Chapter 498: Galvanized Military Morale Versus the God of War’s Flag
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After Han Sanhe's command to beat the gong, there was a moment of confusion among the troops before understanding finally settled upon them and brought order to the disorderly soldiers.
Dongxuan's army turned around and ran back as fast as they could, retreating like a receding tide. Fleeing was the only thing in their minds right now; to escape this area of natural forces as fast as they could.
However, Yutang's morale was galvanized.
"Chase! Kill them all…"
The only thought amongst the Yutang was to charge and kill. They ceaselessly pursued their enemies.
Zhan Ge was reluctant to withdraw; the eternal prosperity was already within sight and reach – the absolute hegemon was about to be decided! It was at this pivotal moment that such a fatal element of surprise came about.
Zhan Ge's mind was buzzing, he shouted to his troops, "Do not withdraw! We have more people than them. Get a grip on yourselves! Withstand with all your might!"
Zhan Ge's eyes blazed with anger. He personally beheaded a few retreating soldiers to try and calm down the situation. But how could his own personal power go against the hundreds of thousands of scattered soldiers on the battlefield? No matter which way he chose to kill them, how many could he actually kill?
The reality of the situation came crashing down on his shoulders like a brutal truth. Not only did Zhan Ge stop his troops from retreating, but he was also being drowned by the sheer number of soldiers and was forced to withdraw involuntarily. By the time he was aware of this, he had already been drawn back past the Fortress of Resilience.
"Teacher? Where is my teacher?" Zhan Ge shouted in a frenzy, looking wretched.
In such a critical moment, the only thing he could think of was his almighty teacher, the God of War, Han Sanhe.
Unfortunately, a retreating troop was like a collapsed mountain. Even if Han Sanhe stepped forward personally, the tide of war could not be changed!
No matter how elite their army was, once they had broken down to this extent, and had forgotten their own God of War – even if it was a true immortal from heaven, they would only sigh in futility. Under such pressing circumstances, it was the least to expect from an unrivaled marshal like Han Sanhe, to still be able to gather the disarrayed army of men and guide them towards one direction.
The rumbling sound of battle cries grew louder. The Yutang fighters were like freed tigers now, keen on hunting down all their enemies. They had suffered for so long, it was finally time for their revenge.
If they did not kill the enemy and bring down their vengeance upon them to their heart's content right now, then when else would they get such an opportunity to do so?
Soldiers, in spite of their broken legs, mounted horses and pursued their enemies with every last bit of strength they had left.
"Revenge for our sacrificed brothers!"
"Li Erniu, are you watching? The Nine Supremes Lords are here and we've won! We brothers have avenged you!"
"Boss Qi, you should be thrilled under there huh!"
"Revenge!"
"Kill all of them!"
"Wipeout these intruders!"
"Yutang is not for the enemy to blatantly run over. All those who invade Yutang must be killed, even if they think themselves to be stronger!"
Fu Baoguo commanded his army with unwavering focus, ordering them to pursue the enemy relentlessly, "Give chase and don't stop until you've killed them all!"
Honestly, Fu Baoguo would not initially have wanted to pursue the retreating army so thoroughly. He understood, more than anyone, about the taboo amongst marshalls and generals with regards to not ruthlessly hunting down an enemy when they were at their worse state. This taboo was also prevalent in the military itself.
However, with Han Sanhe's and Zhan Ge's ability, they did not need long to recover their army, even though Dongxuan was in retreat right now. Their army was built up of elite militants; a momentary defeat did not necessarily mean they were completely overthrown.
If Yutang were to be bitten back, it would drastically reduce this advantageous state. Fu Baoguo could not give up his relentless pursuit because he realized the precariousness of the situation. The Nine Supremes' power had only erupted into action once.
The invincible forces were almighty but it was like everyone had only struck once! After that, there was nothing else, as if the Nine Supremes had stopped. This certainly should not be happening.
It must be made known that despite the fact that the tables had been turned, Dongxuan's casualties were still limited; they still had vast resources left. As long as they cleaned up the mess and reset their formation, the warfare would take a turn for the worse against Yutang!
Therefore, the Nine Supremes should still be attacking now to assist Yutang and ensure that their victory could be set in stone!
Fu Baoguo became acutely aware that maybe the Nine Supremes only had one chance to strike. Could there perhaps be some kind of mishap? The Nine Supremes had not appeared previously due to some reasons and now that they were forced to do something because of this grave crisis, they could only do this much!
If this were true, then all the more Fu Baoguo would need to hound their enemies and continue fighting to increase the success of this battle. He had to delay Han Sanhe's respite as long as possible. If his guesses were true, disaster would still befall Yutang once Han Sanhe could get a break.
The crisis might even be considered as more grave than previously thought!
Now that Yutang's military morale was galvanized to its peak, it was the moment to go all out; if Fu Baoguo were to hold them back now, they might fall harder and be laid lower than ever before. If Dongxuan attacks again then Yutang would be defeated immediately; their combat power would be greatly reduced too, from all sorts of negative emotions. The end might actually be worse than when everyone had initially set their minds to be willing to die fighting; after all, once there was hope, it would be hard to think of dying in war. A man's emotions could barely handle the rollercoaster ride of war.
In addition to that, the Fortress of Resilience was no longer theirs. Without this natural barrier, it was impossible to rebuild it in less than a year.
At this moment, a deafening neigh tore through the scene as a red silhouette zapped through Yutang's army like a lightning strike. There was a purple person atop the red shadow; the man and horse duo was speeding towards Dongxuan's direction.
"Han Sanhe! Hand over your life!"
Fu Baoguo was shocked to hear the man's voice. Yun Yang? Why was he here? Had he not already instructed Yun Yang to guard the Old Marshal and the others? What was going on?
Before he could figure it out, the red silhouette had disappeared from his sight.
Dongxuan's soldiers were still receding like an ebbing tide. Zhan Ge had killed plenty of routed soldiers in hopes of quelling the situation and securing their stance as well as their morale but he was just a mere man too – insignificant before end-of-the-world powers of nature. Not only did he fail to redirect them but he himself was forced to retreat against his will.
Fortunately, Dongxuan still had a pacifier despite Zhan Ge's inability to calm the army down. On the other side where Dongxuan's base was, a large flag was raised. At first glance, the flag seemed unusual because it was ten times bigger than a usual flag! It had to be extraordinary!
The withdrawing army was charging with lowered heads, hoping they could reach safety faster and leave their terror behind. Some occasionally lifted their heads and those who did would have seen the war flag raised more than three hundred feet into the air, appearing like a red cloud in front of them.
Anyone who saw the flag felt their heart silenced by the inexplicable!
It was the God of War's flag! A personal flag belonging to Han Sanhe!
Eight golden words glimmered on the flag as the gale blew the flag rigidly straight as if it were solid. The eight words on the flag read –
"A Ray of Sword-Light, Mountains and Rivers Freeze!"1
Han Sanhe!
The main reason Dongxuan army was retreating now was because of the sudden forces of nature that were indestructible and unstoppable by man.
Additionally, it was partly also because the current commander was inadequate; Zhan Ge's speech was weaker than Fu Baoguo's at the beginning of the attack, which not only reduced their morale, but Zhan Ge's valiance had also suffered. Their military minds were no longer aggressive but were now slightly dulled. If they could seize the upper hand in the battle, it might still work out in their favor, but now that the whole frontline had collapsed, there was not even a drop of determination left in them!
However, now that Han Sanhe had stepped out personally, it conciliated the army despite not being able to reset the military morale immediately. The Nine Supremes' reputation was like a nightmare among Dongxuan soldiers but the fame of their continent's God of War was equally striking.
This was not something that could be replaced, regardless of whether Zhan Ge had taken control of Dongxuan's military authority or not!
Translator Note:
1A Ray of Sword-Light, Mountains and Rivers Freeze: A phrase built from Han Sanhe's name. To derive meaning literally from the Chinese characters of the name Han Sanhe (寒山河hán shān hé), it means to freeze mountains and rivers.