Chapter 33: The Bound Hound
Having successfully defeated the forces under Spring Iron Ram, it meant that the 'Gate of Peru' had been completely opened.
The Gate of Peru both existed and did not exist; it was not a city or a fortress, but the war zone guarded by Spring Iron Ram.
Only by first capturing Segona City could there be a possibility of kicking open the Gate of Peru. Now, this 'gate' had been opened by Su Xiao, and as a reward, he gained 10,572 points of battle merit, along with 24 Epic Chests.
The Epic Chests Su Xiao obtained on the battlefield differed from those he had acquired in the past. Since the number of Epic Chests he had obtained had reached an astonishing 40, Bubu Wang had opened only 2 of them.
These Epic Chests, obtained from soldiers on the battlefield, were classified as war gains. They were different from those gained by Su Xiao personally killing enemies, and also different from those gained through the insect race he had previously commanded. The insect race was not entirely considered soldier-type units; the insect race mother, Jila, was originally Su Xiao's summon, so kills by the insect race were similar in nature to Su Xiao's own kills.
The soldiers Su Xiao currently commanded belonged to the Flame Sand Kingdom. Su Xiao was the Grand Commander of the Flame Sand Kingdom, and the relationship between him and the soldiers was not that of master and servant, but of superior and subordinate.
After the soldiers killed enemies on the battlefield, according to the judgment of Reincarnation Paradise, the chest rewards obtained were classified as war gains.
War-gained Epic Chests were not inferior; on the contrary, as products of a seventh-rank world, opening these war-type chests yielded higher and more stable rewards.
From what Su Xiao knew, these Epic Chests in his hands had a very low probability of dropping equipment or bloodline items. The highest probability was for Soul Coins, followed by various war supplies, such as consumable magic patterns and short-term collective buff consumables.
These war items were very useful. They could be used within this world or taken out of it and kept, sold to large adventure groups, etc. For such items, major adventure groups often purchased them at high prices year-round.
Opening the chests could wait for now. Su Xiao planned to open all the chests he had obtained in the near future.
The Battle of the Gate of Peru was a great victory. Su Xiao very much wanted to directly invade the Kingdom of Peru, but unfortunately, after this battle, he only had 120,000 soldiers left under his command, with over 80,000 killed in action. Compared to the 190,000 dwarven troops who died, this number of casualties was a great victory.
Spring Iron Ram was not easy to deal with. If not for destroying all of the enemy's war machines, the casualties on his side would have at least doubled.
The individual combat power of Su Xiao's soldiers was indeed strong, but the dwarves also had elites. The Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment was the hardest nut to crack. Of the 80,000 soldiers who died on his side, over 30,000 were killed by them.
Not only that, but only 50,000 of the Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment had come. Before the dwarven side was about to be defeated, Spring Iron Ram ordered the Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment to retreat. The advantage of cavalry was evident at this moment. The Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment withdrew over 40,000 troops, with about 10,000 killed in action.
Leading 120,000 soldiers to invade Peru was not bravery; it was suicide. Once inside Peru, they would not only face the defending forces ahead but also the dwarven troops encircling from behind.
In the final analysis, Su Xiao's troops were all infantry and light shield soldiers, without even cavalry. Being able to fight to this extent was entirely due to the War Lord and the Black Dragon Midis he had modified.
To invade Peru, these alone were not enough. Su Xiao did not ask for the elite troops of Flame Sand; Sand Capital would not give them either. What he needed were heavy shield soldiers capable of withstanding the charge of the Male Sheep troops, or to acquire a large number of war beasts and heavy armor to equip the existing 120,000 soldiers as heavy armored beast cavalry. If this could be achieved, he was confident he could lead 120,000 beast cavalry to invade Peru.
Without fighting a war, one does not know the value of cavalry. Cavalry ran too damn fast. For example, the Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment, if they wanted to retreat, they would break through with a charge and then withdraw. Infantry and light shield soldiers simply could not catch up. The soldiers had Gray Souls, it was true, but those war sheep also had them. Once both sides were on the same level, two legs really could not outrun four legs.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious of the Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment. If Su Xiao had a force of 100,000 Male Sheep cavalry, with the blessing of the War Lord and the city-breaking ability of the Black Dragon, he could overwhelm Flame Sand until they were dazed. In a few days at most, he could fight from the central battlefield all the way to Sand Capital.
Did Flame Sand have no troops corresponding to the Male Sheep Cavalry Regiment? The answer was yes: the Beast Cavalry Troops. This was not due to the stinginess of the Sand Emperor or the lack of big-picture thinking by the High Priest. The Beast Cavalry Troops could not be moved. They were stationed at the edge of the Ataro Great Desert in the central battlefield, serving as the final barrier for a certain region.
Once they were redeployed, the dwarven legions of Peru would drive straight in and invade the territory of the Flame Sand Kingdom.
Su Xiao lingered on the battlefield for a while before walking toward Segona City. He would first rest briefly and have Sand Capital send more soldiers and supplies. Otherwise, rashly invading Peru would only lead to total collapse.
Su Xiao was not worried that the Sand Emperor, Uno, or Carros would not send soldiers and resources. He had broken through the Gate of Peru. If those three did not show something, it would surely dishearten the other Grand Commanders.
Su Xiao had beaten Peru until they cried for their parents, yet received no support from Sand Capital. What about those who had been constantly losing? Would they one day be directly abandoned by Sand Capital, becoming sacrifices to appease public anger?
Some things were not entirely up to the Sand Emperor, Uno, and Carros. Under the pressure of the overall situation, whether they were willing or not, some things had to be done. During wartime, the Grand Commanders on the front lines were not to be trifled with.
For example, Grand Commander Niboso. He was clearly Uno's man, yet he had not formed a direct hostile relationship with Su Xiao. The reason was that Niboso knew that during war, as fellow Grand Commanders, some things could not be taken too far. Once the birds were gone, the good bow was put away.
The soldiers on his side began to clean the battlefield. The spoils obtained from enemy corpses were kept by whoever found them. Armor, weapons, and other war supplies were uniformly collected. The 120,000 soldiers worked until the middle of the night before finishing the cleanup.
At the same time, the situation on the central battlefield changed. Within the area around Segona City, all dwarven troops withdrew from the territory of the Flame Sand Kingdom overnight.
These territories had been swallowed by the dwarven troops through a series of previous battles. Now they could only retreat, falling back to several fortress cities on the same line as Segona City.
The dwarven troops formed a semicircular defense line between 'Segona City' and the territory of the 'Kingdom of Peru' to prevent Su Xiao from directly invading Peru.
These dwarven troops had no choice but to withdraw. The positions they originally occupied were actually fortress cities of Flame Sand. After the Gate of Peru was breached, Su Xiao's troops were like a nail, separating these dwarven troops from the Kingdom of Peru. Once war broke out, these fortress cities would be attacked from both front and rear by Su Xiao's and Niboso's forces.
A large number of dwarven troops abandoned one fortress city after another and retreated, falling back to the fortress cities on the border of the Kingdom of Peru. This allowed the troops on his side to easily recover a large area of territory. A conservative estimate was that one-tenth of the territories occupied over the years were recovered tonight. This was not a small amount; this territory was enough to support over 4 million civilians.
These territories were not desert but oases where crops could be planted. There were also open-air water sources that could be directly drunk, a freshwater lake, and the 'Erna River' on the border between the two countries.
For the civilians of Flame Sand, nothing was more precious than this, provided that the Flame Sand army could hold this territory.
That night, Grand Commander Niboso received news from Sand Capital. He was commended for his meritorious service in guarding the border fortress and was granted a pile of honorary titles. At the same time, many of his soldiers were also transferred. The commendation was to appease him; the transfer of soldiers was the real business.
Almost at the same time, the other five Grand Commanders on the central battlefield all received orders from Sand Capital. They were also granted a pile of honorary titles, and along with that, their soldiers, fine weapons, armor, etc., were also transferred.
All these orders came from the Sand Emperor. What was the purpose of transferring soldiers? The answer was, of course, a counterattack. After being beaten for so many years, there was finally an opportunity to fight back.
The Battle of Rongsha Fortress, the Battle of Segona City, and the Great Battle of the Gate of Peru were all fought by Su Xiao, without a single defeat. He had pushed the main force of Peru from the front of the central battlefield all the way back to the border of Peru.
At this point, if the Sand Emperor did not send troops to Su Xiao, not to mention what Su Xiao's side would do, even the civilians of Flame Sand would have objections.
Sand Capital, a small manor.
Candlelight flickered. In a dim study.
"Carros, am I having a nightmare? At first, I only gave him 20,000 routed troops. How did he..."
High Priest Uno sat in the darkness, staring at the flickering candle flame on the candlestick.
"Maybe... transfer him back to Sand Capital?"
"?"
Uno looked at Carros with utter disbelief, wondering why she would have such an absurd idea.
"Impossible. He will never set foot in Sand Capital again. Even if the Sand Emperor issues a transfer order, he won't be recalled. Go with the flow. We can't do anything to him, and he can't do anything to us."
Uno picked up a cup of black tea on the desk. He didn't notice that within this cup of tea, a trace of black-purple light flashed and disappeared.
Uno took a sip of the black tea and then leaned back in his seat, silent.
"Uno? Uno?"
Carros, across the desk, called out twice. Uno had no reaction. After a while, snoring came from his mouth.
Carros smiled and shook her head, then stood up and walked out of the study. As soon as she left the study, Uno's eyes suddenly snapped open. A black-purple light surged within his pupils.
Outside the study, Carros walked slowly down the corridor. She took off the silver pendant from her ear, on which a purple light flickered.
"That black-purple guy is back again, still looking for Kukulin Bai Ye? This might be an opportunity. Uno is indeed a fierce hound, really troublesome."
Carros threw the ear pendant out the window. Under the moonlight, behind her, a huge mouth full of sharp teeth seemed to appear.