Lei Zhou, Tan Mu County.
The originally unremarkable city had become the focal point of the entire Thunder State battlefield.
It was as if the small, bustling city had withered overnight because of the war. It was ruined and lifeless. The most prosperous business street had been reduced to ruins.
The clean bluestone road was full of holes and puddles of blood. The gutters on both sides were filled with corpses. Their faces were covered and no one had buried them.
The richly ornamented shop had been burnt to a crisp by the fire. Its walls were in ruins, still giving off wisps of green smoke.
Everything was telling of the cruelty of war.
Under the orange sunset, Cao Yao stood on the city wall and frowned.
One day and one night. They had attacked for one day and one night.
The Shanhai City's Southern Road Army that was trapped on the street still stood their ground as firm as a rock.
Cao Yao had tried all sorts of tactics, including fire attacks, ambushes, night raids, and cutting off the water supply. It was useless. The enemies hiding behind the simple fortifications were like immortals.
No matter what, they would not budge.
The northern part of Lei Zhou had formed an alliance. The danger in the north had been alleviated, but it also meant that his master, Smoke Demon, was unable to rope in enough allies.
The northern and southern parts of Lei Zhou had been separated and fought on their own.
In the face of survival, no one could be noble.
Smoke Demon begged the northern alliance to send reinforcements to Tan Mu County and destroy one of the armies. The reply he received was, "Then just send the southern army to Qiantang County."
Smoke Demon didn't know what to say.
Not everyone had the same breadth of mind and strategic vision as him. Before they reached a dead end, most people would only look at the benefits in front of them and not bet everything on one throw.
In an entire day, only two territories joined the alliance and sent over ten thousand soldiers.
Smoke Demon sent a message that there wouldn't be any reinforcements. Let's fight!
Cao Yao didn't dare to wait any longer and started to attack the enemy. He knew that the cavalry of Shanhai City was rushing over to Tan Mu County.
The tenacity of the southern army had exceeded his expectations.
Cao Yao couldn't imagine how a female general could tame a group of hot-blooded men. The balance of the war had started to tilt in the direction of the alliance.
"Men!"
"Here!"
"Order: Retreat. The army will spend the night recuperating and building up their strength. We will launch the general attack tomorrow. "
Cao Yu was like a gambler who had lost so much that he decided to stake everything on one throw.
"Yes, sir!"
Accompanied by hurried clanging sounds, the allied troops retreated like the tide.
"Hu!"
Fan Lihua let out a sigh of relief.
"General, judging from the enemy's formation, I don't think they will launch another night attack tonight." The one who spoke was Liao Kai, commander of the First Division's Second Brigade, a veteran general of Shanhai City.
Fan Lihua nodded and said, "Even so, we can't let down our guard."
"Understood!"
"Call Zhao Yan over, it's time for him to go up!"
"General?"
Liao Kai was shocked, and a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes.
"General Luo has sent a letter saying that reinforcements will arrive before noon tomorrow."
The Military Intelligence Division made use of the hummingbirds to establish a communication network and performed a miraculous feat, sending over crucial intelligence early on.
"Great!"
Liao Kai was extremely excited. The bitter days of the First Division were finally coming to an end.
"Go!"
Fan Lihua waved her hand.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Yan was also a veteran general of Shanhai City, serving as the commander of the First Brigade of the First Division. His subordinates were all saber and shield soldiers, and they were the absolute main force on the battlefield during the day.
The First Brigade of the Tiger Army's First Division was able to hold on until now due to the contributions of the soldiers of the First Brigade.
Compared to Liao Kai's quick-wittedness, Zhao Yan was purely a fierce general.
When he rushed over, his armor and helmet were all covered in blood, and even the Tang saber in his hand was still dripping with blood.
Those who did not know would think that he was an evil spirit that crawled out of hell.
The soldiers around him did not have a trace of fear, but instead looked at him with awe and worship.
Ordinary soldiers admired such valiant generals the most.
"General!"
Zhao Yan grinned and saluted.
Fan Lihua nodded, unmoved by Zhao Yan's attire. Although she was a woman, she was not inferior to men, and she had also been through mountains of knives and seas of fire.
This kind of posture could not shake Fan Lihua's mind at all.
It had to be said that just this kind of willpower was enough to suppress the men of the First Division. Even Zhao Yan did not dare to be presumptuous in front of Fan Lihua.
"Go and reorganize, choose five hundred elites, and act according to the plan at night, no mistakes."
Zhao Yan's eyes lit up, and he said loudly, "Understood, I promise to complete the mission!"
"Remember, this trip concerns the success or failure of the entire war, no mistakes can be made."
Fan Lihua solemnly reminded him again.
"General, rest assured, if there is any mistake, Zhao Yan will bring his head to see me."
Fan Lihua nodded, waved her hand and said, "Go and prepare!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Yan bowed once more and strode away with his head held high.
That night, under the cover of the night, Zhao Yan led the five hundred most elite soldiers of the First Brigade out of the back door of the shop, and disappeared into the night.
Because the allied army had received the order to reorganize, they did not notice any of this.
June 5th, morning.
The battle of Thunder State was about to usher in the most crucial day.
Early in the morning, the allied army gathered again.
The fifty thousand strong army pressed forward, launching continuous attacks on the enemy's position.
The commander of the allied army, General Cao Yao, had given a death order before the battle: this attack could only succeed, not fail.
All the soldiers would either die on the battlefield, or step on the enemy's corpses to advance, there was no third choice. Anyone who dared to retreat would be executed.
Because of this, Cao Yao specially formed a supervision team to follow behind the army. Anyone who dared to retreat would be executed without any reason, regardless of military rank.
The bloody military order made the hearts of the allied soldiers tremble.
This time, they really had to cut off all means of retreat, if they didn't succeed, they would die.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
Shouts rose and fell one after another, gathering together and shaking Tan Mu County. The shocking killing intent was like a red cloud that shrouded the sky above Tan Mu County, not dissipating for a long time.
In a place that couldn't be seen, Luo Shixin was leading the Dragon Xiang Army's Second Division.
Suddenly, out of his general's intuition, Luo Shixin raised his head and looked in the direction of Tan Mu County, his heart throbbing. He could faintly feel a cold killing intent shrouding the city.
This was definitely not a good thing!
Luo Shixin patted his warhorse and shouted, "Everyone, speed up!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Cao Yao walked up the city wall again. This time, he didn't walk to the commander's seat, but to the war drums, took down the drumsticks, and personally played the drums to cheer for the soldiers.
The rumbling of the war drums reverberated in the city, causing waves of echoes.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
Stepping on the drums, the fifty thousand allied soldiers attacked from both ends of the street. Numerous archers appeared on the roofs on both sides, aiming at the Southern Army's position.
The battle of life and death had officially begun!
At the Southern Army's position.
Fan Lihua was still as valiant as before, her tall and straight figure was the greatest comfort to the soldiers.
"General, they're attacking!" Liao Kai walked over.
Fan Lihua was expressionless, this Brigade Commander always liked to say meaningless things. She didn't turn around and said indifferently, "Is everything ready on Zhao Yan's side?"
"At three o 'clock in the morning, Hummingbird sent back news that everything is ready!"
"Good." Fan Lihua breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Tell the soldiers below to hold on until noon."
"Yes, Sir!"
For the First Division of the Tiger Troop, this was the most difficult battle.
Because they were alone, the First Division's supplies could not keep up. The soldiers had no food, so they could only make pots of porridge with the rice they found at the last minute.
Even the water used to make the porridge was dirty water scooped up from the sewers.
The soldiers had no medicine. Because there were too many wounded, the medicine brought by the military doctors had been used up. Now, there wasn't even a clean piece of gauze to be found.
Even so, the soldiers of the First Division were still full of fighting spirit.
Because their general ate the same porridge and drank the same dirty water as them.
Following such a general, the soldiers were unafraid of death.
Under the pressure of the allied forces, the First Division retreated step by step.
For this, the allied forces also paid a heavy price. With every step forward, there were hundreds of casualties. It was unimaginable that in a positional battle, the ratio of casualties on both sides was actually close to one to five.
Thinking of the enemy's weak logistical supplies, as an opponent, Cao Yu couldn't help but feel deep respect.
This was a group of hot-blooded men worthy of respect, a true elite division.
Although there were heavy casualties, Cao Yu's expression became more and more relaxed. The balance of the war tilted in favor of the allied forces again. As long as they could annihilate the enemy, any price was worth it.
Cao Yu played the war drums and continued to cheer for the entire army. The rumbling of the war drums was the loudest bugle call.
As the battle progressed, the situation became more and more desperate. Both sides engaged in close combat, eyes bloodshot.
At eleven o 'clock in the morning, the rumbling of horse hooves suddenly sounded outside Tan Mu County.
On top of the city wall, Cao Yu's heart trembled.
Not good, how did the enemy's reinforcements arrive so quickly? According to normal calculations, it would be at least five or six o 'clock in the afternoon before the reinforcements arrived.
Time was tight, and Cao Yu didn't have much time to think.
Fortunately, he was an experienced general.
Cao Yu knew that when you predicted the most disadvantageous situation, it was often the most likely to happen. How bad you predicted the situation would be, it would definitely be this bad.
Therefore, Cao Yu had already arranged for a garrison of over two thousand soldiers near the city gates.
With such a large army guarding, the reinforcements from the cavalry would definitely not be able to break through the city gates in a short time and enter the city to reinforce the southern army that was already in a desperate situation.
As long as they took down the southern army before the reinforcements broke through, the situation would still be under Cao Yu's control.
Cao Yu had this confidence! (To be continued.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
