Chapter 788 - The Yasha Army
The old king had allowed fifty thousand men to join the Royal Army. That was indeed a good thing. However, I was more worried about what would happen if the Sea Demon Army chose to continue its attack. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to save many of my soldiers from the surviving seventeen thousand that were left. If all I had was an empty army, then all of my efforts would have been for nothing.
Plus, quite a few of the soldiers and officers in the Royal Army had gained levels because of this battle. Some of them had even risen to a new tier. Han Yuan, Xiao Lie, and Xia Ye all rose up to become Divine Tier BOSSes. There was no way to ignore the fact that during a battle, these NPCs were our greatest assets. I could not lose them in the next sector. Fifty thousand soldiers would never substitute the value of these brave generals.
……
I looked into the distant horizon. I could see the distant figure of the Sea Demon King Han Lin. He wasn’t attacking, but it didn’t look like he planned on leaving. It left an unsettling feeling in our stomachs.
The Hybrid Demon Army had attacked the empire’s army for over fourteen hours. Logically speaking, this wave of attacks should be the real attack. Even though the Tian Ling City Armies had taken enormous losses, the strength of the players was still fairly high. [Legend], [Hero’s Mound], and [Judgement] had conserved most of their strength.
“Wu wu wu wu…”
The unmistakable sound of a horn echoed across the sea. Princess Pearl stiffened, “That... ? That’s the sound of a conch shell! Heavens, is Han Lin launching the final strike?”
Owen stood up and slammed the desk, “All armies prepare. Do not be stingy with the arrows and cannons. Use all of the dragon crystals in our storage. Otherwise, Tian Ling City will be looking at a long, drawn-out war!”
Owen stood up and squinted into the distance, “It’s the Sea Demon King’s Deep Sea Imperial Guard. I heard that this branch was completely made up of Yasha from the deep sea. There’s a total of two hundred thousand of them and are the trump card within the Sea Demon King’s ranks. To top it off, this Deep Sea Imperial Guard is led by twelve incredibly strong generals. They’re all lords of the sea. D*mm*t, we’re about to meet some truly strong enemies!”
King Rob gripped his sword and in a solemn tone, he addressed us, “Warriors of Tian Ling City, prepare for battle. No matter how many men Han Lin brings, we must defeat him. We must make him pay the price for betraying our treaty!”
Everyone stood up to leave. Even Princess Pearl leapt onto her horse and began directing her generals to prepare for battle. I quickly left towards the Royal Army’s camp. It looked like this would truly be the final battle. I could see the Sea Demon King’s figure getting closer and closer to shore. If Han Lin was coming to battle himself, that only went to show that the Sea Demon Tribe of the Sea Of No Return was truly going all out this time.
……
“Are they coming again?”
Han Yuan raised his sword and immediately jumped onto his horse, “Those f*cking sea f*ckers are finally going all out! Haha, it’s the Yasha Army!”
Long Xing stiffened, “Yasha? Gods… You aren’t talking about the legendary Deep Sea Imperial Army?”
Xiao Lie cackled, “That’s the one! The legendary, most fearsome power in the Sea of No Return. How is it, General Long Xing, you wouldn’t happen to be afraid now, would you? That’s right, you were once a colonel in the Flame Dragon Army, you must be used to living like a prince. Why would you be willing to sacrifice your life for some plebeians like us Royal Army folks?”
Long Xing’s expression turned ugly. Even so, he clenched his teeth and said, “General Xiao Lie, even though I was once a soldier of the Flame Dragon Army… I know what it means to be loyal to my country, and I know what it means to watch over your own. I have never once forgotten the trust and respect that Commander Li Xiao Yao has given to me. I want to let you know that from this point forth, I am a general of the Royal Army. Even if I were to die, the insignia of the Royal Army would be inscribed upon my grave!”
Han Yuan grinned, “Your words surpass the promise of a thousand troops! Good! No matter how terrifying the Deep Sea Imperial Army is, we’ll retreat and advance into battle together. Even if it means death, at least we’ll know that we were once brothers in this life!”
A heroic expression washed over Long Xing’s face. He raised his spear with a smile, “Alright, it has been an honor to fight alongside generals Han Yuan, Xiao Lie, and Xiao Ye. I have no regrets in this life, even if I were to die in battle today!”
I could see the brotherhood that was forming between these men. Their optimism and loyalty brought up the morale of the entire army. All of the barbarians in the Blade Shield camp raised their blades and banged them against their shields as they roared in agreement. Right as our spirits were high, a mass of human heads emerged from the sea. Upon closer examination though, they didn’t look much like human heads at all. Most of them had extremely fierce expressions. Their mouths were more similar to a fish or some kind of beast. Some had faces covered with scales, while others had spikes. There were even some who had a long, spiny tail. All of them looked extremely fearsome.
……
I raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword and sprinted across the Royal Army’s camp. When I arrived at the [Zhan Long] camp, I saw that Wan Er had already finished reorganizing the formation. We had lost over half of our Steel Blade Horsemen in the last battle. Yet there were still over three thousand of them left. These horsemen made up the entire frontline. Furthermore, they had shrunk the width of the formation so that the pressure wouldn’t be quite as heavy. Just right of [Zhan Long] was [Hero’s Mound], [Prague], and [Enemies at the Gate]. After all, this part was going to take the heaviest fire, so there would have to be enough players to stand against that pressure.
Li Mu looked into the distance and said, “The Yasha are coming. These NPC soldiers look like they’re about to pee themselves, haha…”
I was dumbfounded by his carefreeness, “Let’s not underestimate the enemy. There must be a reason for the NPCs to be this nervous. After all, an army of monsters named the Deep Sea Imperial Army cannot be an easy enemy to defeat. I just can’t figure out why…”
Wan Er suddenly appeared beside me. I don’t know when she learned [Unrivalled Spirit], but she smiled mischievously at me, knowing she gave me a jump when she appeared like that. “What can’t you figure out?”
Unphased, I continued, “The Sea Demon Tribe has allied themselves with the Hybrid Demon Army. Just in this single battle, they’ve used up a million of their troops. That’s probably most of their numbers. Just what is the Sea Demon King Han Lin trying to achieve here? On the other hand, the Hybrid Demon Army only used Luo Ling, the one king. Plus, the Revered One’s warriors have all been killed already. Clearly they’re giving the Sea Demon King the short end of the stick, turning his soldiers into cannon fodder.”
Wan Er bit her lip and said, “Even the Hybrid Demons are playing politics with each other?”
I shook my head, “Who knows…?”
Li Mu chuckled, “Guildmaster, haven’t you noticed that the Hybrid Demon Kings have been appearing one at a time, but in all this time, we haven’t met the number one king? Wouldn’t that be the real King of the Hybrid Demons? I’m thinking that in order for Han Lin to put so much on the line, it must have something to do with that Hybrid Demon Emperor, isn’t that right?”
I nodded, “Yea, that would make sense. No matter, let’s just hold off these Yasha first!”
“Okay!”
……
After a few minutes, we heard the conch shell echo throughout the battlefield once again. The Yasha army on the horizon was starting to move again. I could hear their yells as they rushed onto the shore. Waves rose up in enormous walls of water and crashed against the embankment. Some were even five meters tall! This was truly a sight that we had not been expecting. The waves flooded into our formations!
“Hold your positions!”
I pierced my Dragon Reservoir Sword into the sand, anchoring myself to the spot so that I wouldn’t be pushed back by the waves. As I shouted commands, all of the [Zhan Long] Steel Blade Horsemen and the Royal Army’s Blade and Shield Camp prepared their defenses and stood their ground. In the next moment, everyone was submerged in seawater. Even while we had made our preparations, I could see that quite a few had been swept away to the back. Once everyone opened their eyes and the water had cleared, the Yasha were less than a hundred yards away from us!
“D*mm*t!”
From the back of the Royal Army, Long Xing shouted, “The sea water has soaked through the dynamite. We can’t use the cannons!”
Xiao Lie roared, “the Dragon Crystal Cannons! General Long Xing, use the Dragon Crystal Cannons and the Crossbow carts to attack!”
“Alright!”
Right then, an explosive sound rocked the grounds and cannons let loose one after another. It was like miniature surges. The Yasha that the cannons hit were immediately blown to smithereens. The Crossbow Carts also continuously shot out arrows. Even so, it was clear that after the wave, there weren’t enough people manning the machines.
“Keng!”
Matcha smashed her shield into the ground and shouted, “Ranged players, prepare to shoot. Archers, use [Scatter Shot]. Do whatever you can to mess up their rhythm. Steel Bladed Horsemen, prepare the cooldowns for your [Holy Wall]!”
Not far from us, I could see that [Hero’s Mound], [Prague], and [Enemies at the Gate] were already engaged in battle. Q-Sword swung his sword as he led his horse around the border of the battlefield. He continued yelling orders at the soldiers fighting against the enemy. After a few seconds, the Yasha army suddenly pushed forward another block of distance. I could already see quite a few of their faces in clear detail.
The stats for the different Yasha were all pretty cool. I quickly read the biography of one of the monsters with a head shaped like a lobster.
[Deep Sea Yasha] (Level 6 Hybrid Demon)
Level: 153
Attack: 16700-18900
Defense: 15000
Health: 1,000,000
Skills: [Fierce Ice Blade] [Aquamarine Charge] [Aquamarine Break]
Introduction: Deep Sea Yasha, the strongest among the Deep Sea tribes. These Yasha not only have many capabilities in the water, they’re also able to walk on land. After a long period of time, under the teachings of the sea Demon King Han Lin, they learned to battle in sync with one another. These Yasha and their skills on land, sea, and in the air have made them into an undefeatable army in the Sea of No Return. In these past seven years, two hundred thousand troops swept through the Sea of No Return, wiping out each and every one of the main players who held power there. Like that, they boosted Han Lin up to the throne as King of the Seas.
……
“Careful, it's a Level 6 Hybrid Demon!”
I gripped my Dragon Reservoir Sword and said, “The three skills are all attack skills, let’s focus on our defenses!”
Right as I finished my orders, the Yasha already advanced into our firing range. [Zhan Long]’s archers, mages, and musketeers all began their attack. Arrows and magic flew at the crowd of monsters, bringing out numerous damage numbers. The Yasha, however, didn’t seem to have an ounce of fear as they continued their quick pace forward. They screeched as they charged ahead, waving their swords and spears. They rammed right against the Steel Blade Horsemen’s shields. [Aquamarine Charge] had pushed our frontlines back several meters. Just one of those fish-faced b*st*rds carried three blades. He swung his blade right at Matcha’s Lion King Shield. All of the attacks were concentrated on one point. It was the [Aquamarine Surge]. Matcha was able to keep her stance against the attacks, but swordsmen on both sides of her cried out and fell to the ground. They had been killed at once by three of the [Aquamarine Surge] blows.