"My king, disaster has struck! Our grand army has been defeated!"
"Defeated? How is that possible? How could our army possibly be defeated?"
When someone had previously informed the King of the Peacock Kingdom that their army had been defeated, he had paid it no mind.
This was because, at the time, they had only sent a few thousand soldiers, with just a few dozen elephant cavalry, to fight against Lin Tian's forces.
With such numbers, it was perfectly normal for them to be defeated by Lin Tian's terrifyingly large army.
But this time, their Peacock Kingdom had mobilized over a hundred thousand soldiers, with thousands of them being elephant cavalry.
Such a massive force of elephant cavalry was more than capable of crushing hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers.
Even when facing hundreds of thousands of troops, their army would not have felt fear.
This was because their elephant cavalry would scatter those hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers, crushing them one by one.
Therefore, the King of the Peacock Kingdom believed that they would undoubtedly achieve an easy victory against Lin Tian's army this time.
He had even already planned how he would conquer the kingdom behind Lin Tian's army.
He had even planned to spend more money and keep several hundred more concubines.
Only then would he feel worthy of the vast amount of wealth he would plunder from the kingdom behind Lin Tian's forces.
It had to be said, his vision of the future was exceedingly beautiful.
But who would have thought that the news that returned would be that their army had been defeated.
Such news simply didn't sound right no matter how one heard it.
"You're spreading false news, aren't you? You're playing a joke on me, right? How could our mighty army possibly be defeated?"
"Your Majesty, how would I dare to spread false news to you! Moreover, this news was not brought back by my own men, but by the soldiers who fled back. They all said our enemies are too terrifying and that they want Your Majesty to flee from here!"
"What? For me to flee?"
The idea of the King of the Peacock Kingdom fleeing was utterly preposterous to him.
Having been king for so many years, it was the first time he had ever heard such absurd news.
This was his stronghold, the entire Peacock Kingdom belonged to him, the King.
Now, someone was attacking his Peacock Kingdom, and he, the King, was being told to flee.
Who among anyone could accept this?
Thus, at this moment, the King of the Peacock Kingdom was exceptionally furious.
"Insolent!"
"This is our own country! Others are attacking our country, and there's a reason for us to flee?"
"Where are my elephant cavalry? Where is my army? Quickly gather them all! I will personally lead the charge! I want to see for myself what kind of enemy is worth making me flee from this place!"
"If they are nothing but weaklings, then those soldiers who told me to flee will be buried with those weaklings!"
The King of the Peacock Kingdom had ruled the Peacock Kingdom for many years, and his heart had long developed arrogance and a sense of looking down on everything.
After all, within the Peacock Kingdom, he had never encountered an enemy.
Anyone who opposed him had been easily slain.
Even though he had heard that Lin Tian's army was somewhat powerful, he had never seen it with his own eyes.
Under such circumstances, how could he believe that anyone's army could be stronger than his own?
Therefore, he had decided to personally lead his troops, cut off Lin Tian's head, and let others know how formidable he, the King of the Peacock Kingdom, truly was.
However, as soon as he uttered these words, the faces of the other officials and generals revealed a look of distress.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, our elephant cavalry and soldiers have all been dispatched. The elephant cavalry has all perished on the battlefield. Currently, our Peacock Kingdom has no elephant cavalry left to use!"
"No elephant cavalry left? Weren't our elephant cavalry invincible? How did they die on the battlefield?"
"Which incompetent commander led this army? Why did they bring about such immense losses for me?"
"Where are the cavalry? How many cavalry do we have left?"
If the elephant cavalry was gone, then naturally, there were no elephant cavalry to use.
In such a situation, the cavalry had instead become their main force.
Therefore, the King of the Peacock Kingdom was desperately eager to know how many cavalry they still had.
As long as they had enough cavalry, fighting against Lin Tian's army was not impossible.
The ministers of the Peacock Kingdom, upon hearing the King's words, took a deep breath.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we still have fifty thousand cavalry. Subsequently, some cavalry should return, and at that time, our cavalry numbers should be even greater!"
"Fifty thousand? Only fifty thousand? Then how many cavalry do they have?"
"They... they have at least over a hundred thousand cavalry!"
In terms of cavalry, the Peacock Kingdom's cavalry was no match for Lin Tian's cavalry.
Whether in terms of numbers or combat effectiveness, the Peacock Kingdom's cavalry was far inferior.
Within the Peacock Kingdom, they placed more importance on their elephant cavalry.
Each of those elephant cavalry had been cultivated with great effort.
A few thousand elephant cavalry, to them, was like an invincible army.
If the Crusaders encountered such elephant cavalry, they would likely face significant trouble.
However, now that the elephant cavalry was gone, these people of the Peacock Kingdom were like toothless tigers, having lost their original ferocity.
The King of the Peacock Kingdom's heart sank by half upon hearing that they only had fifty thousand cavalry.
The disparity in troop numbers was too great. This immense difference in numbers made the King of the Peacock Kingdom lose his confidence in victory.
After all, he was not a fool. He knew that if he forcibly charged forward with such a significant difference in numbers, it would likely be a dead end.
Therefore, the King of the Peacock Kingdom's face flushed with shame, but he remained lucid.
"Since there are still troops returning, then let us wait for our army. Once our army has gathered, we will then deal with those people!"
"Yes!"
No one found anything wrong with the Peacock Kingdom's command.
In fact, they felt that such an order was excellent.
At the very least, they had more opportunities to understand Lin Tian's army and more time to regroup.
They would no longer have to charge headlessly like the soldiers before them, only to be soundly defeated and retreat.
However, they did not know that even if they delayed, it would not be for long.
Lin Tian's army was currently conquering the Peacock Kingdom's cities with great momentum.
It was believed that it would not be long before they reached the capital of the Peacock Kingdom.
...