The World Online
chapter-269

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Jun

At the crucial moment, Zhao Kuo personally led the 1000 man cavalry to block off Shanhai City's 2nd regiment.

From the 2nd regiment's perspective, the cavalry of the Zhao army were like clouds, they seemed like they were beside you but you just couldn't hit them. When you drew back your blade, your enemy just charged towards you like a well oiled machine. It was really difficult to defend against this quick and vicious cavalry force.

After all, as the player troops had a limited amount of men, even though they could create a hole in the 40 thousand Zhao troops, they were unable to break through to assist the 2nd regiment.

The Zhao army cavalry immediately retaliated after they regained their senses, using their numbers advantage to box up the enemy troops.

About the 20 thousand player force, apart from a portion of them being elite cavalry, a larger portion of them couldn't compete against the Zhao army, especially the cavalry from the other lords.

At this point, the 2nd regiment were blocked off, and only the Guards regiment were weaving left and right through the Zhao army formation with the intention to try to break out.

Shi Wanshui took the initiative to replace Er'Lai and act as the arrowhead. Such a fierce general wasn't something Zhao Zhuang could compete against; even more so his other generals, as they were all no match for him.

The battle went into a stalemate once again.

Wang Ling looked around and tragically said, "Brothers, let’s give it our all!"

The remaining Wang Ling forces charged forwards towards the Gu Pass forces.

Viewing death as a liberation and not being afraid of it.

Zhan Lang who was on the opposite side was infected by the sadness and courage of the Qin army troops, staying silent.

However, this was war. Zhan Lang tossed aside his emotions and shouted, "Kill!"

If one compared Wang Ling's remaining forces as a rock, representing the stubbornness of the Qin army, then the red and blacks army of the Gu Pass were like a wave, striking the rock with tremendous power.

The rock which was already cracked immediately broke apart and exploded.

At that moment, one of Wu An Lord's six generals, Wang Ling, died in battle.

"Wang Ling!" Huan He cried out.

When he heard their last shouts, he knew that something wasn't right. In the end, he wasn't able to save Wang Ling's life and could only watch on as he died on the battlefield.

All of the sudden, the Qin soldiers emanated a tragic and depressed aura.

Just at this point, General Wang He had led 30-40 thousand cavalry and rushed here. Hearing Huan He's cries, he shivered, filling him with a bad feeling.

Wang He's forces gathered with Huan He's, upon seeing the sadness spreading around, he was even more uneasy, stuttering as he asked," Huan He, what happened to Wang Ling's forces?"

Wang He's words pulled Huan He back to reality, and his voice was cold as ice as he gritted his teeth."Wang Ling died. We must take revenge for him!"

"What?" Wang He was shocked; in the end he had came a step too late, making him feel guilty.

Compared to Huan He with his emotional outbreak, Zhao Kuo was much calmer as he ordered the 1000 man cavalry general to take over in leading them while he went back to the hill to command the forces.

He knew that Huan He's attacks had hurt Zhao's forces, so if Wang He's forces attacked too, it would be detrimental for them.

Luckily at the crucial moment, the Gu Pass soldiers were able to destroy the remaining Wang Ling forces. Zhao Kuo ordered for the Gu Pass army to cross the camp and meet up with the main force to defend against Huan He and Wang He's forces.

"General, shouldn't we head back to Gu Pass first?" The advisor suggested to Zhao Kuo.

His meaning was since the connection between the main force and Gu Pass had been restored, they should go back before making further plans.

"No!" Zhao Kuo refused. It wasn't that he was arrogant, just that as the overall commander, he was thinking much further. Although they destroyed Wang Ling's forces today, the main force of Qin army was still here.

If they backed off, then Zhao Zhuang's forces at the south line would be pincered and would end up in the same state as Wang Ling had.

And the moment his troops were destroyed, Zhao would lose their ability to rule. One must know that within the Zhao, they were unable to call upon any more soldiers.

Hence, in the larger picture, Zhao would still lose, and this wasn't what he wanted to see.

"I order all troops to push on; we go south to assist General Zhao Zhuang." Zhao Kuo ordered without hesitation. "Also, order Zhao Zhuang to compact his forces and wait for reinforcements."

"Yes!" The advisor immediately waved the military flag to spread the orders.

With his arrangement, in the entire valley, the armies of the Qin and Zhao would meet, both sides having forces boxed in by the enemy. It was very majestic.

To the north, it was Zhao Kuo's army which had joined up with the Gu Pass forces, after so much fighting, they had 120 thousand infantry and 35 thousand cavalry.

Opposite them were Wang He and Huan He's forces. With the player forces, they had 100 thousand cavalry.

Behind them were the Zhao Zhuang forces who were fighting against the Qin army. After a slaughter, they had around 200 thousand men with a mix of infantry and cavalry.

As for Meng Ao and Wang He's remaining forces, they had around 250 thousand troops left.

North of the 50 kilometer stone wall were still 35 thousand men from Ying Bao's forces. Similarly, the Zhao army still had 70 thousand men in Gu Pass to monitor Ying Bao's army.

Hence, in terms of strength, both sides were still very equal.

The 6 forces interlacing and fighting one another was an amazing spectacle.

At this moment, it was a huge test of the commander's ability. In this aspect, Baiqi had the upper hand.

Baiqi had been watching the battle atop of Lang Mountain, and every change in the battlefield couldn't escape his eyes. The only thing he didn't expect was for the Gu Pass to suddenly have the 40 thousand elite player force, which was something he couldn't react to in time, and caused the destruction of Wang Ling's forces.

With such a situation, both forces looked equally matched and both sides had a chance to win.

With Zhao Kuo, if Zhao Zhuang worked together to pincer Wang He and Huan He, they could eat up their cavalry forces. Similarly, Baiqi could pincer Zhao Zhuang from the north and south. What mattered now was who was more skilled.

In truth, the Qin army still held the advantage.

Firstly, Wang He and Huan He's forces hadn't participated in the war, so they were still fresh. They were the only people who hadn't used up any energy in fighting.

Secondly, their forces were purely cavalry, and in terms of flexibility and speed, they were much stronger than the Zhao army. On the other hand, Zhao Kuo only had 30 thousand cavalry left and the rest were all infantry, how could they contend against Wang He and Huan He's cavalry?

Thirdly was that the Zhao army was scared. After being boxed up, the Zhao army didn't dare to advance and go all out southwards to fight against the Qin army. If they were boxed in again, it would be disastrous.

Zhao Kuo wasn't stupid, and he also saw this. Hence, he only wanted to save Zhao Zhaung's forces and return to Gu Pass.

Both commanders were exceptional people. What Zhao Kuo lacked was mainly practical experience. The recent few wars had taught him lessons and had improved him a lot.

Baiqi, on the other hand, was able to see the situation clearly and make decisive decisions, ordering Wang He and Huan He to immediately group up and charge south to attack Zhao Zhuang's troops.

When Huan He received the orders, he looked at the enemy opposite them with disgust as he shouted, "Let's move!"

Receiving the order to retreat, the 2nd regiment stopped fighting with the 1000 man cavalry of the Zhao army, turning around and going down south. At this moment, the Guards regiment appeared to assist them. Along with the help of Wang He's forces, they smoothly got out from the grip of the Zhao army cavalry.

The two armies were interlaced and fighting, and to be suddenly separated was a huge test of the leader's ability. Especially when Huan He and the player force's cavalries retreated, they were leaving their backs open to the enemy.

Hence, they all retreated together. If not, it would’ve made them an easy target for the enemy.

Luckily, be it Wang He, Huan He, Shi Wanshui or Zhang Liao, they all had vast experience and knew how to retreat, cover, and arrange their troops.

This was adding with the fact that Zhao Kuo's army, who had attacked Wang Ling's camp, were already exhausted. They also had to forcefully hold off Huan He's army, and thus their strength was entirely used up.

Under the strict and detailed arrangements of the generals, they couldn't find a way to attack, and naturally just allowed them to leave.

Seeing the 100 thousand Qin forces charge towards Zhao Zhuang's army, Zhao Kuo could only focus. He ordered the Gu Pass force to be at the frontline and start to go south to assist them.

As the Gu Pass soldiers had only rushed out at the crucial moment to destroy the tired Wang Ling's forces, in terms of stamina, they hence still had a lot left.