Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 261 Heavy Casualties

The third squad of the Crimson Shadow Guards, Bingying Guards, who were lying in ambush in Jingzhou, were given three Demon-Slaying Bullets each when they received their mission, thanks to Huo Lao and his team's haste in preparing them.

Although one was used during the day, each person still has two. The night's mission is to work in groups of one squadron, moving flexibly and finding and attacking targets individually. Then, they will return to Wangxiang Town under cover of darkness.

The Shadow Guard, comprising nine companies totaling one hundred and twenty-one men, under the command of their captain, each company chose a location for a surprise attack. After the Falcon Guard set the stables ablaze, everyone began firing simultaneously.

More than two hundred anti-magic bullets were fired into Dong Wei's camp almost simultaneously. The explosions were deafening. The more than two hundred thousand troops encamped around Jingzhou City were thrown into chaos. By the time the enemy sent troops to pursue them, more than a hundred men had already disappeared into the darkness of the night. Meanwhile, the Falcon Guards, who had been lying in wait in the enemy camp, also took the opportunity to slip out.

Just then, chaos erupted in Jingzhou City. Although a curfew had been imposed long ago, how could it possibly restrain the Falcon Guard, who had been operating in Jingzhou City for almost a month? It was likely that there were Falcon Guard members disguised as members in the patrol teams at this time.

Inside the Jingzhou City Lord's Mansion, Dong Wei was discussing war plans with his advisors and key figures. Outside the council hall, the Imperial Guards protected the building like an iron fortress. Just then, a messenger from outside the city rushed in, reporting a frantic attack on the military camp. The casualties were heavy.

Dong Wei quickly summoned his four retainers to go out and investigate, and the generals of various departments followed closely behind. They checked the details to reassure the troops.

As soon as the group stepped out of the city lord's mansion, a demon-slaying crossbow bolt shot towards them, aiming straight for Dong Wei's chest. A retainer next to Dong Wei quickly waved his hand, deflecting the bolt. After flying two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), the bolt struck a giant tree by the roadside, shattering it with a loud 'bang'.

'Whoosh, whoosh'

Several more arrows shot out from the darkness almost simultaneously, their target the accompanying general.

With a series of crisp "clangs," the Wind Chaser Arrows were either blocked by the soldiers' weapons or struck their armor. The armor worn by these generals was made of high-grade Xuan Iron Treasure, which the Wind Chaser Arrows could not penetrate. Only one arrow struck a man's neck, and this unfortunate general died a violent death.

"Black Owls Formation!"

At this moment, Dong Wei gave orders to the guards surrounding him.

The twelve figures blurred, their hands swiftly clasped together, striking a strange and mysterious pose in perfect unison. In that instant, a crisp sound rang out, and the heavy armor on their backs suddenly cracked open, as if torn apart by an invisible force. Then, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded—a pair of enormous black wings slowly sprouted from their shoulder blades!

These wings, when fully extended, were a full ten feet long, each feather gleaming with a cold light, like countless razor-sharp blades. As they unfolded, a bone-chilling cold instantly spread out, sending shivers down one's spine.

The twelve figures took flight, circling and soaring around the crowd at a unique frequency. Whenever they sensed the slightest movement, they would unhesitatingly flap their black wings. With each flap, the feathered blades on their wings shot out sharp wind blades like arrows released from a bow.

These wind blades were incredibly powerful, sending sand and stones flying and causing walls and oars to crumble in their wake. Anyone unfortunate enough to be hit would either die instantly or be seriously injured. Arrows shot from all directions and dark corners were utterly powerless against these lightning-fast blades, easily deflected and unable to reach their intended targets.

At that moment, a triumphant laugh echoed through the air:

"Haha, you cowardly scoundrels dare to launch a sneak attack? I anticipated your tricks, so why wouldn't I prepare some unexpected 'surprises' for you!"

Before the words were even finished, another dense barrage of wind blades swept past. In the blink of an eye, the once intact streets and houses became dilapidated and unrecognizable. The Falcon Guards who had been hiding behind these buildings had nowhere to hide and were exposed in full view of everyone.

The two Heavenly Rank Guest Elders beside Dong Wei immediately rushed over to kill him. The Falcon Guards mainly use assassinations and sneak attacks, so the weapons they use are all thin, short, sharp blades, which are not suitable for head-on confrontation.

Moreover, their opponents were Heaven-ranked experts, and these exposed Falcon Guards were no match for them. After a few moves, one was dead and two were injured. The other two were also surrounded by two Heaven-ranked experts and had nowhere to escape. Just when they were about to be killed, Lord Long and Lord Hu, who were waiting in the distance, had no choice but to step in to help them immediately.

"There seems to be some trouble over there, let's go check it out!"

Mo Yuming and Ji Xianlin, watching from the top of Fuyuan Restaurant, realized something was amiss. With both Master Long and Master Hu stepping forward to fight, the situation must have changed.

What about those people with wings?

Mo Yuming said upon seeing the twelve winged figures circling around Dong Wei.

"It's probably a puppet artifact! It's made by refining flesh and black iron. It's said to be a treasure created by an ancient master craftsman and a master of formations. Those winged people aren't living people; they're puppet corpses made using secret methods. You can tell by carefully examining them with your divine sense."

Ji Xianlin said.

Mo Yuming investigated and found that the twelve guards were lifeless, and all their movements were mechanical.

Each flap of its wings, turn, and attack was a standard, mechanical movement. However, the speed was so great that it was difficult to notice without careful observation. Mo Yuming also discovered through his divine sense that a Wind-Chasing Arrow was stuck in the neck of one of the wingsuit users.

"What if we can't kill this puppet?"

Mo Yuming asked.

These puppets displayed strength at the late Earth Rank, coupled with bladed wings and an immortal body. Anyone at the peak of the Earth Rank would be at a disadvantage against them. Even those at the early Heaven Rank wouldn't fare well. The intelligence failure resulted in Mo Yuming losing several Falcon Guard members. Mo Yuming was heartbroken.

"We just need to find the central point of its magic array and destroy it. This puppet is mainly driven by the magic crystal energy in the central point. Without the energy, it's just a pile of scrap metal," Ji Xianlin said.

“Master Ji, you go and hold off the other two Heavenly Realm experts. I’ll go and deal with this puppet. We’re not prepared enough today. No matter what, we have to rescue those two injured Falcon Guards.”

After Mo Yuming finished speaking, he flew towards the puppet.

To avoid further casualties among the Falcon Guards, Mo Yuming ordered the Falcon Guards lying in ambush nearby not to show themselves, to protect themselves, and to wait for an opportunity to rescue the wounded team members.

Sun Min is currently on a mission in Xin County; otherwise, with his abilities, he could have been a great help to me.

While using his divine sense to observe the location of the puppet's central nervous system, Mo Yuming also used the Soul Iron Sword blank to fight the puppet. After several exchanges, Mo Yuming discovered that these puppets were incredibly strong and fast.

They fly along a specific route, and whenever they detect the presence of an enemy, they launch wind blade attacks in a cycle. Each puppet needs about ten breaths to charge up before it can launch a wind blade, during which time it can only use its sword to chop with its own strength.

However, during this time, its companions around it will continuously launch wind blades, forming groups of three and coordinating with each other. Their strength increases significantly.

The puppet's iron wings are forged from black iron, serving both as a means of flight and defense. Wind-attribute magic crystals and poison dragon stones are also incorporated into the wings, increasing flight and attack speed when swung. However, if one is cut by them, the wound will cause poisoning, weakening one's cultivation of profound arts.

Fighting these winged figures in formation, the 'Blazing Sun Hammer' technique became less effective. The Blazing Sun Hammer is primarily offensive but lacks defensive capabilities, making it a disadvantageous move against these well-rounded puppets. However, Mo Yuming hadn't learned any other good sword techniques, so he had to rely on basic swordplay. Fortunately, his spiritual sense was stronger than that of ordinary Heavenly Rank cultivators, and with the added benefit of the high-grade Wind-Riding Hou Leather Boots, he had an advantage in speed and agility.

Mo Yuming knew these people were puppets made from corpses, lacking their own thoughts and attacking only out of instinct, so he didn't engage them in direct combat. Instead, he moved among them, attacking as they went. After a period of fighting, Mo Yuming discovered that their range of movement was limited; they only fought within a thirty-zhang radius, and once they exceeded that range, they stopped pursuing.

With Mo Yuming's addition, the Falcon Guards hiding in the shadows were under much less pressure. Whenever they found an opening, they would attack the generals. Although the high-ranking generals had high levels of Xuan Gong cultivation, they were used to fighting on the battlefield and were not used to this cat-and-mouse game of fighting. In addition, most of them used long spears and broadswords, which made it difficult for them to exert their strength in this narrow alleyway.

Therefore, they were constantly on the receiving end of attacks. Meanwhile, the other two level-three Heavenly Realm experts were entangled with Ji Xianlin, and even when they joined forces, they could only barely maintain an undefeated record against this level-four expert, leaving them no time to attend to the others.

Seeing this, Dong Wei knew that returning to the castle was impossible, as there were no guards or defensive measures available. So he had no choice but to flee to the military camp outside the city.

Fortunately, the city's guards were not truly under the control of the Great Xia Empire and were still largely neutral; otherwise, they would have been surrounded and wiped out.

Dong Wei began to regret detaining Wu Yan and his staff. After all, this was his territory. Before things were clear enough, he had arrested their leaders. It was already a miracle that the soldiers guarding the city did not rebel.

Ordering the city's soldiers to come to his aid was practically impossible. After all, according to the traditional laws of the Long Kingdom, the soldiers guarding each city were the private army of the city lord, not under the jurisdiction of the king. Only the garrisons of military fortresses and passes were under the control of the king.

After fighting the group of puppet winged people for a long time, Mo Yuming finally discovered a weakness of the puppet winged people after many attempts. When they swung their weapons, they did not change their moves according to the situation, but instead withdrew their swords before attacking again.

Therefore, after each move, there will be a gap in defense. Although this gap is extremely short, just a moment is enough.

Mo Yuming had already determined that their central nervous system was located in the heart area, but their entire chest was protected by a thick piece of black iron armor, making it difficult to stab from the front. He could only stab them from the joint of the side armor when they turned their blades back.

Mo Yuming seized an opportunity and thrust his sword at a puppet. Just as he had predicted, the puppet immediately raised its blade in retaliation. As the swords clashed, Mo Yuming unleashed his Soul Sword, aiming a direct thrust at the puppet's side. The puppet, seemingly oblivious, withdrew its blade after its attack faltered, completely ignoring the open space at its side.

With a 'whoosh!', the Soul Sword pierced the puppet's side waist precisely, penetrating its chest cavity and exiting from the other side of its waist.

A series of loud cracking sounds erupted from the puppet's body. Moments later, with a loud bang, the puppet disintegrated into pieces, scattering across the ground.

The defensive formation composed of twelve puppets was instantly broken when one of them was killed, greatly reducing its defensive capabilities. The Falcon Guards, who were hiding in the shadows, quickly took the opportunity to rescue their two seriously injured companions.

Seeing that one of the puppet winged people had been killed, Dong Wei was heartbroken. He quickly ordered the remaining eleven people to deal with Mo Yuming. They were all at the peak of the Earth Rank, and the other party had iron wings that allowed him to fly in the sky for a long time. Most importantly, they were not afraid of death at all.

Even if you suffer more serious injuries in a fight, it doesn't matter, as long as the central nervous system in your chest is not damaged, you can continue fighting.

If the fighting continues without outside help, Mo Yuming's side will only suffer losses, given the sheer number and strength of their opponents. The Falcon Guards sent this time numbered only eighteen, and one is already dead, two wounded, and two others injured. The situation is extremely unfavorable.

After careful consideration, Mo Yuming sent a message to everyone to retreat together.

Seeing the enemy retreat, Dong Wei dared not give chase. After all, he was new to Jingzhou City and unfamiliar with the terrain and situation, fearing a trap. He could only watch helplessly as Mo Yuming and the others escaped.

"I didn't expect them to have a fourth-level Heavenly Rank expert, otherwise we would have captured them all today!" Two peak third-level Heavenly Rank experts, who had fought with Ji Xianlin for a long time without gaining any advantage, said angrily.

"Let's go to the barracks and see what losses we've suffered!"

Dong Wei had no intention of lingering there. He led his men out of Jingzhou city.

Upon arriving at the military camp, they found it in complete disarray, stretching for dozens of miles, with soldiers everywhere offering relief. Later, the army tallied that the night's attack had resulted in the deaths of nearly ten thousand soldiers, injuries to tens of thousands more, and the burning of provisions for thousands of warhorses.

The 250,000-strong army suffered more than 20,000 casualties in just one day, from the ambush during the day to the surprise attack at night. The number of wounded and incapacitated was even greater. According to statistics, in addition to the dead, more than 40,000 people were incapacitated.

A perfectly strong army of 250,000 had already lost 60,000 before the battle even began, leaving less than 200,000 men. Supplies and horses had also been significantly reduced. There were still over 200 li between Jingzhou and the border of Zhenglan Kingdom. Hopefully, nothing else would go wrong. For the first time, Dong Wei felt that this battle might not be so easy.

While Dong Wei was directing his soldiers in the barracks to clean up and reorganize, a message arrived from the general of Xin County. The message stated that 50,000 soldiers in Xin County had recently been attacked by unidentified bandits who used a new type of artillery shell with immense destructive power. The casualties among the soldiers reached over 13,000, and nearly 1,000 warhorses were also killed, leaving nearly 20,000 men incapacitated.