Chapter 1027: Victory at First Battle (II)

“We should continue pressing forward,” said the Great Li king after some thought. “The vanguard will take turns entering the jungle to engage the enemy. Skystar has occupied the plains for many years. As corrupt as they are, they are not that weak.

“In the superhuman domain, clashes between powerhouses determine the outcome of battle. But if an army is too weak and unable to withstand a single blow, then they will be mired in skirmishes no matter how many powerhouses they possess. It would only be a matter of time before they are dragged down!”

There weren't that many Great Li soldiers in the field. How were they to conquer Skystar if they weren’t strong? Since they had come, the Great Li king nursed high ambitions. The one million soldiers marching beneath his banner was his capital for invading Skystar. If only one person was strong... that would not subdue all of Skystar Dynasty.

Only when the army continuously pressed forward and destroyed Skystar’s morale would he fully crush the dynasty.

The people next time him said nothing else as the columns slowly advanced.

......

To the north of Silver City, the central plains.

Several major officials were present in this area. The Ninth Division leader and others also soon received word.

“They are quite strong,” Huang Yu exhaled softly. “And morale is high. However, they are not as fearsome as the legends paint them out to be. We’ve suffered approximately equal losses, but one thing to note is that they have archers.

“As for the rest... they either aren’t wearing armor or their armor isn’t a complete set. While they’re nimble, agility is useless when fighting begins in earnest. It’s us who’re stronger than them because our armor is so well built!”

All Skystar knew of Great Li was that their people were wild and aggressive. Those who returned from visiting Great Li made the nation out to be a den of tigers. But their first battle resulted in even results. Although it was Skystar’s elites on the field, all scouts were elites. Great Li had also sent their elites. Under such circumstances, going one-for-one meant that this ancient enemy wasn’t that terrifying.

Yao Si and the rest nodded, a small smile appearing on their faces.

“Be careful that this is just a ploy to relax our guard,” cautioned Li Daozong.

“That’s possible, but they are here from far away and this is the first encounter between both sides.” Huang Yu didn’t blindly agree just because the speaker was a division leader of the Battle Heaven Army. On the contrary, he raised his own opinions. “I think it is unlikely that they are feigning weakness. Both sides need to determine the other’s strength and bolster morale. The Great Li king does not need to show us his weak side at this time. They are the invaders, not the defenders!”

Li Daozong nodded without objection. Everyone else listened quietly, including Hong Yitang. It wasn’t until he arrived that he was told Li Hao had chosen him to be the commander-in-chief. Apart from being astonished, he was also not entirely up to the task.

At the moment, he listened solemnly to everyone’s opinions and didn’t elect to express any shocking words to demonstrate his intellect.

“Then what do the generals think we should do next?” he said slowly. “They are still yet to emerge from the mountain. Do we engage in a swift strike before they’ve found their footing?”

“No!” Huang Yu was the first to respond. He shook his head. “The commander-in-chief doesn’t know that it has been a long time since Skystar soldiers have been active on the battlefield. They are particularly inexperienced against external foes. Great Li are barbarians of legend and incomparably strong. Everyone is quite apprehensive and doesn’t dare go on the offensive!

“We intend to use this war to hone our troops.” The man looked at Hong Yitang. “All elites are tempered through skirmishes, not on the sparring grounds! Only through real conflict, slaughter, and immense experience do soldiers become elite troops!

“There is certain to be large amounts of casualties throughout the process, but only in this way do survivors become undefeated veterans and premier soldiers!” Huang Yu continued slowly, “Therefore, we cannot charge headfirst into this first battle and bring out everything we’ve got! We need to go in different rounds and wear them down through attrition.

“When losses occur, we’ll select more elites from the three million soldiers at our rear as replacements. We’ll maintain two hundred thousand soldiers in the field and use the enemy as as practice targets! I request that the commander-in-chief recommend to Commander Li that we do not rush into issuing challenges to their powerhouses. Give us some time to hone our troops!

“This is the first war that we’re encountering of this scale in a long while. The same goes for them! So long as we posture that we’re willing to utilize this engagement as a training exercise, they will respond in kind...

“Large-scale battles have never occurred within Great Li borders. They’re also used to small skirmishes. If the Great Li is ambitious enough, he’ll play along!”

“But... time is not on our side,” Hong Yitang responded after some thought.

Huang Yu nodded. He knew that, however, there was another point that was more pressing. “Sir, whether it is a win or a loss, we gain nothing from the engagement if it is concluded quickly. Gaining no benefits or experience means that this is a wasted opportunity! If wars start in the other three continents after this, our army will still be a handful of scattered sand!

“Sharpening the blade does not delay chopping wood. Only when we train an elite troop at Ash Mountain can we handle the rest of the wars to come! Skystar has one advantage that none of our enemies possess...” Huang Yu smiled. “We have a lot of people and supernaturals.

“Everyone is practicing martial dao now, so we’ll have a never-ending supply of soldiers! A lot of people are rushing to the north with fire in their bellies. We can temper them slowly and eventually produce millions of elite soldiers that have all participated in great wars!

“There are many martial masters who have cleared acupoints in the three million behind us. There’s at least three hundred thousand of them! All of them can be identified for further training!”

“Very good, I don’t know any of this, so if Commander Yu thinks it is alright... and the other generals have no opinion... Then this is fine.” Hong Yitang nodded after some consideration.

“We don’t have enough time to fully train our soldiers, so this is indeed the only method to quickly form an army,” intoned Li Daozong. “Otherwise, we’ll have to expend time training them regiment by regiment. If not, it will be very difficult for them to become elite troops that match the Battle Heaven Army!”

“Then it’s settled!” That made up Hong Yitang’s mind for him. “We’ll ignore the other three continents for now! There is war in the northern continent at the moment, so this is where we’ll concentrate all of our efforts.

“If trouble breaks out in the other continents, that is up to Commander Li to handle, not us! It will be the Skystar Commander Office’s responsibility to resolve those problems. I may not understand military affairs, but I know that we cannot be distracted in times of war.”

The others nodded in agreement. It was fine that Hong Yitang didn’t possess this knowledge, so long as he was willing to listen. Although Li Hao was also here, the worry was that the young man might think no one was as reliable as Hong Yitang. If Hong Yitang raged out of control and influenced Li Hao’s commands as well... that would be the greatest trouble of all.

......

The sky fully brightened.

The central plains.

Teams of soldiers continuously retreated from the mountain and were replaced by fresh faces. The soldiers stationed at the frontlines were very nervous.

Another group of three dozen Demon Hunters withdrew from the frontline, their figures covered in blood. Wu Chao led them, an excited expression on his face despite their bedraggled state.

“The Demon Hunter vanguard has achieved a great victory!” he called in a piercing voice as he rushed back with his people. “We’ve defeated a contingent of one thousand and killed more than half of them. We lost less than three hundred in return!”

Some of the soldiers running in for their rotation were stunned and quite agitated by these words. Was Great Li truly so weak? Didn’t everyone say they were very, very strong? Losses of three hundred resulted in five hundred dead on the other side. Didn’t that mean that the Demon Hunters were stronger?

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Although the Demon Hunter Army was filled with elites, people felt that they were surely less than Great Li’s army.

This was the army. Although the rest of the soldiers heard Wu Chao’s cries, they didn’t say anything. Discipline was strict as the Battle Heaven Army and Demon Hunter Army patrolled in shifts. The apprehensive supernaturals were even less inclined to say anything.

......

Silver City.

Li Hao received a report as soon as he returned. He smiled at its contents.

“We’ve won a small victory,” he said to those around him. “The Demon Hunters have traded three hundred of their own for five hundred Great Li soldiers.

“Three hundred dead, just like that?” someone condemned furiously. “Commander, we might as well charge straight up the mountain...”

“Shut up if you don’t understand anything.” Li Hao frowned. “I don’t know much either, but the generals have said that this is a big victory. As for losing a few hundred soldiers... This is war. I know that once war starts, our dead will be counted in the tens of thousands!

“That is why I didn’t want to start this kind of war, but we will face it since it’s begun! The Demon Hunters are sons and daughters of Silver Moon, their foundations are of the Silver Moon Army. Some of them come from the Silver Moon Guards and so their basics are of the Silver Moon martial world. But all of that needs to be set aside for now!

“Those at the front want to use the Great Li army as practice targets. This requires a stable rear! We don’t understand war or military affairs, but we can ensure that our rear service is well run! The three million soldiers from various places also need to be trained in logistics so they can substitute at any time!

“In addition, the youngsters, supernaturals, and martial masters joining us from elsewhere need to be quickly settled in and assigned to their stations. No confusion is permitted to develop—it would be an enormous hassle otherwise.

“Director General Zhao will be in charge of that and supply mysterious power stones, Water of Life, and sacred grain to the army. All expenditures will be covered by the Skystar Commander Office during war. We can’t have people fighting on empty bellies!

“Also, we have another mission of targeting the Great Li powerhouses,” Li Hao declared solemnly. “We need to drag this out as long as possible, but this may also be what they wish to see.”

“If war also breaks out on the other three continents...” Hou Xiaochen interjected. “And we’re embroiled in the situation here... You did say before that we won’t let the three continents suffer in their own misery...”

But time is not on our side.

“I know, so we need to train a batch of elites before the other three divine nations leap into action.” Li Hao nodded. “Otherwise, we’ll come up empty-handed on both sides. If another battlefront does form, we’ll all have to suffer for a period of time.”

The young man rose to his feet. “The Great Li army is about to emerge from the mountain. We should go too!”

That halted the discussion. The group followed him out and onto the battleship hovering outside. It swiftly took them to the frontlines.