Chapter Six Hundred and Thirty Two – Weakness
Zuo Mo slowly floated off the ground. His expression was cold, his eyes as sharp as a sword, and he gave off a pressuring aura.
The ashen-faced people unconsciously raised their heads. The blank and terrified gazes gathered on Zuo Mo’s body.
“Those that retreat, kill! Those that do not follow orders, kill! Those that lower morale, kill!”
The three “kill” were a gust of cold wind that blew across Great Peace City. The slightly thin figure in the air was reflected in the terrified eyes of the people.
“Hold on to your mo weapons. The following clash will be even more cruel, even more intense, and even more people will die.”
Zuo Mo’s tone was cool. He did not comfort the crowd, and treated them like his subordinates, having to remind them that the battle was about to begin as though this was a usual affair. The battle was just beginning and what would occur later was even more intense. But for some reason, his words carried an unusual power and caused the terror on the faces of the people to decrease.
In their eyes, Xiao Mo Ge appeared calm and composed, unpanicked. The people here who had lost courage immediately found something to hold onto and gradually calmed.
“Just now, we killed three thousand Ming bandits!”
The crowd shifted. The great majority of people were still anxious but some of the more daring people became excited. Three thousand! The Ming Bandits only had twenty thousand people in total! For them, three thousand could be considered to be a heavy blow.
“They will be afraid, terrified, and angry. The following attacks will be even stronger.” Zuo Mo’s voice was flat and cool.
More and more people started to understand. Their gazes slowly became bright and the terror was replaced by excitement. They suddenly found that the Ming Bandits were still made from flesh, they were mortal – they could die!
They suddenly felt that victory was not so impossible.
If a few more clashes like this occurred, wouldn’t the Ming Bandits be defeated?
The people who had found hope again had slightly excited expressions.
“Hold on, and we will win!”
Zuo Mo’s voice was not arousing, nor sorrowful. His calm yet confident voice echoed above Great Peace City.
The crowd quieted again as they unconsciously gripped the mo weapons in their hands. Everyone’s eyes had brightened and they were filled with hope.
———
Ming Hui’s gaze was dark.
He had heard all of Zuo Mo’s speech and did not attack again. The other Ming Bandits also showed slight fear. In one exchange, all three thousand bandits had died and not one had manage to escape. They had never encountered something like this before.
Just now, that tsunami-like attack had caused even the sun to appear dim in comparison. The lambs had suddenly showed their fangs and surprised them.
“This person must be Xiao Mo Ge. As expected, he is brave and cunning.” Ming Hui looked at the Anti Dragon Claw on Zuo Mo’s back, and his pupils contracted.
Ming Yu Wei’s face was also astounded but her attention was not on the Anti Dragon Claw but Zuo Mo’s words. She had heard Zuo Mo’s cool, murderous and calming words, she had seen the terrified people gradually settle down, and their determination to resist grow even stronger.
The collapse of morale they had predicted did not occur.
Such a charismatic person!
“Their battle formation setup is very unique.” Suddenly, Ming Yu Wei spoke up with a serious expression. She was the most outstanding battle general of the Ming Bandits. Her judgement always received attention from Ming Hui.
Everyone finally noticed the patchwork of battle formations.
They were all experienced. Before, they had not paid attention. Now that Ming Yu Wei pointed it out and they looked closely, they immediately noticed what was there.
“Xiao Mo Ge is cunning!”
Among the exclamations came sharp inhales.
The Ming Bandits were in the sky and could see the setup below clearly. They finally noticed that Xiao Mo Ge had spent great effort on the arrangement of the battle formations.
The dense patchwork of battle formations was like a hedgehog. No matter which direction they approached from, they would face attacks from at least twenty battle formations.
Even if the other did not have a battalion, did not have a battle general to direct all the power, but a simultaneous attack from over twenty thousand people was enough to cause a headache for any battle general.
A battle through numbers!
This phrase flashed across everyone’s minds. The commanders looked at each other and did not know what to do. This wasn’t the first time they had encountered a situation like this, but their past experiences told them that any group of civilians, no matter how large,were a herd of lambs when they faced a battalion. If they took a few losses and charged at the enemy, the rabble would scatter and then the enemy would be easy prey.
But what was in front of them was not the same as any of their experiences.
They had lost three thousand people but the enemy had lost seven to eight thousand. Rationally, the enemy ranks should have started to flee and collapse now!
But they did not flee. Xiao Mo Ge’s vicious and decisive act hadn’t just stunned all of Great Peace City, but also astounded the Ming Bandits. What surprised them even more was that Xiao Mo Ge had soothed the anxiety and fear of Great Peace City with just a few words.
When had these normal people gained such strong and resilient minds?
Even the Ming Bandits that had killed their way from mountains of corpses could not understand what was occurring in front of them!
Then Ming Yu Wei pointed out what was special about the other’s setup. This caused them to all become more wary of Xiao Mo Ge.
“Is there a solution?” Ming Hui spoke. He knew that his younger sister was very smart and always relied on her for battle tactics.
Ming Yu Wei’s gaze stared at the enormous battle formation battle under them without a word.
They all knew that she was pondering how to break the formation. They didn’t dare to breathe in fear of disturbing her.
A moment later, her eyes suddenly lit up and she said, “This battle formation belt is unique, but it is not invincible!”
Everyone became alert and perked up to listen.
“They have many people, but they are not a true battalion. They do have some cooperation, but when pressured they cannot fight for long. We only need to use the smaller battalions to harass their formation at range and force them to expend their strength. Over time, they wouldn’t be able to maintain this. At that moment, we will charge straight at the center. If we can take down Xiao Mo Ge, their ranks will definitely collapse and flee!”
“That is right!”
“Yes, yes! We will dart in and out of range, they won’t know whether to fight or not, they will be frustrated!”
“Good method!”
The commanders gave their praise. Ming Hui also showed joy. Ming Yu Wei’s plan was directed straight at the other’s weakness. While fighting with numbers was effective, but the weakness of the enemy being untrained civilians was something that could not changed.
“Alright! Let’s do this!” Ming Hui ordered.
The commanders were aching to start.
———
Looking on as the enemy harassed their formation from the edge of their range, and how their attacks kept missing the enemy, many people had ugly expressions.
“The Ming Bandits definitely are not ordinary people!” Princess Xin’s expression was terrible.
Princess Xia also showed a thread of worry. “They are forcing us to waste our power.”
Almost everyone could see what the Ming Bandits intended. But there was no use in that. No one had a good solution. The Ming Bandits saw their weakness and did not disguise their intentions.
Everyone unconsciously looked at Xiao Mo Ge nearby.
When they saw Xiao Mo Ge had a calm face, their mood immediately calmed down as well.
He would definitely have a way!
Almost at the same time, many people had the same thought.
———
“We cannot continue like this!” Standing next to Zuo Mo, Zhu Ke couldn’t help but speak. Worry floated onto their faces. If this continued, the outer battle formations would not be able to continue and collapse.
Once the collapse began, all of the army would collapse.
If this was a well-trained battalion, the troops could be rotated out, but right now, they only had these greenhorns that had been trained for two days. If they tried to rotate out at troops this time, it would lead to chaos.
But if they did not switch at this time, collapse was just a matter of time.
Zuo Mo nodded. He didn’t speak and indicated to Miao Jun.
Soon, the outermost battle formations slowly moved back, and the battle formations on the inside slowly advanced.
Changing formations for the well-trained battalions was not an easy matter, but for people with two days of training, it was impossible.
Chaos spread.
The Ming Bandits perceptively noticed their chance. They dove down howling. The killing intent flooded the air as they charged!
The battle formations on the outside became even more panicked.
The panic spread. The already unstable battle formations became even more chaotic.
At this time, a Ming Bandit commander’s eyes suddenly lit up. His heart beat rapidly! He noticed that at some time, a faintly discernable path of attack appeared in front of him.
The path led straight to Xiao Mo Ge! He then looked at the crowd around Xiao Mo Ge. The princesses and other high status people were among them!
He was so excited he almost stopped breathing. The Heavens had blessed them with a good opportunity!
If he could capture this group, the battle would be finished!
What was in front of him was the fattest piece of meat. If he could swallow it, it would be the biggest accomplishment in this battle.
His gaze burned!
Without another word, he ordered, “Charge there!”
His battalion was well trained and did not hesitate to charge towards where their battle general had pointed!
As the Ming Bandits charged into their battle formations, it caused the people of Great Peace City to be wary the coming attack. But the people closest to the battalion were not a match for these wolfish Ming Bandits
Blood and flesh flew and wails rang out endlessly!
This Ming Bandit Battalion was like a sharp and red hot knife cutting through butter. It immediately penetrated the ranks and went straight at Xiao Mo Ge!
In the air, Ming Hui’s eyes suddenly lit up. His cheeks flushed and he pointed at the crack that was growing. He shouted, “Everyone, attack!”
The Ming Bandits who were barely able to hold themselves back immediately complied!
Killing intent filled the sky!
Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo is good at rallying morale but I still find his rally against the Clear Sky Old Forefather the most hilarious.