Just Watching from the Sky

Little Black flew north for nearly an hour.

Shen Jingchuan looked up and saw a battlefield vaguely visible dozens of kilometers to his right.

With a gentle pull, he adjusted his direction and headed straight for a nearby hilltop, where he landed.

The mountain looks quite high, but the top is very flat, making it a perfect hiding spot for gazing around.

He stood still and looked around; the two armies had already clashed.

The Rebel Army numbered around 100,000, while the opposing border troops numbered nearly 300,000, a dense, dark mass of men.

Both sides were well-organized and disciplined, with faint killing intent emanating from their formations.

It's obvious at a glance that these are elite troops who have seen bloodshed, truly evenly matched opponents.

Right now, the border troops are attacking.

A line of shield bearers stood at the front, holding large shields, behind which were dense rows of long spears. The soldiers shouted in unison and marched forward steadily, step by step, to the beat of the drums.

They didn't rush in a swarm; every step they took was in accordance with orders.

At the front of the Rebel Army, the shield bearers had already crouched down, holding their shields in front of them.

The crossbowmen behind, upon receiving the command, crouched in one row and stood in another, simultaneously pulling the triggers.

Behind them were archers, two rows of them looking up and throwing arrows into the air.

In an instant, arrows blotted out the sky, tracing arcs as they fell into the border army's formation.

The border troops soon suffered casualties.

Initially, this volley of arrows did not cause much damage.

The projectiles were too weak, and the crossbow bolts fired directly were firmly blocked by the large shields. Only a few unlucky ones were hit, and they didn't cause much of a stir.

The distance between the two sides was now only one hundred meters.

The closer they got, the more accurate their arrows became, and more and more soldiers fell in the border camp.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

Just then, Shen Jingchuan suddenly heard a series of crisp "tap-tap" sounds coming from within the formation.

He pursed his lips. It was a machine gun.

Flames flickered repeatedly within the Rebel Army ranks, and the shield-bearers of the border troops charging at the front were sent flying backward in rows.

The large shield shattered, and the soldier holding it was thrown overboard, knocking down a group of people behind him.

Once the shield wall was breached, the spearmen behind it were completely exposed to the Rebel Army.

Without the shields to protect them, the crossbowmen's power increased dramatically.

At a distance of thirty or forty meters, the crossbow bolts were at their most lethal, killing one enemy with each arrow. Border troops fell in droves, like wheat being harvested.

Shen Jingchuan saw this and thought to himself, "Old Hu has brought out a machine gun."

He understood Hu Tieniu's intentions: he didn't want his men to get bogged down in hand-to-hand combat.

If the enemy were to charge forward with their shields up, the next step would be close-quarters combat. The border troops are heavily armored elites, and they outnumber the enemy. If they really fought to the death, the Rebel Army would not fare well, and their casualties would be considerable.

At this time, although the border troops on the battlefield were all wearing armor, they could not withstand the powerful crossbow bolts of the Rebel Army.

These crossbows are made of modern spring steel, with an effective range of over 200 meters. They can penetrate armor like a piece of cake, especially at such close range.

The crossbow bolts were fast and deadly, and the spearmen fell to the ground one after another.

The border officer in command saw that things were not going well, but instead of ordering a retreat, he ordered the drums to be beaten even faster.

The border soldiers who had fought on the battlefield for many years knew that if they ran back at this time, they would be chased and shot down, and they would die anyway. The only way was to grit their teeth and charge forward, and get close to the enemy, so that the crossbow bolts would not be so terrible.

The border soldiers roared in anger, mustered their courage, and ran wildly with their heads down.

This trick really worked; the distance between the two sides was forcibly shortened again, and it was now around thirty meters away.

The "rat-a-tat" of gunfire rang out again.

If the crossbow bolts didn't hit vital organs, the Government Army could still hold on and charge a few more steps.

But this machine gun is different. Within dozens of meters, a hit will break bones and ligaments, and the person will be sent flying.

Although there were only three machine guns, each magazine holding just over two hundred rounds, and they had to be replaced after each use, the sheer number of machine guns was terrifying, and the sight of the flying figures left the soldiers behind them stunned.

The border troops' lines stretched for nearly two kilometers, and three machine guns couldn't block such a wide area, so the number of border troops actually killed was still limited overall.

But that fierce aura was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe, and those at the forefront slowed down, one by one feeling fear.

Finally, the front part couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed with a bang.

The soldiers turned and ran, and arrows from the Rebel Army rained down on them.

Immediately afterwards, a bugle sounded, and the Rebel Army cavalry charged out from behind the lines.

The border troops were, after all, elite soldiers who had fought many battles. The main formation at the rear remained intact. The spearmen immediately set up their spears, the shield bearers blocked the way in front, and the archers at the rear unleashed a rain of arrows, managing to hold off the pursuing cavalry.

Although the fleeing soldiers were in a panic and didn't know where to go, they didn't lose their composure.

Most of them did not turn back to crash into their own main formation, but instead targeted the gaps between the three rear formations and the two flanks, making their way to escape.

As seasoned veterans, they knew very well that anyone who dared to charge their own lines would face swift and merciless attacks from the spearmen behind them, each spear striking down the enemy. The rain of arrows would show no mercy either.

By avoiding the main formation and escaping through the gaps, one might still be able to save their life.

The Rebel Army cavalry circled the formation, firing several rounds of crossbow bolts and killing many fleeing soldiers. Upon hearing the order to sound the retreat, they turned their horses around and withdrew.

The border troops' arrows followed, but the cavalrymen were all wearing protective suits and helmets, so few were injured, and they retreated safely back to their own lines.

The two sides exchanged fire across each other for a while, then gradually stopped, and the battlefield fell silent again.

Although the border army lost its vanguard in this battle, it did not suffer a complete rout. Several large formations remained firmly in place, and the two armies continued to confront each other across the open field strewn with corpses.

At this moment, the two armies were more than 300 meters apart, which was about the limit of the bows and arrows.

The open ground was littered with the corpses of border soldiers, and many wounded soldiers, covered in blood, struggled to crawl back; it was a gruesome sight.

Shen Jingchuan released his Divine Sense, scanned the area briefly, and got a general idea of what was going on.

In this battle, the border army lost more than 10,000 men, while the Rebel Army suffered negligible casualties.

He looked down and patted Little Black, saying, "Come on, let's take a closer look."

Little Black flapped its wings and carried him towards the battlefield.

Shen Jingchuan had only ever seen such scenes in movies before. He had only seen one real battle with cold weapons, the one involving a siege. This was the first time he had ever witnessed a battle in the field, and it was truly awe-inspiring.

He knew he couldn't intervene, but surely watching wouldn't hurt?

The Rebel Army 100,000 men was arrayed in a large formation, not a thin layer. It stretched out for more than a kilometer horizontally, with three square formations of 5,000 men each, followed by cavalry square formations, and then infantry square formations.

As the old saying goes, when there are ten thousand people, there is no bounds; when there are a hundred thousand people, the earth is connected to the sky.

Shen Jingchuan flew high above, with a clear view of the battle formations on both sides.

The soldiers in the rear of the Rebel Army first saw a dark shadow in the sky, looked up and recognized it, and immediately started shouting.

"It's the Black Horse Immortal Venerable! The Immortal Venerable has arrived!"

One message after another was heard, and even those at the front turned around to look up at the sky.

Hu Tieniu, from the central army, also saw it and felt a warmth in his heart, thinking that Brother Shen was ultimately worried about him.

He pointed his broadsword forward and roared at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, do you see that? The Black Horse Immortal Venerable is backing us up in the sky!"

"Kill them!"

With a sudden wave of the command flag, the deputy general followed suit, and 100,000 men shouted in unison, "Kill!" The sound shook the entire field, and morale soared to its peak.