Chapter 180 Xuan Feng's Trap

The battle began with Baron's troops already having less than their usual amount of morale due to the successful night raid against them last night. Though it might not seem like much, keeping the morale of the soldiers high was important as it could mean the loss of the battle. Baron and Yue Fei did their best to keep the morale from dropping any further by getting the battle started earlier than they usually would have. Yue Fei would be fighting on the very front row commanding the troops by his side. On the other hand, Baron would be in charge of the whole battlefield including sending Yue Fei any reinforcements if he needed them, sending attachments anywhere on the battlefield if the enemy were trying anything, etc.

Roxi began to shoot her Barett at the enemies as soon as the battle began and at first, she was taking down officer after officer. However, those higher-ups started to get into protective vehicles as soon as they saw that they were being targeted. Though this would mean that they would be a little bit less effective in giving commands, it was a lot better than being killed unceasingly. She was hiding among the cliffs nearly half a kilometer away, so she was most likely safe from harm.

This was when Roxi decided to change up her target. Instead of trying to go for those who could command, she instead tried to take out all of the vehicles that they were in. Although this would not guarantee she killed anybody, it would definitely take many vehicles out of commission. She aimed for any weak point that she could think of, wheels, lower glacis for tanks, etc. It took quite a bit of trial and error, but she managed to eventually get pretty good at spotting where the weak points were.

Baron could see from afar that Roxi was quite a big help in this war so far. That being said, this did not mean that he could let down his guard and let this advantage go to waste. He sent even infantrymen squads to replace the ones that were either dead or nearly there in the vicinity of Yue Fei. Though both of them seemed like they were coming on top for now, what was bugging them was that Xuan Feng did not look like he was making any moves at all despite his army being beaten around by Baron and Yue Fei's.

Then, the two got their answer. It turned out that not only did Xuan Feng not react to his army being immensely pushed back being due to something that he was preparing, but it was also a trap in and of itself. Yue Fei had been doing so well in his offensive that Baron just kept sending more and more soldiers to his side so they could hopefully make up for the catastrophe that was the night raid. This caused Yue Fei to get a little too deep into the enemy ranks and they were ambushed by a couple of fighter strategists. Baron called for Roxi to focus on Yue Fei's position and assist them from there.

On Yue Fei's side, he had been in control of the situation for as long as the battle had been going on, but as soon as his troops fell into a trap, he knew that all of this was premeditated. A strategist with a napalm grenade made short work of his soldiers and the high morale that they had worked so hard to achieve in an instant. Yue Fei was baited into a trap, but he would still need to fight for his life if he wanted to get out of this situation alive. The napalm launcher would be difficult to deal with given the explosives he could fire, but Yue Fei had his trusty bow with him. At this short 50 meter gap between them, he had never missed.

Yue Fei cocked his bow after putting out the flames that he had on his clothes and aimed. Just as he was about to let loose the arrow, he heard multiple gunshots and he found himself on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, there was a group of 25 strategists that were coming in on his right side. They were all equipped with powerful weapons and they did not seem to be beginners at using.

There was nothing he could do now, the pain was excruciating, he was quickly losing consciousness, and whatever remnants of his soldiers that weren't decimated by the enemy were no match for the strategists in front of them. Slightly groggy, he heard one of the reports to Xuan Feng that one of the strategists had been dealt with. Obviously referring to himself. Just as he passed out, he heard one of the strategists get shot and profanities ensued. Followed by another shot, and another, and another...Then he fell unconscious right in front of his enemies. There was a distant shout for his name, but he could no longer hear it.

The battle for the first day ended right at midnight. It would have gone for longer if Meng Wu had not convinced Baron to call it off. The three of them had a discussion right after the battle.

(BM) "Dammit! They got Yue Fei. How could I have let this happen!" Baron shouted into the sky.

(MW) "Baron, your feelings are getting the best of you. This attitude of yours is not going to change anything, actions will." Meng Wu reminded Baron.

(RB) "I'm sorry, Baron. I couldn't target them fast enough. By the time I got his position in my scope, he was already down on the ground." Roxi said slightly guilty.

(MW) "I suppose it's also my fault for not getting to his position fast enough. The only thing that I could do was shout at them while they retreated after getting Yue Fei's body."

(BM) "Not good, they now have a hostage. This battle just took a turn for the worse."