Chapter 25: The Battle of Two Armies

The Moon River military camp, dawn had just broken.

Mo Xuanyu, draped in a military overcoat with his dark hair tied back, sat by the campfire with the camp’s officers, drinking hot tea and gnawing on hardtack.

Fals arrived at the camp on his warhorse. Opening his visor, he reported the current situation of the Knights Order in the main city to Mo Xuanyu.

"Lord Mora, we lost approximately 40 knights during the battle to retake the main city. They have now been replaced by members of the Knights Order stationed at Moon River."

"How many troops should we keep in the main city?" Fals inquired.

"Bring 250 elites with you, and leave the rest in the main city to maintain constant contact," Mo Xuanyu said after a moment of deliberation, finalizing his strategic deployment.

His reasoning was sound. While transcendent knights possessed immense individual lethality, they were still far too fragile compared to the massive armies on the battlefield. The Allied Forces boasted a force of 100,000; although not all were elites, the sheer disparity in numbers meant that even transcendent cavalry could not survive on their own. Therefore, this unit of transcendent cavalry could not act independently on the battlefield; they had to be integrated with the garrison cavalry to form a sharp, piercing spearhead.

"Understood!" Fals lowered his visor and remounted his horse.

"Has Mo Xiao returned yet?" Mo Xuanyu asked the guard beside him.

The guard shook his head. "We have not seen Mr. Mo Xiao yet."

Mo Xuanyu nodded, his gaze toward the distance tinged with slight concern. Before dawn, he had dispatched Mo Xiao to the Allied Forces camp to scout enemy intelligence—a task at which Mo Xiao, an assassin, excelled.

At that moment, within the Allied Forces camp, Mo Xiao leaned silently in the shadows of a tent, his presence completely unnoticed. Inside the tent sat Mist-Scythe and Ring-Snake.

Mist-Scythe glanced at the slash mark on his companion’s neck and sneered, "I warned you before that guy wasn't easy to deal with."

Ring-Snake’s face remained cold as he gently touched the wound on his neck. His talent allowed him a degree of immunity to death, but each loss of a physical vessel weakened his attributes. Mo Xuanyu’s strike had slashed two points off both his intelligence and strength, causing them to plummet to 16—a fact that nearly made Ring-Snake cough up blood in frustration. Fortunately, he still had sacrificial lambs prepared in his space, which allowed him to reconstruct a body and restore his stats.

His divine talent was named "Infinite Serpent," an S-rank ability bestowed upon him by that existence.

"Save your breath. Did you two redeem the limited Moon River Spring from the Contribution Shop?" Ring-Snake asked coldly.

Mist-Scythe looked at him as if he were an idiot. "The siege mission failed. Where would I get the contribution points to buy the Moon River Spring?"

Ring-Snake’s expression darkened. "If neither of us has enough points, that bottle of Moon River Spring likely fell into the hands of the Kingdom faction. That is not good news."

As veteran God-Chosen, both Mist-Scythe and Ring-Snake understood the immense value of that spring. Not to mention other benefits, its most important effect was a boost to Luck. Never underestimate that 0.1 point of Luck; it was enough to make countless God-Chosen guilds pay an astronomical price to secure it. The moment the shop opened, both had set their sights on it, plotting to accumulate points to snatch it up.

However, they hadn't expected it to be redeemed within a minute of the shop opening, leaving them both empty-handed.

[Sacred Geometry: Allied Forces faction mission refreshed.]
Faction Mission: Intercept Reinforcements
Difficulty: A
Mission Description: God-Chosen of the Allied Forces, please choose to accept. Dispatch a portion of your forces to join Peterman Cheston’s army and assist in blocking reinforcements from various main cities heading to Moon River.
Mission Rewards: Substantial contribution points, double loot drop rate for treasure chests.

"Another side quest. I'll take this one." Mist-Scythe accepted without hesitation, and Ring-Snake had no objections. He was currently plotting how to break the Kingdom army's defenses and personally kill the NPC who had forced him to waste a life.

Recalling Mo Xuanyu’s indifferent yet arrogant gaze, Ring-Snake licked his dry lips, feeling an inexplicable sense of excitement. He craved battle—he craved fighting the strong and then killing them. That blood-pumping sensation fascinated him. If he could kill Mo Xuanyu, he would make sure to take those beautiful eyes back to Sacred Geometry as a trophy.

Mist-Scythe and Ring-Snake had been rivals for several worlds, and he could see exactly what his companion was thinking. Before leaving, he threw out a remark: "With your personality, you'll eventually throw away all your lives."

"I’ll still be alive long after you’re dead," Ring-Snake retorted coldly.

"Heh." Mist-Scythe left the tent, mobilizing all members of the Iron Curtain Guild to meet up with Peter’s interception force and intercept the reinforcements from other cities.

Mo Xiao returned to his own camp after a final sweep, informing Mo Xuanyu of the Iron Curtain Guild’s departure. He also brought back the specific distribution of the 100,000 Allied troops. Of these, 60,000 were private aristocratic troops belonging to Eric, and their encampment was kept at a distance from the Free Commune, clearly out of mutual suspicion. Because they held the numerical advantage, the Free Commune had agreed before the battle to push Eric as the Commander-in-Chief of the Moon River campaign.

Mo Xuanyu recalled the arrogant prince and shook his head internally. Eric had been well and truly played by Peter. The title of Commander-in-Chief seemed glorious—a chance to make history—but it also meant he would bear the greatest burden of public opinion. It was foreseeable that if this battle were lost, all the prestige Eric had accumulated would vanish, and the nobles would cease their support.

Eric, however, likely didn't yet know who he was facing; he only knew the opposing commander was Carmen.

After an all-night meeting, Eric finalized the start time for the Moon River campaign: 12:00 PM.

As the army began to mobilize, Mo Xuanyu was not idle. He deployed 1,000 line infantry to form a first line of defense on the narrowest bank of the Moon River, occupying a gentle slope to lie in ambush. To attack the main city, the 100,000-strong army had to cross the river from the plains—a route they could not avoid.

Time ticked away, and finally, Mo Xuanyu saw the Allied flags in the distance. In this era, wars between factions were usually conducted with a degree of etiquette—everyone would line up their formations before engaging. But Mo Xuanyu cared nothing for that. They were already outnumbered; was he trying to get them killed faster by playing by those rules?

Mo Xuanyu wanted to utilize his army’s strengths to the fullest: high mobility, strong cohesion, and absolute obedience.

When the Allied vanguard began to cross the river, Mo Xuanyu gave the order. A large group of soldiers immediately rose from the small hill on the opposite bank. They raised their pre-prepared flintlock muskets and fired in rotating volleys. In just seconds, more than half of the soldiers crossing the river were struck down. The entire river was instantly stained red with blood.

"No! We must take that high ground!" The vanguard officer shouted, ordering his men to force a crossing.

But the firepower from the opposite bank was ferocious, leaving them with no chance to fight back. Soldiers fell in droves into the river. Just then, the Allied Second Infantry Regiment arrived—20,000 strong and equipped with their own squads of musketeers—and unleashed a barrage upon the hill.

Seeing this, Mo Xuanyu decisively ordered a retreat. There was no need to be dragged down there. The benefit of his troops' high cohesion was evident; their retreat was orderly, and they ran at top speed with their rifles slung.

By the time the Allied forces finally struggled across the river, Mo Xuanyu’s troops were already resting in their camp. Mo Xuanyu remounted his horse and directed the infantry regiment to form their lines.

When the two armies met on the plains, Mo Xuanyu’s gaze fell upon a black warhorse in the Allied camp. The rider was none other than Eric. Eric naturally spotted Mo Xuanyu, whose 21-point Charisma attribute was far too striking to ignore. Their eyes met, and Mo Xuanyu tilted his head slightly, affecting the appearance of a stranger.

This clearly infuriated the proud Eric, whose expression immediately turned icy. He thought viciously that if he won this battle, he would drag Mo Xuanyu to his bed and force him to watch him closely.

In any era, commanders were rarely killed in battle—talent was a rare commodity, and their value as prisoners was far higher.

"Your Highness, give the order to attack," Ring-Snake said, having become one of Eric’s confidants.

"Attack!" Eric waved his hand, and the Allied First Infantry Regiment charged.

After Eric’s reorganization, the Allied forces totaled 80,000, divided into four infantry regiments of 20,000 each. As the defending side, Mo Xuanyu raised his hand, and his riflemen opened fire, cutting down a wave of the First Regiment. Then, the riflemen fell back behind the infantry to engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Mo Xuanyu had also divided his forces into four regiments of 10,000 each, all equipped with steel armor and steel longswords.

The two armies clashed. Twenty thousand against ten thousand—viewed from a bird's-eye perspective, the surging mass of people looked like dense swarms of ants. Many God-Chosen were mixed in, fighting with fervor; the double treasure drop rate greatly boosted their morale, and no one wanted to miss this chance to strike it rich.

Eric watched the battlefield intently, but the unfavorable situation he feared began to unfold. The individual quality of the Kingdom soldiers was simply too high; nearly every one of them could fight two enemies at once. With high morale and superior equipment, his own soldiers had no way to fight back.

"Deploy the Second Infantry Regiment and the cavalry!" Eric commanded.

The Second Infantry Regiment was quickly thrown into the fray, and the Allied forces gained a temporary advantage. A detachment of 1,000 cavalry swung around from the left flank, intending to shatter the Kingdom army’s formation.

Seeing this, Mo Xuanyu did not hesitate. He waved his hand and commanded, "Second, Third, Fourth, and the cavalry—all out!"

After the initial exchange, Mo Xuanyu was even more certain of his judgment: as long as their own God-Chosen weren't crushed, they could not lose!