Bright Sword: I don’t want to be the king!

Chapter 198 Magic Cannon (Part )

"Great!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Geng stood up straight like a pine tree. The orcs were finally going to escape, and this battle would take a turn for the better!

"Send the order!"

Cao Genghong said loudly: "The Third Legion will open a gap to let the orcs pass through. When they have broken through half of the encirclement, immediately close the gap. Order the Fourth Legion to follow closely and eliminate the fleeing orcs one by one. The number of enemies is not important. But do not allow a single orc to return for support. Once the battle begins, the entire army will press forward. There will be no reserves and no way to retreat. This is a decisive battle. It must be over before dawn!"

The order was given, and Cao Geng lit another magic smoke. This was his last desperate effort. If the Ninth Orc Brigade could not be defeated, the defense of Wuzhai Town would probably have to take a strategic shift.

The remnants of the 9th Orc Brigade, numbering more than 2,000 people, were breaking out towards Taiyuan along the dark road of the continent. Although the evacuation was hasty, the morale of the orcs was high and the team was still in good order.

In this dark night, riding a horse to break out would be like seeking death. Major General Kosei Toranosuke was not a stupid person. He led his staff to mingle with the infantry, but he was puzzled.

The super cannon with a caliber of more than 203 was a weapon so huge that even the Imperial Army of the Great Sun, except for the navy's warships, had never possessed it. Such a heavy-duty magic cannon was extremely difficult to move. Even in Europe, it required a heavy magic tractor and magic hardened roads to operate.

How could such a large-caliber magic cannon be moved in the rugged terrain of Shanxi? Not to mention why the 358th Regiment had such a magical weapon, it was simply unbelievable.

There's no way that's possible. Something must have gone wrong!

But if this wasn't a super-large caliber mortar, how could it have such amazing destructive power? And if they had it, why didn't they use it before? Why did they have to wait until now to reveal it?

Could it be that the purpose was just to confuse the Imperial Army and pretend to be weak in order to lure reinforcements?

I understand.

Encircling a point and attacking its reinforcements, yes, this is the ancient Chinese tactical wisdom - encircling a point and attacking its reinforcements. Otherwise, why didn't they use it earlier or later, but waited for the imperial army's reinforcements to arrive?

But why not wait until reinforcements arrive? Why now?

Not good!

The real target of the 358th Regiment is not the th Orc Brigade, but the reinforcements that are about to arrive...

This Cao Geng was extremely intelligent and his plans were like those of a devil.

He intended to destroy the two legions of the Imperial Army in one fell swoop, so that he could advance into the Nether Mountains unhindered.

Is Cao Geng really as intelligent and cunning as a fox as the intelligence reveals?

He kept his talents secret and always liked to keep his last trump card in reserve until the Imperial Army thought they had secured victory, and then he suddenly revealed it, overturning the Imperial Army's beliefs and crushing their fighting spirit in one fell swoop!

This is amazing! Such an enemy is really frightening!

Major General Kosei Toranosuke roared anxiously: "Send a secret message to the marshal immediately, and inform him that the enemy has a giant artillery, and the target is directly aimed at our reinforcements. Make sure to alert the marshal and don't fall into the trap!"

"Yes, sir!" The communications team quickly stopped, set up the signal antenna, and sent out a secret message.

When the Ninth Army stopped in the middle of the field, the captain of the Fourth Column, Cheng Yuqing, guessed that the enemy had noticed the ambush. He immediately raised his gun to the sky and fired. "Brothers, follow me and fire!"

With the roar of cannons and the firing of machine guns, more than 2,000 infantrymen emerged from behind the mountains on both sides of the road and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese army.

Inside the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters,

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi was shocked beyond belief when he received the secret message from the Ninth Army.

Giant artillery?

Outrageous!

Has Toranosuke Oshio lost his mind?

How could they spread such ridiculous news?

He threw the secret message to the ground in anger and scolded: "Is Kosei Toranosuke so frightened that he actually claimed that the Zhongxia Army has giant artillery! How dare he say such a ridiculous thing!"

Chief of Staff Major General Hanaya Masaru said worriedly: "But I have confirmed repeatedly that Osei-kun firmly guarantees that this is true. It is a super-large caliber artillery. General, our opponent is the 358th Legion. You should know his background. It is said that he is a literary giant, highly praised in the American Empire, and has a lucrative income. If he used that wealth to buy weapons from the United States or Serbia, it is not impossible!"

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi remembered when he heard this.

China is indeed unable to manufacture such a huge artillery on its own.

But if it was purchased from Serbia or America, that’s a different matter.

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi asked in confusion: "But we have no information that these two countries have sold such huge cannons. Where did Cao Geng buy them from?"

Chief of Staff Major General Hanatani Masaru gave his speculation:

"America's industrial strength is sufficient to manufacture artillery of this caliber. It is even possible that this is just their test product, specially used to test the effect on our imperial army. Wasn't Cao Geng hired as a consultant by the United States? They fought fiercely with our imperial army in the South Pacific. It is said that they developed many terrible weapons in order to win. This may be one of them. Otherwise, we would not have known nothing about it before!"

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi fell into deep thought.

Although he still doubted the authenticity of the 358th Legion's possession of giant artillery.

But if this is the case, how should we deal with it?

The strength and manpower of the 358th Legion remain a mystery...

In the mysterious Ostrander, intelligence agencies such as the Shadow Council, the Department of Mysteries, and the Guardians of Order have conflicting and confusing findings.

The Shadow Council insisted that the 358th Legion had no more than 358 soldiers, stating it as if it were an oath. However, the Guardians of Order revealed that the th Legion actually had to soldiers, and there were even rumors that they had a secret force hidden deep in the Silent Hill.

The origin of the weapons also caused controversy. One side insisted that they were all made in the Ailsak Empire, while the other side said that they included weapons from all over Ostland and even as far away as Alania and Nibelung.

In this confusing intelligence fog, it is difficult for the throne commanders to accurately assess the true strength of Legion 358. What is even more suspicious is that Cao Geng's identity is like a puzzle in a fantasy world, which is hard to figure out.

Although he seemed to have severe rifts with the Jinsui Army, he still maintained a subtle connection with Yang Aiyuan. Their relationship was like an unpredictable magic that was hard to grasp. It was said that Cao Geng had borrowed a brigade from Yang Aiyuan at the cost of half of Heyuan County, but later it was reported that he had embezzled those troops. However, the leading general swore to prove that those soldiers died heroically in the battle against the dark elves. He had personally witnessed the situation and would not tolerate falsehood.

When questioning the elf warriors who participated in the battle, no records were found to prove that the general had participated in the war. The relationship between Cao Geng and the Jiang Kingdom in Xilwen is also complicated. Cao Geng publicly respects Jiang as a mentor, and Jiang privately praises Cao Geng as an outstanding disciple. However, Cao Geng never asked for permission from the Jiang Kingdom before launching the war, but acted on his own. The honors given by the Jiang Kingdom are empty, and there are few substantial rewards.

Furthermore, his connection with Freedom Road is both real and illusory, as if separated by a fog, making it impossible to see clearly. I always feel that there is collusion between them, but I can never find conclusive evidence. Sometimes, Cao Geng and Freedom Road work closely together, but sometimes they are like strangers. Just like Cao Geng is good at maneuvering between various factions, but he also maintains a certain degree of independence.

All the forces noticed Cao Geng's ambition to emulate Yan Xiershan and Zhang Zuolin and become a hegemon. More and more people hold this view, and even Xierwen and the Jinsui Army began to believe that Cao Geng intended to establish his own faction.

If Cao Geng really had this intention, the Far Eastern General Yoshimoto Sadaichi would wake up laughing in his dreams every night. Because once Cao Geng really embarked on the path of a warlord, no matter Yan Xiershan, Jiang, or the Road of Freedom, they would not let him go. At that time, the Imperial Army might be able to find an opportunity to persuade him to surrender.

Putting these tangled thoughts aside, General Yoshimoto Sadaichi turned his attention back to the present. The first priority was to rescue the Ninth Legion, and at the same time, whether to assist the other two legions was also an urgent issue to be resolved.

What if the 358th Legion concealed its strength and set a trap? Wouldn't it be a trap for the two legions to go to rescue them? However, if they did not rescue the th Legion, could they successfully break through?

General Yoshimoto Sadaichi spent half the night wavering over his decision. After much thought, he finally came up with a compromise solution: the Ninth Corps would make a full-scale breakout, and the other two corps would provide assistance, but they must proceed cautiously and ensure that Cao Geng's threat was eliminated before continuing to advance. At the same time, reconnaissance airships were dispatched to search every inch of land within a hundred miles of Wuzhai Town to find any possible hidden army traces...

In the distant continent of Azeroth, Cao Geng had never expected that the evil Japanese troops from another world would suddenly slow down their reinforcements.

Even if he knew all this, he couldn't make any changes at this moment, because the fierce battle had already broken out, just like an arrow shot from a magic bow, there was no turning back.

With the tremor of magic, Kosei Toranosuke, the shadow general who was closely guarded by his subordinates, suddenly opened his eyes shining with determination. When he ordered to break through the siege, he had already anticipated the enemy's ambush. He saw the enemy army appear and immediately issued an order: "Break out of the formation, don't stop! Keep charging, life and death depend on this, everyone, go forward bravely, only move forward, don't retreat! May our fate be together!"

Faced with the ambush, the demon soldiers roared in response: "May our fates be with you!"

Some of them quickly took advantage of the terrain and launched a counterattack, opening up a path for their companions to move forward. The 358th Legion had already made careful preparations for this moment.

How could these alien creatures escape so easily? In the command tower of the 358th Legion, at five o'clock in the morning, even if the winter dawn was late, it would only take two hours at most for the dawn to come.

By then, those demonic sky beasts will surely come to support the Ninth Brigade. If the Ninth Brigade cannot be destroyed as soon as possible, the situation will be difficult.

Just as Cao Geng was anxiously waiting, Fang Ligong walked in hurriedly. He could not hide the joy on his face. Cao Geng felt relieved instantly.

We won!