Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 375: 194. Bloody Massacre (Part 4)_2

This can only mean that Hou Yuxiao's true combat power far exceeds his cultivation as a Second Realm Divine Platform Grandmaster!

Hou Yuxiao was not in the mood to concern himself with Peng Yucheng's thoughts. He glanced down and ordered Hou Yucheng who was beside him, "Second Elder, quickly tally the casualties, take these Silver Armored Army prisoners, disarm their weapons, have someone watch over them, and count their numbers!"

His tone was rather hurried, and Peng Yucheng also quickly turned to command his own five commanders, gesturing to them to tally the casualties.

"First battalion, 831 dead, 5721 enemies slain."

"Second battalion, 1021 dead, 5218 enemies slain."

"Third battalion, 981 dead, 4891 enemies slain."

"Fourth battalion, 1091 dead, 4910 enemies slain."

"Fifth battalion, 1210 dead, 5071 enemies slain."

As a regular army, it did not take half an hour after Peng Yucheng's order for the commanders of the five battalions to quickly report all the numbers.

After more than ten minutes, Hou Yucheng finished tallying and approached Hou Yuxiao, his tone heavy as he said, "The Hou Clan's total death toll is 2121, with 6812 enemies killed!"

Upon hearing these numbers, everyone in the Hou Clan fell silent, even the expression on Hou Yuxiao's face darkened slightly, the joy of victory diluted significantly.

True, the Hou Clan had the highest enemy kill count, but their death toll was also the highest, exceeding two thousand. In this ambush where they had every advantage, each battalion of the Xingnan Prefecture troops had achieved roughly a one-to-five casualty ratio, with the Hou Clan's ratio being only one-to-three.

Indeed, the Hou Clan's poor performance did not come as a surprise to anyone, but the death of over two thousand people, accounting for one-fifth of the current number of Hou soldiers, was difficult to accept.

Peng Yucheng observed the expressions of everyone in the Hou Clan, realizing that they could not accept this casualty ratio, which contorted his face into an utmost bizarre expression.

It was their first time on the battlefield, and a one-to-three casualty ratio was unsatisfactory to these people of the Hou Clan...

"Big Brother, as a commander of the Hou Clan, I cannot escape the blame. It is all my fault for the improper command which led to such heavy losses. Let me bear all the misdeeds alone!"

A more outrageous scene ensued: seeing Hou Yucheng kneeling and confessing his sins to his elder brother Hou Yuxiao, Peng Yucheng was shocked beyond words and did not know what to say.

Could it be that the Hou Brothers were this strict with themselves?

"Get up! It's inevitable to suffer more losses on your first battle. The battle is not over yet; just make up for it with merits later on," Hou Yuxiao said, giving an approving glance to Hou Yucheng after he had finished speaking, and then glancing at Nie Xinchuan and Liu Jianghong, noticing their expressions ease slightly, he felt relieved.

Although he also grieved the losses of the Hou Clan's army, he could still accept the outcome. Not to mention that this army of ten thousand men had been newly assembled and lacked experience in battle, it was clear why the casualty rate was high just by looking at their attire compared to the Xingnan Prefecture army.

The fifty thousand Xingnan Prefecture troops were all clad in black armor, while the warriors of the Hou Clan, because they had been hastily called to battle, only a few managed to scavenge the thousand sets of black armors left over by the Tongling County Mansion Army, and the remaining ninety percent were still in civilian clothes.

This one point alone could explain why the casualty rate was so high. However, although Hou Yuxiao understood this, it was still necessary to appropriately assign blame because within this army of ten thousand, it was not just his Hou Clan men, there were also members of the Hongdao Gang, West Cloud Escort Agency, Bai Clan, and Medicine Dust Sect. With Nie Xinchuan and Liu Jianghong standing beside him, as a Family Head, he had to consider their feelings.

Hou Yuxiao naturally felt reassured that Second Elder had quickly reacted and cooperated with him, volunteering to take the blame.

"Casualties 7255, a total of 32623 enemies killed, and 7690 prisoners taken. Seventeen managed to escape from the west side of the valley, all of them at the Gang Qi Realm, fleeing off the Official Road into the wilderness, leaving no opportunity to chase and kill," Hou Yuduan reported in a calm voice, but upon hearing the total number of enemies killed reaching over thirty-two thousand, everyone felt a chill rise within.

The total reinforcements from Longxiang County amounted to just over forty thousand, and in less than two hours, about eighty percent had perished. Previously, because they were constantly in a state of bloody battle, they did not feel much of it, but looking back now, they realized the entire valley had transformed.

The sky was just dawning, the valley already draped in a layer of rosy light, with bodies strewn haphazardly everywhere, the silver armors on the bodies intertwined with the bloodstains, reflecting a bizarre glow in the morning light.

The thick scent of blood surged into their nostrils, everyone frowned, and their stomachs instantly felt uneasy.

"What about the remaining seven thousand prisoners?" Hou Yucheng asked.

Upon hearing Hou Yucheng's question, everyone fell silent once more. Hou Yuxiao looked at the prisoners who had been subdued below, his gaze flickering slightly, but he did not answer him.

It's not that he didn't want to answer, but he didn't know what to do either.

Under normal circumstances, Hou Yuxiao would try to take in these people and slowly work on their assimilation before eventually incorporating them into the Hou Clan, since these martial artists with cultivation above the five levels of body refinement could serve as soldiers.

But the current situation was anything but normal. They had not yet completed this encirclement, and reinforcements from Yangping County would soon arrive, likely thrusting them immediately back into combat without the time or manpower to deal with these prisoners.

These seven thousand plus individuals all possessed body-opening cultivation of at least five levels. Even if they were disarmed, if not enough guards were assigned to watch them closely, just a little resistance from them could spark a significant disturbance at any minute.