Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Why retreat now, Your Majesty? An Lushan inquired.
The art of war states: Strike with all your might at first, weaken on the second, and exhaust on the third!'
Lin Beifan smiled confidently, At this moment, the enemys forces are twice the size of our army, and their morale is at its peak. To confront them head-on would surely result in heavy casualties, which would be extremely unwise! It is better to retreat for now and wait for their momentum to wane. Then, when we strike back hard, we will undoubtedly achieve a great victory!
Once again, the generals and soldiers were left dumbfounded.
At this moment, you actually bring up art of war with us?
But thats not how military strategies are used!
Right now, as the two nations are at war, it represents the momentum of the state. The side with the stronger momentum will win; we absolutely must not retreat!
Once we retreat, morale will be shattered. It will lead to a crushing defeat, a rout from which we cannot recover!
I implore Your Majesty, if you must be confused, please dont let it be now!
Matters of the military and the state are not childs play!
Your Majesty, we cannot retreat now!
If we retreat now, were finished!
What we need now is to muster our strength and face the battle head-on!
My ministers, I understand your thoughts, but as the art of war also says: Timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony.
Lin Beifan smiled confidently and continued, Lets not talk about timing for now. They have more people, so we dont have the advantage in numbers. Thats why we must seek a favorable terrain to stand a chance of victory! Thats why I want to retreat. As long as we can lure them into our territory, we will have the geographical advantage and defeat the army of the Mo Kingdom!
The soldiers were very tired.
Please, Your Majesty, stop misapplying the military strategies youve learned!
Now is really not the time for you to show off!
Your Majesty, we really cannot retreat!
Now, we should strike back hard, never yielding!
Your Majesty, please reconsider!
Lin Beifan became furious: Enough! Who is commanding this battle, you or I? I am ordering a retreat now, and if you delay even a minute, you will be dealt with by military law with no leniency!
With things having come to this point, everyone had no choice but to obey the orders.
His Majesty commands: All troops are to retreat immediately, without error!
The Xia Kingdom soldiers felt somewhat bewildered upon receiving the order but still turned and ran back.
The whole process was quite a disheveled retreat.
The Mo Kingdoms army, witnessing this, was extremely excited.
Your Majesty, look! The Xia Kingdoms army is fleeing; they are clearly intimidated by our Mo Kingdoms brave warriors!
The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom burst into hearty laughter: The Minister speaks the truth! Our army of 400,000 is fierce as tigers, our warriors are like dragons, powerful and invincible. How could the Xia Kingdoms troops not flee in the face of such might?
Raising his long sword, he shouted excitedly, By my command: Pursue at full speed! For each kill, a reward of one tael of silver! For three, a reward of ten taels! For ten, a reward of fifty taels and the rank of squad leader!
His Majesty orders: Full speed in pursuit!
For each kill, a reward of one tael of silver!
For three kills, a reward of ten taels!
For ten kills, a reward of fifty taels and the rank of squad leader!
The soldiers of the Mo Kingdom were even more thrilled, howling as they charged into the fray.
At this moment, Lin Beifan, who was on the run, revealed a smug smile, Bring it on, Ill give you a taste of the Earth Dragon turning over! (TLN: Earth Dragon turning over=Shifting or movement of the earth.)
His thoughts connected to the Empire Sandbox in his mind, and he began to operate swiftly.
Boom! Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, swaying in all directions.
Both armies engaged in battle were dumbfounded.
Whats happening?
An earthquake?
Is the ground moving?
As the saying goes, it was too late by the time it was fast. Suddenly, there was a thunderous roar and a huge crack split open in the ground.
Coincidentally, this crack appeared right on the boundary line where the two armies were engaged in battle, right in front of the advancing army of the Mo Kingdom.
Many soldiers of the Mo Kingdom, caught off guard, fell into the fissure.
Help! Save me quickly!U//ppTodat𝒆d fr/𝒐/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m
Im going to fall!
Save me!
A wail echoed out.
But now, with everyone else preoccupied with their own survival, how could they possibly save anyone?
This single fissure, in an instant, swallowed tens of thousands of people.
The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom, not far from the scene, saw what happened, his eyes wide open, bloodshot with horror: No!!!
Yet at this moment, the earth continued to tremble.
Like an extremely unbalanced sieve, it shook incessantly, sifting all the soldiers of the Mo Kingdom into the crevices.
Save me!
Quick, save me, I dont want to die!
Voices of despair and wails filled the heavens and earth.
The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom, with eyes wide and furious, exclaimed, Quick! Save them! Hurry
Your Majesty, there are too many people, we cant save them all!
As they were speaking, the ground beneath the feet of the Mo Kingdom Emperor began to shake violently. With a thunderous roar, the earth cracked open, and both people and horses quickly tumbled into the fissures.
Your Majesty, be careful, your servant is coming to save you!
Immediately, two Innate masters rushed down to rescue the Mo Kingdom Emperor.
However, the horse could not be saved; it was smashed to pieces.
The earthquake came swiftly and ended just as quickly, lasting no longer than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Yet, it brought about changes as profound as the transformation of seas into mulberry fields.
A massive chasm lay between the Mo Kingdom and the Xia Kingdom, where the entire 400,000-strong army of the Mo Kingdom was buried, leaving only the Mo Kingdom Emperor and a few generals and strongmen alive.
The Mo Kingdom Emperor knelt disconsolately beside the rift, gazing down at the army of the Mo Kingdom below. His body swayed as if about to collapse, his eyes bloodshot and tearful as he said, My army is finished! The Mo Kingdom is finished too!
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