Chapter 263 - 157: Meat Grinder (Part 2)
This put the Sniper Corps at a disadvantage. With fewer soldiers than the Northern Expedition Legion, they would surely be the first to break in a direct exchange like this.
Just then, the Northern Expedition Legion’s Shield Soldiers made another move.
Taking advantage of their superior numbers, the Northern Expedition Legion split their Shield Soldiers in two. One group continued to advance, while the other activated their skills, forming a defensive wall in front of their ranged units.
The Sniper Corps’ commander, Fan Yuxuan, saw this and thought for a moment, but he didn’t change formation.
Instead, he had the ranged units adjust their formation.
The ranks of the Sniper Corps’ ranged phalanx split their fire. Some ranks attacked the Shield Soldiers protecting the Northern Expedition Legion’s ranged units, while others targeted the Shield Soldiers advancing on their own position.
As a result, the Northern Expedition Legion’s Shield Soldiers began suffering greater casualties than the Sniper Corps.
Mei Yuan frowned as he watched. However, he had anticipated this attack from the Sniper Corps, so he issued no new orders, allowing his Shield Soldiers to press the charge under the enemy’s fire.
By the time these Shield Soldiers reached the Sniper Corps’ front line, they had already lost nearly a third of their number.
When the soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion finally reached them, a wave of Warriors charged out from behind the Shield Soldiers. There were Heavy Armor Warriors wielding two-handed heavy weapons, Berserkers in leather armor, Close Combat Shooters with a One-Handed Sword and a hand crossbow, and War Mages clad in cloth robes, who held a single-handed weapon and were wreathed in a thick energy shield...
For the past two days, the two sides had dueled with ranged attacks by day and fought skirmishes with assassins by night. These melee specialists had been left with nothing to do, and they were dying for a real fight.
Now that the men of the Northern Expedition Legion were finally in range, it was their turn to show what they could do.
Facing these melee specialists, the Northern Expedition Legion’s Shield Soldiers were instantly overwhelmed.
In truth, the charging Shield Soldiers were not weak in melee combat themselves. Most were Blade and Shield Soldiers, a class that could both take and deal damage—an excellent choice for breaking enemy lines.
However, against the dedicated melee specialists from the Sniper Corps, they were clearly outmatched.
Mei Yuan’s expression darkened as he watched his own Shield Soldiers being slaughtered. Their numbers were dwindling, while the Sniper Corps’ soldiers seemed to be multiplying around them.
A glint appeared in his eyes, and a new order was sent down the line.
When the order reached the front lines, it caused a commotion among the ranged units, but the dissent was quickly quashed.
Whatever the Messengers told them, the ranged units fell silent. They raised their weapons and mercilessly unleashed their attacks.
A volley of arrows and a storm of Magic instantly blanketed the melee, striking the Northern Expedition Legion’s Shield Soldiers and the Sniper Corps’ Warriors alike.
The Sniper Corps’ Warriors hastily retreated.
"Bastards! Do they have no regard for their own soldiers?!"
Fan Yuxuan cursed from within the Sniper Corps.
"Order Reserve Healing Team 1 to begin saturation healing on our deployed Warriors! Order all Warriors to fall back immediately!"
In truth, his order was hardly necessary. The Warriors who survived the Northern Expedition Legion’s assault had already activated their defensive skills and were falling back.
However, the Northern Expedition Legion’s rate of fire was incredibly high. A second volley arrived, and many more Warriors died in the deluge of ranged attacks.
Thankfully, before the third wave struck, most of the surviving Warriors made it behind the protection of their Shield Soldiers, escaping certain death. But this just meant the Shield Soldiers started taking casualties again.
Meanwhile, few of the Northern Expedition Legion’s charging Shield Soldiers remained. They were picked off by the Sniper Corps’ own rearmost ranged units, who were too far back to target the enemy’s main phalanx.
After that, the Northern Expedition Legion stopped sending their Shield Soldiers to charge. Instead, they maintained a formation with Shield Soldiers in front and ranged units behind, continuing to exchange fire with the Sniper Corps.
Furthermore, they continuously funneled Shield Soldiers from the rear to reinforce the front line.
’This is getting ugly. Are they planning to turn this into a meat grinder?’
’The current casualty ratio isn’t in our favor.’
Fan Yuxuan watched the battlefield with a growing sense of dread. Although they had won the last exchange, if the Northern Expedition Legion insisted on a war of attrition, the Sniper Corps would be the ones to suffer.
In the Central Army Camp, the assembled lords of the Western Plains watched the unfolding battle, their expressions equally grim.
Someone asked in confusion, "Do they feel no remorse for sacrificing their soldiers like this?"
Li Hua thought for a moment before speaking. "According to our sources on the inside, command authority within the Northern Expedition Legion has been consolidated. Everything now falls under Mei Yuan’s sole command."
"The lords who refused to cede command of their troops have already withdrawn with their armies."
"Therefore, Mei Yuan now holds the power of life and death over all these soldiers."
"You’ve all probably heard the rumor about Mei Yuan being parasitized by an Eye Demon."
"I can now give you all a confirmation on that. This is information discovered by Lord Lin Yu."
"Lord Lin Yu previously came across a Teleportation Gate leading to the area near Mei Yuan’s domain. He located Mei Yuan’s territory and found evidence that he was breeding Eye Demons."
"However, because we couldn’t confirm whether Mei Yuan himself had been parasitized, we could only spread this information as a rumor."
"However, it is a known fact that being parasitized by an Eye Demon means falling under its control. Why would a lord raise a host of Eye Demons, only to let them parasitize his own army and allies?"
"So, as for whether Mei Yuan has already been parasitized... I’ll let you draw your own conclusions."