The battle raged on until noon before it finally came to an end.
The Barbarian soldiers fled too quickly, making it exhausting for Oliver Sheng’s troops to pursue them.
Outside River West County, the ground was littered with corpses and blood, the stench attracting eagles and vultures circling in the sky.
Seeing the Barbarian army defeated so swiftly, Magistrate Chen felt as if it were all a dream.
When did these Barbarians become so easy to defeat?
Fifty thousand troops attacked the gates, only to be routed and fleeing by the second day. It felt unreal to him.
In the past, resisting even a few thousand Barbarian soldiers was a struggle. But now, under Oliver Sheng’s leadership, fifty thousand Barbarian troops were utterly crushed and fled in panic.
The war ended dramatically, leaving behind over thirty-six thousand Barbarian corpses.
The Barbarian army lost over thirty-six thousand soldiers, one Grandmaster, and two Innate Great Perfections.
The Xianyou Tribe suffered another devastating defeat at the hands of Oliver Sheng.
The loss was enormous.
After all, the Xianyou Tribe was just a royal branch of the Barbarian tribes, not the entire Barbarian force.
With the war over, the officers gathered around Oliver Sheng.
At this moment, Oliver’s red battle robe was soaked black with blood, and the iron spear given to him by Calvin Yang was shattered.
He exuded a menacing aura.
He had personally killed over four thousand Barbarian soldiers.
The heavy cavalry behind him also radiated a fierce and murderous aura.
These were truly elite warriors.
“General!”
“What are the casualties?”
Oliver’s first question was about the casualties among his soldiers.
“General, our unit lost seventy men, with around two hundred wounded,” Wesley Hu reported.
“Our unit lost fifty-three men, with around two hundred wounded as well,” Felix Wu added.
Despite the Barbarians’ desperate counterattacks, they still inflicted casualties.
Their units were light cavalry, not heavy armored cavalry.
“Our casualties are relatively low,” Cameron Guo said.
He and Xiao Chuyi led infantry units, which couldn’t catch up with the Barbarian cavalry and could only pursue the soldiers who couldn’t escape on horseback, resulting in minimal casualties.
Killing thirty thousand enemies with only five hundred casualties was a remarkable achievement that even Xiao Chuyi found hard to believe.
This battle was a crushing victory.
The highlight was Oliver Sheng’s spear strike that killed the Barbarian Grandmaster.
A Grandmaster was already a pillar of a sect or a prominent family.
With Martial Saints extinct and Martial Gods absent, Great Grandmasters were the pinnacle of the mortal world, and Grandmasters were the main combat force.
Oliver Sheng killing a Grandmaster made them see him as a Grandmaster himself.
With the military merit of killing thirty thousand Barbarian soldiers, Oliver Sheng might soon be promoted.
“Cameron Guo, Xiao Batian, lead your troops to gather the scattered warhorses,” Oliver Sheng ordered.
“Yes, General.”
The two led their soldiers to gather the warhorses.
The Barbarian soldiers’ warhorses roamed near the battlefield without their riders.
“Felix Wu, lead your soldiers to gather the abandoned food supplies, cattle, and sheep,” Oliver Sheng instructed Felix Wu.
“Yes, General!”
“Wesley Hu, lead your soldiers to retrieve the bodies of our fallen brothers and give them a proper burial with a monument for future generations to remember,” Oliver Sheng continued.
“Yes, General, I’ll get on it right away,” Wesley Hu responded, leading his troops to find the bodies of their fallen comrades.
“Zane Wang, inform Magistrate Chen to bring people to bury the Barbarian soldiers’ corpses,” Oliver Sheng told Zane Wang.
Leaving so many bodies in the wilderness outside the city could easily lead to an outbreak of disease.
Soon, Magistrate Chen arrived with some brave residents and laborers.
“Hahaha, a great victory! Congratulations, General Sheng. I will certainly report this to the imperial court and request His Majesty to promote you,” Magistrate Chen said, beaming with joy.
With Oliver Sheng in River West County, there would be peace. Magistrate Chen only needed to handle administrative and civil affairs without worrying about enemy invasions.
“A great victory indeed,” Oliver Sheng replied with a smile.
Such an achievement was undoubtedly a great victory.
“I’ll get to work burying the Barbarian corpses. We’ll celebrate tonight,” Magistrate Chen said happily.
“Alright, let’s celebrate tonight!” Oliver Sheng nodded with a smile.
Xiao Chuyi and Cameron Guo soon returned with the gathered Barbarian warhorses. There were over thirteen thousand intact warhorses and more than ten thousand lightly injured ones.
The injured warhorses that weren’t too seriously hurt were taken back for treatment and later used as draft horses.
The dead or severely injured warhorses were handed over to Magistrate Chen to distribute the horse meat to the poor.
After all, it was still meat.
“General, with these thirteen thousand warhorses, we now have over twenty thousand warhorses in total. Isn’t that a bit too many?” Cameron Guo asked.
Maintaining so many warhorses was a significant expense.
“Too many?” Oliver Sheng glanced at Cameron Guo and said, “I think it’s too few.”
Only twenty thousand warhorses? Was that a lot?
If conditions allowed, he would want to form a heavy cavalry force of one hundred thousand to sweep across the land.
Cameron Guo didn’t know how to respond. They only had nine thousand soldiers, which was already over the limit by four thousand.
Yet they were maintaining over twenty thousand warhorses, several times more than the Peace Army.
The Barbarians’ abandoned cattle, sheep, and food supplies were also valuable spoils.
Magistrate Chen took the cattle, as they were essential for plowing fields.
Oliver Sheng kept the sheep for his soldiers to eat. The soldiers who practiced the Jiao Mang Breathing Technique needed more food as their cultivation improved.
After cleaning up the battlefield, they returned triumphantly. The common people of River West County warmly welcomed them.
“General Sheng, mighty and powerful!”
“General Sheng, mighty and powerful!”
“River West Army, mighty and powerful!”
At this moment, Oliver Sheng and his troops were the center of attention, with banners flying high.
Seeing the ironclad cavalry, the common people of River West County felt especially secure.
Oliver Sheng enjoyed the cheers and welcome from the people.
Returning triumphantly after repelling the Barbarians, the entire River West County was in a celebratory mood.
Oliver Sheng also rewarded his soldiers in the barracks, slaughtering sheep and drinking wine.
“Haha, what a glorious battle. I toast to the brave soldiers of River West County and Great Wei,” Magistrate Chen said, raising his cup to the soldiers.
“Defending our land and killing the enemy is our duty,” Oliver Sheng and the soldiers replied, toasting Magistrate Chen.
In River West County, Magistrate Chen never interfered with military affairs and was always supportive when needed.
The harmonious environment of River West County provided Oliver Sheng with the perfect conditions for training his troops.
“To celebrate our great victory, I toast to all of you,” Oliver Sheng said, raising his cup.
“To the General!” the soldiers shouted in unison.
“Alright, drink!” Oliver Sheng downed his cup in one gulp.
The soldiers followed suit, drinking in one gulp.
“This cup is for our fallen brothers!” Oliver Sheng raised his cup again.
“Glorious!”
“Glorious!”
All the soldiers shouted in unison.
This great victory had significantly boosted the morale and spirit of the army.
Only through the crucible of battle could a strong army be forged.
This battle had tempered their courage and spirit. His soldiers were no longer green recruits who had never seen blood.
Although it was a celebration, Oliver Sheng didn’t let his soldiers drink too much.
Each soldier had two bowls of Green Ant and one bowl of Western Wind Blaze, just enough to ensure they wouldn’t get drunk. Mostly, they ate mutton and drank mutton soup.
That night, the celebration lasted until midnight.
This was the first great victory for the River West Army since its establishment.
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