Chapter 495: Peerless in the World! (1)
Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations
The Sixteenth Regiment beat their retreat instantly, and in that empty space they vacated, the First Main Company did not stop firing. The shrill cries of the arrows flying did not stop at all, and the Wolf Cavalry soldiers and Dog Tribe Infantry soldiers continued falling to the ground. As compared to the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers they had faced previously, these two Beastmen were much easier to deal with.
Previously, when they had been rescuing the surrounded Berserker and Gold Crow Tribes, the five hundred soldiers of the Peerless Battalion First Main Company had already awed and frightened off two of the WanShou Empire Regiments with their fighting prowess. Now, facing two Regiments which were arguably lesser than those other two, and with such a large number of allies beside them, the First Main Company started firing at will in confidence. Despite being archers, they did not pull back, instead advancing slowly to the front lines to the space which had been vacated, even as they continued firing rapidly. Within moments, the charging onslaught of enemies at the Sixteenth Regiment’s previous position was also almost emptied.
As the Sixteenth Regiment retreated, the Heavy Infantry Regiment and the Peerless Battalion advanced slowly together in perfect unity. As Hua Feng issued order after order, the other Main Companies slowly joined in the fray as they got into position.
Ever since the Peerless Battalion had grew to the strength of five thousand men, this was the first time they had all been together on the same battlefield. Five thousand Jewel Masters… elite archers with Consolidated Bows… what kind of notion was that!? Their shooting was actually really simple, with two Main Companies per group, in a cascading type formation, shooting continuously in proper sequence. Originally, these two WanShou Regiments, which the Six ZhongTian Regiments had been having so much trouble with, was instantly now being suppressed so simply. Along with the horrifying shrill sounds that struck terror in the hearts of all who heard them, waves of Wolf Cavalry Soldiers and Dog Tribe Infantry soldiers fell to the ground. In truth, it was not just the enemies, even the allied soldiers were so caught by surprise they did not understand what was going on, but at least the original pressure on them was greatly reduced.
Of course, even the Peerless Battalion soldiers could not be perfect, and their arrows could definitely miss. Even so, they were far more accurate than any ordinary archers, and with those highly penetrative arrows fired from Consolidated Bows. In this, it could be easily seen by the number of severely wounded or killed after getting shot by the arrows.
The flank, originally wheeling on the edge of danger and awaiting rescue… within the time for a few dozen breaths, the pressure was gone.
After the Peerless Battalion entered the battlefield, the Wolf Cavalry Regiment and the Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment soldiers could no longer take another step forward. Under the constant onslaught of arrow raining down upon them, all they could do was leave corpses on the wake.
Some observant souls had managed to count on behalf of the Peerless Battalion… twenty four salvos of arrows, and the remnants of the Wolf Cavalry Regiment and Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment retreated in bad shape… with barely a thousand men left in total.
It was after all two entire powerful Regiments from the WanShou Empire! To any ZhongTian Empire soldier who saw that sight right there, it was like a dream… an illusion. Countless of them had thought they were about to die, and yet the fight suddenly ended before they knew it.
Of course, the Heavy Infantry soldiers by the side of the Peerless Battalion were totally shocked. They raised their tower shields, still in full disbelief. These fellows that trained with them everyday, they had actually created such a terrifying miracle. “PEERLESS IN THE WORLD!” A howl that rang through the skies, filled with excitement, rang out from every single one of the Peerless Battalion soldiers.
Indeed, they were the Peerless Battalion, Peerless in the World! In this battlefield in the north borders, in front of hundreds of thousands of ZhongTian Northwest Army soldiers, this was the first time that they had displayed their full strength to the world. They used their actions to prove to the world that though they might have been from the Ruffian Battalions of the world, they were the strongest… the Peerless Battalion was the absolute strongest!
Even with the stable-ness of the seven God Tier Archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit, when they heard the earsplitting howls of the Peerless Battalion soldiers, they couldn’t help but feel their blood boil with ardour as well. In their hearts a name rang out, the one who had created the Peerless Battalion.
Indeed, he had brought about a true miracle, and when this miracle descended upon their old homeland, who was to say that they would not be able to advance another miracle, to create a magnificent, mighty revival of their Empire!
“Let’s move out, target the left flank. All of you listen to me properly, when we get to the left flank, I want you all to target the Unicorn Cavalry soldiers, but do your best not to harm any Unicorns Heavenly Beasts. Men, send someone to Tribe Leader Ma Long to prepare to receive those Heavenly Beasts with his tribesmen warriors.”
The war was still continuing, but this was just the start of a miracle.
Once again, they ignored the center lines. Once they achieved the decisive victory, the Peerless Battalion swiftly turned to the left flank, their targets the Unicorn Cavalry Regiment and the other Dog Tribe Scimitar Infantry Regiment.
When the Peerless Battalion quietly left the right flank, only then did the commanding officers of both sides realise something was not right. In fact, both sides actually had the same feeling, that of abrupt shock. However, one side was a pleasant shock filled with happiness, while the other side was that of utter disbelief.
“What’s going on? What happened on the right flank?” The overall commanding officer of the Northwest Armies, one of the three great supreme commanders, Admiral Brando of the ZhongTian Empire exclaimed to his subordinate, his eyes filled with shock. He just received news that the two enemy Regiments on the right flank had fled with less than a tenth of them alive.
They had warred with the WanShou Empire for so many years, and this was truly the first time Admiral Brando had met with such a circumstance. A moment ago, he had just been about to dispatch men to reinforce the right flank which had been in severe danger, and the next moment, a fresh report had come.
“It’s the Peerless Battalion, they truly produced a miracle!” The one who spoke was an old man of about sixty or older, standing beside Admiral Brando in full uniform. He was Shen Ji, Shen Bu and Shen Yi’s godfather and Master, the Vice Commander of the ZhongTian Northwest Army, General Shen Wu.
“Wait… do you mean to say… that strange Battalion that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace used all the Ruffian Battalions to form?” Naturally, Admiral Brando knew of the Peerless Battalion, just that prior to this he had never paid much attention to it. It was not to say that he attach much importance to them, but he was unable to do so. After all, the matter of having the Heaven’s Expanse Palace intervene in such matters was extremely sensitive, and if they actually intervened in the war, it might not be a good thing in the big picture. As such, he had always pretended not to notice anything about the matter, allowing Shen Wu to handle everything.
“The Peerless Battalion actually has such powerful destructive powers? How did they do that?” Admiral Brando exclaimed in surprise towards Shen Wu.
Shen Wu gave a bitter smile and said: “Admiral, I’m not sure myself. I’ve sent people to check for myself, and I think I should get some news back soon.”
It didn’t take long before the Seventh Legion Commander Shen Ji personally got to the headquarters.
“Greetings Commander in Chief, Vice Commander.” Shen Ji’s face was filled with both shock and excitement. Having heard about precise news earlier, it was hard for him to believe it as well. However, the facts were right in front of his eyes, and he had no choice but to accept it. He knew that things were crucial, and immediately went personally to report to the headquarters. After all, only he was sufficiently knowledgeable and familiar with the Peerless Battalion, and once they had taken down the two Regiments on the right flank, it would become the Northwest Army Command’s top level secret.
“Shen Ji, what is going on?” Admiral Branco asked solemnly.
“Consolidated Bows! Commander, Consolidated Bows! Those Peerless Battalion soldiers are ALL Jewel Masters… five thousand Jewel Masters! Oh my god, it is five thousand Jewel Masters!! They are mostly Physical Jewel Masters, and with their powerful Consolidated Bows, within over twenty salvos of firing they took down the foes from the two Regiments.”
“Wait. What? All Jewel Masters? How is that possible? Weren’t those soldiers all from the original Ruffian Battalions?” Shen Wu couldn’t help but exclaim.
Shen Ji gave a bitter smile and said: “I do not know the exact state of affairs. After all, our estimation of the Peerless Battalion was already extremely high, but I never expected that it was still a severe underestimation of them. They have now gone to the left flank. Because they had the background of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, I did not direct them… Commander, Vice Commander, what should we do now?”
Admiral Branco stood up abruptly and he said: “What do we do? What else do you need me to say? Send my orders, Shen Ji, I want you to personally lead my Personal Guard Regiment to support the Peerless Battalion. No matter what, do not let any harm come to them. Hurry, go immediately. The presence of the Peerless Battalion might be the exact thing that can save our entire Northwest Army, to turn the tides of this supposedly impossible situation.”
As the commanding officer and an experienced Admiral, it was without question that Brando could instantly sense that the presence of the Peerless Battalion was a perfect chance for them. Next, he gave another order for his two reserve Heavy Cavalry Regiments to move out into the battlefield. They only had one order, to work together in ensuring the safety of the Peerless Battalion.
Although Admiral Brando wasn’t exactly certain about the exact offensive capabilities and strength of the Peerless Battalion, he was certain that if they truly could take down two WanShou Empire Regiments in such a short amount of time, then the Peerless Battalion would be a god tier weapon for the side of the Northwest Army… one that would help them against the WanShou Empire armies.
While Admiral Brando made the series of arrangements, the situation on the battlefield was also going through its own series of rapid changes.
The ten Regiments of the WanShou Empire holding back was also starting to show some movement. Far off in the distance, a massive black cloud rose up, swarming like a strange dark cloud and flying towards the battlefield, quickly reaching almost a thousand metres high
Seeing that patch of dark clouds, the Northwest Army who were by now extremely familiar with the WanShou Empire armies, were totally caught by surprise. Of course, they totally recognized and knew what the dark clouds meant… just surprised by their presence here. They were after all one of the aces of the WanShou Empire armies, the Eagle Tribesmen Air Force.
In the entire WanShou Empire, only the Eagle Tribesmen were able to tame and rear mounts with flying capabilities, at least at enough numbers to form a troop. The whole WanShou Empire only mustered a single Regiment of their numbers. Of course, due to their rarity, they were not gathered together in a Regiment, instead gathered in Battalions, distributed to the various armies in the WanShou Empire. However, they would not easily join the battle unless absolutely necessary.
No one could have imagined that the WanShou Empire would have paid so much attention to the Northwest Armies that they would actually send the Eagle Tribesmen… seeing them rise up into the airs, it looked to be about two whole Battalions of them!
If one were to say that the Tyrannical Bear Regiment was still able to be blocked in a headon clash, no matter how tough that was, then the Eagle Tribesmen was an ever victorious force that had never been defeated in battle. The reason was simple – besides the WanShou Empire, there were no other countries in the entire Mainland that had a proper air force.
The War Eagle Mounts that the Eagle Tribesmen warriors reared were about two metres in length, but their wingspans were more than five metres long, able to easily carry a Eagle Tribesman Warrior, who were one of the smaller amongst the Beastmen. The War Eagles all carried twelve short javelins and quivers of arrows… from a certain perspective, their equipment was very similar to the Peerless Battalion, except that the Eagle Tribesmen Warriors were mounted upon their War Eagle Mounts, while the Peerless Battalion would have to fly on their own.