Chapter 777: Preparations for the Second Wave! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The casualty numbers for the battle were quickly reported. The Tibetans had left five to six thousand yak corpses on the battlefield, and around a thousand had survived and fled in panic. It would take many hours to recover them.
But even if they could be recovered, they had lost the will to fight.
In addition, the explosion and the subsequent charge of the Wushang Cavalry had inflicted losses of eighteen to nineteen thousand on Dayan Mangban's army. There were also probably six to seven thousand cavalry that had been heavily injured by the explosion.
Meanwhile, Wang Chong's side had suffered minuscule casualties.
This was a thorough and decisive victory.
The only surprise was in the small steel fortress in the rear. Seven or eight craftsmen had fallen from ladders during the explosion and been injured. In addition, twenty-some people had lost their hearing from the shockwaves.
These were the most serious casualties on Wang Chong's side.
As for the soldiers, since they had received advance warning and gotten down on the ground, they had avoided the brunt of the explosion and had received only a few light scratches.
When these numbers came out, everyone was dumbstruck. All of them turned to Wang Chong, their eyes bursting with admiration.
”Don't get too happy just yet,” Wang Chong indifferently said. ”Someone of Dayan Mangban's personality will be launching the next attack soon, and this one will be even more vicious and fierce.”
”Haha, what do we have to be afraid of? With Lord Marquis here, it doesn't matter how powerful Dayan Mangban is. He had so many soldiers just now, but he still had to retreat in bitter defeat. With such losses, he's even less of a match for Lord Marquis.”
”Agreed! Dayan Mangban has lost twice now to Lord Marquis. Another attempt will just result in an even greater defeat.”
”Every measure has its appropriate countermeasure. Given our strength, should we be afraid of him?”
The generals all began to sound off with their opinions. The battle just now had been a great boost to their confidence, and they now had incredible faith in Wang Chong. Even if Wang Chong told them that he was now going to take them to conquer the entire Ü-Tsang Empire, they would probably take him at his word.
”Proud soldiers are bound to lose. Don't get careless.”
Wang Chong shook his head.
His subordinates were drastically underestimating Dayan Mangban. Although he had defeated Dayan Mangban twice now, the first time had only been because he could keep Dayan Mangban's soldiers outside the walls and deal with him alone using rotating teams and joint attack formations.
The second time was because Dayan Mangban's use of barley flour to create a thick white fog had a massive flaw, and Wang Chong was able to use the dust explosion to defeat him.
Neither time was a proper exchange. If one concluded that Dayan Mangban wasn't really all that much from these two victories, then one would be doing nothing more than digging their own grave.
If this was all Dayan Mangban was capable of, he would have never been capable of leaving the City of Steel in defeat and turning right around to kill five thousand Qixi soldiers and Pulan He. And besides that, he certainly wouldn't have been worthy of triggering the Stone of Destiny to issue the 'Threat to Qixi' mission, with success resulting in a reward of 400 Destiny Energy and failure leading to a loss of 2000 Destiny Energy.
Moreover, this was the Asura War God of the Ü-Tsang Empire, the future King of Generals. How could he possibly have such little ability?
”Everyone, cease the chatter.” A vigorous voice spoke up, silencing the other officers. ”Lord Marquis speaks reason, and I sense as well that this Dayan Mangban is truly an expert. A person who could think of using a yak herd as a vanguard is definitely not a simple person.”
Everyone began to turn to Li Siye.
”Proud soldiers are doomed to defeat, and this battle involves us all, but also the eight-thousand-some craftsmen behind us and the safety of Qixi. Until this battle is over, not a single hint of carelessness is permitted,” Li Siye sternly admonished.
Wang Chong turned his head to glance at the towering figure of Li Siye and gave a subtle nod. Li Siye truly had the qualities of a top-class Great General. No matter the occasion, he would never abandon his instincts as a commander. Even after the greatest victory, he was able to coldly analyze the situation and make the most rational judgment.
”Everyone, go and rest. Dayan Mangban probably won't attack for the time being. In addition, tell the craftsmen in the rear to increase their speed and finish the third level. The time for this fortress to be used is getting closer and closer,” Wang Chong said, his orders as firm as stone. The officers all assented and quickly withdrew.
……
”Dayan, how is it? Do you need me to come in?”
Two-thousand-some zhang away, in the rear of the Tibetan army, another conversation was taking place, but the parties of this conversation were one Ü-Tsang Imperial Great General and one Brigadier General.
The atmosphere was extremely grim.
The defeat from just now had been far too massive. Even though Dusong Mangpoje was responsible for seeing to the rear and holding down Fumeng Lingcha, he had not been able to ignore the situation.
They had suffered an astonishing loss of nearly twenty thousand cavalry. If one added on the twenty thousand losses of Buluhu's army, the Tibetans had lost forty thousand cavalry in total.