Chapter Eighty-three: Defeat (Part One)
The river was neither deep nor shallow, and not wide at all. The four demon army legions, although the Chaos Beast Legion had lost most of its mobile forces, were still enough to easily overwhelm the Vanguard Legion on the opposite bank. Not to mention, there was also a hundred-man squad of chosen ones.
Even so, the Unclean Ones were cautious. This was because the Vanguard Legion had not spread out safely but had instead lined up in a long formation. Originally at a numerical disadvantage, compared to the four demon armies across the river, they looked like a mouse in front of an eagle.
The Beast King was furious and impulsive, but he was held back by the other legion commanders. The demon army commanders, experienced and seasoned, ultimately concluded that as long as they arranged a proper order for crossing the river, their own forces, superior in both quality and quantity, should be able to defeat the Vanguard Legion.
The Beast King, already impatient, could only suppress his anger and refrain from immediately leading his beast horde across the water. The first to take the lead were the proud and powerful chosen ones. They could “cross” the Ruik River by walking directly across its bottom. The deepest part of the river did not submerge them, followed by the impulsive minotaurs.
Ji Ma’s cavalry went to harass them but had no success. The chosen ones couldn’t capture the light cavalry for the time being but easily occupied the “bridgehead.” Unable to contain himself, the Beast King took the lead, leading a group of bow-wielding horned beasts across the river to shoot at those sneaky light cavalry.
In an instant, the light cavalry was thrown into disarray. Subsequently, the entire army crossed the river; Ji Ma’s forces attempted to strike halfway across but released many hungry flesh-hunting hounds and demonized war mastiffs, without success. They were simply unable to shake the forces crossing the river.
The chosen ones formed into a squad and advanced step by step, unstoppable by anyone. In the end, this small-scale war concluded with Ji Ma’s defeat, and her entire army retreated. But the four demon armies captured the cavalry commander, a fearsome demon with a terrible scar on his face from five meteor strikes, and he was strong.
The Beast King couldn’t wait to kill this cavalry commander, proudly hanging his head as proof of his own redemption, then tossing it into a pile of dog corpses, laughing heartily at the hastily retreating Vanguard Legion.
It was a narrow escape, indeed. The entire army successfully crossed the river, and the Beast King complained about the other legion commanders, claiming that the false queen Ji Ma was terrified, completely unable to stop the army from crossing. It was just bluster to buy time to pack more supplies from the camp and quickly slip back to her pathetic fortress.
There were still some good things left in the camp, like yesterday’s trophy heads; many of those skulls used for sacrifices still held quite a bit of magic. If they had crossed the river immediately, the false queen Ji Ma might not have been able to escape at all.
The Beast King complained this way, also cursing the Unclean Ones as a bunch of fat, smelly cowards who not only moved slowly but were also timid. The four legion commanders quarreled for a while.
However, regarding their next steps, all four were in agreement: to chase, to chase hard after the false queen Ji Ma, not letting her return calmly to her fortress, even if it meant delving deep into the unfamiliar wilderness.
The demon wind grew stronger. Ji Ma’s forces were in retreat; on the way back, she also held a ceremony to store the magical wind, and she had also received the divine grace she had agreed upon in advance with the Lord of Change.
She raised her head, pushing aside the hair that covered her left eye, revealing a glassy blue eye. The Lord of Change explained the enemy’s intentions to her. In her vision, she saw blue lines flying in from the sky, converging over her troops.
This indicated that the enemy was set on pursuing her forces. Nodding slightly in agreement, she issued commands: “Continue advancing! March forcefully!” The defeated soldiers of the Vanguard Legion grumbled a bit as they advanced into an unfamiliar direction, which was not towards Vanguard City.
Over the next few days, it became a game of pursuit. Small-scale cavalry skirmishes erupted continuously between the two armies, with both sides experiencing victories and losses, but no matter what, Ji Ma’s Vanguard Legion was becoming increasingly distant, and the gap between them kept widening.
…
Since the arrival of the Armies of the Apocalypse, defeat had become a commonplace occurrence for the Hell Knights Legion, led by Grand Knight Elena. The small team she commanded, after breaking out, was running low on food, so they resorted to eating the flesh of beastmen. Although the meat was corrosive, it was better to be full than to starve.
Leading her troops, she occasionally recruited a few deserters, as they desperately fled through the fallen Tarabek territory, trying to avoid pursuers. However, as most of the fortunate troops who had escaped from Tarabek city fell, the remaining escapees soon attracted the attention of the majority of the pursuing forces.
In the valley, the encamped group encountered an ambush. A mixed force composed of Flayers, Rage Demons, and Corrupted Cavalry ruthlessly attacked this small army. The followers of Corruption rode on Corrupted Warhorses, their bodies mutated by blessings, eagerly charging towards the camp. Every Hell Knight who fell died loyally, desperately trying to take down one enemy in return.
In the sky, Rage Demons and Flayers continuously swooped down. The spearmen were thrown into chaos, injured in body, managing to stab down one Rage Demon, but the other Rage Demon, with its sharp and vicious claws, tore apart his face. Two Flayers then pounced on him, biting him.
Grand Knight Elena’s expression was icy; she swiftly cut down two Flayers with one swing of her sword. As the Rage Demon screamed, she forcefully stomped it underfoot, turning it into dissipating ash.
The spearmen were saved but gravely injured, blood all over their necks, groaning, “By Sigma above…” Around them, the Hell Knights, militia, armed civilians, and the Knights of the Radiant Sun listened to her orders, backing up against each other and gathering together.
She remembered there was a nearby cave, so she ordered, “All troops retreat! Into the cave!”
“Wait.” One of the Radiant Sun Knights said, “We still have wounded.”
Lying on the ground beside them, on a white cloth, were over ten injured, some from the Hell Knights Legion and some from the Radiant Sun Knights, unable to fight because the able-bodied wounded were forced to pick up weapons and fight.
“No, retreat immediately.”
“Wait, I can save them,” that knight said, inserting his weapon back into his waist, preparing to bend down and drag the wounded away.
“Soldiers, execute the wounded!”
The wounded had indeed become a burden. After reaching this conclusion, Grand Knight Elena decisively ordered, “Soldiers, execute all wounded!”
“Yes!”
Their response, like Grand Knight Elena’s command, was devoid of emotional fluctuation, and they thrust their swords into their injured companions’ necks.
Grand Knight Elena did the same; she pierced her sword into the throat of a spearmen at her feet, even though she had just saved that spearmen ten seconds earlier.
The Radiant Sun Knight was incredulous: “What are you doing?”
“Fighting,” Grand Knight Elena replied, giving him no further attention. While battling, she loudly commanded, “Now, together with me, retreat to the cave.”
Left with no choice, the Radiant Sun Knights could only kill and retreat into the cave.
