Volume 5 Chapter 33 The Great Wall
The army was mobilized in sequence. This time, all the 500,000 main forces in the center of the coalition were present. The troops stationed in various places were those from the newly joined small gangs, and only 300,000 of them were used. The remaining 300,000 troops were also here. The first round of attack was led by these 300,000 people, and the rest stood on the periphery, ready to provide support at any time. The long-range troops also launched a suppressive attack at the same time.
After the last battle with Iron Blood, the coalition army had understood how terrifying it was when more than 10,000 magicians launched a meteor shower at the same time. In an offensive and defensive battle with a certain number of people, if all the troops were used at the beginning, the enemy would be hit by a meteor shower, and if not completely annihilated, at least they would suffer heavy casualties and lose the strength to fight again. Therefore, the attacking troops must be deployed in turns, but the number of troops should not be too small, and they must put great pressure on the enemy. It would be best if they could force the enemy to collectively launch a meteor shower, and the army behind them could attack without any scruples!
In terms of the number of people on both sides, the ratio this time was even greater than the last attack on Iron Blood. The number of long-range troops on the coalition side was nearly twice that of the defenders of Nine Cities, and they surrounded the entire garrison. Arrows and magic were constantly fired, and the density was almost reaching the point where there was no room for error. However, the suppression effect was not as good as last time, because the fortifications of Nine Cities were really well built, and the chest-high stone walls covered the soldiers behind the fortifications very well. The long-range troops of Nine Cities fired back between the arrow stacks, with only their heads exposed at most, and they could hide behind the wall with just a bend. If we wanted to hit them, we had to have the standard of a master archer, or be very lucky with stray arrows. And there was a bunker every other distance on the fortifications, which was even more well-protected. The archers and magicians in the bunker could shoot at our troops without restraint.
However, we had too many people and although many were shot and killed during the advance, more than 200,000 people still rushed to the fortifications. The magicians of the Nine Cities immediately released a wall of fire, which ignited a circle of fire around the defense line. The coalition forces had to endure the torment. In order to reduce HP loss, they had to speed up and rush forward. Only by breaking through the opponent's defense line could they escape from the sea of fire.
Of course, the Nine Cities were not having an easy time either. These 200,000-plus troops were a mixed force, including a large number of magicians. When they got close enough to set off a wall of fire, they also set fire to the walls and back of the fortifications. Both sides fought a desperate battle under the scorching flames!
After a fierce battle, most of the 200,000 troops were killed, but the casualties of the Nine Cities were very few. In fact, since we won more single combats, we still had an advantage in attack and defense, but those damn fortifications reduced our combat power by at least half! In addition, the coordination of the soldiers of the Nine Cities was always better than that of the coalition of small gangs in the first large-scale battle (the previous attack on the subordinate garrisons of the Nine Cities was just bullying the weak), so it was not surprising that we were at a disadvantage in the battle.
Seeing that there were less than 50,000 remaining members of our attacking force, the headquarters used a very vicious tactic, which was to mobilize tens of thousands of magicians, launch a meteor shower, and implement a blanket attack!
If the 50,000 people were the main force of the coalition, the command would never use this trick. However, those small gangs actually have little say in the big alliance. Although the command has expanded its scale, the highest decision-making level still only allows members of the veteran gangs to join. Who would care about the life and death of the members of the small gangs? Therefore, this vicious method was passed without objection.
In fact, from a purely military perspective, this was a move that maximized benefits. When the spectacular meteor shower fell from the sky, the 50,000 remaining soldiers were blown to pieces, but the number of defenders of the Nine Cities buried with them was as high as 80,000. If they had fought hard, the coalition forces would probably have to pay the price of hundreds of thousands of people to incur such heavy casualties in the Nine Cities!
Jiucheng lost a large number of troops in an instant. Although these gang members could be resurrected in the base, the speed of reincarnation in the Samsara Hall was limited. Therefore, the defense strength of Jiucheng dropped to a low point in the short term.
Naturally, the coalition forces would not let go of such an opportunity, and the catapults that had been hidden away at the beginning were finally moved out!
In fact, Haomen Villa has only recently developed this kind of equipment. Although for the battle to attack the Nine Cities, Haomen Villa announced the manufacturing process of the trebuchet within the alliance on the condition of demanding more post-war profit distribution, and all gangs have invested large sums of money to speed up the production, but even if this is the simplest siege equipment, it requires craftsmen of a certain level to manufacture it, and no gang will have many talents of this level. Therefore, the number of trebuchets we have in our hands is not large at present. If they are not used in a concentrated manner, they will not play much of a role. If they are concentrated, they can only cause damage to fortifications within a limited range. When the Nine Cities are fully manned, we will use the flesh and blood wall to block the gap, and it will be difficult for us to break through the opponent's defense line in one fell swoop.
Therefore, mobilizing miscellaneous troops to attack first, using covering attacks to destroy a large number of manpower regardless of friend or foe in the melee, taking advantage of the brief period of personnel shortage in the Nine Cities to destroy some fortifications with catapults, and then using the main elite forces to break through the defense line can be said to be a tactical plan planned by the command from the beginning.
The coalition forces had a total of about 300 catapults, divided into three launching positions. With the commander's order, pieces of millstone-sized rocks were thrown out and hit the Jiucheng positions!
The current catapults were too crude and had very poor accuracy. Most of the flying stones were either forward or backward, either landing in front of the fortifications or inside the garrison. Only one out of ten actually hit the defense wall. However, the power of the flying stones was indeed huge, and the destructive power was far beyond that of magic missiles. Every time the defense wall was hit, a large section of the wall would vibrate, and the unlucky Nine City soldiers who were hit directly by the flying stones would be killed instantly and smashed into a meat paste!
I estimated that if it were me, even if I defended with all my strength and was hit by the flying stones, I would be seriously injured with one hit, and killed with two hits. There was no way I could withstand the third hit!
Although most of them were wasted, in each round of volleys, there were always a dozen or twenty stones that accurately hit the defense wall. Under repeated heavy blows, the fortifications of the Nine Cities were covered with flying stone chips, pits, and cracks were gradually blasted out. After more than ten minutes, a section of the defense wall finally couldn't bear the weight and collapsed with a loud bang, leaving a gap!
Immediately afterwards, there were two more loud bangs, and the three attacked places collapsed!
The main force of the coalition forces, which had been prepared long ago, was immediately dispatched, and the three most elite groups of troops acted as arrows, stabbing towards the three gaps like a trident!
I led 40,000 warriors from the Thunder Alliance (and its affiliated Iron Blood and Silver Moon) to attack the center. Thunder moves fast, and I rushed out first, hoping to catch them off guard before the Nine Cities could set up a defensive formation at the gap. As long as we can occupy the gap, the subsequent battles will be much easier.
Following behind me were the eight highest-ranking knights of the Thunder Alliance, three of whom were old members and five were newly recruited masters. They all had followed the caravan to the West and had only returned not long ago. They all had earth dragons as mounts, and in an instant, nine dragons charged into the formation with unparalleled prestige. Currently, there are only a handful of knights with earth dragons on the Cang Continent, and many gangs cannot even find such a person. The Thunder Alliance was able to organize a dragon cavalry squad. Both the enemy and us were envious.
The commander of Jiucheng was naturally aware of the power of the Earth Dragon's charge. If hit by these nine riders, the ten layers of defense personnel deployed at the gap would be scattered. Therefore, he did not dare to be negligent and commanded a group of long-range troops under his command to concentrate their fire on us!
But I was also able to charge alone when we attacked the Silver Moon base that day. Now my skills have improved even further. Although the rain of arrows this time came faster and denser, with my full concentration, I could clearly distinguish the order and speed of each arrow. With a light flick of my Tiger Soul, there was a tinkling sound, and all the oncoming arrows were deflected by me, without missing a single one!
Of course, the speed of human movement has its limit. I can do my best to block the largest number of arrows, but after all, I am not a Thousand-Armed Guanyin. I cannot take care of some of the sharp arrows that are shot from both sides. However, with my Jingcheng suit, it is difficult for anyone other than a sniper or a sharpshooter to break my defense. Although my arms and ribs were shot like a hedgehog, the HP loss was very limited. As long as I exerted my strength, the arrows stuck in my body would fall down with a crackling sound. The arrowheads did not really pierce the armor, but only caused some scratches on the surface and hung there.
Since I was in the front, most of the attacks were directed at me, and the eight riders following behind me took great advantage. Facing sporadic arrows, they either blocked or avoided them, and no one was killed.
The archers were ineffective, so the second round was the magician's attack, which was a little more difficult to deal with. However, I slashed out with my Tiger Soul and swung my sword in a circle, imitating Xiao Qiao's Tai Chi sword moves. Although I couldn't be as perfect as hers, I could still create vortexes of air. The magic missiles in front of me were deflected by me one by one. Since there was no actual contact, the magic did not explode. Only large-area attack magic such as Violent Flame and Ice Locked Void was effective against me. However, the single-target lethality of this type of magic was not strong, and the Sincerity Set was highly immune to elemental magic, so it was difficult for it to pose a fatal threat to me.
The dragon riders following behind me were slightly weaker in strength. Although I cleared the way for them, they were still inevitably damaged under the intensive magic bombardment, and finally two of them fell off the dragon's back.
In the blink of an eye, Ben Lei had rushed to the gap. The defenders of Jiucheng had already lined up to wait for him. I didn't care about that. Ben Lei didn't slow down and charged into the enemy formation. Hu Po slashed from top to bottom, aiming at a Jiucheng warrior who was holding a huge shield in front of me. I was confident that this knife as heavy as a mountain could split the opponent in half, including the shield!
The fact was just as I expected. With one slash of the sword, the warrior's body fell to both sides, and Ben Lei stepped through the rain of blood!
At this moment, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a sword light flying up from the crowd and piercing my left rib!
Master! The timing of this sword strike was extremely accurate. It was when I killed the enemy with one strike and was about to retract the sword to attack again. No matter how strong I was, there would be a natural flaw between the release and retraction. It was just that my movements were continuous, and this flaw was fleeting. Ordinary people could not grasp it at all!
Anyone who can see this flaw and seize this moment to launch an attack must be a master of the same level as me. Among the members of the Jiucheng Gang, the only one who has this ability is Potato, who easily defeated the Supreme Demon in a single fight!
I didn't expect my luck to be so bad. Among the three gaps, I happened to encounter the one guarded by Potato, who is supposed to be the best master in Jiucheng!
This person's level and attributes may be far inferior to mine, but his skills are definitely not inferior to mine. If I fight with him, it will be difficult to determine the winner after dozens or hundreds of rounds. However, the ground dragon is huge and is blocking this narrow gap to fight. This is not only disadvantageous to me, but also hinders the attack route of subsequent troops.
My mind raced quickly, and I didn't dodge or block, as if I didn't see the sword at all, and continued to charge forward!
"Ding!" I felt a slight pain under my ribs. Haha, it was just as I expected. Potato's level was not as good as mine, and his Taoist professional attack power was not strong either. I only suffered minor injuries by taking his sword with the help of the Jingcheng suit. It did not prevent me from continuing to attack. In an instant, I killed two more soldiers from Jiucheng!
An angry voice came from my ear: "You are a martial artist, how dare you be so shameless!"
I was stunned. It was Potato talking to me, but how was I shameless?
I didn't know that the martial arts masters in Fantasy were all descendants of various martial arts schools and masters in reality. Although they live in modern society, they have a bit of the aura of "martial arts people". Even in the game, they have to follow certain conventional "martial arts" rules. If Potato draws a sword to me, it means that one martial artist is challenging another martial artist. I should fight him and decide who is better with martial arts. I ignored his attack with the attributes of the game character and continued to slaughter the "weak" Nine Cities Gang members. That is the behavior of an ordinary player. As a martial artist, it is indeed shameless (in the eyes of a person who has reached the realm of martial arts, whether the other party knows martial arts or not can be seen at a glance, not to mention that Potato and I have each shown our skills in single combat, and we know each other well).
But neither Potato nor I knew that people like me who had never touched martial arts in real life, and had never received any guidance from anyone, and who had broken through the boundary between martial arts and martial arts by exploring in the game, were really unique - because breaking through that boundary was too difficult , and even most people who had practiced martial arts for a lifetime in real life could not reach the realm of martial arts in the end. To reach this realm, both the guidance of a wise master and talent are indispensable. If one can comprehend it on his own, then he is a rare figure at the level of a grandmaster who can establish a school. I have talent, but I am definitely not as good as those legendary grandmasters. However, the formula that the Taoist priest taught me when I was a child was the entry-level foundation of martial arts, and I had practiced it thoroughly. In addition, there are some special features of Menghuan in brain nerve training, and I am obsessed with studying skills. Under various coincidences, I was able to learn it by myself and entered this field.
However, since I have never joined any sect or studied under any master, I naturally know nothing about these "rules of the martial arts world", so Potato's accusations left me confused.
There is no room for distraction on the battlefield. After a moment of shock, I ignored Potato and swung my sword three times, chopping down three approaching Nine Cities soldiers.
Potato was extremely angry, and swung his sword to stab at the Yuzhen point on the back of my head. This time I didn't dare to be careless. Not to mention the meridian theory of martial arts, even according to the system rules of fantasy, the back of the head is where the nerves of the spine and cerebellum meet. It is the most important point among all the points. Once hit by the attack, the large amount of blood loss is secondary. It may cause short-term paralysis of the whole body. The assassin's "backstab" skill uses this principle.
So I quickly lowered my head, but unexpectedly, Potato's sword was like a spirit snake, and the tip of the sword bent downward, still stabbing towards my Yuzhen point!
After reaching the realm of martial arts, the grasp of the surrounding situation may not rely on eyes and ears, but more on a keen sense of touch. The chill on the back of my head kept chasing me, and I knew that I had not yet avoided Potato's fatal move. Hu Po retracted his sword and stabbed Potato on his back with the handle of the knife!
"Are you finally willing to fight me?" Potato said as he dodged the hilt of the knife. His sword also deviated slightly because of this dodging, and I dodged it by turning my head. If he didn't dodge, he could have been hit by my hilt of the knife and stabbed. This move would have given him a great advantage, but he would have been blocked. Benlei's speed was extremely fast, and he was unstoppable even in the crowd, so he might not be able to catch up with me. The difference between martial arts and martial arts, in addition to the mastery of movements, also includes a deeper level of analysis of various situations.
When Potato’s sword missed the first one, he fired another one, aiming for the Mingmen acupoint on my lumbar spine!
Seeing that it was really difficult to get rid of the potato's entanglement, I had to turn around and cut it diagonally with a knife to kill this annoying guy first!
But since the opponent is not weaker than me, how can I easily send him away? I swung the knife, but it only hit the air, and the sword light flashed in front of me, so I had to concentrate and deal with it!
In a flash, the two exchanged seven or eight moves, but they were evenly matched and knew the enemy's movements very well, so how could they be easily hit? Even the clash of weapons was rare!
I had the advantage because I was much better than Potato in both offense and defense. I could often use offensive tactics, and Potato didn't dare to take my every attack head-on. However, there were many soldiers from Jiucheng around me who were besieging and restraining me. Although they were not a serious threat, they caused me a lot of trouble. Every time I had the upper hand, it was difficult for me to pursue them, and the battle was in a stalemate for a while.
Although it sounds slow, it was actually only one or two minutes, and the remaining six dragoons following me had already rushed into the Nine Cities defense line, and immediately knocked the Nine Cities formation overturned!
Potato's face changed and he seemed to want to retreat. I knew he was worried about the battle on the defense line, so I laughed and said, "Why? Didn't you want to fight me? Why do you want to retreat now?" I quickly attacked with two swords and entangled Potato.
The dragoons were indeed very powerful. I took a sword attack from Potato at first, and after rushing forward for a distance, I had created a small gap in the Nine Cities line. The six people behind me took advantage of the situation to rush through the collapsed fortifications, and rushed through the crowd to widen the gap. Unfortunately, there were too few of them, and they were quickly surrounded. They could only rely on their high level to resist!
However, subsequent Thunder Alliance troops followed in large numbers and engaged in a melee with the Nine Cities defenders!
I was secretly delighted. The battle was currently difficult to determine the winner, but a draw would actually mean a victory for us, because the coalition had a large number of troops and constant reinforcements. As long as this pressure was maintained, the Nine Cities would collapse sooner or later!
But suddenly he raised his hand and sent out a firework signal!
I soon realized that something was wrong. After I forced Potato back with a sword, I slashed a Nine Cities warrior next to me. The man swung his sword to block, but he could not keep up with the speed of the changing angle of my Tiger Soul and was hit in the chest. Blood spurted out immediately, but he did not fall down!
After upgrading Tiger Soul, I have yet to encounter an opponent who I couldn’t kill instantly after hitting his vitals!
This was not surprising if it happened once, maybe the enemy was just at a higher level or had better equipment? But when I hit three enemies but didn't kill any of them, it was obviously not a coincidence!
With this group of warriors with super strong defense blocking the way, Potato retreated calmly, saying as he retreated: "Forget it! Leader Jinglei, now is not the time for you and me to fight a decisive battle. You can try to see if you can break through the defense of my Great Wall!"
The Great Wall! I suddenly remembered that this was the elite force from the Nine Cities that had caused Han Jiang to suffer a great loss!
It's a pity that the Thunder Group will not join the battle today, otherwise they could have a competition to see which one has the sharper spears of the Thunder League or the stronger shields of the Nine Cities.
But at this moment, Nine Cities obviously had the upper hand. Among my troops, the troops directly under our alliance were okay and barely tied with the opponent, but Iron Blood could not hold on, and Silver Moon was even more precarious. Although the attack power of the Great Wall was not strong, teams of armored soldiers were arranged in neat arrays, advancing forward like a moving city wall. The Silver Moon side could not break through or advance, and there were countless spears stabbing at the back of the opponent's array, and bows and magic flew out. The Silver Moon soldiers had to retreat step by step, and were soon forced back to the gap!
I couldn't help but be shocked. Yin Yue was originally in charge of the left wing. Once they were forced to retreat and the gap was closed by the Great Wall, wouldn't we be trapped in a jar and the entire army would be wiped out?
It was obviously not possible for my limited forces to break through the front line and charge into the heart of the Nine Cities. The key was that the gap in the fortifications was too small, and not many coalition soldiers could rush in in a short time. I had no choice but to order: "The whole army retreat!"
