Chapter 443: Heroic Souls Don’t Die!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yutang's Steel Cavalry howled, leaving only dust behind as they returned victorious.
It was too bad that it was not a complete victory – they would only consider it complete if all thirty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry could come back safe and sound. That was only a wild wish that would happen in novels. How could there be no casualties in a real battle of thirty thousand men?
Behind the dust filled back of the 30 thousand Steel Cavalry, it was the incredibly chaotic military base of Dongxuan.
The bloody path was not yet closed off, it was still frightening to look upon.
Then, a line of cavalry could be seen rushing over from the left flank, raging like a dragon. Their leader was yelling from afar in fury, "Wang Dingguo! Stay and fight with me if you have the guts!"
Hearing the invitation from afar, Wang Dingguo could not help chortling in amusement and then howled into the sky, "Yutang's Steel Cavalry!"
His comrades behind him guffawed coarsely as well, "Peerless in the world!"
Wang Dingguo did not slow down, leading his troop in galloping towards their own base, and roared, "Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry! Only bullsh*t!"
"Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry! Only bullsh*t!" His Steel Cavalry repeated his coarse insults verbatim.
"We will take your worthless head the next time we meet!" Wang Dingguo was still laughing. "Your grandfather is tired today, and shall not be your company anymore!"
Amidst the savage chortling, Yutang's Steel Cavalry charged home like a sweeping wave.
Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry that had rushed here speedily almost spat blood when they heard the cheer. They were only about ten breaths away from catching up to stop them! The Shadow Cavalry's horses had almost broken their legs trying to catch up to Yutang's Steel Cavalry, but they had still lacked that tiny amount of distance and had not managed to stop the other party.
Ultimately, they could only watch as their opponent escaped like a released arrow – swiftly passing them by!
They were infuriated, but there was nowhere to vent their rage.
Puu!
The head of Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry threw the spear in his hand onto the ground in front of him. A big piece of soil splattered at his feet. He was madly cursing, "Wang Dingguo! I shall kill you!"
With a wave of his hand, he ordered his troop to retreat, "Head back!"
Zhan Ge, who had witnessed the Steel Cavalry coming like a hurricane and leaving like a tsunami, showed deep shock in his gaze.
The Steel Cavalry was so uniformly dauntless, it was terrifying!
How could he annihilate such a solid army?
Fu Baoguo – a famed marshal of his time indeed!
The intention was clear for him to strike at this time, yet he had done it magnificently!
Zhan Ge looked at the generals and soldiers around him, all of them were angered and humiliated, yet, there was no doubt that there was also faint lingering fear in their faces. Their eyes spoke of being deeply intimidated by what had just taken place.
The boosted morale and affirmation for victory from Fu Baoguo's perceived lack of response and passive defense, and even the celebratory joy when both troops assembled were all gone, without a single drop left.
The greatest disadvantage of this battle was that their peaking confidence had been devasted by the enemy, driven straight into the ground!
Zhan Ge was well aware that the team spirit on his side could hardly be spurred again in a short amount of time. In other words, before Marshal Han Sanhe's troop came, there was no way Dongxuan's army could go to war again.
It was not that they were too lethargic, they had lost the sense of invincibility that they had worn around them before.
The thirty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry had savagely breached their fortifications manned by an army of three hundred thousand men twice, slaughtering and leaving as they wished. In turn, their morale had escalated incrementally.
If Zhan Ge were to attack now, there was a high chance that Fu Baoguo would deploy all his military strength to contend against him.
However, one side was low in spirit while another was fervently itching to fight; under such a distinction of morale, Zhan Ge had no hope of victory. There was only defeat waiting for him; his troops could break down at once, resulting in a landslide loss!
Zhan Ge could not afford such an outcome.
"Draw back the troops, reorganize the supplies. Shadow Cavalry, forward, be prepared for the enemy's next attack!"
Zhan Ge could only command this after serious contemplation, sighing in dejection inwardly.
He had thought that he did not pale in comparison to the reputable general – at least, the contrast was not that great. Prior to Fu Baoguo's passive defensive mode, he had even felt a sense of ridicule of his enemy's abilities, thinking that the opposite party was only as it seemed – that his reputation as the top military talent in Yutang's younger generation was utter rubbish.
However, he had been taught a brutal lesson by Fu Baoguo whom he had looked down on today!
Indeed, the few people who could be at the top of the ranking were never ordinary.
The top military talent of Yutang's younger generation, the appointed heir to Yutang's three military bosses, Fang Qingtian, rang true to his name indeed!
How he had seized the chance for war, such an immediate and impactful tactic, the unexpected warfare…
"How sharp and impressive!"
Zhan Ge's gaze was burning competitively as he mumbled, "Still, no matter how mighty you are, Fu Baoguo, you will never be my teacher's opponent!"
His teacher, Han Sanhe, was the top general of the continent!
However, Zhan Ge was not aware that the moment he thought so, he had forever lost the qualification to contest with Fu Baoguo in the battlefield.
Wang Dingguo sped forth, whipping his horse, like an arrow, to the front of Yutang's base. At the entrance, Fu Baoguo was already standing there with his arms behind his back, looking calm and composed.
By looking solely at his composure, it seemed like Wang Dingguo had only contributed insignificantly to this war, not at all worthy of any compliment – not at all worthy of the meritorious achievement he had experienced earlier!
In spite of this, his hands behind him trembled lightly, betraying his façade and telling of his true emotions.
Fu Baoguo was actually in a cold sweat as he thought about this battle. Even when the odds of winning were as high as ninety percent, as his previous decisions were set to confuse the enemy and fool them to look down on him, the risk involved was still extremely high!
What if the enemy's marshal had not fallen for it? What if he thought about it further? What if he managed to see through his plot?
The marshal of the enemy was Dongxuan's reputable general, Zhan Ge. He was basically the military man after Han Sanhe in Dongxuan; his reputation was great. If he had seen past his intentions, he could have hidden Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry behind the spot where two troops assembled, concealing them to ambush the Steel Cavalry. He would then wait to attack, to stop them head-on. Then, the thirty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry would be entirely wiped out, without a chance of survival.
It was fortunate that this war had ultimately been won – it had been accomplished within his terms!
The Steel Cavalry returned like a tornado, halting neatly with a long command before the military base.
Wang Dingguo steered his horse around and yelled, "Steel Cavalry! Headcount!"
A while later, the casualties of the thirty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry had been accounted for. Wang Dingguo turned around to face Fu Baoguo.
"Marshal! This general reports! We managed to breach the enemy's defenses twice; of the thirty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry, we are left with twenty-seven thousand, three hundred and fifty-two men!"
His voice was sonorous but there was an indescribable rasp contained within it. The anguish had only surged now, like an unforgiving tidal wave. The twenty-seven thousand, three hundred and fifty-two men behind him sat stationary on their horses, but their eyes were shining with unshed tears.
The thirty thousand men sent to attack and ambush the enemy's meeting of two troops had only lost two thousand and six hundred and forty-eight of their people! It was a damage less than a tenth of their total force and could be considered an utterly glorious feat!
In spite of this, there were only heavy hearts within these Steel Cavalrymen.
The two thousand brothers whom they had spent every day with had perished on the battlefield just like that, without any remains that could be brought home!
Fu Baoguo wore a solemn expression and raised his hand in a salute, speaking grimly, "Listen! Everyone salute our two thousand and six hundred and forty-eight brothers! Send them off! We wish you a smooth journey!"
The war drums beat out a tattoo, pounding with the rhythm of everyone's hearts.
"The loyal souls don't die, they live forever with the nation!"
When Yutang's fighters fell, they would send them off with war drums at the first opportunity. Either that or the other generals would pay a general tribute to the fallen soldiers after the war had ended.
However, Fu Baoguo was not like this. The first thing he would do after every war was to send the fallen soldiers off, in hopes that the heroic souls wouldn't stray far and could still hear their comrades bidding them goodbye.
"Great job! Very good!" Fu Baoguo's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice; his throat felt parched, he blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to keep his grief in check as he said hoarsely, "Wang Dingguo!"
"Here!"
"List out the names, achievements, contributions, and background of the fallen brothers clearly and completely; record them in writing later! Seal and store all their wills and belongings. Report it to His Majesty after the war to increase their pension so our brothers can rest in peace!"
"Yes!"
"The Steel Cavalry's input is significant in this war. Check upon the contribution of the brothers involved and report them to me as well!"
"Yes!"
"Return to the troop!"
Fu Baoguo gave his command.
Twenty-seven thousand men from the Steel Cavalry moved in unison, but they paused right away, their emotions were in turmoil.
They halted abruptly then.
They had not noticed it earlier, and had only discovered it with shock now; there was no mistake in the number of people that had returned, but there was a total of over twenty-nine thousand warhorses that had come back with them!
In other words, there were two thousand warhorses without their masters in the formation that were standing on the spot, looking lost and helpless.