Chapter 252 - 152: Probing (Part 2)
However, the enemy was strong and fast, making them incredibly difficult to evade. Fortunately, his side had greater numbers and could keep them occupied.
The fierce battle raged on for a while, and the assassins of the Northern Expedition Legion gradually began to feel overwhelmed.
Although his side had more men, the soldiers of the Sniper Corps were clearly stronger. After fighting for so long, the only ones who had been taken out of the fight were assassins from his side. While many of the Sniper Corps assassins were also injured, very few of them had lost their ability to fight.
"This is bad, we can’t win! Should we retreat?"
As more and more of his comrades were injured, Wei Peng found himself struggling. He shouted to his companions, but none of them answered.
Just then, the man they were surrounding took advantage of Wei Peng’s momentary distraction, suddenly appeared behind him, and slashed at his neck.
Wei Peng felt a chill on the back of his neck and hastily crushed a ring in his hand. A protective shield materialized around him.
WHAM!
Wei Peng was slammed to the ground again.
His companions exchanged a look, then turned and fled.
The Sniper Corps soldier glanced at Wei Peng on the ground and the shield protecting him. ’What a rich guy!’
He then took off after the other fleeing assassins from the Northern Expedition Legion.
By the time Wei Peng scrambled to his feet, he saw that his fellow assassins were already far in the distance, while he was about to be surrounded by soldiers from the Sniper Corps. Panicked, he pulled two Scrolls from his clothes and used them in quick succession.
He threw one to the ground, creating a Magic Trap. He used the other on himself, and a gust of wind immediately enveloped him.
Empowered by the Scroll, Wei Peng’s speed increased dramatically, and he bolted away.
In less than a minute, Wei Peng caught up with the main group. He then noticed that the person at the very front was the same guy who had been lying on the sidelines when he’d been knocked down twice in a row.
He rushed forward and teased, "Hey, you’re pretty quick on your feet! You don’t look injured at all!"
"Who says I wasn’t? I got sent flying and ended up with a mouthful of blood! Didn’t you see?"
"I bet you just bit your lip. That mouthful of blood was your only injury, wasn’t it!"
"Heh heh heh..."
As the two were bantering, a loud shout came from up ahead. "Spread out to the sides!"
The two understood immediately and scattered to the sides.
A dozen seconds later, a dense volley of arrows rained down.
The soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion who failed to get out of the way in time were instantly turned into human pincushions.
The approaching assassins from the Sniper Corps scrambled to dodge the volley, but the arrows were so dense that even with their evasion skills activated, some were inevitably hit.
Cries of agony instantly erupted from the pursuing Sniper Corps assassins. Seeing the tide had turned, the remaining members hoisted their injured comrades onto their backs and fled, leaving behind a field of arrows and corpses.
Seeing the enemy retreat, the supporting Archers ceased their fire. The sound of hooves echoed from behind the Archer line; a nearby Northern Expedition Legion lord, seeing an opportunity for an easy victory, immediately dispatched his Cavalry in pursuit.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
Hearing the urgent thumping of hooves approaching from behind, the Sniper Corps assassins showed no signs of panic. They saw a flash of white light from the direction of their encampment and instantly understood the signal. They all sprinted toward a depression in the plains and leaped in. Those who couldn’t make it in time dropped flat on the ground.
WHOOSH—
A volley of Crossbow Arrows zipped past.
TWANG—
The twang of bowstrings followed immediately after.
This time, it was the Northern Expedition Legion’s turn to be turned into pincushions. Half of the pursuing Cavalry were killed in a single volley of Crossbow Arrows. The rest hastily reined in their mounts and wheeled around, retreating the way they came.
The support units from both sides faced off for a moment before slowly backing away and disengaging.
...
"My lord, our assassin squad encountered an enemy assassin team. Both sides took casualties. Our forces have now retreated."
Similar reports were being given in the main camps of both the Northern Expedition Legion and the Sniper Corps.
Mei Yuan looked a bit surprised. He was astonished that the battlefield knowledge he had studied on his own hadn’t proven effective at all.
Li Hua, on the other hand, had no particular expression. It was well within his expectations that a conventional tactic like a night raid would be ineffective. In the wargaming simulations back at the academy, the first engagement was always either a night raid or a sudden assault.
However, unlike Mei Yuan, Li Hua had dispatched far more than a single squad of assassins.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a report of success arrived.
Of course, Li Hua didn’t need a messenger to know. He looked toward the distant Northern Expedition Legion encampment, where columns of fire were rising into the sky.
There were quite a few fires on the small hills flanking the camp, and many flickering silhouettes could be seen in their light.
After a moment, small patches of rain clouds began to form. Clearly, the enemy’s Mages had made their move.
Beneath the clouds, the fires were quickly extinguished.
Li Hua asked, "What were our losses?"
His aide-de-camp replied, "My lord, our men fled as soon as they set the fires. Aside from a few unlucky fools who tripped and fell, there were no casualties."
"Very good. Have them stand by. Once the enemy settles down, send them to harass them again. This time, no fires. Have them throw poison flasks."
"Yes, my lord. I’ll notify them at once."
Li Hua watched with satisfaction as figures scurried about within the Northern Expedition Legion’s camp.
’It’s enough to deny them a good night’s sleep.’
’I wonder how Lin Yu is doing over on his end?’
...
「Elsewhere」
Manqiluo, Yuan Xiaobo, and Amuti Goodwin led their respective elite forces up the mountain range at the southwestern entrance to the Western Plains.
The three stood atop the high mountain, gazing at the layer of clouds below them, bathed in moonlight.
"I wonder how the battle down there is going. They get to have all the fun fighting while we’re stuck up here on guard duty. I don’t know what the Lord was thinking," Yuan Xiaobo said wistfully.
A thick layer of clouds obscured their vision, preventing them from observing the state of the battle below.
"With Lord Li Hua down there, nothing major can go wrong. Besides, Lord Phantom is down there too. They’ll notify us if anything happens," Manqiluo said, brushing back her long, green hair. She glanced around, looking for a suitable spot to take root.
"You’re such a training fanatic. We’re not inside our territory, so there’s no domain bonus. Even if you take root, your cultivation speed will be the same as it is in your humanoid form."
Having been around Manqiluo for a while, Yuan Xiaobo knew exactly what she was about to do.
"So what? I still prefer my original form."
Manqiluo was something of an oddity among the plant-folk. Even though she had a humanoid form, she preferred her original shape and often appeared as such. The only issue was that her true form—a four-headed Big-Mouthed Flower—was rather sanity-draining to look at. Because of this, she usually just rooted herself in the soil in her simpler plant form, which was much easier on the eyes.
"Fine, forget I said anything..."
"By the way, all three of us are on this side. What about over there?"
Yuan Xiaobo pointed toward the mountain range on the opposite side of the pass, barely visible through the mist.
He then saw Manqiluo and Amuti staring intently at him.
"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
Amuti nodded. "Manqiluo’s troops and mine aren’t skilled at shape-shifting, so it would be difficult for us to cross. Your subordinates are all Druids. They can just fly over."
Yuan Xiaobo thought for a moment and realized it was true. While the territory’s heroes were now all Druids, and a large number of the populace had also changed their class to Druid, basic troop units could not change their class.
The troops assigned to Amuti and Manqiluo for this mission did not include any Druids.
Amuti had brought 7,000 elite Death Devourers and 4,000 elite Withered Messengers.
Manqiluo had 10,000 high-level plant-folk and 5,000 elite Steel-backed Porcupines.
Yuan Xiaobo, meanwhile, commanded 30,000 Druids: 10,000 Shape-shifting Druids, 10,000 healing Druids, and 10,000 Elemental Druids.
To ascend the mountain quickly, the Shape-shifting Druids had transformed into giant eagles and carried the larger units that were poor climbers, like the Death Devourers and Steel-backed Porcupines.
If Amuti or Manqiluo were to cross to the other mountain range, the Druids would have to airlift their forces. It made far more sense for the Druids to just fly over themselves.
"Alright, I’ll take my men across then. You two set up defensive positions here. When we get the signal to attack, I’ll have my troops bring you down the mountain."
With that, Yuan Xiaobo and the Demon Race heroes under his command transformed into massive birds and took the lead, flying toward the opposite mountain range. The other Druids followed suit, changing into various avian forms and taking to the skies.
Manqiluo then led her plant-folk to an auspicious-looking location, where they all reverted to their plant forms and took root, forming a protective circle around the Steel-backed Porcupines.
Of course, many other plant-folk dispersed across the mountain range, taking root to act as sentries.
Amuti’s Death Devourers and Withered Messengers also found places to hide, disguising themselves as tree stumps and patches of weeds to serve as additional lookouts.
...