All the generals burst out into laughter and nodded in approval. Li XiangDong then slapped Kong DaYuan on the back and said, "I never imagined that you would have such a trick up your sleeve." Everyone felt that this plan was a feasible one and could not help but give a sigh of relief. It was as though they had already successfully broken out of the enemy's encirclement.
Kong DaYuan then said with a chuckle, "It is a pity that those three b*stard generals will definitely obstruct us on the way back. If not, we would still be able to preserve our forces even if we were to lose this battle. However, we definitely can't go back to Sky Bearing now. Apart from the direction of Sky Bearing, we would definitely face a ridgeline no matter which other direction we pick. Thus, we only need to pick a ridgeline which is easy to defend and our 70,000 strong army will definitely be able to last for four days, even if our enemy is 400,000 men strong! If we are going to have any reinforcements, they will definitely be here by then! If we have no reinforcements by then, there isn't a need for us to dream about having any reinforcements and we can fight Northern Wei to the bitter end!"
Everyone agreed in praise and Ling Xiao could not come up with a better idea himself after thinking for a long while. Thus, he commanded all of his troops to follow Kong DaYuan's plan!
While Kong DaYuan was intelligent, he was no more than an excellent commander and not a real strategist. Furthermore, he made a grave error in his plans! His plans were based on the current strength of the army! He completely forgot about the fact that they were currently surrounded by 400,000 troops, and they had yet to break out of their enemy's encirclement. Who knows how many of them would be left after that? As for the remaining troops who were left, they may not even be able to reach a ridgeline without falling into ambushes laid by their enemies! Even if they were able to do so, just how many days would they be able to last? However, one thing for sure was that four days was an impossible task!
In the battlefield, the arrows filled the sky and miserable shrieks sounded everywhere. While the Sky Bearing army was delaying for time, the Northern Wei army was also doing the same thing. It was as though both their armies had the same plan…
At the Northern Wei's side, Wei ChengPing asked with some doubt, "Brother Shui, the cavalry of our army suffered great casualties previously but was unable to shake the morale of General Ling's army. Weren't the losses not worth the gain?" Seeing that many cavalry fall with miserable shrieks, Wei ChengPing felt his heart bleed! There were almost four to five hundred fatalities in that single attack!
The cavalry leading the charge were the elites of the Northern Wei army! They had always been the greatest treasure to secure their victory. However, this young Shui man actually let them lead the charge in this battle. Back when they were discussing their strategy, that young Shui man said, "After being abandoned by his country, General Ling would definitely have his morale shaken and spirit destroyed! With the betrayal of his fellow troops, he would definitely lose all will to battle! As such, I believe that our elite cavalry would be able to destroy the defense line of our enemies with a single charge! It would definitely reduce our losses to the minimum!"
At that time, Wei ChengPing felt that these words were extremely reasonable! Furthermore, it would be a glorious event to be able to destroy the God of War with a single charge! Wei ChengPing had agreed to the matter without giving it much thought. Who would have thought that through this single charge, not only were they unable to destroy the defenses of the Sky Bearing Army, almost a third of their elites were lost! Only then did he feel that something was wrong.
Right at this moment, the young Shui man also thought to himself, Ling Xiao's army seems to differ greatly from the rumors! This was obviously a great gift for you and equivalent to sending a bunch of elite troops on a platter for you to devour. However, you only managed to eat up so little of them! This is just too disappointing!
This young Shui man was someone who had the ambition to rule the world, so how could he leave the elite troops of Wei ChengPing alive? Wouldn't they end up becoming a great hindrance to his plans in the future? As long as the number of elite troops Wei ChengPing had decreased, all the newly recruited soldiers of his would be no more than little children on the battlefield! At that time, they would definitely follow him as long as he offered them some candy. What could that Wei ChengPing be considered as? To think he even dreams of being the ruler of the continent?! What a joke!
Hearing Wei ChengPing's question, the young Shui man snickered, "It seems that brother Wei is feeling the heartache?"
Wei ChenPing snorted and did not reply.
The young man's face sobered as he said, "Brother Wei, this is a battlefield! This is war! Without any sacrifices, how would there be a victory? Just like the saying, 'the success of a general would result in thousands of corpses', the ambitions of a ruler is definitely built on a mountain of bones. If brother Wei can't see past this point and is still so merciful, it would be a dream for you to rule the world!"
Wei ChengPing immediately replied, "I am naturally not a merciful individual! I am definitely not one who isn't willing to make sacrifices. However, the loss of these 5,000 soldiers is indeed a baffling thing! We could have sent our infantry to the frontlines and dragged this battle on for a few days. At that time, victory…"
The young man interrupted Wei ChengPing with a ferocious glare, "Is brother Wei reprimanding me for giving out lousy commands? If not for the fact that you had ordered a sudden retreat, the present scenario would definitely be extremely different. The cavalry was originally a few hundred feet away from general Ling and that single thought of yours wasted all of our efforts! If brother Wei doesn't acknowledge my plans, you can command the troops on your own and I definitely will not mind!"
Wei ChengPing quickly forced a smile and said, "No, no, no! Brother Shui shouldn't be overly sensitive. This prince knows that Brother Shui's stratagems are unrivaled in the world and I had only made a casual remark without meaning anything else." Knowing the background of this young man, how would Wei ChengPing dare to offend him?
The young man's face began to look less unsightly as he said calmly, "While you previously spoiled my plans, I have to admit that I did underestimate Ling Xiao. Despite facing such a hopeless situation, he is still able to maintain his cool. He does indeed live up to the name of being the God of War."
The young man then paused for a moment before continuing, "With our superior numbers, how can I not know that the best plan would be for us to drag out this battle. However, I had just received news that General Ling's son, Ling Tian, had received news from who knows where and is on the way here with 10,000 elite troops! Thus, it would be best for us to take care of Ling Xiao as quickly as possible! Even at the expenses of our elites!"
Wei ChengPing's eyes lit up and said, "I see, that explains Brother Shui's plans." Actually, with Wei ChengPing's paranoid nature, he could naturally tell that this young Shui man was just giving an excuse. However, this wasn't the time for him to make a fuss out of this. Thus, while he knew that he had suffered a great loss, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
The young Shui man's eyes then glimmered as he ordered, "Now that things have developed to such an extent, the next step of our plan has to be sped up. Send out my orders: Attack from three directions and leave the southeast empty. Force Ling Xiao to escape in that direction!"
Wei ChengPing was immediately startled, "Wait a moment! Brother Shui, the Western Han had laid their ambush in the northwestern directions. Why do you want them to escape from the southeastern direction? We do not even have a single soldier in ambush there, wouldn't we be letting the tiger back into the mountain? If we were to let Ling Xiao escape, our future troubles would definitely be endless!"
The young Shui man then let out a long sigh as he thought, What an idiot! Then, he asked impatiently, "If you were Ling Xiao and you saw that the southeastern direction was the only opening, what will you do?"
Wei ChengPing was taken aback for a moment and said without thinking, "There is definitely an ambush in that direction!" After saying that, he slapped his forehead in realization, "I see! The lie is the truth, and the truth is the lie. Brother Shui is indeed a wise individual!"
A hint of mockery flashed past the young man's eyes as he commanded, "Raise the flags and launch an all-out attack!"
The sound of the military drums echoed in the sky! The Northern Wei soldiers let out a battle cry and shook the heavens! They then charged forward valiantly without any concern for their lives!
As for the Sky Bearing army, it was already the sixth time they had reshuffled their archers. With a command from Ling Xiao, the war drums sounded again and all the archers swapped out their arrows to arrows doused in kerosene. With an order, balls of fire were lit and the bows were all pulled taut and ready to fire!
"Fire!" The red flag waved down!
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh…" The arrows shot out with a swoosh and a sea of fire could be seen in the air. However, the arrows were not shot towards the Northern Wei troops but the previously laid out logs. These wooden logs were already soaked in kerosene and they burst out into flames upon contact with the flaming arrows. All of a sudden, the Sky Bearing army was surrounded by a sea of fire! The torrential heatwave made the hair on the Sky Bearing soldiers curl up from the heat.
From time to time, the crackling flames could be heard as the bodies of the Northern Wei soldiers were burned alive. Following the miserable wails of the Northern Wei soldiers, an unbearable stench then spread across the battlefield.
On the corpse-littered battlefield, some of the originally motionless bodies began to contort in pain as their bodies sprang up like zombies rising up from their graves! The strange and eerie scene in front of them made both the troops break out in cold sweat!
"KILL!!!" The Northern Wei soldiers bellowed as they charged over with their blades. However, none of them expected this sudden sea of flames to appear in front of them! There were many who could not stop themselves in time and charged right into the blazing flames. Then, a wave of miserable shrieks could be heard coming out from the sea of flames. There were a few who despite being able to stop themselves in time, were pushed right into the sea of flames by the soldiers behind them who were charging forward! In the sea of flames, countless of Northern Wei soldiers were running around and rolling on the ground, a miserable sight to behold. As the many Northern Wei soldiers saw the predicament of their fellow soldiers but were helpless to do anything, they all turned their heads away and did not want to witness that horrific scene.
It was as though that 200-foot radius had transformed into a living hell!
From the Northern Wei army, the drumming of the war drums sounded incessantly without any signs of stopping. Looking at the burning flames in front of them, the Northern Wei soldiers felt as though the drumming behind them was pushing them to their deaths. Thus, they could not help but cry out, "Stop drumming! It is a sea of fire in front, do you want us to be burned alive?"
The young Shui man sat atop his horse and ordered with a heartless expression, "Execute any who retreat from fear! Attack! Destroy Ling Xiao's army!"
Wei ChengPing's face began to contort as he witnessed his soldiers struggling in the sea of flame.
All the generals burst out into laughter and nodded in approval. Li XiangDong then slapped Kong DaYuan on the back and said, "I never imagined that you would have such a trick up your sleeve." Everyone felt that this plan was a feasible one and could not help but give a sigh of relief. It was as though they had already successfully broken out of the enemy's encirclement.
Kong DaYuan then said with a chuckle, "It is a pity that those three b*stard generals will definitely obstruct us on the way back. If not, we would still be able to preserve our forces even if we were to lose this battle. However, we definitely can't go back to Sky Bearing now. Apart from the direction of Sky Bearing, we would definitely face a ridgeline no matter which other direction we pick. Thus, we only need to pick a ridgeline which is easy to defend and our 70,000 strong army will definitely be able to last for four days, even if our enemy is 400,000 men strong! If we are going to have any reinforcements, they will definitely be here by then! If we have no reinforcements by then, there isn't a need for us to dream about having any reinforcements and we can fight Northern Wei to the bitter end!"
Everyone agreed in praise and Ling Xiao could not come up with a better idea himself after thinking for a long while. Thus, he commanded all of his troops to follow Kong DaYuan's plan!
While Kong DaYuan was intelligent, he was no more than an excellent commander and not a real strategist. Furthermore, he made a grave error in his plans! His plans were based on the current strength of the army! He completely forgot about the fact that they were currently surrounded by 400,000 troops, and they had yet to break out of their enemy's encirclement. Who knows how many of them would be left after that? As for the remaining troops who were left, they may not even be able to reach a ridgeline without falling into ambushes laid by their enemies! Even if they were able to do so, just how many days would they be able to last? However, one thing for sure was that four days was an impossible task!
In the battlefield, the arrows filled the sky and miserable shrieks sounded everywhere. While the Sky Bearing army was delaying for time, the Northern Wei army was also doing the same thing. It was as though both their armies had the same plan…
At the Northern Wei's side, Wei ChengPing asked with some doubt, "Brother Shui, the cavalry of our army suffered great casualties previously but was unable to shake the morale of General Ling's army. Weren't the losses not worth the gain?" Seeing that many cavalry fall with miserable shrieks, Wei ChengPing felt his heart bleed! There were almost four to five hundred fatalities in that single attack!
The cavalry leading the charge were the elites of the Northern Wei army! They had always been the greatest treasure to secure their victory. However, this young Shui man actually let them lead the charge in this battle. Back when they were discussing their strategy, that young Shui man said, "After being abandoned by his country, General Ling would definitely have his morale shaken and spirit destroyed! With the betrayal of his fellow troops, he would definitely lose all will to battle! As such, I believe that our elite cavalry would be able to destroy the defense line of our enemies with a single charge! It would definitely reduce our losses to the minimum!"
At that time, Wei ChengPing felt that these words were extremely reasonable! Furthermore, it would be a glorious event to be able to destroy the God of War with a single charge! Wei ChengPing had agreed to the matter without giving it much thought. Who would have thought that through this single charge, not only were they unable to destroy the defenses of the Sky Bearing Army, almost a third of their elites were lost! Only then did he feel that something was wrong.
Right at this moment, the young Shui man also thought to himself, Ling Xiao's army seems to differ greatly from the rumors! This was obviously a great gift for you and equivalent to sending a bunch of elite troops on a platter for you to devour. However, you only managed to eat up so little of them! This is just too disappointing!
This young Shui man was someone who had the ambition to rule the world, so how could he leave the elite troops of Wei ChengPing alive? Wouldn't they end up becoming a great hindrance to his plans in the future? As long as the number of elite troops Wei ChengPing had decreased, all the newly recruited soldiers of his would be no more than little children on the battlefield! At that time, they would definitely follow him as long as he offered them some candy. What could that Wei ChengPing be considered as? To think he even dreams of being the ruler of the continent?! What a joke!
Hearing Wei ChengPing's question, the young Shui man snickered, "It seems that brother Wei is feeling the heartache?"
Wei ChenPing snorted and did not reply.
The young man's face sobered as he said, "Brother Wei, this is a battlefield! This is war! Without any sacrifices, how would there be a victory? Just like the saying, 'the success of a general would result in thousands of corpses', the ambitions of a ruler is definitely built on a mountain of bones. If brother Wei can't see past this point and is still so merciful, it would be a dream for you to rule the world!"
Wei ChengPing immediately replied, "I am naturally not a merciful individual! I am definitely not one who isn't willing to make sacrifices. However, the loss of these 5,000 soldiers is indeed a baffling thing! We could have sent our infantry to the frontlines and dragged this battle on for a few days. At that time, victory…"
The young man interrupted Wei ChengPing with a ferocious glare, "Is brother Wei reprimanding me for giving out lousy commands? If not for the fact that you had ordered a sudden retreat, the present scenario would definitely be extremely different. The cavalry was originally a few hundred feet away from general Ling and that single thought of yours wasted all of our efforts! If brother Wei doesn't acknowledge my plans, you can command the troops on your own and I definitely will not mind!"
Wei ChengPing quickly forced a smile and said, "No, no, no! Brother Shui shouldn't be overly sensitive. This prince knows that Brother Shui's stratagems are unrivaled in the world and I had only made a casual remark without meaning anything else." Knowing the background of this young man, how would Wei ChengPing dare to offend him?
The young man's face began to look less unsightly as he said calmly, "While you previously spoiled my plans, I have to admit that I did underestimate Ling Xiao. Despite facing such a hopeless situation, he is still able to maintain his cool. He does indeed live up to the name of being the God of War."
The young man then paused for a moment before continuing, "With our superior numbers, how can I not know that the best plan would be for us to drag out this battle. However, I had just received news that General Ling's son, Ling Tian, had received news from who knows where and is on the way here with 10,000 elite troops! Thus, it would be best for us to take care of Ling Xiao as quickly as possible! Even at the expenses of our elites!"
Wei ChengPing's eyes lit up and said, "I see, that explains Brother Shui's plans." Actually, with Wei ChengPing's paranoid nature, he could naturally tell that this young Shui man was just giving an excuse. However, this wasn't the time for him to make a fuss out of this. Thus, while he knew that he had suffered a great loss, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
The young Shui man's eyes then glimmered as he ordered, "Now that things have developed to such an extent, the next step of our plan has to be sped up. Send out my orders: Attack from three directions and leave the southeast empty. Force Ling Xiao to escape in that direction!"
Wei ChengPing was immediately startled, "Wait a moment! Brother Shui, the Western Han had laid their ambush in the northwestern directions. Why do you want them to escape from the southeastern direction? We do not even have a single soldier in ambush there, wouldn't we be letting the tiger back into the mountain? If we were to let Ling Xiao escape, our future troubles would definitely be endless!"
The young Shui man then let out a long sigh as he thought, What an idiot! Then, he asked impatiently, "If you were Ling Xiao and you saw that the southeastern direction was the only opening, what will you do?"
Wei ChengPing was taken aback for a moment and said without thinking, "There is definitely an ambush in that direction!" After saying that, he slapped his forehead in realization, "I see! The lie is the truth, and the truth is the lie. Brother Shui is indeed a wise individual!"
A hint of mockery flashed past the young man's eyes as he commanded, "Raise the flags and launch an all-out attack!"
The sound of the military drums echoed in the sky! The Northern Wei soldiers let out a battle cry and shook the heavens! They then charged forward valiantly without any concern for their lives!
As for the Sky Bearing army, it was already the sixth time they had reshuffled their archers. With a command from Ling Xiao, the war drums sounded again and all the archers swapped out their arrows to arrows doused in kerosene. With an order, balls of fire were lit and the bows were all pulled taut and ready to fire!
"Fire!" The red flag waved down!
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh…" The arrows shot out with a swoosh and a sea of fire could be seen in the air. However, the arrows were not shot towards the Northern Wei troops but the previously laid out logs. These wooden logs were already soaked in kerosene and they burst out into flames upon contact with the flaming arrows. All of a sudden, the Sky Bearing army was surrounded by a sea of fire! The torrential heatwave made the hair on the Sky Bearing soldiers curl up from the heat.
From time to time, the crackling flames could be heard as the bodies of the Northern Wei soldiers were burned alive. Following the miserable wails of the Northern Wei soldiers, an unbearable stench then spread across the battlefield.
On the corpse-littered battlefield, some of the originally motionless bodies began to contort in pain as their bodies sprang up like zombies rising up from their graves! The strange and eerie scene in front of them made both the troops break out in cold sweat!
"KILL!!!" The Northern Wei soldiers bellowed as they charged over with their blades. However, none of them expected this sudden sea of flames to appear in front of them! There were many who could not stop themselves in time and charged right into the blazing flames. Then, a wave of miserable shrieks could be heard coming out from the sea of flames. There were a few who despite being able to stop themselves in time, were pushed right into the sea of flames by the soldiers behind them who were charging forward! In the sea of flames, countless of Northern Wei soldiers were running around and rolling on the ground, a miserable sight to behold. As the many Northern Wei soldiers saw the predicament of their fellow soldiers but were helpless to do anything, they all turned their heads away and did not want to witness that horrific scene.
It was as though that 200-foot radius had transformed into a living hell!
From the Northern Wei army, the drumming of the war drums sounded incessantly without any signs of stopping. Looking at the burning flames in front of them, the Northern Wei soldiers felt as though the drumming behind them was pushing them to their deaths. Thus, they could not help but cry out, "Stop drumming! It is a sea of fire in front, do you want us to be burned alive?"
The young Shui man sat atop his horse and ordered with a heartless expression, "Execute any who retreat from fear! Attack! Destroy Ling Xiao's army!"
Wei ChengPing's face began to contort as he witnessed his soldiers struggling in the sea of flame.
