457: Chapter 457 Fierce Battle, Repelling the Enemy

Because the King and Di Pingjian chose to turn a blind eye to the pressure from the other Dynasties' coalition and continued their fierce attacks on the cities of other Dynasties, this move caused strong dissatisfaction among those Dynasties. To collectively resist the Chaotian Dynasty, these Dynasties began to further strengthen their Alliance relationships.

Facing the Alliance Army of ten million sent by the Alliance, although the King and Di Pingjian did not appear very worried on the surface, they did not dare to be careless in reality. After all, such a massive number of troops was truly impossible to ignore. Thus, after careful consideration, the King and Di Pingjian decisively ordered the recall of all armies fighting abroad to deal with the upcoming severe challenge.

After a period of intense deployment, the armies of the Chaotian Dynasty quickly assembled. Currently, the size of the Chaotian Dynasty's army had reached a staggering three million. Among them, one million were the previously dispatched troops who had experienced multiple battles and possessed rich combat experience; one million were the original troops who stayed behind to guard the Chaotian Dynasty, familiar with the local environment and possessing strong defensive capabilities; and the additional one million were the troops incorporated after the Shengji Dynasty surrendered.

It is worth mentioning that before the Shengji Dynasty was conquered, it claimed to have only seven hundred thousand troops. However, when the King and Di Pingjian actually occupied the Shengji Dynasty, they were surprised to find that the actual number of troops in the Shengji Dynasty was as high as over one million! However, during the fierce war, over a hundred thousand soldiers unfortunately died on the battlefield.

Facing the Alliance Army of ten million that was like surging waves, the King stood on the city tower of Chaotian City, his brow furrowed with deep concern. However, after some careful thought, Di Pingjian proposed a bold and risky strategy to the King.

After listening to Di Pingjian's suggestion and weighing the pros and cons, the King finally made up his mind to adopt the plan. Thus, he did not hesitate to break up his well-trained and highly combat-effective fifty thousand Shadow Kill Guards, as well as the ten thousand Deathsworn known as "Three-Life" inherited from the Supreme King, into small squads and quietly integrated them into the three million-strong army.

At the same time, the ten million-strong Alliance Army led by the Benri Dynasty and the Ximei Dynasty had arrived ten thousand li outside Chaotian City like a black torrent. Their camps stretched for dozens of li, with banners fluttering and war drums thundering, giving off an irresistible sense of pressure, as if Chaotian City was already in their pocket.

Facing such a powerful enemy, the Chaotian Dynasty appeared unusually calm. Aside from strengthening the city defenses and increasing defensive forces, there seemed to be little other action. However, this was only a surface phenomenon; in reality, a carefully planned plot was secretly brewing.

As it turned out, at Di Pingjian's suggestion, the King had already sent out a group of mysterious Secret Envoys to various medium-sized Dynasties. These Secret Envoys bore heavy responsibilities, carrying large amounts of gold, silver, and treasures to secretly contact officials of those Dynasties, bribing them with money and interests.

Under the temptation of profit, these officials began to create chaos and incite rebellion within their respective Dynasties, causing the rear of those Dynasties to fall into turmoil. In this way, the rear of the Alliance was no longer stable, and they were forced to divert troops to deal with these sudden internal revolts, thereby dispersing their military strength and attention.

At the same time, an important project was being carried out in full swing at the city gates—rebuilding a higher and stronger inner city wall. This was no easy task and required a large amount of manpower, materials, and financial resources. Fortunately, the citizens within the city were very active in participating in this project, working together with one heart to protect their home.

The money needed to build the city wall was jointly funded by the civil and military officials, the nobility, and the Dynasty itself. After all, the construction of the city wall was a significant expense, and relying on the strength of a single party was far from enough.

Meanwhile, the majority of the Chaotian Dynasty's army had also gathered near the city gates, standing ready to resist the Alliance Army's siege plan. Of course, to prevent vulnerabilities in other areas, a small portion of the army was still sent to guard other important locations.

After the Alliance Army arrived, they did not launch an attack immediately but first sent an envoy to try and persuade the Chaotian Dynasty to surrender. However, the King and Di Pingjian were completely dismissive of this attempt at persuasion; they looked at each other and smiled, unhesitatingly beheading the envoy sent by the other side and displaying the head to the public.

Upon learning that their envoy had been killed, the Alliance Army was instantly enraged and immediately launched a fierce attack on Chaotian City. This time, they actually deployed a full five hundred thousand troops, aggressively rushing toward the city gates.

Facing such a powerful enemy, the King and Di Pingjian were fearless and decisively ordered the city gates to be tightly closed and defenses strengthened. At the same time, they also sent a large number of soldiers to the city towers to use bows and arrows for long-range attacks on the enemy to wear down their effective strength.

Although the battle on the ground was fierce, compared to the battle in the air, it was simply insignificant. The aerial combat here was the truly magnificent spectacle!

The reason this planet could achieve aerial combat was entirely thanks to the magical creatures known as Flying Horses. They possessed wings and could soar freely in the sky, becoming the soldiers' capable mounts.

At this moment, over a hundred thousand soldiers riding Flying Horses had gathered in the sky above Chaotian City. These soldiers wore various styles of clothing, representing different forces and camps. They shuttled and galloped through the air, engaging in a thrilling aerial duel.

The number of knights with Flying Horses sent by the Alliance Army this time was actually as high as one hundred thousand, which was undoubtedly an extremely massive force. In contrast, although the Chaotian Dynasty also had over a hundred thousand Flying Horses, only fewer than fifty thousand Flying Horse knights were sent to meet the Alliance knights this time.

However, this was not due to the King and Di Pingjian underestimating the enemy, but because these fifty thousand knights with Flying Horses were not comparable to ordinary soldiers. They were composed of three thousand powerful Martial Artists, five thousand elite Three-Life Squad members, and forty-two thousand mysterious Shadow Kill Squad members.

Di Pingjian and the King were full of confidence in these fifty thousand knights, firmly believing that it wouldn't be long before these fifty thousand knights could slaughter those one hundred thousand Alliance knights until they threw away their armor and fled in panic. In this way, they could not only deal an unexpectedly heavy blow to the enemy but also instill fear in the Alliance Army, making it impossible for them to unite in the upcoming battles.

Through an analysis of the structure of the army sent by the enemy to besiege the city, Di Pingjian and the King keenly perceived that the Alliance Army clearly intended to break through Chaotian City in one go. From their troop deployment, they had actually sent a full one hundred thousand knights equipped with Flying Horses! In contrast, the ground siege army numbered only four hundred thousand, which meant that Flying Horse knights accounted for as much as one-fifth of the enemy's total force!

As time passed minute by minute, the fierce battle above Chaotian City became increasingly intense. Knights were constantly being killed in the air, falling down like raindrops. Notably, the vast majority of these slain knights belonged to the Alliance Army's side.

The Chaotian Dynasty's progress in the aerial battlefield was exceptionally smooth, with almost no casualties. However, the situation on the ground battlefield was completely different. Because those soldiers with special abilities and great strength had been transferred to the aerial battlefield, the defensive strength on the city towers was significantly weakened.

Now, blood flowed like a river on the city towers, and the tragic scenes were heart-wrenching. The soldiers of the Chaotian Dynasty did not flinch; they fell one after another, but immediately another brave warrior would step forward to take their place and continue to hold the city wall.

With tenacious will and fearless courage, these soldiers constantly resisted the enemy's fierce attacks. They used their own bodies of flesh and blood to build an indestructible line of defense, swearing to defend the territory and dignity of the Chaotian Dynasty to the death.

The enemy's ground troops also suffered huge losses, as people in the Alliance Army constantly tried to use Siege Ladders to scale Chaotian City and occupy its towers.

However, the defending soldiers were exceptionally stubborn, relentlessly throwing down large stones, arrows, and oil. These attacks fell like raindrops, causing heavy casualties to the besieging Alliance Army.

On the ground below the city towers, corpses had already piled up like mountains, creating a hair-raising sight. Even more shocking, the defending Chaotian Dynasty soldiers actually threw down torches from the city walls. When the torches met the previously poured oil, they instantly ignited a raging fire, setting the mountain of soldier corpses below the city ablaze.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky and thick smoke rolled, as the entire battlefield was swallowed by the fire.

The Alliance Army was terrified by this sudden turn of events, and many soldiers began to shrink back in fear. Although enemy generals executed a few retreating soldiers, it did nothing to stop the rout and flight of the others.

About a thousand meters from the city gate, there was a towering city tower that stood like a massive fortress majestically within the city. This tower was named the Beacon Tower, one of the important defensive facilities of the Chaotian Dynasty.

At this moment, two people stood on the Beacon Tower, their figures appearing exceptionally small upon the structure.

One of them wore a black-gold Dragon robe, the sleeves embroidered with exquisite golden Dragon patterns that fluttered gently in the breeze.

His face was well-defined, and his brow revealed an air of majesty; this person was the current Son of Heaven, the master of the Chaotian Dynasty—the King.

Standing beside the King was a woman dressed in a white battle robe, her posture upright and her spirit heroic.

The white battle robe shimmered with silver light under the sun, complementing her jet-black long hair and making her temperament appear even more elegant. This woman was the Military Strategist and State Preceptor of the Chaotian Dynasty, Di Pingjian.

The two stood quietly on the Beacon Tower, their gazes falling upon the battlefield not far away.

The battlefield was filled with smoke, and the sounds of shouting and killing rose and fell, as if the thick smell of blood could be inhaled.

Their brows were tightly furrowed, and their faces were full of sorrow, appearing deeply worried about the current state of the battle.

The King looked at Di Pingjian with a face full of concern and said slowly, "Minister Pingjian, although we successfully repelled the enemy this time and even killed most of the Alliance's knights, the price we paid was truly too high!

With such a huge loss, I fear that if we continue to hold out, our army will be gradually exhausted by the enemy!"

Di Pingjian quickly consoled him, "Your Majesty, you needn't be overly worried. Although we indeed lost many heroic soldiers this time, we also made the Alliance Army feel fear.

I believe that after this crushing defeat, panic will surely spread within the Alliance, making it difficult for them to unite and send such a powerful combat force to besiege the city again as they did today."

However, despite saying this, a trace of pity still showed on Di Pingjian's face.

After all, war is so cruel; life within it is like windblown sand filling the sky, appearing so insignificant.

"Yes, what you say is correct, Minister. This time the Alliance Army came from afar, having undergone a long journey, while our army waited at ease for the fatigued enemy. Only then were we able to withstand the attack of an enemy several times our own size." The King nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that if it weren't for this, the outcome of today's battle might have been unpredictable.

The King had been tempered on the front lines for over ten years and could be said to be a veteran of a hundred battles, but he had never seen a battle scene as tragic as today's.

Looking at the mountain of corpses on the battlefield, even this king who had long been accustomed to the sands of war couldn't help but feel a surge of compassion in his heart.

"Yes, Your Majesty is wise; it is truly the fortune of our Chaotian Dynasty! Heaven protects our Dynasty!" Di Pingjian hurriedly echoed.

He recalled the performance of those Civil Officials when discussing matters in the royal court earlier and couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness.

At that time, hearing that the Alliance Army was coming with such momentum and numbering as many as ten million, those Civil Officials were instantly turned pale with fright and one after another advocated for surrender.

They only cared for their own lives and property, completely disregarding the interests of the country and the people.

In contrast, although the performance of the military generals was slightly better, they were all also full of worry and harbored doubts about whether they could defeat the Alliance Army.

If it hadn't been for Di Pingjian arguing strongly, providing the King with a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, and urging the King to hold out and resist, the Chaotian Dynasty might have already had its city broken by the Alliance Army and suffered the fate of being carved up.

A day passed, and the Alliance knights on the aerial battlefield had been mostly killed. However, because the Chaotian Dynasty could only send out fifty thousand knights, they couldn't keep all the Alliance knights there, and in the end, thirty thousand managed to escape.

The ground battlefield was very tragic; the Chaotian Dynasty side had suffered over a hundred thousand casualties, while the Alliance Army's casualties were even heavier, with a hundred thousand soldiers having fallen in battle.

After cleaning up the battlefield, at Di Pingjian's suggestion, the King did not immediately hold a grand meeting to discuss the next response strategy. Instead, he first used the national treasury to issue Pensions to the deceased soldiers and their families, and increased the amount of the Pensions.

This kind of action had never occurred before under the King. Previously, the families of casualties in the army could receive Pensions, but they were very small and took a while to receive. This time, however, they received ten times more than before, and they received it immediately.

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