Chapter 260
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Chapter 260: Total War Begins
Unlike Zhou Dongnan, who was completely caught off guard by Luo Ji’s move, Luo Ji, holding the initiative, had already assembled his forces before using the ‘Declaration of War.’
Now, upon entering the battlefield, the reconnaissance team, which had been on standby, immediately set out to search for the enemy’s city.
While the reconnaissance team was in action, Luo Ji, who was experiencing ‘Total War’ for the first time, also curiously observed his surroundings.
To be honest, within his line of sight, nothing had changed at all. Even Mirror Lake was still there.
Only when he opened the system map did he notice something amiss, besides his territory, the entire surrounding area was black, meaning, in gaming terms, it hadn’t been explored.
Undoubtedly, the moment ‘Total War’ began, Luo Ji’s entire civilization, including all its territories, and even the surrounding mines, grasslands, hills, rivers, and forests, were completely transported over as a whole piece!
It looked as if it originally belonged to this world, and Zhou Dongnan’s side was presumably the same.
Now equipped with both fast horses and binoculars, the reconnaissance team’s efficiency was greatly improved.
Furthermore, given the scale of cities for players at this tier, once stone city walls were built, it was no longer so easy to hide them.
It didn’t take long at all for the dispatched reconnaissance team to confirm the location of Zhou Dongnan’s border city.
Undoubtedly, his efficiency was definitely faster than Zhou Dongnan’s.
A normal player, after having a truce token active for only 5 days, would be in a relaxed state at this point.
Who would have thought that Luo Ji, a newcomer who had just ascended to the Bronze tier, would be so reckless as to directly initiate a total war, ignoring the truce token and launching a full assault?
Calculating the time, from when Zhou Dongnan heard the system notification to sending out messengers to warn various cities to be vigilant against enemy attacks, and then to assembling forces at the border cities, it would take at least 2 to 4 days!
And this period, for Luo Ji, who held the initiative, was a golden opportunity.
After confirming the location of one of the opponent’s cities, Luo Ji directly activated the ‘Speed is of the Essence in War’ tactic, executing a rapid march, and before sunset, his army was already pressing against the city!
The troops accompanying the expedition this time were Luo Yong, whom Luo Ji had recently recalled to Mirror City, and his shield-axemen unit.
After a long absence, Luo Yong seemed significantly more composed, and his overall stats had almost reached their limits, with both stamina and martial prowess reaching 4-stars.
Luo Ji couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration when he first saw him, remarking that the grassland was indeed a place that tempered a person.
It’s also worth noting that the warhorse Luo Yong was riding at this time looked quite humble, especially when standing next to Luo Ji’s Liaoyuan Huo.
Its small stature made it appear even more inferior, and its appearance certainly couldn’t be called a ‘fine steed.’
However, it should not be underestimated.
This was a new breed they discovered on the grassland.
Originally, when the herders first discovered these small, unremarkable ‘inferior horses,’ their first reaction was to use them for pulling carts and transporting supplies.
But on the way to being sent, they were unexpectedly spotted by the young man Ma Ji.
After some experimentation, everyone discovered that these ‘inferior horses’ had surprisingly good endurance and were extremely adaptable.
Even after being starved for two meals, their running speed showed virtually no decrease, which was astonishingly tenacious, and they were also very brave.
This discovery was quickly reported to Luo Ji, who was overjoyed upon hearing it.
He even made a special trip back to the grassland to confirm it himself.
Just as soldiers’ weapons didn’t need to be divine artifacts, warhorses were the same.
What the army needed was not some ‘thousand-mile horse’ but horses that could endure hardships!
Ideally, they should be able to adapt to various harsh environments, to put it crudely, they shouldn’t be so delicate!
The breed Ma Ji favored instantly became Luo Ji’s ideal military warhorse.
And Ma Ji, who discovered this breed, naturally made a great contribution.
Luo Ji directly promoted him to the manager of the grassland horse farm and promptly awarded him the Silver-tier ‘Horseman’ skill book.
“Chief, the sun is about to set. Should we continue the siege?”
Luo Yong asked while on horseback.
“Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”
“We can take it before sunset!”
As he spoke, Luo Ji slowly drew the bronze sword from his waist.
“Siege unit! Begin advancing!”
At his command, from within the army formation, five triple-bow bed crossbows slowly rolled out and lined up.
With their absolute range advantage, this siege weapon in Luo Ji’s hand once again revealed its ferocious fangs.
First, they targeted the enemy’s defending crossbows and siege equipment placed on the city walls, destroying them.
After that, a fierce bombardment targeting the opposite city walls and gates began.
Breaching one of Zhou Dongnan’s border cities in a short time through a lightning fast assault was the crucial first step in Luo Ji’s current combat strategy.
If this first step wasn’t executed well, it would be difficult for him to fight later.
Because his current situation was somewhat precarious.
In order not to give Zhou Dongnan any breathing room, he had directly activated the Declaration of War and started the fight right after repairing West Plains City’s gate and walls.
This directly led to the outer city walls of Giant Wood City, White River City, and other cities in the rear still being under construction.
In other words, he was fighting a war at the front while simultaneously developing and farming in the rear.
Given this premise, how could he prevent the cities in the rear, like Giant Wood City and White River City, from being threatened by war while they were developing?
Should he hold West Plains City to buy time for the architectural engineering team members to complete their work?
Clearly not!
Luo Ji had a more direct and straightforward method!
That was to proactively attack!
If he could forcefully breach one of the opponent’s cities right at the start, forcing Zhou Dongnan to immediately switch to a defensive war, wouldn’t that solve the problem?
As long as he continuously threatened the opponent’s cities with wave after wave of attacks, he didn’t believe that Zhou Dongnan, who had just lost 5,000 troops in the previous invasion battle, could spare any additional forces to attack his cities, apart from passive defense.
Therefore, to achieve this goal, Luo Ji would spare no effort!
After 10 rounds of fierce bombardment by the five triple-bow bed crossbows, the city walls of the distant enemy city were already heavily damaged.
Seeing this, Luo Ji waved his hand, signaling the triple-bow bed crossbows to withdraw.
After the entire army advanced a certain distance, he decisively ordered the shield-axemen unit to push forward with siege carts, while the archer unit in the rear provided covering fire with high-angle shots for the shield-axemen unit’s assault!
