Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 512 The Battle of Baimu City Begins

Ooh! Ooh! Ugh!
The cold wind howls, and bugles sound in protest.

With Xia Chuan's order from inside the main tent, the officers and soldiers of each battalion obeyed and left their tents. The entire Xia army camp area was now in motion.

The Dongchuan Allied Forces originally numbered only 30,000, but at the beginning of the war in Xiachuan, another 30,000 Yuhan-class soldiers were temporarily conscripted from Dongchuan City, bringing the total to 60,000. He left 10,000 to guard Dongchuan City, 10,000 to guard the newly acquired Dongchuan camp, and another 10,000 to Mulonghe to attack Zhongyang. So when the army actually reached the gates of Baimu City, he only had a little over 30,000 troops at his disposal.

The phrase "only" to describe an army of 30,000 is clearly inaccurate; it should be "a full army."

"Cloud Dragon Army, assemble!"

"First Battalion of the Left Route Army, assemble!"

"Second Battalion, assemble!"

"Third Battalion, assemble!"

"Fourth Battalion, assemble!"

"Five battalions, assemble!"

"Dragon Guards, assemble!"

Liu Yuan, Yue Feng, Zhou Yuan, Meng Yi, Zhao Long, and Hou Tong, the six generals of the allied forces, plus the Dragon Guard Commander Tie Xinchuan, issued seven orders. As soon as they were given, the thirty black tents outside the main tent were filled with Xia soldiers in full armor and weapons, who surged out like a tide and quickly formed a formation on the south side of the tents.

Yunjiao Army was located in the middle of the seven armies. All the soldiers were wearing Lei Kui Golden Armor, and their momentum was obviously much greater than that of the other six armies. The three armies on the left were the first to third battalions of the left wing army. The three armies on the right were the 1,000 Dragon Guards, and the fourth and fifth battalions of the left wing army.

The Great Xia had a total of nine military units stationed in Dongchuan City. The Huangjia, Chiyang, and Xiaoshan armies were assigned to a part of Mulonghe, while Xia Chuan led six military units: Yunjiao, Shanhe, Longyuan, Xiongwu, Lieying, and Beizhao.

The Great Xia military system stipulates that a level eight legion has a full strength of 5,000 men, which corresponds exactly to the size of an allied battalion. Therefore, among the six armies, only Yun Jiao is a separate army, while the other five armies, with a total strength of 10,000 men, are divided into the first and second battalions of the left flank army.

Waaah...

The originally urgent bugle call suddenly became long and drawn out. Six of the seven armies below had already completed their formation, except for the Dragon Guard on the right side of the Cloud Dragon Army, who was a step behind and only managed to reach the same level as the other six armies more than ten breaths after the bugle call ended.

Commander Tie Xinchuan, the Dragon Guard Commander, looked at the performance of his army, his already grim expression turning even more gloomy. He took a few steps forward and roared at his soldiers, "A great battle is imminent, and you can't even form proper ranks? You bunch of good-for-nothings, do you even deserve to call yourselves the Lord's personal guards? This set of Xuan Scale Silver Armor is a waste on you..."

Tie Xinchuan's roar naturally drew the attention of many officers and soldiers from the surrounding six armies. From the captains Zhou Yalong, Yuan Bai, Lu Yang, Luo An, and others to the ordinary soldiers, the faces of the entire Dragon Guard turned red. They then clenched their fists tightly, their hearts filled with shame, indignation, and self-reproach.

The events of Xia City two days ago were still fresh in their minds. They had joined the Northern Expeditionary Left Route Army with a criminal record.

People like Lu Yang, Luo An, and Yuan Bai, all members of the new generation of the Great Xia, have regarded themselves as the elite of the Great Xia since joining the Dragon Guard. At most, they would look up to the Yun Jiao and Long Wu armies, but they have always looked down on the remaining 28 numbered armies.

However, even before the war began, the pre-war preparations already hinted at the impending conflict.

It's normal that they can't compare to the Yunjiao Army. The first and second battalions of the left wing army are composed of elite troops from the Great Xia Dynasty, so it's understandable that they can't compare to them, since the Dragon Guard has only been established for a short time.

It's simply unacceptable that they can't even compare to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Battalions of the Left Route Army.

The 15,000 men of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Battalions were not elite troops of any special unit. In fact, they had only been formed for a short time, just in the last two years. The fact that they could not even compare to them only shows that the Dragon Guards had really neglected battle training. Now that they were on the battlefield, not to mention their combat strength, in terms of military discipline and appearance, they were even somewhat inferior to ordinary garrison troops.

Zhou Yalong, Lu Yang, Luo An, Yuan Bai, Zou Ping, and others, this group of the most outstanding new generation of talents in Great Xia, all realized this point at this moment. Only then did they realize how ridiculous their previous pride and complacency had been.

They all lowered their heads in unison, their faces filled with shame.

call…………

Seeing the reaction of his soldiers, Tie Xinchuan's face was gloomy, but he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"If someone knows shame, there's still hope!"

Unlike Yuan Bai and his group, Tie Xinchuan had served in Xu Ning's Black Arrow Army for more than a year, and even rose to the rank of Captain of the Scout Battalion, which is why he was appointed as the Commander of the Dragon Guard.

He had an understanding of the army's situation, so as early as the formation of the Dragon Guard, he was very clear about what the biggest problem of this army was.

The new generation of Imperial Guards has two most important characteristics.

First, he came from a very prestigious family; second, he was exceptionally talented.

Just think about it. In the Ice Abyss, resources and talent are almost equally important for cultivation. No one who can stand out from millions of people in the Great Xia Dynasty is an easy person.

They either come from incredibly privileged backgrounds like Luo An and Lu Yang, or they are exceptionally talented like Yuan Bai and Zhou Yalong. These two characteristics have led to almost all of the Dragon Guards being unruly, arrogant, and looking down on everyone. While they may not openly disobey military orders, they often outwardly comply but inwardly defy them.

Since the army was established in March of this year, Tie Xinchuan has been racking his brains about how to tame these people. He has tried both soft and hard methods, but none of them have worked. He has no way to manage the army, so much so that he has even considered resigning from his position as Commander of the Dragon Guard.

Han Yue's death was likely a punishment for his poor military management over the past six months.

Thinking of his wife's pained and ferocious face before her death, Tie Xinchuan turned his head to look at the massive army of Beishuo marching out from Baimu City to the south, gripping his broadsword tightly, his pupils almost spitting fire.

"The flag bearer step forward, all men draw their bows and prepare for battle!"

Swish...

Above the main army, Xia Chuan gave the order, and the Seventh Army quickly dispatched a five-man flag-bearer squad. The rest of the army took out their powerful bows, nocked arrows, drew their strings, and aimed at the direction of the Northern Shuo army.

"Chen Cang's reinforcements haven't arrived, yet they dare to take the initiative to attack. Lu Yang has really given me a big surprise..."

In mid-air, Xia Chuan watched the Northern Shuo army rapidly leaving the city. Although his face was expressionless, his tone clearly carried a strong sense of disbelief.

Xu Ning stood behind him and said in a deep voice, "Could it be that Cai Qiu secretly sent people? Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and Yuwen Tao's three armies have not made any moves for the time being. Cai Qiu has sent so many Xianyang-level troops, so he might send some of them to help here."

Xia Chuan knew whether the two major warlords had sent anyone or not.

The reason is simple: the Bone-Eating Path and the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor are currently under the control of the Great Xia Dynasty. Although they are unable to prevent the two major warlords from sending people over, they can still monitor whether their people have come and how many have come.

At the beginning of the war, he and Yuwen Tao deployed a large number of Cold-resistant level troops to secretly monitor the northern parts of Dongchuan and Jinyang, which are near the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor and the Bone-Eroding Road. So when Cai Qiu's hundreds of Manifest Yang level troops arrived, Yuwen Tao received the news immediately and quickly informed the other three armies.

As for Dongchuan City, there was no news coming in, which naturally meant that Chen Cang had not yet sent anyone over.

"I don't believe Cai Qiu is willing to send people to help Bei Shuo..."

Xia Chuan directly refuted Xu Ning's guess, stating that there was a grudge between the two major warlords of Chencang and Caiqiu, making it unlikely that they would cooperate so closely.

He pondered for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, continuing, "Beishuo has never been convinced of the might of our Great Xia. Now that Yang Zun has returned from Chencang, they probably feel they are qualified to fight us head-on. In addition, they regard Lu Yang's 10,000 troops as a trump card, so choosing to leave the city and take the initiative to fight is not too far-fetched!"

After speaking, Xia Chuan smiled, looked down at the Northern Shuo army that had already been organized outside the city, and a hint of contempt rose in his eyes.

"Very well, a single Whitewood City is nothing. Let the three Yang brothers see clearly just how vast the gap is between Northern Shuo and our Great Xia!" After saying this, Xia Chuan took a deep breath, gathered his energy in his throat, and said in a deep voice to those below, "Beat the drums! All troops, advance two hundred paces and prepare to fire arrows!"

The Xia army's encampment was 500 meters away from Baimu City. The Seven Armies fully deployed their formation, closing the distance by about 100 meters. If they advanced another 200 paces, they would close the distance by another 150 meters. As long as the enemy did not move, the distance between the two armies could be kept at about 200 meters, which was exactly the effective range of the bows and crossbows.

step... step... step...

At Xia Chuan's command, the Seventh Army Commander immediately followed suit, and all the soldiers, still holding their bows drawn, began to move forward slowly like an iron torrent.

It was indeed a slow pace, which could be heard from the frequency of the footsteps on the ground. But with more than 30,000 people moving forward at the same time, even if it was slow, the momentum was still extremely astonishing.

"All troops, draw your bows and prepare to fire!"

As soon as the Xia army began to move, Yang Jian also began to issue orders in the sky above the Beishuo army. Ten thousand elite Beishuo soldiers and fifteen thousand Beishuo garrison troops all drew their bows and aimed at the Xia army opposite them.

step... step... step...

The Xia army did not slow down because of the actions of the Beishuo army; they continued to march forward quickly and soon completed the 200 steps.

“Xia Chuan, you…”

"Fire arrows!"

Yang Jian seemed to want to make an opening remark, but Xia Chuan didn't give him the chance.

Swish swish swish…………

As soon as the order to fire was given, the seven armies of the Great Xia Dynasty unleashed their first volley of arrows.

"Fire arrows!"

Although Yang Jian's expression was unpleasant, his reaction was quick. After being interrupted, he immediately followed Xia Chuan and gave the order. The two were almost in sync.

Swish swish swish…………

Two waves of arrows—no, rather than arrows, they were more like two dark curtains of arrows—rushed straight toward the enemy formation.

boom…………

The number of arrows fired by both sides was simply too great. The arrowheads stirred up air currents within a radius of hundreds of meters, producing not a sharp hiss, but a sound like an explosion of air currents.

hum!
The two arrow curtains collided fiercely in mid-air. Although two to three-tenths of the arrows were knocked down, most of the arrows still pierced through the air and shot towards the front of the enemy's army.

Clang... Clang...

The exchange of fire took place at a distance of 200 meters, with no city walls to provide cover. Neither side had erected shields, clearly indicating that both sides had strong confidence in the armor worn by their soldiers.

The results fully proved that both of their confidence was correct.

Arrows carrying immense force struck the soldiers in the front ranks, instantly scattering countless sparks. Yet, not a single person in the front ranks of either side retreated.

"The elite of the Northern Shuo, they're all wearing hundred-forged silver armor, after all, it's been passed down for nearly a hundred years, their resources are still substantial..."

Looking at the Beishuo Army at the front, all of whom were clad in silver armor, Xia Chuan's eyes revealed a hint of amazement. The Great Xia's resources were quite good today, but most of the soldiers were still equipped with thousand-forged iron armor mixed with Lei Kui's skull.

Silver armor also exists, but currently only the soldiers of the Yunjiao, Longwu, and the newly established Longjinwei armies possess it.

It should be noted that the three armies combined only numbered 11000, while the Northern Shuo Army had a full 20000 men.

"Cloud Dragon Army and Dragon Guard, all troops, abandon your bows and advance! The remaining five armies, take turns firing arrows to cover the flanks!"

Xia Chuan banished the fearless thoughts from his mind and immediately issued the second command.

"boom…………"

The Yunjiao Army of five thousand men, along with the Dragon Guards of one thousand men, a total of six thousand men, simultaneously released their blood and qi, causing the entire battlefield to tremble violently.

"Follow me, and kill the enemy!"

With a roar, Liu Yuan, the commander of the Yunjiao Army, drew his broadsword. Although he possessed the cultivation level of the Manifestation Yang stage, he did not fly. Instead, he stood at the forefront of the Yunjiao Army and charged out directly.

"Charge!"

Five thousand Cloud Dragon Army soldiers, clad in Thunder Kui Golden Armor, lowered their heads slightly and followed behind Liu Yuan. Like tigers hunting their prey, or mountains collapsing, they covered more than ten meters in an instant, roaring and howling as they charged towards the Northern Shuo army.

"Northern Shuo Army, follow me to defend against the enemy; the rest of you, continue firing arrows!"

Faced with Xia Jun's crushing attack, Yang Jian showed no panic. He swung his spear sharply, lowered his head and roared, then his body transformed into a beam of light, heading straight for Liu Yuan on the ground.

The crossbows and arrows used by the Xia army and the Beishuo garrison of Baimu City were clearly of similar power, and the armor worn by the Beishuo army was not much different from that of the Yunjiao army, so the crossbows and arrows were meaningless here.

If bows and crossbows are useless, then direct combat is inevitable.

"First and second battalions, abandon your bows and attack from the left and right flanks; third, fourth, and fifth battalions, continue firing arrows!"

Upon hearing Xia Chuan's command from above, the soldiers of the First and Second Battalions, who were shooting arrows, immediately put down their bows and crossbows, drew their swords, raised their shields, and charged towards the Northern Shuo army from the left and right flanks respectively.

The remaining three battalions, totaling 15000 men, continued to fire arrows at the Northern Shuo army without moving an inch.

Bang………………

The spear pierced towards his ear. Although he knew it was Yang Jian, Liu Yuan showed no fear on his face. He didn't even try to block it. He was focused on the fastest-charging general from Beishuo, a general of the Xianyang level. Seeing the double swords in the other man's hand, his eyes flashed like lightning. He circled his body with his sword and slashed straight at the man.

Clang...

Just as Yang Jian's spear was less than five meters from Liu Yuan's face, a black knife suddenly appeared in front of Liu Yuan.

"Yang Laosan, your opponent is me!"

When two armies clash, the first to engage in combat is inevitably the strongest.

How could Xia Chuan possibly sit idly by and watch Yang Jian deal with Liu Yuan?
Liu Yuan was well aware that his opponent was not Yang Jian, which gave him the confidence not to make any obstructive moves, and he focused his attention solely on the enemy's Xianyang-level general wielding two swords.

As Xia Chuan and Yang Jian clashed, Liu Yuan led the Yunjiao Army in a fierce battle against the Beishuo Army. Like thunder and fire igniting the earth, the largest battle in the history of the entire southern foothills region was thus launched.

(End of this chapter)