493 A Hundred Thousand Soldiers, A Hundred Thousand Death Warriors! (1/2)
A hundred thousand soldiers, regardless of their wounds or injuries, whether they were resting or on duty, followed the singing in unison.
”Brothers we are at home, comrades we become in war…”
The song was led by Fu Baoguo while the others chorused sonorously – how could a choir of a hundred thousand people be any less resonant and majestic?
All of Yutang's militants could feel their blood boiling at that moment. The heavens and the earth were shaking, vibrating from the singing of Yutang's army!
Their singing echoed far into the clouds.
Their readiness to face death and their vehement spirit to fight to the last moment were absolutely resolute; their certainty was unshakeable and nothing could have diminished them.
Their loud, vocalized determination was even heard clearly by Dongxuan's base on the opposite side.
The ardent motivation that was carried out there stopped automatically. Plenty of Dongxuaan generals walked in silence to the highest point which overlooked the dark mountain on the other side and listened to the resounding singing that came from there. In spite of themselves, an instinctive sense of respect flowed from their eyes.
Zhan Ge was also listening from the far end in equal silence, his gaze complicated.
Only Han Sanhe was still in his tent, not observing what was happening in Yutang's base. He stood with arms placed behind his back as complex emotions swam across his sculpted face. After some time, he finally exited his tent with arms still on his back and walked towards the top of the mountain.
Zhan Ge had been standing there, overlooking Yutang's base. When he saw Han Sanhe coming, he turned to him immediately.
”Teacher, you…”
There was hesitation and respect in his tone, but more importantly, an underlying sense of contradiction that came from within him.
”Looks like you're aware of it too?” Han Sanhe asked faintly.
The singing from opposite was still echoing around their location, reverberating through the mountains around Dongxuan's base.
Zhan Ge swallowed with difficulty and said, ”Yes, I can feel that tomorrow's battle will be the most devastating one I'll encounter in my life and I'm… doubting whether we can actually win this war!”
A bitter smile hung on Han Sanhe's bony face as he said, ”Your feeling is right. Tomorrow's battle will be unexpectedly crushing but it is destined that Dongxuan will win except that it's a pyrrhic victory. We will win this war, but the cost will be great!
”Even throughout my entire military career, I've only met a massive army such as this only once before.” Han Sanhe spoke slowly, ”It's a hundred thousand of soldiers, one hundred thousand warriors of death! It's horrible!”
”Once before?” Zhan Ge asked.
”Years ago when we were against Shangguan Lingxiao, we set up an early ambush and planted agents. The siege was formed, trapping Shangguan Lingxiao in the Caterwaul Valley, seven hundred miles away from the Fortress of Resilience. Our side deployed one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, firmly besieging Shangguan's twenty thousand soldiers. This battle was similar to that one.”
Han Sanhe's voice carried a reminiscent tone.
”What was the result of that battle?” Zhan Ge asked respectfully.
”Our one hundred and fifty thousand men army was commanded personally by me. We were going against twenty thousand men and even had the upper hand by setting ambushes and traps; our archers were standing by too. Essentially, it was an impeccable coordination of timing, location, and people. The victory was given, there wasn't any reason for us to fail.” Han Sanhe exclaimed, ”And the result of the battle was indeed a total annihilation of Shangguan Lingxiao's twenty thousand militants! All wiped out!”
”When the battleground was cleaned up afterward, of Shangguan Lingxiao's twenty thousand men army, there weren't more than five hundred bodies that could be found intact,” Han Sanhe said grimly.
Zhan Ge suddenly felt goosebumps on his skin as his hair began to rise, and asked anxiously, ”What about ours?”
He was familiar with his teacher's habit. For his teacher to state all their advantages and even the final result, he was paving the way to describe their loss. Thus, their casualty must be a number far exceeding his expectation.
Han Sanhe answered faintly, ”Of our one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, only seventy-six thousand and three hundred people returned alive!”
Zhan Ge felt his heart jerk strongly; for an instant, he even felt a bit faint. Their army had gotten all the advantages like location, ambush, and planted agents, but they had still paid such a high price of one to four lives!