Chapter 785 - The Great Battle Before Us
The Sea Demon King Han Lin was the Ninth King of the Hybrid Demons?
I was startled. The Hybrid Demon King list had not yet been completely revealed. They could only be recorded as they appeared. However, I would never have imagined that the ninth Demon King would actually be the Sea Demon King. This only made my heart sink. Han Lin was now leading his tribe against the human empire. This meant that it was a planned attack by the Hybrid Demon Territory. Furthermore, since Luo Lin and Han Lin had come together, this meant that they had the confidence to win against the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the armies of Tian Ling City.
I looked at the distant Royal Army formation and began to feel unsettled.
“Just what are these Sea Walrus Cavalry?” Owen asked in frustration.
Theodore said, “Second brother, the Sea Walrus Cavalry are very gentle creatures. They have both gills and lungs, which allows them to survive on both land and sea. They ordinarily do not attack humans. However, once they have been tamed by the Sea Demons, they turn into extremely terrifying mounts. Their charging power is extremely strong. I’m afraid that our defense line won’t be able to hold out for long. Father, you must make a decision.”
King Rob furrowed his brow in silence.
Pearl stood up and spoke, “Move the crossbow carts and aim them at the beach. Once a single Sea Walrus Cavalry steps foot onto the beach, they are to be immediately shot down. No matter what the cost, we must kill as many as we can. We cannot sit idly and wait!”
Not far from us, the Berserk Thunder Commander Les lowered his voice and said, “Your Majesty, there’s actually another way, that isn’t really considered a way. I don’t know if it is appropriate to say or not.”
King Rob boldly replied, “General Les, please continue!”
General Les took a deep breath and said, “While the Sea Walrus Calvary can survive on land, they habitually spend more time in the water. If you are going to go against them, how about we retreat five kilometers? We’ll fight the battle in the Fierce Wind Forest. If we fight the Sea Demons in the brush and forest, they won’t have the upper hand. In the forestry, their battle power will be much weaker than our cavalry.”
The deputy commander of the Flame Axe Army, Locke, also nodded, “I agree with General Les’ strategy. If we make this retreat and then play to our advantage during the battle, we’ll be able to completely destroy those dishonorable Sea Demons!”
The old king appeared to be caught in a difficult choice and asked, “Princes, what do you think?”
Theodore then said, “Actually… General Les’ suggestion isn’t without reason. It’s true, we can use our advantage on land to deal a severe blow to the Sea Demon army. That way, the empire won’t suffer as many losses. This will demonstrate Father’s benevolence!”
The Marquis’ scoffed as his arm continued to bleed.
The old king immediately noticed, “Marquis, did you have something you wanted to say?”
The Marquis stood up and said, “Your majesty, there was a time when we made a promise to not give up on a single inch of the empire’s territory. But now, you want us to give up five kilometers to the Sea Demons? Your Majesty, you should know that there are several villages all along the coast. The Pear Flower Fort holds a hundred thousand troops! If we live, all of them will be killed by the Sea Demon Tribe!”
Theodore coldly laughed, “We can send out troops to protect the civilians as they retreat and then send a messenger to order the Pear Flower Fort to retreat. That is all well within the time frame that we have.”
The Marquis was anxious and said, “Your Majesty, when the empire was first founded, we first drew our territory along the Sea of No Return. We absolutely cannot desert our founder’s land and give it to the Sea Demons and Hybrid Demons for nothing!”
A sliver of contempt appeared in Theodore’s eyes, “It looks like after he lost his hand, the Marquis can no longer maintain his heroic stance. Is it possible that you’ve lost your courage to battle Luo Lin and Han Lin?”
The Marquis didn’t respond. He knew that publicly contradicting Theodore was not a good thing for him. The old king’s body was slowly deteriorating. One day, when he left this earth, Theodore was likely to be his heir. Theodore would not give the Marquis an easy time if that were to happen.
King Rob stood up with the Ruler’s Sword in hand, “Seeing as nobody is opposed to it, then we will retreat five kilometers and then meet the enemy head on, isn’t that right?”
I pursed my lips and shrugged.
“General Li Xiao Yao, do you have something to say?” King Rob looked over at me.
I looked up at the king and said, “Your Majesty, I am also opposed to pushing back our frontlines.”
“Why’s that?” The old king was puzzled.
Theodore let out another cold laugh, “I believe it’s the same reason as the Marquis’, and his courage has been shot by the Hybrid Demons? What Royal Army Commander, in the end you’re all just gutless wimps!”
I smiled and slowly drew out my words, “I don’t support pulling back the lines because we’ve already spent a long period of time constructing our formations on the beach, and they’ve finally somewhat solidified. We shouldn’t give up on them so easily. More importantly, if we retreat and the Sea Demons don’t end up following behind us, but rather Luo Lin, Ignaus, and Lanaise are the ones to fight us on land, then it’ll be the same as letting them go right around the Ice Ridge Mountains and bringing the Hybrid Demons straight into our territory. I do not believe that Tian Ling City currently has the strength to stand against the armies of three Hybrid Demon Kings.”
The old king’s expressions changed noticeably and alarm flashed across his face. He sat back down and said, “No more discussions. We’ll use Pearl’s strategy and push out the Crossbow Carts, killing the Sea Demons on level ground. We’ll shoot down however many come after us! Also, send a messenger to Moon City in the desert requesting help. I hope that delusional old duke will remember how we once helped his kingdom and send some troops as reinforcements.”
Of course, I didn’t hold much hope for reinforcements from Moon City. After all, The Sea of No Return touched the borders of all seven kingdoms. Who knew, maybe even Moon City was facing an attack from the Sea Demon Tribe. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have the ability to come help Tian Ling City.
Theodore angrily stood up and said, “Father, don’t be swayed by these people. We can bring out the Crossbow Carts to fight against the Sea Demons, but the carts are too heavy. Once we lose, all of the crossbow carts will be destroyed. How is that any good to us?”
Pearl smiled, “Brother, don’t worry about that. If we really can’t hold off the Sea Demon attack, then the entire empire would be finished. Why should we worry about losing a couple of Crossbow Carts?”
Theodore was silenced by his sister’s words. All he could do was glare straight at me. I smiled back and left the camp. I jumped back onto my horse and went straight back to the Royal Army Camp.
……
“Pa…pa…pa…”
The battle horse stepped out onto the soft sand. Most of the bodies that lay before the Tian Ling Camp either disappeared or were taken away. Right now, everything was cleared out. All that was left was the chaos that the fishmen had left on the sands. Slashes crisscrossed the sand. Seeing it made a shiver run through my body. In the distance, several heads rose above the ocean’s surface. Hundreds, thousands...they were countless. I could feel the hairs rising up on my arms. The Sea Walrus Cavalry were launching their attack. These Sea Demons spent most of their lives under water, and yet they were still able to create a flag. The clammy flag rose out of the water. It was too damp to wave in the winds. It was almost a little comical the way it clung to the flag pole.
By the time I reached the Zhan Long Camp, Li Mu, Wang Jian, Old K, and Qing Qian had already set up the formations. Seeing me return, Li Mu asked, “Xiao Yao, how are the NPC higher-ups?”
I smiled, “Same as usual. The Tian Ling King has decided to stake it all in this fight and take the Sea Demons head on. This time, we players need to put in everything we’ve got too, otherwise the Sea Demons will truly sweep through Tian Ling City. At that point, we’ll have no choice but to becoming roaming mercenaries.”
Li Mu nodded, “Yup, don’t worry, we shouldn’t fall to that point. These Sea Demons aren’t that strong. But each wave of fish men gives a lot of experience. Just from that last wave, I rose two whole levels! I’m a lot closer to the big 150!”
I looked at my own level, 145. I was five levels from the sixth class advancement at level 150. After this Battle of the Sea of No Return, that should be around enough. Never would I have thought that I would be able to advance so smoothly. Before, achieving Level 150 seemed to be eons away!
Wang Jian pulled out his blade and pointed it at the Sea Walrus Cavalry on the horizon, “Prepare for battle!”
I nodded, “Everyone work hard. I’m heading over to the Royal Army! Wan Er, you, Qing Qian, and Li Mu take the lead!”
My girlfriend smiled back, “Don’t worry, [Zhan Long] will be able to stand against this wave of attacks.”
“Yes!”
……
I turned around and went straight to the Royal Army Camp. I shouted, “Long Xing Xia Ye, bring out all of the Crossbow Carts in the Royal Army and set them before the Blade and Shield Camp. When the Walrus Cavalry charges at us, let’s make sure we give them a warm welcome!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Han Yuan and Xiao Lie all rushed over to greet me. Not long after, the large Crossbow Carts were brought out. The body of each Crossbow Cart was made of steel. I couldn’t tell what material the string was made of, but each one had around twenty different strings. All of the strings were turning at the same time and were operated by ten people at once. With each shot, over twenty arrows flew out. No wonder Theodore and the others placed so much importance on them; they were truly powerful!
Under the Crossbow Carts were four wheels, and each cart was pulled by several horses. It moved incredibly slowly over the sand. Theodore was not unnecessarily worried. Once we lost the battle, those Crossbow Carts would fall into the Hybrid Demon hands.
The Royal Army wasn’t originally a major unit in the empire, but after I joined and we won victory after victory, we were finally awarded a couple of these heavy machines. The Empire gave us fifty carts, which was now the biggest card in our deck.
“Blade Shield Camp, protect the Carts!” Long Xing shouted.
I squinted at the distance and said, “Careful, they’re coming at us now!”
……
Not long afterwards, the ugly Sea Walrus Cavalry stepped onto the shores. Their feet were soft and had no hooves. Despite that, they looked extremely strong. I could see scores of fishmen sitting on their backs. The Fishmen carried spears in their hands and a longbow on their backs. The Sea Demons were actually familiar with riding and archery.