Chapter 1003: First Big Victory
Translator: alyschu
"Hell yeah!"
Xu Yang laughed as he stared at the floor of bodies. He picked up a stack of Health Potions before saying, "Next!"
Behind us, 150000 cavalrymen spilled out of the gates like tidewater and rode toward the enemies. As they gained more and more speed, they raised their weapons high above their heads and let out a battle cry. The reflected light from our weapons illuminated the Purple Grape City players’ faces and put their fear and shock on full display.
Just as I predicted, the enemy’s inability to breach the walls despite attacking with so many siege weapons for so long had left a shadow in their hearts. Moreover, Red Maple had taken all the elites of Purple Grape City to Floating Ice City. As a result, none of the players here were capable of resisting us, who were some of the strongest elites of Sky City.
With the 3000+ Dragonlight Cavalrymen as the unstoppable spearhead, and the support of Famous Generals such as Gui Guzi, Chaos Moon, Xu Yang, Diamond Dust and Heaven’s Rain, we tore through the enemy’s defense line as if tearing paper. The 5-starred red flag above our heads started overwhelming the enemy’s red-and-white flag and destroying every siege tower and Black Marsh Catapults in our way.
Our troop count was still behind the enemy’s, but it was no longer an insurmountable gap. Moreover, our people were well-trained, well-organized, and riding on high morale. Together, they formed a wall the demoralized, second-rate troops of Purple Grape City could possibly defeat.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The players who fell off the destroyed siege towers were either crushed to death by the very structure they were in, or trampled to death by our hooves. Their deaths were about as tragic as it could get. As a result, those that weren’t hit by our charge yet hurriedly ran out of their siege towers to avoid the same fate. They would still die, but at least it wouldn’t be too ugly a death.
......
Suddenly, a Level 184 spear-wielding warrior in red battle armor shouted, "Steady! The hundreds of Black Marsh Catapults we brought over cannot be for nothing! Summon your courage and remember that we still have the absolute advantage in terms of numbers! Don’t let these Shinajin trample over our land!"
Swhoosh!
I immediately immobilized the guy with God Binding Art. Then, I dashed past him and stabbed his throat with Universe Break, one-shotting him!
278834!
That the skill critted was almost like a judgment from heaven. This fucker dared to use that slur in front of us? He was practically asking to be killed, and I was only more than happy to oblige!
Boom!
After I tossed Burning Blade Slash into a group of withdrawing players and killed them all, I ordered with steely eyes, "Ten kilometers, people! Leave no one within ten kilometers of White Rose Fortress alive!"
Chaos Moon giggled. "Why the sudden change of mind?"
"Because I’m pissed off, that’s why!"
"Pooh pooh! Watch out, everyone! Someone’s mad!"
......
In the end, we did chase the enemy for at least 7 to 9 kilometers or so. Bodies were everywhere on the plains. We were one hundred and fifty thousand strong, and the enemy had several million soldiers. Despite this, we were still able to achieve a total victory. The gap between our players was just too big.
More importantly, the soul of Purple Grape City, Red Maple, wasn't here, so these second-rate guilds barely put up a fight before running away. This was the effect of a broken morale. So what if they outnumbered us many times over? How could they win if they wouldn’t even try to fight?
Many famous victories where the weak had beaten the strong had happened this way. For example, during the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao’s 100k army outnumbered Cao Cao’s almost 10 to 1. However, after their food supplies at Wuchao were set on fire, Yuan Shao’s army quickly broke and lost all will to fight. As a result, Cao Cao was able to win a decisive victory against a much larger army.
You could wield the most powerful weapon in the world, but you still wouldn’t win if your heart wasn’t in it.
......
The battle lasted almost 4 hours, and it was one so bloody that some of us would probably remember it for a lifetime. Nearly the entire plains was covered in Purple Grape City players’ bodies, and the kill count on the HUD stated that we had killed almost nine hundred thousand enemy players in total.
"Alright, enough! It’s time to sweep the battlefield for loot, return to the fortress and resupply ourselves!" I ordered.
This was the moment everyone was waiting for, especially no one was around to disturb it. The surviving Purple Grape City players had retreated not 10 kilometers, but 15 kilometers by the time we were done with them. It was no exaggeration to say that we had ground their courage to dust with this one battle. Unless another Red Maple were to arise and inspire them, I couldn’t see them regaining their fighting spirits for a long time to come.
Us senior-level players got to pick up the potions and equipment that were dropped at the center of the plains. I myself had made a small fortune picking up only equipment that was at least Purple Gold–grade and Level 160. The value of this loot varied wildly between 100 and 10000 RMB, but money was money. With a bag slot count of 1000, I didn’t even need to be stingy with my picks.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged-looking Xu Yang picked up a gold ring with a bright smile on his face. "Holy shit, it’s an Earth-grade ring that adds 20% Attack? I wonder who was the poor fool who dropped this? Well, too late for them, it’s finders keepers..."
Gui Guzi said, "Oh, don’t worry, it’s definitely not dropped by our people."
"How are you so sure?"
"Because we barely lost anyone during this final charge, duh! This is one of the easiest victories of my life!" Gui Guzi laughed loudly before asking, "Little Rain, have you finished the battle report?"
"Yep!"
Heaven’s Rain nodded before reporting, "We lost 157 Dragonlight Cavalrymen and a bit over 24000 of other cavalries. Purple Grape City lost almost 1 million players of all kinds. Heehee, this is about as great a victory one can get!"
Gui Guzi boasted, "We’re just too good..."
"Bullshit!"
Chaos Moon immediately knocked him down a peg before explaining, "The reason we scored such a huge win was because Lu Chen had captured the timing perfectly. If we were too early, the enemy would still be motivated enough to mount an effective counterattack. If we were too late, they would’ve beaten an organized retreat and greatly diminished the effects of our pursuit. In the end, Lu Chen’s timing was the key to everything."
Eyes Like Water beamed. "Mn!"
I replied with a smile, "Maybe, but if you guys weren’t such good fighters, the countercharge wouldn’t have gone as well as it did either. Alright, let’s withdraw to White Rose Fortress and rest for a bit. If you want to log out, eat some food, sleep or whatever, do it now. The real challenge will be upon us once a victor has been decided between Candle Dragon and God’s Domain."
"Okay!"
......
After I returned to White Rose Fortress, I repaired my equipment, restocked my potions, and walked up the walls again. We might’ve scored a huge victory, but that was no reason to be lax. Someone had to be up and watch out for both sides at all times.
I was leaning against the wall, hugging my Purple Ying Sword and dozing off a bit when the terrible news struck—
"It’s terrible! Candle Dragon’s 50000 Viper Dragoons clashed against God’s Domain’s 100000 Wildfire Riders and lost horribly! Red Maple successfully flanked them from Moonlight Forest! They’re currently being pursued by almost a million Japanese players right now!"
I abruptly woke up and stared at the messenger. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! It just happened ten minutes ago!" he said with a nod.
"Fuck!"
I hurriedly contacted Hot and Sour Noodles—
"Uncle! Uncle!?"
"I’m here. And, sorry, Lu Chen..." If I wasn’t certain before, Hot and Sour Noodles’ tone confirmed everything.
"What the hell happened? We had equal numbers to the enemy at Floating Ice City, right? How on earth did we lose the battle? It’s only been a couple of hours!" I rushed out in frustration.
He replied, "Candlelight Shadow had underestimated Red Maple’s aptitude for strategy. A single moment of negligence was all Red Maple needed to flank him. Hate the guy if you like, but I can’t deny that Red Maple is a bold man. I cannot believe he was able to find a hole in the encirclement and defeat Candle Dragon’s main cavalry so quickly. Also, Candle Dragon is withdrawing from the battle."
"Fuck!" I swore. "What do we do now?"
Hot and Sour Noodles pondered for a moment before replying, "Although Candle Dragon lost, we did manage to kill at least 4 million Japanese players in total. In fact, there are less than 2 million enemy players left in Floating Ice City’s domain now. Even better, a large majority of them were God’s Domain elites. Despite losing 90% of their troops, Candle Dragon was able to take down almost 70% of the enemy with them. God’s Domain might have won, but it is a pyrrhic victory at best, and the threat to White Rose Fortress is gone now."
I nodded. Put that way, Candlelight Shadow’s sacrifice was ultimately worth it in the bigger scheme of things.
"Alright, I’m going to take my leave and clean up the remnants of Red Maple’s forces next, so I’m leaving the command of White Rose Fortress to you, uncle!"
"Got it!" Hot and Sour Noodles said with a smile. "I’ll come over right away. The battle at Black Coast is almost finished anyway. Very soon, Snowy Cathaya, Warsky Alliance, Hegemon Palace and more will be able to join this battle."
"Mn." I thought for a moment before adding, "You know, I feel like Cyan Earth City and Elephant City should be way stronger than what they’ve shown us so far. It doesn’t make sense for their attack on Black Coast to be a tickle."
"I know, I’ve had the same thought. It’s possible they may have a new target in mind..."
"I agree. In any case, we should keep a close eye on Sky City. Whatever action the enemy takes next, I have a feeling that it’s all going to end with Sky City."
"Hehe, you’re not wrong. Speaking of which, what are you going to do next?"
"I’m going to assemble the strongest cavalry troop in Sky City, enter Floating Ice City and fight Red Maple a second time. This time, we’ll wipe them all out for sure!"
"Well said. We’re counting on you!"
"Mn!"
......
After I hung up, I sent He Yi a call request next. "Eve, can you lead all the Dragonlight Cavalry and Dragonlight Archers to the east side of Sky City now? I’ve a new mission for everyone!"
"Okay, we’ll be there!" He Yi shot me a gentle smile. "I’ve watched your battle. You did well, Lu Chen!"
"Hehe, your praise is well received, chief!"
"It’s too bad you’re in Xinjiang right now, or I’d be rewarding you already..." He Yi said softly.
The way she said it put a flutter in my heart. "Oh really? You can reward me all you want once I get back."
"Mn. I’ve sent out the order. See you again in Sky City!"
"Okay!"
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om