Chapter 432

One side was surging with momentum, launching a charge led by as many as six thousand Spirit Masters, and possessed an absolute superiority in numbers.

The other side, however, had already lost its momentum, with the Jialing Pass city walls and four drawbridges right behind them; amidst the collision of these iron torrents,

human lives were being harvested frantically by the Grim Reaper as if they were mere grass.

The Sacred Dragon Legion faced the Zhuge Divine Crossbows of the Zhuge Legion,

while at this moment, the Tiandou Empire Spirit Master Legion was facing ordinary soldiers.

Although they were clad in heavy armor,

what use could this heavy armor possibly be in front of Spirit Masters?

Flame and ice Attribute soul skills appeared on the battlefield first.

It was the students from the Four Elements Academy showing their power.

Water and fire are merciless;

these two absolute elemental forces were simply not something armor could withstand. Following closely behind,

was the central assault army composed of disciples from the Tang Sect's Defense Hall and Medicine Hall.

The Defense Hall disciples were in front, and the Medicine Hall disciples were behind.

They were in pairs. The attacks from the heavy armored soldiers landing on the Plate Armor Giant Rhinoceros defense of the Defense Hall disciples were no different from scratching an itch through a boot.

However,

the Soul-Breaking Spears thrusting out from the shoulders and ribs of the Defense Hall disciples caused their armor to be pierced as if it were made of paper.

Almost every time the Defense Hall disciples took a step forward,

two hundred corpses from the Spirit Empire's heavy armored legion would fall.

Six thousand Spirit Masters were like a sharp blade,

fiercely thrusting into the heart of the enemy army. The situation that should have occurred with the Spirit Empire attacking the Tiandou Empire's heavy armored battle formation,

was now happening to the Spirit Empire's own heavy armored legion. The casualties were so heavy that it made people look away in shock.

On the ramparts of Jialing Pass, the generals from the various kingdoms and duchies that made up the Spirit Empire had already knelt in a mass.

"Your Majesty, quickly send the Spirit Master Legion to rescue them. Our heavy armored legion cannot hold on much longer."

"That's right! Your Majesty. These are our elites."

"We only have these eighty thousand heavy armored troops in total at Jialing Pass."

"If they are routed by the Tiandou Empire, how will we defend the pass later?"

"Your Majesty, the First Heavy Cavalry Legion is about to be wiped out; please issue an order quickly."

"If this continues, the heavy armored legion will be finished."

A heavy armored legion is extremely important in any country; the financial resources required to form one are almost equal to ten infantry legions,

and both their equipment and the quality of their soldiers are the highest in the military system.

For the kingdoms and duchies formerly belonging to the two great empires of Tiandou and Xingluo,

it was already very difficult for each country to have even one or two heavy armored legions.

Now, watching these precious troop types being continuously slaughtered under the impact of the Tiandou Empire's great army,

how could they not feel heartache?

Bibi Dong looked at these generals before her with a somber expression,

and stated decisively: "The Spirit Master Legion cannot be sent out again. I have said that before we figure out what those weapons that kill Spirit Masters in large numbers are, we must absolutely not take risks again."

"You must understand that although the heavy armored legion is important, the Spirit Master Legion is what plays the decisive role."

"As long as the Angel Legion is still here, relying on the natural barrier of Jialing Pass, we are not afraid of being breached by the Tiandou Empire."

"Come! Pass on my order: deploy all long-range attacks to cover the retreat of the heavy armored legion."

"The Angel Legion will guard within the city walls. If the enemy army follows and charges in, intercept them immediately."

Listening to Bibi Dong's order, the generals kneeling on the ground could not help but look at each other, their eyes filled with resentment.

Of course, they dared not defy Bibi Dong's order,

after all, no one thinks their life is too long.

But in their hearts, a dark seed had already been quietly planted.

Bibi Dong's actions inevitably made them feel,

that your Spirit Master Legion is the elite,

and our soldiers are not even human.

The generals went quiet,

but their appearance of daring to be angry but not daring to speak made Bibi Dong feel even more depressed.

Ever since the founding of the Spirit Empire, she had always been full of confidence,

but only until this moment did she realize,

that in true battlefield command, she was ultimately not a commander seasoned in battle.

Commanding Spirit Master battles was fine,

but once the battlefield fell into chaos, her heart became somewhat disordered.

After becoming a god, there were still some things that could not be made up for.

Of course, this was not enough to change Bibi Dong's decision,

for in her heart, nothing was more important than the Spirit Masters under her command.

The giant defensive crossbows on Jialing Pass began to show their power,

and in coordination with a large number of archers, they continuously rained down large swaths of sharp arrows toward the foot of the city.

Marshal Gelong had long been prepared.

Seeing that his own troops had entered the enemy's long-range attack reach, he immediately issued an order.

The ten light cavalry legions that had charged into the battlefield from both flanks scattered rapidly, circling out in a large arc from the sides.

They swept toward the rear.

They did not go far.

Instead, they reorganized their formation five miles from the main battlefield, ready to support the front at any time.

Ordinary arrows were no threat at all to heavy cavalry.

Every heavy cavalryman was like a tin can.

Even their warhorses were wrapped in armor.

Arrows could only leave a series of sparks on their armor.

What was truly threatening were the giant city-defense crossbows.

There were as many as one hundred and fifty giant city-defense crossbows on Jialing Pass.

Each bolt used by the giant crossbows was one point two meters long; when fired suddenly,

within a range of one thousand meters, their attack power exceeded that of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

Even an ordinary Spirit Master would never dare let one hit them head-on.

Of course, the firing speed of the giant city-defense crossbows could not compare to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

As long as there was preparation, it was still very difficult for these giant crossbows to hit a Spirit Master. Moreover, the bolts themselves were huge,

which also allowed high-level Spirit Masters to be prepared and intercept their attacks.

But even so, under the fire of the giant crossbows,

casualties on the Tiandou Empire side began to increase.

The eight heavy legions of the Spirit Empire fought while retreating.

They had long since lost their fighting spirit; when the vast majority of the soldiers retreated to the other side of the drawbridge,

and held their ground relying on the dangerous terrain,

combined with the giant crossbows and bows on the city walls, the situation finally stabilized.

After several charges were blocked,

Marshal Gelong immediately issued an order to retreat.

The Tiandou Empire had dispatched all cavalry this time; although the speed of heavy cavalry could not compare to light cavalry,

it was still much faster than infantry when in motion.

Watching as a large number of soldiers retreated like a tide,

Marshal Gelong led the Spirit Master Legion to cover the rear, to prevent the Spirit Empire from launching a counterattack.

After the Tiandou Empire's great army retreated five miles like a tide,

they stopped under the command of Marshal Gelong.

They rearranged into a neat formation,

appearing ready to launch a second charge at any time.

At this moment, the Zhuge Legion had moved again.

However, they were not attacking this time, but rapidly clearing the battlefield.

Every bolt forged by the Tang Sect was worth a fortune.

Moreover, their own supply was only one hundred and twenty bolts,

plus the forty-eight already in the crossbow mechanisms, each Zhuge Legion soldier was equipped with only one hundred and sixty-eight bolts.

Therefore, they had to recover the fired bolts from the battlefield for secondary use.

This was also why Marshal Gelong did not lead the great army to retreat directly back to their own side.

With them deterring from the front,

the Spirit Empire army at Jialing Pass dared not act rashly.

This was a perfect victory, a perfect victory no one had expected.

Relying on this battle, the Tiandou Empire, which already had an absolute advantage in numbers, almost pressed the opposing Spirit Empire until they could not catch their breath.

Not only was morale low, but those hastily assembled generals also had a shadow cast over their hearts.

There was even a feeling of schadenfreude regarding the losses of the Sacred Dragon Legion.

After all, the high and mighty status of the Spirit Master Legion had always been enviable,

and the relationship between those Spirit Empire Spirit Masters, who were accustomed to being arrogant and domineering, and these ordinary generals and soldiers was already tense.

Marshal Gelong was currently considering whether to charge one more time.

Now was the moment when his side's morale was at its highest and the enemy's morale was at its lowest.

"Your Majesty, I suggest charging one more time."

"Perhaps we might have a chance to charge into the city; even if not, we can afford to trade in a war of attrition."

Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was right at the edge of the battlefield.

The fact that the Emperor and the soldiers were together could be said to be an important reason for the great increase in morale.

I do not know how many people tried to persuade Qian Renxue to move further back, saying it was too dangerous,

but she rejected them all.

Below the level of a god, nothing could threaten her.

"Strategically, of course, the Marshal is in charge."

"I am not proficient in marching and fighting."

"However, I personally believe that now is not a good opportunity for a charge."

"Although the morale at Jialing Pass is low, the soldiers of the Spirit Empire also know what it would mean for them if the pass were breached,"

"Most importantly, there is still an elite Spirit Master Legion of the Spirit Empire behind the pass."

"Marshal, you must not become careless just because we defeated their Spirit Master Legion today."

"You saw for yourself just now, when we attacked them, the true formidable nature of a Spirit Master Legion."

"And our six thousand Spirit Masters are far from being able to compare to any Spirit Master Legion of the Spirit Empire."

"They are holding the pass by relying on the terrain, which prevents the power of our Zhuge Legion's Zhuge Divine Crossbows from being unleashed; if we force a charge, I fear the losses will be heavy."

Hearing Qian Renxue's words, Ge Long nodded and agreed immediately,

"Very well. We won a great victory in the first battle, so it is indeed not advisable to be overly reckless."

"Pass my order to the entire army: sound the gongs and withdraw."

……

"My dear sister, you lost this battle,"

Qian Renxue transmitted the message to Bibi Dong using her divine sense.

Bibi Dong's face turned livid; she had not expected to lose.

She did not know what those things that could cause massive damage to low-level Spirit Masters were,

The opponent was Qian Renxue,

Who knew everything about the Spirit Hall clearly, and knew exactly how many undercover agents were within the Tiandou Empire,

Ever since those undercover agents were rooted out, she had known very little about the internal situation.

She had been hit by a severe information gap.

"Little Xue, don't be smug; you will eventually fall by my hands."

For several days, the Tiandou Empire's grand army routinely challenged them to battle,

But Jialing Pass remained closed and refused to come out; after quickly repairing the damaged city walls,

They ignored the insults shouted by the Tiandou Empire's army in front of the formation and refused to come out to fight no matter what.

Qian Renxue also told Bibi Dong to come out of the city to fight if she had the ability, but she simply would not come out.

The Tiandou Empire also brought up siege equipment to test the defenses, but the results were minimal, and the losses were quite significant.

When one wants to take a city,

The best way is to force the opponent out to engage in battle,

The next best is to besiege the city, surrounding it without attacking, and cutting off supplies,

The absolute worst is to conduct a siege,

Not to mention whether a siege can succeed, the attack alone will come at a very high price,

Because no matter how many soldiers there are, only a certain number can attack at once; the city wall is only so big, and the defenders have the high ground,

One person can exert the strength of many; even if the city is taken, the cost may far outweigh the gains.

When the Zhuge Legion's Hidden Weapons cannot unleash their power, and the Spirit Master Legion inside the pass joins the defensive line,

Even if the Tiandou Empire possesses a million-strong army, it is difficult to cross the line.

Inside Qian Renxue's military command tent,

Most of the top personnel participating in the Tiandou Empire's campaign were already here,

His Majesty Qian Renxue, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, Tang Sect's Power Hall Master Titan, Tang Sect's Zhandang Hall Master and former Clear Sky Sect Great Elder, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Sect Master Ning Fengzhi, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Elder Sword Douluo Chen Xin, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, Shrek Academy Dean Flender, Marshal Ge Long...

Qian Renxue spoke slowly,

"Since everyone is here, let us begin the meeting."

"Although our army achieved a huge victory in the first battle, heavily damaging the Spirit Empire's army and their Spirit Master Legion, the current situation is still very unfavorable for us."

"Our army looks like a million-strong force with magnificent momentum, suppressing the Spirit Empire's army at Jialing Pass so they dare not strike out again."

"But in reality, Jialing Pass is relying on the terrain to defend, which is far easier than what we are doing."

"We must be on guard at all times against a surprise attack they might launch at any moment, while they have no such worries at all."

"At the same time, most importantly, precisely because our army is so massive, the consumption of supplies is also an astronomical figure."

"We cannot afford to drag this out; although we have been preparing for these years, if we drag it out like this for a long time, and the logistics cannot keep up, our army will inevitably collapse without a fight."

"The Spirit Empire looks like they have far fewer troops than us, but relying on the natural barrier of Jialing Pass, plus their massive number of Spirit Masters, it is very difficult for us to break the pass."

"Even if we want to engage in a war of attrition with them, it is not a simple matter either."

"The Spirit Empire possesses tens of thousands of Spirit Masters, while we only have a few thousand; if we do not deploy Spirit Masters, then during a siege, the consumption of our soldiers will reach a terrifying level."

"If we send out Spirit Masters, we simply cannot afford the consumption."

"Therefore, our situation is not optimistic. We must change this situation as soon as possible."

"Either find a good way to break the pass, or find a way to lure the Spirit Empire out of the pass to fight."

"And what we are going to discuss in today's meeting is how we can achieve these two possibilities."

Hearing Qian Renxue's words, almost everyone frowned,

Jialing Pass was like a fortress without any gaps,

The city was extremely sturdy, and behind it were a large number of Spirit Master troops acting as the backbone of the defense,

Under these circumstances, the Zhuge Legion, which the Tiandou Empire used to counter the Spirit Empire's Spirit Master Legion, could not unleash its greatest effect,

To effectively inflict damage on the opponent's Spirit Masters.

The trouble they understood, the Spirit Empire naturally understood as well.

Holding the pass by relying on the terrain like this now was intended to wear down Tiandou.