Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1819 - 1812: Rear Combat

Chapter 1819: Chapter 1812: Rear Combat

However, it was apparent that Jiuyun Shuang did not consider the problem from the family’s standpoint.

After years of political immersion, he naturally believed that the family’s private soldiers could be freely mobilized by the Imperial Court, as they were nominally subordinated to the Court.

The longer he stayed at the Court, the more Jiuyun Shuang hated his father’s appeasement policy towards threats beyond the frontier.

However, as long as his father was willing to send troops to help, Jiuyun Shuang was more than happy to accept. With the logistical support from the Jiuyun Clan, Jiuyun Shuang advanced rapidly, and within half a day, he was already aboard Kunzhou beyond the pass.

After passing the frontier, facing the endless desert dotted with grasslands, Jiuyun Shuang started the next phase of his plan.

Not all of the northwest of the Dongsheng Empire is grassland; a large area is desert.

Especially in the area bordering the Dongsheng Empire, it is mostly desert. After a certain distance, you will enter the grasslands on which the Yipa people rely for survival.

Thanks to the cavalry support led by Jiuyun Ke, Jiuyun Shuang no longer had to worry about how to contain the main force of the Yipa army.

Out of ten thousand troops, he left half to station at the pass as reserve forces for combat. The remaining half followed him aboard Kunzhou deep into the wilderness, seeking traces of grasslands and settlements.

The help from the family was comprehensive. Jiuyun Shuang not only received cavalry support from his brother but also obtained various intelligence on Yipa tribes beyond the frontier at no cost, including water sources, main settlement points, and migration directions and times.

This intelligence was like a treasured possession for the Jiuyun Clan, who managed the border territories.

Jiuyun Zheng would not easily share it with others. But because the commander of the Court’s army was his son, he was willing to share this intelligence.

After receiving the vast amount of intelligence provided by his father, Jiuyun Shuang felt no worries and ordered the Kunzhou fleet to enter the clouds, heading straight for the enemy’s settlements.

Every so often, he would order a Kunzhou to descend, release scout cavalry, and establish transit supply stations to ensure that support from the rear could also be transported to the front lines by ground.

However, commanding the Kunzhou fleet made communication problematic.

Communication between Kunzhou was mainly through flag signals, while communication with the rear had to rely on carrier pigeons.

This is a small bird species unique to the East Continent. Despite being called carrier pigeons, it’s actually a translation issue, and they’re not related to the real carrier pigeons on Earth.

The speed of a fully accelerated Kunzhou was astonishing. The fleet led by Jiuyun Shuang, within a day and night, penetrated over a hundred kilometers beyond the frontier, arriving above the first settlement.

At this point, a letter from his brother in the rear arrived, stating that Jiuyun Ke’s cavalry encountered the main forces of the Yipa army.

To counter the Dongsheng Empire’s attack, the Yipa’s three tribal divisions pooled their resources to amass an elite army of one hundred thousand, prepared to initiate a confrontation with the Dongsheng Empire.

Jiuyun Ke soon encountered the enemy’s vanguard of about twenty thousand surrounding them, but luckily the cavalry led by Jiuyun Shuang was brave beyond measure and fought their way through a bloody path, suffering only about a hundred losses, to retreat towards the pass.

It can be said that Jiuyun Ke performed the task of covering and containing excellently.

His bravery led the Yipa army’s commanders to misjudge, believing that these were the main vanguard of the Dongsheng army, and ordered a full advance to pursue the retreating Jiuyun Ke, unaware that their real rear was facing the true main force of the Dongsheng military.

After receiving his brother’s letter, Jiuyun Shuang felt confident and immediately waved his hand to order, "Landing, prepare for combat!"

Thus, under the terrified gaze of the Yipa people, the massive airborne fleet of the Dongsheng Empire emerged from the clouds and began to land on the grass. A large number of infantry poured out, and a small number of cavalry began to patrol the grassland.

The Yipa people were so shocked that they even forgot to intercept the landing of the Dongsheng army, watching helplessly as the army landed on the grass and began to assemble and form lines.

The Overturning Beast let out a clear and melodious cry, waking up the stunned Yipa people.

At this time, the Yipa tribe had more than ten thousand people, but the garrison force was less than five hundred, with the rest being the elderly, women, and children. Even the horses equipped for the garrison forces were mostly old and lame.

While the Dongsheng army was still assembling, the Yipa people finally realized they needed to counterattack.

They were quite relieved as the Dongsheng army mainly consisted of infantry, with very few cavalry, so there was no need to be overly afraid.

So, after some preparation, a cavalry force of over two hundred charged out, rushing towards the Dongsheng army a few hundred meters away.

Because of the need for the army to land and deploy, Jiuyun Shuang did not directly land on top of the settlement but chose a spot several hundred meters beside it to allow the army to assemble into formations before launching an attack.

However, facing the aggressive charging Yipa cavalry, Ziyan, who was responsible for forming the line, did not panic. Instead, he drew his waist knife and shouted sternly, "Front line, form up, prepare to meet the enemy!"

Under his command, the slightly panicked front line of the Dongsheng army began to assemble into formation, standing in front to provide cover for their comrades behind.

"Bayonets on!" Ziyan shouted loudly from the side of the formation.

This time he did not hide at the back as he did last time but stood with the formation.

He actually had a misunderstanding. Cheng Ziang meant that the commanders in direct charge of the formation need to be parallel to the formation, not that all officers need to be parallel to the formation.

Generals like Jiuyun Shuang and Ziyan could completely command from behind without following the formation.

However, it was apparent that Ziyan did not particularly care about these details.

One must know that they are all cultivators, compared to the commanders of the Demon Clan’s army, they can endure more damage and even charge into the battlefield, so there’s really no need to worry about these issues.

Under his command, the line infantry of the Dongsheng army drew the standardized military spikes from their waists and attached them to the muzzles.

If the length of the Demon Clan’s army muskets was just right, then the long guns of the Dongsheng army were slightly excessive in length.

Adding the equally long bayonet, the length of the entire gun exceeded 1.8 meters, almost like a long spear.

Ziyan gave the soldiers very little time to fix their bayonets and soon shouted another command, "Prepare!"

His voice echoed across the grassland, and the soldiers raised their muskets, already loaded and aimed at the charging Yipa cavalry.

The horses of the Yipa are different from those of Kyushu; Kyushu horses are tall, with strong impact, and very intimidating. However, Yipa horses are much smaller but have excellent endurance, more suited for long-distance raids.

Because of this, the cavalry they face now is entirely different from the cavalry the Demon Clan army faced.

The Demon Clan people are relatively short, while the Dongsheng cavalry height generally exceeded 2.5 meters, offering substantial impact when charging head-on, though even the Demon Clan people managed to withstand the shock of the Dongsheng cavalry and completely drove the Dongsheng army out of West Outer Heaven.

The army led by Jiuyun Shuang, though born from a hasty military reform, was far surpassed by the former Dongsheng army in terms of morale and military equipment, but they excelled in their strong fighting spirit.

To gather sufficient troops, the Wen Family’s Imperial Court adopted a recruitment system to enlist soldiers. It was stipulated that any slaves who served in the army for five years could obtain civilian status and become a part of the Dongsheng Empire, with no restrictions on race.

That is to say, Demon Clan slaves only needed to serve in the army for five years to become subjects of the Dongsheng Empire. Moreover, one person joining the army meant honor for the whole family.

Of course, this family includes parents, spouse, and children, but does not extend to other family relations.

Additionally, the Wen Family’s Imperial Court stipulated that if soldiers served and engaged in combat, they needed only serve for two years to gain status. If they distinguished themselves in battle, they might even receive titles and rewards.

It was this policy that spurred the Demon Clan people in the Dongsheng Empire to scramble to join the army, hoping fervently for the Court to instigate warfare immediately, for then they could reduce their service time by three years.

Thus, at this moment, the Yipa cavalry faced not a ragtag band but a regular army with a strong will to fight.

The Dongsheng soldiers who enlisted and participated in combat were invariably thinking of achieving great military success for their future lives.

The Wen Family’s Imperial Court intended to recruit over two hundred thousand military reserve forces for its own use, thereby securing an absolutely loyal armed force to respond to various challenges.