Chapter 1606: Xingtian Retreats

After all, they had only dealt a blow to the number of Soldiers in the Xingtian Tribe, but they had not been able to conduct a careful count, nor were they certain of the extent of the damage they had inflicted; they could only guess that the casualties were certainly heavy, but perhaps Xingtian could still continue to resist stubbornly.

But if their food were gone, then they would have no ability at all to continue resisting and would certainly have to retreat; in all likelihood, they would return to Changyang Mountain to hold their final position and ensure that the Shennong Clan would not perish.

Yet if Shaoyin and his men were left behind and the food was seized back, then Xingtian would truly have the capital to continue fighting on, so Xuanyuan could not help but worry about Shaoyin; however, he did not care much whether Shaoyin lived or died, because this was war, and where there is war, there is death. He himself could go onto the battlefield to kill the enemy, so why couldn't Shaoyin?

Although it would be a pity for such a talented young man to die, Shaoyin was not one of his Xuanyuan Tribe. Under the current circumstances, with the two sides allied, Shaoyin's death would certainly affect the war situation, but in the long run, for Huaxia to lose such a talent would actually be a good thing for the Xuanyuan Tribe.

The camp was still busy and flustered, counting the battle results. For the Soldiers at the bottom, this war was truly a bit cruel, because many people they knew had already died, or were crippled.

When a person dies, everything is gone. Although Huaxia would give them many honors and let their families and children live better lives, it was, after all, a living person who had died. Huaxia would provide for the disabled, and their future would not be too miserable; they were actually better off, at least they had survived, and given their current situation, they could no longer continue to march with the army, so they would certainly be left behind or follow the subsequent supply teams back.

For them, this was also a good thing; after all, whether they would live or die if they went back to the battlefield was hard to say.

The situation for the Xuanyuan Tribe was not optimistic, especially for those who were wounded or disabled. Although the Xuanyuan Tribe was not as short of food now and they could continue to farm after returning, Xuanyuan had no policy for settling these wounded Soldiers, so their future was not very good.

This was also a difference between Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe. Baifeng believed that those who were wounded or died for the country must be provided with sufficient preferential treatment so that they could continue to be loyal to the country, and more people would be willing to join these ranks in the future.

The Xuanyuan Tribe was different; they had no professional Soldiers. They were just ordinary people. Going out to attack land was actually for their own sake, because after it was conquered, they would also have to farm it. With better and more land, their future lives would be better. This did not require Xuanyuan to mobilize them; they could figure it out for themselves.

They also believed that death and disability were a matter of course and that there was no need for the tribe to support them, because when they went out hunting, they would also die or be crippled; being wounded in war was also to be expected. The collective consciousness of the Xuanyuan Tribe was stronger, while Huaxia attributed everything to the state and used honor and rewards to make them fight.

After counting, the casualties of Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe already accounted for one-third of the total, which was a quite terrifying number, but Xuanyuan was quite confident: "Baifeng, I went up to kill people myself, so I saw it clearly and I know it clearly. We lost one-third here, then Xingtian must have lost more than half! They are in a worse state! We have won!"

It was indeed as Xuanyuan had expected; the casualties of the Xingtian Tribe's Soldiers had already exceeded half. Originally, Xingtian thought that the number of his Soldiers was greater than that of Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe, but who could have imagined that Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe could have so many Soldiers? He had not seen a single woman from Huaxia or the Xuanyuan Tribe for so long, which gave him the illusion that Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe had brought only men this time.

It was precisely this lack of intelligence that led him to misjudge the strength of both sides. He had brought almost all his Soldiers, preparing for a night raid, only to run into the team led by Xuanyuan, and their numbers far exceeded his own.

At first, Xingtian felt he could barely cope; he would just fight and see how long it would take for Xuanyuan to feel sorry for his own Soldiers and retreat. But who could have imagined that his own camp would be attacked? That sound of explosions was something only Huaxia could produce.

So he had to retreat quickly to protect the camp, which was their lifeline, but there were not many Soldiers inside. He would not count on a group of women and Slaves to fight against the Soldiers of Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe.

However, running away made it easier to be killed. On the way back, the losses were severe. Who knew that as soon as they reached the camp, there would be another round of explosions, causing the loss of many more Soldiers.

Fortunately, Xuanyuan finally retreated, but when Xingtian checked again, his heart had already turned cold. The number of Soldiers who could continue to fight was already less than two thousand; he no longer had the ability to resist Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe.

Moreover, their food had been seized. Although they managed to grab a little back in the end, the quantity was very small. In every respect, he had completely lost.

The remaining small amount of food was just enough to support these Soldiers of theirs to return to Changyang Mountain. If there were more Soldiers, that food would really not be enough to eat.

But in this way, he could not take those women and Slaves with him, because there was no food to feed them; they would certainly starve to death and become a burden to the team.

Throughout the entire tribe, there was crying everywhere. There was no need to light any campfires, because there were sparks everywhere. Xingtian fell silent. Had he really been completely defeated like this? Was there still any hope for the Shennong Clan?

On Changyang Mountain, the Shennong tribe and a few other tribes could still gather three or four thousand Soldiers if they pooled together, but in the face of such a Huaxia and Xuanyuan Tribe, could they resist?

The road ahead to Changyang Mountain could be said to be unobstructed. Once the final point was conquered, the Shennong Clan would become the property of their two tribes. Would Huaxia and Xuanyuan really just stop there?

Xingtian felt it was impossible. All he could do was return, summon all the Soldiers, and resist to the death. Even if it meant exhausting all his Soldiers, he could not let the Shennong Clan be wiped out.

Although after this battle, the Shennong Clan would certainly decline and become a minor tribe, at least the heritage would remain, the sacrifices would not cease, and there would still be a possibility of developing again in the future.

Thinking just like this, Xingtian managed to bolster his spirits, and then he thought about his next course of action.

Fighting was definitely out of the question; he had to retreat. But how to retreat?

Xingtian looked at the surrounding environment and made a ruthless decision: "Have all the Soldiers take all the food, set out overnight, and rush back to Changyang Mountain!"