Chapter 433 The Goose Army

Chapter 433: The Goose Army

Under the brilliant sunlight, Ren Dong herded a flock of waist-high white geese, marching with proud military bearing toward the battlefield.

"Make way, make way!" Ren Dong shouted loudly, clearing a path for the geese.

The Daizhao soldiers quickly parted to either side, opening a road for the geese to reach the center of the battlefield.

"Honk, honk—" The clear, resonant calls of the geese carried far, baffling the Nanyan troops.

This was a battlefield—what was Daizhao doing driving a flock of geese here? Were they trying to imitate Nanyan's beast forces?

But geese—good for nothing but plucking and stewing—what use could they possibly be?

Even if they did have some effect, there were so few of them that they wouldn't make a decent meal for their tigers.

The Nanyan troops sneered, dismissing it as foolishness and paying no heed to the geese.

In that brief moment, Nanyan’s venomous snakes slithered up to the Daizhao soldiers, ready to attack—only to be blocked by a line of geese standing firm.

Though there were only eighteen geese, their line stretched a good stretch. Even if they couldn’t stop all the snakes, they could intercept many, which was far better than nothing.

"Go, peck them to death!" At Ren Dong’s command, the well-trained geese, led by Da Bai, charged fearlessly and ferociously, pecking and tearing at the snakes with lethal accuracy.

"Honk—honk—" The geese lowered their long necks, their sharp eyes locked onto the snakes, moving like lightning. Almost no snake could escape their sharp beaks and claws.

The few that slipped past were swiftly killed by the soldiers behind them.

"Those geese are here to fight the snakes!" The realization dawned on the Nanyan Army.

"Kill the geese, protect our snakes!" a Nanyan General urgently ordered.

In just moments, the geese had already pecked and injured dozens of snakes, a sight that sent chills through the Nanyan forces.

The army rushed forward, intent on slaughtering Daizhao’s geese.

Though fierce and formidable, the geese were no match for armed soldiers—like lambs to the slaughter.

"Protect our geese!" the Daizhao General commanded sternly, stepping up to defend the geese from the Nanyan forces.

As the saying goes, every dog has its day. Though geese were no match for humans, they were far more effective against snakes.

Amid the chaotic battle, the snakes slithered wildly among the soldiers, while the geese struck true every time.

"Da Bai, over there, over there…" Ren Dong called out directions from behind the geese with intense focus.

In recent days, Ren Dong hadn't skipped a single day, tirelessly training the geese through simulated battles to overcome their fear of the battlefield and focus solely on attacking the snakes.

"Well done, keep going, don’t let a single one escape, peck these vile things to death…" Ren Dong watched, fired up with excitement.

She was from Yicheng and had grown up hearing horror stories about Nanyan’s venomous snakes since ten years ago, nursing a deep hatred for them ever since. This time, Nanyan had resorted to even more vicious and underhanded tactics, filling her with loathing.

So when Yu Zheng tasked her with training geese to fight the snakes, she jumped at the chance—throwing her whole heart into it. As a woman, contributing to the war effort was the honor of her life.

"Honk—" Da Bai and the geese fought like demons possessed, hounding the snakes mercilessly until the bitter end.

Though the snakes lacked intelligence, they instinctively feared powerful foes. After witnessing the geese’s prowess, they turned tail in terror.

Yet geese were territorial, aggressive, and vengeful birds. Once they identified the snakes as invaders, they mercilessly chased them down.

For a moment, the venomous snakes descended into utter chaos, frantically fleeing with no intention of attacking the Daizhao soldiers anymore.

"You'll get extra rations when we return!" Ren Dong shouted, pumped with adrenaline, wishing she could join the fight as a goose herself.

"An eagle-eyed Nanyan soldier spotted Ren Dong and reported, "There's a woman in the Daizhao army, right behind the geese—she seems to be commanding them."

Upon hearing this, the Nanyan General scrutinized the situation and decisively ordered, "Dispatch the beast forces to shred Daizhao's geese. Send the cavalry to spearhead the assault and kill that woman."

The soldiers obeyed and rushed off.

Soon, tigers were unleashed toward the Daizhao geese, but the Ironclad Army held their defensive line, blocking their advance.

"Roar!" The tigers snarled furiously, lunging at the Ironclad Army, only to have their teeth shattered in the clash.

Witnessing this failure, the cavalry abandoned the plan of using tigers against the geese and instead charged to kill the woman commanding them.

The Daizhao soldiers deployed their cavalry in response, preventing the enemy from approaching the geese or Ren Dong.

"The clangor of steel rang out sharply, grating on the ears, as the glint of blades and spears made Ren Dong's eyes sting with each flash.

This was her first time on the battlefield, witnessing thousands fighting with real weapons. The sound of blades slicing flesh, the sight of spear tips piercing bodies, blood splattering, and agonized screams made her quake with horror.

War was brutal. Though Ren Dong was well-protected and unharmed, watching Daizhao's men cut down one after another before her eyes, corpses strewn across the ground, filled her with unbearable grief.

Among the fallen were the old and the young—fathers, husbands, sons, brothers...

Their deaths meant countless families would never see their loved ones return, left only with sorrow and pain.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Ren Dong averted her gaze, concentrating on not hindering the troops while directing the geese to hunt the snakes and aid the battle.

The sun blazed directly overhead—the hottest part of the day.

According to Nanyan's original plan, the warm temperature would prolong the snakes' fighting capacity, greatly favoring them. Even if they couldn't take Yicheng, they could still deal a heavy blow to Daizhao.

But Xiao Lin had underestimated his opponent. He never expected Left Wing General Yu Zheng to find a way to counter the snakes so quickly, catching him off guard and fueling his fury.

Those venomous snakes were the result of decades of backbreaking labor by Nanyan, requiring immense manpower and resources to train—only to be effortlessly neutralized by Daizhao.

"Outrageous!" Xiao Lin's veins bulged on his forehead, his expression terrifyingly fierce.

The Right Wing General surreptitiously glanced at him and subtly edged away.

The Left Wing General watched the battlefield, his forehead creased with worry.

The beast forces were Nanyan's greatest advantage. If they were countered, Nanyan would have no choice but to engage Daizhao in direct combat.

Not only would this result in heavy casualties, but all the effort spent taming the beast forces would also be wasted.

Yet the battle had already begun, and Xiao Lin's military orders were carved in iron.

The Left Wing General studied Xiao Lin's expression, hesitating before speaking.

"They're just a bunch of geese—I refuse to believe they can turn the tide!" Xiao Lin growled with violent impatience.

"My Lord is correct," the Right Wing General cautiously added. "Daizhao's geese are limited in number, while our snakes are overwhelming in number. The geese can't possibly handle them all."

"Besides, we still have many tigers. Next time, we can deploy them alongside the snakes, letting the tigers clear the way and eliminate Daizhao's geese first."

The idea sounded promising—the king of beasts against mere poultry would be as easy as a meal.

The Left Wing General warned, "We must not underestimate Daizhao's poison smoke either."

Xiao Lin's rage flared even hotter at the reminder.

What cowardly tactics! Using poison on the battlefield—how despicable!