Good news, they successfully completed the mission and escaped from the enemy camp during the night raid.
Bad news, they seem to have no idea where they are and have gotten lost.
“Forget it, let’s wait until dawn. We’ll be able to find our bearings then,” Oliver Sheng consoled himself.
The group lay on the grass, letting the wind from the Northern Frontier blow over them.
They were exhausted, having crossed mountains and ridges in the dark, reaching beyond the pass, and lying in the night.
They had barely rested, attacking the enemy camp, fighting the enemy, rushing around setting fires, and then fleeing for twenty miles.
If they weren’t all martial cultivators with decent strength, they would have been killed in the enemy camp long ago.
From twenty miles away, they could faintly see the glow of fires in the direction of the Huns’ main camp.
After lying there for who knows how long, the eastern sky gradually began to lighten.
As time passed, the fires in the Huns’ main camp were gradually extinguished.
That night, the soldiers on the city walls watched the fires in the Huns’ camp with joy, hoping they would burn more.
“Who attacked the right camp? They did a great job, hahaha, burned so many enemy camps.”
“The left and rear camps didn’t do as well, they didn’t burn much.”
“Who knows how many Huns were killed tonight.”
“Anyway, the losses should be significant. General Who Defeats the Huns led the cavalry to charge the enemy camp, surely killing many enemies.”
General Who Pacifies the North, Calvin Yang, was also very pleased to hear of the successful raid. With such chaos, the Huns would likely not have the energy to continue their attack during the day.
“Haha, the fire caused such a commotion, far exceeding our expectations,” General Who Defeats the Huns, Elliott Sun, laughed heartily.
“Indeed, it makes me want to lead the army into the enemy camp and slaughter them all,” another Assistant General said.
“The results won’t be small, but I wonder how many of the seven battalions that raided the camp will return alive,” another Assistant General said.
Everyone fell silent again. Raiding the camp was just exchanging lives for the enemy’s losses.
As dawn broke, smoke still rose from the Huns’ camp.
Looking at the devastated camp, the Huns’ soldiers were all dejected and disheartened.
After a night of chaos, the Huns’ army was exhausted.
Left Wise King looked at the devastated camp and the disheveled soldiers, his face dark with anger.
It was clear how furious he was at that moment.
He had planned to breach Peace Pass today, but now, with this chaos, how could he attack?
With these demoralized soldiers?!
The Huns’ generals in the tent didn’t dare to make a sound, fearing Left Wise King’s wrath would fall on them.
As the sun rose, Left Wise King spoke.
“Have the losses been tallied?”
His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.
But the Huns’ generals in the tent were terrified.
Those familiar with Left Wise King knew this was a prelude to killing.
“Reporting to the king, last night we lost over eighteen thousand men, with more than nine thousand wounded,” a general said cautiously.
The casualties were close to thirty thousand, which was already very severe.
“And?”
“And… and last night, two-thirds of our supplies were burned, over thirty thousand sheep ran off, and more than seven thousand warhorses fled,” the general said, bracing himself and spilling everything.
“Useless, all of you are useless!” Left Wise King finally couldn’t hold back and roared in anger.
Over thirty thousand sheep, a third of them gone. They had brought over ninety thousand sheep for food, and now a third were gone.
Warhorses were the most important mounts for the cavalry. Losing over seven thousand meant seven thousand cavalrymen would lose their combat effectiveness.
And the food supplies, two-thirds burned, what would the army eat next?
And the soldiers, with casualties reaching twenty to thirty thousand, those were over twenty thousand brave warriors, lost in a single night raid.
Including the soldiers lost in the past half month, less than half of the hundred thousand soldiers he brought remained.
Nearly thirty thousand Huns’ warriors, the losses from last night were so great that Left Wise King’s heart bled.
“Who was on guard last night? Drag them out and behead them,” Left Wise King roared, unable to contain his rage.
The generals in the tent trembled under Left Wise King’s fury.
With such heavy losses in one night, how could Left Wise King not be furious?
If word got back, Right Wise King would surely mock and ridicule him.
He wouldn’t be able to explain to the Grand Chanyu either.
“Useless, all of you are useless. Attack the city, attack Peace Pass. If you can’t take it, die trying,” Left Wise King roared in anger.
“Absolutely not, my lord. Our men and horses are exhausted, and morale is low. We can’t attack the city now,” Left Guli King quickly advised.
Left Guli King was Left Wise King’s right-hand man and also his father-in-law. When he spoke, Left Wise King had to suppress his anger.
With less than fifty thousand men left, breaching the pass in one strike was even more difficult.
The men and horses were already exhausted. Attacking the city now would be suicidal.
The commander on guard last night was beheaded by Left Wise King to serve as a warning.
Inside Peace Pass, watching the returning seventh battalion, General Who Pacifies the North, Calvin Yang, remained silent.
Excluding the cavalry that charged the camp later, less than five hundred of the two thousand men from the seventh battalion returned.
Tribuni Tu was killed, Tribuni Li was seriously injured, and Martial Colonel was also covered in wounds.
Most of the returning soldiers were injured, showing how fierce the night raid had been.
“Soldiers, on behalf of the common people of Great Wei and the people of Peace City, I thank you for your sacrifice,” Calvin Yang said, bowing deeply to the returning remnants of the seventh battalion.
The returning soldiers of the seventh battalion looked at Calvin Yang, their faces devoid of much expression.
After a night of fighting and fleeing, they were too exhausted.
“Also, every soldier who participated in the raid will be credited with a major merit and rewarded with ten taels of silver,” Calvin Yang continued.
“Thank you, General!”
The returning soldiers of the seventh battalion finally spoke upon hearing the reward. At this moment, nothing could stir their hearts more than silver.
“Go and rest well. Food and drink have been prepared for you. Eat and drink to your heart’s content, then take a hot bath and sleep well,” Calvin Yang said loudly.
To make the soldiers fight for you, you couldn’t skimp on their treatment.
Hearing there was food, drink, and a hot bath, the soldiers’ eyes lit up, and they perked up.
“By the way, who attacked the right camp last night?” Calvin Yang asked.
Tribuni Li, lying on a stretcher, raised his hand. “General, it was us.”
“Good, good. You all did well. Go treat your wounds and rest. Then come report to me how you attacked the enemy camp,” Calvin Yang said with satisfaction.
“Yes, General!” Tribuni Li was very pleased.
If he weren’t seriously injured, he would have reported the attack process to Calvin Yang right then.
With the military merit from last night’s raid, as long as his cultivation improved, he was assured of becoming a colonel.
…
After dawn, the sun rose, and Oliver Sheng and his group found their direction.
“We’ve ended up in the Huns’ territory on the grasslands beyond the pass,” Hunter Tang said, looking at the surrounding grasslands and yellow sand.
Hearing this, Oliver thought, Goodness, we’ve ended up behind enemy lines.
“Which direction is Peace Pass? Does anyone know the way?” Oliver asked.
“Sergeant, I know the way,” a soldier said.
“Alright, you lead the way. Let’s head back,” Oliver nodded.
The group moved towards Peace Pass.
After walking five or six miles, the group stopped.
“Stop, there’s something ahead.”
“What is it?” Oliver asked.
“Sergeant, there are Huns’ cavalry ahead, chasing a group of people. They seem to be our garrison from Peace Pass,” the soldier leading the way said.
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