Chapter 17: Rising Amidst the Chaos
Wisps of black smoke rose within Rongsha Fortress, flames enveloping the city walls, and screams echoed from inside—the cries of civilians living within the fortress.
Rongsha Fortress was far less resilient than Su Xiao had imagined. Twenty minutes later, waves of Flame Sand soldiers began pouring out through the breaches in the walls, fleeing the fortress.
It was time. Any later, and the soldiers would be completely wiped out. This state of rout was exactly what Su Xiao wanted.
"Os, take your men and intercept those deserters."
"Should we drive them back to hold the line?"
"Intercept them."
Su Xiao looked at Os with a smile, and Os suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Understood, my lord."
Os took 3,000 soldiers and began intercepting the fleeing troops in the surrounding area, stopping them under the banner of an execution squad. It wasn't just intimidation—Os also calmed the soldiers, calling it a strategic retreat.
These deserters were utterly despairing. They knew they were finished. Even if they survived, they would face harsh punishment—execution at worst, hard labor at best. Deserters in wartime had no good end, unless their direct commanding officer ordered the retreat.
Rongsha Fortress could not be abandoned. The garrison commander dared not order a retreat. The reason the fortress had fallen was too shameful. If that commander ordered a retreat and survived the battle, Grand Commander Niboso would skin him alive.
The number of soldiers under Os's command grew rapidly. Before long, he had intercepted over 5,000 routed troops. Morale was a strange thing—when these 5,000 deserters mixed into their own ranks, their spirits actually lifted slightly. However, since they hadn't been fully absorbed, they couldn't yet benefit from the War Lord's buffs.
After circling Rongsha Fortress a few more times, Os had over 10,000 soldiers behind him.
When the number of intercepted troops exceeded 13,000, Su Xiao immediately ordered Os to pull back.
The impact of Su Xiao's move on Rongsha Fortress was devastating. Not only was the friendly garrison commander inside the fortress dumbfounded upon hearing the news, but even the enemy dwarf commander was confused. He didn't immediately order his men to charge out, because he suspected Su Xiao might be a spy for Flame Sand—an ally of Peru.
With so many fleeing soldiers swept away, the defenders inside Rongsha Fortress were nearly beaten to a pulp. They too began to rout.
An hour later, the fighting within Rongsha Fortress subsided. Dwarf soldiers stood on the walls, staring at the Flame Sand troops behind the slope outside the city. The enemy had simply handed over the fortress.
Boom!
A flash of fire exploded in midair, forming a sword-shaped blaze—a signal that the fortress had been successfully captured.
The enemy defenders inside were on high alert. Just as they expected the soldiers outside to counterattack, Su Xiao ordered a full retreat.
Watching Su Xiao's forces march away, the dwarf commander on the wall tapped his helmet in utter bewilderment. The enemy had just withdrawn like that? It was suicidal. Even if they managed to escape this battlefield, Flame Sand's military law would see more than half of them executed. Abandoning a fortress and fleeing was a capital offense.
Su Xiao was in a good mood. He had simply had his men patrol around Rongsha Fortress a few times, and they had intercepted over 14,000 soldiers. Combined with his existing forces, he now commanded 26,000 troops.
The newly acquired 14,000 soldiers needed to have their units reshuffled, with new squad leaders assigned to each team, before they could truly be considered Su Xiao's men.
Leading his 26,000-plus soldiers, Su Xiao began withdrawing from the battlefield. He hadn't gone far before encountering another group of routed friendly troops—about 1,000 men who had been scattered by the dwarf forces.
Seeing this, Su Xiao realized that the surprise attack on Rongsha Fortress was a long-planned operation by the Kingdom of Peru.
This signified something terrifying: the Kingdom of Peru had amassed its strength, intending to first breach Flame Sand's defenses, then use Rongsha Fortress as a starting point to invade deeper into Flame Sand, ultimately reaching Sand Capital.
This wasn't mere speculation. The earlier encounter with Layton Redbeard and his Broken Horn unit was the vanguard of this war plan.
Layton Redbeard's Broken Horn troops had struck Flame Sand's defensive line from another direction. Simultaneously, the main Peruvian dwarf force attacked Rongsha Fortress, coordinating with traitors inside to breach it quickly. Using Rongsha Fortress as a foothold, they would widen the breach and eventually tear open Flame Sand's entire defensive line.
Realizing this, Su Xiao ordered his soldiers to change direction and begin circling around Rongsha Fortress. At this point, the area around the fortress had two layers of encirclement: the inner ring was the surrounded Flame Sand soldiers, and the outer ring was the Peruvian dwarf troops—the formation had completely reversed.
At Flame Sand's border, another Grand Commander's army was stationed to prevent a total collapse of the defensive line. That army couldn't move, because Peru had also sent another legion.
The battlefield formed an 'I⊙I' shape. The center of the circle was Rongsha Fortress. Su Xiao's position was between the ○ and the ·. The ○ represented the encirclement of Flame Sand and dwarf soldiers, while the two I's were the standing armies on both sides. These standing armies wouldn't easily join the battle, lest the enemy force break into their own territory.
Su Xiao's current position was a golden opportunity. All routed friendly troops would flee toward Rongsha Fortress.
Su Xiao split his forces into three groups of 2,000 men each—these were his original soldiers. As long as they stayed close to him, they would benefit from the [War Lord] buff.
The rest were routed troops, temporarily unreliable. But after reorganization and leading them to a victory, their morale would rise, and they would become fierce warriors. It wasn't that they were incompetent—their high command had been betrayed.
The three groups were led by Kaisa, Os, and Baha with Bubu Wang. Baha could speak, and the soldiers knew he was Su Xiao's trusted subordinate. His combat prowess also commanded respect.
The three forces split up, searching the surrounding area for routed troops. The dwarf offensive was too fierce. The friendly high command had initially thought this was a surprise raid, but it wasn't. The Kingdom of Peru had dispatched six elite units—the Male Sheep, Steel Horn, Storm Hammer, and others—all converging on the area.
It was fortunate that Grand Commander Niboso was renowned for his combat prowess. If it had been any other Grand Commander, they would have been completely overwhelmed by now.
Grand Commander Niboso was taking a beating, but Su Xiao's troop count was skyrocketing. As long as Niboso could hold out, Su Xiao wouldn't ignore the situation. But before that, he needed soldiers—more soldiers.
Four hours later, Kaisa, Os, and Baha returned with their men, followed by a dense mass of routed troops.
Preliminary estimates suggested the total number of soldiers exceeded 50,000. Seeing this, Su Xiao didn't hesitate. He led the routed forces in a retreat.
With his original 12,000 soldiers as the vanguard, Su Xiao gave the order to charge. After a high-speed march, the friendly defensive line appeared ahead.
"Soldiers, follow me and fight through!"
Os roared. Though somewhat stout, his eyes were bloodshot. He hadn't experienced a battle of this scale in a long time.
"Kill!"
Su Xiao's soldiers had a unique trait: their charge was somewhat chaotic, but they were fast, and their momentum was terrifying.
Seeing this force, a friendly garrison commander on the defensive line was greatly encouraged. Their strong reinforcements had arrived. Though they looked disorderly, the sheer aura was palpable even from a distance.
Boom, boom, boom!
Armor clashed against blunt weapons. With a single charge, Su Xiao's soldiers mowed down a large swath of the dwarf troops blocking the outer ring. These weren't elite units—the gap in individual combat strength was too obvious.
Su Xiao's original 12,000 soldiers were like a sharp blade, stabbing straight into the enemy formation. The routed troops behind them also gained some morale and began following the vanguard in the assault.
The charge didn't stop. By the time the leading forces slowed, they had carved out a bloody path.
"Excellent!"
The watching garrison commander slapped the armrest of his iron chair and stood up. As long as these strong reinforcements broke through, it would create a massive opening.
But before he could celebrate for more than a few seconds, his expression froze. His face turned from iron-gray to pale white, because those elite friendly troops had withdrawn, taking tens of thousands of routed soldiers with them.
Of course Su Xiao would retreat. He needed to return to his camp, reshuffle the routed troops' units, and appoint his original 12,000 soldiers as squad leaders, company commanders, and battalion commanders. Once the absorption was complete, he would lead over 50,000 soldiers back.
At that point, these 50,000 soldiers would receive the buff of +8 to all true attributes (excluding Luck) and a 60-point morale boost.
If morale reached 100 points, the 'Bloody Battle' effect would trigger: during melee cold weapon attacks, there was a chance to absorb the enemy's life force to heal oneself. With 50,000 soldiers under this buff, the resulting combat power was unimaginable.
Then, Su Xiao would return to the battlefield near Rongsha Fortress to face the elite Peruvian dwarf troops.
As for the threat from the violator—unfortunately for them, Su Xiao had already begun to develop his forces. If that violator came looking for him now, they would be met with a surging tide of soldiers.