Chapter 1379
Burning the Supplies and Breaking the Formation, People from the Imperial City Arrive
Chapter 1379 Burning the Supplies and Breaking the Formation, People from the Imperial City Arrive
"Oh no! They're going to burn our supplies! Form a shield formation! Hold them off!"
Upon seeing this, the lieutenant in charge of the security and logistics jumped up and down in a panic, shouting orders.
Among the thousands of soldiers responsible for escorting the logistical supplies, a thousand were the most elite Beifu soldiers under Liu Yu's command. They were well-trained and, upon hearing the order, immediately abandoned individual combat and formed a shield formation.
Numerous Northern Army soldiers, armed with shields, worked together to form impenetrable shield walls, protecting the supply wagons and armory boxes in the middle. At the same time, spearmen extended their spears from the gaps in the shields, thrusting them at the charging Luo Wang assassins.
This is the natural advantage of regular troops against assassins—although assassins are all highly skilled and can fight ten against one in a one-on-one fight, they lack coordination and cooperation, and once they encounter a military formation, it is difficult for them to exert their advantages.
Moreover, military formations emphasize "sticking together for warmth," and shield formations are specifically designed to counter individual attacks. With shields for defense and spears for offense, the division of labor is clear and the teamwork is excellent. Even a highly skilled assassin would find it difficult to break through these layers of shield walls.
A low-level assassin tried to break through the shield formation and set fire to the supply wagons behind it, but as soon as he got close, he was pierced by several spears at the same time, screamed and fell to the ground, his health bar instantly emptied; another high-level assassin, relying on his agility, tried to leap over the shield formation, but as soon as he took off, he was shot through the thigh by an archer who was already lying in ambush, fell to the ground, and was swarmed by the surrounding soldiers and hacked to death.
Although the assassins of the Luo Wang were fearless, they were like eggs hitting a hot plate in front of the army, and could not gain any advantage at all.
Their strengths lie in ambushes, assassinations, and one-on-one combat. Faced with such a disciplined and well-coordinated military formation, all their advantages vanish.
Some assassins were trapped by the shield formation and could only watch helplessly as they were pierced by spears; some assassins wanted to retreat but were surrounded by layers of military formations and could not break through at all; and some assassins were willing to die in order to ignite the supplies, rushing towards the shield formation with oil canisters, only to be shot to death by arrows before they even got close, and the oil canisters fell to the ground, igniting their own people's retreat.
Yan Ri watched this scene and cursed inwardly, but he also knew that if things continued like this, the Luo Wang assassins who had temporarily gathered around would probably be wiped out soon. Although a lot of supplies had been burned, the goal of complete destruction had not yet been achieved.
He immediately gave another order: "Concentrate your forces and attack the weak points of the shield formation! Focus on burning the medicine carts and ordnance! Burn as much as you can, don't linger in battle, retreat after burning them all!"
The Six Sword Slaves also arrived at this moment. They had just finished dealing with Chen and were in high spirits.
Upon hearing Yan Ri's command, Zhen Gang took the lead, his "Zhen Gang" sword cleaving through a soldier's shield, tearing a gap in the shield formation. The sisters Zhuan Po and Mie Hun swayed, confusing the surrounding soldiers, and rushed into the gap. Luan Shen, Duan Shui, and Wang Liang followed closely behind, unleashing their sword energy to widen the gap.
With the addition of the Six Sword Slaves, the pressure on the shield formation increased instantly, and several gaps quickly appeared.
Using these gaps, the assassins from the Luo Wang organization rushed in again, frantically burning the supplies. More food carts were set ablaze, armory boxes were ripped open, medicines were burned, and even the wagons transporting tents and cooking utensils were not spared.
The flames burned brighter and brighter, illuminating almost half the sky, and even the distant Northern Army camp could see the firelight.
"Split your forces and encircle them! Don't engage them in a direct battle; wear them down with arrows!"
But those Northern Army soldiers were no pushovers either. Seeing that the shield formation was being breached, the lieutenant general immediately adjusted his tactics and gave the order.
Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately split into several teams and surrounded the enemy from different directions. The archers stood at a distance, firing arrows wildly at the assassins at the breach. The rain of arrows was as dense as locusts, and even assassins with high internal strength found it difficult to completely dodge them. Many assassins were hit by arrows and fell screaming into the sea of fire.
The losses of the Luo Wang assassins began to increase under the control of the Beifu soldiers who had already reacted. Of the original hundreds of assassins, more than half had been killed or wounded, and most of the survivors were also injured. They could only barely burn the supplies with the help of the Six Sword Slaves.
As more and more Northern Army soldiers surrounded him, Yan Ri knew the importance of knowing when to stop.
The objective this time was to buy time for Wang Xiangyang to reinforce Lingyun Pass. Now that most of the supplies have been burned, the allied forces' logistics will inevitably be severely affected, and the offensive at the front will certainly slow down. The objective has been achieved, and there is no need to sacrifice more assassins.
He immediately shouted, "Mission accomplished! Retreat! Six Sword Slaves cover our retreat!"
Upon hearing this, the Six Sword Slaves immediately stopped their attack, formed a defensive formation, and covered the retreat of the remaining assassins.
Zhen Gang blocked the soldiers in front, his sword energy slashing horizontally, forcing back the surrounding soldiers; the sisters Zhuanpo and Miehun swayed, leaving several afterimages to confuse the pursuers; Duanshui once again concealed his figure, occasionally releasing an invisible sword energy to block the pursuers; Luanshen and Wangliang provided cover from behind, killing those soldiers who were relentlessly pursuing them.
Yan Ri, along with the remaining assassins, quickly withdrew from the transport team under the cover of the Six Sword Slaves, retreating into the depths of the mountains and forests.
The deputy general of the Northern Army stomped his feet in heartache as he looked at the burning supplies, but dared not pursue them rashly. It was already late at night, the terrain in the mountains and forests was complex and easy to ambush, and the soldiers were exhausted after the fierce battle just now. It would be a loss to continue the pursuit.
"Stop the pursuit! Put out the fire immediately! Rescue the remaining supplies! Take a count of casualties!"
The lieutenant gave a loud order, and the soldiers immediately stopped and began to fight the fire and rescue the animals. However, the fire was already raging, and much of the supplies had been completely destroyed. It would be extremely difficult to salvage them.
Although the surprise attack achieved its goal of delaying the allied forces, it also destroyed a large amount of logistical supplies, including 60,000 shi of grain, thousands of pieces of weaponry, nearly half of the medicine, and hundreds of military tents, forcing Liu Yu's Northern Army to temporarily slow down their offensive.
However, the Luo Wang itself suffered extremely heavy losses: more than half of its hundreds of elites were killed or wounded, including three Earth-level assassins, more than ten Kill-level assassins, and countless Chi, Mei, Wang, and Liang-level assassins. Only a few elites, such as Yan Ri and Liu Jian Nu, managed to escape unscathed.
Meanwhile, deep within the main street of the imperial city of Daling, a luxurious mansion with blue bricks and gray tiles stood quietly. A gilded plaque bearing the inscription "Wang Grand Secretary's Mansion" hung above the vermilion gate, and two stone lions stood fiercely beside the gate.
Inside the study deep within the mansion, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. Wang Mang, dressed in a purple python robe, sat upright in a grand chair covered with tiger skin, his fingers unconsciously stroking the embossed patterns on the armrests.
As a key minister in the current cabinet of the Great Ling Dynasty, he holds the power to appoint and dismiss half of the court officials, wielding immense power. Yet, at this moment, there was no trace of pride on his face, but rather a lingering sense of absurdity—after all, who could have imagined that the "New Dynasty Emperor Taizu," who once usurped the Han throne, would now be thriving in the Great Ling Dynasty in another world?
"Your Excellency, there is a monk dressed in black robes outside the residence requesting an audience. He claims to be Yao Guangxiao and says he has important matters concerning the safety of the dynasty to discuss with Your Excellency in person."
Just then, the butler quietly entered the study and bowed to report.
(End of this chapter)