Chapter 716: The Yan Army's Defeat! |
That commander nodded and waved his hand to his men.
One commander sent four Bird Kings in four directions. The other six men climbed to the mountaintop, each pulling out a bone whistle, and began to blow.
*Whooshing* *chirping* *hissing* and other sounds whistled forth. The peasants on Bulao Mountain froze. Then someone cried out, "Snakes!"
Many snakes! And ants, rats, insects—they all crawled out of the caves, more and more of them.
With every loathsome creature that emerged, people's skin crawled.
The peasants scattered in terror. However, they soon noticed that these creatures weren't touching them at all. This both surprised and frightened the peasants.
The gathered ants, snakes, insects, and rats on Bulao Mountain began to disperse in all directions.
They swarmed the battling soldiers, causing chaos. The creatures bit relentlessly, burrowed under clothing, and crawled into the warriors' ears and noses, driving them completely mad.
Some stomped their feet, some tried to hide, some ran around like madmen. "Attack!" Cheng Shao Tong, standing on the mountain, roared furiously.
Noticing that the creatures were on their side, the peasants of the Song Kingdom attacked their opponents with even greater confidence.
As for the Yan Kingdom soldiers, they had no mind for their enemies at all. They were barely fending off the vile creatures.
Not only were these creatures increasing in number, but huge birds also appeared in the air, swooping down on the Yan Kingdom soldiers, tearing them to pieces.
In such a situation, the Yan Kingdom army had no strength left to resist.
The battle became a one-sided slaughter. Cheng Shao Tong, pointing his sword towards the location of the Yan Kingdom's main tent, shouted, "Meng Shan Min is most likely there. Everyone, go kill him!"
A group of cultivators in the air headed towards the main tent. Su Qi Tong froze. All the men under his command were surrounded and in such a miserable situation. He had never even dreamed of such a thing.
Rats, snakes, and other creatures also appeared around them, attempting to attack. Birds, too, assaulted them.
However, they had many cultivator bodyguards nearby. One could say these creatures had no effect on them. Only his regular soldiers lacked such cultivators. His soldiers were simply being crushed.
"Retreat!" Meng Shan Min, seated in his wheelchair, cried out.
Gong Ling Ze was beside him, personally guarding him. From time to time, he would wave his hand, his expression pale.
He didn't know where a swarm of bees had flown in from, trying to sting them. The Yan Kingdom army was fleeing frantically. It was utter chaos for the Yan Kingdom forces.
Someone, with a viper clinging to them, ran a few steps before collapsing to the ground. They twitched on the earth, foam spilling from the poor wretch's mouth.
Gradually, predators appeared. Five or six tigers charged into the throngs of Yan Kingdom soldiers, biting into people's throats and felling them instantly.
And packs of wolves attacked the people in droves.
Meanwhile, the Song Kingdom soldiers calmly approached and killed everyone. More precisely, they simply walked around, executing the Yan Kingdom warriors.
At this moment, the Yan Kingdom army truly plunged into chaos. Not only them, but even the Bird Kings that had flown away returned and attacked their own masters. If cultivators wished to summon large birds, it would be difficult.
A group of Song Kingdom cultivators, seeing Meng Shan Min in the wheelchair—though they didn't know him, they recognized the wheelchair. So, they abruptly began to attack him.
"Let's go!" Gong Ling Ze shouted angrily. He was personally guarding Meng Shan Min. Thus, he ordered his cultivators to withdraw.
At this time, Meng Shan Min's location became extremely important. They weren't thinking about other officers. There were many people, but not many cultivators.
Moreover, they couldn't send out Bird Kings or summon reinforcements. They could only rely on their own strength.
A group of cultivators fought to evacuate Meng Shan Min, while the Song Kingdom cultivators refused to retreat. They chased after them! For this battle, Cheng Shao Tong had summoned many cultivators, clearly intending to kill Meng Shan Min!
The Yan Kingdom cultivators, meanwhile, seized important commanders and simultaneously fended them off.
Cultivators from other princes constantly arrived to help evacuate important generals. That's why the Yan Kingdom cultivators managed to fend off the Song Kingdom cultivators.
The important generals escaped, but their several hundred thousand soldiers were not so lucky!
They fled, but several hundred thousand remained there. It seemed they had fallen to the creatures' venom, or were struck down by birds and predators.
On the plain, a cavalry detachment halted. Meng Shan Min mounted a horse, his face grim as he gazed towards the battlefield.
With tears in his eyes, Su Qi Tong stood on the ground, leaning on his sword, watching to see which of his soldiers would return.
Of his 500,000 soldiers, only just over 10,000 remained alive. Even then, some who returned collapsed, apparently poisoned by the vile creatures' venom.
There were also people with swollen faces, hands, and feet. They had apparently been stung by bees. Cultivators immediately went to their aid, treating them.
When a large group of survivors arrived, no one else was seen. Everyone understood that it was unlikely anyone else would return now.
They didn't even dare to send large birds for reconnaissance. They feared that the large birds would also lose control. Earlier, they had sent two birds, and they hadn't returned.
A 500,000-strong army had vanished!
Su Qi Tong collapsed to the ground, falling to his knees, and with trembling lips, he stared towards the battle!
Never in his life had he lost so many of his men. Though he shed no tears, in his heart, he wept profusely!
The elder of the Palace of Bliss, Cheng Yu Hong, who had taken command of Haozhou, glared hatefully at Su Qi Tong.
His forces, his army, had vanished! And all because of Su Qi Tong's impatience!
Meng Shan Min, seated on his horse with a stony expression, said, "Birds, beasts, snakes, rats, and other creatures are all on the Song Kingdom's side. I don't know what master can control them like this?"
Gong Ling Ze said in a stern voice, "The Thousand Beast Sect!"
Meng Shan Min had suspected it, but wasn't sure: "Doesn't the Thousand Beast Sect not interfere in the affairs of kingdoms?"
Gong Ling Ze trembled. He himself didn't know the reason for this outcome. Meng Shan Min asked again, "Is there any way to resolve this?" Gong Ling Ze replied, "I will search for a method."
Meng Shan Min looked towards the battle once more and slowly said, "This Cheng Shao Tong is truly gifted!"
No matter how one looked at it, Cheng Shao Tong, having received such support, had expertly sprung a trap and annihilated an army of 500,000 soldiers in one go. Moreover, he managed to gather so many creatures and predators in one place. Such an enormous quantity. He must have prepared for a long time.
From the very beginning, Cheng Shao Tong seemed to have planned to crush a huge number of Yan Kingdom soldiers. Otherwise, why would he have allowed so many of his own men to die like that? In the end, they enabled Cheng Shao Tong's success.
"Retreat!" Meng Shan Min said decisively.
As for annihilating the Song Kingdom army, it was not worth attacking until they figured out how to deal with the enemy's flying units. It was good that they weren't chasing them for now.
"General, Meng Shan Min had many top-tier cultivators by his side. Even the head of the Black Gold Cave, Gong Ling Ze, was guarding him personally. That's why he escaped."
The cultivators who had pursued Meng Shan Min returned and reported to Cheng Shao Tong.
"If we could have killed him, that would certainly have been great. It's no surprise there were so many cultivators around him. No wonder he managed to escape. Elder Liu and the gentlemen have worked hard." Although Cheng Shao Tong felt regret in his heart that Meng Shan Min had escaped, he still spoke to calm the cultivators. He saw how many cultivators had returned with severe injuries. Clearly, everyone had suffered significant damage.
On the battlefield, rats, snakes, and other creatures began to spread out and disperse. Cheng Shao Tong went to inspect the troops! In the end, he learned that they had annihilated about 500,000 enemy soldiers, while they themselves had lost approximately 150,000 soldiers.
The Yan Kingdom army was routed, so one Song Kingdom commander happily asked, "General, why didn't we pursue them?"
"We missed the chance for such a victory!" Cheng Shao Tong looked up at the sky and sighed.
He clearly understood that pursuing the enemy wouldn't work. Insects and reptiles couldn't keep up with soldiers. And sending his weak soldiers would be akin to sending them to their deaths. Besides, the enemy wasn't foolish enough to attack like that again.
That's why he had sacrificed such a large number of peasants at the start, to lure the enemy into his position. He knew he was unlikely to get a second chance. He had planned everything to inflict massive damage on the Yan Kingdom army with one strike. Although he had dealt them significant damage and crushed their morale, he still dared not provoke the enemy forces for now.
He hadn't initially hoped to contend against the Yan Kingdom army with his disorganized mob. But he needed to report to his superiors and await Luo Zhao.
Possessing such formidable power, he decided to harass the Yan Kingdom army from the rear.
In the mountain forest, upon hearing the news from Gong Sun Bu, Niu You Dao slowly turned his head and asked, "They lost badly? The Thousand Beast Sect attacked?"
He seemed to not dare believe it. Meng Shan Min, with such skilled soldiers, had lost to a disorganized mob of Song Kingdom troops? And so terribly?
"That's right, they lost 500,000 soldiers. See for yourself." Guan Fang Yi handed him a letter and sighed.
Niu You Dao carefully began to read the letter, frowning. He whispered, "Why did the Thousand Beast Sect interfere in the war?"
Yuan Gang, standing nearby, asked, "Lord Dao, let me try."