Chapter 405
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Chapter 405: Discussion
After the rewards were bestowed, Luo Ji, considering their tiring journey, had already arranged accommodation for them in Mirror City, telling them to go eat and rest first.
Zhou Yi, however, remained to report the detailed situation of this expedition to the northern lands to Luo Ji.
After listening to the details, Luo Ji frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled.
“Winter is approaching. Is it possible to clear out those Hyenamen hiding deep in the northern mountain forest within a month?”
If this group of Hyenamen could not be eradicated and remained there, it would always be a hidden danger.
Action could only be taken now; otherwise, once winter set in and heavy snow sealed the mountains, it would be difficult for him to deploy troops to the north again.
At this moment, Zhou Yi was undoubtedly deep in thought.
After some deliberation, he slowly began to speak.
“From a general perspective, there are only two methods…”
“The first method is to lure them out. As winter approaches, these Hyenamen should also need to hoard food. We can set up an ambush on the outskirts and then use animal carcasses to lure them out.”
“However, that group of Hyenamen just slaughtered two barbarian tribes, so they probably aren’t lacking…”
At this point, Zhou Yi’s voice clearly paused, and even the expression on his face showed a hint of discomfort.
After 2 seconds, he slightly stiffly uttered one word.
“Food.”
Luo Ji remained silent upon hearing this.
Wild beasts ate humans, and humans ate wild beasts; it seemed no one could judge the other.
Cannibalism was naturally forbidden for the beastmen tribes who had submitted to him, and he couldn’t control the unsubmitting Hyenamen.
But in reality, among the five beastmen tribes under Li Yuanjie, the Elephantmen and Minotaurs were basically vegetarians.
As for the Wolfmen, Foxmen, and Kobolds, they also had no opportunity to eat humans.
The reason was that Li Yuanjie’s beastmen civilization originally had no humans.
And later, when invading other civilizations, the captured humans were extremely important human resources.
His beastmen civilization’s detailed work, such as production and research and development, basically relied on these human captives.
How could Li Yuanjie allow the beastmen under his command to treat such important humans as food?
Not to mention, he was originally human himself, and his heart would certainly feel a bit twisted.
Thus, they originally had no chance to eat humans, and after submitting to Luo Ji, they naturally had even less opportunity.
Getting back to the main topic, Zhou Yi undoubtedly saw Luo Ji’s stance and simply continued.
“Therefore, luring them with animal carcasses, they might not fall for it. After all, from the current perspective, these Hyenamen are quite cunning.”
Undoubtedly, the ‘luring them out’ method had a slightly lower success rate and was too passive.
Moreover, Luo Ji wanted to eliminate the Hyenamen threat before winter, and this method was a bit too slow in terms of efficiency.
Realizing this, Zhou Yi decisively spoke again.
“In that case, the only option is to deploy heavy troops into the northern mountain forest!”
Luo Ji nodded in agreement with this answer.
“Do you have any thoughts on troop deployment?”
Zhou Yi, having experienced combat with the Hyenamen, had gained some insights.
Facing Luo Ji’s question, he unhurriedly said.
“Hyenamen have thick skin and flesh. Using crossbowmen against them is quite effective.”
“And what else?”
Luo Ji asked calmly, pondering inwardly.
“As for anything else, please forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but General Li Ke’s wolf warriors are not suitable for this battle.”
Zhou Yi forced himself to say this, feeling somewhat anxious.
After all, speaking ill of other generals behind their backs was a highly taboo matter, let alone to Luo Ji, the Emperor, sitting before him.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ji did not seem particularly surprised.
A flicker of understanding quickly passed through his eyes, as if he had already anticipated it.
“Continue…”
Zhou Yi glanced at Luo Ji’s expression but couldn’t discern anything.
Helplessly, he could only brace himself and continue.
“Wolf warriors can indeed move flexibly in mountainous and forested areas. However, when facing Hyenamen, there will inevitably be a lot of head-on charges. In my humble opinion, the advantage of wolf warriors should lie in guerrilla warfare and raid attacks. Battles like this, on the contrary, stifle their innate advantage. So, while they can adapt to the terrain, they are not suited for such opponents.”
“I presume you have suitable candidates in mind? Tell me.”
Having said so much, Zhou Yi finally relaxed.
Upon hearing Luo Ji’s words, he quite straightforwardly stated.
“Kobolds! I believe Kobolds are more suitable. Equip them with long halberds as weapons to serve as the front line, supplemented by crossbowmen in the rear. This should be effective against the Hyenamen.”
“But the Kobolds aren’t particularly well-behaved yet.”
As he spoke, Luo Ji’s tone carried a hint of helplessness.
The key to this battle was that he needed to dispatch troops who were agile and could adapt to mountainous terrain, and ideally, also physically strong enough to engage the Hyenamen head-on.
The Minotaurs’ clumsy physiques clearly didn’t meet the standard; letting them provide support was fine, but if they were to genuinely clear out the Hyenamen, they would probably be constantly outmaneuvered due to the enemy’s speed.
Li Ke’s wolf warriors were actually also an option.
As an experienced veteran of strategy war games, Luo Ji could discern the characteristics of any unit under his command and what kind of battles they were suited for.
Kobolds were quite suitable in all aspects, but as he had said before, that group of Kobolds was not particularly well-behaved yet.
If possible, Luo Ji did not want to send them into battle in the short term, to avoid any unexpected incidents.
However, looking at the situation, it seemed he had no other choice.
He did not want to keep that group of Hyenamen in the northern mountain forest for the winter.
The longer they remained, the greater the threat.
It was always better to eliminate hidden dangers early.
Thinking of this, Luo Ji immediately exhaled a deep breath.
“Alright, let’s wait a little longer. I’ll gather 100 crossbowmen for you, plus 300 Kobold halberdiers.”
“Also, to be safe, I’ll have Li Ke lead 100 wolf warriors to accompany you and protect your safety.”
“A total of 500 troops. Take Jie Zichuan with you as well for your command and deployment. If this Hyenamen extermination mission fails…”
“If it fails, your humble general is willing to atone with his death!”
Before Luo Ji could finish, Zhou Yi had already directly made a military vow.
Just 300 Kobold halberdiers alone would numerically outnumber the Hyenamen, showing Luo Ji’s determination to clear them out.
If even this failed, Zhou Yi felt he would have no face to live on.
