Kays Translations

Chapter 278: Total Defeat

Yan Zhengqing sneered inwardly when he saw that Nanyang County and Dongyuan County failed at a crucial moment. He had been prepared for this from the start; he was fully aware of their little schemes.

Yan Zhengqing looked at Shen Jianfei and Yang Yishan and said, “You two must pay attention and do your best. The Jin Kingdom is not a small nation. Either we don’t engage in battle, or we need to strike the Jin Kingdom so hard that it is completely disoriented. Otherwise, if the Jin Kingdom reacts, it will definitely retaliate.”

After saying this, Yan Zhengqing glanced sideways and saw Kong Donglai, Nangong Zhi, and Yuan Jinjiang’s eyes trembling. Indeed, with Anyang in the rear and them completely bordering the Jin Kingdom, and with Anyang’s strong combat abilities, if the Jin Kingdom were to retaliate, it would surely target Dongyuan County and Nanyang County.

With this thought, both Dongyuan County and Nanyang County sent out five thousand elite soldiers each. However, these five thousand elites were quite poor, with only about three hundred experts at the Foundation Establishment stage. In contrast, Anyang, though it only sent a thousand people, had all of them as Foundation Establishment experts, fully armed.

The four teams immediately set off. Dongyuan County and Nanyang County each sent a team of five thousand soldiers, while Anyang sent two teams, each consisting of five hundred people, all Foundation Establishment experts. The four teams advanced rapidly, with sand and dust swirling around, using talismans to speed up their movement.

They quickly arrived at the location where the Jin Kingdom’s main army was hidden. From a distance, there were countless “earth caves and pits” scattered across the mountains, and many Jin soldiers were crawling out, but they hadn’t had time to form their battle formations yet.

“Now is the time!” Shen Jianfei, leading the charge, let out a strange laugh and rushed straight into the enemy’s territory, unleashing a wanton massacre.

The Jin soldiers were still somewhat confused. They had previously spotted planes, and the general had ordered them to hide. After waiting for a long time with no bombing, they were told to stop hiding and come out… but as soon as they emerged, the enemy launched an attack with no preparation.

On a distant mountain peak, Chen Zhongping, the Jin Kingdom’s Zhenwei General, was dumbfounded—who was this enemy commander, or should he say, their supreme leader? Their deployment was so unconventional. This sudden attack indeed caused confusion in the Jin army.

But it was fine. Chen Zhongping immediately ordered his personal soldiers and elites to go intercept. These personal soldiers and elites were top-tier. They advanced while forming ranks, and by the time they reached the front, they had already formed small squads of one hundred soldiers.

However, they were too optimistic. Especially the small squads rushing toward Shen Jianfei and Yang Yishan, they hadn’t had time to engage in battle before they saw a sky full of flying talismans. Countless spells fell like raindrops, and by the time everyone reacted, it was too late. Many soldiers were already disrupted by the spells or even killed.

Shen Jianfei and Yang Yishan did not advance deeply but kept charging in and out of the peripheral area, continuously killing, retreating, and charging again, causing chaos in the fringe areas. The elite soldiers from Dongyuan County and Nanyang County quickly learned from them. Many Jin soldiers in the outer areas hadn’t had time to escape the pits before they were impaled by spears.

Chen Zhongping could no longer care about these details. Seeing the northern army had arrived and was no longer pretending, he could only frantically direct his soldiers to form ranks. Some elites, who had already completed their formations, immediately moved forward to block the enemy’s advance.

But just then, the sky suddenly rumbled as more than three hundred planes began dropping bombs. The Jin soldiers, who had just crawled out and were preparing to form ranks, were stunned. “When we were hiding underground, you didn’t attack. Now that we’ve come out, the bombs and planes have arrived, and the enemy’s large-scale attack has begun.”

But it was fine. The Jin Kingdom had a long history and had experienced a few special encounters, so they had several battle formations. The Wanjian Formation was the best offensive formation.

A hundred-man squad blocking Shen Jianfei’s way quickly seized the opportunity to use the Wanjian Formation. Although only a hundred men, its power was still formidable. The Wanjian Formation formed a sky-reaching sword, which slashed towards Shen Jianfei.

Shen Jianfei let out a strange cry when he saw this. He had been wary of the Jin Kingdom’s shameless battle tactics; previous attacks had caused heavy casualties for Anyang. For a moment, there was really no effective way to defend. In a moment of desperation, Shen Jianfei suddenly had an idea, “Everyone, use flying swords to block the attack! Our flying swords are powerful!”

The somewhat panicked Anyang soldiers were overjoyed at this. Yes, we don’t have a Wanjian Formation or an Eight Desolate Sixteen Heavenly Grand Formation, but our magic tools and magical weapons are powerful! Many Foundation Establishment experts were already using magic tools.

In a rush, more than three hundred flying swords soared into the air, viciously charging toward the attack formed by the Wanjian Formation.

Bang… the first flying sword was directly shattered by the Jin Kingdom’s Wanjian Formation. It was like a stone hitting an egg, with fragments scattering everywhere. A small Foundation Establishment expert’s face immediately turned pale. Even magic tools were inferior when facing such a formation.

Bang… the second flying sword was also shattered…

But more and more flying swords arrived, and finally, the twenty-third flying sword blocked the attack. More flying swords surged forward, and with a series of clanging sounds, they devoured the Jin Kingdom’s Wanjian Formation’s attack. By the end, less than thirty percent of the Wanjian Formation remained, and it shattered like foam. The flying swords that made up the Wanjian Formation also shattered with it!

The Jin Kingdom suffered because they didn’t have good flying sword magical weapons; their soldiers could only use low-grade or a few mid-grade magical tools to form formations.

But there was no sympathy on the battlefield. After Anyang’s side won, the flying swords didn’t stop but directly charged toward the exhausted Jin soldiers. The flying swords darted back and forth, and over a hundred exhausted Jin soldiers fell, unwilling to accept their fate.

Unwillingness—despite having good formations, excellent training, and better cultivation, they didn’t have good magical tools and were defeated by “Anyang’s barbarians and upstarts” using brute force. This was the resentment of the Jin Kingdom’s elite soldiers before their death.

However, these dead soldiers didn’t notice that the injured Anyang soldiers took out small jade bottles from their pockets and threw them into their mouths. These soldiers were “barbaric,” directly chewing the jade bottles and absorbing the elixir inside. Then, they spat out the fragments and quickly regained their vitality. The Anyang soldiers who had lost their flying swords directly took down their rifles and began marking targets.

We have two sets of combat weapons, and we even have elixirs in our pockets. Come, bite me.

War? It’s all about logistics, accumulation, wealth, and technology. And right now, what Anyang lacks the least is these things.

In the thick of the battle, planes in the sky had already started dropping bombs. Among them, over two hundred of Anyang’s newest planes began diving, their machine guns roaring, each burst cutting a bloody path. Although the soldiers of the Jin Kingdom fought bravely and occasionally shot down a plane—especially with the Ten Thousand Swords Formation, which brought down five planes in one strike—the casualties for the Jin Kingdom were far greater.

Soon, Yan Zhengqing, Kong Donglai, and Yuan Jinjiang led their troops forward, and the final battle officially broke out. However, the Jin army, which had not had time to form up, collapsed upon contact. Especially on Anyang’s side, the combination of locomotives and machine guns turned every assault into a slaughter, with thousands falling each time.

As for the soldiers of Nanyang County and Dongyuan County, this was their first time using firearms, and they were fighting quite colorfully—“Great! Now we can use this powerful weapon to bully others.” These soldiers, who had always been oppressed by Anyang, were now pushing the Jin Kingdom’s soldiers back.

After a brief exchange of fire, the heaviest artillery was set up, and over five hundred pieces of artillery began bombarding the Jin army’s camp.

The Jin army was said to number a million, but in reality, it consisted of 100,000 Imperial Guards (elite soldiers), 150,000 regular soldiers, and 300,000 civilian workers.

The coalition of Anyang, Nanyang, and Dongyuan Counties had 500,000 soldiers, though it was quite a mixed force. Still, they had no problem winning in favorable conditions, especially with the strong fire support from Anyang.

The Jin army attempted several attacks using simplified versions of the Ten Thousand Swords Formation, which did cause significant losses to the Anyang coalition, and even Yan Zhengqing found himself in danger several times. But the Jin army’s massive defeat was already inevitable.

The first to collapse were the Jin Kingdom’s civilian workers. These people, under the bombardment of artillery and planes, and the brutal strafing from aircraft-mounted machine guns, finally broke. Their collapse disrupted the already disorganized Jin formation, and without a formation, the soldiers died even faster.

“Charge!” Yan Zhengqing’s face was pale, blood streaking from the corner of his mouth, having nearly been killed by the Ten Thousand Swords Formation earlier. At this moment, his eyes were filled with ruthless determination as the Anyang army pressed on.

Gradually, some of the Jin soldiers, sensing defeat, disarmed themselves and knelt on the ground with their hands on their heads—having never seen a battle like this, with planes overhead and shells constantly raining down. Every machine gun burst from the planes cut a bloody path; those who were hit head-on by the machine gun fire were instantly torn apart like eggs.

“Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed…” A booming voice echoed.

General Chen Zhongping of Jin, his face darkened with anger, could not believe that such a grand and powerful nation like Jin had been defeated by this fragmented Great Xia Kingdom. It was utterly unbelievable, impossible to accept. But Chen Zhongping wasn’t without options; he still had about 70,000 Imperial Guards with him.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Zhongping finally made the wisest decision: he would retreat to the rear and send a distress signal. The border of Jin at least had 100,000 elite troops; when they met, there would still be a chance to turn the tide. Moreover, Chen Zhongping was certain that Anyang’s supply of arms and such wouldn’t be endless.

At a critical moment, a general must “cut off the hand” and abandon the car to save the general. Ignoring the collapsing civilian workers and regular soldiers around him, Chen Zhongping led the remaining 70,000 elite Imperial Guards and about 20,000 regular soldiers who had been battle-tested and organized, retreating toward the rear while sending out distress signals and dispatching a few Gold Core experts to break through and seek help.

However, General Chen Zhongping likely didn’t know the situation on the Nanyang County border, where Anyang’s artillery was already in place—all of it transported by aircraft.

………………

On the eastern coast of the Jin Kingdom, five ironclad ships, under the command of Beichen Yuqing, were constantly entering and exiting, sometimes even returning for a second or third round of attacks. The eastern coast of the Jin Kingdom had been utterly destroyed, and for about 15 miles along the coastline, it had become a “death zone.” Even the cities 500 miles inland from the coast were filled with panic and fear.

After figuring out the number and patterns of several Jin Nascent Soul experts, Beichen Yuqing arranged for the planes to attack from angles, successfully making multiple hits.

Jin’s Eastern General Cheng Yunbo and the mid-stage Nascent Soul experts, along with General Ling Yun and Qiao Pengfei, were shaking with anger.

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