Free Web NovelChapter 225: Elephant Soldiers
On the vast and wild land of Manghuang,
Covered with slaughter and death, the bloody scenes chilled one’s heart.
Yet, this is war, cruel... war!
With an unstoppable momentum, Long Chen broke through the enemy ranks.
The Vietnamese army finally grew fearful.
As the war dragged on, they had lost nearly half of their forces, and their army showed signs of collapse.
If they did not retreat now, when their army truly collapsed, the losses would be even more devastating!
"Retreat! Retreat all forces!!!"
The commanding general shouted loudly, and the order quickly spread.
Seeing the enemy starting to retreat, Long Chen immediately ordered Lu Bu and himself to split and attack from the left and right wings respectively.
To expand their gains.
"Hehehe, Lord, today’s battle was truly exhilarating!" Xu Chu grinned with his eyes the size of bronze bells.
"That’s right! I haven’t had this much fun killing in a long time!!!"
Dian Wei scratched his bald head and grinned ferociously,
No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like an antagonist.
"Zhongkang, Eli, in today’s battle, our only aim is to uphold the glory of our Huaxia army!!!"
Long Chen brandished the Qingyue Sword, exuding an aura befitting a sovereign.
With a serious expression and eyes filled with light, he truly appeared as a heroic youth.
Such appearance and demeanor stirred loud cheers among the Huaxia audience.
"Huaxia men should be like this!!"
"Feng’s moral integrity is so admirable, I really like it~"
That day,
Long Chen led thirty thousand against a hundred thousand Vietnamese troops on the plains in a frontal confrontation.
In the end, Long Chen defeated the enemy for the nation, killed fifty thousand, and sent the Vietnamese troops screaming.
The bravery of Huaxia shook Asia!!!
However,
This battle was not completely over.
During the Vietnamese army’s retreat, they suddenly encountered a surprise attack from nearly ten thousand cavalry.
The leader rode a white horse with a silver spear, exceptionally heroic, exuding a majestic aura like brilliant stars, illuminating the night and killing thousands of Vietnamese soldiers.
Among the nearly ten thousand cavalry were three thousand Tiger Elite soldiers, all clad in dark golden armor, with razor-sharp weapons.
They slaughtered the Vietnamese army, causing them to flee in disarray, shedding blood for miles.
At this moment, Long Chen also successfully met with Zhao Yun on a hidden path in the dense forest with his twenty thousand troops.
"Zilong, how did our forces fare?"
Long Chen asked, clasping his fists.
"Lord, in this battle, our army killed nearly ten thousand enemies, captured nearly ten thousand, and we have about twenty thousand troops remaining, with losses totaling around two thousand!"
Zhao Yun replied, clasping his fists.
In reality, at that time, the Vietnamese army had been so terrified by Long Chen’s forces that they had lost their will to fight long before encountering Zhao Yun’s surprise attack.
Therefore, when they encountered Zhao Yun’s sudden assault, like frightened birds, many soldiers had no intention of fighting the enemy.
Their minds were only focused on "escape!"
The reason for the two thousand casualties under Zhao Yun’s command was largely due to the large number of Vietnamese troops,
Their chaotic retreat led to trampling and collisions among the troops and horses.
Upon hearing this, Long Chen patted Zhao Yun on the shoulder and nodded in approval.
"Lord, what should we do next?"
Dian Wei asked, wielding his twin halberds.
Long Chen gazed into the dense forest in the distance, his voice resolute:
"Pursue!" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"And let’s capture the cities of the Vietnamese!" freёwebnovel.com
Now that the Vietnamese army had suffered heavy losses, it would be unwise to wait until they recovered their strength to attack the cities!
Long Chen wasn’t that foolish.
Furthermore, most of his main army was here, so they should strike while the iron was hot.
At this point, Guo Jia nodded as well: "Indeed, Lord’s decision is wise; now is the perfect opportunity to attack the cities!"
"But, don’t we lack siege equipment?"
Xu Chu frowned deeply, showing concern.
"Rest assured, I had foreseen the developments beforehand, and the siege equipment has already been brought along."
Guo Jia smiled, pointing to the large army behind him.
"The strategist’s talent is beyond compare!"
Xu Chu laughed and praised.
"In that case, our army needs to move quickly and seize this opportunity!" Long Chen looked at the sky darkening gradually, murmuring.
"Lord, our main city’s defenses are weak and vulnerable at the moment. It’s necessary to appoint a general to guard the main city."
Guo Jia advised respectfully.
"In that case, I’ll trouble you, Fengxiao, to return and defend the city."
Long Chen placed both hands on Guo Jia’s slender shoulders, looking at him gently with his starry eyes.
These days, Guo Jia had been too devoted and had been traveling long distances day after day. Long Chen wanted Guo Jia to rest well in the city and not follow him on the distant expedition to Vietnam.
"Well... alright." Guo Jia hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed reluctantly.
Leading five thousand Dan Yang elite soldiers and five thousand Yellow Turban warriors to return and guard the main city.
The rest of the troops continued to march with Long Chen, taking advantage of the heavy losses suffered by the Vietnamese army to capture as many cities as possible.
...
The night was clear and stars sparse, crows flying south.
The Vietnamese cities were built on the edge of marshlands, utilizing the swamp’s treacherous terrain as a defensive point.
In addition, within the Vietnamese cities, there was their unique troop type - the Elephant Soldiers.
As the name suggests, these were elite beastmasters riding giant elephants, using the elephants’ physical prowess to kill enemy troops.
The beastmasters could also attack from atop the elephants using crossbows.
Not only did they have tremendous killing power (from the elephants’ attacks), but they also had a long attack range (from the crossbows).
Long Chen and his army lay in ambush within the dark forest, observing the situation around the Vietnamese cities in the distance.
"Wow, what the heck is that!?" Dian Wei scratched his head in confusion as he saw the Elephant Soldiers patrolling around the city.
"This is even bigger than that exotic Bengal tiger I chased before!"
Xu Chu couldn’t help but shake his head with amazement.
Long Chen explained the information about the Elephant Soldiers he had obtained from the official website to the generals around him.
Only then did everyone nod, seeming to suddenly understand.
"Lord, these Elephant Soldiers have great attacking power, a long attack range, and high defense. Doesn’t that make them almost invincible?" Zhao Yun asked with concern, clasping his fists.
Long Chen nodded thoughtfully at first but then shook his head.
"Zilong, your first half is correct, but Elephant Soldiers also have their weaknesses - they are bulky, slow-moving, and have difficulty changing direction."
"In addition, the number of Elephant Soldiers in this city is no more than three thousand!"
"Therefore, we have nothing to fear!"
Long Chen clenched his fist, his eyes shining brightly.
"Well, we trust in Lord’s abilities. Lord must have a plan." Dian Wei chuckled foolishly.
While carefully observing the city several hundred meters to the north, its surroundings, and the direction of the Elephant Soldiers’ patrols, Long Chen pondered the method of attacking the city.
Currently, the city’s defenders numbered no more than ten thousand soldiers, including the Elephant Soldiers, totaling about ten thousand.
In fact, aside from the several thousand Elephant Soldiers posing a threat, there wasn’t much else to worry about.
Immediately,
Long Chen made a decisive decision and issued his orders.
He arranged the army into formation, with infantry in the front, archers and crossbowmen behind, and cavalry positioned on the flanks, ready to launch a sudden attack at any moment.
The army of nearly thirty thousand gradually advanced forward...
