Baichuan analyzed the battle situation to the half-asleep Zichuanxiu: "The current situation is that the defeated demon army still has over 50,000 men, and among them are extremely powerful armored beasts. We were almost overwhelmed by their attack just now—for some reason, they suddenly retreated, and they looked quite distraught. Several of our deputy commanders are undecided about whether to pursue them. Please advise, sir."
Zichuanxiu asked dazedly, "Does anyone want to pursue them?"
Baichuan: "Deputy commander Roger, he strongly advocates the pursuit."
Zichuanxiu: "Then let him pursue."
"Hakata-sama!" Shirakawa was furious and anxious. "I understand how you feel about Roger, that boastful braggart who hasn't done a single good thing since becoming vice-hataka. Actually, I feel the same way. But the five thousand Far Eastern Army officers and soldiers under his command are innocent. There's no need for them to die with Roger, right?"
"Oh, how could you assume that about your superior, Vice-hataka Bai?" Zichuanxiu's eyes gleamed with a cunning glint, the look of someone whose thoughts have been seen through. "Let him go. It's no problem."
"But the enemy has fifty to sixty thousand men, and Roger's army is less than five thousand."
"Shirakawa, think about it. Roger's troops are cavalry, much more mobile than those massive demons. If we can't defeat him, he can at least run away, right?"
"But your Excellency also knows that idiot Roger never uses his brain when charging. What if he gets stupid?"
"Don't worry, I'm fully prepared!"
Facing Baichuan's skeptical gaze, Zichuan Xiu pulled out a flyer from the tent. It read: "Imperial Capital Funeral Home, June 1st to August 30th, 40% off! Welcome!"
"I've calculated that if Roger skips today, he'll still be in time for the discount. Besides, I'm pretty familiar with the owner; maybe he won't charge us for the urns..."
※※※
Baichuan, fuming, rode back to the front. The other two vice-captains cast inquiring glances.
"Lord Xiuchuan orders Vice-Captain Luo to attack!"
Roger shouted, "Long live!" Turning to his men, he roared, "Follow me!" He galloped off. Five thousand black cavalrymen, forming a neat formation, followed him, charging down the hillside. The clatter of hooves echoed with roars: "Long live, long live, long live..." The entire column, like a giant black dragon, rushed down with unstoppable force, plunging towards the retreating demon army.
"That idiot! He's so happy to die!" Bai Chuan cursed angrily.
"It's not necessarily a suicide mission," said Deputy Chief of Staff Nagamoto Nagakawa. "I sense a chaotic atmosphere among the demons. I wonder what's happened to them. Maybe Roger will succeed."
Shirakawa: "What could possibly happen there?"
Nagakawa: "We don't know, but perhaps you do—every time you call Roger out, it's like saying, 'No need to think now, just charge forward.' We will win. I have faith in you."
Shirakawa snorted, thinking, "That's because you didn't see him fast asleep in the back hills, ready to flee at any moment." He didn't say it out of fear of shaking the troops' morale, and also because...
At this moment, the situation on the battlefield took an unbelievable turn: Roger's cavalry charged down, almost instantly penetrating the demon camp—as easily as a red-hot fork into cheese—and the demon soldiers fled in all directions without offering any resistance, their armor and weapons abandoned, their ranks scattered.
A fifty-thousand-strong demon army was so badly defeated by a human force less than one-tenth their size. It was unprecedented in history!
The two vice-hataemons exclaimed simultaneously, "Huh!"
Nagakawa yelled, "This is unnatural—it's a trap! Roger's already fallen into it, surrounded!"
Shirakawa shouted, "It can't be a trap. Look at how panicked their soldiers are running. They can't be faking it! Even if it's a trap, there's a good chance they'll succeed!"
Shirakawa turned and shouted, "All troops! Charge!"
Nagakawa stopped her, "You have no right to issue a general mobilization order—only adults have that authority!"
Shirakawa responded by knocking him off his horse with a punch and placing his saber against Nagakawa's neck: "If you miss this opportunity, I'll kill you!" Glancing at the stunned guards and messengers around him, he gave the order in a low voice, "Go and deliver the message!"
"Woo-woo!" Bugles blared from all directions, and the cavalrymen shouted as they began their general charge. Over the mountains and plains, a vast sea of twenty thousand sabers swung in the sunset, creating a beautiful scene of iron and blood. The cries of battle shook the earth, "Long live, long live, long live..."
The sound disturbed a certain brave man in the back mountains from his sweet dream. He poked his head out of his sleeping bag and listened for a moment, muttering, "It's a full-scale attack... Looks like Shirakawa has discovered it... Seriously, let's just fight, why all the shouting? It keeps me awake." He pulled his head back in, trying to resume his interrupted dream...
The Zichuan family annals record: "In the 778th year of the Imperial Calendar, during the Third Battle of Hengchuan, Zichuan Xiuqiben personally led the troops to the front lines, bravely fighting the enemy and greatly boosting the morale of the entire army! His three deputy bannermen, Luo Jie, Baichuan, and Changchuan, bravely united their forces and commanded with composure. Finally, in this battle, they led 30,000 cavalrymen to defeat 80,000 elite demon troops, killing or wounding over 40,000 and capturing over 10,000. Gesha, known as the demon clan's foremost general, was also killed in this battle by Xiuchuan Xiuqiben. This dealt a heavy blow to the demon clan and marked the first turning point in the War of Defending the Holy Spirit."