Chapter 582

Chapter 582: Getting Ready

Qianzhou State

Former capital of the Chen Kingdom, now a crucial stronghold for the Demon Human. The entire capital has become Demon City, where only Demon Human are allowed to live.

Within Demon City at that moment, it appeared calm and peaceful. If an unknowing person saw the scene, they would never imagine that Demon Human lived here.

However, for those observant enough, they would soon notice the heavy scent of blood in the air, with the majority of shops selling raw meat lining the streets.

Most Demon Human preferred to eat meat raw rather than cooked, had little need for vegetables or grains, filling the entire city with the smell of blood.

Meanwhile, in the former Chen Kingdom palace, a large group of high-ranking Demon Human children were in class. The teacher spoke to them, "Looking at the world, we Demon Human are the most superior beings. We possess powerful bodies like wild beasts and intelligent brains like humans…"

Not far from the classroom, young Demon Human were observing human Alchemists making pills. These young Demon Human were very polite, respectfully asking questions to the Alchemists. The Alchemists patiently answered, as there was no holding back knowledge here; withholding information meant being eaten by the Demon Human the next day.

Somewhere far away, there used to be a royal library in the Chen Kingdom, boasting the most books in the world. Inside the library, dozens of Demon Humans were quietly reading.

Downstairs in the library, a few Demon Humans were talking. One of them said. From what we see now, our evolution as Demon Humans is right. We have abandoned more monster-like features and returned to the body of humans…

"It’s hard to say if it’s correct. Nowadays, Demon Humans can’t go back to ancient times. The whole group is evolving towards humans, and our natural abilities have become much weaker."

"But our potential for cultivation is higher, isn’t it? And our ability to reproduce. In ancient times, when a Demon Human gave birth, almost a mother would die, but now, the risk for Demon Human mothers giving birth is even lower than for humans, isn’t it?"

"But this also brings a big problem. In the past, human women who bore children for our demon clan would die, but now they survive. We all know the great influence mothers have on their children. Under their influence, we Demon Humans have gained countless followers. But now, a Demon Slaying Order from the south has killed hundreds and thousands of Demon Humans, even the lower-ranking ones. This has put us in a difficult position. How will these children face their mothers in the future?"

"This indeed needs careful consideration. My suggestion is to gather all the wise beings of our clan for discussion. Human books are a powerful thing; they record events from a long time ago, even mistakes, to warn future generations. We should decentralize the power of learning and allow middle-ranked Demon Humans to study. Relying solely on us high-ranked Demon Humans is too few in number."

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North of Mizhou State, more and more cavalry appeared in the Demon Human territories. After a long period of trial and error, the Datong Army has found a way to deal with Demon Humans.

When entering enemy territory, mobility is the most important, so cavalry becomes even more important. The Datong Army’s cavalry disrupts isolated Demon Humans, luring them into pre-set ambushes, and then using a large number of crossbows to shoot them.

Using this method, the Datong Army has already shot and killed tens of thousands of Demon Humans in a few years, the whole defense line can now advance.

"Your Majesty, this is a new repeating crossbow made by the Military Equipment Department. It is heavier than the old one by over ten pounds, but the number of arrows has doubled from ten to twenty. The old crossbow could penetrate armor at twenty steps, while the new one can do it at fifty steps, and loading the arrows is also easier."

In the military camp, Lin Jiang and a group of high-ranking officials went to the training ground to see the new weapons. The repeating crossbow is just one of them, many other weapons are also being upgraded.

"Regarding these new weapons, do we have any new tactics, especially for the next step when I want to attack the Demon Humans?"

"Yes, the Military Equipment Department has created a large carriage. The carriage is made of the best hard wood and covered with iron plates. Several carriages are connected together to form a sturdy fortress. Inside, there are some of these new type arrows that can be shot out like water, whoever comes will perish."

"Do we have the actual items, have they been tested in battle? These carriages alone weigh thousands of pounds, can the horses pull them?"

"The actual items are ready, but they have not been tested in battle yet. Our horses cannot pull them, but the heavy horses from the Immortal Kingdom can. The Military Department is gathering them, they should be able to acquire several hundred or even thousands of them."

"We should test them in battle as soon as possible, if they prove effective, then we can start mass production immediately."

Lin Jiang said that since the Datong Army took over the borders, they haven’t initiated any large-scale attacks yet, they have been mainly focusing on recuperation. Now, two to three years have passed, it’s time for some action.

Lin Jiang inspected the new weapons and equipment, checked the supplies in the warehouse, and felt very satisfied. When a great nation mobilizes, it can be very frightening, especially for a new country like Da Tong, which has a lean system and very high efficiency.

Half a month later, a team of thousands appeared in the northern region. They split into several groups, with one group mainly consisting of light cavalry heading to raid the Demon Human tribe, while another group, mainly using wagon formations, stood guard in open areas. After suffering losses, the Demon Human tribe was now hesitant to chase recklessly, especially in obvious ambush spots where they would not advance without caution.

"General, there’s a warning ahead, the decoy brothers are coming back."

As the convoy advanced, a scout came back shouting, leading general motioned for the convoy to halt.

"Warning, enemy attack, be on guard."

The general roared, and the entire convoy sprang into action. They found an open space, gathered the wagons in a square formation, released the heavy horses pulling the carriages into the circle, and then the Martial Arts Master moved to connect the wagons tightly to eliminate any gaps.

After preparing all this, soldiers entered the wagons, opened the side shields, stood on them, and shot arrows outward. However, there weren’t many archers because they require high skill; instead, crossbows were mainly used for long-range weapons. The new rapid-fire crossbows were quickly assembled and mounted on the wagons.

These wagons were about three meters tall, taller than most Demon Humans, resembling small city walls.

"One hour, too slow, you’re too slow, taking twice as long as the training ground practice time…"

The general in charge scolded the soldiers loudly because today they were testing their weapons in a real battle, without setting up their positions beforehand. It was a real battle, and problems started to show up. Luckily, the scouts were placed far away in case the enemy attacked suddenly, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves.

The general didn’t scold for long because the enemy arrived. They first saw their own light cavalry fleeing in a sorry state, and behind them was a group of over a hundred Demon Human.

The Demon Human saw the formation of the troops but didn’t attack immediately. They had suffered many losses recently, often ambushes in valleys. This formation was new to them.

After a brief hesitation, the Demon Human decided to charge. The human light cavalry had attacked their pastures, killing thousands of their cattle and sheep. They had to seek revenge.

The Demon Human also had horses and weapons, mostly swords and few bows. It wasn’t because they lacked the skills but because they relied more on their own strength.

The Demon Human began the charge, and the general calculated the distance. When they reached fifty paces, the general ordered the archers to start shooting.

The new crossbows could penetrate armor at fifty paces, which meant they could pierce through the protective essence of the Innate Martial Artists. This distance was already lethal enough against the Demon Human.

With twenty bolts per crossbow, there were fifty soldiers and fifty crossbows on one side of the formation, totaling a thousand bolts. The Demon Human with shields were lucky, only losing their mounts, while those without shields were riddled with arrows, with each Demon Human taking at least ten arrows.

"Forty paces."

"Thirty steps"

"Twenty steps, shoot"

The leading general was still calculating the distance to the Demon Human, when suddenly, the crossbow arrows disappeared. The Demon Human started charging again and got to twenty steps. Seeing that the crossbows weren’t ready, the general ordered a few archers to shoot.

There were only around ten archers, but they were all skilled. They quickly shot arrows without aiming precisely because their task was to delay the Demon Human.

After a while, most of the archers reloaded and fired a second round. More than half of the Demon Human fell to the ground, while the others became even more ferocious.

Inside the formation, several Martial Arts Masters emerged, along with the light cavalry that had baited the enemy, surrounding the Demon Human.

"The engagement distance is too close. The sharpshooters should start shooting from a hundred steps away, firing in unison every fifty steps. The arrows must not stop, with multiple teams of archers shooting consecutively. Also, outside the formation, there should be a group of shooters…"

Watching the fierce battle, the leading general kept calculating. This was a test of real combat, and any shortcomings needed to be identified and corrected to prevent losses in a future full-scale attack.