Chapter 339: Night Raid
Chapter 339: Night Raid
This general, clad in black armor, was the commander of this battle.
His name was Zhang Yan, the most militarily talented member of the Zhang Family and a key figure in commanding the Zhang Family Army.
In the Zhang Family, an aristocratic family, one who could command the Zhang Family Army must possess exceptional talent. After all, this position was far too important.
Although Zhang Yan was not a historical general, he was no less formidable. His Strength Value was as high as 83, and his Leadership was 70. At forty years old, he was at the peak of his career, both in terms of Strength and war experience.
Such a person was naturally proud. He looked down on forces like Lu Hai Kong’s mountain bandits, considering it a waste of his talents to deal with such a small-time operation.
With this arrogant mindset, Zhang Yan began a campaign that would leave him extremely frustrated.
Even before the main battle had begun, he had lost over a thousand soldiers. This wasn't too surprising, as the defenders of the fortification had a significant advantage.
However, when his soldiers reached the fortification walls, a new wave of attacks began. A dense shower of arrows, along with rocks and wooden stakes, rained down. Before they could even reach the walls, another wave of soldiers fell.
Finally, using tools like flying claws and siege ladders, they began their assault. But then, a group of people, or rather, something that could no longer be called human, appeared on the walls. These were fanatical warriors, poorly equipped and not particularly strong. Normally, even the weakest County Troops could take on four or five of them, but in this situation, they became the most terrifying presence.
These fanatics disregarded their own lives. Upon seeing County Troops climbing up, they immediately pounced, grabbing them and plunging them off the walls.
Their complete disregard for their own lives successfully intimidated the County Troops, and even Zhang Yan was taken aback. In his years of battle, he had never seen such a large number of fanatical warriors.
This battle, which Zhang Yan had boasted he would win within half a day, started in the morning and continued until nightfall. The County Troops never managed to breach Lu Hai Kong's fortification walls. In the end, Zhang Yan had no choice but to sound the retreat and temporarily halt the assault to regroup.
While regrouping, Zhang Yan tallied the casualties, and his face turned grim. In just one day of fighting, nearly ten thousand of his soldiers were dead or wounded, which was one-fifth of his entire force. And they had failed to even reach the enemy's walls.
This outcome left Zhang Yan in disbelief, but the harsh reality was right before his eyes.
"Tomorrow, the Zhang Family Army will join the battle. Also, immediately gather siege catapults and siege towers. No matter what, we must take this stronghold!"
Zhang Yan's mindset had completely shifted. Having been thoroughly beaten, he no longer underestimated Lu Hai Kong. Given the current situation, if he didn't bring out his full strength, it wasn't just a matter of wasting his talents; it was questionable whether he could take the stronghold at all.
On the other side, at the stronghold.
Compared to Zhang Yan, Lu Hai Kong was relatively relaxed.
After a day of intense fighting, Lu Hai Kong's side had also suffered over a thousand casualties. However, most of these were bandits he had temporarily recruited from the stronghold. These bandits were used purely as cannon fodder.
One reason was that bandits were cheap, and the other was that the lowest-tier bandits had no intelligence; they fought purely on instinct. Using them as cannon fodder caused Lu Hai Kong no psychological burden and also served to intimidate the enemy. He certainly wasn't hesitant to use them.
In addition to these mountain bandits, Lu Hai Kong's casualties were minimal, thanks to the support of the Gongsun Crossbow Catapults and Archers. He managed to hold his ground with surprising ease.
Lu Hai Kong himself was amazed at how effortlessly they had repelled the enemy, and Gao Shun's Vanguard Legion hadn't even fully engaged yet. The enemy had already retreated.
However, Lu Hai Kong was well aware that the ease of this battle was solely due to the enemy's underestimation. They hadn't prepared adequately, and their heavy siege weapons like Catapults and Siege Towers were nowhere to be seen.
The upcoming battles would undoubtedly be more challenging!
Lu Hai Kong wasn't overly concerned about the future engagements. His current focus was on whether the enemy could withstand the night.
In fact, Lu Hai Kong now commanded over ten thousand troops, half of whom were infantry, primarily Gao Shun's Vanguard Legion. The other half consisted of cavalry, including Zhao Gang's Black Gale Legion and Wang Ti's Third Battalion.
During the daytime defense, these cavalry forces hadn't participated and wouldn't have been suitable for such a role. However, Lu Hai Kong had no intention of leaving them idle.
As night fell, and after Zhang Yan's troops had a brief rest, most of them fell asleep. Suddenly, the thunderous sound of galloping horses filled the air.
The Black Gale Legion, blending seamlessly with the night, appeared. Instead of charging into Zhang Yan's camp, they positioned themselves within bow range and unleashed wave after wave of arrows.
These arrows were lit with oil, and although many archers' flames were extinguished during their rapid flight, thousands of fire arrows still managed to find their mark within the camp.
In the 1619 book, a look without mistake!
Within Zhang Yan's camp, tents caught fire, and flames rose higher. The soldiers, who had just fallen asleep, were startled awake, frantically scrambling amidst the flames and arrows.
At this moment, the Black Gale Legion began to move, constantly utilizing their horses' mobility to circle the camp, firing arrow after arrow.
Under this assault, the entire camp descended into chaos.
The fifty thousand-strong force was not a cohesive unit; they had been hastily assembled and lacked any real coordination. In such a situation, once chaos ensued, it became extremely challenging to regain control.
"Damn it! Order the Zhang Family Army to mobilize! Split into two groups. One group, drive out those horse bandits! The other group, enter the camp and suppress those cowards!"
Zhang Yan reacted swiftly, and his elite Zhang Family Army quickly mobilized under his command.
With the Zhang Family Army's intervention, the chaotic camp gradually regained control. Just then, thousands of horse bandits charged out, and at the same time, Lu Hai Kong's fort gates had opened without anyone noticing. Lu Hai Kong, leading the Bodyguard Regiment and Gao Shun's Vanguard Legion, charged forward.
Passive defense was never Lu Hai Kong's style. If the enemy wanted to fight, Lu Hai Kong would not hold back. Today, he intended to leave none of these fifty to sixty thousand enemies alive...
(End of Chapter)
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