Chapter 562
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Chapter 562: Late Arrival
Such a crucial battle meant that the Strategist Zhang Zhenguo brought with him on this campaign was clearly no mediocre talent.
Ordinarily, Zhang Zhenguo trusted him immensely. But this time was different.
The game of civilization was too vast. One wrong move, and even a veteran who had developed for decades could still collapse.
The level of anxiety Zhang Zhenguo, currently on the verge of collapse, was experiencing was imaginable.
After a period of internal struggle, Zhang Zhenguo gritted his teeth and ultimately chose to trust the Strategist’s decision, then ordered the retreat horn to be blown.
The enemy forces quickly retreated.
On the city wall, Guo Zhen, his bronze armor already stained with blood, let out a deep sigh of relief. Then he shouted loudly.
“Clear the corpses, and everyone, don’t lower your guard!”
In any case, the first day was finally over.
The 500 garrison troops from West Plains City arrived at Gaoling City before dark.
In contrast, the Wolf Riders led by Luo Ji were tardy, only arriving the next morning.
During this time, Luo Ji incidentally discovered a weakness of the Wolf Riders: their endurance was slightly inferior compared to cavalry.
This unit was clearly not well-suited for long-distance support battles.
It was precisely because of this that they had to stop midway for a short rest, which was why they only now reached Gaoling City.
Upon entering the city, with Emperor Luo Ji’s arrival, he naturally took charge of the overall situation.
After learning from Guo Zhen that the enemy had immediately sent heavily armed forces to attack the city, Luo Ji’s brows furrowed.
It seemed Zhang Zhenguo’s determination to attack him was quite firm.
Considering their current troop strength within Gaoling City, it seemed impossible to contend with the enemy.
At this very moment, reports from the front line had probably just reached Mirror City.
Since he was not in Mirror City, Guo Jia would handle military affairs in his stead.
However, the problem was that, even if Guo Jia immediately ordered Luo Cheng to lead 500 cavalry to rush to their support after receiving the battle report, it would still take 2 to 3 days for them to reach Gaoling City while maintaining their combat effectiveness.
Subsequent infantry reinforcements would be even slower.
As Luo Ji was pondering this, the alarm bell on Gaoling City’s wall quickly rang out.
The enemy was attacking again!
“Your Majesty?!”
Sensing Guo Zhen’s questioning gaze, Luo Ji decisively spoke.
“Hold the walls, hold out for another battle.”
Given their numerical disadvantage, their greatest reliance right now was the walls of Gaoling City.
At this moment, charging out to meet the enemy was out of the question.
On the city wall, the battle raged fiercely.
Luo Ji stayed not far below the city wall.
He could also conveniently direct soldiers to hold the city gate.
After all, his own buffs were there. As long as he was present, he could boost the morale and combat power of the defending soldiers.
By now, Luo Ji had experienced many major crises, and he remained extremely composed.
In contrast, Li Yin, who had followed him to reinforce, was restless.
“Your Majesty, how about I lead the Wolf Riders out to meet the enemy?”
Hearing this, Luo Ji inwardly shook his head. Li Yin, at only 19 years old, was indeed too young.
“The enemy’s total troop strength outnumbers us by more than 2,000. There’s no point in you leading 200 plus Wolf Riders out to meet them now.”
Li Yin, eager to achieve feats and make a name for himself, was clearly unable to calm down after Luo Ji rejected his proposal.
He uncontrollably paced back and forth behind the city gate.
Luo Ji, witnessing this scene, realized even more clearly that Li Yin still lacked tempering. He spoke again, advising.
“As a cavalry general, you must learn to calmly await your opportunity.”
Li Yin’s movements noticeably paused upon hearing this, then he adopted a posture of humbly accepting instruction.
“Your humble general understands.”
Time passed minute by minute, and this siege defense battle was more intense than he had anticipated.
The city gate below was shaking precariously from the enemy’s siege ram attacks, and Luo Ji thought it would be breached several times.
However, facts proved that the items manufactured by the Goblin Civilization, aside from a few poorly made ones prone to malfunction, were of unquestionable quality when properly produced.
Gaoling City’s gate proved to be unexpectedly tenacious at this moment.
Despite countless heavy impacts from the enemy’s siege ram, it stubbornly refused to fall.
The siege defense battle lasted until sunset, when Zhang Zhenguo, looking unwilling, finally ordered the retreat horn to be blown.
The Strategist, standing nearby, watched this scene and couldn’t help but sigh deeply again.
It was only the second day, yet their King’s emotions had become even more agitated.
He had advised his King again just now, hoping he would rationally withdraw his troops, but his advice was rejected.
Compared to yesterday, their offensive momentum was even fiercer this time.
This change had given Zhang Zhenguo hope.
He wanted to capture the city in front of him in one fell swoop today.
However, the truth was that even after fighting until dusk, despite breaching the walls several times, they had never managed to fully occupy them.
Ultimately, how could such a formidable city, with their siege weapons completely suppressed by the enemy, be breached in just 1 or 2 days?
This kind of battle had to be taken step by step.
Fantasizing about instant success and seeking quick gains was the first step towards defeat.
But at this point, the King was clearly no longer listening to his counsel.
Sighing heavily, the Strategist’s eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment.
Meanwhile, inside Gaoling City…
Looking at Guo Zhen as he descended from the city wall, Luo Ji’s pupils constricted slightly.
“Guo Zhen, you’re injured.”
“Your Majesty, don’t worry, it’s just a minor injury.”
Guo Zhen glanced down at his wounds, not taking them much to heart.
After all, his usual fighting style involved a certain ferocity of exchanging wounds for damage.
He was accustomed to injuries of this degree.
“Who injured you?”
Guo Zhen’s injuries were clearly from bladed weapons.
Luo Ji didn’t believe that ordinary enemy soldiers had the ability to wound such a fierce general under his command.
Facing Luo Ji’s question, Guo Zhen answered quite directly.
“It’s shameful to admit, but the sword wounds on my body were inflicted by an enemy general. His strength is indeed formidable. Your humble general fought him for nearly fifty rounds but failed to strike him down with my axe!”
It was no surprise that Zhang Zhenguo, attacking with such a large force, would bring a fierce general.
After confirming the situation, Luo Ji first called for a military doctor to treat Guo Zhen’s wounds.
Then, he once again fell into deep thought.
“The current situation is dangerous. The enemy’s attacking forces are formidable. Gaoling City was almost breached today, and it might not hold on the 3rd day.”
“Instead of waiting for the enemy to withdraw and regroup before attacking again tomorrow, I might as well take a risky move…”
