289: Chapter 290 The Goryeo Vanguard Army, Locust Swarms Across the Land

On the landing field, tens of thousands of eyes lit up instantly, flashing with greedy and bloodthirsty glints.

"Goryeo Vanguard Army! Forward! Forward!"

Wang Baobao drew his scimitar and pointed it toward the interior, his voice hoarse and excited.

Awoo—!

The response to him was not a disciplined shout, but a roar like that of wild beasts.

The formation that had just been in line scattered instantly; rather than an army, they were more like a pack of hungry wolves released from their cages, scrambling to pounce toward those villages and towns that were smoking with cooking fires and looked prosperous.

What is fear? What is discipline?

In the face of the immense temptation of dividing land, dividing women, and taking revenge, these were not worth mentioning!

They were Goryeo people, and they were also Goryeo people who had suffered from Japanese harassment for too long.

Although the Ming Emperor had destroyed Goryeo, these people at the bottom of Goryeo society had benefited; even the women of the high-and-mighty Goryeo royalty had been distributed to them.

Moreover, the Ming Emperor had now given them the opportunity to set foot on this land that had once given birth to countless Japanese pirates and harassed their homeland.

Revenge!

This was their only thought at this moment.

"Charge!"

Vulgar roars rose and fell one after another.

The Goryeo soldiers brandished their standard-issue broadswords, rushing across the beach, over the field ridges, and toward the Japanese warriors.

The standard three-man tactical formation was used, scattered but not disorganized.

Bang!

A wooden door painted with ukiyo-e was violently kicked open.

The Japanese warrior behind the door had just raised a katana when he was pierced through by three broadswords simultaneously.

"Ah!"

The woman wearing a kimono screamed, only to be dragged out by her hair by a Goryeo soldier with a face full of fat, becoming a captive.

Scenes like this continued to play out in the coastal villages.

There was no pity, no hesitation.

Many of these Goryeo soldiers had seen their hometowns plundered by the Japanese, and their loved ones might have died under the blades of the Japanese. Now, they had set foot in the lair of the Japanese, and the cruelty in their hearts was amplified infinitely.

Fresh blood stained the tatami mats red, and stained the cherry blossom trees red.

Flames ignited.

The wooden houses crackled in the thick smoke, and soon joined into a sea of fire.

Black smoke billowed, obscuring the sky.

A low-level warrior wearing broken dō-maru armor, leading a dozen or so ashigaru holding bamboo spears, attempted to organize a resistance.

He brandished his katana, wanting to uphold the warrior's "honor."

However, what greeted him was a dark, overwhelming mass of Goryeo soldiers with red eyes.

"Kill him!"

Someone shouted, though it was unclear who.

Dozens of people swarmed forward.

There was no dueling, no bushido.

Only chaotic blades hacking down.

Puchi! Puchi!

That warrior, along with his ashigaru, was instantly submerged in the tide of people; before they could even let out a few screams, they had turned into a pile of blurred flesh and blood.

The katana fell to the ground, stained with mud and blood.

The Goryeo soldiers stepped over the corpses and continued to surge forward.

They were like locusts swarming; wherever they went, they left only broken walls, ruins, corpses strewn everywhere, and flames reaching the sky.

"Not a blade of grass remains."

On the hillside, Prince Yinye lowered the binoculars in his hand, his expression emotionless.

Beside him was Prince Ruyang, waiting on horseback, along with his Mongol heavy cavalry.

Further away was the Azure Dragon Army, with their strict formations and well-equipped gear.

None of them moved.

They only watched the "performance" of the Goryeo people down the mountain coldly.

A Mongol chiliarch frowned and whispered, "Marquis, these Goryeo people... are even more ruthless than the horse bandits on our grasslands."

A trace of subtle mockery appeared at the corner of the Marquis of Ruyang's mouth: "A dog that has been hungry for a long time will naturally go mad when let loose to bite people. Let them bite; the harder they bite, the better."

He looked at Prince Yinye: "Marshal Yin, Your Majesty truly understands human nature deeply."

Prince Yinye nodded without speaking.

That Daoist Emperor seemed to have foreseen this scene long ago.

Using Goryeo people as the vanguard could maximize their ferocity, reduce the losses of his own elite troops, and destroy the Japanese resistance will at the fastest speed.

These Goryeo people had been oppressed so miserably in the past, so the backlash now was just as ruthless.

As for whether it would be too cruel and damage the prestige of the Celestial Empire?

Prince Yinye did not care.

The Marquis of Ruyang cared even less.

That Emperor, it seemed... also did not care.

"Pass down the order," Prince Yinye's voice was cold and hard, "Mongol cavalry, move forward to scout and control the main roads. You do not need to engage in battle; just drive the routed Japanese troops toward the interior."

"Azure Dragon Army, build camps and construct fortifications according to the plan, and receive follow-up supplies."

"Tell the Goryeo people that within ten days, I want to see the entire Kyushu Island without a single remaining Japanese flag still standing!"

"Yes!"

The messenger rode off at full speed.

The slaughter and looting below the mountain continued.

The Goryeo Vanguard Army was like a burst dam, flooding over Hakata Bay and beginning to spread toward the hinterland of Kyushu Island.

Their speed of advance was astonishingly fast.

The Japanese resistance, after the initial collapse, was almost non-systematic.

The daimyo and castle lords in various places were still arguing endlessly about who should send troops and who should defend the cities.

Sporadic groups of warriors summoned the courage to fight, but the result was often being overwhelmed by several times, or even dozens of times, the number of chaotic Goryeo soldiers.

Their valor and their combat techniques were as fragile as paper in the face of absolute numbers and crazy offensives.

On the first day, the coast of Hakata Bay turned into scorched earth.

On the second day, the Goryeo vanguard pointed directly at Dazaifu. This former political center of Kyushu resisted for only half a day before being breached.

On the third day, news came one after another that Hizen, Chikugo, and other places had been looted by "Goryeo bandits."

The Japanese discovered with horror that these were not "Tang people" at all, who were legendary for being from a "land of etiquette."

These people turned out to be the Goryeo people they had once constantly oppressed.

Now that the Goryeo people had invaded the Japanese islands, they seemed even more ferocious than themselves, and more terrifying than evil ghosts!

"Where is the Divine Wind?"

"Where is the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman?"

Countless Japanese cried out in despair, praying to the gods they believed in.

However, the sky remained clear.

On the fifth day.

The vanguard of the Goryeo Vanguard Army had spread throughout Northern Kyushu.

The cities along the way were breached and slaughtered before they even had time to surrender.

It was truly too smooth.

Often, before the siege battle had even begun, the sturdy city walls and gates would seem to be hit by some kind of cannonball, collapsing with a roar, leaving no defenses to hold.

No one knew why the siege battles were so smooth, because Lu Chen was right above Kyushu!

Riding the wind, holding a pot of wine.

Whenever he felt like it, he would slash with a Sword Qi, and the Japanese city walls would collapse with a roar.

Immediately followed by a sip of Nu'erhong wine, which was quite delicious.

The Goryeo Vanguard Army felt they were under the protection of immortals and fought even more vigorously.

The once-proud Kyushu warriors were now like stray dogs, fleeing in all directions, carrying the news that "the Goryeo bastards are very ferocious" to even further places.

The Marquis of Ruyang's Mongol heavy cavalry were like sheepdogs, blocking the roads and driving them in specific directions, only occasionally bending their bows and shooting arrows to kill the "fat sheep" that tried to resist or flee.

The Marquis of Ruyang knew even better that it was not that the Japanese were too weak, but that the force that had come this time was too strong, and the strategy was too... vicious.

This Ming Emperor he had pledged allegiance to seemed gentle, but in reality, his methods were ruthless and pointed directly at the darkest parts of the human heart.

Using one pack of hungry wolves to deal with another pack of hungry wolves, the outcome was already destined.

Had he not been treated as a hungry wolf himself back then?

Fortunately, his choice was correct; the entire Yuan Court royal family had not been slaughtered to the last person because of the fall of the nation, and at least there was a place where they could raise horses.

As for himself, Wang Baobao had become a sharp blade in the hands of the Ming Emperor, and even his exceptionally intelligent daughter, Minmin Temür, had been personally designated by the Emperor as Princess Shao Min, and even given a jade pendant.

What this meant, the Marquis of Ruyang naturally knew very well.