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"Boom, boom!"
Xiulote solemnly waved the battle flag. The gunners ignited the match cord, and the two arrow-filled wooden cannons once again roared like thunderbolits! The blasting grapeshot pierced through the gaps between the center and the two wings, pounding into the rear of the Tarasco spear legions. Several Copper-axe Guards overseeing the fight instantly fell to the ground, blood spurting from their bodies as they rolled in the rear ranks. The hard-pressed Royal Army’s spear formation once again began to waver!
"Toot toot!" The monkey Kuluka hurriedly blew the bone whistle and waved the small flag in his hand, throwing in the reserve troops.
Over five hundred Mexica spearmen formed a tight column, their feet pounding to the inspiring beat of the drums, moving from the rear to the front left, until they reached the outskirts of the front lines. Then, on the captain’s command, the waiting spearmen all shouted in unison, lowered their rattan helmets, gripped their sharp copper spears, and charged fiercely towards the front!
Hundreds of Tarasco militiamen stood their ground for just a dozen breaths before being scattered by the surging tide of spearmen. Next, countless copper spears glistened coldly as they stabbed from various angles, piercing the obstructing bodies like lotus roots! The column of spearmen continued their assault and finally broke through the Tarasco defense line on the left side of the center for the first time!
Xiulote on the small hill showed a smile. He waved the small flag, and five hundred stirrup crossbowmen shot out a dense hail of arrows, covering the wooden cannons as they withdrew back to the center. The reserve gunners immediately rushed forward, filling the gaps left by the fallen, and began a new round of tense reloading.
The Young Commander surveyed the battlefield and took in the situation at a glance.
The Mexica center army was large in numbers, stretching from the center of the engagement to both sides, and starting to break through from the left. The struggle on the left wing became increasingly fierce, with the battle lines of both sides clashing like tightly bound waves. The Holy City Legion launched an advance in the middle, gaining a clear advantage. The Tarasco Royal Army gathered into a contingent, still forming up and resisting stubbornly. And on the right wing, the consumption of warriors was extraordinarily brutal, with both sides having lost nearly a third! Thousands of corpses piled up at the front, thick blood making the ground slippery underfoot, and the strength of the warriors began to wane, their battle formations gradually tightening. With a shrill blast of the conch, the Religious Legion raised their shields, formed a shield formation, and their offensive momentum was momentarily checked.
At this moment, the left, center, and right armies pierced deeply into the Tarasco formation like arrows shot forth. Before completely defeating the enemies before them, they would temporarily disappear from the commandable order of battle. The three thousand archers had already spread out, freely shooting their deadly arrows. Only five hundred Temple crossbowmen still followed commands.
At this stage of the battle, the commander-in-chief’s directives had become less important. The vast battlefield was once again left to the frontline warriors, with the final victory dependent on valiant combat, tenacious fighting spirit, and the determination of the lower-level officers!
Behind the fierce battlefront, the Eagle Banner still flew high. Su’angua’s face was as grave as water, his heart chilled like autumn. He raised his sleeve, no longer caring for kingly decorum, and wiped the Huitu covering his face with force.
Just now, the two "thunderbolts" launched by the Mexica had exploded not far in front of the Royal Banner, the thunderous blast causing his ears to ache. The young king gripped the Divine Staff, watching grapeshot fly before his eyes, several supervising Imperial Guards injured and falling, and the spreading dust immediately coating his head and face. What caused him more anxiety was that under the threat of the "thunderbolts," the center army’s spear formation was increasingly unstable, and the Mexica legion had already started to break through from the right!
The battle situation was unfavorable, the circumstances dire, and the long-awaited reinforcements had yet to arrive. Su’angua stood on tiptoe, looking toward the smoke-billowing northwest. The Hummingbird banners appeared on the horizon, the clusters of black dots not far apart, like the hope of a turning point, close enough to touch.
However, at this very moment, this long-anticipated reinforcement force stood still, not advancing. They recklessly entangled with another, clearly smaller cluster of black dots. The shouts from the northwest carried on the wind, the familiar accent calling out the king’s name, the sound of fighting so clear, loud but not intense.
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Su’angua took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and gripped the hard Divine Staff tightly with his right hand. The King shifted his gaze, stared at the frontline briefly, then resolutely waved his staff, pointing towards the front right.
"Copper-axe Guards, full assault! Crush the Mexica spear infantry that has broken through!"
The trusted aide beside him exchanged glances. The Chief of the Personal Guards bowed his head slightly, asking cautiously.
"Your Majesty, your safety..."
"Order, full assault!"
"Understood, following your will!"
The Chief of the Personal Guards knelt on one knee and gave a respectful salute. He then attached the Commander’s Flag to his back, blew the Bone Whistle, and summoned the two teams of Imperial Guards protecting the King. Afterwards, the brave Chief of the Personal Guards, waving his Longbow, personally ran at the forefront, with over a hundred supervising Imperial Guards joining as well.
In just a moment, nearly five hundred Copper-axe Guards became an imposing torrent, forming neat ranks, and charged into the frontline within fifty paces. The Chief of the Personal Guards suddenly stopped, drew his Longbow, and fired a whistling Copper Arrow at the Mexica’s advancing Spear Formation!
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" Hundreds of Feathered Arrows were fiercely shot, bringing an unstoppable howl! The close-range flat trajectory was so powerful that the captain in front of the spear formation only had time to cry out "Raise shields," before an arrow struck his head and face with a "sizzle," causing him to fall backward onto the bodies of his comrades in the rear. The rain of arrows pierced through the Paper Armor, leaving the spear infantry formation in a chaotic tumble. Before the acting vice-captain could issue orders, hundreds of fierce enemy soldiers, wielding Bronze Axes, charged furiously!
The Copper-axe Guards formed a tight array, and even during the charge, they stayed perfectly ordered. These battle-hardened Samurai had sharp eyes and agile steps, and they broke through directly at the weakest gap created by the fallen, following the archers’ hit. In close combat, they swung their Battle Axes with great force, chopping down the enemy Spears, breaking through the Militia’s Paper Armor, and swiftly cutting their opponents’ throats. And when faced with the enemy’s stabs, they always managed to dodge in time, raising their shields to block, or even slightly bending down to use their metallic shoulder armor to resist the speartips, then swinging their axes to cut off their opponent’s legs!
The Chief of the Personal Guards’s eyes gleamed sharply as he continuously waved his small banner. Even more Copper-axe Guards, like agile cheetahs, hastened their run and maneuvered to the sides and rear of the stalled long Spear ranks.
The assaulted vertical formation, lacking flank protection, quickly became disorganized. A large number of Mexica Militia were ferociously cut down, unable to form a collective Spear Formation, reduced to fighting individually. And once the Spear Formation broke, how could the Militia stand against the mighty Imperial Infantry?
In just a handful of breaths, the two advancing units of Mexica spear infantry were routed, causing the surrounding formations to retreat as well. After that, the Tarasco spear infantry barely managed to fill the gaps, erected their Long Spears again, and the Mexica’s assault was temporarily repelled.
Seeing the central line stabilize once more, Su’angua nodded expressionlessly.
"The Copper-axe Guards are after all infantry specialized in close combat, able to match up with the Eagle Warrior Battalion of the Mexica!"
The young King paused in deep thought, suddenly realizing his own mistake. He turned his head and loudly ordered the few remaining personal guards by his side.
"Take up my Commander’s Flag and hasten to the front lines! Gather the scattered shooting guards and call back my brave hounds!"
The personal guards immediately saluted and left, leaving the King’s side empty. The Chief of the Personal Guards, who was at the front line, fired another volley of arrows, stabilizing the situation at the front before hurrying back with five hundred Imperial Guards. His duty was to protect the most important King.
"Boom, boom!" A quarter of time vanished in an instant, and horrible thunderclaps came forth! This time they were closer to the Royal Banner. Tiny stones struck against the King’s Copper Helmet, producing a snapping sound. Grey, dust-filled mud splattered on the golden Copper Armor, leaving behind deep black spots.
"Pthoo, pthoo!" Su’angua spat the dust from his mouth, vigorously waved his hand, and stopped the guards from raising their shields around him.
"Stand back, give me a clear line of sight! Damn it, what are the reinforcements from the north doing? They still haven’t broken through!"
Su’angua roared in anger, like the growling of a lion or tiger. His eyes widened as he gazed toward the northwestern sky. The Samurai of the reinforcements were still entangled with the Mexica militia, with the emblem of the House of Hummingbird barely visible on their Leather Armor. However, at this crucial moment, the Hummingbird was as slow as a fly, no longer soaring like Lightning!
"Your Majesty, the central army on the front line is about to collapse, and the reinforcements are nowhere near breaking through. We won’t hold out that long! While the Samurai on both flanks are still holding on, and the Copper-axe Guards still have some strength left, let’s do what it wants!"
Upon hearing this, flames of furious rage blazed in Su’angua’s eyes. He turned around fiercely like an enraged tiger, only to see it was his loyal hound, Yuku. Yuku was drenched in blood, holding a Longbow, with several Feathered Arrows stuck diagonally in his thickened Leather Armor. Behind him, a large group of Copper-axe Guards had already gathered, forming an indestructible Battle Axe. At this sight, the young King’s expression slightly eased, and he asked in a solemn tone.
"Yuku, is there truly no turning point in the battle?"
The Great General Yuku did not speak. He simply knelt down and deeply bowed his head to the King.
"Wait a bit longer... perhaps there is still hope..."
Su’angua’s expression shifted, anxious, angry, resentful, hopeful, finally turning into a low murmur to himself.
However, the situation on the battlefield is never altered by an individual’s will, and the King’s waiting was in vain. Moments later, a Scout rushed over from the south. As soon as he neared, he collapsed before the King, having exhausted all his strength.
"Your... Your Majesty, the Mexica legion is only ten... just over ten miles to the south!"
"What did you say? The Mexica legion from the south? Just over ten miles away! Weren’t they still forty miles away this morning?"
The young King stepped forward, grabbed the Scout’s collar, and lifted him from the ground, demanding sharply.
"Did you witness it with your own eyes?!"
"Your... Your Majesty, by the three gods, I witnessed it with my own eyes!" The Scout gasped for breath before recounting in detail under the King’s anxious gaze.
"Since this morning, the Mexica Scouts have been continuously skirmishing with ours. Then, the Mexica Commander-in-Chief under the Moon Banner suddenly accelerated their march. They abandoned the main force and all their supplies, taking only fifteen hundred elite soldiers, rushing north non-stop! Our small groups of Scouts couldn’t hold them off for long, in just a quarter-hour, the enemy will reach the battlefield!"
Hearing the Scout’s report, Yuku bowed deeply and advised the King loudly.
"Your Majesty, let’s find another way! Let me protect you on our way to the southwest! The mountainous region to the southwest remains intact, there’s still something that can be done for the Kingdom!"
The look of hope on Su’angua’s face finally turned into utter despair. He looked at the distant Wolf Banner, and the young King facing him also looked over. That small figure, like a Divine Mountain from the East, weighed heavily upon his heart with the force of ten thousand jins.
After a moment, Su’angua bit his lip so hard it bled, and made up his mind. He looked around at the more than a thousand Copper-axe Guards, his last force and the hope for a desperate fight!
"Yuku, assemble the Copper-axe Guards, and take the inherited Royal Banner!"
The young King’s mouth was bloodied, like a beast ready to tear into flesh, his eyes showing deep madness.
"I will lead the troops in person, circle around the left wing, and launch a final assault towards the opposite Commander’s Flag!"
