In the makeshift camp of the Empire, activity surged as teams of warriors rushed out, heading towards their designated positions. Behind them, half-constructed camps and idle engineer machines lay in wait.
The Nan Gong family had dispatched an entire regiment for this battle. Although the number seemed substantial, it was not their most elite force. This was quite unusual for the Nan Gong family, which prided itself on rivaling the four major clans. In truth, the family had suffered heavy losses in previous battles with little gain, leaving them severely weakened. They were now forced to keep a low profile, preserving their younger generations.
Upon receiving the orders, the two elder commanders exchanged glances and smiled, feeling fortunate. The blank area on the defensive line they were assigned to was one of the weaker points, with relatively flat terrain outside the defenses. Though there were no natural strongholds, it favored the deployment of troops.
The Eternal Night’s camp was just a temporary outpost, and the dark races’ organizational skills were inferior to the Empire’s, resulting in less fortified defenses. Defeating the frontline dark army would lead to a swift capture of the main camp, making this flaw insignificant.
Receiving such a task was both easy and advantageous for claiming credit. The two Nan Gong elders did not hesitate, immediately leading their troops in a fierce advance towards the designated battlefield.
In such large-scale battles, the situation could change rapidly. Any delay could mean losing the advantage to others, with no recourse.
Under the night sky, the Imperial forces moved in a relentless surge, dozens of steel torrents advancing towards the Eternal Night camp.
The Nan Gong army pressed forward, overtaking several Imperial units, like a pack of hungry wolves closing in on their prey.
Qian Ye, however, had yet to depart. According to his orders, it was still half an hour until his unit was to move. He casually stacked two ammunition boxes and lit a crumpled cigarette from the embers at his feet, puffing slowly, the glow flickering.
Most of the soldiers in the vanguard were fast asleep, recovering from the fatigue induced by stimulants. The distant fires and explosions did not disturb these seasoned veterans.
Time ticked by, and Qian Ye’s wristwatch suddenly beeped. He turned off the alarm and said, “It’s time. Prepare to move out!”
The vanguard soldiers, who had been sleeping, leaped to their feet, quickly gathering their weapons and forming up, ready to march. Qian Ye jumped into a jeep, leading the way towards the Eternal Night camp. The rest of the vanguard boarded nearby troop transports, following the command vehicle.
Under the night sky, the outskirts of the Eternal Night camp, which covered the entire hill, were ablaze, illuminating the dark heavens. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers fought fiercely, with lives being lost every moment.
Though there were no sturdy fortifications, the battle was much more grueling than many Imperial generals had anticipated. The Eternal Night soldiers seemed to be in a frenzy, fighting to the death, from nobles to common soldiers. Even in despair, they chose mutual destruction rather than retreat.
The two Nan Gong elders, faces grim, continuously intercepted and detonated the incoming artillery shells mid-air. However, this rapid consumption of their prime energy.
A bloodied officer then dashed over, shouting, “Elders! Reinforcements, we need reinforcements! We’re under attack!”
One of the resting elders stood up, snarling, “Didn’t I just send you two companies?”
“Both are gone! They’re all gone! Those black-blooded bastards are like madmen. Hundreds of our brothers are trapped; I need more troops to rescue them!”
The elder roared, “There were only a thousand of those black-blooded scum! I gave you three thousand men and over a thousand reinforcements. How could there be so few left?”
The officer shouted, “There are far more than a thousand! They just keep coming, and their artillery doesn’t care about their own, bombarding this area non-stop! It feels like all their heavy guns are targeting us!”
“Fine, I’ll give you two more companies. No matter what, secure that passage!”
After the officer departed with the new reinforcements, the elder, seething with anger, punched a nearby wall, causing it to crumble.
From above, the region under the Nan Gong’s control was the most intense, with each step forward costing countless lives.
Elsewhere, other lines advanced more smoothly, breaking through and either pressing deeper into the Eternal Night camp or flanking to surround the enemy.
After hours of intense fighting, the Eternal Night camp’s defenses finally collapsed. The Nan Gong army wiped out the last dark soldier, finally stepping onto the grounds of the Eternal Night camp. But the two elders felt no joy, staring at the piles of corpses, mouths twitching, unable to curse.
Throughout the battle, they endured relentless bombardment without respite. If not for the rotating protection of the elders and several warlords, the casualties would have been even worse, and it might not have been possible to breach the wall.
The dark races’ artillery did not discriminate, pouring down indiscriminately. Most of the Nan Gong soldiers were killed by friendly fire while engaged in combat. Even level 8 and 9 warriors couldn’t avoid injuries, which compounded into fatal wounds on the battlefield.
To break through what appeared to be a weak defense, the Nan Gong family suffered thousands of casualties, losing over half their forces. The unit was effectively crippled, needing a long recovery period to regain its strength.
This was the entirety of the Nan Gong’s mobile private army, and it was decimated in the first battle. Reinforcements from the upper continent were impossible, as it would leave their core territories vulnerable.
The elders were both angry and pained, struggling to understand why the enemy’s artillery was so intense. At this rate, it seemed that over half of the Eternal Night camp’s heavy guns were concentrated on this small area, meaning the Nan Gong family bore the brunt of the defense.
“What do we do now, Elders?” asked an officer.
The elders exchanged a glance, grimly replying, “We regroup and treat the wounded.”
The officers shared the same look of pain and resignation. Halting now meant missing out on the real spoils. Clearly, the true rewards were in the rear, and stopping here only meant barely passing the bar.
But with over half their forces dead or injured, further advances were impossible. Many now wondered why this section saw such intense fighting, while other lines faced little resistance. Some sections had seen almost no artillery fire.
The elders, recalling the initial orders, exchanged a dark look, understanding dawning on their faces.
Back in the Empire’s temporary camp, things had calmed down. The last unit had departed half an hour ago, leaving only the command post, a few defenders, and some engineers and medics.
Song Zining had slipped away to a secluded tent, enjoying good wine with two female officers. The two beauties, already flushed from the alcohol, joked, “Drinking is forbidden in the army. You have quite the nerve!”
Song Zining laughed, “So is fraternizing. You’re not exactly timid yourselves.”
One of the young women, eyes twinkling, asked, “You seem especially cheerful today. Why is that?”
“Because I’ve figured out something,” Song Zining replied with a smile.
“What’s that?” both girls asked, curious and eager, always finding his words thought-provoking.
“It’s about power. Power is a wonderful thing. With it, you can do things others can’t. I can sneak in wine, and you can slip into the Imperial camp.”
“What else?”
Song Zining pushed a wine glass, watching it shatter on the ground, and smiled, “With power, you can push others to the edge with a flick of your finger. The foolish ones might never know what hit them.”
“What about the clever ones?”
He laughed, “Clever ones will figure it out. That’s what makes them clever.”
One girl, looking at the broken glass, sighed, “Is it better to be clever or foolish?”
“Clever, of course!” the other interjected.
Song Zining shook his head, smiling, “No, it’s better to be foolish. Clever people, even if they see the cliff, still get pushed. That’s the true power of power.”
The first girl sighed again, “True, like us, knowing the future holds suffering, yet we must leap into it.”
Song Zining, taken aback, swiftly changed the subject, soothing her and turning the mood lighthearted.
In his mind, he pondered the map of the Eternal Night camp. During the battle, most of the enemy’s artillery positions had been identified and marked.
The distribution of the artillery clearly showed that many had been relocated to target the Imperial vanguard. Under Zhang Boqian’s orders, the Imperial forces launched an immediate full-scale attack, leaving the Eternal Night’s artillery displaced. This fragmented their coverage, leaving many areas unprotected.
The Nan Gong’s sector, however, was one of the few fully covered by the artillery. Whether the Nan Gong commanders had figured it out or not, the result was the same, as Song Zining had just explained.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage