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Hong Tao could only follow Liu Guanfeng's advice now. After this ambush, the morale of his side had dropped significantly, making it unsuitable to launch an attack in a short time. If what Liu Guanfeng said was true, that the enemy was not just the village's defense team but rather the Vanguard army, then recklessly advancing could lead to the destruction of all his thousands of men.
Thus, Hong Tao announced to the Squad Leader: "Let's do everything according to Commander Liu's words. First, we will bury our fallen brothers, and then after cleaning up the battlefield, everyone can rest in place."
As everyone was preparing to leave, Hong Tao walked down from his position: "President Liu, please wait."
Liu Guanfeng turned to look at Hong Tao: "Vice Leader, is there something else?"
"President Liu, I want to apologize. Today's incident happened because I did not heed your advice. The responsibility lies with me, and when Big Leader arrives, I will personally apologize to him. I just hope you won't take this matter to heart."
"Vice Leader, you are now the backbone of our New World. There will be more wars ahead, so I hope you can truly learn from this battle. If you can learn from it, no one else will have to sacrifice unnecessarily because of you. Today, I had anticipated this and took some corresponding measures, yet we still lost nearly twenty percent of our people. If I hadn't thought of it or taken precautions today, the consequences would have been unimaginable. As for responsibility, I as Commander share that too, so when Big Leader arrives, I will bear it with you. Vice Leader, don't dwell on the sorrow of failure; step out of it. Tomorrow you will become stronger."
"Thank you for your guidance, President Liu. Hong Tao has learned a lot."
"Vice Leader, you should rest early." After saying this, Liu Guanfeng turned and left the tent.
At this moment in Xiao Ke Village, Lü Jiang was also assessing the situation from this battle and received information that was not optimistic. Although it was an ambush, he had lost over eight hundred men in total, and almost everyone who returned was injured.
Seeing this result made Lü Jiang furious; what was supposed to be an ambush ended up having no effect and instead resulted in such heavy casualties for his side. He was still contemplating how to explain this to Bian Dong.
Two days later, Zhang Yuru's army arrived almost simultaneously with Bian Dong. The arrival of both commanders signaled the beginning of war.
As soon as Zhang Yuru's army finished setting up the Barracks, Hong Tao and Liu Guanfeng went together to meet with Big Leader. The two stood outside the Main Tent, waiting for Zhang Yuru's summons. After a while, a Messenger ran out from inside: "Gentlemen, Big Leader requests your presence."
After exchanging glances with each other, Hong Tao led the way into the central tent. At that moment, Zhang Yuru was seated at the commander's chair while Fang Tianlong and others stood below him. All eyes were focused on Liu Guanfeng and Hong Tao.
When the two individuals reached the center, Hong Tao knelt on one knee before Zhang Yuru, while Liu Guanfeng merely bowed. Among the entire New World, only Liu Guanfeng performed a bow; the older Vice Leaders who saw Zhang Yuru also knelt on one knee. When someone inquired, Zhang Yuru provided an explanation: Liu Guanfeng was not from the New World; he was merely the President of the Merchant Guild and stood on equal footing with her, which is why Liu Guanfeng did not kneel before Zhang Yuru.
After exchanging greetings, Hong Tao stood up and said, "Big Leader, I have come to apologize today."
"Vice Leader Hong, do not rush. Speak slowly."
"Reporting to you, Big Leader, two days ago when we arrived here, there was a large enemy force not far from Xiao Ke Village. Therefore, we did not dare to advance recklessly. However, unexpectedly, they launched a surprise attack on us that very night. That ambush caused us to lose nearly twenty percent of our combat strength. We could only wait here for your arrival, Big Leader."
"Big Leader, the ambush cannot be entirely blamed on Vice Leader Hong; I, as the Commander, also bear responsibility. I humbly request your punishment," Liu Guanfeng added as he bowed to Zhang Yuru.
Zhang Yuru sat in the commander's position, looking at the two and said, "Vice Leader Hong and President Liu, please rise. I am already aware of your ambush situation and know that you both prepared very well. The enemy's surprise attack involved nearly ten thousand troops but resulted in only a twenty percent loss of their combat strength. They also suffered about a ten percent loss in their forces. From this point alone, it is clear that your defense was quite effective; there is no need for you both to blame yourselves."
"Rest assured, Big Leader, tomorrow I will personally lead the troops to repel the enemy," Hong Tao promised.
Zhang Yuru nodded and smiled as she said, "Good. Tomorrow we will meet with them and see who they really are."
Meanwhile, in Xiao Ke Village, Bian Dong also listened to Lu Jiang's report and gave Lu Jiang high praise, which made Lu Jiang forget about his failed ambush.
The next morning after breakfast, Hong Tao began assembling the troops and brought them to the camp gate. After half an hour, the horn sounded from Zhang Yuru's main tent, followed by the gathering of the main force. Zhang Yuru appeared clad in silver armor atop Xuanrou, with Xiao Wei behind her holding a blue banner emblazoned with her name in large characters.
Seeing Zhang Yuru leading her troops out, the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp immediately parted ways for her. Behind Zhang Yuru were a group of martial generals from the New World, each riding their own mounts.
Zhang Yuru led her army to a stop about five hundred meters from Xiao Ke Village. Upon seeing such a large force approaching Xiao Ke Village, the soldiers immediately ran inside to report to Bian Dong. Before long, sounds of gathering drums echoed from within Xiao Ke Village, followed by shouts from both people and livestock; it took quite some time before things quieted down.
Soon after, Bian Dong charged out from Xiao Ke Village with his men; this time he brought out a total of twenty thousand troops while Lu Jiang stayed close by his side.
At this moment, the two armies faced each other. Bian Dong turned to the nearby General and said, "Who dares to go over there and show the Rebels some color?"
As soon as Bian Dong finished speaking, a tall man in his thirties, holding a Great Axe, stepped forward and said to Bian Dong, "General, I am willing to go." After saying this, he mounted his Water Goat and moved to the center of the two armies.
Once he steadied his Water Goat, he held the Great Axe horizontally in front of him and pointed with his right hand at Zhang Yuru. "Rebels on the opposite side, listen up! I am Minor General Zheng Wen under the command of the pacification general Bian Dong. Who among you is not afraid of death? If you dare not come out, then surrender immediately, and I will plead with the general to spare your lives."
At this moment, Hong Tao could no longer hold back. He turned to Zhang Yuru and said, "Big Leader, let me go."
"Big Leader, let me go instead," said Fang Tianlong, who had a fiery temper.
"Big Leader, didn't we agree yesterday that I would take the lead?"
"Alright, you two don’t need to argue. There will be plenty of battles in the future. Today, let Hong Tao go first. Remember, Hong Tao, you must take down the opponent; otherwise, you will face Military Law," Zhang Yuru's authoritative voice rang out.
"Don't worry, Big Leader. I guarantee I'll take that kid down," Hong Tao replied. After signaling his Mount, Hong Tao's Mount galloped straight toward the front lines of both armies.
Hong Tao held his twin blades in hand and pointed his Steel Blade at Zheng Wen across from him. "Hey, aren’t you looking for someone? Here I am! Are you brave enough to fight me?"
Zheng Wen looked at Hong Tao with disdain. "You little brat haven’t even grown up yet and dare to come out? Go back and find someone more mature; otherwise, when I beat you up later, people will say I'm bullying a child."
"Zheng, stop trying to act tough with your words. Let’s see who’s stronger in battle."
After saying that, Hong Tao urged his Mount forward and swung his twin blades directly at Zheng Wen's head. Zheng Wen raised his Great Axe to block Hong Tao's attack.
Hong Tao withdrew his blades and swept his right-hand blade toward Zheng Wen. Zheng Wen leaned back to dodge this strike. As they crossed paths, Zheng Wen swung his Great Axe back at Hong Tao. Hearing the wind behind him, Hong Tao quickly ducked down onto his Mount to evade this move. In their first exchange, both displayed equal skill in offense and defense.
As the two individuals stood together, they were evenly matched in strength. Zheng Wen's Great Axe provided a significant advantage in power, while Hong Tao's dual blades relied on agility. The battle was intense and evenly contested, but as time passed, Hong Tao gradually gained the upper hand, as the effort required to wield dual blades was considerably less.
Noticing that Zheng Wen seemed to be struggling with his strength, Hong Tao launched a flurry of attacks. Seizing an opportunity while Zheng Wen's defenses were faltering, Hong Tao used his left blade to deflect Zheng Wen's Great Axe and struck with his right blade, cutting into Zheng Wen's left arm and causing blood to flow. Zheng Wen dropped his Great Axe, realizing the situation was dire, and quickly retreated back to his side using his Water-Stride Goat.
At this moment, Hong Tao laughed heartily, brandishing his Steel Blade and pointing at Bian Dong across the way. "What's wrong? Is this all you can send out? Pathetic! If anyone dares to step up, I'll send them home for free."
Just as Hong Tao finished speaking, another person charged from the opposing side. This man appeared to be around forty years old and wielded a pair of larger-than-average axes, clearly indicating he was a powerhouse.
Without hesitation, he approached the front lines and swung his axes at Hong Tao. Hong Tao defended himself with his dual blades. However, having already fought one battle, he found it increasingly difficult to withstand the greater strength of this new opponent compared to Zheng Wen.
Fang Tianlong observed the situation closely and saw that Hong Tao was on the verge of collapsing under pressure. He urged his Deep Sea Crocodile forward, which swiftly moved toward the two combatants. Fang Tianlong shouted, "Hong Tao, take a break! I'll handle this one!"
Realizing he could no longer hold on without risking his life, Hong Tao pushed back with a few strikes to force his opponent away before retreating. At that moment, Fang Tianlong had already reached Hong Tao's side. Hong Tao whispered, "This Little Guy is quite strong; be careful."
Fang Tianlong nodded and engaged in battle with the new opponent. One wielded dual axes while the other used a Double Hammer; their strengths clashed fiercely. As they exchanged blows, both warriors assessed each other: they were indeed well-matched.
Both were strength-based fighters with comparable power and limited techniques; their combat relied heavily on brute force. Sparks flew as they battled fiercely for over thirty exchanges. Eventually, both sensed their strength waning. Observers noted that both fighters were running low on energy. Meanwhile, Lu Jiang could no longer contain himself; he urged his Unicorn Water Buffalo forward from the ranks.
Seeing someone emerge from their side prompted action from New World as well. A green figure dashed out—none other than Hong Tao's father, Hong Bin. As a Vanguard Officer and former Vice Leader, he was also a White Tiger General. Riding his Four-Legged Sea Lion, he quickly reached the center of the battlefield and called out, "Tianlong, step back! Your uncle is here."
"Uncle, be careful!" Fang Tianlong feigned a few moves before jumping out of the fray.
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