Chapter 1603: Xuanyuan Withdraws Troops

However, everything seemed not to be going as he wished, for as soon as he stepped into his own camp, he was attacked by bombs. Although they failed to land the bombs in the center of their position, it still caused injuries to those near the Boshui.

Furthermore, the dense barrage of bombs made it impossible for them to approach the camp; it was simply too dangerous. Now, they could neither enter the camp nor retreat, so Xingtian had no choice but to turn around and order everyone to begin a counterattack, no longer fleeing. If they kept fleeing, how low would their morale sink?

Upon hearing the bombs, Xuanyuan's spirits soared even higher: "It's the ambush by Shaoyin and Yinglong! Faster, faster! Attack!"

Xingtian did not retreat, and Xuanyuan pressed forward; the two sides began a chaotic melee once again. The people in the Xingtian Tribe camp also began to help their clansmen, even if it meant picking up a wooden stick to join the fight.

Seeing that the bombs could no longer be used, Shaoyin and the others had no choice but to send some Soldiers ashore to support Xuanyuan and attack from the flanks.

Yinglong took this task upon himself directly. He grabbed Shaoyin: "That is our Tribal Chief over there; let me go. Shaoyin, you should stay here and command; you are smarter, and you know how to make these people here perform to their maximum effect, but I cannot. So, let me go!"

Shaoyin did not act coy. He needed Military Merit, but the wave he had already achieved here was enough. He had fought beautifully, his command was appropriate and timely, and what Yinglong said was right—staying here, he might be able to make these Soldiers perform miracles.

Shaoyin had people bring two rafts to the shore, while the others remained in the water, forming a sort of floating bridge to let Yinglong and the others get ashore quickly. Yinglong led more than half the men and charged up immediately, determined to give his Tribal Chief a good helping hand, while Shaoyin could only watch from the water, seeing if he could help at a critical moment.

The Fourth Battalion Commander sent out by Baifeng led his Fourth Battalion in a rapid raid. By the time they reached the previous battlefield, there was no one left, but hearing the wails rising one after another, the Fourth Battalion Commander could not care about anything else and hurriedly ordered the Soldiers to search for their own people—the ones still alive.

Shouting and rummaging, they found their own people, and they also had to deliver the finishing blow to those of the Xingtian Tribe who were not yet dead. For some of their own who were clearly beyond saving and felt only pain, they would have the Fourth Battalion men help them, helping them find release so they would not suffer so much.

Soon, the Fourth Battalion Commander found over a hundred wounded, almost all of them severely injured, from both the Xuanyuan Tribe and the Huaxia. However, the mission to pursue and support was still on his shoulders. After a brief inquiry, he learned that the strength of both sides was about equal, and the Fourth Battalion Commander knew he had to keep moving forward, but he could not ignore the wounded; these were his brothers.

Thus, he left the Second Company behind to bring all the wounded back, and he took the rest of the men to continue the pursuit. It worked out well, as the Second Company returning could also bring back the current news so that the King would no longer be anxious in vain.

The battle grew increasingly white-hot, and everyone began to feel their physical strength waning. The Xingtian Tribe had nowhere left to retreat. When this war would end now depended entirely on Xuanyuan.

Just as they were killing with abandon, the Fourth Battalion Commander arrived with his men. Without a word, they started hacking away. The situation tilted toward Xuanyuan once again, and the Xingtian Tribe's situation became even worse.

But Xuanyuan clearly felt that his own people were exhausted and could barely hold on. Although the Xingtian Tribe people were no better off, they would certainly fight to the death to protect their tribe and would not retreat or surrender.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed impossible to wipe out the Xingtian Tribe completely, and if they kept fighting like this, his own casualties might become quite high.

As Xuanyuan was weighing when to retreat, Yinglong also fought his way from the flank to Xuanyuan's side. As soon as Xuanyuan saw Yinglong, he immediately asked: "How did you do? How is their camp now?"

Yinglong went straight to the point: "We snatched their food!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan laughed immediately, knowing it was time to retreat. What use was a large tribe without food? The larger the tribe, the faster they would die, because there were more mouths to feed.

So he began to shout: "All units, prepare to retreat! Take the wounded and the Weapon with you! Prepare to retreat!"

Hearing the news that Xuanyuan was retreating, Xingtian found it unbelievable. Xuanyuan clearly held the advantage; why retreat suddenly? This did not conform to reason at all.

But since the order was given, other Soldiers echoed and passed it on, so the order spread throughout the entire battlefield. The people of the Xingtian Tribe heard it too, and everyone instantly ceased their offensive. The two sides just stood in a standoff with their weapons, no longer attacking each other.

Xingtian shouted at Xuanyuan from within the ranks: "Xuanyuan, why are you retreating! Why not fight to the death tonight and see the result?!"

Xuanyuan laughed heartily and then said: "Xingtian! Your food has all been taken by us; why would we still fight you to the death? You had better think about what your clansmen here will eat tomorrow! Will they starve to death?!"

Xingtian was shocked—how could his food have been snatched away!

Although it could not be verified now and the clansmen did not know if it was true or false, once Xuanyuan's words were out, the fighting spirit of the Xingtian Tribe clansmen was shattered. No food meant death—indisputable death, death without suspense.

Xuanyuan's goal had been completely achieved, so when he led his Soldiers away, the people of the Xingtian Tribe almost let them leave, taking no action at all, even looking forward to the Xuanyuan Tribe withdrawing their troops. Xingtian's heart had almost gone cold.

However, because of their position, they could not go to the side of the Boshui to tell Shaoyin that they had retreated, so Shaoyin was still waiting on the shore. In the end, he did not wait for Yinglong to return, but instead waited for the returning Xingtian Tribe Soldiers.

They saw the rafts and the food on the rafts, so they began to call out to their own people quickly: "Come quickly, come quickly! The food they snatched is all here!"

These words were like a deep-sea bomb, and countless people immediately swarmed over. After one look, they were about to rush into the water. Shaoyin reacted immediately: "Cut the ropes! Cut the ropes!"

The two rafts connected to the shore were abandoned, as there was nothing left on them anyway. The connecting ropes were cut, all the stone anchors were cut as well, and with a push from the poles, the rafts slowly moved away from the shore.

The people of the Xingtian Tribe jumped into the water and swam vigorously, but were forced back by Spears. Afterward, with a few more pushes from the poles and the help of the current, the rafts left the Xingtian Tribe camp at a very fast speed. However, on the shore, many Xingtian Tribe people were still chasing, jumping into the water midway in an attempt to block them.