Chapter 652: 648: Final Battle (8)
Chapter 652: 648: Final Battle (8)
Chapter 652: Chapter 648: Final Battle (8)
The shock outside the Treasure Cauldron Mountain reached the ranks of the Mountain Department.
The defeated alliance army finally exposed its flaws—everyone, from top to bottom, felt that they weren’t to blame for the defeat. They all believed that there must have been a bigger reason for the failure, so each one of them started shifting blame through their discussions.
The remaining soldiers huddled up, acting like true elites. They carried on as if they were the giants capable of stopping the tides and propping up the collapsing world; if only their teammates weren’t so weak, they would’ve reversed the situation long ago.
What exactly was the problem? The defeated soldiers started debating loudly…
It must have been that Martial Ancestor of the Mi Clan who got killed by Tang Luo.
Yes! Everyone remembered that unlucky Martial Ancestor, whose defensive martial art was shattered by a shot from Tang Luo, causing his body to be pierced.
The defeated soldiers instantly reached a consensus, as if they had found the true source of their defeat.
“That man was absolutely useless. He was known as a genius in his youth, and was a strong contender of the Fierce Realm. However, he was killed by a sneak attack from Tang Luo, which tremendously increased the pressure on the battlefield. We had no choice but to stay in the air to fight against the Tang Clan’s martial ancestors, resulting in the ground troops being routed.”
“Indeed, the Mi Clan has always been known to be on par with the Tang Clan, contesting for dominance for over a thousand years. But during this fight, I discovered that there is a significant difference between the martial ancestors of Tang and Mi. If the Mi Clan powerhouses could hold their own against the Tang Clan, we would have been able to spare hands to lead the family troops.”
“All things considered, the Mi Clan has brought in some subpar Martial Ancestors. This is ridiculous, dragging these newly-ascended warriors from the Fierce Realm onto the battlefield!”
With a target to blame, everyone was quick to pass judgment on the battle from their high horses, each person echoing the same sentiment.
If only our seniors were strong enough, we would have won the battle long ago.
It seemed as though by putting the responsibility on the Mi Clan, they were absolving themselves of any blame for the defeat.
The Mi Clan was continuously attacked by the remaining soldiers after blaming them for the death of Mi Zhao, defeat in the battle, and their humiliating retreat.
No one dared to discuss these things in front of the Mi Clan, so they vented their grievances to their familiar friends at the Mountain Department.
The reinforcements from the Mountain Department were confused by these complaints. From the way it was presented, the argument of their comrades from the Treasure Cauldron Mountain made sense. How could the defense of nearly 3000 alliance troops with nearly a hundred martial ancestors be toppled so quickly?
There must be someone who didn’t do their part and occupied a position that they didn’t deserve, right?
Although none named names, all the members of the alliance army were pointing fingers at the Mi Clan behind their backs, causing morale to plummet.
As the overall commander, Mi Hai of course saw all this, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The Divine Feather Vanguard launched a surprise attack on the rear of the North Mountain, disabling five of the top martial ancestors of the Mi Clan and capturing two of the main lineage martial ancestors. The loss of their elite forces wasn’t recent.
Although the seven major clans had their own top martial ancestors, these people didn’t try their best to block the martial ancestors of the Tang Clan. The overwhelming power of the Tang’s martial ancestors was evident when they knocked out over a dozen opponents in just one round. In the end, the burden fell on the martial ancestors of the Mi Clan.
No one sympathized with what our seniors had to bear. After all, the failure was their fault. Our performance, as juniors, was already excellent.
The reason for our rapid defeat in this battle was that the Mi Clan’s martial arts were lackluster, and they were all bluff and no substance!
Just as the reinforcements from the Mountain Department settled outside the Treasure Cauldron Mountain, rumors flew and quickly spread. That’s why the arrogant Mi Tianxin had to fight.
“Why aren’t we attacking? The Tang Clan’s ground forces are exhausted, even their martial ancestors are heavily spent. Why aren’t we attacking the Treasure Cauldron Mountain directly?” Mi Tianxin’s eyes burned with fire as he asked Mi Hai.
“Tianxin, calm down!” Mi Hai calmly advised. “Even though the Tang Clan’s forces are weary, their spirits are high. Now is not the right time to fight!”
Underestimating an enemy leads to disaster. Breaking through the defense of the Treasure Cauldron Mountain only took a bit of effort from Tang Clan. Even though they rounded up the leftovers of Treasure Cauldron Mountain, most people were still terrified by the defeat and chaos.
But Mi Tianxin was deaf to Mi Hai’s words. His eyes blazing, he said to Mi Hai: “What mournful soldiers! Just give me a hundred more squads, and I’ll show you that the Tang Clan is nothing but a hollow shell!”
As the commander of the defence forces of the Treasure Cauldron Mountain and a top martial ancestor of the Mi Clan, he couldn’t accept this large defeat, for he lost too much. At the moment, all he could think about was taking revenge on the Tang Clan.
Mi Hai knew that Mi Tianxin had lost his cool. But after thinking of what had happened on the battlefield, all he felt was understanding and heaviness. Extending his hand to grasp Mi Tianxin’s shoulder, he locked gaze with him and said seriously, “Tianxin, I am also grieved by Zhao’s death, but now is not the time for recklessness! I promise you, give me one day. As soon as the allied forces have regrouped I will launch a full-scale attack on the Treasure Cauldron Mountain. At that time, I will surely twist Tang Luo’s head off as a requital for Zhao!”
Mi Zhao was Mi Tianxin’s eldest son. He was a prodigy who ascended to the realm of Fierce Seers at the age of forty-two. This was his first time participating in a decisive battle in the Fierce Realm, and he had encountered a millennial change in Xiling. He was shot through his organs and killed by Tang Luo, a warrior who hadn’t even ascended to the Fierce Realm yet.
Mi Tianxin’s anguish had nothing to do with his eldest son’s death in battle. What made it worse were the rumors spreading after his son’s honorable death.
“Don’t you know what they’re saying about us out there right now? If we really wait for the allied army to regroup, who knows what the situation will be. Are we going to sit by and accept it!? ” Mi Tianxin knew waiting for the allied army to regroup before attacking again was the best strategy, but driven to frustration by the rumors, he no longer had the patience to wait.
But a good strategist would never make rash decisions. Although Mi Hai was a bit impulsive by nature, he was very patient when it came to commanding battles. Even though he knew that the rumors were having a big impact on the Mi Clan’s reputation, he wouldn’t make an irrational decision just because of some gossip.
For he knew what the allied forces needed now was not a speech or explanation, but a resounding victory. Once they won, the gossip would naturally disappear.
It was exactly because of this understanding that Mi Hai could only give Mi Tianxin a disappointed shake of his head in response to his outrage.
“Then you can wait!”
A disappointed Mi Tianxin coldly threw these words and prepared to leave the camp.
“Where are you going?”
“The defensive force of the Treasure Cauldron Mountain has been wiped out. There’s no point for me as the commander to be here. Since you won’t send troops, I’ll do it myself!”
“Foolishness!” Mi Hai snapped. “What are you doing? Come back! I said come back!!”