Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations
Hua Feng smiled faintly and said: “Regiment Commander Oni, pleas remember that you are no longer under the direct command of the Seventh Legion, and your orders are to cooperate with our Peerless Battalion. As for us, we are not under the direct command of the Seventh Legion as well. In any case, didn’t you say earlier that we did not gather in time? It is time for us to make up for that lost time. Alright, enough. Everyone, advance in a flanking position!”
Oni’s face muscles twitched slightly, almost imperceptibly. He had been in the army for more than twenty years, but this was the first time he had met any commanding officer like Hua Feng. Could something like this actually work? Yet… Shen Ji’s order to him had indeed been to cooperate in whatever the Peerless Battalion was doing, without question. Oni had no other choice but to grit his teeth and carry out Hua Feng’s order without interference.
Right at that moment, Oni made a rather intelligent decision, one that perhaps changed his life and that of his men. His order was that from this moment onwards, the Heavy Infantry Regiment would all follow the Peerless Battalion soldiers… before the war ended, they would only listen to Hua Feng’s orders, and there would only be one overall voice of command.
This little shrewd trick by Oni was not because he thought that Hua Feng was a better commander than himself. However, his thought was that since he had already been assigned this role, no matter what, even if Legion Commander Shen Ji or the Northwest Army Command came investigating, he would be able to evade any responsibility or punishment. After all, from all points of view, he was not disobeying any orders.
Who was Hua Feng? A shrewd one amongst the shrewd indeed… amongst all the Heavenly Bow Unit members, each and every one of them were outstanding talents, geniuses and distinguished in their own right, and for them all to be willing to follow his command, one could imagine that under the face of nobility and grace of Hua Feng lay something much more.
As such, Hua Feng only glanced at Oni, and he had already guessed all his thoughts. However, he did not comment at all. At least, Oni’s order was definitely of great benefit to them all.
In this first attack, the WanShou Empire had sent out seven of their main Regiments, while the other ten remaining Regiments were camped at a distance. The reason they dared to charge the ZhongTian formation so brazenly with less than half their force was because they had absolute confidence in their fighting capabilities and maneuverability on the plains. Even if their charge was not successful, they were certain that retreating was not a problem, even if they were not supported by the main army behind. In their eyes, the ZhongTian Northwest Army would never dare to chase them out of their own fortifications. For the seven WanShou Regiments currently charging, the focus of their strength was in the center of the ZhongTian lines, and it was the powerful Heavy Infantry soldiers of the Bear Tribesmen, the Tyrannical Bear Regiment.
The Tyrannical Bear Regiment could be said to be notorious throughout the entire ZhongTian Army, after years of war between both sides. Every time they appeared, it was almost always at the Central North Army, and they were extremely formidable in direct clashes. They were also one of the few full infantry units in the entire WanShou Empire.
The Bear Tribe was one of the very rare Tribes in the entire WanShou Empire that did not rear their corresponding Totemic Heavenly Beasts. One reason was because War Bears were extremely difficult to find, being extremely few and rare in numbers. Secondly, the Bear Tribesmen already had a terrifying strength and power themselves. Each Bear Tribesmen Heavy Infantry soldier was more than two metres tall, their figure and stature like that of a giant bear, as brawny and muscular as can be. Their tough skin was able to withstand most blows, and their sheer physical strength combined with their commonly used weapon – massive spiked maces… they could be described as an unstoppable force on the battlefield.
When the Bear Tribesmen Heavy Infantry soldiers appeared outside the Northwest Army camp, the entire Northwest Headquarters command was stunned silly. Naturally, they had heard of the terrifying power of the Tyrannical Bear Regiment. After all, the Tyrannical Bear Regiment was extremely notorious, and they normally were highly elite and only focused on the toughest Central North army zone. After all these years, at least a Legion of Central North army soldiers had perished at the hands of these formidable foes. Under any normal clash, even the most elite human Heavy Infantry soldiers were no match for them.
Furthermore, besides the Tyrannical Bear Regiment, there were six other powerful Regiments supporting them. One was a Wolf Cavalry Regiment, one Unicorn Cavalry Regiment, two Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiments and two Raging Bull Heavy Cavalry Regiments.
These Seven Regiments could be said to be some of the finest in the WanShou Empire. In truth, the most elite was definitely the Tyrannical Bear Regiment, but even so, this was definitely unprecedented pressure to the Northwest Army. Of the over six hundred thousand warriors in the entire Northwest Armies, over three hundred thousand were already activated and fighting hard, still barely able to hold on with the help of the fortifications. The casualty on both sides were definitely highly disproportionate.
Hua Feng chose their path of approach to be from the side flank where there was one of the Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment and the Wolf Cavalry Regiment. As for the two Raging Bull Heavy Cavalry Regiments, they were charging the center lines together with the Tyrannical Bear Heavy Infantry Regiment. As such, the ZhongTian Northwest Armies also focused the main bulk of their forces in the central lines, with several of the Heavy Infantry and Heavy Cavalry Regiments all there. Naturally, the fighting on both flanks was not as fierce as the center, but it was definitely still intensely fierce.
The Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment soldiers were all wearing leather armour, and their stature was definitely not as stout or powerful as either the Bear Tribesmen or Bull Tribesmen, but they were much more agile and nimble. With the scimitars in their hands, it was not easy for ordinary arrows to hit them. Their agile movements and strength was their greatest weapons against their enemies.
In the WanShou Empire, the Dog Men Tribe were also one of the larger tribes. Although their fighting capabilities was average when compared to the majority of the Beastmen Tribes, but their numbers were extremely high, and they also had a good relation with the Wolfmen Tribe, thus their status in the WanShou Empire was not low at all. This was also shown by the fact that the Dog Men Tribe had six whole Regiments of soldiers in the entire WanShou Empire Army.
Since the Peerless Battalion had been set up, this was the first time they were truly in a large scale battlefield. Naturally, Hua Feng did not want them to go for the toughest enemies, especially on such a huge battlefield of such numbers on both sides, and some of the greatest strengths of the Peerless Battalion would not be easy to bring into play. In such a case, it would be easier for them to strike from the relatively weaker flank which had lesser numbers.
Under the direction of Hua Feng, the Peerless Battalion and the Heavy Infantry Regiment quickly reached the frontlines of the flank they had targeted. Here, there were six of the Northwest Army Regiments in charge of the defense here, including the Sixteenth Regiment of the Seventh Legion.
As the Sixteenth Regiment Regiment Leader, Shen Bu was one of the commanders directing the fight. As soon as she realised that the Peerless Battalion was nearing their flank, she was overjoyed.
As the one with earliest contact with the Peerless Battalion, and having suffered at their hands so many times, her knowledge and understanding of the Peerless Battalion was far above any of the other commanders in the Northwest Army, especially after getting together with Lin TianAo, she had learned a lot more about the Peerless Battalion. Of course, Lin TianAo would not reveal any core secrets to her, but some of the lesser important things he did not need to keep secret.
Seeing that the Peerless Battalion had brought along the Heavy Infantry Regiment, Shen Bu was overjoyed. She passed command over to her Vice Regiment Commander and immediately rode over personally to speak with Hua Feng. She quickly opened a space in her defensive zone for the Heavy Infantry Regiment and the Peerless Battalion to get in.
The other Regiments did not pay too much attention, thinking it was just reinforcements sent by the command. Seeing a Heavy Infantry Regiment join up with them, they were naturally overjoyed as well. After all, the Heavy Infantry Regiments were the most suited to defend against the charge of Wolf Cavalry soldiers.
Very quickly, the Heavy Infantry Regiment entered their defensive positions, taking formation according to their usual practice, with two Heavy Infantry soldiers protecting one Peerless Battalion soldier.
In truth, this was not a good time for archers to join the fight, as the enemy distance was already very close. In the front, the Sixteenth Regiment was already having some trouble defending any longer. In such a circumstance, without being able to get some distance, even if archers wanted to shoot the enemies without harming their own, it would be extremely difficult… unless they were god tier archers.
Even for the Peerless Battalion, not all the soldiers had the confidence in doing so. After all, their time of training was not that long yet. Of course, the Peerless Battalion also had their share of elite archers.
Hua Feng’s first command was to give the order to the First Main Company of the Peerless Battalion, the finest elite in the entire Peerless Battalion. The order was simple – to shoot and kill as many enemies as they could and give the Sixteenth Regiment time to retreat.
When Shen Bu saw the First Main Company of the Peerless Battalion drawing all five hundred of their bows, she was so nervous that she almost couldn’t breathe. At that moment, she did not give any order to dodge or retreat, afraid that if she interfered and anything went wrong, her own men would take severe injury… that would be a terrible blow!
Without giving Shen Bu much chance to think, the First Main Company already started shooting.
An earsplitting shrill sound rang out. Let alone the surrounding Regiments, even the Heavy Infantry Regiment protecting the Peerless Battalion was given a sudden fright. After all, in their normal training, the Peerless Battalion all used ordinary longbows, but now they were using their Consolidated Bows… it was a huge difference.
*Poof* *Poof* Poof* *Poof* Sounds rang out, and the trail of the arrows could not be seen at all. All that could be seen was plumes of blood suddenly rising up, along with cries of agony.
The First Main Company were not just with the highest cultivation levels, nor was it only that they were the first to have their Consolidated Wings, but they also had some of the finest archery in the entire Peerless Battalion.
The Sixteenth Regiment soldiers, who had been fighting desperately for their lives, suddenly felt the pressure upon them lessen greatly. The Dog Tribe soldiers and Wolf Cavalry soldiers suddenly turned into corpses in front of their eyes, along with clouds of blood spurting out. Such a sudden change was just too abrupt, and many of them weren’t even able to react.
From Shen Bu’s perspective, the five hundred soldiers of the Peerless Battalion First Main Company had fired, and it was as if their arrows had eyes of their own, somehow finding tiny gaps and exposures, worming through the crowd of allies to strike directly on the enemies. Five hundred arrows, and not a single one struck her men. Of course, there were a few which missed their mark on the enemies, but absolutely none hit an allied soldier.
If such archery skills appeared on a single person, it would not arouse any notice, perhaps only leading to him getting praised as a god archer. However, when five hundred men all had such archery skills, it was truly a shocking sight indeed.
The Wolf Cavalry soldiers and Dog Tribe Infantry soldiers were not weak by any means, and their defensive capabilities might not compare to some of the other stronger Beastmen, but it was nothing to scoff at. However, in front of the Peerless Battalion Consolidated Bows, their tough skin was of no use at all, and only a pile of corpses was left in the wake.
“Sixteenth Regiment, open a path and retreat to the sides!” Shen Bu immediately seized the chance to give the order. Being able to gain the rank of Regiment Commander, it was not just because of her status of Heavenly Jewel Commander. Her previous rashness aside, she was definitely a fine commander with a good grasp of military command.
