Why did the demon cavalry call themselves "Divine Race Iron Cavalry"?
Firstly, their equipment was exquisite. The cavalry's armor, shields, long swords, and lances, as well as the warhorses' barding and stirrups, were all made of a high proportion of iron, hence the name "Iron Cavalry." Secondly, they were stubborn. The so-called "Divine Race Iron Cavalry" were the most authentic heavy cavalry, relying entirely on their terrifying charge on the battlefield to win. They were only equipped with long swords and spears, not even a single crossbow or war bow. Therefore, in the face of an "art master" like Lin Zhao and true kiting artistry, the demon cavalry had absolutely no chance in small-scale engagements.
"Chu Yu!"
As Lin Zhao led the many cavalry in pursuit of the enemy, he frowned at the scattered corpses of the demon iron cavalry on the snow and said, "Didn't Wang Jingzhi just say that demon cavalry heads could be exchanged for rewards?"
"Yes!"
Chu Yu nodded heavily. "I heard about it before. The Emperor of the Great Shang Dynasty issued an imperial decree to encourage soldiers on the battlefield to kill enemies. It seems that demon heads can indeed be exchanged for money. Ordinary demon soldiers were about ten Qing Fu coins per head, which was quite cheap. But once they entered the Middle Five Realms, their heads became much more valuable. It is said that a demon core from an eleventh-realm demon or a demon core from a demon beast could fetch a handsome reward of over 200 Jin Zi coins from the Great Shang Dynasty court!"
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao was almost dumbfounded. So much money!
He said in a deep voice, "Later, order the men behind to cut off the demon heads and hang them on their horses' necks. It's all money!"
"Got it, my lord!"
Chu Yu pursed her lips and chuckled. "My lord is good in this regard. He knows how to manage his finances!"
...
After several skirmishes, this demon cavalry force of 10,000 was reduced to less than five thousand. The deputy general's face turned green. He no longer dared to get close to Lin Zhao's 1,000 cavalry. It was too costly. Regardless of their pursuit and harassment, he charged directly towards the rear of the Border Garrison Legion with over 4,000 men. At the same time, another 10,000 demon iron cavalry charged from the east, cutting through the Border Garrison Legion.
"Woo woo~~~"
From afar, the horns of the Lingnan Legion sounded, and a cultivator in the Middle Five Realms roared with spiritual energy, "Lord Wang Jingzhi orders that the three armies shall retreat steadily for 30 li and regroup for battle!"
In reality, it was not a orderly retreat at all, but a complete rout. The 200,000-strong human army was being chased by less than 50,000 demon iron cavalry. Blood flowed like rivers everywhere along the way. The demons pursued them fiercely, and many human infantry and archers could not run far before being caught and torn to shreds by the demon cavalry chasing them. Among them, Wang Jingzhi and his ten thousand elite cavalry fled the fastest, disappearing into the snowstorm early.
"Quick, retreat!"
Amidst the crowd, the Cloud Roaming Realm old general Zhou Yan, holding his battle sword, looked at the corpses scattered everywhere with a somber expression. The Border Garrison Legion had suffered heavy losses again in this battle. Now, it would be good if the 80,000-strong Border Garrison Legion could preserve 30,000. A chill filled his heart. There was no need to think about it. After this battle, he, Zhou Yan, would be thrown into prison upon returning to the court, and death would await him.
Wang Jingzhi was a subordinate of the Northern Marshal. Even if he lost the battle, he would not die. On the contrary, Wang Jingzhi would shift the blame for the defeat onto him, the commander of the Border Garrison Legion. Rather than return to the court to face death and bring shame upon his family, enduring such humiliation, why not die here?
Thinking of this, Zhou Yan let out a sigh of relief and said, "The Third Battalion, stay with me to cover the retreat. The rest, retreat quickly. This is a military order, and no one is allowed to disobey!"
The generals of the Border Garrison Legion gritted their teeth, and finally, they all bowed to the old general and then led the army to turn south.
Zhou Yan directly threw away his battle sword and attacked with his fists like thunder, blasting swaths of demon iron cavalry, men and horses alike, into a rain of blood. In the court, a general who disagreed with him politically had once mocked him as a "paper nine-realm martial artist," a "paper Cloud Roaming Realm." In fact, Zhou Yan also knew that his boxing talent was indeed not very good. But what did this "paper Cloud Roaming Realm" matter? Could he not still kill demons and monsters?
Hundreds of armored soldiers from the Border Garrison Legion stayed with Zhou Yan to face their deaths!
Just as Zhou Yan had killed hundreds of demon cavalry in succession, a figure descended from the sky. It was Yu Feng, an eleventh-realm cultivator. A sword light flashed down, and Zhou Yan's body exploded into a bloody mist. The dignified human general ended up with no remains.
Zhou Yan's death was of great significance to the human race.
After the Battle of Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, a period of relative peace ensued between the human, demon, and monster races. Zhou Yan was the first high-ranking general of the human race to die during this period of peace. His death meant that the war between the human race and the four northern tribes was once again on the verge of breaking out.
...
On the flank, Lin Zhao led 1,000 Snow Domain cavalry in constant harassment, killing another 2,000+ demon cavalry. After the Lingnan Legion and the Border Garrison Legion retreated 20 li, Yu Feng ordered not to pursue the defeated enemy and led the 30,000 demon cavalry westward. They also needed supplies and rest, and Yu Feng, having read human military strategy, knew the principle of not pursuing a defeated enemy too closely.
Lin Zhao took the opportunity to clean up the battlefield with Chu Yu, collecting the heads of the demon cavalry. Soon after, each of the Snow Domain cavalry had a head hanging from their horse's neck, many of them from the Middle Five Realms. They would likely receive a considerable reward this time.
Moreover, more importantly, Lin Zhao ordered the seizure of many ownerless demon warhorses. He collected about 2,000+ warhorses. The demon iron cavalry were all famous northern breeds, strong and well-built, with strong endurance and better load-bearing capacity than Yunzhou's fine horses. These warhorses were enough to replace the mounts of the main cavalry of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool.
Indeed, buying them from the Great Shang Dynasty was not as good as taking them directly from the demon army!
"Chu Yu."
Lin Zhao looked at the beautiful deputy general beside him and said, "Zhou Yan is dead. That demon prince killed him personally. Let me ask you, can you defeat that eleventh-realm Yu Feng?"
Chu Yu laughed angrily, "My lord, he is eleventh-realm, and I am just a Sea-Treading Realm martial artist. How can I fight him... You are truly desperate for money, aren't you? Are you trying to force me to die with the world?"
"No, no."
Lin Zhao waved his hand. "If you can't win, then forget it. There's no need to force it."
Chu Yu rolled her eyes.
Just then, a bell sound echoed in his ears. The story compensation reward that Lin Zhao had been anticipating was here again:
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations on completing the story [Clash in the Snow]. You have received story compensation rewards: Experience points +40%, Charm +1, Gold coins +2000, Reputation +1500!
...
This reward was slightly more this time, bringing him closer to level 100. One more such reward and he would level up!
He took a deep breath and looked at the status of his second flying sword. Warming it with Qing Xin Rock indeed accelerated its upgrade speed. It should soon reach level 2. As everyone knew, this game, "Tian Xia," was fundamentally about capital. Without a strong financial backing, one had no right to even dream of resources like Qing Xin Rock. This was probably why his cousin had insisted that he rebuild the Scarlet Moon Knights. Relying on a big tree for shade was an eternal truth.
Lin Zhao and Chu Yu led a thousand Snow Domain cavalry, slowly advancing through the snow. Many cavalrymen took out flatbreads to eat, taking a hearty bite and then a mouthful of wine, which tasted extraordinary.
But the Lingnan Legion and the Border Garrison Legion were different. Although the demons had stopped their pursuit, these two major legions were still like startled birds flying south. Only after arriving at a border city north of the Eastern Wu Kingdom did they enter the city, find shelter, and start cooking. At this point, the 150,000-strong Lingnan Legion was reduced to just over 70,000, and the Border Garrison Legion was left with only 23,000 men. The demons, on the other hand, paid a price of only over 10,000 iron cavalry. Excluding those killed by Lin Zhao's unit, the demon casualties were likely less than 10,000. The gap in combat power between the two sides was evident.
Inside a dilapidated palace within the city, the wind leaked in from all sides.
Wang Jingzhi took a freshly roasted chicken from his subordinate and took a big bite. After chewing vigorously, he took a gulp of strong liquor and frowned, "Where is Zhou Yan?"
"Lord Zhou Yan he..."
A subordinate general frowned. "He died in battle, reportedly killed by the demon commander Yu Feng himself. His head was even taken."
"..."
Wang Jingzhi's heart turned cold. "How many people are left in the Border Garrison Legion?"
"Just over twenty thousand."
"I see."
Wang Jingzhi lost his appetite for the roasted chicken. He said in a deep voice, "Later, send someone to the Border Garrison Legion and tell them that this battle was due to the high-ranking general Zhou Yan's eagerness for merit and rash advance, leading the Border Garrison Legion in a relentless pursuit of the demon iron cavalry. I, Wang Jingzhi, fearing he would be ambushed, led the army to reinforce him. We fought a bloody battle with the demons, beheading over 60,000 demons. After the great battle, the demons abandoned tens of thousands of bodies and fled northward. Border Garrison Legion's Zhou Yan committed suicide out of guilt, and his head was snatched by demon scouts. All the blame for this battle lies with Zhou Yan. Our Lingnan Legion suffered heavy losses because of Zhou Yan's entanglement. Tell them they must follow this narrative. I will then ensure the safety of all the officers and men of the Border Garrison Legion, otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless!"
"Yes!"
The subordinate general said solemnly, "I will send someone to handle it immediately!"
...
Deep in the night, amidst piles of broken bricks and tiles, the remaining soldiers of the Border Garrison Legion gathered. After the generals of the Lingnan Legion had left, everyone revealed expressions of indignation.
"These beasts!"
A thousand-man commander roared, "It was clearly Wang Jingzhi, this mediocre person, who ruined the three armies, yet now he is shifting the blame onto Lord Zhou Yan. Lord Zhou Yan shed his blood on the battlefield to cover our retreat. He always considered us old brothers. What wrong has he done to us? If we betray Lord Zhou Yan like this, what difference are we from beasts?"
"Hush!"
A ten-thousand-man commander frowned. "General Zhuang, you must speak with caution. If these words reach Wang Jingzhi's ears, you might not fare well. We are living under someone else's roof now, how can we not bow our heads? Lord Zhou Yan certainly wouldn't want us to end up like him, with our heads and bodies separated, would he?"
"Bah!"
A thousand-man commander stood up indignantly. "The Lingnan Legion is currently making fires and cooking. All the supplies are in their hands, yet have they given us even half a piece of bread? These people are just cannon fodder in their eyes. Now that our commander has died for the country, why should we, still starving, fight for a despicable and shameless person like Wang Jingzhi? In my opinion, we should rebel against him directly!"
"Yes, rebel! Rebel!"
A group of generals nodded in agreement.
However, many were still worried and remained silent.
"Lord Xu Sheng."
The ten-thousand-man commander turned to Xu Sheng, the only thousand-man commander in the army, and asked, "You were the general most trusted by our commander in life. What do you think? What should we do?"
Xu Sheng slowly stood up and looked at everyone with a frown. "If we are to rebel, how do we rebel? Go and chop off Wang Jingzhi's head? Or, directly betray the human race and defect to the demon or monster races? Have you thought about what to do next?"