Chapter 848
Chapter 848
Count Austin could finally see everything clearly. The sight was nothing short of a true hell. His army was annihilated. All ten thousand of his soldiers were dead, with not a single lucky survivor. Had there ever been such a battle in this world? Ten thousand men, dead in an instant, leaving not even bones behind.
Just as the saying goes that a woman's heart is the most venomous, Zhang Chunhua had buried a massive amount of explosives beneath this mountain valley. And she had done so meticulously, leaving no blind spots. Had twenty thousand men, let alone ten thousand, been gathered in this area, they all would have died in the explosion. A crowd packed into a narrow mountain valley was the perfect target for explosives.
So much explosive had been buried, and the force of the blast was so immense, that even the three-thousand-meter wall, which had been unscathed by the Fire God Sect's trebuchet attack just moments before, was slightly damaged. Since the explosion occurred a fair distance from the wall, the shockwave itself couldn't directly damage the sturdy structure. However, the blast sent massive boulders weighing hundreds of pounds flying, smashing fiercely against the wall and creating large holes here and there. That woman, Zhang Chunhua, had even added more explosives twice, fearing the initial amount wouldn't be enough to kill the enemy. In the end, she had nearly demolished her own wall.
Count Austin looked at the priestess from the Fire God Sect. She was crawling to her feet, her face a mask of despair. She was even beginning to question her life.
*Isn't the Wrath of the Fire God supposed to be the Fire God Sect's secret weapon? How do those Easterners have it too? Theirs seems more than ten times stronger than ours. That weapon in Shen Lang's hands is what truly deserves to be called the Wrath of the Gods. How did it come to this?*
Count Austin was reminded of an Eastern phrase that meant 'to disrupt the harmony of heaven and earth'.
*The East should return to the East, and the West to the West. Shen Lang, why did you come to the West, to our family's lands, to slaughter my soldiers like this? My brave men could have died on the battlefield, fallen to an enemy's blade, but why did they have to die by such a mysterious power? This is hell. This place is hell. The way of war has changed.*
"Aaaargh!"
Count Austin let out a beast-like scream.
* * *
The hundred-thousand-strong army dispatched by Duke Dipas to attack Mulan City did not include the tens of thousands of naval ships. In addition, a fifty-thousand-strong army was to land on the Jade Tide Peninsula by sea, but the Bloody Baron's fleet was only responsible for transporting the troops and blockading the waters. This army of fifty thousand had its own commander: Count Duke, a vassal of the Russo Clan and also Duke Dipas's maternal uncle. He was a veteran general, already in his sixties. Just as Count Austin had expected, Count Duke had no intention of competing with him for the glory of destroying the city. Logically, his fifty-thousand-strong army, having come by sea, should have been faster and landed near Mulan City at least two or three days ago. But he had not done so, instead dawdling at sea. Even after reaching the vicinity of the Jade Tide Peninsula, he did not land, continuing to patrol from his ships.
Count Duke held the same rank as Count Austin, but he was older and more experienced. However, the situation had changed. The Russo Clan was not what it used to be. Once the Third Sauron Empire was officially established and Grand Emperor Solon ascended the throne, Austin would become the second duke of the Russo Clan. In the future, Duke Dipas's son would even take on the new surname Russo-Sauron and become an imperial prince. Therefore, Count Duke had to act passively in this war and absolutely could not try to steal Count Austin's chance to shine.
Besides, the glory of destroying Mulan City was trivial, merely a symbolic victory. It was, at best, a way to claim they had utterly annihilated the Easterners' foothold or eradicated the Witch Empire's attempt at a resurgence. Now, after several days of patrolling the sea, Count Duke's fifty thousand men were growing rather irritated.
"Has Austin's army still not arrived?"
Count Duke asked, and one of his subordinates replied.
"Not yet. But rest assured, several of our ships are sailing south alongside Count Austin's army. They will report immediately once his forces arrive there."
Count Duke simply frowned and said nothing.
* * *
Half a day later, Count Duke asked again.
"Has Count Austin's army still not arrived?"
He was a seasoned veteran, and according to his calculations, Austin's army should have already arrived.
"They still have not arrived."
Count Duke stood before a map, carefully studying the terrain of the area.
"We can wait no longer. The army will land immediately and await Count Austin's forces on shore."
Deferring to Count Austin was merely a political consideration; victory was still the most important thing.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The fleet headed toward a sandy beach on the Jade Tide Peninsula to prepare for a formal landing.
"No. Change the landing site."
Hearing Count Duke's words, a subordinate officer replied.
"Your Excellency, this beach is the most suitable for landing. The waves are too rough elsewhere, making a landing extremely disadvantageous."
"Which place is the most disadvantageous for a landing?"
Count Duke asked, and the officer replied.
"This area here. The waves are relatively fierce, and it's quite far from Mulan City. We would have to march for dozens of miles after landing."
"Then we land at the most difficult spot."
The officer could not understand the command. Why would they do that?
"The most difficult place to land is also the place least likely to have an ambush."
The officer was startled by the unexpected words.
*Those Easterners only have two thousand soldiers in total. Could they really have set an ambush? Isn't that ridiculous?*
But Count Duke was the supreme commander of this army, so no one could defy his orders. Two hours later, Count Duke's fifty-thousand-strong army attempted to land on the roughest beach on the southern side of the Jade Tide Peninsula. A dozen small boats were destroyed, and hundreds of casualties were incurred. His subordinate officer didn't say it out loud, but inwardly he was blaming the Count quite a bit. However, they did not know that Count Duke's decision had saved many more soldiers. Lan Feng, the leader of the Eastern Knights, had buried a considerable amount of explosives at the other two landing sites. Had Count Duke's army landed there, they would have suffered immense casualties. So why hadn't they mined every spot? That would have required too much explosive powder. In Mulan City, explosives were extremely precious. Count Duke's innate caution had prevented massive casualties in his army, but since no one knew, the wisdom of his decision would also go unrecognized.
* * *
As soon as Count Duke's fifty-thousand-strong army landed, he sent out a large number of scouts to explore the southern end of the Jade Tide Peninsula. His main force then established a defensive line and barracks in a location that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. He also ordered the fleet at sea to be ready to act in concert at a moment's notice. Everyone sneered at his actions. Wasn't Count Duke being overly cautious? Such actions would be reasonable if they were facing an army of a hundred thousand, but they were up against a mere two thousand foreign soldiers and a small, shabby city that was an eyesore.
But even if the orders were incomprehensible, everyone had to follow them; they dared not disobey. Count Duke was cautious and prudent in deploying his troops, but that certainly did not mean he was soft-hearted. If anyone dared to defy his orders, Count Duke would not hesitate for a moment to take their head.
Count Duke didn't stop there. He ordered his army to build their own barracks and then to build barracks for tens of thousands more. In other words, he was preparing for Count Austin's army so they could immediately settle in upon arrival. The subordinate officers grew even more discontent.
*Your Excellency, you may be a long-standing vassal of the Russo Clan, but are you not a man of high virtue and prestige? Must you go this far to curry favor with Count Austin Russo? He's only thirty-nine years old, young enough to be your son.*
* * *
The mountain valley pass north of Mulan City.
Count Austin stood up again and gazed into the valley where the explosion had occurred. The ground, spanning hundreds of meters in every direction, was pockmarked with so many large craters that it was now impassable. He returned to his main force. The ten thousand men who had been conducting the siege were all dead, but forty thousand still remained.
"The army will retreat two thousand meters."
Following his command, the forty-thousand-strong army retreated and set up camp. Count Austin then formally convened a meeting.
"That area in the valley is impassable due to the numerous craters from the explosion. To continue our attack on the wall, we must first level those craters. Therefore, I believe we must have the Bloody Baron's fleet sail north to transport our army, bypass this wall, and land directly to the south. Both sides of the enemy wall are steep mountain peaks, disadvantageous for a large army to pass, but a small force could circle around the peaks to get behind the enemy wall."
Count Austin remained silent, letting his subordinates discuss. After the officers had debated for a long time and exhausted nearly every option, they looked to Count Austin.
"Now I will give my orders. These are not to be questioned. First, we will absolutely not call the fleet north to transport us south. We must capture this three-thousand-meter Easterner wall on our own. Otherwise, this battle will become our nightmare. It would be a tragedy if such a small wall were to become our nightmare and strike fear into our hearts."
"Second, ten thousand of my men have died a gruesome death. As their commander, I have a responsibility to avenge them. Of course, there is no talk of favor or enmity on the battlefield, but what happened today was not a battle; it was a slaughter. If I do not massacre every person in that fortress, the souls of those ten thousand warriors will circle in my mind and never find rest."
"Third, while the enemy may have buried their dreadful Wrath of the Gods in that area, it has already been detonated. It is unlikely they have buried a second set. Tonight, dispatch a large force to fill in those craters. The work must be completed before dawn. Fourth, at daybreak, send two thousand men to advance along the cliffs on both sides, circle around to the rear of the enemy wall, and at the decisive moment, we will attack from both front and back."
As the orders were given, the subordinate officers were inwardly puzzled.
*Is all this necessary? The enemy only has five hundred men.*