming branches,” one-third on standby twenty km before the pass. When “trimming branches” troops risk capsizing, immediately go support.
The reason for winning so far is Wu Fei observing more, thinking harder, constantly using his side’s “superior horses” to pick off enemy’s “inferior horses.” If letting pass defenders like Wen Si, these newly freed slaves “inferior horses” engage, battle losses would long cause manpower shortages.
Wu Fei now handled steadily.
“Report, Qionze area, enemy group crossing river, chopping trees, suspected building wooden ladders and other siege weapons. Blocking team requests fire oil supplies.”
“Report, enemy mutated vanguard reaches west pass, over three hundred in number, among which most severely bloated mutated (around three meters) individuals over fifty. Our cavalry head-on collision, consumed half quiver arrows, shot three kills. Our troops withdrew timely, no casualties.”
Wu Fei: “Scout again.”
Minutes later, Wu Fei examined the map carefully, measured distances, confirmed own troops’ gathering speed and enemy reinforcement possibility.
“From Yi45 area stockpile, mobilize one base of tung fire jars to Wang Xi them, also have Zhao Tu circle behind for bluff.” Wu Fei issued orders.
…Sixteen shichen later…
That mindless, only-forward-charging mutated snake people monsters, in undisciplined running, were lured to the loose stones beach twenty km before Yongji Pass. This loose stones beach very rugged, only two best paths, thus under Wu Family Army soldiers’ “strong recommendation,” mutated snake people monster group surged in—like herding sheep, unorganized sheep follow lead sheep charging. After highlands, monsters saw hunters fleeing sideways toward lush shrubbery, irrational them charged straight regardless.
But as these mutated snake people rushed into side shrubbery, suddenly shaking it violently, tripwires emerged—this shrubbery rigged with tripwires. Why hunters unaffected? Marked. Seizing the gap, excited hunters all escaped.
Because in this situation, these hunter-origin Wu Family Army scouts’ merit undiscounted.
If these snake people monsters unmutated with reason, they’d notice shrubbery extremely dry unlike rainy season damp. But they brainless. This shrubbery was Wu Fei mobilizing pass-inner earth sha yao calculation system, releasing incinerating wind from mountain top blowing full six shichen causing it. Dryness akin autumn withered shrubs.
And participating in ignition included Wen Si etc. slave troops. Wu Fei seized chance to let these slave soldiers try their hand.
Because next Southern Border Tribes would swarm to Yongji Pass walls. Though theoretically these thousands Southern Border foreign races’ chance of breaching near zero, Wu Fei still considered these slaves’ first face thousands-man sea “ant climb” siege, morale stability uncertain, thus this battle twenty km outside city sent for their participation.
As fireballs ignited in shrubbery, crackling. These two hundred snake people rolled like eels in frying pan. Few mutated snake people burned flesh blurry, forcibly broke out, impacting spearman gun array.
Wen Si held spear watching them charge, feet instinctively halting shrinking, but with sharp whistling arrow, habituated to signals these days, he reacted, roared charging up. Other spearmen also attacked; five long spears spread impact force of one half-crippled mutated snake person, no one swept down. More followed stabbing up; with spear thrusts, this mutated snake person died thoroughly.
Wen Si watched fallen snake person, wiped forehead sweat, grinned—this nothing!
Back in city, Wen Si decided to boast properly to people.
……
Tenth month seventh day, before Yongji Pass, fifth major blocking battle ended—this also Wu Family Army’s last blocking battle outside pass before south of Ling River foreign race alliances knocked on gate.
Ang Ri piloted Tai Yue Luan hurrying over, glimpsing far this battle’s finale, but then withdrew under Zhao Tu’s pursuit. The two had tangled over thirty rounds in air. Both mounts familiar to death with each other’s wing flap frequencies.
