The sight of elephants in Guangxi wasn’t surprising for Yundong; he had seen them before in his other life. Despite the danger, these naturally joyful creatures were quite docile, even when they used their trunks to lift people, which was not particularly dangerous.
But for his subordinates, it was a terrifying sight. Even Xiaolin, who was usually bold, was visibly shaken, and one could imagine how much worse it would be for the others.
"Order Xiaolin and Peng Jiu back; set up positions at their current location. Three hundred steps away, establish a fire wall. The crossbow units must designate areas; as soon as the war elephants break through the fire wall, use gunpowder rounds to attack mercilessly!
They fear fire and gunpowder rounds. Even if he’s a giant beast, any flesh-and-blood creature can be torn apart by gunpowder! He’s not some long-nosed giant beast; it’s just an elephant. There’s nothing to be afraid of."
Xiaolin and Peng Jiu quickly withdrew from the front lines with expressions of terror.
Di Qing saw that the Victory Army wasn’t advancing but retreating, so he spurred his horse forward and asked Yundong: "What happened?"
"The advance guard discovered war elephants. They say there are over a hundred," Yundong said, spitting out blood while smiling.
Di Qing surveyed the surroundings and decisively ordered, "Retreat! Immediately retreat! Our preparations are insufficient; this beast is incredibly powerful. Only the 'Lion Army' can overcome it. Ordinary flames won’t hurt it. We must withdraw and regroup later!"
Yundong was shocked: "The Lion Army? What is that?"
Di Qing said anxiously, "During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Emperor Wen of Song appointed Zong Que as General of Punitive Expedition to attack the Kingdom of Lin Yi. The king, desperate, ordered his elite force, 'War Elephants,' to fight back. These invincible creatures made it impossible for our troops to hold their ground; they suffered heavy casualties.
However, Zong Que was not afraid and avoided battle. He realized that elephants’ greatest enemies were lions. But he couldn’t immediately train a 'Lion Army' to counter them. Instead, he ordered his men to make lion models overnight and bring them to the front lines as a deterrent against the 'War Elephants.' This strategy worked; when the Lin Yi's War Elephants charged forward, they saw only lions standing their ground, which frightened them into retreating, no matter how hard the drivers tried to turn them around. At Zong Que’s command, his troops quickly advanced and won the battle.
We don’t have time to prepare; we must retreat!"
As Di Qing spoke, his horse neighed loudly, constantly circling as if extremely agitated. The ground began to tremble, and a steady sound approached from the valley entrance, like golden giants approaching slowly toward the Victory Army.
Yundong’s face turned pale, knowing that they couldn’t retreat now. He pulled out the spear hanging on his horse’s saddle, shouting: "War elephants! Prepare crossbows; prepare gunpowder rounds; prepare penetration darts!"
"War elephants! Prepare crossbows; prepare gunpowder rounds; prepare penetration darts!" Zhou Tong, Wu Ji, Sun Dazhi, Xiaolin, and Peng Jiu echoed his shouts. At this point, they had to trust Yundong’s judgment.
The first to respond were the veterans of the Ji Zi Camp; their loyalty to their commander was deeply ingrained. Now that they held positions as captains or squad leaders in the Victory Army, they immediately started shouting like their commander: "War elephants! Prepare crossbows; prepare gunpowder rounds; prepare penetration darts!"