Chapter 167 Peerless in the World! (2)
Without question, the two Battalions of Eagle Tribesmen were specially here against the Peerless Battalion. With the supreme eyesight of the Eagle Tribesmen, even at the height of a thousand metres, they would still be able to clearly find their targets on the ground.
Regarding the Peerless Battalion, the WanShou Empire were definitely well prepared. After all, when the Swift Wolf Regiment"s Commander Butler was wounded, the Heavenly Snow Mountain had learned about it. Furthermore, the other Wolf Cavalry Regiment and Unicorn Cavalry Regiment had been critically damaged previously, how could the Peerless Battalion not stirred up the full attention of the WanShou Empire? The two Eagle Tribesmen Regiment were specially sent to take care of the Peerless Battalion.
However, the WanShou Empire had made a mistake… an error in judgement regarding the true numbers of the Peerless Battalion. According to their reports, the Peerless Battalion numbered about a normal Battalion and maybe a little more. How could they possibly know that the Peerless Battalion had long since grown to more than five thousand men!
As they watched the incoming flying air troops, the Drunken Rogue Luo Ke Di said with a strange expression on his face: "Those… in the skies… they are here for us right?"
Hua Feng said with an ugly expression on his face: "What else could it be. Heavy Infantry Regiment, prepare a defensive formation against the top. Everyone, slow down, safety first."
The two Battalions of Eagle Tribesmen Air Force had come just too quickly. Before the Peerless Battalion could even reach the left wing, they had already risen into the air, and a rain of arrows descended from the skies, targeting the Peerless Battalion. The t.i.tanium mail of the Peerless Battalion might be strong, but their brilliant glow was also rather obvious, making them an easy target visually.
Without hesitation, the Peerless Battalion soldiers raised their Consolidated Bows and returned fire. Alas, much to their vexation, even with their archery skills and powerful Consolidated Bows, it was extremely difficult to strike a target in mid air especially at the height of more than a thousand metres… even if they found their mark, many of them had lost momentum and were easily batted aside by the claws of the War Eagles.
Along with the string of *ding**ding**dang**dang* sounds of metal clas.h.i.+ng on metal, the Heavy Infantry Regiment soldiers" towwer s.h.i.+elds easily blocked the rain of arrows from the skies. However, the next salvo that descended was no longer arrows, but the javelins thrown down from above.
The *ding**dang* sounds warped into a thunderous roar. If the previous rain of arrows could perhaps be said to be easily blocked by the Peerless Battalion t.i.tanium mail alone, the javelins would have totally destroyed them.
At this point, everybody, including Hua Feng, felt an unbelievable sense of admiration and respect for Zhou Weiqing. His foresight and preparation in this… had indeed avoided the greatest critical danger to the Peerless Battalion since it was set up.
"Battalion Commander, let my First Main Company go up and greet them. Air force against air force… we can teach them a lesson." Lei Zi piped out.
Hua Feng glanced at him and said: "Stop talking rubbish, listen to orders. You want your men to fly up and give their lives for nothing? They already have the high ground advantage far above us… before you all can even get halfway the distance to them, their javelins would have nailed you all."
The momentum of falling from a thousand metres height… let alone being thrown at full strength, even the thick tower s.h.i.+elds were dented from the sheer smas.h.i.+ng impact. Even though the First Main Company were the top elites of the Peerless Battalion and wearing their t.i.tanium mail, if they were not careful they could be totally wiped out. The Peerless Battalion could not afford such a major loss! As such, Hua Feng definitely would not take such a ma.s.sive risk. Zhou Weiqing had left him with a Peerless Battalion at full strength, and he wanted to return it to his command in perfect condition.
Mu En sidled up closer to Hua Feng and said softly: "Let"s wait a while, let them continue throwing the javelins. I do not believe that they can hold that many of such javelins on an airborne mount. Once they have finished throwing all their javelins… then we can deal with them. For now, we can just be careful and go according to our original plan to deal with the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment… and catch us some Unicorn Heavenly Beasts."
Hua Feng exchanged a look with Mu En, an appreciative look of two cunning geniuses recognizing and appreciating each other. Very soon, he issued out a series of orders down. The Heavy Infantry soldiers lifted up their thick and heavy tower s.h.i.+elds in an interlocking formation towards the skies, forming an impenetrable from above. Under the protection of such a moving metal fortress, the Peerless Battalion ignored the threat of the airborne Eagle Tribe Battalions, instead continuing to move slowly and steadily towards the left flank, though they had slowed down by a lot.
Just like what Mu En had said, the javelins of the Eagle Tribesmen soldiers were extremely limited, and they could not possibly continue such an onslaught forever. After several rounds of the javelins raining down, they slowed down and stopped, seeking a better opportunity to take out the Peerless Battalion.
Very quickly, the Peerless Battalion reached the left flank. Instantly, the shrill cries of arrows in flight rang out once more. The Eagle Tribesmen soldiers above were extremely vexed to see from their vantage point wave after wave of arrows fly out towards their allies, and accompanying the shrill cries they could only watch and see the Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment soldiers and Unicorn Cavalry soldiers get mowed down like wheat during harvest season.
In terms of continued sustained fighting capabilities in the air, the Peerless Battalion was undoubtedly no match for the Eagle Tribesmen Battalions. After all, the Eagle Tribesmen were mounted upon their trust War Eagles and had their support. However, in terms of sheer destructive power, being all Jewel Masters with Consolidated Bows, the Peerless Battalion was far beyond the Eagle Tribesmen Air Force.
As the slaughter started once again, Hua Feng stealthily called Lei Zi to his side and gave him some instructions in a low tone. Soon after, the Peerless Battalion First Main Company stopped their firing, lying low under the protection of the Heavy Infantry soldiers as they took a rest, recovering their Heavenly Energy as they prepared for the next incoming order.
Ever since the Eagle Tribesmen Regiment was set up, it could be said that everything had gone smoothly for them, and they had never been defeated in battle. Currently, they were actually being blocked by the tower s.h.i.+elds of the Heavy Infantry Soldiers, how could they not be furious. Another flurry of javelins and arrows descended from the skies; alas the force from the arrows was insufficient, and while the javelins were rather powerful, and even for the Heavy Infantry soldiers" strength and physique, being struck by them continuously was almost too much for them, having to make use of the interlocking formation to rest their tower s.h.i.+elds on the edge of their companions to increase the holding power. As a result, the firing of the Peerless Battalion was affected, and their offensive power dropped somewhat.
Beastmen Warriors did not fear death, and in this moment, it was truly displayed out. Although the Peerless Battalion had slain quite a number, they still continued charging in an ever greater frenzy. From the ten Regiments at the back, four more charged out. Amongst them, two charged directly to the right wing to replace the charge there. As for the other two, they headed to the left wing to reinforce it. Of the two headed to the left wing, one was particularly attention catching.
This Regiment obviously did not number ten thousand. To be more accurate, they only numbered that of a Battalion, yet, they were considered an entire Legion within the army.
They were all over four metres tall, their muscles bulging far beyond even that of those Bear Tribe Heavy Infantry Soldiers. They all had brownish yellow hair, and as they started charging from a distance, the entire earth seemed to shake, the pounding reverberating through the ground like an earthquake, from far to near as they charged at a speed belying their huge forms.
The Mammoth Regiment, the ultimate elite and ace of the WanShou Empire. In the entire WanShou Empire, the number of Mammoth Berserkers only totalled two thousand forming two Regiments of a thousand each. The reason why they were still known as a Regiment even though they only numbered a thousand was because even with such a number their combat strength was beyond ten thousand of any other Beastman Tribe.
The Mammoth Berserkers were known as the meat grinders of the battlefield. Their weapons were Mammoth Totemic Poles over six metres long and with a diameter of about half a metre. They were crafted from a unique wood from the north, known as the Metal Strength Wood, and each weighed over a thousand jin.
Every time the Mammoth Berserker Warriors appeared on the battlefield of the north, it would normally be in the Central North lines, and they would be met by the ZhongTian Heavenly Jewel Master Battalion. In terms of Beastmen soldiers and their individual personal strengths, the Mammoth Beastmen could be said to be at the very top.
The WanShou Empire armies had controlled any spread of news just too perfectly, and up until the point that the Mammoth Berserker Regiment entered the battlefield, only then did the ZhongTian Northwest Armies learn that the WanShou Empire had actually dispatched this terrifying force to this side.
For the Peerless Battalion, the WanShou Empire had actually sent out both their aces, the Eagle Tribe and Mammoth Tribe Regiments… one could see the sheer importance they placed on the Peerless Battalion.
Of course, as the WanShou Empire started their own movement of troops, the ZhongTian empire side were not idle. Previously, the Peerless Battalion had cleared out all the enemies on the left flank, and it was a huge disruption to the WanShou Empire"s attack and formations, and it stabilized their own defensive formations.
On the right flank, they swiftly reinforced with a Heavenly Infantry Regiment and two ordinary Infantry Regiments, while the center lines were also reinforced with two Heavy Infantry soldiers to help hold back the defensive formation, blocking the crazed onslaught from the Tyrannical Bear Regiment and the two Raging Bull Regiments.
The strongest reaction was naturally to the left flank, where three entire Heavy Cavalry Regiments charged to reinforce it. That was not all; with another Cavalry Regiment riding to join in, dressed fully in a light mail, wearing helmets with purple red coloured ta.s.sels. Their speed was extremely fast, and they soon reached quickly. They were all wielding long spears, and amazingly, all the javelins and arrows that rained down from above were easily dodged or parried with those spears. The WanShou Empire had their ace forces, how could the ZhongTian Empire not have their own ace up the sleeve? This Purple Ta.s.seled Regiment was Admiral Brando"s Personal Guard Regiment, and they were the finest elite force in the entire Northwest Armies.
With the Purple Ta.s.seled Regiment at the lead, supplemented by the three other Heavy Cavalry Regiments, their only goal now was to protect the Peerless Battalion.
No matter what they thought about the Peerless Battalion or their previous actions, when they heard the shrill cries of the arrows and the effect of their slaughter of the enemies, all the Northwest Army forces couldn"t help but feel respect for them. Even the Purple Ta.s.seled Regiment would not dare to boast of such unbelievable offensive capabilities.
After so many years of warring against the WanShou Empire, both small and large scale battles alike, but for the ZhongTian Empire, for them to actually kill off almost two entire Regiments of Beastmen soldiers was nearly unheard of totally. Yet, just the five thousand soldiers of the Peerless Battalion had already nearly wiped out three whole Battalions of WanShou Empire armies since winter had begun, and it looked like the number was steadily increasing.
"Battalion Commander, Tribe Leader Ma Long has brought his Berserker Tribe brothers to the front lines." One of the Peerless Battalion soldiers ran over to report to Hua Feng.
Hua Feng nodded and said: "Tell Tribe Leader Ma Long not to rush to join the battle. Ask him to wait for us to start suppressing the Eagle Tribe Regiment before they head out to collect those Unicorn Heavenly Beasts.
As the Peerless Battalion entered the fray, the Dog Tribesmen Infantry soldiers and Unicorn Cavalry soldiers were starting to sustain heavy injuries and casualties, and from the looks of things, they would not be able to hold on for long.
At this point, the Mammoth Regiment and the supporting Nimble Panther Regiment still had some distance to close before reaching the front lines. It was clear that they would not be in time to reinforce the now-belaboured left flank.
The battle had already entered a white hot stage, and every minute both sides lost large amounts of soldiers, leaving their lives forever on this battleground. By now, the total kill-count of the entire Peerless Battalion alone had already surpa.s.sed the grand total of all the other ZhongTian Empire Northwest Armies added together. On the left flank, besides the Eagle Tribesmen Air Force Regiment, the rest of the WanShou Empire armies were on the verge of breakdown.
"Battalion Commander, please let us set out now!"
Lei Zi urged Hua Feng to give the order, rather impatiently.