“Report!”
At that moment, a messenger rushed in, panting and exclaimed:
“The ten thousand troops of the South Border, along with various Disaster Beasts, are headed towards Qingmu City! They are moving fast and will reach the city in no more than half an hour!”
Qu Sheng furrowed his brows. “Notify all camps to climb the city walls immediately! Also, send logistics troops at once to deploy weapons and equipment; we need everything ready!”
Commands flew as dozens of elite guards spread the word.
Defensive Commander Wu Lang asked in confusion, “Commander, is it really necessary to send so many people to transport the weapons?”
Maintaining basic structure in the Green Wood Camp was already a challenge, let alone moving the weapons, some of which were more precious than a person’s life! Without support from the court, there’s no way we could afford it!
“Young Hero Ke has found—”
Cough cough!
An unknown lady’s spirit coughed loudly.
Qu Sheng corrected himself, “Er, yes, it was Young Hero Ke who took me to a former dynasty’s armory, and there were a lot of weapons, all shiny and new!”
“?”
A bunch of little question marks popped up above the heads of the generals.
Commander, are you sure you’re making any sense?
A former dynasty? Shiny and new?
But looking at Young Hero Ke’s serious face, the generals weren’t foolish. Even if those weapons were given by him, could they really say that?
They had to be scavenged.
“Young Hero Ke really is the chosen one, finding such weapons.”
“This is fate! It seems heaven wants us to win this battle!”
“Having weapons is great, but the enemy is almost here. Can we really deploy everything in time?”
Weapons aren’t that easy to set up.
Take the Imperial Structure Stones, for example. Even if we had enough energy crystals, to cover the city walls completely would take at least two hours!
“How about I lead a few troops out for a counterattack?”
Wu Lang stood up with a heroic expression as if ready to sacrifice himself.
“Good job, General Wu!”
“You’re saving face for the Green Wood Camp!”
“Rest assured, brother, I’ll follow you shortly.”
Going out to counterattack is basically a d*ath sentence; without the spirit of willing to d*e, Wu Lang wouldn’t just jump out to volunteer.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the camp felt like autumn winds chill the river—it was a farewell as if they were drinking send-off wine.
“Wait,” Young Hero Ke’s voice caught everyone’s attention.
Ke Mo looked at the determined faces of the generals and thought it was a bit strange.
In a battle across Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, don’t they love using tactics?
“Troops shouldn’t be sacrificed lightly. If it’s just to delay time, I have an unrefined suggestion.”
He wasn’t too familiar with leading troops, so he didn’t say much.
But everybody knew, Young Hero Ke was a genius!
Qu Sheng nodded slightly, signaling him to go on.
Ke Mo stood up and surveyed the generals, saying calmly, “Han Zhen, based on my experience fighting him, is a suspicious old fox; he’s calculating and not easy to deal with.”
Everyone nodded in agreement; this old monster borrowing a corpse to come back to life, how could he not be shrewd?
Dealing with someone like that, ordinary tactics would probably fail, which is why Wu Lang chose to delay time with his life.
“For people like him, what’s the easiest trap for the wise?”
“Overthinking!”
“For those who love to calculate, they’re always ten steps ahead. So let’s go against the grain!”
“He’ll think we’re on high alert, so we’ll make it look like we’re defenseless.”
“Let’s throw open the city gates, while we secretly deploy our weapons, we’ll even bring a barbecue grill and let the soldiers on the city wall eat and sing. What will he do then?”
“???”
The generals leaned back in disbelief, their question marks multiplying as they gasped for air.
This… can it really work?
Isn’t that a bit too risky?
Some of the more cunning leaders, like Qu Sheng and Wu Lang, fell into deep thought. After some contemplation, their eyes gradually lit up.
What do smart people fear most? Irregularities.
A break from the norm means there’s something fishy; they’d definitely overthink it.
Han Zhen can’t possibly be a fool.
“What if Han Zhen reacts early and rushes the city?”
“Then we’d still have to let our soldiers hold off the attack outside. Wouldn’t they be facing casualties too?”
“Ah, this plan is excellent! Young Hero Ke even knows military tactics. May I ask, what do you call this plan?”
The generals thought it was truly feasible and looked at Ke Mo with amazement.
Not only can he fight, but he also knows military tactics—who can withstand that?
Ke Mo silently thanked Zhuge Wuhou in his heart and smiled, “The Empty City Stratagem—Barbecue Edition!”
…….
Three miles outside Qingmu City.
Under the night sky, the terrifying bronze shaman statues moved slowly, making the surrounding warriors look particularly small. There were dozens of these shaman statues, each containing the accumulated power of various beings.
Behind the shaman statues were various siege weapons: battering rams, arrow towers, pulled along by strong warriors.
In the center was the temple being carried by a group of soldiers.
This temple was the same one Han Zhen had in Senluo Valley, now being hoisted by many warriors, resembling a moving palace.
“Prince Helian, you have the brilliance of your ancestors. I remember back when I had drinks with the Helian War God; how things have changed now.”
Han Zhen looked at the man drinking not far away.
This man was tall and slender, wearing a black vine armor that seemed to contain life, with a hawkish nose and an unruly gaze.
This vine-clad man also had an impressive background.
The Helian clan, like the Zhong family, was ordered to guard the South Border.
At that time, when the border troops returned, some of the Helian clan remained in the South Border. After the fall of the Da Shang dynasty, they survived and continued to thrive.
Thousands of years later, they still led the factions in the South Border.
Helian Wu was quite formidable in the current era, ranking tenth on the Qianlong List.
Under his call, the southern factions began to slowly unite.
“The national master speaks too highly of me. The Emperor of Da Yu even promised to give me his youngest daughter, but now he’s gone back on his word, claiming she ran away. Hmph, what a joke!”
Helian Wu slammed his wine cup down on the table.
Han Zhen chuckled, “Once we retrieve one of our ancestral spirits, the Jade Phoenix Divine, and restore Da Shang’s former glory, let alone one princess, even those beauties on the list, Da Yu will offer them up willingly!”
Helian Wu’s lips curled slightly, his eyes gleaming red.
“What does the national master think? How long until Qingmu City falls?”
“In seven days, at most seven days.”
Helian Wu raised an eyebrow.
But they had 80,000 defenders here, all under the King of South Border—much tougher to chew than the scattered garrison troops!
Han Zhen squinted, grinning, “Emperor Jingtai of Da Yu has already planned to give up the Southern Pass; that’s why he’s obstructing the King of South Border. Without support, seven days is already an overestimation for the Qingmu defenders.”
“Oh? But the King of South Border is still here. What if he shows up…?”
“After breaching the city, let my tribe’s warriors k*ll for a few days and massacre the Southern Pass! Then I can retake control of the True Imperial Defense.”
“The King of South Border isn’t truly an Ascendant.”
As his voice fell.
Many menacing figures in the hall started to get excited—the temple felt like a ghost den.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Not long after, the gigantic Qingmu City was already within arm’s reach.
The cold wind howled.
Hmm?
Han Zhen frowned, twitching his nose.
What is that smell?
Oh, it smells pretty good.
