"Shi Hao!" Huang Zheng saw Shi Hao being killed by the enemy and his team being killed by Heiweimen. He was so distracted that he failed to cast a spell. The uncontrolled magic power impacted his mind and body, making his injuries worse. Huang Zheng felt dizzy and was about to faint again.
At this moment, he suddenly felt his body lighten, as if the corpse on him had been moved away.
Then someone grabbed his calf and slowly dragged him to the corner.
Huang Zheng knew very well that this person was definitely not from the Empire, so he did not make any sound and forced himself to stay awake and cooperate to avoid some obstacles on the ground.
When the man dragged him to a corner of the house where he could avoid the black guards, a soul link was connected to his consciousness.
"Lao Huang, Huang Zheng, Huang Zheng! Can you hear me? I am the second battalion commander, Ma Guoming. You have to hold on now. I will help you escape."
"Ma Mingguo?" Huang Zheng half-opened his eyes and looked at the familiar man in front of him. Suddenly, his nose felt sore. He suppressed his emotions and said, "You, you are in charge of the city wall."
"Yes. Old Huang, there is no time to talk now. I will carry you on my back and head south first." After Ma Mingguo finished speaking, Huang Zheng felt that he was being carried by someone, and then quickly walked towards a path on the edge of Heimu Pass.
"What's the situation now?" Huang Zheng asked while lying on Ma Mingguo's back.
"We had a fierce battle with the Imperials on the top of the city before. Although we suffered heavy losses, we also killed many enemy mages. Just now, when I decided to fight to the end, I received an order from Captain Shi to retreat. We retreated downstairs, and I wanted to take a look at the enemy's movements near the main battlefield, but I didn't expect to see the scene of Captain Shi leaving. At that time, he said that he would be the one to cover our retreat, and I felt it was inappropriate. Alas..." Ma Mingguo's tone was full of sadness.
"What's your situation? How many people have been evacuated from the second battalion?" Huang Zheng asked.
"Only half, only half! Half of the people died, they were all good guys! We fought a terrible battle." Ma Mingguo sighed, "Those who could retreat went south from the corridor on the east side. The artillery that could not be taken away was destroyed. Fortunately, Zhang Hong and a group of people found this passage where there are no imperial soldiers at present, otherwise we would have been trapped on the city wall."
"Zhang Hong? Why is he doing this?"
"I heard from the messenger that it was Zhang Hong who opened the communication array with Suero in time and reported the situation here to Suero. It seems that he arranged this passage according to Suero's instructions. I don't know, but he did save a lot of people on our city wall. He also helped organize the retreat of many people below."
"I remember... Shi Hao sent someone to notify the communication station right from the start."
Huang Zheng instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he was too badly injured. With doubts about the incident lingering in his mind, he fell asleep on Ma Guoming's back.
When he woke up, he found that they were already outside the moat on the south side of Heimu Pass.
"Hurry up, the seriously injured should be put on the bus first." Huang Zheng heard someone shouting. Several crystal cars were parked outside the pass. Ma Mingde sent Huang Zheng to a car equipped with a healing magician and put him on a makeshift bed. "Old Huang, you have to hold on! I just saw your battalion, and a lot of people have been evacuated. I have to go back to take care of my second battalion. They are a little scattered now, I have to go over and keep an eye on them."
Huang Zheng tilted his head and watched Ma Guoming leave in a hurry. He suddenly remembered that when he got on the car, he vaguely saw a familiar figure standing in front of the iron bridge at the south gate. He said to the mage in the crystal car, "Help me up."
"Captain Huang, you are seriously injured." said the healing mage.
"Help me up!" Huang Zheng insisted.
The mage couldn't persuade him, so he had to help him up. Huang Zheng looked through the glass window of the crystal car and saw that it was Zhang Hong standing outside the bridge.
He was casting spells there. First, a corrosion spell corroded the steel structure in the middle section of the bridge deck. Then a fireball exploded there, and the iron bridge broke into two sections neatly and fell into the moat.
"This time we are all thanks to Zhang Hong. If it weren't for him, our retreat wouldn't be so orderly, and the speed would be much slower. It would be terrible if we were caught up by the imperials behind us. He even prepared these crystal cars. Otherwise, you seriously injured people would suffer."
"When you retreated, didn't the Imperials pursue you at all?"
"There was a pursuit. We evacuated to the south wall, and the enemy's beast army caught up with us. However, Zhang Hong organized the retreating team in advance and set up a line of defense in front of the south wall, which repelled the attack of the beast army. It seems that our troops did not suffer too much loss." There was some admiration in the mage's eyes.
"The only ones chasing us are the beast army, not the black guards?" Huang Zheng asked.
"Maybe, but I don't see much."
"Is that so!" Huang Zheng narrowed his eyes and whispered. He seemed to have lost interest in observing the outside world and lay down on his stomach. "Please help me take care of the wound. I feel it collapsed again."
——————
An hour later, Emperor Alfred of the Purple Eagle Empire stood on the city wall south of Heimu Pass, with Gandas and Lanit standing behind him.
Alfred said, "After so many years, the Empire finally took this barrier. My father, my grandfather, and my grandfather's grandfather all imagined standing here and looking at the territory of the kingdom from afar, but in the end, only I have achieved this."
"This is inseparable from your wise decision-making and fearless courage. In my opinion, courage plays a more important role in this operation," said Gandas.
The emperor said: "Haha, strategies can be proposed by ministers, but courage must be possessed by the monarch himself. This is what my predecessors lacked."
Mollett hurried over, knelt on one knee before the emperor, and reported: "Your Majesty, our losses have been counted."
"explain!"
"One hundred and fifteen Black Guards died, of which thirty-eight were mages, forty-one were bloodline warriors, and the rest were fighting spirit warriors."
The emperor frowned and asked, "In other words, almost half of the Black Guards were lost? How many of the sacrificed were high-ranking?"
"High level, there are twenty-five high level, fifty-eight mid level, and the rest are low level." Mollett said.
The emperor asked, "The loss of high-level personnel actually exceeded half?"
"Yes, it is."
"How many of the remaining people are injured?"
"About half..."
The emperor said, "It seems that I really underestimated the Chinese. Although they were caught off guard by us, they suffered a lot of losses. It is still unknown who will win or lose."
Gandas said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to be so pessimistic. After all, we are the only one who has achieved our strategic goal: occupying the Blackwood Pass. We have definitely won this battle. The most critical pass on the continent is worth taking at any price."
"Really?" The emperor stared into the distance, not knowing what he was thinking. (To be continued)