Grand Marshal Ahn Dey finally said the words, his voice hoarse and cracked, yet there was nothing he could do but forcefully swallow the truth.
He could not win this battle.
His army would be annihilated.
He would surely die on this battlefield.
"Sound the retreat," General Ahn Dey finally said, his voice carrying evident disappointment and disdain.
The order traveled downward like a chain reaction, from the higher-ranked officers to the lowest, and before everyone could even properly receive the command, the soldiers were already scrambling everywhere.
Soldiers sprinted in every direction across the field like headless chickens, throwing away their weapons, shields, and even armor as they ran, almost naked, just to catch a glimpse of hope.
Above the city walls, Roy already knew this would happen. He suddenly reached into the wooden crate and pulled out a strange, square-shaped box.
Rak Mhan spun his head, just as he was about to order the pursuit, his attention suddenly snapped toward the object in Roy's hand. He opened his mouth, about to ask curiously, then suddenly realized it was not the time to dwindle in a moment of battle, so he quickly shut it back.
Roy lifted the object closer to his mouth, his fingers gripping a large, rectangular button on the side, and spoke, as if chanting a spell toward a celestial device.
"Sor Sogon, block the retreating army and shoot them, leave no one alive." Roy commanded, a faint crackle sound erupting in the radio.
"Hahaha, it really worked," the other end of the radio cheered enthusiastically, "I–I mean, y–yes, as you command, Lord Zudra."
Ahn Dey and the generals were already running for their lives, not even daring to look back at the untouched city.
Ahn Dey, Bho Thong, and Gar Do rode their horses at frantic speed, their faces pale as they gritted their teeth, their minds spinning wildly like a storm.
How did I lose to a mere city?
Ahn Dey cursed inwardly, tears beginning to swell in his eyes as he stared blankly across the horizon.
"General Bho Thong!" Ahn Dey shouted, his anger finally snapping, "Just what did you do before you went inside that city? I need answers!"
Bho Thong immediately stiffened, his heart pounding violently, almost as if it was about to explode in his chest, unable to answer properly.
The three generals continued their retreat on horseback, leaving their army behind on foot while being struck down by arrows.
Soon after, they retreated two kilometers away from the city in the blink of an eye, not far, but also not close enough to be caught by those strange, exploding objects.
Just as the generals were about to exhale a breath of relief, something suddenly appeared in the distance, some kind of shadowy figures standing frozen on the ground.
"What is that?" Gar Do asked curiously, panting heavily as sweat poured down from his forehead like a flood.
The generals immediately reined their horses, pulling to a stop, panting heavily to catch their breath.
They stared at the standing figures, bewilderment visible in their eyes.
Soon after, the rest of the army finally caught up to the generals, yet, in the next second, after the army regrouped, a loud crack suddenly erupted from the shadowy figures.
One soldier fell down, thudding to the ground as a pool of blood poured down onto the brown earth, painting it crimson red.
Before the rest could successfully process the situation, the thunder of cracking sound suddenly echoed across the whole field. Wave after wave after wave of soldiers fell, killing them instantly without ever getting a chance to groan or scream.
The generals, whose heads were still spinning wildly from the earlier experience, suddenly found a new space to place their bewilderment.
After a span of a few seconds, hundreds were already dead.
Large piles of flesh and bone dotted the entire field, the six hundred special firearms unit soldiers releasing an endless barrage of bullets, swarming the entire army with lead without even aiming properly, as if accuracy was no longer a thing of importance when your enemies are tightly packed together in a large crowd.
The soldiers didn't even have time to recover their strength when they were suddenly ambushed by a mysterious group, yet even in such a dire situation, they knew only one thing was certain: if they stayed here, they would die.
And soon, the soldiers immediately scrambled back again, this time toward the mountains, where forests and thick jungles layered the earth. The stunned generals also regained their composure and began to retreat toward the mountains as well.
"Run to the mountains, they can't follow us there!"
The firearms unit continued raining bullets toward the fleeing army without pause, their exposed backs creating the perfect target for shooting practice, pausing slightly to reload, then continuing firing afterwards. The western army might outrun other soldiers, but they could never outrun bullets.
Soon, countless troops began to fall in massive waves, their lifeless bodies thudding onto the ground.
The western soldiers scrambled even faster, running frantically until their calves were about to snap, yet as they reached the edge of the mountains, what they saw was not a sign of relief, but a nightmare.
A wall.
A thick, towering wall that stretched more than twenty meters above the sky, its massive structure hidden behind the layered trees, waiting to surprise the western soldiers.
The soldiers stared at the stone wall with blank eyes, their earlier hope of escape finally deteriorated by the sight.
On the front stood a towering wall, behind were the pursuing figures mercilessly massacring their comrades; they all understood.
There was no escape.
Soldiers fell onto their knees, some tried their best to climb, but effort alone was not enough when facing overwhelming power.
The firearms unit of Zudrath City finally caught up, showering the fleeing men with an endless barrage of bullets.
Ahn Dey and the generals reached the edge of the mountain as well, their expressions no less terrified than the soldiers.
"Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
They cursed loudly, their eyes darting on all sides, trying to find a way out.
Then suddenly, a towering figure appeared from behind.