492 First Battle (1/2)

Just as Left General Dugu Xian had expected, the number of fierce bombs was too small to pose a lethal threat to the enemy; besides, once it left the water, its burning range and duration diminished a great deal.

Even so, their new weapon played a large role in the battle. The first wave of the Golden Roc Army suffered heavy casualties and struggled in the patches of fire. The tragic cries were more terrifying than the death itself.

For a time, everyone felt that the Dragon army was going to win.

They forgot, or neglected, that there were countless soldiers in the hands of Shangguan Jianyi, and the second wave of soldiers came quickly. Besides weapons, every soldier was carrying a bag of mud.

The fierce bomb was resistant to water, but mud was its natural enemy.

When they covered the ground with mud, the third wave of the Golden Roc Army launched their attack. They were the real main force.

The Dragon Army morale was high after its first victory. Most of the soldiers had joined the army only five months ago and had only received the most basic training; they had never held a real saber or spear before. To protect their homeland and families, they rushed onto the battlefield with great passion.

The battle was extremely fierce. Soon, the two sides slid into a melee. The reserve soldiers joined the fight, stepping over corpses only to add more to the battlefield.

From the scene, it was difficult to predict the victor; but Dugu Xian knew that the Dragon Army was unsustainable and had few remaining men to send to the battlefield, while the Golden Roc Army kept sending a steady stream of reinforcements. If this situation continued, the Dragon Army would be defeated indeed.

So without permission from Dragon King, Dugu Xian ordered the troops to retreat.

Left General was the commander of the troops, so Dragon King could not openly intervene during the war.

Gu Shenwei wanted to join the battle several times, but he resisted his impulse. ”One man could not change the situation on the battlefield. Even if I killed hundreds of enemies, it would make no difference. Besides, the situation is changeable. Perhaps before I rode to the field, the situation there may reverse.”

The retreat was difficult and risky. During the withdrawal, the troops were prone to lose heart. Moreover, they may completely lose composure if they were pursued by the enemy.

That was why Dugu Xian reserved some of the most powerful, strongest soldiers. When the frontline soldiers managed to retreat to the encampment, those soldiers formed a defensive line to fend off the enemy soldiers.

Shangguan Jianyi seemed eager to fight this decisive battle. When the Dragon Army retreated, he immediately sent more men to launch a more fierce attack; their horses even trampled the corpses of the Golden Roc Army soldiers.

It was at that point that Gu Shenwei joined the battle. He personally led a thousand of his guard troops to join the defensive line. Like a screen, they allowed their soldiers to pass while killing the enemy soldiers in pursuit.

The retreat process was nearly as fierce as the previous battle. In this situation, only the toughest and most disciplined soldiers could keep calm and strictly follow the order. They stepped back at the same pace to give the enemy no chance to destroy their defensive line. Even Dragon King with high martial skills could not take action on his own, let alone leaving the defensive line to chase after the enemy.

Golden Roc Army did not give up pursuit until the first wave of the Dragon Army managed to retreat to their heavily guarded encampment.

The news of Golden Roc Army's victory reached the northern shore; naturally, Shangguan Jianyi did not stop the news from spreading. But when he was alone with his trusted follower, he commented, ”Dugu Xian is a competent general. It's a pity that he does not work for us.”

However, no one thought highly of Left General in the Dragon Army encampment.

In this battle, over two thousand soldiers of the Dragon Army were killed or injured. Approximately one-third of them had been killed during the retreat. Therefore, many people in the Dragon Army believed that withdrawing troops at that time was not just a mistake, but a disaster.

It was rumored that the withdrawal was Dugu Xian's idea and Dragon King had not agreed on it. After hearing this, the other generals of the Dragon Army became more dissatisfied with the commander-in-chief.

At critical moments, Gu Shenwei openly gave his full support to Left General, and he even refused to meet those generals who had come to complain about the withdrawal.

The situation on the battlefield was complicated. Dugu Xian thought he had prevented an even bigger loss, but he could not provide much clear evidence; therefore, he decided not to say a word about it.

He waited for the final victory. Countless generals in ancient and modern times fell under the criticism of civil servants for the same reason. They could not wait until the day of victory to wash away the previous humiliation. Dugu Xian felt very lucky to meet the Dragon King alone.

The following morning, the Dragon Army abandoned their first defensive line, and then slowly retreated to their second one. This time, Shangguan Jianyi did not send soldiers to chase after them closely-- he just dispatched men to follow the Dragon Army at a distance.

Dugu Xian was still in charge of military affairs, while Gu Shenwei was busy solving other issues. His most pressing task was to find out the traitors around him.

When the King of the Hui nation had been the Prince, he once overheard Shangguan Yun's conversation with his mother.

The Queen of the Hui nation had feared Dragon King very much and was unwilling to take risks. Shangguan Yun comforted her by saying, ”Dragon King is only a commoner. Now that he has betrayed Golden Roc Fort, naturally, people around him will betray him. No matter how powerful he is, he must have a weakness. As long as we find it, we can easily defeat him.”

The Queen asked for details, but Shangguan Yun did not reveal more-- he only shared some words of wisdom, ”Only from loyalty can you find betrayal. The sharpest weapon is not saber or sword, but—” Shangguan Yun pointed at his head. Then, he discovered the Prince and pushed him out of the room smilingly.