Chapter 86: Doubt (Part 2)
Earlier. By the Karka River, the Blood God demon warriors, under the command of Ji Ma, were forced to use decapitated prisoners as logs to build a floating bridge.
During breaks, they still had to attend the lessons prepared by her personally.
A large group of demon warriors, armed to the teeth, with skulls either tied or inserted into their armor, sat together in a fan shape.
They looked at the blackboard.
Ji Ma held a slender whip and snapped it against the blackboard, making it crack loudly. On the blackboard hung a life-sized oil painting of a smiling George, his whole body glimmering silver, almost visibly declaring, “I am of the Celestial Sect,” causing several Blood God demon warriors to instinctively grip their axe handles.
“Pay attention! I will reiterate once more, this is an ally! Do not strike him down! If he comes to strike you, shout: ‘I am an ally!’ Remember, shouting anything else is unreliable.”
“Got it?”
This had already been repeated nearly twenty times.
A sparse response arose from below: “Got it…”
“Speak louder!”
“Got it! Your Majesty!”
“I have no faith in you fools at all.”
Ji Ma said, “If he kills you with a single blow, that’s a minor issue! If he gets to take another swing, it becomes a major issue; if we don’t kill the key figures on the other side, we are finished, do you understand?”
“Got it! Your Majesty!”
“Alright.”
The soldiers below perked up. They would rather do hard labor than attend class.
“Next.” Ji Ma switched to a portrait of Zhanna: “This is my wife…”
Ji Ma immediately gained a surge of dark power.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” The Fly Demon military advisor arrived on a floating disk: “The enemy army has appeared three kilometers away!”
“Good, assemble the troops.”
After assembling the troops.
Ji Ma began her speech:
“I know you must be curious how I could collude with a hero. I know you are not happy about it, and some of you doubt me. To put it nicely, I am your King, to put it bluntly, before the Eternal Chosen, I am just a little king, a rebellious force.
“You often ask yourselves why I don’t join the world-destroying army to trample the old world, how delightful that would be.
Now, I will tell you why.
Here, I promise you an unparalleled slaughter conference. We will challenge the strong, challenge the world-destroying army, and crush all enemies who refuse to obey my will beneath our feet. Otherwise, they will die on the path of challenging the strong.
I promise you a unique slaughter banquet in history!
This speech perfectly aligns with the core values of the demon race.
But the applause was not very loud, just barely drowning out the clapping of the nearby Fly Demons.
Ji Ma was not surprised; everyone was half-starved. For the demon warriors, slaughter is like milk and bread, the only way to fill their stomachs.
Alright, everyone take your positions! Prepare to enjoy the feast of slaughter.
Upon hearing that they could finally eat, the Blood Demon warriors all dropped their weapons and clapped vigorously.
Clap, clap, clap!
The vanguard legion took their places.
Time passed.
Earlier.
The four demon armies had been chasing the vanguard for twelve days.
They discovered that the vanguard’s escape direction was not towards the Vanguard City but in another direction.
Within the unfamiliar wilderness, traversing a half-mutated forest, they pursued the vanguard.
The demon army commander had been prudent and conservative this time, unlike the first war where he advocated crossing the river to attack the vanguard.
The Beast King was extremely impatient; the twelve days of playing cat and mouse had exhausted what little patience he had left. In his eyes, the vanguard was a group of prey awaiting slaughter, just like the lost humans in the forest.
The Unclean, after their last victory, had become optimistic.
Meanwhile, the Sinner’s military sharp, bored, began rehearsing victory songs.
The reconnaissance unit returned with reports that the vanguard was struggling to cross a river called the Karka River, seemingly leaving behind scant resources to get across, with boats still on the river.
A dispute broke out among them.
The demon army commander nearly wore his mouth out, restraining his urge to kill, and said to the Beast King, who was always roaring at him.
“Stupid horned one, I could make it clear enough that even if you dragged a lamb here, you’d still understand. The demon army continues: ‘Now we have two choices, continue chasing the vanguard, only the Lord of Ten Thousand Changes knows what plot she is concocting.
The other option is to directly attack the Vanguard City; we cannot let her lead us around by the nose.'”
“Then go ahead with your people! You’re worth less than a battle hound; a battle hound would still chase after prey and take a bite!” The Beast King could no longer bear it: “I want to seize the boats! Cross the river!”
A swarm of flies buzzed, and the Unclean chuckled, patting its fat rear, saying:
“Little Green, don’t sleep; we’re crossing the river.”
Several Undead Spirits crawled out from the Unclean’s rotting wound, cheerfully exclaiming, “Cross the river! Cross the river!”
Just like last time. “The Sinner’s military sharp, smiling with a long tongue, remarked: “My song is ready; it’s called ‘Fear Me,’ making it the perfect opening music; before I strike down the false king’s head, I still need to hit the right pitch, thump, thump, thump.”
As she spoke, she hummed a tune and tapped her feet.
The demon army commander hesitated as well. Because the vanguard’s military strength was not that formidable; although it was rising rapidly, depending on his experience, he could take down one of the four legions, but there were currently four whole legions.
Although there was a half-broken legion, and although the battlefield was chosen by the false king Ji Ma. But upon estimating it, even in the worst-case scenario, it seemed he could still beat the vanguard to death.
Thinking this way,
the demon army commander still maintained a cautious attitude, not allowing the legion to rush forward together but instead guarded the rear, step-by-step, serving as the rear guard for the vanguard.
Soon, good news came from the front.
Seeing the army attacking, the vanguard soldiers lost their courage, broke a few boats, and, under a rain of arrows, desperately fled backward. They even left behind two floating bridges.
This was truly a “timely help.”
The Beast King was overjoyed, commanding the agile Lesser Horned Beasts to jump into the river to retrieve the boats. He and his horned beasts paddled across the river, using prepared ropes and logs to connect the boats and create a floating bridge.
Left on the opposite bank were nearly naked Sinner cavalry.
Their combat will was not strong, and several small-scale attacks quickly retreated under the support of the rain of arrows from the Lesser Horned Beasts.
The first group to cross the river was a large number of horned beasts. The spear-armed horned beasts provided cover while a massive number of bow-wielding Lesser Horned Beasts shot carefully, occupying the bridgehead while staying alert to the nearby throng of Sinner cavalry, trying to drive them away and press their space.
The second group to cross was the Sinner Legion.
The Sinner’s military sharp and her subordinates danced elegantly, with music from various instruments playing “Fear Me” on both sides.
The cavalry of the Sinner Legion took their positions, providing cover for the horned beasts.
Under the arrow rain attacks, a large number of vanguard cavalry began to retreat step by step.
Victory news spread from the front to the rear, reaching the slowest Undead Legion.
The Undead Spirits cheered and shouted, “Hurry! Hurry!”
They rolled forward in a group.
Little Green and a few other Undead Spirits formed a human tower.
He shouted, “I’ll form the legs.”
“I’ll form the head!”
“I’ll form the body.”
Six Undead Spirits, you grab me, I hug you, formed a humanoid shape, striding forward.
Above, the fly riders tenderly caressed their heads. The flies hung a string of heads, all taken from the defenders of Talabek City, carefully tended for more than ten days, with hundreds of viruses taking root in the heads, thriving, and decaying, making them perfect for throwing.
The fly rider peered toward the battlefield with an eye.
The battlefield was generally flat; the Karka River curved from top to bottom, dividing the battlefield into two parts. The demon army was crossing the river, and in front of the riverbank was a continuous cavalry force, estimated to have over a thousand riders, while the distance behind was too far to see clearly.
The flies could only fly twenty or thirty meters high, and there was mist behind.
And just below the river mouth, about three to four hundred meters away, was a dense forest.
He had once been an imperial soldier; the habit left over from joining the Plague Father’s family caused him to subconsciously look toward that vast dense forest, wondering if there would be an ambush?
At that moment.
The cavalry of the vanguard suddenly broke down, the flags fell to the ground, and they rushed fearfully northward, fleeing.
Like a group of white waves, they scatter and then gather together, merging into a torrent, escaping downstream along the Karka River, for there was nothing ahead to obstruct their flight.
He shouted, “The enemy is defeated! The enemy is defeated! The false king is defeated!”
The Sinner warhorses galloped, their legs kicking up clouds of dust. The size of calves, the demonized battle hounds chased after them, occasionally tossing off one or two riders.
“They have lost!” The Corpse Rider, agile and able to express himself, let out a roar like a human-faced maggot.
The large Unclean saw that on the other side of the river, the vanguard troops were fleeing and cheerfully said:
“Children, charge with grandfather; if you are late, you won’t get any heads.”
The Undead Demon army quickened their pace, rushing to the riverbank.
The floating bridge couldn’t bear the weight of the Unclean, so he jumped into the river, turned around, and opened his arms to the Undead Spirits, shouting:
“Children, come to grandfather.”
The Undead Spirits burst into laughter, bouncing and jumping up his rotting fat arms, scrambling onto his body.
“We’ve crossed the river.”
The Unclean grinned as he trudged across the river.
Little Green raised his hand, pointing at the sky: “Look quickly, what’s in the sky?”
In the sky appeared a series of floating disks.
It was Ji Ma, just releasing the “Tranquil Secret Barrier,” along with her array of officers.
The demon king Ji Ma stood atop the highest floating disk, on her right was the Fly Demon military advisor, overlooking the battlefield below:
“Great, Your Majesty, we have crossed the river; the enemy army, the enemy army…”
He couldn’t catch his breath, unable to speak.
Ji Ma closed her left eye, her long nails gesturing in front of her right eye, dividing the battlefield as if she were a seasoned diner, using a knife to cut into a well-cooked steak, contemplating which part to eat first.
She suddenly asked, “How is the collection of demonic wind going?”
“It’s overflowing, it’s almost, Your Majesty.”
“Good, very good.” She waited an additional ten minutes for more Undead Demon troops to cross the river, then commanded, “Sound the horn! Start the counterattack!”
“Yes!”
Her orders were magically conveyed to below.
The next moment, deafening horns sounded from within the mist.
The buried bronze bulls rose, awakening from their trance, riders mounted the backs of the bronze bulls, having to hold tightly to the rings on top to avoid falling off.
Because the bronze bulls were forcibly put to sleep, they were very groggy when waking up.
As the bronze bulls galloped, the monstrous shapes also crawled out of the ground.
On the Blood God’s war altar, the blood-sucking demons raved and cheered, waving their blades, the Blood God war altar iron wheel activated, charging alongside the army.
The Sinner succubi who had been lying low also rose, galloping gracefully, their speed fast, only slightly slower than the bronze bulls, gathering into a mudslide that violently crashed into the beast herds from the front.
At the forefront were the massive Lesser Horned Beasts, who had almost no armor, fast in speed. Because of this, they had already broken away from the rear forces.
They were shooting arrows at the fleeing Sinner cavalry.
But the Sinner cavalry dodged, making way for the “mudslide” behind.
In the fog, the bronze bull herd raged, roaring flames as they burst forth from the mist, angrily colliding with the Lesser Horned Beasts, directly crashing into them.
The ribcages of the Lesser Horned Beasts shattered along with their bows, falling to the ground, and subsequently, hooves trampled over, crushing all the bones of the corpses…
Very good.
She waited an additional ten minutes for more Undead Demon troops to cross the river, then commanded, “Sound the horn! Start the counterattack!”
“Yes!”
Her orders were magically conveyed to below.
The next moment, deafening horns sounded from within the mist.
The buried bronze bulls rose, awakening from their trance, the riders mounting the backs of the bronze bulls had to hold tightly to the rings at the top to avoid falling off.
Because the bronze bulls were forcibly put to sleep, they were especially grumpy when waking up.
As the bronze bulls ran, the monstrous shapes crawled up from the ground.
On the Blood God’s war altar, the blood-sucking demons danced and cheered, wielding their keen blades, and the iron wheel of the Blood God war altar activated, charging alongside the army.
The Sinner succubi that had been lurking on the ground simultaneously rose, gracefully running, their speed very fast, just a bit slower than the bronze bulls, merging into a mudslide that violently crashed into the horned beast herds.
At the forefront were the hordes of Lesser Horned Beasts, who had almost no armor and were incredibly fast. Because of that, they were already out of sync with the rear forces.
They were shooting arrows at the fleeing Sinner cavalry as they pursued.
But the Sinner cavalry dodged, letting through the “mudslide” behind them.
In the mist, the bronze bulls angrily roared, spewing fire as they charged forth from the mist, colliding fiercely with the Lesser Horned Beasts, directly hitting them.
The ribs of the Lesser Horned Beasts shattered along with their bows, falling to the ground, and then the hooves trampled over, crushing all bones of the corpses…
Karka River: This battle example mirrors the Karka River campaign, where the Mongolian army used cunning and brutality against the Russian army.
Fear Me: A very decent soundtrack by the Chaos Warriors in the Total War series. If it weren’t for the fact that I went to play Total War to gather material, operating the “world-destroying army” (referring to an entire legion), stationed in the Hawk region for several rounds, and then suddenly, five imperial legions rushed out from outside the fog of war, ambushing my “world-destroying army” that was in short supply, completely decimating it three times in a row before I managed to survive to the next round, forced to listen to half an hour of BGM. I might still like it.
PS: The battlefield map is in the next chapter.
