Chapter 241
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Chapter 241: The Army Approaches
Meanwhile, inside West Plains City, after the city was breached, Zhou Dongnan allowed his soldiers to burn, kill, and plunder within the city.
While this approach was detrimental to military discipline, it could slightly boost the soldiers’ morale and also allow them to vent the accumulated pressure and dissatisfaction from the siege.
After all, not every player was like Luo Ji, whose talent came with a default +10 loyalty.
For the vast majority of players, maintaining the loyalty of their troops was not an easy task.
After breaching a city, allowing their soldiers to burn, kill, and plunder was one of their means of maintenance.
Of course, it was also a way to “kill the chicken to warn the monkeys,” cautioning the residents of the city to be honest and not play any silly tricks.
“Your Majesty! Enemy cavalry forces spotted outside the city!”
“They arrived quite fast, didn’t they?”
At this moment, Zhou Dongnan, who had occupied the city lord’s mansion, was sitting grandly on a couch.
“Issue the order, have the archer unit go to the east gate wall and be on alert, keeping an eye on the movements outside.”
Zhou Dongnan was not at all flustered by the appearance of the enemy cavalry.
Cavalry generally had no siege capability.
Although he had breached the west gate during his attack, the east gate was completely unharmed.
At the same time, he had also ordered the west gate to be barricaded first, and then a unit was assigned to monitor it, making it basically foolproof.
He was not afraid of the enemy launching a sudden attack now.
Moreover, given the speed of the cavalry unit, their arrival now meant that Luo Ji’s infantry unit was still further behind.
Looking at the sky, it was already close to evening, and darkness was approaching.
The enemy wouldn’t have a chance to attack the city today.
So Zhou Dongnan was in a very leisurely mood, letting that newcomer struggle at his own pace.
After he ate his fill tonight and got a good night’s sleep, fully refreshed, he would crush the opponent in minutes tomorrow and then collect their vice-alliance leader’s reward.
This trip was incredibly smooth.
However, the only thing that annoyed him was the vulgar layout and decoration inside the city lord’s mansion, which reminded him of a certain idiot who was already dead and gone.
That newcomer named Luo Ji truly has terrible taste.
However, no matter how much Zhou Dongnan racked his brains, he would never have guessed that the West Plains City he was currently in was precisely Wang Luzong’s former main city, Sacred King City!
And this city lord’s mansion was also built by Wang Luzong according to his own preferences, regardless of the cost and labor it incurred.
Meanwhile, outside the city, Liu Kai, who had just shown his cavalry unit under the enemy’s nose, quickly led his men away.
After retreating a certain distance, the deputy general, who had been riding behind him, couldn’t help but ask.
“General, why did we voluntarily expose ourselves to the enemy’s sight? Wouldn’t it be better to remain in a hidden state?”
“If we were to conduct a surprise attack, then of course, a hidden state would be better. But the problem is that the leader didn’t tell us to attack that outsider invader’s unit, but rather to maneuver with them. The purpose of maneuvering is to prevent those outsider invaders from taking action against Giant Wood City. Staying hidden cannot achieve that.”
At this point, Liu Kai paused, then looked back at West Plains City, which had disappeared from his sight.
“I led you to expose yourselves deliberately to let those outsider invaders know that our vanguard unit has arrived, and our main forces will arrive shortly after. This way, considering safety issues, they will honestly stay within West Plains City, and Giant Wood City will naturally be safe.”
“N-no wonder, you truly are a General…”
After hearing this explanation, the questioning deputy general was completely flushed with shame.
Liu Kai, however, waved his hand indifferently.
“Not at all. I’m just executing the leader’s orders.”
Liu Kai’s words only made the deputy general feel more ashamed, because he had also been standing nearby when the leader gave the order.
Now, after hearing Liu Kai’s explanation, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t even fully understood the leader’s command.
For a moment, he was thoroughly convinced by General Liu, who had suddenly been transferred to Mirror City after Luo Cheng left for the front line.
At the same time, he humbly began to seek guidance.
“But in that case, our presence has been exposed, and the enemy is prepared. In the battles to come, will we likely be unable to play much of a role?”
“You can’t say that. Letting the enemy know of our existence and care about our movements is also a tactic. In the leader’s words, this approach is called applying psychological pressure to the enemy.”
Liu Kai was very easy going by nature, with no airs of a general whatsoever.
He patiently answered the deputy general’s questions one by one.
“At the same time, before we set off, the leader specifically reminded me that the opponent has a troop type called pikemen, which are the natural enemies of our light cavalry.”
“And since the enemy brought these pikemen specifically to counter us, it means they were already prepared.”
“When the enemy is already prepared, even a surprise attack would likely have limited effect.”
After explaining all of this, it was not only the deputy general beside him, but also the soldiers who had heard Liu Kai’s analysis, who looked at him with clear reverence in their eyes.
The night passed without incident.
The next day at noon, under the scorching sun, a dense black military formation slowly appeared at the end of the horizon.
Luo Ji’s army was pressing down on them!
On the east wall of West Plains City, watching the formation outside the city, Zhou Dongnan’s pupils constricted.
“3,000… No! At least 4,000 men!”
“How does a newcomer who just ascended to the Bronze tier have so many troops?!”
This troop strength truly startled Zhou Dongnan.
Under normal circumstances, even some formidable newcomer players, when first ascending from unranked, would have a total troop strength of 1,000 to 2,000 at most.
However, the opponent’s forces were so numerous that it caught him completely off guard!
Then, thinking about the 700 to 800 defending troops he had eliminated after breaching West Plains City, Zhou Dongnan couldn’t help but curse directly.
“Damn it! Are they messing with me?!”
“Is this Luo Ji really a newcomer who just ascended to the Bronze tier?!”
He took several deep breaths, and his emotions slowly calmed down.
At the same time, a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.
Fortunately, he had brought 5,000 troops this trip to take the city in one go!
He had originally intended to simply sweep through, but looking at the situation, a straightforward sweep was out of the question.
However, he still had the advantage, and he also had to make good use of these city walls.
“Leader, the enemy seems to be making some moves.”
On the plains outside West Plains City, Liu Meng, who was accompanying the army, squinted his eyes.
However, their current position was at least 500 to 600 meters from the city wall, so no matter how good his eyesight, it was difficult for him to clearly see the small movements on the enemy’s wall.
Hearing this, Luo Ji took out his monocular telescope and looked over.
The opponent seemed to have used a rope to hang something on the city wall.
His attention involuntarily shifted, and then, with a soft crack, his loss of emotional control caused him to lose his grip.
The wooden casing of the monocular telescope was instantly crushed in his hand!
“Sun He…”
Luo Ji’s voice trembled slightly.
The person hanging on the city wall was precisely Sun He, the defending general of West Plains City personally appointed by him!
At this moment, Sun He had been subjected to incredibly cruel torture by the enemy, his eyes gouged out, his limbs severed, reduced to a human stick!
“Zhou, Dong, Nan!!”
Each word was bitten out, his gritted teeth suggesting he wished to drink the enemy’s blood and eat his flesh.
“If I don’t dismember you by a thousand cuts and execute you by slow slicing, I, Luo Ji, swear I am not human!”
