Corpses lay everywhere upon the Huai River, and vivid red blood covered the land along both banks.
This was the main battlefield between Qi State and Chu State, where the fighting was most brutal.
Waves of fierce clashes between sabers, spears, swords, and halberds rang out, followed by the sound of arrows tearing through the sky. The wet sounds of metal meeting human flesh never ceased.
The wails of the dying were everywhere. On the battlefield, perhaps being killed outright was the best outcome.
These men had lost hands and feet, their blood flowing without pause. They could hardly escape death, yet still had to endure such agony.
Lord Changsheng looked grim. He had reported the situation at the front to Yingdu, but the war at the front could not stop.
Nor could the States now hang up a truce placard and expect attacks to cease. What place was there for etiquette on the battlefield?
Qi State and Chu State fought another bloody battle. No matter how Lord Changsheng commanded and deployed his forces, the outcome did not change in the slightest. Chu State still suffered a crushing defeat.
The private troops of Chu State's nobles held one another back. When allied troops came under attack, they remained unmoving as mountains.
Every noble hoped to reduce his own army's casualties, but when foes met on a narrow path, the brave prevailed. Their refusal to risk their lives on the battlefield left everyone with heavy casualties.
After suffering enormous casualties, what followed was not a correction of their mistakes, but an ever greater reluctance to put effort into the fighting, and ever greater efforts to protect their own armies.
Quite a few even thought-*As long as my losses are smaller than everyone else's, my power within the state will not be