Badge in Azure

Chapter 1166: Southwestern Strategies (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was not until the sixth day, when Saleen finished crafting a set of equipment for Qin, that the demons brought some substantial news back. Pompeii City mobilized a 50,000-soldier army and they were heading east for New Demon City.

An army consisting of 50,000 soldiers was only considered a small force if one talked about Qin and the Holy See, but in a place as small as the southwest, a 50,000-soldier army was already considered grand.

Saleen did not bother leaving his tower when he heard the news, and said to the commanding officer of the allied forces instead, “Tell Nailisi to take care of any support you’d need. This would be little more than to gauge what we can do. They would send no more than two to three thousand soldiers here.”

The military officers of the allied forces were hardly fettered. New Demon City was built too strong after all.

If a 50,000-soldier army was to attack a city like that, they would have to pay a hefty price even if they managed to take it, unless the city had little more than 2000 soldiers stationed.

The allied forces consisted of about 24,000 soldiers and there were many demon forces going in and out of the city, which amounted to an additional 10,000 soldiers.

Morale was strong and Saleen’s orders were quickly relayed. Nailisi took charge as the supreme commander of the Kingdom of Metatrin and mobilized the demons, preparing them for a fight.

Nailisi had initially been versed in hit-and-run tactics. She learned a lot about large scale battles in the battles fought in Ceylon City. What she did not lack was veteran generals and commanders who were versed in battles.

She did not even kill enemy generals and simply retained them by her side, learning about war.

Nailisi had become capable enough to handle most battles with just several months of training.

None of the generals and commanders in the southwestern forces were idiots. While few battles were fought in the southwest throughout the years, most of the generals and commanders actually left the southwest to participate in battles.

Most mercenaries outside of Sikeqinya came from regular armies. The Qin people dared not get rusty in battle. There were even times where scuffles at the borders were fought by generals and commanders who longed for a fight.

The 50,000-soldier enemy force marched for the southwest. However, due to them having to march from flatlands into difficult terrain, the Pompeii City’s convoy had to stop about 200 miles away from New Demon City. They had to switch horses or continue by foot.

The demons gained thorough intelligence about the army while watching from high above in the sky, reporting back to Nailisi. The ratio of mages was rather high in the army, as they were about 500 mages in their ranks.

From Nailisi’s perspective, the mages were little more than scraps, as there was only one level nine mage in their midst. Most mages were below level six.

In contemporary battles, an army without a powerful professional taking charge was a joke. There had been eight level ten professionals near Daliang City, both sides having four.

If there had not been for level ten professionals on the Holy See’s or Daliang City’s sides, the battle would have been over.

Saleen continued to bolster his territory’s power in the tower. With Sika at Saleen’s side, Nailisi, who was left in charge, grew rather boisterous and full of herself. There was no use for Sika knocking sense into her, as it was how just Nailisi behaved.

She was having a good time chatting with the generals and commanders in the war room. When her demons reported back, Nailisi pointed at the magic map. “Everyone, Pompeii City’s forces will arrive tomorrow. Who among you are willing to go out and fight with me!”

The generals looked at each other and one of them said, “Madam, we have the city to lean on and even if the enemy forces are twice the size of what they are now, we will be able to hold the city without incurring many casualties.”

What that general meant was it was stupid to go out of the city and fight.

Nailisi snickered. “You’re telling me you’re afraid of a 50,000-soldier enemy force? I held back over a million-soldier one back in Ceylon City.”

“Madam, even if you intend to crush the enemy’s morale, there’s no need to fight head on. We know the terrain and the enemy is not moving fast enough. We have more than enough time to lay out traps behind the river. There is only one level nine sorcerer in the enemy’s ranks, and they won’t be able to break the traps...”

Nailisi cut them off. “Are you Qin a bunch of cowards? I’d bring the demons onto the battlefield. You can stay at the rear if you want to. I don’t mind you picking off any remaining scraps.”

The generals and commanders were pissed off, but given how Nailisi was a collaborator and she had actually asked to lead the charge, taking the most dangerous job on herself, there was no point for them to lash out at her.

“We’ll proceed per your plans then, madam.”

“Hmph, I’m simply reminding you that there will be more and more powerful ones joining the fray in future battles. I’ll set an example and show you what true battles are like. Leave 5000 to garrison the city and the rest follow me outside the city!”

The generals and commanders mobilized the army according to Nailisi’s orders. Some went to the Magical Element Tower and discreetly asked to meet Saleen, but he did not bother entertaining them, intending to have them listen to Nailisi for once.

Saleen knew that all of the Qin troops were elite and would not lose even if they had to clash with the enemy head on. Unless there were a level 11 professional in the enemy’s ranks, nothing could go wrong with Nailisi’s plan.

The generals and commanders, on the other hand, knew psychology well enough to know that if Saleen had no objections with Nailisi’s pompous ways, then there would not be any problems.

However, the generals and commanders still did their own calculations. Nailisi had them bring no less than 19,000 soldiers into the battlefield, leaving 5000 behind. They deemed the garrison number to be too small and arranged for 3000 militia units to be assigned to defense as well, bolstering the garrison to 8000. They might have deemed the move safe, but Nailisi snickered.

It would usually take two to three days to gather forces that large, but given how all of them were elites, one day was more than enough to have them gathered. Logistics was taken care of at the same time as well.

The battlefield was only about 100 miles away from the city and there was little need for logistics. Nailisi distributed her equipment before venturing out. The equipment was Devil Flying Armors for the generals and commanders of the southwestern allied forces.

Defensive parameters of the Devil Flying Armors were definitely inferior to the ones worn by the demons, visible from the fact that they were even several times thinner. However, magic arrays within the helmet enabling voice transmissions were retained, enabling them to hear Nailisi at all times.

Nailisi took her own demon army and ventured outside the city, lining up her forces in the plains. She looked back and saw the generals and commanders doing the same. She took her devil form and held weapons in each of her four hands, swinging them about, and roared.

10,000 demons roared into the sky with Nailisi, letting out the pent up, inexhaustible vigor inside them.

The southwestern allied forces looked on with envy. Their troops looked at the demons, who were all over five meters tall, and did their own calculations. If someone took on a demon like that, they would need at least two to three soldiers to deal with a single demon.

If someone were not an elite like they were, a conventional army unit would need 30 to 50 soldiers to take on a single demon.

It was said that the southwest had demon mercenaries, and they deemed themselves fortunate. The demons would, in time, become comrade-in-arms to southwestern Qin.

Nailisi held Grey Memory, the semi godly square shield, Sword of Rules and a demon flail.

The 10 meter-tall devil led the 10,000 demons behind in a sprint. The earth shook as Nailisi cast a devil skill: Demonic Stampede, boosting the morale of the demons to the max.

Nailisi had once only been able to use the skill on the battlefield and was unable to maintain it for long. She was capable of casting Demonic Stampede over a hundred miles away. While morale was already boosted to the max, their power continued to stack.

The southwestern forces were all riding horses. The Qin army only found the rumors true when following the demon army: when demons ran, they were the same speed as warhorses.

The swordmasters in the midst of the troops knew that if they ran at full speed, they could easily overtake the demons. However, they were unable to do so for 100 miles and still fight when they reached the battlefield.

Conventional cavalry units were not even capable of catching up to the demons. Only elite troops riding on level one warhorses were capable of keeping up.

Nailisi was not actually charging without heed. The demon scouts in the air continued feeding Nailisi updated information. Nailisi stopped the army’s advance about 30 miles away from the enemy and took a break.

The demons loosen the blood bags they carried with them and drank like mad. They rested and continued to talk about longing for a good fight, putting tension at all time high.

All spies from Pompeii City had been disposed of and the demon scouts suffered heavy casualties as well. However, Nailisi did not mind. Isabella was the only follower by her side in this battle.

Nothing was permanent in the battlefield. When fighting with the Holy See army, the demons would simply eat their enemies. However, when fighting against Qin people, the demons took to drinking animal blood to bolster their ferocity instead.

The Pompeii City’s army got increasingly close and Nailisi had the demons shape up and be armed when the enemy was about three miles away, making for high ground. As soon as they scaled the high ground, there was a gentle slope downwards, which was perfect for charging.

While Nailisi had been boastful around the generals and commanders, she had actually ordered the demon scouts to draw a detailed map of the area’s terrain, finding a good spot to do battle.

“Everyone, just look at how I’m taking them down.” Nailisi turned on the voice magic array of the Devil Flying Armor and relayed her words to all of the generals and commanders. She came before the top of the high ground when she was done saying that, before leading the demons charging downwards.

The southwestern allied forces were about two miles behind the demon army. At such a distance, the cavalry served as reinforcements when the demon army’s charging speed slowed.

It would also allow the infantry units behind the cavalry units to get down their horses and get organized. The Qin’s career soldiers synchronized seamlessly, but when the allied forces’ cavalry reached high ground, they found the scene before them unbelievable.

Nailisi’s demon army had carved the enemy’s army into over a dozen sections and the demons were busy killing away at the flanks.

The enemy’s two vanguard regiments were all eliminated and the demon army was busy with Pompeii City’s main forces: a main army consisted of three battalions. Behind the three battalions, there was still one heavy battalion and behind them, reserve forces consisted of 8000 soldiers.

None of them were left intact. The demon army carved through the enemy’s formation like a sharp knife, and furthermore, they behaved as if they were hitting the enemy with the back of the knife, crushing the enemy’s skull with the blunt side.

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