Chapter 333: Chapter 189 Breaking through the Inborn_3
Translator: 549690339
And once again, reality proved that although the Miao people of the Five Poisons Sect were brave, their strength was not strong.
In a head-to-head battle, more than 30,000 against 50,000, even with the advantage of numbers, the Miao soldiers were still badly defeated.
During the battle, Lan Zhaoyun bravely fought as the vanguard, trying to turn the tide with his peak first-class strength.
However, eventually, Zhou Qing gathered the experts of the Nanhai Sect and, with the help of the army, trapped Lan Zhaoyun in the midst of the soldiers.
If it were not for the desperate rescue of the Miao soldiers and the sacrifices of the Five Poisons Sect’s experts, the Sect Master would not have been saved.
Otherwise, the Five Poisons Sect would have had to change their leader.
Despite this, the left protector and right elder Bai Shu Xuan of the Five Poisons Sect died on the battlefield.
Including the left elder who died in the southern three prefectures, the left and right protectors and the left and right elders of the Five Poison Sect were suddenly left with only the right protector.
Originally, the first-class experts, who had just increased to five people, were left with only two in one day.
As for the Miao soldiers, it goes without saying.
More than 50,000 soldiers were directly killed on the spot and more than 10,000 were captured, leaving the rest to flee.
Seeing the main force defeated, the defending soldiers in Chenxi County City didn’t even dare to defend the city. They abandoned the city defense and fled.
By the time Lan Zhaoyun retreated to Qianling County’s old nest, only 30,000 people were left in his hands upon counting the remaining soldiers.
More than 10,000 fugitives directly fled and scattered in the countryside and mountains, never daring to meddle in this matter again.
“Is the foundation of my Holy Sect and the Miao people’s bloodline going to end here?”
It was said that after returning to Qianling County, Lan Zhaoyun let out this lament and then spewed blood and fainted.
Whether this was true or not, no one knew.
But one thing was for sure, from then on, Lan Zhaoyun concentrated on hiding in Qianling County City, without showing any signs of sending out troops again.
As for Zhou Qing, after defeating Lan Zhaoyun’s army, he stationed his troops in Chenxi County City to recuperate and recover.
After these consecutive battles, Zhou Qing had only 30,000 soldiers left under his command. As for the civilian workers, only more than 10,000 were left after the three prefectures’ 30,000 people were divided.
After this battle, nearly 10,000 soldiers and nearly 40,000 civilian workers were lost.
With more than 50,000 casualties, the army suffered heavy setbacks, and it was impossible to fight without recuperating for a period of time.
Moreover, even if they could fight, relying on the remaining 70,000 people, it was impossible to defeat the 30,000 Miao people stationed in Qianling County City.
Therefore, Zhou Qing did not recklessly continue to mobilize troops but chose to rest and recover, waiting for his Master to bring reinforcements.
However, on Lu Yuan’s side, after receiving news of the victory in Wuling Prefecture, he had lost much interest in continuing to lead the troops northward to suppress the Miao thieves.
In the entire Wuling Prefecture, out of one prefecture and ten counties, nine counties had been reclaimed, including the main city.
Only the remaining Qianling County City was left, which was the Miao people’s stronghold, with few Yue civilians among them.
Yet there were so many Miao soldiers stationed there, making it clear that it was a tough nut to crack.
Faced with such a place, Lu Yuan naturally didn’t want to waste his troops and horses to fight bitterly against the enemy.
After all, the Miao people had already lost 150,000 to 160,000 soldiers and lost the territories of four prefectures, their strength severely damaged and could hardly recover afterwards.
If it weren’t for the existence of the Inborn Grandmaster and some remaining strength, no one would take them seriously anymore.
However, even with an Inborn Grandmaster, Lan Cai’er’s injury was recovering, and facing such a disparity in strength comparison, it was difficult to make any more waves.
Therefore, Lu Yuan did not want to fight against those poor ghosts, forcing them into desperation. Instead, he planned to let them go.
Otherwise, if he annihilated these Miao people, wouldn’t it be the end of his excuse to stall for time when the court demanded that he lead his troops to assist Yueyang Prefecture?
The situation in Yueyang Prefecture had become increasingly fierce recently.
The reason was that the Northern Zhou people took advantage of the court’s negligence and secretly sent a group of soldiers across the river.
Although there were not many people, only 10,000.
But even so, it greatly alleviated the predicament of insufficient soldiers in Anxiang County and the Zhou people.
Now, after the replenishment, the Zhou people there had recovered to 30,000 soldiers.
Shangguan Yang’s army of the court, on the other hand, had been reduced to 40,000, with more than half dead or injured.
If the gap in the grandmasters at the top level was taken into account, the strength of both sides had reached the same level.
Therefore, Shangguan Yang did not even continue to besiege Anxiang County City at this time but instead led his troops back to Baling City to lick his wounds and slowly recuperate.
In contrast, the Zhou people took advantage of this opportunity to regain several surrounding county cities, recover a large amount of food and fodder, and alleviate their own food crisis.
The situation in Yueyang Prefecture had fallen into a deadlock.
At this time, if Lu Yuan brought his troops over, wouldn’t he just be cannon fodder for the court, letting his hard-trained army be wasted on this battlefield where nothing could be gained?
So even though Shangguan Yang and the court kept sending messages urging him on.
He continued to make excuses, saying that there were still Miao bandits causing trouble in the southern three prefectures and Wuling Prefecture, and he had to lead his troops to suppress them.
Moreover, the heavy losses suffered by the soldiers under his command in the two battles meant that they urgently needed rest and recuperation, and were powerless to fight again.
So he continued to stall in this manner.
Therefore, at this time, the Miao people in Wuling Prefecture could neither be wiped out nor ignored, from any perspective.
Under these circumstances, Lu Yuan remained in Yangshan Prefecture, training the 20,000 new recruits under his command while reorganizing the 30,000 Miao soldiers he had recruited from the southern three prefectures.
Unexpectedly, the next time he went north, the 50,000 soldiers, along with the 30,000 soldiers under Zhou Qing, would total 80,000 soldiers, becoming his main force.
The quality of these soldiers’ training would determine his bargaining capital with the court and whether he could smoothly occupy the entire Dongting region, so it could not be underestimated.
Time passed in this way, and another three months passed until the 15th day of the eighth month of Hongdao’s sixth year.
It was the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival again.
On this day, late at night, with the full moon in the sky, Lu Yuan was unusually not staying at the barracks but had come alone to a quiet deep mountain.
Under the pale moonlight, he sat on a green stone at the peak of the mountain, his eyes slightly closed. His body was surrounded by a blazing red light, gradually turning into a sea of fire, burning everything around him to ashes.
After a year of hard work, Lu Yuan’s lifelong Martial Arts cultivation had finally manifested an external body.
At this moment, the Martial Dao True Intent condensed in his mind and suddenly rose above the sea of fire, gradually gathering and solidifying the originally disordered sea of fire into a flame shining with a bright red light.
The fusion of True Intent and external body marks the completion of the outer cycle and the achievement of the inborn state.
“After sixteen years of bitter cultivation, today I finally understand the wonders of Heaven and Earth.”
With his soul blessed, Lu Yuan got up, holding the red flame in his hand, surrounded by red light, and couldn’t help but shout loudly towards the mountain ridge.
“I have succeeded in my path!”