Chapter 575 (1/2)
Chapter 575: 575
Was this the indication of a huge counterattack?!
Watching team after team of his own soldiers rus.h.i.+ng to the mountain pa.s.s, followed by them dying without even one remaining… Xiao FengYang sat on top of his horse, his eyebrows twitching repeatedly and his eyes lifeless .
Behind him, the flag bearer had his mouth wide open to the point it could drop off, and his expression was so pale he looked like a dead man .
In his thirty years of commanding, Xiao FengYang had seen many intense wars and battles, yet he had never seen such a hair raising-sight like now! In his thirty years of command, he had never received such huge losses as well! This was furthermore the first time he had sacrificed so much, and still not achieved a victory!
”This will go down in history as the most miserable and desperate battle!” Beside Xiao FengYang, an old man clad in gold battle armor solemnly stared at this sight, before saying in a heavy tone, ”In my entire wartime experience, never have I seen such a miserable battle like today!”
”Sound the drums to retreat!” Xiao FengYang was shaken awake by his words . While the mountain pa.s.s had been broken through, allowing his troops to advance, the mountain pa.s.s was also completely destroyed before they could use it . By retreating, he could still reduce his losses by a bit . He could utilize his elite troops to be the vanguard in conquering it! Unless the Ling Family was willing to hold a decisive battle here with his troops, there was no other meaning for them to continue to hold the fort .
”Commander, the optimal time has already been lost!” The golden armored general regretfully shook his head . ”We can only send down the command, telling those who have yet to engage to retreat . As for those that had been sent out, we cannot pull them back anymore . None of them are able to listen to orders anymore!”
”Their mental states have already been scrambled by the ma.s.sacre . As a result, the gong of retreat is as good as the signal to charge further . ” The general sighed . ”This is also the reason why a crazed battlefield will never produce any cowards . Once the war gets heated up to such a state, even if I were to throw the world's number one coward inside, he would also become iron blooded warrior ready to sacrifice himself at any point! A pity that this war has already taken the lives of 20,000 of our hot-blooded sons of the Xiao Family!”
”No!!” Xiao FengYang screamed with reddened eyes and heavy breathing, ”Retreat! Sound the retreat!! Get everyone back!!!”
A startling drumbeat reverberated through the battlefield, but the Xiao Family troops facing the Ling soldiers did not even bat an eyelid in response . All of them actually did not even acknowledge the sound at all!
Their senses were already fully focused inside this frantic slaughter-fest! Other than annihilating the opposite party, no other thoughts existed inside their heads anymore!
More and more reinforcements from the Ling Family came out, and one by one, red flags started to be hoisted up amid the sea of corpses!
From afar, the thunderous sound of hoofbeats ceaselessly sounded . The faint blood-red flags fluttered like an azure dragon soaring in the sky . That was the sound of the Ling Family's reinforcements!
Xiao FengYang let out a drawn-out sigh . Now that he knew the overall outcome of the situation, he closed both his eyes tightly as two streams of tears suddenly flowed out, ”A whole 45,000 troops! 45,000 troops!!! Just because of this old man's carelessness, countless people are laid to rest in this spot . This old man deserves death! Why did I even place the Southeast sector in my eyes? How am I going to face the cries and wails of those widows and mothers!”
”Second Master doesn't need to worry . Since time immemorial, what war did not have sacrifices? To be gentle and not bring troops to war means that one will never be able to wield wealth . We're still waiting for Second Master to take charge of the general situation!” The old man consoled .
A thick scent of blood wafted through the skies in the battlefield, pervading ten miles around the area!
This bitter and desperate killing had finally drawn its curtains and come to the end!
Outside Sobbing Ghost Mountain, corpses were disorderly strewn about lying on the ground . There were no injured men during this battle, only dead or alive! Normally on a battlefield, the aftermath would be filled with groans and screams of misery, yet this area was devoid of sound!
As for the corpses lying on the ground, none of them were whole! Under such circ.u.mstances, it would be an impossibility to have someone who could walk out alive . Only the heads of the soldiers remained staring at the sky, their eyes still wide open in killing intent and anger, staring at the heavens themselves .
As for where the entrance of the mountain pa.s.s was supposed to be, all the bodies had already been mashed into chunks of flesh and blood paste . Enemies and comrades could not be told apart . The brave warriors from both sides who had staked their lives just a few moments ago were now intertwined with each other, without any way to distinguish between them whatsoever!
Wasn't this ironic?
This was war . The bloodiest, most desperate war!
Fresh blood flowed unceasingly, pooling together . They slowly merged to form a river of blood, and under the rays of sunlight, they painted the entire mountain pa.s.s a scarlet red, overriding all other colors present!
Silence reigned between heaven and earth!
The gloomy and suppressive killing atmosphere hung like overcast clouds over the entire area, and even the screaming autumn wind seemed to have quietened down all of a sudden . It was as though they were paying a moment of tribute to the fallen brave souls!
In front of the Xiao Family's army formation, Xiao FengYang stood there with a numb expression on his face, as though he was a crafted sculpture .
Countless commands were suddenly shouted out, and the thunderous sounds of hoofbeats sounded . Out from the mountain pa.s.s came countless blood-red battle flags, and valiant soldiers walked out line after line from the mountain pa.s.s .
The reinforcements stepped across all the corpses strewn on the ground, appearing in front of Xiao FengYang for a direct confrontation!
Since the strategic value of the mountain pa.s.s was no longer reliable, then they might as well face him head-on . Besides, they could attack and retreat anytime they deemed fit . On this point, the Ling Family's general made the best choice .
While the Ling Family indeed possessed a troop count of more than ten thousand lower than Xiao FengYang, they were technically warring within their own area, and so long as they kept defending at this particular location, there would be an unceasing number of troops reinforcing them . As for the Xiao Family, they had pushed deep within enemy territory to attack . While their troops might be the elite soldiers, their numbers would only dwindle over time . Without the power to obtain a decisive victory, the morale of the troops would be sure to drop!
”This battle was unbelievably desperate and cruel . The corpses on the ground, be it allies or enemies were all brave warriors! They are not to be defiled!” The general of the army hollered out from his horseback . ”The various soldiers, do your fastest to separate the bodies of our allies from our enemies and bring the remains of our Ling Family warriors back into the pa.s.s . For the Xiao Family's soldiers, send them to the opposing forces . When two forces battle, each has their respective masters, and if there are any injuries or death, they are not to hold them against each other! However, the brave warrior's remains must be put to rest!”
”Yes!” The soldiers behind responded in one voice, followed by hundreds of them jumping down from their horses and beginning to get busy .
At this time, Xiao FengYang also slowly began to regain his calmness . He gazed with rapt attention in the distance, and recognized someone, causing his body to have a single tremble . He clenched his teeth for a while, the expression on his face ever-changing, before suddenly nudging his horse towards the center area between the two armies . He spoke in a low gravelly tone, ”Lord Yu, it has been a long time . I never thought that Sky Bearing would actually employ you, the War Minister himself, against me . I am really flattered!”