Chapter 943: First Defeat
“This is the time for sublimation!”
Under Brach's order, Pasa immediately threw out two pseudo internal energies that carried the thoughts of gods and Buddhas. They turned into bright balls of light in the sky and pierced directly into the sky.
Then the lines of images of gods and Buddhas cast endless light.
A surge of power surged out of the bodies of the low-caste soldiers, and the cloth armor, which had seemed a little loose due to their poor physical fitness, suddenly became tight.
The slightly thin individual immediately turned into a muscular man, and continued to attack the shield guard line frantically.
"These Kushan lunatics!" Guan Ping's back teeth were almost broken.
Although everyone has learned that a general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers and that a merciful army cannot be commanded, they have also learned that they must shoulder responsibilities and earn the trust of their soldiers.
The Kushans before them did not consider the war losses at all and did not take human lives seriously at all.
Less than an hour after the war started, at least several thousand Kushans died, but the Kushans didn't care at all.
"Captain Wen, how long will it take to get rid of them?" Guan Ping looked at the battle line that was beginning to collapse and asked Wei Yan through voice transmission.
"The enemy has surrounded us from behind. If this continues, we will be in trouble!"
"Don't rush me, I'm already trying my best!"
Wei Yan killed the fake internal energy out-of-body in front of him and just felt annoyed. His headquarters did not have the advantage he expected against these Kshatriya teams. On the contrary, the opponents were unexpectedly difficult to deal with after being blessed with the visualization of gods and Buddhas.
"Give me another half an hour!" Wei Yan roared, and rushed towards another fake internal energy out of his body again. "After half an hour, we retreat!"
"Now send someone to inform General Lidas to be prepared. This time we are going to be in big trouble!"
"Qi!" Guan Ping also knew the troubles of the Kshatriya team, so he had to bite the bullet and face the challenges.
We can't just rely on the shield guard. If this goes on, we'll be surrounded and we'll be doomed.
"You are responsible for commanding the shield guards, and the headquarters follow me!" Guan Ping handed over the command of the shield guards to his deputy general, and then led his headquarters and rushed towards the left rear wing.
Defeat is inevitable, so we must leave them a way out in advance and never let them be surrounded.
Brach frowned as he watched Guan Ping's actions but said nothing. He expected that the Han Dynasty would not be easily surrounded, so he decided to just surround them on three sides and leave one behind.
The most urgent task is to drive away the Han army on the river bank and let all the Kushan soldiers disembark . There are still many low-caste soldiers who have nowhere to stay. They can form a pyramid on the boat, but there is no way to do so on land.
Guan Ping led his troops to intercept the elite troops on the left rear wing.
A tentative volley of arrows was fired, and at the moment of the assault, both sides fired a fierce wave of arrows at each other, all from the crossbows.
At this distance, the accuracy of the crossbow is very high. Unless one has the ability of super-speed reaction, he will definitely be hit by the arrow.
However, unlike the common soldiers who were killed immediately after being hit, the elite soldiers under Guan Ping and Banersai made good use of their weapons and armor to avoid being hit in vital parts, thus minimizing the damage they received.
There was a series of sounds of arrows colliding with weapons and armor, and both sides were almost unharmed in blocking this tentative rain of arrows that disrupted their rhythm.
After confirming that their opponent was no mediocre person, both sides became more alert, their pace suddenly quickened, and they tried to stay focused as much as possible.
At this time, the sound of metal clashing continued to ring out, and Guan Ping's sword flew across the shields in the hands of the Kushan soldiers, leaving deep marks on the shields.
The old soldiers in Guan Ping's headquarters looked gloomy. The feeling was not right. When their swords were chopped down, there would be an invisible impact that weakened the force and then bounced to the side. The opponent was very strong.
"Change your tactics! The enemy is elite infantry, and diagonal slashing is not very effective!" The centurion who was fighting on the front line reported his experience immediately and reminded the soldiers behind him.
"Oh no!" Guan Ping's heart sank. Although he had expected that the enemy's infantry who came around from behind should be good at parrying, the situation of the fight was not optimistic.
If we fail to defeat this army quickly and get bitten to death, our retreat will end in failure.
"We must win!" Guan Ping swept his eyes across, looking for the legion commander.
At this time, the only way to achieve the fastest victory is to kill the general.
"Found it, die!" Guan Ping roared and threw the big sword in the shape of the essence of heaven and earth in his hand out.
The great sword was offset by the opponent's attack using the same internal energy.
"General of the Han Dynasty, I am the Kushan Bande, and I will be the one to take your head!" The Kushan officer Bande shouted excitedly.
Hundreds of thousands versus tens of thousands, the advantage is on the Kushans and they have nothing to fear.
A violent aura exploded, and the shadows of gods and Buddhas were directly injected into his body, but Guan Ping was not moved at all.
Banersai’s internal energy is truly out of body. It’s not weak, but it’s not enough.
Guan Ping's hair, despite being suppressed by the clouds, was still moved silently by the vibration of his own internal energy, which he learned from Zhao Yun's internal energy burst.
The muscles also swelled suddenly, learning the muscle stimulation from Zhang Fei.
A roar, like the thunder of a tiger or leopard, exploded in Banser's ears, and Guan Ping danced with the heavy sword in his hand, condensed the momentum to the extreme peak, and then slashed down fiercely.
Guan Yu’s personal tactics, Spring and Autumn Period!
Although the greatsword and the broadsword are different, they are both very suitable for killing with one blow.
Banersai was also very confident in himself, and he collided with Guan Ping without dodging or retreating.
“Poof~”
Guan Ping spat out a mouthful of blood. This was the price of forcibly using Zhang Fei's moves.
His opponent, Banerse, flew backwards at the moment of the collision, and his life or death was unknown.
Guan Ping's attack is not so easy to block.
As the second generation of generals, Guan Ping learned all the top-notch moves, especially those from Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, without any reservation. This also made Guan Ping a person with terrifying fighting power due to his internal energy leaving his body.
Dou Jiang's victory boosted the morale of the headquarters, but the Kushans did not suffer a defeat as Guan Ping had expected.
"Oh no, that wasn't the enemy's legion commander!" Guan Ping's heart suddenly sank to the bottom, but he didn't show it.
"Kill, the enemy general has been defeated, our army will win!" Guan Ping roared.
Although he was not the expected legion commander, killing a person with internal energy out of his body was also a very morale-boosting thing.
"Strike with all your strength. No matter how the opponent parries, cut off the defense and parry!"
Guan Ping's captain roared. As a swordsman from Guan Yu's own army, he found the best way to defeat his opponent.
The opponent's defense is not unbreakable. As long as you launch the most violent attack, you can kill the opponent directly.
However, violent slashing naturally requires abandoning defense. With this choice, casualties on both sides began to soar rapidly.
"This time I really took on a very troublesome task!"
Wei Yan noticed the fierce battle in Guan Ping's headquarters, and a hint of surprise appeared on his fierce face. Then he stared at the boats on the river, with a ferocious look on his face.
No wonder Xu Shu told them to preserve their own manpower and delay time.
The war of empires was still somewhat beyond imagination after all, and they had absolutely no chance of winning against an opponent of this quality.
"Changshui, Shesheng, charge head-on with all your strength! Sound the retreat! We're retreating!"
Wei Yan looked at the Kshatriya team, of which about half were left, gritted his teeth in dissatisfaction, and then gave the order to retreat.
There was no other way. Even if they could really defeat this group of people, Guan Ping would not be able to defeat any of their legions, and they would be surrounded by the enemy. It would be difficult for them to escape if they were subsequently pursued.
It would be better to retreat quickly and preserve the greatest possible strength.
Wei Yan took a deep breath and looked at the endless sea of people in the distance again. Was it such an opponent that Xiang Yu defeated head-on in the past?
You don’t know until you fight. Only when you really fight will you understand what kind of power is required.
Moreover, Xiang Yu had accomplished defeating a larger force with a smaller one more than once. No wonder he was unique throughout the ages and was hailed as the pinnacle of military form. It was truly terrifying.
Only those who have actually faced hundreds of thousands of enemies will understand how terrifying a reversal in a battle can be.
After an unreserved outburst by Changshui and Shesheng, under the cover of a rain of arrows, Wei Yan's headquarters formed the rear guard while the shield guards retreated in an integrated manner.
The order to retreat was swift and decisive, and the evacuation was successful at a level that was almost beyond imagination.
At this moment, Wei Yan's respect for Zhao Yun has reached a certain level, second only to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. His talent of calmness is really useful.
The retreat was orderly, clean and neat, with strict formation. Those who didn't know would think that they were not losing the battle, but a purposeful strategic shift.
After all, under the clouds, they were still on a cold weapon battlefield. As long as they remained calm, no matter how bad the situation was, it would not be that bad.
Of course, this was largely due to Brach's order not to pursue.
Brahe knew very well that the Han Dynasty would not be without support.
Moreover, the enemy's retreat was very methodical, and it was hard to say whether they were feigning defeat in order to lure the enemy deeper into our territory.
Instead of being attracted by a sniper unit, the best strategy is to reorganize the army early and head towards Samata City as soon as possible to complete the encirclement.
"Let's retreat. We don't need to worry about General Lidas. They are fast and have an advantage over us in clearing out the miscellaneous soldiers and retreating."
Wei Yan and Guan Ping were very helpless after they joined forces. They had started off badly and were defeated first, which was not a good thing no matter how you looked at it.
But there was nothing to be done. The gap in military strength between the two sides was so great that even resistance was a luxury.
At the beginning, when the Kushan soldiers had not yet completely landed, they still had a slight advantage. When the other side's landing soldiers were unable to estimate, they were defeated.
"Report! General, Generals Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, and Zhao Guang are on their way with their troops. They will arrive in three hours!"
Wei Yan was stunned. This time the reinforcements arrived much faster than he had imagined. It seemed that they could fight!
"How many people are here?" Wei Yan grabbed the messenger and asked.
"Generals Guan Xing and Guan Suo will lead 10,000 elite soldiers, Generals Zhang Bao and Zhang Shao will lead 5,000 elite soldiers, and Generals Zhao Guang and Zhao Tong will lead 8,000 elite soldiers. They will all be able to arrive in three hours!" the messenger repeated.
"Hahaha, God help me!" Wei Yan shouted, "No more retreating! Adjust the formation and prepare to ambush them!"
"Wenchang, even if they all arrive, our army is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of manpower!" Guan Ping advised.
"Hehe, most of them are just miscellaneous soldiers. Have you forgotten that I can replicate General Zhang's talents!" Wei Yan grinned.
He was busy fighting the elite troops before and had no time to spare. This time, with a lot of reinforcements, he can use Zhang Fei's talent. The talent of fear is very good at dealing with the weak.
"Tanzhi, believe me, I just want to delay them!" Wei Yan said with a smile, "The longer we can delay, the better it will be for General Guan!"
Guan Ping remained silent. He was tempted by Wei Yan's proposal. He was also not lacking in strategic vision and was well aware of such obvious things.
"Besides, our reinforcements have just arrived and the enemy doesn't know our details. We might be able to launch a surprise attack!" Wei Yan's eyes lit up. Even though he had been educated many times and became mature and steady, he still had that wildness in his bones.
Faced with a huge disparity in troop strength, he not only wanted to delay time, but also wanted to severely damage the opponent.
Guan Suo and others on the other side were somewhat surprised when they received Wei Yan's order.
"An active attack? Is Wei Wenchang crazy?" Guan Suo said in disbelief.
"Not entirely. If it is really as Wei Wenchang said, our army is not completely without chance!" Guan Xing retorted.
Although Wei Yan's plan was very strange and risky, it was not without the possibility of success, and the probability of them withdrawing was not low, so it was worth a try.
"My father once said that Marquis Huaiyin and Marquis Guanjun praised him for having the spirit of a great general. We might as well follow his orders and give it a try!" Guan Xing exclaimed.
"Okay! I'll listen to you!" Guan Suo saw that his brother had even mentioned Guan Yu and Han Xin. Although he felt uneasy, he still chose to believe him once.
While Wei Yan was making his plan, Xu Shu also received the news. He was keeping a close eye on the troops coming from the Ganges River.
"So you really want to fight a war of annihilation directly, and then use the momentum to counterattack?" Xu Shu said with a sneer, rubbing his temple.
If the Kushans had such a plan, then the situation Guan Yu would face next would be a desperate situation comparable to being surrounded by enemies on all sides and ambushed from all sides.
There is no way to retreat at this time.
Once Guan Yu retreats, the enemy will never give up the pursuit, and will pursue him continuously with high intensity. By then, Guan Yu's headquarters will be defeated and the subsequent reinforcements will be driven back, which will be a disaster for the army.
The Han army soldiers are also human beings. If they are trapped in such a desperate situation, they might be defeated this time.
However, Xu Shu had no intention of retreating. From the moment they bit the hook, either they would be caught or they would drag the Kushans into the water completely.
"Mobilize the troops! I want to see how you Kushans can command such a large force!"
Xu Shu sneered and put the information aside. Sometimes having a large number of people is not necessarily a good thing.
Do you really think that everyone is Han Xin? Let's see how you Kushans die then.
