Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 948 – Dog Bites Dog
The defeat of the Alliance Army troops in the northern outskirts was only the start.
The fleeing Alliance Army was like birds that heard the sound of a bullet. They subconsciously escaped toward the east and west, which messed up the Alliance Army formations on both sides.
A general grabbed onto a fleeing soldier and asked, “What happened in the north?” The Alliance Army soldiers on the east and west did not know what was happening.
“Enemy, enemy troops are here!”
The General asked, “Where from, how many? From the city or from where?”
The string of question stunned the little soldier, and he stammered, “I, I do not know. Behind me, people behind me ran, so I followed….”
The general shook his head and released his grip and allowed that soldier to escape.
On the chaotic battlefield, you definitely could not get accurate information from one lowly soldier.
“Send a few men to see what’s happening.” The general ordered.
“Yes!”
Very quickly, a few cavalry went against the crowd and headed toward the north.
Before the scouts could even get any news, the crowd swarmed toward them, and any force in front of them that were in their way was brushed aside.
Many people were stepped on and killed.
The entire battlefield was like a living hell, and everywhere was chaotic and filled with helpless people.
Er’Lai saw the chance to decisively split the legion into two and chase toward both directions. He did not expect the Alliance Army to look so good but actually be so useless. It broke apart so easily.
Speaking of which, it was not too much of a surprise.
The Alliance Army was made of three big pieces. Apart from the Dali guards troops, which were strong, the rest were randomly put together. Yun City’s 50 thousand were pieced together after the territories merged.
The 100 thousand players of Xiao Alliance were useless, as they did not have any war experience.
In truth, the ones that ran away the fastest were the players.
These players did not have strong military disciple, and staying alive was their priority. Although they were promised huge compensation fees if they died, no one was willing to start over.
The 100 thousand players instantly became the greatest uncertain factor of the Alliance Army.
These three troops were totally different and behaved differently too.
Such an Alliance Army faced resistance in their siege and a drop in morale. Suddenly, they found a trump card like the Guards Legion Corps charging at them. Obviously, they would be crushed.
Wang Meng was probably really blind when he praised this army for being well trained. Such an army looked good when things were going well. However, the moment the situation changed, their true selves were revealed.
In comparison, they were even weaker than the Swordsman City Army.
The Guards Legion Corps 4th legion led by Er’Lai was a pack of wolves chasing little sheep. They did whatever they wished amongst the Alliance Army troops. Using the chance, they engaged in slaughter. Death spread out amongst the army and deepened the fear of the Alliance Army.
Since the siege started, around 150 thousand troops of the Alliance Army remained, and they had twice the number of troops compared to the Guards Legion Corps. For the Guards Legion Corps to handle such an army, they needed to take the initiative to attack, break out of their formation, and set fear in their hearts to destroy their morale.
As they say, three days makes a huge difference to a soldier.
Three years has passed since Er’Lai appeared in the wilderness, and with the development of Ouyang Shuo, he did not purely reply on brute force like before.
Three years of training had taught him a lot about the art of war, and he was now a totally changed person.
Hence Er’Lai’s usage of troops was well panned. The 4th legion was an infantry and cavalry mix. The cavalry opened the way in the front to tear apart the enemy, while the infantry provided cover to expand their victory.
Both soldier types worked flawlessly with one another like an arm and its fingers.
From a logical point of view, this Guards Legion was made up from members from the three other legion corps, so why were they so efficient and well-coordinated?
This was due to the training system set by Training Division Secretary Gao Shun.
Be it the Guards Legion Corps, Dragon Legion Corps, Tiger Legion Corps, or Leopard Legion Corps, they all used the same Great Xia warfighting training manual, so this system was ingrained into their blood.
It was even more so for the war elite soldiers.
With this to rely on along with suitable commanders, how could it not be efficient?
A miraculous scene appeared in the wilderness.
70 thousand Guards Legion Corps troops chased 150 thousand Alliance Army soldiers.
…
On the south outskirts, Wang Meng looked out at the chaotic scene below, and his face slowly turned black.
If Wang Meng could have lasted for a few more years in history and lasted till the Battle of Fei River, maybe he would understand. The fall of the Alliance Army in front of him was really similar to the defeat of the former Qin army.
Soldiers that were not proper soldiers; generals that were not proper generals.
Soldiers could not find their generals, and generals could not gather up their soldiers
Once the entire battlefield was in chaos, they had no more ability to siege.
After the east and west alliance armies were sent into chaos, they fled toward the south. Thanks to this chain reaction, the entire Alliance Army was in a mess.
There was no peaceful place in any direction.
A sudden collapse was in front of their eyes.
“Let’s flee!” someone could not help but say.
Who knew that these words would totally infuriate Wang Meng? He turned around and shouted, “Who? Who wants to retreat? Step out!” Those eyes were enough to swallow someone.
“Me.”
Xiao Nianying did not show a single shred of fear nor did he feel any guilt. Since the Alliance Army was destined to lose, he did not want Wang Meng to drag Xiao Alliance down to hell with him.
“Fat hope!”
Wang Meng was feeling depressed as he realized that he could not control Xiao Nianying.
Before coming, he had sworn a military oath. If he did not take down Yongren City and capture Baiqi, he would kill himself. Hence, there was no way out of this battle for him.
It was either he captured Baiqi or he died.
Before this, when Wang Meng led the envoy to Great Sui and failed, his position in Handan City became really awkward. Now, he was given another huge task by his Lord, so how could he fail once more?
“Scoff, if you are not going to, we will!”
Seeing that a loss was ascertained, Xiao Nianying did not want everyone to die together.
In such a short while, tens of thousands of Xiao Alliance elites had died, reaching the maximum that the guild could take. Anymore and the entire guild would be destroyed.
Wang Meng hollered, “You dare! I am the commander. I can take down whoever decides to not follow ordered.” As he said it, some Personal Guards had already surrounded Xiao Nianying.
In Xiao Nianying’s eyes, Wang Meng was just an NPC, and the arrogance in his bones made him feel that he was better than Wang Meng. Obviously, he would not accept such humiliation.
This totally infuriated Xiao Nianying despite his good temper, and his expression became really cold. With a ‘Shua!’ he pulled out his sword. “I’ve given you face!”
“Wang Meng, you are just Di Chen’s dog. I gave him face to let you be the general, and you really think you are important? Do you believe I’ll kill you with one sword?”
“You!” Wang Meng was filled with fury and embarrassment.
At this current stage, Wang Meng no longer had the face to see his Lord anymore.
The only way out for him was death.
“Take him down!” Wang Meng said coldly.
The entire tent was guarded by many Personal Guards. Receiving the order, they wanted to proceed forward to take Xiao Nianying down.
Xiao Nianying laughed coldly, “Wang Meng, think carefully. I’m a player. I cannot die, and I have a special treasure. If you capture me, I’ll ensure that you will die a terrible death.”
With the substitute doll, there was nothing for Xiao Nianying to fear.
Facing Xiao Nianying’s death threat, Wang Meng was unfazed and said coldly, “I’ve left death aside. You cannot threaten me. Men, tie him up and lock him in the tent for questioning.”
“Yes!”
The Personal Guards did not hesitate and swarmed forward.
Xiao Nianying panicked, and he hesitated about whether he should fight back or not.
Although Xiao Nianying was not afraid of dying, he was unwilling to lose a substitute doll. That was a treasure that had no supply, and he had spent 300 thousand gold on it.
“Just you wait!”
Xiao Nianying chose to give in, leaving behind a vicious statement like an aristocratic family son would.
‘A wise man submits to their circumstances.’ That was their motto.
Wang Meng did not speak, but his eyes sweep across little Mutuo and the guards commander.
Compared to Xiao Nianying, Wang Meng, who was the most important official under Fu Jian, was a clever old fox with a lot of experience.
It was just too easy for him to take care of Xiao Nianying.
He took Xiao Nianying down so decisively to prevent the players of Xiao Alliance from leaving early. At the same time, this acted as a warning to Little Mutuo and the others.
If all of them changed their minds, and they all wanted to retreat, this war was definitely over. The Alliance Army was only temporarily in a mess, and they could still fight.
As expected, the moment he laid out his threat, the two of them held it in and did not say anything.
With that, the internal conflict was settled.
However, the battle still was not looking good. Wang Meng calmed down and started to reposition the troops. His first order was for them to stop attacking the city and concentrate on the mess.
The moment the order was given, the sieging troops that did not know what was happening fell back one after the other.
In a short while, the vast wilderness was filled up with people. Due to the siege being a rushed matter, a large half of them were not thrown onto the frontlines, so it was not that chaotic.
Even if they retreated from the city walls, their entire organization was still perfect.
This gave Wang Meng confidence.
Following which, he made the south outskirts Alliance Army form up to get ready to block the first wave of attacks from the enemy. At the same time, he sent men to calm down the soldiers who were defeated to gather them together.
The 10 thousand reserves in the south were used as enforcers. Anyone who dared to flee or spread rumors was punished.
This reorganization managed to finally calm down the panicky Alliance Army.
However, Wang Meng had underestimated Er’Lai, Baiqi, and all the more Great Xia.