Chapter 145.1
Three days later, the first batch of troops from Great Yan arrived.
This batch of troops was not large, only 200,000, but they were all battle-hardened veterans with considerable strength.
Although Great Xia had 400,000 troops, they were all new recruits, and they paled in comparison to the veterans.
However, for Cao Cao, this situation was quite suitable for training his troops.
Thus, the generals in charge of the military academy, along with 400,000 new recruits, faced the enemy.
Since the main force of Great Yan had not yet arrived, the 200,000 vanguard troops of Great Yan did not commit all their strength, focusing on defense as the main strategy and using offense as a supplement.
For a time, the battle between the two armies was evenly matched, serving as excellent training for the soldiers of Great Xia.
Two days later, the second wave of Great Yans troops arrived.
This group consisted of 400,000 soldiers, which, combined with the 200,000 vanguard troops, totaled 600,000, creating an overwhelming force against Great Xia.
Consequently, the war escalated, and the fighting became more fierce, with Great Xia suffering increased casualties.
Cao Cao, observing the situation, quickly analyzed it and then issued an order: Fight while retreating. Accelerate the withdrawal! We must retreat to the Hengduan Mountain Range within three days!
Yes, Lord Cao!
The Great Xia troops accelerated their retreat.
They transported the goods plundered from Great Yan back to Great Xia, cart after cart.
Among the escort teams for the supplies were General Tiangong, General Digong, and General Rengong.
General Rengong, watching the convoy swiftly entering the passage of the Hengduan Mountain Range, spoke with some reluctance, Why retreat? In fact, we still have a great chance of victory! If the three of us brothers stand out, beat the war drums, and cast our arts, we can guarantee that the enemys army will surrender on the spot, leaving Great Yan utterly defeated!
Indeed, we have a trump card that could make them beg for mercy once its deployed, but the vice dean wont allow us to use it. Its such a waste of their potential! General Digong also felt extremely frustrated.
Second brother and third brother, stop talking!
General Tiangong barked, If you really go on like that, it will completely defeat the purpose of training our troops! The Vice Dean has given this a lot of thought before making such arrangements!
Moreover, do you really think that just by knowing some bewitching techniques, you can slaughter your way to victory? Have you forgotten how we suffered a crushing defeat? At its peak, the Yellow Sky Sect had tens of millions of followers, and now, isnt it still in complete disarray?
General Digong and Rengong felt a chill in their hearts.
Originally, the Yellow Sky Sect they had founded indeed had a tremendous influence and struck fear in all directions!
But later, it suffered a devastating blow!
This was because Great Xia had methods to restrain them!
Great Xue also had the ability to find them out!
Great Shi and Great Zhu are still slightly less powerful, but they can still inflict damage on their opponents!
When the great kingdom gets serious, they are truly terrifying!
General Tiangong stood with his hands behind his back, already exuding the aura of a great commander, and said solemnly, Remember, there are skies beyond the sky and people beyond people. Although we are powerful, there are others who are even stronger! Therefore, we must never underestimate the people of the world, nor the nations of the world!
Therefore, we cannot place all our hopes on the art of bewitchment; we must learn other skills, such as the art of warfare! The art of bewitchment can fail, but the art of warfare will never fail!
As long as we have troops in our hands, we will never lose; there will always be a chance to turn the tables! Today is a good opportunity, so you must learn earnestly and humbly and strengthen yourselves, for that is the true path!
The two generals looked at each other and said in unison, Elder brother, we have learned our lesson!
After being reprimanded by General Tiangong, Digong and General Rengong deeply realized their shortcomings and thus redoubled their efforts in studying the art of military strategy.
Two days later, the last contingent of troops from Great Yan arrived.
This contingent also numbered 400,000, and upon joining with the previous two contingents, they finally amassed a force of one million strong!
This was an extremely formidable military force, one that even an empire would have to take seriously!
Furthermore, all of Great Yans Innate masters had also arrived, totaling 10 in number, with the strongest among them reaching the pinnacle level of Astral Qi!
It could be said that to deal with Great Xia, Great Yan had transferred over two-thirds of its troops and experts!
The arrival of the million-strong army and the masters at the Hengduan Mountain Range signified that the true great battle was about to commence!
However, the Great Xias movements were swifter; their main forces had essentially already retreated to the Hengduan Mountain Range area, leaving only a few to wrap things up.
With this, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief.
His main purpose this time was to train troops, to exercise the generals cultivated by the academy, not truly to wage war.
If the losses were too great, he wouldnt be able to explain himself to his superiors.
Now that the troops were fully withdrawn and the losses significantly reduced, he could consider his mission accomplished.
At this moment, the commanding marshal of Great Yan, riding his horse, stepped forward, seething with rage: You people of Great Xia, time and time again you invade our nation, your bullying is intolerable! His Majesty is furious and has commanded us to punish the Great Xia and wipe away our disgrace!
Punish the Great Xia, wipe away our disgrace!
Punish the Great Xia, wipe away our disgrace!
The Great Yan army shouted loudly, and their morale was greatly boosted.
Were attacking you, what can you do about it?
Cao Cao said with a smug expression: If youve got the guts, then come at us. This old man will be waiting on the other side of the Hengduan Mountain Range!
The generals of Great Yan trembled with rage!
You bandit, surrounded by our million-strong army, and still so arrogant?
The Great Yan Marshal could no longer hold back, raising his arm and shouting, All troops, heed my commandattack!
Charge!!! The million-strong army of Great Yan surged forward.
Cao Cao and those around him exchanged glances, and then, without any hesitation, they retreated to the Hengduan Mountain Range, back to the territory of the Great Xia Kingdom.
For it was there that they held the advantage, where their troops could best utilize their strengths to halt the advance of Great Yans million-strong army.
Cao Cao and his men moved swiftly, returning to their base in less than an hour.
However, the vast forces of Great Yan were numerous and had not yet reached the halfway point.
Lin Beifan, who had been secretly observing the battle, let out a slight smile: Its time to bring this to an end!
Toward the Empire Sandbox, the Hand of God was extended.
At this moment, within the ranks of the Great Yan soldiers, an Innate expert furrowed his brow: Something seems amiss
Master Wang, whats wrong? the people around him asked.
With a solemn expression, Master Wang said, You are all unaware, but since my youth, I have lived amongst the mountains and wilderness, cultivating an intuition akin to that of wild beasts! I feel the earth trembling; its preparing for the earth dragon to turn over. We should evacuate this place as soon as possible!
Everyone was slightly stunned.
The earth dragon turning over?
It shouldnt be, right?
Nine times out of ten, its correct!
Master Wang continued, I have a feeling that this time the earth dragons upheaval will be particularly fierce! Were in the middle of the mountain range, surrounded by high peaks and precipices, its too dangerous, we should evacuate as soon as possible!
Marshal of the Great Yan burst into laughter, Master Wang, I think youre worrying too much! If there really were an earth dragon stirring, the wild beasts in the forest would have run out by now! Look at them, theyre not showing any reaction, so there should be no problem!
Yeah, if there really was an earthquake, those wild animals would react faster than us!
Theres no sign of anything right now, so it should be fine!
Master Wang, perhaps youre mistaken!
Master Wang opened his mouth, But this place has experienced the earth dragon turning over many times! Among them, there were two occurrences when our great army entered the mountains, so everyone must not take this lightly!
You also said, Master Wang, that this kind of event has already happened twice, so it shouldnt happen this time!
The Great Yan Marshal confidently said, We cant always be unlucky, stepping into the same pit over and over!
Yes, we cant always be unlucky, stepping into the same pit again!
The probability is too low, even lower than the chance of being struck by lightning!
Master Wang, it absolutely wont happen this time, just put your heart back in your stomach! (TLN: put your mind at ease.)
Great Yan Marshal raised his arm and called out loudly, The army, march forward swiftly; this time, we must reach Great Xia to wash away our shame and expand our territory!
Yes, Marshal! Everyones spirits were greatly lifted.
Seeing the vigorous and spirited crowd, Master Wang could only silently sigh.
But just at that moment, the Hengduan Mountain Range underwent a violent tremor; the mountainside collapsed, and few big stones rolled down.
The previously triumphant Great Yan generals were all dumbfounded.
Can it be? The earth dragon is turning over again?
Its really bizarre! Every time we lead troops here, the earth dragon turns over!
Is the heavens really against us with all these earthquakes?
The marshal anxiously shouted, All troops retreat, pull back to a safe place! Move quickly!
In fact, there was no need for the marshal to remind them; feeling the earthquake, the soldiers of the Great Yan were already running for their lives.
Run fast, the earthquake is coming again!
Were really cursed! Ive been in three battles, and all three times weve encountered the earth dragon turning over!
Buddha bless us, I hope we can survive!
Stop dawdling and run!
But who would have known, this time the earth dragons turning was more ferocious than ever before.
The entire ground was shaking violently in all directions, the tremors causing mountains to collapse and boulders to tumble down, crushing many soldiers into a pulp, with cries of agony filling the air.
Great Yans Marshal watched with bloodshot eyes.
He wanted to lend a hand to save them, but there were too many victims; he simply couldnt help them all.
Marshal, this earthquake is so intense, what do we do now? someone asked in a panic.
Great Yans Marshal bellowed, No more talk; do your best to save them! Save as many as you can; our soldiers must not die here!
Yes, Marshal!
The various Innate experts took action, shattering the massive rocks falling from the sky.
But just then, the ground suddenly split open, swallowing tens of thousands of soldiers.
Great Yans Marshal could only watch this scene unfold, powerless to help.
This old manthis old man hates this!!!
The upheaval of the earth dragon continued for nearly half an hour.
In the end, out of the million-strong army, fewer than 600,000 soldiers managed to escape, many of whom were injured.
Upon witnessing this scene, the Great Yan Marshal spat out a mouthful of blood in anger.
***
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