Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1826 - 1819: Dare to Draw the Sword

Chapter 1826: Chapter 1819: Dare to Draw the Sword

The five flag formations coordinated seamlessly, firing rounds simultaneously from 360 degrees. Within effective range, the charging cavalry fell alongside their horses, causing a chaos of human and equine bodies, amidst the sounds of gunfire, human screams, and the neighing of warhorses reverberating across the grasslands.

The momentum of the Yipa cavalry charge was abruptly halted, and the volley firing resulted in heavy casualties for them. Yet, more than the casualties, their biggest loss was the significant blow to their morale.

But if they were to be defeated because of this, they wouldn’t be the formidable grassland warriors that troubled the Dongsheng Empire immensely.

Despite the damage to morale, the charging Yipa cavalry didn’t consider retreat, instead, they galloped over the bodies of men and warhorses, resolutely charging towards the flag formation of the Dongsheng army.

Facing the rapidly advancing Yipa cavalry, each rank-and-file infantryman had just enough time to fire one round before having to deal with the enemy’s attack.

Thus, after completing one round of shooting, these infantrymen didn’t immediately reload but clutched their firearms tightly, the gleaming bayonets aimed outside the formation.

The Dongsheng army had long tested whether rank-and-file infantry could engage in melee combat.

During the West Outer Heaven war, the reorganized Demon Clan infantry not only dared to volley fire in formation but also engaged in close quarters combat with the Dongsheng army, defeating the seemingly invincible Dongsheng troops with their rudimentary firearms.

The Demon Clan infantry’s heroic performance left a deep impression on the Dongsheng army generals. They were eager to understand the reason behind the Demon Clan infantry’s formidable strength, and they found the answer with Cheng Ziang.

The answer was simple: ironclad discipline.

But though the answer was simple, implementing it was fraught with difficulties.

The Demon Clan army was so adept in battle partly due to the technical innovations of the High-peak people, and partly thanks to Luo’er’s continuous propaganda efforts.

It was precisely through propaganda efforts that the Demon Clan unified the internal forces of Abisien, consolidating all the power of the Demon Clan. Such power could be wielded effortlessly no matter how strong the enemy they faced.

Yet clearly, the new Dongsheng army couldn’t muster a propaganda offensive like the Demon Clan, so they could only enlist the young and robust through the lure of military achievements. For the Wen Family’s Imperial Court, spinning grand promises was their forte.

The composition of the new Dongsheng army consisted mainly of peasant slaves; the peasants aspired to make their mark and receive promised rewards from the Imperial Court, while the slaves hoped to change their identity, transforming from slaves to commoners.

Though they couldn’t totally escape the framework of a feudal army, the new Dongsheng army, as an attempt by the Wen Family’s Imperial Court, succeeded at least on the surface.

After taking a series of blows, the Yipa cavalry finally reached the outer area of the flag formation, only to be met with countless intimidating gunpoints and bayonets.

The shieldsmen at the periphery of the flag formation set their shields on the ground while the subsequent spearmen inserted their spear butts into the ground, extending the spearheads through the gaps in the shields.

The Yipa cavalry directly collided with the long spears that had long been prepared, with many cavalrymen impaled along with their horses.

Even those who narrowly avoided the spearheads found progress hard due to the obstruction of the long spears and shields. More rearward riflemen began attempting to lift these cavalrymen off their horses with bayonets and stab them to death. free.web(n)ove(l)(.)cm

More and more cavalry started charging the outer rings of the flag formation, but without exception, all were blocked at the perimeter. As their charges stalled, the Yipa cavalry began dismounting for ground combat.

They no longer had the chance to turn back because their allies were continuously surging towards the flag formations, making retreat impossible.

But how could dismounted cavalry possibly stand against the Dongsheng army? Not to mention the rearward riflemen and spearmen, even the forefront shieldsmen could inflict effective damage on them.

The Yipa cavalry seemed numerous and formidable, yet it had been mentioned earlier that their equipment was truly subpar.

Although their opponents, the Dongsheng army, also had low armor coverage, it wasn’t due to lack of resources, but an intentional choice.

In fact, even in a contest without armor from both sides, the Yipa cavalry would struggle against the Dongsheng army. Once the Yipa cavalry’s charge stalled, they stood no chance against the Dongsheng soldiers.

Through their formations, the Dongsheng army could effectively inflict damage on the Yipa cavalry, who needed to organize a similar formation to pose a direct threat to the orderly Dongsheng soldiers, absent the momentum of their charge.

In truth, the Yipa cavalry’s path to defeating the Dongsheng army was simple: organize similarly scaled rank-and-file infantry and attempt volleys with the Dongsheng army.

By doing so, the Dongsheng army wouldn’t be able to maintain their concentric circle formation and would have to spread out, hence giving Yipa cavalry angles to charge.

The problem, however, was that Yipa people simply couldn’t acquire firearms, let alone establish rank-and-file infantry.

Their attack methods were too singular, while the Dongsheng army had corresponding countermeasures for most of their offensive strategies.

Therefore, one could say that since the beginning of the battle, the Yipa army has been thoroughly outmatched by the Dongsheng troops, without room for struggle.

Soon, more and more Yipa cavalry arrived at the flag formation periphery, starting to fight dismounted. The rearward Yipa archer cavalry realized the dire situation and began mobile shooting attempts to harm the Dongsheng army from afar.

Facing this situation, Jiuyun Shuang commanded the front two ranks of infantry to engage in melee combat, while the third rank of riflemen started reloading to shoot at the distant archer cavalry.

At the same time, as the Yipa cavalry charge stalled, more individuals were forced to gather in one place, and the artillery of the Kunzhou in the sky began to unleash its power, relentlessly firing countless shots and fragmentation grenades into densely populated areas.

The Yipa cavalry’s tenacity took Jiuyun Shuang by surprise, as this battle continued for more than three hours.

During these three hours, the Yipa cavalry faced not only melee damage but also gunfire from the flag formation center and bombardments from above.

In the sky and on the ground, pungent white smoke from gunpowder lingered, slowly dispersing with the wind. At the height of battle, the entire flag formation was enveloped in smoke, like being amidst fog.

Drifting across the grassland were shouts of kill, screams, and countless thunderous sounds of gunfire and exploding bombs.

The stinging gunpowder fumes blended with the strong smell of blood, completely overpowering the naturally fresh scents of earth and grass.

At this stage of the battle, both sides were entirely consumed with aggression, playing the deadly game red-eyed. The bloodthirsty Dongsheng soldiers even contemplated launching a counter-charge several times, but were fortunately stopped in time by flag formation commands.

After three hours of intensive combat, the Yipa army showed a marked decline, with some soldiers attempting to break free and retreat in disarray.

Even Toto realized they couldn’t continue the fight, thus he gave the order to retreat.

Upon hearing the horn, each Yipa cavalryman felt relieved, pulling away from engagements, starting to retreat, many even abandoning their horses, desperately running back.

The frenzied Dongsheng soldiers roared, while the flag formation commanders worked hard to maintain formation stability, ensuring these soldiers wouldn’t launch a reactive counter-charge due to impulse, hence disrupting the formation.

Once the Yipa cavalry fully retreated, the peripheries of the five flag formations were piled high with mountainous heaps of corpses, not only of people but a substantial number of warhorses as well.

This battle resulted in heavy Yipa cavalry casualties, over five thousand, while the Dongsheng army also suffered significant losses, with more than fifteen hundred casualties from the charge.

Some flag formations were even breached by the Yipa cavalry, and the Dongsheng soldiers struggled to counter-attack and regain control to maintain their formation.

Though both sides suffered severe casualties, their attitudes were distinctly different.

The Yipa army was truly frightened, as the ferocity of the Dongsheng soldiers exceeded their expectations, and their intense resistance caught them off guard.

Conversely, in the Dongsheng army, despite considerable casualties, their courage only grew. The Yipa cavalry’s charge not only did not intimidate them but actually invigorated them.

The Dongsheng soldiers, having just caught their breath, were brimming with excitement, eagerly anticipating their opponent’s next charge to engage in another bloody battle. The casualties not only failed to instill fear but actually fueled their fighting spirit.