Chapter 483: Suicide Attack. Hemp Gown.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Dongxuan's strategy was blatantly obvious but also terribly effective – even if lives had to be thrown away, at the very least, they had to bury Qiu Jianhan under their weight! There was no way that Qiu Jianhan would be allowed to survive.
There were massive benefits, a great reputation, and an abundant pension at stake! As long as they died, sacrificed in this battle, their future generations would get to enjoy these endless benefits!
Who would hold themselves back?
What was more, the disciplinary squad was right behind them with their gleaming steel sabers! They could barely stay alive by advancing but there was a chance for them to contribute merits; even if they died, the massive benefits were worth it. On the other hand, if they hesitated and took even the slightest step back, they would be charged with treason; not only would their deaths be ignominious, their reputations would be spat on for eternity.
Yun Yang locked his target down and howled again, "You shall die, should you stand in my way!"
He was like a berserk tiger that threw itself into where the crowd was thickest. His long saber that was curved from repetitive hacks and chops, moved again, spraying droplets of blood in a crimson curvature amidst the crowd.
Everywhere the saber passed, countless martial world experts were flung away with a gasp as they came into contact with the power; many of them practically blew apart in the air, dying in a quick and spectacular manner.
Yun Yang and his horse advanced like a ship cleaving through water, cutting a clear path with blood trailing after them. Bodies were strewn everywhere, devoid of life, wherever he passed. The hundreds of thousands of army men and experts could not hinder his movement for even a blink of an eye.
Yun Yang was a bolt of lightning, slicing through the sky towards Qiu Jianhan's escorts. If Yun Yang had been distressed earlier, he was absolutely crazed now.
He knew now that there were Old Marshal Qiu, Bai Yixue, the four popinjays, and the three ladies, Ji Lingxi, Yue Rulan, and Shangguan Lingxiu, as well as his father by name, Marquis of Heavenly Clouds Yun Xiaoyao. Not only did Yun Yang not want to lose Old Marshal Qiu, those named above were the closest people to him that he did not want to be torn apart from as well!
He must not lose them!
Never!
Unfortunately, the enemy's attacks were insane. The squad was nothing more than a small lifeboat amidst the raging ocean that could capsize anytime.
Yun Yang's combat power was over the limit; he was a god made for killing, descended from heaven and utterly unmatched!
Zhan Ge, who was standing at a high point on the other end to command the war, had, of course, noticed the variable to the battle – one petrifying silhouette who was mowing down his army like lightning bolts. Zhan Ge was Han Sanhe's prized disciple, the direct heir to the teacher's teachings; naturally, he was well-versed about warfare and strategies. He immediately noticed the odd situation.
He issued his orders immediately, "Suicide attack! Banzai charge! Target the purple-clothed man like how we did the white-clothed man!"
There was a price to each head from Yutang's eastern troop – Qiu Jianhan's was, of course, the top of the rank with Fu Baoguo following closely behind. Bai Yixue's head claimed the third spot.
It had initially been because of what had previously happened with Bai Yixue. It was Bai Yixue who had orchestrated the countless ambushes and assassinations during Han Sanhe's return trip; now that they met again, there was additional attention paid to him with an additional sense of murderous intent. However, when they actually encountered each other, Dongxuan's ace cultivators were quick to report back that it was better not to provoke this person if it was possible.
Bai Yixue's capability far exceeded the ace experts' knowledge, so ordinary war strategies were basically useless against him. They would only waste precious lives!
Han Sanhe reevaluated Bai Yixue then. He even ordered his men to relent when they met this person. It was fine to let him go scot-free. After all, Bai Yixue was not Yutang's military authority. The state of war would be unaffected by his state of being.
In spite of this, Bai Yixue was never seen far away from Qiu Jianhan; he was like a shadow. To kill Qiu Jianhan, they had to put down Bai Yixue first. After another tormenting debate, they finally concluded that they still had to kill Bai Yixue, no matter how challenging it was to do so!
Truthfully, if it were not for Bai Yixue's pillaring force, Old Marshal Qiu's remaining guardians would have collapsed and crumbled. Yet, it was also due to this point that Bai Yixue attracted more than half of Dongxuan's top combat forces alone. He had killed plenty, but he was also greatly drained and could only work with Yun Xiaoyao to maintain the last defense line.
That being said, Yun Yang's current unexpected attack replaced Bai Yixue in capturing Zhan Ge's attention. While Zhan Ge was a notable general on the battlefield, his knowledge regarding cultivation experts was limited; to place Yun Yang on the level of Bai Yixue, he would have had regarded Yun Yang too highly!
Still, Yun Yang's current aggressive aura was indeed much fiercer than that of Bai Yixue. At least, Bai Yixue was too far behind Young Master Yun.
To be fair, It was meant to be Zhan Ge's concern. He could not bear the appearance of another killing machine like Bai Yi nor could he allow the reunion between the newcomer and Qiu Jianhan's guarding troop. He had to kill him before both sides met!
"Beat the drum again. Put in more effort to end this battle quicker. I want to see Qiu Jianhan's head!" Zhan Ge shouted with excitement written plainly on his face.
He did not notice that not too far behind him, there was a flash of strange emotion across the face of Han Sanhe who was resting. It was as if he was sighing or perhaps lamenting.
Following Zhan Ge's order, the horns in Dongxuan's base sounded simultaneous while the drums were beaten as well only after a sliver of a moment. The instruments were incessantly loud, as if they were to be played like that forever!
At this very this moment, the warzone looked as if a giant beast that had been awakened by the sounds; its heart was beating fast, its blood burning from the dynamics of it all.
Dongxuan's army suddenly had red, bleary eyes.
"Suicide attack! It's a suicide attack again!"
A Dongxuan general stood straight on the back of his galloping horse, howling into the sky with a majestically anguished voice.
"Banzai charge! The Banzai charge is to be executed again?"
Countless Dongxuan militants who were made known of this fact turned into berserk wild beasts; their most extreme primal savageness had erupted. Now, anything regarding avoidance, of death, glory… whatever it had been was all erased by the drumbeats. The thunderous horn was playing the death's call; perhaps, it was the god of death's sonata!
This had been the second time Dongxuan played the suicide tactic. It was the same annihilation method that stopped Bai Yixue's zealous breakthrough previously, containing him within the worsening state now. Using it for the second time, they immediately shifted their sights to Yun Yang.
Yun Yang began to feel the resistance in his advance.
The Dongxuan army who stood in his way was pouncing at him, disregarding their very lives. They were no longer using weapons or strategies; they were using the purest form of a blockade on a battlefield. They were using their bodies, their horses, their very lives to collide and be an obstacle to the enemy.
Such insanity omitted mortality, which was no longer sufficient to be described as only "disregarding life and death". As it was, there was already no thoughts about life and death in those soldiers; their only goal in mind was to block him, and that was all to it!
The army on both sides of Yun Yang pushed towards the center with all their might. Those who were inside and standing further up front would be pressed into Yun Yang's path directly by their many comrades who were charging over, even if they did not move themselves.
What sort of vanguard on earth could resume their momentum with such an efficient blockade?
It took only a snap of his fingers before everywhere around Yun Yang, left, right, front and back, were crowded and filled with frenzied people. Whatever direction it was, there were only heads where the end could not be seen.
The extreme tactic could actually stop the troop that was guarding Qiu Jianhan as well; they can even be moved back a few thousand feet from where they made progress. Even when Bai Yixue was trying the best he could, he was still forced back step by step. One could sometimes be helpless. Even when he was unsurpassable in skills now, he could only sigh in futility while facing the swarming suicide attack.
Yun Yang could finally understand Bai Yixue's helplessness. His glaive waved and hacked, clearing his forward path bit by bit but it was filled again instantly without any room to move. The strategy of crowd-drowning had always been the ultimate tactic against a top-notch force; at the same time, it was the most effective one.
Even if one were to be almighty enough to be able to kill a hundred people, a thousand or even ten thousand men, the opponent still had a hundred thousand and even a million people! For them to be killed passively, one would still be thoroughly expended that the saber could not even be picked up in the end. One would ultimately succumb to exhaustion.
Furthermore, those in the battle now were consisted of many formidable experts. Even when their abilities were much weaker and they could not contend face to face, their combination of strength would still be substantially useful!
The analogy was something like this – if one were to slice a piece of meat but encountered too many bones in the process, hard bones at that, one would need to spend a lot more energy.
When it looked like Yun Yang was already drowned by the massive army, his saber was seen flying off his grip, twirling into a large shiny circular radiance that expanded. It severed the bodies of hundreds of people around him in the waist directly. The jam packed spot was cleared in an instance while simultaneously, Yun Yang's right hand produced another shiny glaive.
The toss and retrieve was done in a streamlined manner like a streaming river that met no obstruction.
As the pressure around them disappeared, Reddie took the chance and charged. Its hind hooves kicked at two enemy heads and as the heads were crushed, Reddie who gained leverage hopped across hundreds of feet. As it landed, it repeated the trick and charge again, advancing another hundred of feet. When it landed the third time, it could no longer leap away but was sieged, securely surrounded by the enemy troop.
Dongxuan's current army was well-versed in battles. Faced with the unexpected change which allowed Reddie to succeed twice, it was impossible that they could remain so still!
On the other end, Bai Yixue and squad exerted their remaining strength to kill the enemies and dash over when they saw Yun Yang's strike; they wanted, obviously, to meet with Yun Yang and combine forces to break through this cutthroat situation.
Both sides were rapidly approaching each other but at this delicate moment, silhouettes detached themselves from Dongxuan's army. Dozens of people dressed in hemp garments suddenly appeared, holding strange looking single-handed hooks each; a shower of chilling gleams splattered across while the dozens of men worked together and formed an odd formation swiftly.
It had only been a short moment but they had already put a stop to Bai Yixue his squad's attacking momentum.