Chapter 470- Baiqi Loses Cangcheng
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
8th month, 22nd day, Yun An County.
After a few consecutive gloomy days, it was finally sunny today. The clear sky contained no clouds for thousands of miles.
Outside of Yun An County, three well-equipped armies were ready to go.
Yesterday afternoon, the sixty thousand reinforcements troops that South Alliance had transferred over reached Yun An County. At that point, the originally unassuming Yun An County had gathered 280 thousand troops.
The entire county instantly became a giant army barracks.
Apart from the soldiers, there were the commoners in charge of logistics. Apart from them, there were no other people. Be it the Black Snake Guards or the Military Intelligence Division, neither could infiltrate Yun An County.
Members of South Alliance stood on the city wall and focused on the army that was about to set out. Each and every one of them felt confident.
During the rest period yesterday, the three cities opposite them did not have any movements. This meant that the Shanhai City Army would not receive any reinforcements.
Victory was right in front of them.
The famous Asura was unable to stop the determination of the alliance army.
The only unharmonious matter would be that Spicy Snack Prince had left the troops at night and disappeared into the wilderness.
After destroying Qu Yi's troops, Ouyang Shuo did not go too far. He ordered Du Sijing to write a letter to Spicy Snack Prince, asking him to find a chance to leave.
Luckily, Spicy Snack Prince was not a famous figure in the alliance, so his disappearance was not a hot topic.
The eyes of the alliance army only saw the imminent battle.
During the night, Di Qing had burned the midnight oil to plan for the battle.
280 thousand troops, on the left and right routes, he planned for eighty thousand troops to monitor Yaogu County and Genglou County. The remaining 120 thousand would charge straight for the command base of Shanhai City—Cangcheng County.
He focused all of the siege weapons that the alliance army brought on the middle.
Di Qing wanted to take down Cangcheng County with breakneck speed. He would not give the enemy any chance.
After a simple morale rouser, the troops moved out simultaneously.
The commander, Di Qing, personally led the middle route troops, as they pushed forward valiantly toward Cangcheng County.
At noon, the army had already reached the outskirts of Cangcheng County. At this point, they reached the camp that the alliance army had set up the day before. Di Qing ordered his troops to take a slight rest before they attacked in the afternoon.
……
On the Cangcheng County city wall, Baiqi stood at his familiar position, as he once again looked out.
The opposition army waltzed forward, and they did not bother to hide their tracks.
Water far away was not able to quench your thirst.
The victory at Wulong County was not able to save the dangerous situation at Cangcheng County. Baiqi had already made preparations to give up Cangcheng County. To try something when you know it was not possible did not fit his fighting style.
Defeat; this was a defeat.
However, before he left, he wanted to give his opponent a hefty lesson.
……
The attack in the afternoon went as predicted, perhaps surprisingly smoothly.
Although the army that defended Cangcheng County remained stubborn, they were helpless against the huge number of enemies. Under the relentless assault, they were forced back in defeat.
2 PM, the city protection river fell.
5 PM, the north city wall fell. 5:30 PM, the north city gate fell.
Shanhai City had chosen to give up on this base in the end, and they exited through the south gate. After this large-scale war, of the ten thousand city protection division members, only around two thousand survived.
The Tianshuang County city protection division would probably become history.
The alliance army was like a flood, swarming in through the north gate and completing their occupation of Cangcheng County.
This was a historical moment.
This was the first time the Shanhai City Army had lost their base in a battlefield and was forced to escape.
The name of Di Qing would be remembered in history.
Just with this one battle, South Alliance would gain fame.
Once they received the news that Cangcheng County had fallen, Yun An County was delighted and celebrated wildly.
Members of South Alliance had already started the festivities. Some had arranged for players to teleport back to their territories to remove the channel and forum restrictions, as they prepare to brag about this feat.
Even the calm and composed Hefu could not help but cheer out loud.
The result of this battle pushed Hefu's reputation and position in the alliance to the peak. He had solidified his position as the alliance leader. His prestige in South Alliance was somewhat comparable to Ouyang Shuo’s in Shanhai Alliance.
Members of South Alliance were already discussing how to split the spoils of war. The ten plus cities were like a massive cake waiting for them to cut up.
A sense of regret filled those members that did not send reinforcements.
A crazy atmosphere enveloped the entire alliance.
Apart from members of South Alliance, the Lords of the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture were also delighted. This victory meant that their territories were safe.
These Lords only stopped short of putting up fireworks to celebrate.
Luckily, Spicy Snack Prince was not in Yun An County. If he was present, he would be petrified.
……
Cangcheng County.
Surrounded by all the Lords, Di Qing walked into the city with his chest held high.
"Commander, do you want to give chase?"
One of the generals excitedly ran in front of Di Qing and asked.
"No." Di Qing shook his head, firmly declining, "The enemy still has a hidden division that has yet to appear. If we, chase we might fall into a trap."
Although Di Qing felt excited, victory did not cloud his mind, and he remained calm.
"Commander is intelligent!"
Di Qing's judgement amazed the Lords. To say that he was exceedingly careful in using troops was not an exaggeration.
Occupying Cangcheng County, breaking the enemy formation, and breaking their spirit. At this point, he had reached his strategic goal. He did not want to do anything more and risk losing.
Now, the initiative of the war laid firmly in their hands.
Based on Di Qing’s style, they should fight calmly and not give the enemy any chance to turn the situation around.
In truth, there were no hidden troops outside of the city. Even under such circumstances, Baiqi did not make use of Luo Shixin's division.
After a few rounds of battle, Baiqi had a rough understanding of Di Qing's character. He was careful in using troops, and he would not blindly give chase.
In comparison, Baiqi was still a skill level higher. A god general was a god general. Apart from combat strength, a god general also had the ability to recognize the character of the enemy and subsequently exploiting it.
Baiqi had set up this hidden move within the city but not for the sake of a sneak attack. With the character of Baiqi, since they were going to fight, he wanted to maim the enemy. Small fights were not his style.
……
After taking down Cangcheng County, the remaining a hundred thousand troops all entered.
Night, Cangcheng County, Lord's Manor.
The Lord's Manor was once the command center of the Shanhai City Army and where Baiqi worked. Now, the owner of the manor changed hands to Di Qing.
After settling the troops, Di Qing once again held a meeting to discuss the war that would happen tomorrow.
After taking down Cangcheng County, the alliance army had two choices. Firstly, attack Yaogu County on the west, or secondly, attack Genglou County on the east.
On the surface, Yaogu County had two divisions and held the strength advantage. Hence, some general suggested to coordinate with the right route army to take down Genglou County before surrounding Yaogu County.
Di Qing did not see the matter in the same way.
"Tomorrow, we should focus all our strength and destroy Yaogu County. Their two divisions are the core of their strength. If they fall, they would only have one division left."
Di Qing's voice was still so calm and low, "On the contrary, if we attack Genglou County first, the troops in Yaogu County can create problems if they retreat or launch a counterattack. Genglou County is different. Since it only has one division, they cannot cause any huge waves."
"Commander is a genius!"
Di Qing nodded, ready to give out the military orders.
Suddenly, screams and shouts sounded out from outside the door.
"Commander, Commander it's bad."
"Who’s making noise outside; bring them up!"
When Di Qing heard these words, he felt furious. He could not stand when his men did not follow the rules.
The shouting soldier was dragged into the meeting hall.
"Speak, what has happened?"
"Commander it’s bad; there's a fire!"
The guard had totally freaked out; it was like his soul had left his body.
"What fire? Where?"
Di Qing was merciful; he was not too harsh on the soldier.
"The city, everywhere…."
Dang!
The teacup in Di Qing's hand instantly dropped onto the floor and smashed into pieces.
Asura Baiqi!
This turn of events had happened too quickly.
It had just turned dark, and the alliance army was having their meals in the barracks.
Since the enemy had just entered and the situation was still chaotic, the Shanhai City daredevil squad hidden all over the county took the chance to appear, and they lit up the timber they had prepared.
Instantly, flames rose up to the heavens.
The entire Cangcheng County turned into a sea of flames.
The fire mainly spread to the four city gates.
The houses in Cangcheng County were mainly composed of wood. The flames were like merciless death gods, as they turned the county into an ocean of fire.
Amongst the flames, numerous screams pierced the ear.
Under the protection of the generals, Di Qing struggled to escape from the city.
The alliance army soldiers and the people within the city were not as lucky as him.
The fire had spread too quickly, and it was all too sudden.
The flames blocked all the roads and exits, and there was no way out.
Apart from that, along with the fire, the rising black smoke was also akin to a death god. Numerous people suffocated to death within the billowing smoke.
"Baiqi, you mad man!"
Looking at the huge flaming county, Di Qing cried out.
To kill the alliance army, Baiqi had dragged along hundreds of thousands of civilians with them.
Killer!
Asura!
Utilizing such a cruel method to gain victory, Baiqi announced the return of the Asura.
Post battle calculations showed that less than twenty thousand alliance army troops had escaped. Including the civilians in the city, a total of 140 to 150 thousand people had died in one night.
The entire Cangcheng County had completely burned to dust.
Baiqi and his cold heart used a massive fire to turn the battle around.
After the battle ended, the after effects were serious to the extreme.
From that day onward, whenever Ouyang Shuo toured Zhaoqing Prefecture and got near Cangcheng County, he would take another route. He was afraid that the moment he appeared, the commoners would try to tear him to shreds.