In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 446 Fierce and Valiant!

"Axemen, keep a close watch on the battle! Anyone who retreats even a step will be executed!"

Xie Cang refused to believe that the martial artists on the other side were truly fearless. Even if they were, they would eventually run out of strength. Once they regained their strength, his side could easily defeat them!

At Xie Cang's command, messengers scattered throughout the battlefield immediately relayed the order to all parts of the battlefield using a combination of flag signals and verbal communication.

As the order was given, the soldiers, who had felt a little fear upon seeing the front line collapse, quickly gripped their weapons again and stepped forward to continue fighting against Chen's army!

"kill!"

"Kill them, then go into the city to drink and eat meat."

"Kill!"

"..."

On the battlefield, shouts of battle filled the air.

Li Qingyun, positioned at the rear of the battlefield, observed the situation with a mixture of relief and unease.

He was gratified because Chen's army did not disappoint him; even when facing an army ten times their size, they still dared to launch an attack.

The unease stemmed from the sheer number of soldiers on the other side. Although the Chen family army was formidable, it would likely be difficult to defeat an enemy ten times their size.

As time went on, the battle intensified.

"Hoohoo!"

Fang Yong, panting heavily after cutting down another enemy, felt his entire body grow heavy. Since the start of the direct confrontation, he had killed no fewer than 10 soldiers. Every swing of his sword was delivered with all his might, which greatly depleted his strength. In addition, the constant need to dodge enemy attacks further increased his physical exertion. Even with the formidable physique of a ninth-rank martial artist, he felt utterly exhausted.

"Sergeant, be careful."

Just then, a long spear thrust at him. Caught off guard, Fang Yong was unable to react in time and was nearly pierced in the chest.

Fortunately, Wu Gang arrived just in time at the critical moment, deflected the spear tip with a single stroke, and then ended the life of the ambushing enemy with a backhand strike.

"Corporal, are you alright?"

Wu Gang stood in front of Fang Yong and asked.

"It's nothing, I was just a little tired earlier!"

Fang Yong breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Gangzi."

"We're brothers, no need for thanks."

Wu Gang smiled and shook his head, then said in a deep voice, "Sergeant, there are too many enemies. Should we retreat for now?"

"Can't retreat!"

Fang Yong said firmly, "Mr. Chen has placed high hopes on us and has given us the best treatment and life. If we retreat after our first battle, how can we live up to Mr. Chen's great kindness?"

Fang Yong was not well-educated and could not read many words, but he knew the simplest principle of gratitude.

Chen Dao treated him so well, changing his fate. He had to repay Chen Dao's kindness no matter what, even at the cost of his own life!

"The corporal is right!"

Guo Tai chimed in, "We would repay Mr. Chen's great kindness even with our lives! Even if I die, I believe Mr. Chen will definitely give the compensation to my family. What is there to be afraid of?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Tai rushed out and slashed at an attacking soldier, severing his head.

The next moment, several enemies thrust their spears forward, the sharp tips of which almost blocked all of Guo Tai's evasive angles.

Fortunately, Fang Yong and the others caught up at that moment.

Wu Gang cleaved the spear aimed at Guo Tai's throat with a single stroke, then killed the enemy with a backhand strike, saying, "Guo Tai is right. Mr. Chen has treated us so kindly; we will repay his kindness even if it costs us our lives!"

"That's right!"

Fang Yong, who had also killed an enemy with a single blow and relieved Guo Tai from his predicament, roared, "Even if we die here, Mr. Chen will definitely take good care of our families, so don't be afraid, follow me and kill!"

"kill!"

These words reignited the enthusiasm of Chen's army. They mustered their strength again, gripped their blades tightly, and hacked down one enemy after another.

In less than ten breaths, the battlefield was littered with the corpses of over a hundred more routed soldiers.

At this moment, the courage of the routed soldiers finally collapsed!

These defeated soldiers, transformed from government troops, were clearly not fearless warriors. In fact, it could be said that they were all soldiers with extremely weak fighting spirit and poor combat skills, a veritable mob.

In less than 15 minutes since the two sides first came into direct contact, the number of dead and wounded in the retreating army has reached 500, exceeding one-sixth of the total casualties.

Generally speaking, even a 5% casualty rate is enough to cause the collapse of a feudal army, and even for elite armies, a casualty rate of more than 10% has a high probability of collapse.

At this point, the casualty rate of the routed troops exceeded 16%.

The reason they didn't immediately collapse was because there were axemen supervising them from behind. If they retreated, they would be beheaded by the axemen immediately, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue charging forward.

But their courage and mental fortitude are ultimately limited.

When the death toll reached 500, the remaining two thousand-plus routed soldiers finally collapsed!

"I'm not fighting anymore!"

A routed soldier threw his spear to the ground, crouched down with his head in his hands, and pleaded, "I won't fight anymore, please spare me! I don't want to die!"

"Uh!"

Chen Da, who had just killed the soldier with a single blow, stood frozen in place. At the same time, many fleeing soldiers nearby dropped their weapons and chose to squat on the ground and surrender.

Of course, these surrendered rout soldiers only made up a small portion; the majority of soldiers chose to... flee!

At first, the axemen supervising the battle from the rear could still deter these soldiers and prevent them from retreating. However, as the casualty rate gradually increased, the axemen's deterrent effect completely disappeared!

The soldiers at the front lines collapsed, causing a massive rout that swept away the soldiers at the rear.

Looking at the soldiers who were like headless flies, only knowing how to flee backwards, Xie Cang's face was full of despair.

He not only underestimated the Chen family army on the other side, but also overestimated his own soldiers.

Only now did he recall the disgraceful performance of these soldiers on the Liangzhou battlefield.

The scene before my eyes was strikingly similar to the one in Liangzhou. Both were instances of frontline collapses that then swept away the rear ranks, ultimately resulting in a massive rout that wiped out 25 troops.

"It's over, it's over!"

Xie Cang muttered to himself, his face ashen. The defeat on the battlefield was now irreversible. Unless he was possessed by a god of war, there was no way to reverse this situation.

"Thank you."

A bodyguard rode up to Xie Cang's side, looking anxious, and said, "As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Let's escape too, or the people on the other side will catch up soon!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Cang shuddered and hurriedly said, "Yes, we have to escape quickly."