Chapter 652: Clas.h.!.+
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Seeing their comrades being sliced in two without any noise, the silent yet creepy scene caused many of the riders to be filled with horror.
In the dark of the night, all the riders could see was pitch black, since White Bones had already evolved and its entire body was black. The riders could only see their friends charging, and suddenly, their bodies separated, and fresh blood sprayed everywhere. It was enough for them to feel chills down their spines.
Even the leader of the 3,000 riders, a powerful Evolver had been sliced in two in the middle of his charge.
Witnessing this horrifying and mysterious scene, the remaining 1,000 riders felt apprehensive and were immediately pounced on by the treants which had no concept of fear of death. The entire unit soon collapsed, with many of them turning to run in different directions.
After defeating these 3,000 riders, Yue Zhong then led the remaining treant army into the dark once more, chasing after the scattered soldiers like hungry wolves.
The other unit of 3,000 that came to help saw the disappearance of Yue Zhong and his treants, and they didn’t dare give chase.
It was a cloudy night, and there was not a single beam of moonlight. If they didn’t have any torches or man-made lights, there was no way to see beyond 5 meters.
Only the treant army led by Yue Zhong was able to function normally in the night, while the other troops couldn’t. Even Yue Zhong’s own elite forces had difficulty seeing in the night, regardless of their Evolver status. Hence, Yue Zhong did not mobilize them.
The 3,000 riders could only watch wide-eyed and helpless, as Yue Zhong led the monstrous treants back into the night.
Yue Zhong once again led his troops past the 3,000 riders and went on an all-out charge against another part of the long processions, killing hundreds of soldiers, plunging them into panic, before swiftly retreating.
Under this multiple abuse, the Mongolian forces were split up but still had about 30,000 riders within the main unit. Such a number was enough to wipe out Yue Zhong’s treants easily.
Yue Zhong could only rely on guerilla tactics as well as the cover of the night to launch quick attacks and retreating before more reinforcements arrive. They continued to whittle down the large group bit by bit.
He continued to lead the 1,000-strong treant army to route around and attack different areas, before pulling back into the night, devastating an area by killing hundreds. This caused the morale of the Mongolian soldiers to plunge continuously.
In the night, the moment these Mongolian soldiers were heavily a.s.saulted, it was hard for them to reorganize themselves. Under Yue Zhong’s relentless hara.s.sing, many died or fled. If they continued like this, it was likely that the entire 30,000-strong unit would be defeated by Yue Zhong.
Under the command of Bi Lǜ, the treants would just pounce and eat their fill before heading back. However, under Yue Zhong’s command, they made use of the darkness to exhibit their natural combat ability in the night, causing unrest amongst the 60,000 soldiers, and even crus.h.i.+ng 10,000 of them. There was no way of comparing their effectiveness in commanding.
Huo-er Gai, one of the generals, came up to Hu-er Ran and said, "Great Khan! We can’t continue like this!! Yue Zhong and his monsters can actually function well in the night! If we continue to retreat like this, we’ll just be lambs for the slaughter. We have already lost 10,000 men because of them! We’ll be torn apart if things continue!"
Hu-er Ran frowned and thought for a long while, before replying, "Convey my orders! Slow down the retreat, reform our troops!"
Under his order, the Mongolian Army stopped rus.h.i.+ng, instead, they formed a st.u.r.dy formation and moved orderly. Their rate of retreat slowed down drastically, but they became like a porcupine, making it harder for Yue Zhong to act.
Yue Zhong stopped leading the treants on a blind a.s.sault, instead, he pulled out his Bartlett Sniper and picked off the ordinary soldiers one by one. It served to pressurize them further, preventing them from moving.
In the dark of the night, each time the gun went off, the soldiers were filled with trepidation. They continued to advance silently, praying that the next one to be killed was not them. Their hearts were filled with pressure and fear and there was no way of venting.
Hu-er Ran then sent a force of 1,000 to intercept Yue Zhong, however, the moment they were separated from their main forces, they were defeated easily by Yue Zhong and his treants, leaving only 300 that ran back pathetically. Hu-er Ran knew that they weren’t his match in the dark. If he sent more soldiers, Yue Zhong would just retreat further, and hunt his subordinates slowly. If he sent too little men, Yue Zhong would crush them easily.
After experiencing these, Hu-er Ran stopped sending his forces out to be killed in vain.
As the Mongolian soldiers prayed silently, dawn came.
Seeing the sun rise, many of them couldn’t but sob with relief.
Just as the sun rose, Yue Zhong had already led his treants far away from the Mongolian soldiers. He could cause them misery purely because he had the cover of the night.
In the dark, the 800 treants were simply not a match against the 30,000 elites of the Mongolian Army. Even the 6 high-level treants would not be spared should the Mongolian Army decide to pay a hefty price and used a large number of rockets and experts to sacrifice themselves.
One rocket might not be able to destroy one high-level treant, but dozens of rounds would be enough to blast the treants and prevent them from recovering.
Just as the Mongolian Army was getting excited, from afar, 34 tanks, 60 IFVs, a hundred gun-mounted vehicles, 1,000 motorcycles, as well as 4 infantry battalions appeared, pressing towards them.
This elite troops might not number more than 4,000 people, but together with the armored battalion, the pressure they brought was even stronger than the 30,000 Mongolian troops.
When Hu-er Ran saw this, his face immediately fell as he shouted in panic, "Deploy the armored division!! Charge!! Our Mongolian Empire is the strongest existence, as long as we destroy this troop, the entire Central Plains will be ours!!"
Under his orders, the Mongolian Empire’s trump card also came rolling out, with 48 tanks, 70 IFVs, 150 gun-mounted vehicles, 3,000 motorcycles.
Other than that, there was also a unit of 5,000 riders that rode with them. The moment those armored vehicles tore through the enemy lines, these riders would take the opportunity to rush in.
Huo-er Gai looked at the incoming troops and his expression turned dark. Thus, he stepped up to announce, "Everyone, don’t be afraid. This time, we definitely can defeat Yue Zhong’s troops. Our armored division is so much stronger than theirs. As long as we defeat their troops, our army has the advantage of the terrain! Relying on this advantage, we definitely have the power to rule over the Central Plains!"
Another general, Mu Tu-er hollered, "That’s right! The Hans defend, we Mongols attack! Yue Zhong that fool, he only can fight for a short battle, he’s definitely on a suicide mission. This battle, we can definitely destroy his army and teach him a lesson!"
"That’s definitely the case!"
"This battle, we will definitely win!!"
"..."
Hearing Huo-er Gai and Mu Tu-er’s words, the rest of the Mongolian soldiers finally had smiles on their faces.
At this time, the roar of motors sounded out in the skies, as 30 a.s.sault helicopters flew over the Mongolian Army.
Seeing the 30 helicopters fly overhead, the faces of all the Mongolian soldiers fell, and their expressions turned ugly.
The moment those 30 a.s.sault helicopters flew over, they released rockets and anti-tank missiles down on the Mongolian armored division.
Hong! Hong! Hong!
A number of tanks that the Mongolian Army had relied on to crush their enemies, were instantly turned into flaming b.a.l.l.s under the rain of rockets.
Yue Zhong’s tanks also began to fire their own cannons at the Mongolian armored division, blasting numerous IFVs and armored vehicles into pieces.
The Mongolian armored division thus began to focus fire towards the skies, firing at the a.s.sault helicopters, their bullets and projectiles forming a dense net.
However, the 30 a.s.sault helicopters were basically like demons raining destruction from the skies. Their focus fire was enough to destroy the tanks one by one, and they could ignore the IFVS. After all, they were constructed of thick and durable materials, and it wasn’t a problem braving the caliber of bullets that were fired from those gun-mounted vehicles.
Yue Zhong’s armored troops continued to fire at the IFVs and machine gun-mounted vehicles, and together with the cannons from the tanks, the Mongolian Army began to lose their vehicles, each of them exploding in a ball of flames.
The bullets that the Mongolian IFVS only managed to leave minor scratches on the tanks of Yue Zhong, with no way to tear through their armor. There was almost no damage to the other armored vehicles behind.
It was only from time to time, there were some stray cannon shots from the Mongolian tanks that would blast some of Yue Zhong’s tanks.
The armored divisions from both sides were engaged in a crazy slaughter, and the tanks from the Mongolian side were being destroyed at a rapid pace.