The Demon Lords-Chapter 717 - 151 Despair_3

Next, the reactions of the Yan State and Cheng State armies were all within the Wild King's predictions.

However, this smoothness left the Wild King unsettled—it was all too smooth.

Although he was embarking on a risky strategy, he instinctively felt that the Southern Marquis of the Yan people shouldn't be so incompetent. With Yan State's elite troops all crossing the river, surely there should have been some preparations in their rear.

Fortunately, when scouts reported an impending large-scale cavalry attack from the Yan people, the Wild King finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This was more like it. The Southern Marquis couldn't possibly have done nothing all this time. He had to have shored up his defenses and put on a show for outsiders.

For instance, this time, the various Yan State armies and the Cheng State forces had reacted with much greater alacrity to his own army crossing the river than the Yan State's Left Army had at the Wang River last time.

But that was about the extent of it.

"Warriors of the Sacred Tribe, brandish your scimitars! Let out your roars! Show them who the true ruler of this land is!"

The Wild King did his best to boost morale. In truth, with so many troops crossing the river at once, he himself felt like a mere drop in the ocean. Trying to coordinate the entire situation was now practically impossible. But I just want to instill a bit more killing intent into these warriors beside me, he thought.

He believed his generals and the tribal chieftains understood that this was a true military gamble. From the moment they crossed the river, they had no retreat, only to advance, advance, and advance again, to crush the Yan people's military encampments.

The Wild King wasn't worried that these chieftains and generals would try to preserve their strength at this critical juncture. They might have grown complacent, perhaps a little lax. Some might already be impatient to return to their tents on the snow plains and enjoy the spoils of their raids.

But they were no fools; they knew what they had to do at this moment.

Their fighting spirit and morale were not an issue.

The only slight flaw was that his orders had been issued too hastily. To bind the chieftains to his cause and force them to deploy troops alongside him, he had practically coerced them, leaving them no time for deliberation before embarking on this military gamble with him.

The overly rapid river crossing had caused considerable chaos. After the three columns of wild people warriors crossed and converged, many chieftains who originally commanded three thousand warriors found they could only gather less than two thousand. There was a degree of intermingling between the various units.

This meant their formations were in disarray.

But in the Wild King's view, this was merely a minor flaw. He had actually intended to consolidate and reorganize his forces slightly after crossing the river. However, the Yan people had swiftly assembled several forces and charged, giving him no opportunity to calmly regroup.

But what did that matter?

Tear them apart! Crush them! Kill them!

All the wild people warriors were advancing, charging forward. With such momentum, the Wild King believed that neither the Cheng State army, the Yan State's local forces, nor even their Imperial Guards could withstand the roar of these over one hundred thousand wild people cavalry!

Sang Hu always stayed by the King's side. The troops he led were the elite of the elite, the best-equipped and most combat-effective unit in the entire wild people army, and also the most loyal to the Wild King.

However, when scouts from the front brought back the latest news, Sang Hu's previously composed expression suddenly changed.

He immediately galloped his horse towards the Wild King's royal banner and shouted, "Your Majesty, the Yan people have split their forces into nine columns!"

Hearing this, the Wild King bit his lip so hard that blood instantly flowed.

Years ago, to learn the Yan people's methods of warfare, the Wild King, along with two of his most loyal subordinates, had not hesitated to spend many years serving as an auxiliary soldier in Beifeng Prefecture.

Whether it was consolidating his power on the snow plains after returning, or in the subsequent wars against the Situ Family, no one ever questioned the Wild King's brilliant command.

Even the recent great victory in the Battle of Wang River was achieved under the Wild King's command and arrangements.

Therefore, the Wild King knew how to fight. Upon hearing Sang Hu's report, he immediately realized something was amiss.

A rabble is called a rabble because they fight relying only on momentary courage, much like street thugs brawling.

Previously, when the Qian State's border armies suffered severely from fraudulent enlistments, a general with a supposed contingent of three thousand would embezzle the pay for a thousand, focus on maintaining only five hundred household retainers, and then make up the numbers with another one thousand five hundred men who were neither proper conscripts nor effective auxiliary soldiers.

When real fighting broke out, the household retainers would charge at the forefront, with the filler troops following behind. In a favorable battle, this might not be apparent, but if the tide turned, it often led to a rout as swift as a collapsing mountain.

The reason Li Bao and Li Fusheng were able to fight their way directly to the gates of the imperial capital back then was precisely because this problem was rampant throughout the Qian State army. Once their most elite contingent was knocked out by an initial charge, the rest were ripe for the picking, spread out across the hills and plains.

Although it might be inappropriate to label the Cheng State army, the Yan State's local forces, and the Imperial Guards as a mere rabble, these hastily assembled, mixed forces, when faced with the sudden appearance of over one hundred thousand of his cavalry, had already shown considerable nerve by daring to gather and attempt resistance. Yet, they were now audaciously dividing their forces further...