Chapter 310: Heroic Sacrifice
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
The power of an example is limitless! This saying is extremely true on the battlefield!
Facing extreme danger, as long as someone runs away for fear of losing their lives, there will definitely be many who will follow suit. Indeed, after a few others hesitated for a moment, they also turned tail and ran away. However, the Northern Wei reinforcements were approaching behind them and the two groups of people collided, causing chaos!
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
If he didn't know how to make use of such an opportunity, Li XiangDong would have wasted his many years on the battlefield! With a roar, he led his troops and charged forward. With the intention to hit their enemies while they were down, the Sky Bearing soldiers mustered up every last bit of strength they had and charged forward!
Ling Nineteen and Li XiangDong were still leading the front as they sliced apart the enemy's formation like two sharp blades! At that moment, blood splattered all around and miserable wails sounded everywhere. In just a short while, they had already broken out of the encirclement!
Both of them then felt their body at ease as a gust of fresh air blew past their faces. As they looked forward, they saw the lush grasslands in front of their eyes!
We have broken through! We have finally broken out of the encirclement!
Cheers exploded forth and the opening became larger and larger as more and more Sky Bearing soldiers broke out of the encirclement! After their vanguard had broken through, Ling Xiao's main forces had charged out shortly behind them with the blood-red marshal flag fluttering majestically in the wind! Without a moment of delay, they sprinted towards the depths of the grasslands.
With a small spring, Ling Nineteen jumped up onto Ling Twenty's horse and only had the chance to say, "Catch me!" before he passed out! While the previous battle was short, Ling Nineteen had already killed more than hundred enemy soldiers and had completely exhausted all his strength. At this moment, he felt extremely dizzy and completely fatigued. He felt as though he wanted to have a good rest and never get up!
Ling Twenty quickly grabbed onto Ling Nineteen's belt and pulled Ling Nineteen in his embrace. Then, he quickly caught up to the main force.
At the rear, the Northern Wei soldiers charged forward and the whole grassland trembled from the battle cries of soldiers and galloping horses!
Kong DaYuan's left wing was left at the rear and had already become the one in charge of bringing up the rear! At the same time, his losses were also the greatest! His originally 10,000 strong army was only left with a little over 4,000. Furthermore, every one of them was riddled with injuries with both man and horse exhausted! Kong DaYuan himself was also filled with injuries with blood all over his face and his right ear lost!
Ling Xiao's army was still not very far away and it was extremely likely for the enemy to catch up to them! Seeing that the enemy was about to catch up to his troops, Kong DaYuan steeled his heart and roared, "Brothers! Our horses can run no longer! However, the Marshal has successfully broken through! Our mission is complete and we are victorious! Brothers, since we will be dead no matter what, would all of you be willing to accompany this general to earn some more time for our Marshal?"
"We are willing! For the Marshal! We will fight those Northern Wei b*st*rds to the death!" With an ear-splitting roar, Kong DaYuan turned around and faced the sea of Northern Wei soldiers who were approaching him. Pointing his blade forward, Kong DaYuan gathered all of his strength and roared, "Brothers, even if we have to use our teeth to bite them, we have to drag these b*st*rds down with us! If any one of you dies an unprofitable death and cannot pull one along with you, I, Kong DaYuan, will look down on you even in hell! Our army will be victorious! We are invincible!"
With frustration and anger plastered all over their faces, the soldiers of the Sky Bearing army roared, "Pull a Northern Wei b*st*rd down with us into death! KILL!!"
"Hahaha, this daddy has already killed four of them. If I can pull one more down with me, I would have made a profit of four people!"
"D*mmit! This daddy has only killed one. Even if I pull down one more into hell, I have only made a profit of one person! This daddy had made a loss!"
*****
The Northern Wei soldiers suddenly realized that the Sky Bearing soldiers were no longer escaping but remained on the spot while creating a din. But for some unknown reason, they felt as though a thick wave of overwhelming killing intent was rushing towards them. In that instant, their hearts were nervous with an unknown sense of pressure! Then, the 4,000-odd soldiers suddenly let out a roar and charged towards them crazily under the lead of their bloodied general!
Kong DaYuan led the pack and shouted out, "Brothers! The Marshal will avenge us! Our death will be worth it! This daddy will still be a man eighteen years later! This daddy will still follow the Marshal eighteen years later!"
"We will follow the Marshal eighteen years later!"
"We will follow the Marshal eighteen years later!"
"KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL!!!!"
They then exploded forth like dynamite within the ranks of the Northern Wei soldiers. These 4,000-odd Sky Bearing troops had a ferocious glare in their eyes with a malevolent smile on their faces, using anything they could to fight the enemies. Slashing with their blades, stabbing with their swords, swinging their spears. There were even some who did not have a weapon and pounced on the enemy soldiers. Ignoring their enemies blades and biting the throats of their enemy while feeling the fresh blood flow into their throats. With a crazed maniacal look, they gave a satisfied smile and left the world…
From afar, Ling Xiao let out a mournful roar as he no longer had any tears to cry out and it was replaced with blood! His appearance was haggard as though he was a malicious spirit! There were many times where he wanted to turn around to die with his brothers but was stopped by Ling Twenty-two and the rest!
Ling Xiao continued to roar out, "Let me go! B*st*rds! Scram…" Ling Twenty-two ignored all the pleadings and continued to hold Ling Xiao tightly, letting Ling Xiao hammer his back as he wished. Without saying a word, he continued to urge his horse to escape!
All of a sudden, Ling Xiao no longer struggled and he seemed to have lost all energy as he started to bawl! "Brothers… my good brothers…" To think that the God of War who commanded a million soldiers would be crying like a little child!
The battlefield was completely silent with the Northern Wei soldiers looking at the bodies littered all over the battlefield. Seeing the one body which still stood erect amongst the mountain of corpses with the flag of the Sky Bearing army proudly in his hands, all the troops could not help but give looks of respect! On the tattered enemy flag, there was a large 'Kong' word fluttering in the wind! It was as though the heroic spirit in hell was still struggling to get back up to fight again…
The wind blew past the grasslands with whimpering all around…
Shui QianHuan and Wei ChengPing had rushed over on their horses, only to witness the miserable sight in front of their eyes. Shui QianHuan then let out a long sigh and said softly, "What a valiant warrior! It is such a pity that such an elite wasn't under my banner!" Shui QianHuan could see that there were proud smiles on many of the Sky Bearing soldiers. There were many with gratified expressions and some with extreme satisfaction. There were only a few of them who were filled with unwillingness and indignance…
However, Shui QianHuan was unaware that these soldiers were unwilling and indignant about not being able to drag at least one enemy with them to death. There were even some who were frustrated about not being able to kill more enemies…
The 4,000-odd injured Sky Bearing soldiers were actually able to kill over 7,000 Northern Wei soldiers! The kill rate of their troops was almost double of their enemy!
This was an unbelievable miracle!
Shui QianHuan and Wei ChengPing were speechless for a long time. After that, Shui QianHuan let out a sigh, "Ling Xiao, a true general!" He then waved his hands, "Give chase! Kill Ling Xiao at all costs!" At the same time, he thought to himself, To think that his soldiers were all willing to sacrifice their lives for him without any regrets. It would definitely be an unsettling matter to leave such an enemy alive! He must not be left alive!
The sound of the enemy troops slowly became softer and they could no longer be seen by sight. They had finally escaped. However, this was something that Kong DaYuan had bought with the lives of his 4,000 soldiers!
After almost a day of escaping, their troops had not even taken a drop of water and were already exhausted. Now that they had successfully escaped, they could no longer endure their fatigue! With his aching heart, Ling Xiao commanded his troops to take a temporary halt and adjust their condition! While their enemies were still hot on their tail, the Sky Bearing army would probably be dead before their enemies even caught up if they didn't take a rest.
After giving the command, the soldiers all stopped and looked at each other's injuries. Seeing the blood on all of their faces, they were reminded of the many brothers who had just perished in the war. They could not help but burst out into tears as they vented their frustrations! As Ling Xiao made his rounds, he whimpered silently! Kneeling down, he kowtowed three times at the direction where Kong DaYuan had sacrificed himself. Then, he stood up with killing intent burning in his eyes, "Wei ChengPing! Long Xiang! It's either your deaths or mine! I, Ling Xiao, would not be human if I don't take my revenge!"
The various soldiers then echoed, "We will not be human if we don't take revenge!"
"We will not be human if we don't take revenge!"
Their voice traveled far!
As he counted his remaining troops, Ling Xiao felt his heart bleed!
Of his 100,000 strong army, less than 50,000 were able to make it out alive! After a day and night of battle, more than half were dead and those who were left were all injured! They didn't even have any strength left to battle!
Such a miserable defeat should not have occurred! However, who would have thought that the ruler of a nation would collude with another empire to scheme against his own general?!
If not for the many unimaginable events, with Ling Xiao personally guarding Nine Swallow City, it was easy for him to defend and attack. Even if Wei ChengPing and Shui QianRou had mystical abilities, what would they have been able to do against him?
Presently, the one who Ling Xiao hated the most wasn't Wei ChengPing or the Northern Wei! It was Long Xiao who was in Sky Bearing! The blood feud of his 100,000 soldiers was irreconcilable! This stab to the back shattered the loyalty he had held onto for decades! It stabbed him right to the bones!
"Long Xiang! You beast! You darn b*st*rd!" Ling Xiao smashed his fist on the ground! His burly face was laced with hatred and frustration! The ruler he was loyal to and his sworn brother! Why? Why do you have to kill me even by colluding with Northern Wei?
I, Ling Xiao, had always been loyal and the many territories of Sky Bearing were won over by my father. He had even betrothed his only daughter to be your imperial concubine. I had devoted my life to guard your borders and repelled your enemies! How did my Ling Family let you down? Why? WHY?!