Chapter 424
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Chapter 424: Gaining No Advantage
The script had already been sent to the printing factory.
At this moment, Luo Ji was busy setting up the ‘theatre troupe.’
He couldn’t entrust this task to others; they hadn’t even fully grasped what opera was, so how could he expect them to manage it?
Starting anything was difficult.
Once he established the first theatre troupe and recruited enough actors, it would be much simpler to create new operas.
So, he was currently busy drafting recruitment posters and requirements.
A complete theatre troupe, in addition to the actors on stage, would definitely require many backstage and support staff.
Different positions had different recruitment requirements, making the task surprisingly troublesome.
Just as he was in the midst of this headache, an even more vexing message echoed in his mind.
[System notification: Player ‘Long Taotian’ is invading your civilization.]
“How annoying.”
Recently, Luo Ji had been busy developing his civilization and promoting the integration of Human and Beastman societies.
He truly had no desire to deal with other players.
He only wished these people would stay far away and not interfere with his affairs.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he wished!
As his thoughts raced, a swift horse had already galloped into Mirror City, bringing him the latest news from the city wall.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, smoke signals have risen from the direction of White River City in the north!”
“Issue an order! Command Luo Yong to lead the Xuanjia Army to White River City for reinforcement…”
Unwilling to waste time with the invading force, Luo Ji directly deployed his ultimate move. He didn’t forget to add.
“Also, give this half of the Military Token to Luo Yong. If the battle situation becomes urgent, use this Military Token to immediately mobilize nearby Beastman tribal armies for support!”
With Liu Meng, the defending general of White River City, already a top-tier fierce general under his command, coupled with the soon-to-arrive Xuanjia Army and the Beastman army on standby, Luo Ji truly didn’t believe that an unknown Long Taotian could breach his northern defense line!
Having issued his orders, Luo Ji continued with his work.
In his opinion, the theatre troupe was far more important than that Long Taotian.
Meanwhile, outside the walls of White River City, as the invading army assembled, Long Taotian, clad in bronze armor, couldn’t help but shiver.
“Bloody hell, the weather here is a bit cold.”
“Is winter setting in? What terrible timing.”
In ancient times, the extreme heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter were generally unsuitable for military campaigns.
Leaving summer aside, winter weather was too cold.
If heavy snow fell, blocking roads, it would be impossible to fight.
Even without heavy snow, the severe cold alone made it extremely easy to catch a cold during marches after sweating.
If an infectious disease then spread, it would be a huge disaster, causing widespread casualties.
Therefore, a common practice in ancient dynasties was to stockpile provisions starting in autumn, gather troops towards the border, and then, in the spring of the following year, when the ice and snow melted, launch an offensive.
In this battlefield where warlords contended, seasonal changes undoubtedly had a significant impact on military campaigns.
Long Taotian, now aware of the weather changes within Luo Ji’s civilization, already wore a vexed expression.
Of the three crucial factors, timing, terrain, and harmony.
The ‘timing’ was already against him even before the battle commenced.
This instantly reduced his initial 100% fighting spirit by 30%.
For veteran players at this tier, they had already realized that military strength was the most important resource, more so than civilization points.
In many cases, earning civilization points during an invasion was secondary.
Their true objectives were to plunder population and development resources!
Therefore, for the sake of caution, preserving military strength and simply retreating was a relatively prudent decision.
However, there was inevitably a small hint of unwillingness in his heart.
“Winter is approaching. This city must have stockpiled a lot of coal resources and grain. If I can swiftly capture this city in one fierce attack, then lead my army inside and hold it firmly…”
“Then, relying on the coal heating within the city, hold out until the 7th day, plunder some resources along the way, and then directly retreat. I should still be able to achieve a minor victory, and if I’m lucky, I might even get a silver treasure chest.”
Thinking of this, Long Taotian couldn’t help but feel a flicker of temptation in his heart.
But then, with a change of thought, he quickly shook his head.
“No recklessness, no recklessness! Recklessness easily leads to trouble!”
“The name Luo Ji, although a bit unfamiliar, judging by the scale of this city, Luo Ji should also be a veteran player in the Bronze Tier…”
Thinking of this, Long Taotian glanced at the black smoke signals gathering in the distant sky.
“Moreover, the enemy has already lit the smoke signals, and the nearest reinforcements might already be on their way.”
“Thinking it over carefully, I seem to have gained no advantage in terms of timing, terrain, or harmony?”
Realizing this, Long Taotian’s face instantly turned completely dark.
“Bad luck, bad luck! Truly terrible luck! A bad start to the trip; consider it spending money to avert disaster.”
As thoughts raced, Long Taotian looked back at the mountain forest to the north, then pointed his hand there.
“Issue the order: retreat into that mountain forest!”
The assembled army began to retreat towards the northern mountain forest even before officially attacking, which surprised Liu Meng and Zhang Lue, who stood on the White River City wall.
“This time, the outsider invaders retreated quite decisively.”
Liu Meng said with a slight surprise, putting down his telescope.
“It must be because of the weather.”
Zhang Lue said, exhaling a puff of warm air.
“The foreign general commanding this time is probably worried that his soldiers will suffer from the cold and that infectious diseases will break out in the army, which would be a huge loss.”
After hearing Zhang Lue’s analysis, Liu Meng nodded in agreement.
“However, it’s still best not to relax our vigilance. No one can say for sure if these outsider invaders will suddenly launch a surprise counterattack.”
“This subordinate understands. Please rest assured, General.”
Zhang Lue was someone trained by Zhao Pan, and his meticulous nature was clearly inherited.
Looking at the external invaders’ army moving further and further away, Zhang Lue did not relax at all.
He continued to patrol and guard the White River City wall, clad in armor and holding his sword.
Liu Meng, meanwhile, hurried back to the military camp to write his report, so that Luo Ji, who had not yet received a frontline battle report, would not worry.
However, this time, Liu Meng worried unnecessarily.
Luo Ji didn’t even pay attention to the unknown Long Taotian.
After dispatching the Xuanjia Army, he immediately put the matter out of his mind and was now diligently designing the recruitment poster for his theatre troupe.
However, he had not studied fine arts, painting, or advertising design.
Asking him to draw a poster was truly difficult.
After drawing for a long time, he only managed to produce a very conventional one.
If this were in modern times, this poster would probably not even pass as homework for a graduation exam.
However, in this era, it was quite novel.
After finishing the drawing, he immediately ordered the printing factory to print dozens of copies, which he then posted on the notice boards of various cities.
Now, he would wait to see the promotional effect.
