Their equipment level and personal combat effectiveness are far inferior to those of the Huo Fu Thieves Kai, and their defeat is gradually becoming apparent.

Under the leadership of the three "Assault Arrows" with astonishing combat power, Aoto, Mizushima Rensaburo and Kanazawa Chusuke, the Souma clan's front line became torn apart and riddled with holes at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The king, tiger, and dog acted bravely and invincibly, which greatly boosted the morale of the conquering army.

More and more officers and soldiers of the crusade army, freed from the shadow of being eroded by the fire demon just now, all had red faces, excited expressions, and fought fiercely without fear of death.

In contrast, the morale of the gangsters dropped to rock bottom.

Even the most elite army would feel intimidated after suffering such heavy losses and witnessing such a one-sided battle, let alone a group of bandits who make a living by bullying the weak?

The fighting spirit on the gangsters' faces gradually disappeared.

Instead, there was intense fear and panic.

In the chaos, I don't know who was the first to throw away the weapon in his hand, scream and flee in a hurry.

"Rout" is a very peculiar group behavior.

When everyone is frozen in place, no one will escape even if their morale is exhausted.

But if someone takes this initiative...then a terrifying "contagion" will begin to occur.

When one person runs away, a second person soon follows suit.

Then came the third, fourth... tenth... hundredth...

This emotion called "fear" is more contagious than any other disease in the world.

The engraved image of the Xiangma people is in such a state - after the first escapee appeared, in just a few breaths, "one person's escape" evolved into "a group of people's great rout".

The gangsters fled in all directions without any order or organization.

They fled along the mountain road to the top of the mountain regardless, and fled to the second checkpoint they set up on the mountain road.

Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers of the crusade suddenly burst out into waves of cheers.

Kanazawa Chusuke, who was covered in blood from the killing, raised his hand and wiped his face casually, then grinned excitedly and raised the knife in his palm high:

"Eh——! Eh——!"

All the soldiers: "Oh oh oh oh -!"

Mizushima Rensaburo also raised his Bizen Nagabune above his head, pointing the tip of the sword toward the sky:

"Eh——! Eh——!"

All the soldiers: "Oh oh oh oh -!"

Hey, hey, oh - this kind of cry is called "sheng coo".

In ancient Japan, when the army went into battle and won a battle, they often used victory coax to boost morale and celebrate victory, similar to the Russian "Ula".

Generally speaking, the general-in-chief shouts "eh, eh". After the general-general shouts "eh" twice, the soldiers respond with "oh".

Just when everyone was immersed in the joy of victory and cheering loudly——

"Does anyone still have the strength?"

Qingden's calm voice, without sadness or joy, attracted everyone's attention.

When the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary army, led by Kanazawa Chusuke and Mizushima Rensaburo, followed the sound and looked towards Aoto, they saw Aoto lowering his head and looking for something.

After a while, Qingdeng found what he was looking for on the ground...or rather on someone's waist.

He bent down and snatched the gourd from the waist of a gangster who had died.

After unscrewing the lid, a strong aroma of wine immediately hit Qingdeng's nose.

——Wine? Forget it, it doesn’t matter!

Qingdeng raised his head and drank hard, and a sense of pleasure slipped from his lips.

The mouth and throat, which were originally as dry as dry firewood, felt very satisfying as they regained moisture.

The alcohol contained in this gourd is quite strong.

In just a moment, Qingdeng felt his whole belly was warm.

Qingdeng was extremely thirsty and drank for more than ten seconds - he did not drink all the wine in the gourd. He deliberately left about 2 mouthfuls of it and poured it on the back of his neck.

.

The drink slid down his neck and into his back.

The refreshing and cold touch revived Qingden's already tired spirit.

The muscles of the limbs, which were originally as stiff and heavy as marble, have become strong and flexible again.

"If anyone still has the strength...come with me!"

Qingdeng dropped the empty gourd in his hand casually to his feet.

"I want to chase and annihilate the remaining enemies!"

As soon as Qingdeng said this, everyone present looked dumb.

Kanazawa Chusuke and Mizushima Rensaburo looked at each other. Then, the former said solemnly:

"... Mr. Orange, I understand what you mean. The bandit army has been defeated, and it is a good time to launch a pursuit against them and expand the results. But... you see, the team members are exhausted now. At this time, we launch a pursuit.

I may encounter unexpected storms."

Sticking to the defeated soldiers' buttocks and beating them to expand the results of the battle - this simple principle is understood by Kanazawa Chusuke and Mizushima Rensaburo who have been working as thieves in the fire for a long time.

If conditions allowed, the two of them would have ordered the pursuit long ago.

However, as Kanazawa Chusuke said just now - the Soma people have indeed been defeated, but they do not have the strength to launch any large-scale combat operations.

Looking up, most of the team members were either out of breath or unable to stand firmly.

At this time, a weak voice suddenly sounded from the crowd not far away:

"How about... let's ask my grandson for instructions?"

The person who made this suggestion was Nobuyoshi Kazama, the captain of the Eighth Division.

Compared with Wang, Hu, Dog, and Kazama Xinyi, whose hands have hardly stopped holding the sword since the battle started, the clothes on them are not too clean - there is almost no trace of blood, and they are only slightly covered with blood.

dust.

My grandson is the commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief of this Western Expedition. Therefore, whenever major events occur during the battle, it is right to report them directly to him.

However...my grandson is currently sitting in the main formation at the foot of the mountain.

If you want to ask him for instructions, you have to send someone down the mountain - this trip will waste a lot of time and lead to the loss of precious fighter planes.

The optimal pursuit window is only so short. Once missed, the enemy will gradually recover.

At that time, the "battle of pursuit and annihilation" will become a new "battle of attack."

Qingdeng pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said:

"Kanazawa-kun, I know that all our subordinates are extremely tired."

"but--"

Qing Deng changed the subject and raised his voice and pitch. "Cracking Clouds and Splitting Stones", "Golden Throat", and "Orioles Cry" were activated.

"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. Isn't one of the most important factors that determines the outcome of a war, which side has stronger willpower and can persevere better?"

"In order to receive the hurriedly fleeing troops, the second checkpoint set up by the bandit army on the mountain road must be wide open now - that is to say, the second checkpoint of the bandit army is currently in a state of disorganization!"

"If we start the pursuit immediately, we have a chance to seize the second level of the bandits in one fell swoop before the bandits have recovered from the disorder!"

"If they are allowed to retreat calmly, it only takes one night for them to regain a foothold at their second level!"

"At that time, we will have to fight another hard battle as hard as today!"

"Instead of doing this, I would rather tighten my nerves, grit my teeth, complete the victory in one battle, and chase the bandit army to the ends of the earth! Just today, capture all the bandit army strongholds that can be captured!"

Qingdeng put forward his opinions with reason, evidence and momentum.

In an instant, many people's expressions changed - they showed expressions of excitement.

The soldiers...no matter which division they were from, they all looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you.

"..." Kanazawa Chusuke lowered his eyelids and lowered his head slightly, with a look of thinking on his face - whether to adopt Qingto's opinion or not depends entirely on the thought of him, who shoulders the important responsibility of "deputy general" and "frontline commander".

between.

Kanazawa Chusuke glanced at Mizushima Rensaburo next to him, wanting to seek the opinion of this old comrade.

"..." Mizushima Rensaburo also remained silent.

However, after being silent for a while, he nodded gently to Kanazawa Chusuke.

Seeing Mizushima Rensaburo's actions, Kanazawa Chusuke closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

When he opened his eyes again, a bright light burst out from the depths of his pupils, as if he had figured out some difficult problem, as if he had a sudden enlightenment.

He turned around and faced the large army behind him:

"Kazema-kun! You lead your eighth squad and escort the wounded soldiers down the mountain!"
To be continued...