170: Bloody Battle at Tieyanguan (Part 2)

He came down from the back of the city wall.

Dong Fang counted the soldiers who came down, "Everyone report your numbers."

A moment later, the count was complete.

A total of ninety-eight people remained.

Dong Fang's face was grim; after a round and a half of fighting, the number of remaining personnel in this defensive line had decreased by a full 18 people.

Before going up the city wall, there were a full 116 people when they reported their numbers.

In less than half a day, 15.5% of the people were lost.

This proportion doesn't sound high, but it's important to remember that they were only responsible for this particular section of the defensive line.

There were as many as sixty such defensive lines of their scale on the city wall.

If the proportion of losses in other areas was similar, then this one and a half conflicts alone resulted in the loss of over a thousand people.

And these were all Beastmasters!

It has been less than fifteen years since the comprehensive armed reform of Beast Taming entering the military in Great Xia.

Beast Taming is not like thermal weapons, which can be immediately put into use once manufactured.

It's like the elite cavalry of ancient times; it requires raising horses and soldiers, and a large investment of resources to be effective! Of course, the effect is also very obvious: after each Beastmaster is fully developed, one person can exert the destructive power equivalent to a tactical squad from before.

Moreover, their skills are diverse, their abilities are strange, and when they grow to the later stage, the destructive power of a high-level Beastmaster far exceeds ordinary missiles and artillery.

If one can become a Super-Order Beastmaster, he directly becomes a deterrent-level force.

In these fifteen years, the military Beastmasters trained into combat strength in the Northern War Zone numbered only around 30,000.

Dong Fang said, "Everyone go back and get some good rest, adjust your condition, and be ready to relieve our brothers on the city wall at any time."

At this point, Dong Fang paused, "The sacrificed brothers... have they all been brought down?"

"They were all carried down during the battle just now," a nearby captain said.

Dong Fang nodded.

When the Beastmasters on the city wall ran out of magic, if the enemy launched another attack in the next round, they would need to take their place.

"Everyone go rest," Dong Fang's mood was somewhat low.

Chen Xing followed Dong Fang to the mess hall.

They both ordered a bowl of noodles; although it was wartime, food supply was still maintained.

The two sat together, holding their noodles. Dong Fang ate two bites of noodles, then, thinking of something, he gripped his chopsticks tightly.

Dong Fang muttered to himself, "The main army in the rear is assembling at the fourth defensive line. We need to buy at least half a month's time. It's only been a week, so we still need to hold out for at least eight more days."

At this point, Dong Fang suddenly fell silent.

He himself was a bit unsure. At today's casualty rate, could they hold out for eight days?

How many comrades would still be alive after eight days?

Chen Xing guessed Dong Fang's thoughts. He really wanted to tell Dong Fang seriously that they had held on back then, not just for eight days, but for a whole month.

This allowed the fourth defensive line in the rear to successfully gather enough strength, completely blocking this invasion from the foreign lands outside the fourth defensive line.

But he knew that even if he said it, Dong Fang wouldn't hear him.

Chen Xing lowered his head and slurped his noodles.

The taste, surprisingly, was quite good.

"Actually, how long this battle can last largely depends on General Gu and General Zhang."

Dong Fang suddenly said.

Chen Xing looked up at him, "Why do you say that?"

"Super-Order Beasts can only be resisted by Super-Order Beasts. Without them holding back the enemy's Super-Order Beastmasters, the enemy would break through Tieyan Pass much more easily than now. If Super-Order Beasts directly charged onto the city wall, who could stop them?"

Chen Xing said, "I see General Gu and General Zhang are able to hold back the enemy's Beasts."

Dong Fang shook his head, "They're only barely holding on by exerting their full strength. If they could defeat them, they would have repelled the enemy's Super-Order Beastmasters when the first and second defensive lines were breached."

"We still have Super-Order Beastmasters, right? Why don't they all come together to repel the enemy?"

Dong Fang shook his head, "No one knows what trump cards the enemy might have. If the enemy has some trump cards they haven't used yet, and all our Super-Order Beastmasters gather together, what if they're all wiped out by the foreign lands?"

Chen Xing and Dong Fang discussed a question, "I see there are also some civilian Beastmasters in the city. Why aren't those civilian Beastmasters recruited?"

Dong Fang shook his head: "There are quite a few in the civilian sector. You might not believe it, but a large part of the reason for the large-scale training of Beastmasters in the military initially was because of these civilian Beastmasters.

In previous years, secret realms appeared all over Great Xia, and many people entered them to gain opportunities, thus becoming Beastmasters.

Some local magnates and aristocratic families even gained considerable power from this. You know that when people suddenly gain power, they tend to develop other intentions.

Therefore, in order to better stabilize the situation, the military began to train Beastmasters on a large scale.

After the military began large-scale training of Beastmasters, the chaos that had existed in various places in previous years has now quieted down."

"Your idea has been proposed before, but on one hand, civilian Beastmasters don't like to be restrained, and on the other hand, they haven't been trained and can't adapt to military formations. Rushing them into battle might even have a counterproductive effect."

Chen Xing pondered, it seemed to be true.

Even in later generations, an invisible chasm had subtly formed between military Beastmasters and civilian Beastmasters.

This chasm wasn't about other aspects, but simply a significant difference in combat styles.

It was said that many of the Beasts in the military were gregarious Beasts, and they had mastered group combat.

On the other hand, many Beastmasters from Jiuzhou University, as well as many civilian Beastmasters and some from corporations, mostly formed exploration teams.

The paths and directions taken by the two sides were completely different.

Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

Vague sounds of argument could also be heard.

Dong Fang put down his chopsticks and frowned, walking outside.

He wanted to see what was going on. Who would cause trouble during this special period?!

He and Chen Xing went outside.

A group of Beastmasters were arguing with a military officer.

"What's all the shouting about!" Dong Fang said coldly.

At the same time, he summoned Snow Bamboo Swordsman.

Snow Bamboo Swordsman, having just returned from the battlefield, carried a strong killing intent!

The strong killing intent washed over them, and the Beastmasters who had been loudly shouting instantly quieted down.

They seemed to be quite intimidated by Snow Bamboo Swordsman's cold killing aura.

"We're not causing trouble!" one of the Beastmasters shouted.

"Then what are you arguing about here?"

"Sir, they want to join the battlefield," the nearby captain quickly explained, then he gave a bitter smile, "But there's a policy from above not to accept civilian Beastmasters, so I told them to go back, but they refused, and their voices got a bit loud."

"I'm also a Great Xia person, and we also want to do our part. Why don't you want us? Do you think I'm weak? My Beast is also fifty energy levels, and it can also go to the battlefield to kill those damn foreign landers!" a Beastmaster shouted loudly.

"The foreign landers have invaded! I ran from Beitie City to Yuyue Pass, and then from Yuyue Pass to Tieyan Pass. Do I have to keep running next time? I don't want to run anymore!"

"Right, we Liaodong people aren't afraid of death!"

"Before coming, I even killed seven of those foreign land brats. It's a shame they mostly move in groups, so I didn't get a chance when there were more people later," a burly man with a big beard said.

As soon as these words were spoken, many people around looked at him.

Seeing the people around looking at him, the burly man with a big beard took out a bag from his waist, emptied it, and a pile of jingling odds and ends fell out.

"This is something I took from a foreign land brat. It's a bit like a storage bag, and the space inside is as big as the back of a car."

"I see you're also a military officer. We also want to contribute to our nation. If we were afraid of death, we wouldn't have come to sign up. There are many Beastmasters who want to help, and we can help contact them. You can talk to your superiors about it. We see that the foreign land brats are attacking the city very frequently, so your pressure must be considerable," the burly man with a big beard looked at Dong Fang.

A hint of admiration appeared in Dong Fang's eyes, "What's your name?"

"Han Tianhu. My Beast is one hundred energy levels. That should be enough to qualify for the battlefield, right?" the burly man said boldly.

Dong Fang said, "I'll go ask, but if it doesn't work out, don't cause any trouble."

Han Tianhu said, "You just came down from the front line, and we respect you. Before we hear back, we absolutely won't cause trouble! Anyone who dares to cause trouble, I'll put him down first!"

Dong Fang took Chen Xing to find Gu Yuzhi.

Gu Yuzhi listened to Dong Fang's words, remained silent for a moment, then spoke, "When the nation is in peril, those who step forward are all commendable."

"But defending the city is a difficult task. Many things sound simple... If they go up the city wall, personally experience the war, and then collapse and flee after some people die, what then?

A gap would appear in the city wall, and on the battlefield, things change in an instant. The enemy could very likely rush in through that gap."

Qian Peiquan said, "Old Gu, it's actually a very good thing to have more fresh forces. Now that we are defending the city, we naturally need to unite all available forces within the city."

"I think there is a way to solve it."

Qian Peiquan organized his words, "We can first register the Beastmasters who are willing to contribute, and then conduct an initial screening to prevent foreign land spies from mixing in.

Although they have been checked before, it's inevitable that some might slip through the net.

Civilian Beastmasters have their own system, which we don't understand, but they certainly understand each other better. We can let civilian Beastmasters 'recommend' each other to confirm their identities.

These civilian Beastmasters must be well-known in their local areas. Their participation is an act of great righteousness, and their names can be registered and publicized. If anyone is unsuitable, the public can also report it.

After confirming their identities, organize everyone and divide them into small teams based on their Beast's attributes and abilities, and then conduct brief military training.

If anyone is unwilling to undergo training midway, they don't have to go up the city wall; they can be assigned other tasks."

No one else had any objections to this point.

"At the same time, do not let these civilian Beastmasters gather together. Divide them into ten-person small groups and disperse them into different defensive areas, to cooperate with military Beastmasters who have combat experience, using the method of veterans leading new recruits to help them adapt to war.

In addition, if ordinary civilians are willing to contribute, they can also temporarily join the battle as militiamen."

Hearing the earlier words was fine, but when he heard the last sentence, Gu Yuzhi suddenly widened his eyes, "Old Qian, are you crazy?"

Opening the militia recruitment at this time, how many civilians would join?

"The pass has enough supplies and enough weapons," Qian Peiquan interrupted him.

Having gathered supplies from several surrounding provinces, Tieyan Pass now had abundant various materials.

Gu Yuzhi's expression was uncertain.

The usually gentle Qian Peiquan's eyes were incredibly sharp at this moment, "He, the foreign land, wants to fight, does he? Then let's fight! We Great Xia people are not afraid of death! Even if we die, we will bite off a piece of his flesh. If your entire nation doesn't show the determination to fight to the death, others will always bully you!"

"Today it's Burning Sky Giant City, will other giant cities also get involved tomorrow?!"

"Backbone is something that must be forged with blood and soul!"

Gu Yuzhi never expected that the person who proposed this suggestion would be Qian Peiquan, "Do you know the consequences of doing this?"

Qian Peiquan calmly said, "I know. So many civilians dying, there must be an explanation. My Beast Taming is not as good as yours, so I probably have no hope of becoming transcendent, but I still have to do something, right?"

Chen Xing stood by, suddenly understanding the origin of the two million militiamen in Tieyan Pass.

Historical books did not record it in detail, only briefly mentioning the deeds of two million militiamen and one and a half million regular troops holding Tieyan Pass.

He suddenly felt a hazy illusion of witnessing history.

The publicized list was quickly released, and the entire Tieyan Pass immediately erupted.

People signing up for the army came in an endless stream, and the Tieyan Pass Temporary Military Department had to urgently issue an announcement, requiring women, children, and elderly people who were not Beastmasters to evacuate from the pass as soon as possible.

Militia recruitment was strictly limited to able-bodied young adults between 18 and 50 years old.

At this moment, this majestic steel giant pass seemed to be infused with new vitality, transforming into a colossal war machine.