207 Battle of Muye 9 (1/2)
The progress of the Battle of Muye did not turn out as the others had expected.
Contrary to the expectations of the others, Zhou dynasty’s three roads suffered heavy losses. More than half of their men died, and they were now facing a dire situation. Jiang Shang, who was commanding the army from behind, could only let out a sigh. He bitterly signaled for them to retreat when he saw the situation.
He clearly understood that after today’s battle, every single possibility and chance to overthrow the Shang dynasty had been completely cut off. After this battle, the Zhou dynasty was unlikely to survive the Shang dynasty’s retaliation. He did not forget that at the far, far east, the main force of the Shang dynasty was rushing back at full speed.
A desperate attempt with every single thing that they could muster, yet it only led them to such a result—it was indeed bitter.
As the prime minister of the Zhou dynasty and the commander-in-chief of the army, he could not escape the blame for everything that had happened today. He could only redeem himself with his very own life. However, before he redeemed his sins with his own life, there was still one last thing to do. He needed to protect and secure King Wu of Zhou’s life. Only by protecting the king could the royal bloodline of Zhou continue. As long as the blood continued to flow, there would always be a comeback; they shall rise again.
Jiang Shang ordered the war chariot division to turn back and prepare themselves for retreat. As soon as King Wu returned, they would fall back immediately. As for the remaining soldier and those from the alliance, Jiang Shang couldn’t care less about them anymore in this horrible situation.
After all, Jiang Shang was downright a man of utter utilitarianism. He was a man who was good in the art of trickery to the point of perfection. Jian Shang was the reason why the rebellion of all the ethnic groups in Dong Yi started in the first place. He was the mastermind of all these events; he had stirred up the situation and started the rebel so that once the tribes and Shang dynasty started a war, his country could benefit from it.
After receiving the order to fall back, King Wu showed his emperor’s responsibility at the most crucial moment. He took the initiative to leave his soldiers to cover their backs, allowing the alliance’s army to retreat first. In fact, the alliance had already lost their minds. They were slaughtered like pigs, and they only had less than 1,000 men left.
This war was a nightmare for the alliance. After returning to their own countries, their main priority would be how to deal with the retaliation of the Shang dynasty. According to Di Xin’s personality, the best ending for all the lords was being sacrificed for the worshipping of spirits.
As for the players who sided with them, they had already fallen back one step ahead. Seeing not even the slightest chance of winning, the players would naturally not stay back and die in vain with the Zhou army. Every soldier they brought with them was the best of the best in their own territory, so they must not suffer any unnecessary losses.
The remaining 20,000 men of the players abandoned their weapons, armor, and supplies. Then, they fled in every direction. They ran away like stray dogs that people chased away. Some of them hid in the forest, some tried to cross the river, and some even ran into the mountains. It formed quite a spectacular scene. These players had no intention of returning to Mengjin; they just simply hid themselves somewhere in the wilderness until the battle ended.
The king of Shang, Di Xin, knew the nature of these players’ forces. He knew that they would not stay here for long. Therefore, he did not order his army to pursue the fleeing enemies in order to avoid unnecessary losses.
Although they had successfully suppressed the players’ armies, the imperial guards and the royal guards had also suffered heavy losses. After all, the strengths of the players’ forces were there. There were even these small teams that were willing to die in order to earn themselves more contribution points. In this battle, the war elephants were all wiped out, half of the imperial guards were killed, and the royal guards had lost around 1,000 of their brothers.
Di Chen looked at the fleeing army and let out a sigh. He had completely lost to Qiyue Wuyi again in the Battle of Muye. Chun Shenjun and the others didn't even have a chance to participate in this final battle.
“What should we do now?” asked Juedai Fenghua.
Di Chen looked around. He could only mobilize a force of fewer than 500 men. It was certainly impossible to make a difference at all. Moreover, they had lost all their cavalries. It would be impossible even if they wanted to retreat with King Wu. The only option they had left was to run away and hide in the wilderness, just like the other players.
Di Chen smiled bitterly and said, “What can we do now? There’s nothing we could do. We can only flee and hide!”
The remaining 500 guards surrounded King Wu and quickly retreated. The remaining 20,000 soldiers stayed behind to secure the safe retreat of their king. They courageously took over the defense line of the guards and stood up against the shield-sword soldiers that Shi Wansu ledi.
These 20,000 men that stayed back had prepared to not return to their own countries and families. Their only mission now was to buy their king more time so that he could safely escape. They had already gone mad; if stabbed, they would hold onto the enemies and provide a chance for their brothers. It was a tragedy. Because of their madness, they managed to hold off the army that Shi Wansui led.
However, Shi Wansui was extraordinary too. Excited with the blood ocean on the battlefield, he killed one soldier with just a swing and shouted, “Leave no one alive. Kill them all and capture King Wu! Death to those who block my path!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” the heavy infantries let out a roar, one that could seemingly pierce the sky.
Even the maddest radish could not take on a kitchen knife. Once the soldiers interrupted their movements, the heavy infantries would just swing their swords and sever the enemies’ limbs. Then, they would kick them off or swing their shields to deliver a crushing blow to smash open the enemies’ head.
The 20,000 soldiers left behind to cover their king’s retreat died one by one. Their ranks decreased rapidly, being pared layer by layer. The scene was horrible and bloody. The sacrifices of their brothers did not scare them off but drove them even crazier instead.
As King Wu retreated, he could only burst into tears when he heard the dying roars of his soldiers. These were all his soldiers, his people, and his children. The enemy mercilessly slaughtered them, and their king could do nothing but watch them die.
King Wu turned his head back and looked at Di Xin, who was watching the battlefield on his golden war chariot. Then, King Wu said fiercely, “Di Xin, I swear to god that I will kill you for what you have done today!” He carried an even deeper hatred within him, as he joined back with the War Chariot Division.
Up until now, the crossbowmen at the rear had not stopped their barrage at all. Therefore, arrows and bolts still rained down on their path of retreat. Many of the soldiers died on the way because of this.
At this time, their companions could spare no more attention to those who got hurt in the war anymore. They could only leave them lying on the ground, helplessly crying for help. They had to pretend that they could not hear their cries.