Chapter 319: The War Hounds attack
What kind of changes occurred on the War Hound Plains? The War Hounds ten great tribes had populations of four-five million people, but with constant internal strife, they suffered heavy losses to their elites. How could they have raised a million men army?
Although the War Hounds citizens were all soldiers, to attack the Southern Summer Country, normal soldiers could not be used and only elites of one out of ten would do. Not to mention a single tribe being able to take out an army of a million, even if they did take it out, how could a single tribe initiate a war of this scale?
The only possibility was an allied army!
The War Hounds ten great tribes were once again in an alliance!
The strange part of this alliance was that it seemed like it was completed in a single night. The War Hounds that had been previously attacking each other suddenly reconciled with each other and now worked to take over the Southern Summer Country. The Southern Summer Country was not prepared at all.
Where did the War Hounds receive this confidence?
They were no longer the previous Great Hound Kingdom.
Did they really think they could capture the frontline forts with just seven-eight hundred thousand soldiers?
The Southern Summer frontline fortress did only have six hundred thousand soldiers, but whether it was equipment, weapons, soldier quality, commander ability, or material reserves, they were all things the War Hounds Tribe could not compare to. Not the mention the grand iron walled city, this was a solid fortress that could not be penetrated!
The War Hounds" individual soldier"s strength was not bad and they did not fear death, but unless they had twice the quant.i.ty, they did not have a way of fighting. Even if they did have twice the quant.i.ty, it is not certain the War Hounds could charge through the Southern Summer barrier.
Let alone a seven-eight hundred thousand army that seemed to be in disarray?
Of course, no matter what ideas the War Hounds had and what kind of trump card they possessed, it was not important at this moment. The facts were in front of their eyes, this is an once in a hundred year large war!
The Southern Summer Country did not know what changed in the War Hound Plains, but the current Southern Summer Country was not the previous Southern Summer Country. Only the most elite soldiers were stationed in the frontline fortress and it was definitely enough to stop the War Hounds with this battle strength!
Dongfang Zhan personally ascended the watchtower to supervise the battle, "All troops, prepare!"
The Southern Summer soldiers pulled back their bows with each arrow having a talisman attached to it. When the arrows were pulled back, the talismans were activated and ice, fire, lightning, and various types of energy were released from the talismans attached to the arrows. This was a grand sight that one could not easily forget.
The War Hounds surged forward like a tidal wave, but when they were about to enter the range of the arrows, they suddenly began to slow down. They actually entered into a confrontation state with the Southern Summer fortress.
What was happening?
Meng Qingwu was very confused when she saw this. The War Hounds army"s momentum was very threatening, so why didn"t they continue this into an attack? When they came this close, they only called out curses, but there was not a single horn signalling to attack.
Chu Tian was carefully observing the War Hounds formation.
These fellow looked like a disorganized crew. They were mainly composed of cavalry, with various different mounts, with most of their mounts being giant beasts. There were lions, tigers, warhorses, and etc., even having people riding wolves and lizards, making it look very strange in general. Their equipment were very simple and although their formation was grand, it looked very loose.
Only the quant.i.ty was too shocking!
With the dense sea of people on the prairies, it was impossible to see the front and back, one could only see the various coloured flags swaying. Various drums, horns, shouts, and roars resounded through the air, becoming the sound of the world.
The most eye catching parts of this army were the few incomparably giant monsters in formation.
There was one that looked very much like a large gorilla, but it had a much fiercer appearance. Its skin was ash grey like it was made of stone, it had a big and round face, four thick limbs, and its height reached close to forty meters. Its head and chest were all covered in layers of thick armour and it had several chains attached to it, with a giant bamboo basket attached to its back which was filled with War Hounds soldiers.
The War Hounds did not have any siege machines, so how would they attack the fifty meter tall city walls?
This monster with a gigantic build was the War Hounds" siege machine!
Normal arrows did not have any method of hurting it and even those heavy crossbows would only produce flesh wounds. They could directly throw several heavy boulders into the city and could also carry the War Hounds soldiers in the baskets into the city.
The Southern Summer King gave a few disdainful cold laughs, "After a hundred years, the War Hounds have made no progress at all! This motley crew, even if you could double your quant.i.ty, you want to attack the Southern Summer Country depending on them? What a joke! This should be the greatest strength the War Hound Plains can send out. Once this battle exterminates them, the Southern Summer Country can sweep through the War Hound Plains unstopped!"
Although his words were like this.
The War Hounds Tribe could not be underestimated.
The Spirit Beasts did not fear death and would wildly charge forward when heading into battle, so this loose formation could not be looked down on. There were many experts in the War Hounds Tribe"s hands and there were frequently some unknown Spirit Beasts that were experts of the 8th and 9th Awakened Soul Layer, so one could not be careless dealing with these fellows.
Meng Qingwu asked, "Why are they not attacking?"
Gu Qianqiu said with a serious expression, "This old man thinks they are waiting for air support."
What air support? Meng Qingwu had just asked this in her heart when a terrifying screech suddenly came from the sky, like it was being torn apart. Several dozen giant demon beasts that were several feet long were leading thousands of ordinary demon beasts, falling like meteors at the fortress. It was like a dark cloud falling down on the walls.
These giant demon beasts were giant vultures, with each one carrying around six-seven hundred War Hounds experts and they were just being used as transportation tools at this moment. There were quite a few normal War Hounds in the air, riding all sorts of strange demon beasts, being escorted by the giant vultures.
This was the so called air support?
The War Hounds also had an air army?
The frontline fortress" thick walls were very high and although there were siege beasts, it was very hard to approach. Then they should first use the airborne beasts to send a group of elites down first. Even if they couldn"t open the fortress, they would at least disrupt the Southern Summer army. In this kind of situation, it would increase the chance of success for the ground army.
This did not count as any kind of tactics. The War Hounds had been fighting with the Southern Summer Country for many years, so they did know a few tricks to attacking cities. From this point alone, one could tell that they were fully prepared for this fight. With several hundred thousand normal soldiers, they had prepared at least twenty thousand airborne soldiers!
Dongfang Zhan"s expression sunk, "Fire!"
When the War Hounds airborne soldiers were prepared to attack.
A dense sea of arrows was released from the city walls!
Shua, shua, shua, shua!
Each arrow was covered in the light of spirit energy, flying out with accuracy and shocking speed. Each arrow hit the giant beast bodies with a powerful might which the demon beasts could not stop with their defenses. When these arrows pierced into their feathers and flesh, talismans on the shafts of the arrows were activated.
Peng, peng, peng!
Looking into the sky from the fortress.
The bodies of these demons beasts exploded, causing endless blood, feathers, and pieces of meat to rain down from the sky. An ear grating sound penetrated into the heavens.
Dongfang Zhan waved the flag high up, "Continue shooting arrows!"
The War Hounds airborne army had already approached at this time and a War Hounds commander on the back of black hawk stood up. Releasing his source spirit, it changed into six spiritual wolf soldiers, parrying the rain of arrows for the mount. He raised the blade in his hand high up and released a resonating roar!
"Kill!"
"Kill all humans!"
"For the War Hounds!"
Chu Tian said in a surprised voice when he saw this person, "Nuo Luo?"
Meng Qingwu was very surprised, "You recognize this person?"
Chu Tian explained, "He was the War Hounds expert I met in the Scarlet Swamp. He is someone in the peak 9th Awakened Soul Layer with a very powerful strength!"
Meng Qingwu"s heart was very heavy.
A peak 9th Awakened Soul Layer expert actually joined this death squad. It could be imagined how determined the War Hounds were this time.
Although they met the fortress" fierce resistance, the War Hounds Tribe was fearless. There was a group that successfully approached and quickly landed on the fortress.
This did not mean that they could attack.
The iron walls were all sealed and ever if they attacked the top, there were several iron nets that covering the top of the walls with sharp thorns adorning their surface. The iron fortress" archers were mainly shooting from the windows or being deployed to different places in the corridors.
How could such an important fortress not consider air defenses?
The War Hounds air attack brought quite a bit of trouble, but it was impossible for them to break through the fortress with this. The Southern Summer troops continued firing arrows and countless giant hawks, giant vultures, and War Hounds members fell down like raindrops. Some of them directly fell over the battlefield, falling onto the sharp nets and were cut into a thousand pieces, turning into a pile of flesh on walls.
The Southern Summer army was very methodical.
The entire army focused on fighting from inside and the War Hounds on the outside could not reach them.
However, at this time, a giant vulture that was filled with arrows suddenly engaged in a brave charge, landing right in the middle of two walls. It used its giant claws to rip the iron net and although it was killed by the arrows fired in the end, it had created a breach!
"Roar, roar!"
Several hundred War Hounds warriors jumped down from the wing and fell down into the iron wall.
"This is bad, the War Hounds have come in!"
"Kill! Stop them, stop them!"
Several thousand Southern Summer soldiers entered the pathway, attacking from both sides. These suicidal War Hounds soldiers were all elites and although they knew they were about to die, they were all fierce beyond imagination. They caused the Southern Summer soldiers twice the amount of casualties.
Wu, wu!
The War Hounds army sounded the horn to attack!
That dense, black army suddenly began to charge at the fortress, just like an imposing black wave, trying to rip the city to pieces. The War Hounds airborne troops had attracted quite a bit of firepower, so it was the right time for the War Hounds army to attack.
This kind of pressure was too terrifying.
The heaven and earth trembled and the entire fortress shook, with wild sounds of killing being heard from every direction. This was a war between countries?
Meng Qingwu had never seen such a fierce battle before, so this was a large shock to her, causing her face to turn pale white. On such a large battlefield, a single person"s strength had too little effect.
Chu Tian comforted her, "Don"t worry, we will win!"
"d.a.m.n! d.a.m.n War Hounds!" The Southern Summer King found that the fortress was filled with War Hounds air troops and immediately flew into a rage. He ordered the griffin knights to the side, "What are you all still doing? Quickly block the War Hounds" air troops!"
The griffin knights platoon leader had a face of hesitation, "But, your majesty….."
The Southern Summer King revealed a terrifying aura, "Does this king need your protection? Do you not see the Southern Summer soldiers fighting a b.l.o.o.d.y battle? Can the glorious palace knights like you coldly watch from the side like this?"
"Yes!" The griffin knight leader waved his hand, "Go, attack the War Hounds!"
Several hundred griffin knights soared out on their griffins, charging out of the iron fortress" corridors. These royal knights were all Ill.u.s.trious Soul Realm experts and although there were not many of them, the Southern Summer army felt a lot of pressure being relieved by them joining the fight!
The Southern Summer King walked in front of Chu Tian, Meng Qingwu, and Gu Qianqiu, "Two great scholars and miss Meng Qingwu, you will immediately head for a safe place."
Gu Qianqiu knit his brows, "Your majesty is not retreating, so how could this old man leave?"
"This is an order!" The Southern Summer King said in a severe voice, "You scholars have your scholars stage, a scholar"s blood cannot be shed on the battlefield! Go!"
The Southern Summer King had already made his decision.
He would personally join the battle!
On this large scale battlefield, although a trivial True Spirit Realm expert could not play a decisive role, the Southern Summer King"s strength was enough to be a deterrent to the War Hounds. If the king were to personally head out, it would be a large morale increase to the soldiers.
Gu Qianqiu did not even have time to speak.
Chu Tian"s Divine Sense felt something and he immediately shouted, "Be careful of the window!"
Hong!
The iron built window was. .h.i.t by an explosion and a large amount of arrows flew into the room. Several dozen figures tightly followed these arrows, dashing at where they were currently standing.