For the first time, the faces of the soldiers in Tianwu Camp showed expressions, their rock-like stoicism finally broken. They pursed their lips, raised their thick black eyebrows, and their calm eyes seemed to burn with flames. This was the brotherhood born from countless bloody battles and intermingled bloodlines. The commander, wearing a plate-shaped headgear, shouted loudly and the spears, already showing signs of faltering, once again gathered into a forest and stabbed towards the surging Roman legion. Everyone had only one thought in their minds - to recapture the body of their commander, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. On the other side of the battlefield stood a prominent figure. The woman held up Han's head, and her curved sword still dripped with blood. Her black robe had already been mostly burnt by the flames and could no longer cover her body. Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed between the burnt fabric and her black leather armor. She had a figure that was enough to make one's blood boil. Her proud twin peaks were tightly wrapped in an exquisite breastplate, the shiny black leather perfectly adhering to her snow-white skin, outlining the full and round curves of her breasts. The bottom edge of the breastplate ended at her waist, revealing a slender and delicate waistline below. The golden-haired woman wore a luxurious pearl necklace around her slender neck, and her long skirt, tied at the waist, had been burned by the flames, revealing her long and slender legs. Several drops of blood were coagulated in her right hand, which held the sword. Her bare arms were adorned with a sturdy metal wrist guard, with black mist floating on it, forming watery ripples. On her right arm, there was a string of bracelets, big and small, inlaid with various gems that shone with colorful light under the sun. For a long time afterwards, Cheng would still remember this scene. The woman proudly held up Han's head, blood continuously dripping from her hand. She appeared on this bloody battlefield with a near-cold and crazy demeanor, like a bloodthirsty enchantress. After witnessing Han's death, General Wang momentarily calmed down and bowed, "Commander! The priestess of the Flame Sect has appeared, and we must send a message immediately." General Wang focused his gaze on the golden-haired woman, seemingly more intrigued by her appearance than the Roman general Agamemnon. He nodded, and General Wang immediately returned to the tent. Agamemnon's golden helmet rolled to one side as he climbed up, looking disheveled and trembling slightly. No matter how noble and arrogant he was, he was still afraid in the face of death, just like a peasant. In front of him, the diameter of one hundred meters seemed to have been burnt by flames, turning the green grassland into scorched earth. Corpses lay everywhere, with half of them being his elite soldiers. These veterans who had followed him from the Apennine Peninsula had been killed by a Han general with a single strike...
'Daisy Na!
Agamemnon roared, "Did you not say that they were a patchwork army, made up of peasants, and could easily be defeated by the black cavalry of Persia?"
The blonde turned slowly, a strange smile on her cold face.
"Yes, my master," she said softly. "They are a coalition of six pagan lords, and I assure you, there is not a single nobleman among their army."
"Why can these farmers withstand our warriors?"
Daisy Na Na's voice grew even softer. "My master, have you seen those warriors holding spears? They are from Qin. For the call of one man, they put down their farming tools, left their homes, and learned to use spears on the battlefield. The soldiers using the broadsword are from Tang, and the ones using crossbows are from Song. They all came here for the call of one man."
"Who is he?"
Daisy Nalifted Han's head, "His mentor is the General of the Han Dynasty, General Wang, the leader of the Left Wuwei. Before he became a military man, he had another name: Wang Ziyang. At that time, he was the leader of the Taiyi True Sect, and people called him Ziyang Zhenren."
Agnamennon gasped for a breath, his fingers clenched tightly, wishing to incinerate her. He roared, "He is the First Master of the Han, the embodiment of the sun, Wang Ziyang! Why do you have to deceive me? You are deceiving the Roman Senate! You are deceiving the Empire!"
Daisy Na's eyes, as blue as a lake, turned, and she smiled, "Respected Master, you have already killed his best disciple. If you can kill General Wang, it will be an eternal achievement. Otherwise..."
The muscles on Agnamennon's cheeks twitched slightly. Then he shouted at his warriors, "Charge! Kill them all! Don't let anyone escape!"
The Tang army of the Tian Ce camp had already destroyed two Roman legion formations and was now fighting fiercely against the last one. These veteran soldiers of the Roman legion had fought from Carthage to the Parthian Plateau but had never met such a powerful opponent. They had fought until their eyes turned red, roaring and charging towards the enemy's wall of blades, displaying the amazing bravery and resilience of Roman soldiers.
The Twelfth Legion, also known as the Lightning Throwers, after annihilating two Qin formations of the Tian Wu camp, were now blocked by the remaining four formations, unable to support the Sixth Legion on the flank. The Fifth Legion, composed of Gauls, also suffered heavy losses from the God Arm Crossbow of the Tian Ji camp. At this moment, the paper-armored soldiers once again raised their crossbows and fixed their gaze on any Roman warrior who entered their firing range, blocking their footsteps.
Agnamennon still had two intact legions: the Third Legion, "Augustine," and his father's most beloved legion, the Tenth Legion, "Knights." Facing them were the Han army of seven thousand men. If he deployed his full army, Agnamennon believed that victory would belong to Rome. However, the cost might be the heavy damage of all five main legions, and the loss of countless soldiers.
Agamemnon has two intact legions remaining, the third legion "Augustine" and his father's most beloved legion, the tenth legion "Knight." The Han army on the opposite side still has 7,000 men. If he deploys all his forces, Agamemnon believes that victory will belong to Rome. However, the price to be paid may be the complete destruction of all five main legions.
Agamemnon cannot bear the consequences of defeat, nor can he bear the responsibility for the loss of all the main legion's strength. Regardless of whether to retreat or attack, his fate seems to have already been determined. Agamemnon finally regrets this rash war, but he has no choice now.
The sixth legion, known as the "Iron Wall," was unable to resist the attack of the Tang army's Tian Ce camp, and even the last column of veteran soldiers began to waver. Tang soldiers dressed in Mingguang bells stood side by side, their thick arms arranged like a forest, holding seven-foot-long Mo knives to form a wall of knives. The bright knife light flew up and down, crushing the shields and limbs of the Roman soldiers.
If they retreated at this moment, the fear of failure would quickly spread. Once the formation broke down, the fleeing soldiers would break up the remaining two intact legions and expose their backs to these terrible enemies. At that time, their only fate would be complete annihilation.
The sixth legion, renowned for its strong defense as the "Iron Wall," was facing a life-and-death crisis, with the Tang army of the Tian Ce camp slowly devouring the iron barrier that they had constructed, and collapse was imminent.
A centurion bathed in blood let out a final battle cry, then straightened his chest and hurled the eagle banner, symbolizing the legion's glory, forward. The brass flag flew in a dazzling arc in the air and fell far into the Tang army's ranks.
This was their last gamble. The eagle banner was the symbol of the legion, and once it was lost, the legion would no longer exist. The moment the centurion holding the banner threw it, he was using the blood of the entire legion to write down their choice - either victory or death!
Looking at the flying eagle banner, all the surviving soldiers of the sixth legion simultaneously let out a thunderous battle cry and rushed towards the eagle banner, which symbolized the glory of the legion, regardless of their own safety. Those Roman soldiers wielding short swords collided with the enemy's knives with their own flesh and blood. Under their astonishing bravery, the Tang army's invincible offensive was slowed down but still gradually approached the sixth legion's defensive bottom line.
At this moment, the commander's order was issued, and the third legion, "Augustine," and the tenth legion, "Knights," entered the battlefield at the same time. The addition of 12,000 fresh troops finally saved the precarious sixth legion.
The Mo knives of the Tang army rolled over their opponents' limbs again and again. Those burly men were slaughtering their opponents and being hit by flying spears and short swords from the right flank. The collision of the three legions slowed each other down, and both sides fell into a bitter struggle. The Mo knives and short swords intertwined and collided, and the balance of victory was constantly swaying between them.
In the bloody battlefield, the only ones who remained calm were the Tianji Camp soldiers. The sound of bowstrings reverberated continuously, and the arrows flew like a cloud of death over the battlefield. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty in the Tianji Camp almost did not move, yet they controlled half of the battlefield. With over a thousand Shenbi crossbows, they created an insurmountable death curtain, robbing their opponents' lives with an almost artistic elegance and accuracy. Under the threat of the Shenbi crossbows, the right wing of the Tianwu and Tiance camps remained as unmovable as a rock.
The battle had lasted almost an hour, with Agamemnon deploying five main legions and General Wang putting all his forces into it. Over ten thousand soldiers of the Left Wu First Legion and thirty thousand Roman elites fought fiercely on this grassland.
General Wang, who had lost his beloved disciple, remained as calm as water, giving few orders. These Six Dynasty soldiers who had followed him for fifteen years had experienced countless bloody battles. Their intuition about war allowed them to make the best decisions almost instinctively on the ever-changing battlefield.
Facing the two newly deployed legions, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in the Tiance Camp no longer fiercely attacked the enemy's front but turned to the right and forcibly broke through the Roman legions' interception, joining forces with the soldiers of the Qin Dynasty in the Tianwu Camp. Relying on the Tianji Camp's Song Dynasty soldiers and their Shenbi crossbows, they repeatedly consumed the enemy's strength.
On that day, Tian Wu and the Tian Ce Second Camp met in the middle of the battlefield, and the scales of victory began to tilt towards Wu's side. On the hill, the Qin army's light cavalry had already begun to gather. Those brave Han men threw off all their armor and carried only long swords and short spears for throwing, preparing to make a deadly strike against the enemy.
Wenze came out of the commander's tent. He seemed to have expended a great deal of energy, and his face was pale and bloodless.
Wenze solemnly bowed to the commander, his voice hoarse as he said, "The message has been transmitted."
Daisy Na's figure had disappeared from the enemy army, as if she had never appeared at all. General Wang's gaze slowly swept over the battlefield, then he opened his palm.
A guard behind him stepped forward, holding a bright red longbow in both hands and handing it to the commander. General Wang grasped the bow with his left hand and lifted his right hand slightly. A bright red arrow sprang out of the quiver and landed on his fingertips. General Wang pulled the bowstring, and the longbow bent into a full moon. A beam of light seemed to flow from his hand along the arrow to the arrowhead, condensing into a dazzling white light. Then, he loosened his fingers, and the arrow flew straight across the chaotic battlefield like a shooting star.
General Wang's commander's tent was nearly three li away from Agamemnon, and no bow and arrow, not even the firearms of the world where Cheng was from, could have such a range. But the arrow in General Wang's hand seemed to ignore the distance of space, instantly crossing the entire battlefield and flying towards a tent behind the enemy lines.
On a battlefield of nearly fifty thousand people, that ordinary tent was like a grain of sand in the sea, completely inconspicuous. The arrow plunged into the thick leather, and the whole tent was suddenly shattered as if sliced by a sharp blade! A black figure inside the tent was pierced through the shoulder by the arrow and was thrown out by the tremendous force, with the black hood falling off to reveal the golden hair of a priestess.
Daisy Na her shoulder and stared coldly at General Wang on the hill, then she yanked out the arrow forcefully, snapped it into two pieces, and fainted.
Agamemnon shouted loudly, and the guards around him gathered again, blocking him heavily.
General Wang had severely injured his opponent with one arrow. He put down the red bow and asked, "How is Yue?"
"Commander!"
Yue came out of the tent, holding the reins of a war horse. "I want to go too!"
Although her complexion had improved considerably, and the cold poison in her body had been suppressed, she could never again display the power that exceeded her cultivation level as she had just done.
General Wang refused with a single sentence, without even turning his head. "No."
"But what about Han..." Yue's eyes turned red, tears falling as she cried, "I want to avenge Han..."
General Wang commanded, "Take away her sword."
A guard came forward and took Yue's sword. General Wang explained in a low voice, "Although the Roman army is weak in crossbows, our army is also struggling. Tianwu camp has suffered a 70% loss, and Tiance camp has only half of its soldiers left to fight. The Tianji camp just reported that we have used up 120,000 arrows in an hour, and now we have less than 10,000 arrows left. The outcome of this battle is still uncertain, even if you go into battle, you cannot change the situation, and you will distract the general..."
General Wang ignored Yue and looked at Chengbeside him. Suddenly, he said, "Merge yourself with everything, use the Dantian as a cauldron, accumulate essence to transform qi, refine qi to unite with spirit."
When Yue appeared, Chenginstinctively took a step back. He was extremely uncomfortable at the moment, and as the battle became more intense, his physical discomfort became more obvious. He felt a burning pain in his forehead and a stuffy feeling in his chest, similar to when he first crossed over. When he heard General Wang's words, Cheng's heart suddenly moved. He was already familiar with this passage, which was the mantra General Wang had taught him. It talked about merging one's body with the universe, and using the Dantian to absorb and refine the essence of the universe and one's own essence.
Cheng tried to shift his mind to his Dantian, and the small Qi wheel immediately started to spin. The death breath emanating from his forehead was transformed into fine and subtle invisible threads, which were absorbed by the rotating Qi wheel. The stuffy feeling in his chest gradually dissipated, replaced by a warm and relaxed feeling, which made him unable to resist closing his eyes and wanting to sleep.
General Wang sighed softly, and pointed his finger at Cheng's brow, awakening him. This young man had never learned the cultivation method before, and did not know that he needed to use strong willpower to overcome his inner demons and maintain clarity in his mind. If Chengfell asleep now, the true Qi he had absorbed would be wasted, and worse, he might never wake up again and become disabled.
Cheng was unaware of the danger he was in. Opening his eyes, the Qi wheel in his Dantian was still spinning, albeit slower, and it continued to absorb the strange aura at an imperceptible rate, gradually increasing in size.
Yue had stopped crying, but still looked as if she was about to burst into tears. At this point, the three Roman legions that had first entered the battlefield - the 12th Legion, which was clashing with the Tianwu camp of the Qin army, the 6th Legion, which was facing off against the Tang army of the Tiance camp, and the 5th Legion, which was fighting against the Song army of the Tianji camp - had been completely beaten. The five legions suffered a total loss of more than 10,000 soldiers.
The first Left Martial Army also paid a heavy price, except for the Tianji camp, which remained intact, both the Tiance and Tianwu camps suffered more than 60% casualties, and soldiers who were already wounded had to return to the battle. At this point, no one dared to step into the shooting radius of the Tianji camp, and the Roman birch shields were completely unable to withstand the killing power of the Divine Arm Crossbows. Even the bravest warriors would retreat once they saw the small stature
At this point, no one dared to enter the shooting range of Tianji Camp, and even Roman birch shields were unable to withstand the damage from the God Arm Bow. Once even the bravest warriors saw their small crossbows, they lost their courage to charge.
Finally, the soldiers of Tianji Camp began to move, slowly advancing in a tight formation towards the center of the battlefield where they would meet up with the soldiers from the Tianwu and Tiance camps, extending the range of their attacks to cover the entire field.
Just then, a sound of a bronze horn came from behind. General Wang suddenly turned his head and looked behind him.
A strange forest appeared on the distant horizon. It was a formation made up of countless long spears, and as the formation advanced, the spears grew taller and taller, but no warriors holding them could be seen.
Among the Sixteen Kingdoms coalition forces, the seven-meter heavy spear used by the soldiers of the Qin Kingdom was already the pinnacle of individual weapons. In a head-on confrontation, no army could break through their spear formation, not even the Tang Dynasty's Mo knife formation. However, this new army that had just appeared used spears that were even longer than the Qin army's heavy spears, reaching a length of seven meters and two.
Seeing the forest of spears appearing on the horizon, Agamemnon suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, then his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground, unable to stand up again. Great Jupiter! The God of War Ares! The great Gaius Julius Caesar! Thank the countless gods in the Pantheon who protect the empire! They had finally arrived!
General Wang's gaze fell on Cheng. Cheng opened his mouth wide and stared at the moving forest like an idiot.
It was a huge formation, with 256 soldiers standing in a single row, forming a dense line half a mile long. The formation had a depth of sixteen columns, and with just one formation, the number of soldiers exceeded four thousand. They wore long cloaks, carried spears on their shoulders, and held a huge square shield in their left hand. Above the square shield, there was a circular hole in the shape of a moon. Once they entered the battlefield, they would put their shields side by side and extend their spears from the hole to attack the enemy.
Chengrubbed his stiff cheeks. After crossing into this world, he had already experienced too many surprises, but everything in front of him still gave him a heavy blow.
The Macedonian Legion, the most outstanding array of infantry in ancient Europe, was almost impossible to defeat in a flat terrain.
General Wang realized that he had missed a good opportunity. If he had not waited for the best time to exhaust the Roman Legion and had sent the Qin light cavalry into the battlefield earlier, the Roman Legion would have already been defeated frontally, and Agamemnon, who had lost his courage, would have been forced to retreat from the battlefield. At that time, the Left Wu First Legion, which had won a breathing opportunity, could have returned to formation and, relying on the terrain of the hills, resisted the enemy.
He could see the weakness of this unfamiliar army at a glance. Compared with the Qin formation, the Macedonian Legion's formation was larger in size, denser in formation, and far less flexible than the small Qin formation. The demands on the terrain were more stringent, and a forest or a hill could cause fatal consequences to their formation. But he had no choice of battlefield now.
The appearance of the Macedonian Legion added a weight to the already unbalanced scale. The exhausted Roman soldiers once again let out a battle cry, and the victory within reach encouraged their fighting spirit to the peak.
And the silent beast barbarians also stirred. The Gel who had been silent for a long time finally raised his battle axe and swung his right arm with the copper ring forward. More than two thousand beast barbarians with red eyes immediately roared and rushed to the battlefield.
Wenze clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and the large sleeves of his robe were folded together as he bowed to General Wang and said calmly, "General, our army has been defeated."
General Wang gently stroked the leather armor on his wrist and said, "The Left Wu First Legion has been in formation for fifteen years, right? How many battles have they fought in total?"
General Wang said, "Forty-seven battles, big and small."
"So many," General Wang sighed softly and then straightened his chest. "How many times have they been defeated in total?"
General Wang said, "This is the first time."
General Wang smiled and said, "Can we afford to lose?"
General Wang shook his head and said, "No. If our army retreats, they will take advantage of the situation and advance east. With the beast barbarians who know the terrain, they will be able to threaten Wuyuan City within a month."
General Wang said indifferently, "With my death, several ministers in the court should be satisfied."
Wenze suddenly became excited and said, "General, our army is united. Even if we are defeated, we can still inflict heavy damage on the enemy. As long as you return, we can organize another strong army in just one year to avenge ourselves!"
"It's not that easy. The elite of the Six Dynasties are all here. How long will it take to build another army?"
General Wang sighed softly, "I joined the army when I was fifty, and it has been fifteen years since then. Where can I find another fifteen years?"
"General!"
"No need to say more. Spread my command and order the light cavalry to charge, with five hundred riders in each team, to attack the enemy's headquarters with full force. Tianji Camp retreats to the hills, Tianci Camp blocks the enemy, and Tianwu Camp withdraws from the battlefield. Those who are injured once will be incorporated into the army and fight with swords and spears against the enemy. Those who are injured twice will be incorporated into Tianji Camp and equipped with crossbows."
This was going to be a fight to the death. Cheng felt nervous. But even if General Wang didn't say it, he knew that with the appearance of the Macedonian legion, this isolated army's attempt to break through had become a fantasy. The nearest fortress was probably more than a thousand miles away from here. In such a vast grassland where they couldn't hide or defend, a retreat meant losing all initiative, and within the next month, they would be subjected to endless pursuit by the enemy from behind, and could be wiped out at any time. Even if they managed to escape by chance, only a few would survive.