Volume 5 Chapter 20: A brilliant move (2)
Perhaps to the surprise of many people, the 20,000 troops led by Huai Huai and Ba Dao easily captured the Peerless Villa. At the Peerless Villa, they did not encounter much resistance. Only the 3,000 people of Peerless were defending, and they were defeated by a drum.
At this moment, I quietly declared war on Jiucheng!
An army of 75,000 surrounded the base in Jiucheng that originally belonged to Yin Yue, while the other side had only 30,000 soldiers stationed there.
No one expected that I would change the soup but not the medicine. Last time, I declared war on Jiucheng first, but actually attacked Tiexue. This time, I reversed the order and it also had a miraculous effect. Jiucheng originally mobilized 200,000 troops, but sent 150,000 to support Tiexue. They now have two garrisons in Pojun City, 30,000 left in Yinyue, and 20,000 defending the branch that Jinglei League lost to them in the last battle. It should be enough to ensure safety, but I didn't expect that I would mobilize all my troops and borrow the troops of Tianshui Pavilion to help. It was the largest military operation since the establishment of Jinglei League.
75,000 people attacking a garrison defended by 30,000 people, there is no guarantee of victory, but how can the strength of the Thunder Alliance troops be judged by conventional standards? There are also elite troops like the Thunder Group in hand, and I am well aware of the current situation in the Silver Moon garrison, so I have full confidence in victory!
We deployed our battle formation. Since this time it was a coalition of three gangs, we couldn't use the siege tactics that we usually trained within the Thunder Alliance. We could only fight in the most common attack mode. But that didn't matter. I had it all planned out. I ordered the soldiers to provide cover first. After the long-range troops cleared the obstacles, the first wave of attack was not from our alliance members, but from the rebuilt Silver Moon Glory troops.
Yin Yue was destroyed by Jiucheng in the past. Now that the enemies meet, they are extremely jealous of each other. Meng Tian Bingyue and his subordinates are even more determined to take back the territory that originally belonged to them. Therefore, everyone rushes to be the first, without hesitation, and fights bravely!
I want to use their momentum to give Jiucheng a head start and reduce resistance for my next attack!
Yinyue Guanghua was originally a gang with 50,000 members. After it was disbanded, most of its members were lost. Later, it was rebuilt with the support of the Thunder League. Mengtian Bingyue recalled his old subordinates one by one. Although he only got back 20,000 people in the end, these people were loyal to Bingyue and were the backbone of the original Yinyue. Their level, equipment and technology were above the average. It can be said that the new Yinyue is the essence of the original Yinyue. Its strength is not much worse than that of the Thunder League troops of the same number. This time they came for revenge, and their momentum was even more astonishing. With the long-range shooting support of the Thunder League and Tianshui Pavilion, the defenders of Jiucheng found it difficult to launch a large-scale long-range volley. As a result, the Yinyue troops did not suffer too much loss and attacked the foot of the fortifications!
After that, there was a brutal hand-to-hand fight. Silver Moon attacked with hatred, not caring about its own casualties. When fighting with the Nine Cities soldiers, they often adopted a dreadful strategy. Although the Nine Cities had the advantage of fortifications and could achieve a one-for-two or even one-for-three casualty ratio in the fight, how many people were willing to die and lose experience and equipment? In this regard, their momentum was far inferior to that of Silver Moon. They often began to retreat in fear when their HP was reduced by more than half. For a while, the Silver Moon troops actually had the upper hand!
But I know that this situation cannot last long. Firstly, Silver Moon’s manpower is inferior to that of the enemy. After the soldiers of Nine Cities die, they can be resurrected immediately in the Samsara Hall in the garrison, with a total of two chances to return to the battlefield. However, the people who died in Silver Moon were resurrected in the branch lent to them by the Thunder Alliance, and it would take at least more than an hour for them to get here.
Therefore, at my command, the troops of the Jinglei League and Tianshui Pavilion immediately attacked from the left and right respectively, dispersing the defensive forces of the Nine Cities, leaving only the Thunder Group following behind me, waiting for an opportunity to act.
The two armies of Jinglei and Tianshui, one on the left and one on the right, immediately showed completely different combat styles. Jinglei League relied on good training and skilled cooperation to form a skirmish line, carefully evading and blocking the long-range attacks of Jiucheng, slowly approaching the defense line, and paying great attention to reducing its own casualties. Tianshui Pavilion arranged a very dense and thick array, advancing majestically in a neat square formation, which of course gave the opponent's long-range troops a good opportunity to concentrate their attacks. However, Tianshui was a famous and wealthy gang, and none of its members was not equipped with luxurious equipment? Especially the heavy armored warriors in the front row, most of them wore gold or even dark gold armor, with amazing defense. They advanced as if nothing had happened in the sky full of arrows and magic, and were hit repeatedly, but they didn't frown. With these warriors on the periphery forming a tight protection circle, the long-range troops inside could rest assured to fight back. Similarly, their weapons were all high-end goods, and their attack power was at least one level higher than that of Jiucheng. Waves of arrows and magic counterattacked, bombarding the Jiucheng garrison on the fortifications and complaining.
Well, if we can combine the strengths of Jinglei and Tianshui, who in the world can defeat such a force? When the promotion NPCs make a lot of profits, when profiteers open up the trade network between the East and the West, it is not impossible to create such a force!
With the involvement of the Thunder Alliance and Tianshui troops, the defense line of Jiucheng suddenly became shaky. These two troops were extraordinary. Even when they were on the attacking side, they were able to gain an advantage in a two-to-one situation, forcing the other side to transfer a large number of soldiers resisting Yinyue to the two wings. They were still unable to resist, and Meng Tianbingyue felt the pressure was relieved, and immediately shouted: "Brothers, the time for revenge has come, go!"
The members of the Silver Moon Gang immediately charged forward madly without regard for their lives. They even took the initiative to use their bodies to block the opponent's swords, just to buy a little time for the brothers behind them!
I saw with my own eyes that a Silver Moon warrior was pierced through the abdomen by a sharp sword. Instead of retreating, he rushed forward, preventing his opponent from quickly drawing the sword back. At the same time, he used his arm to block the big knife that was chopped at him by a person nearby. His left arm was broken immediately, but he launched a dying counterattack, using a Fiery Sword Technique with the flames of hatred to fiercely chop the face of the enemy opposite him!
After one slash of the sword, he turned into white light. Because he alone held down two enemy soldiers, it gave his two companions beside him a glimmer of opportunity. His comrades did not waste his sacrifice. They both turned over and jumped over the defensive wall through the small gap he created!
After gaining the same geographical advantage as the enemy, the two soldiers withstood the siege of five Nine Cities warriors and were not hacked to death until a minute later. At the same time, more Silver Moon warriors rushed up to the fortifications.
Under the desperate attack of the Silver Moon troops, the soldiers of Jiucheng showed fear on their faces. The defense line was almost breached. The commander mobilized the last pitiful reserve troops to recapture this section of fortifications. I observed for a long time and saw that Jiucheng had reached its final limit, so I nodded to Xiao Wu and said, "Okay, the Thunder Group will go!"
The direct commander of the Thunder Corps is Xiao Wu, and she is responsible for the specific tactical command. After I issued the order to attack, I pulled down the visor on my helmet to cover my face. From this moment on, I am no longer the commander of the army, but a soldier charging into battle!
"Boom, boom, boom" the unique heavy footsteps of the Earth Dragon sounded, and it rushed towards the gate of the Nine Cities Station as fast as thunder and wind!
More than a dozen arrows flew towards me, but I deflected them one by one with my Tiger Soul. These arrows were fast and powerful, and each one hit my vital points. It seemed that the commander of Jiucheng had noticed my presence in his busy schedule and specially deployed several sharpshooters to snipe at me!
Unfortunately, with my current skills, unless there are top archers or a large number of long-range troops launching concentrated attacks on me, how can a few ordinary archers pose a threat to me!
The gate of Jiucheng was getting closer and closer. In a blink of an eye, the wood texture on the door panel became clearly visible. I shouted loudly, and Hupo stabbed straight forward, crashing into both the man and the dragon!
"Bang!" With a loud bang, I felt dizzy and the thunder under my crotch was knocked back three steps. My arms were numb and I almost lost control of my Tiger Soul!
But my attack was not ineffective. A cut was left on the half-foot-thick hard oak door, and there were cracks of ice near the cut!
According to the level of fortifications, the gate also has corresponding defense. Before the emergence of large siege weapons, the defense of this gate far exceeded the attack power of ordinary soldiers. The gate also has durability, which is approximately equal to the player's HP, but the player will not die unless the HP drops to zero, and unless there is special damage such as missing arms and legs, it will not affect the combat effectiveness. The less the durability of the gate, the more serious the damage in appearance. Generally speaking, if the durability drops below half, there will be a big hole in the gate that is big enough for players to enter and exit, and it will be useless. Because the warrior's sword can only forcibly deduct 1 point of durability when it cuts on the gate, so in gang battles, few people will foolishly cut the gate, but I used my high attack power, combined with the Tiger Soul Divine Edge, the 10th level charge skill, and the impact brought by the huge body of the Earth Dragon, and suddenly issued a blow that was no less than that of a heavy siege weapon, and forcibly broke a gap in the gate!
This small gap was not enough for people and horses to pass through, but I immediately launched three thrusts, each one with all my strength!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Each of my chops landed precisely on the gap, expanding and lengthening it continuously. The cracks near the blade became denser and deeper. With a series of tremors, the door finally couldn't hold on. A cloud of wood chips exploded, and a big hole appeared in the door!
In full view of everyone, I single-handedly destroyed several gates that were beyond human control, and opened the way to attack the Nine Cities garrison!
The Silver Moon warriors burst into thunderous cheers. Although the well-trained Thunder Regiment continued to advance rapidly and silently, their morale was greatly boosted. On the contrary, the soldiers of the Nine Cities all had expressions of horror on their faces, their morale was greatly depressed, and it was even more difficult for them to resist the fierce attack of Silver Moon!
I rushed in through the doorway first, followed closely by the Thunder Regiment's cavalry. Jiucheng barely mobilized 2,000 men to intercept them, but how could they stop this wolf-like and tiger-like cavalry? My Tiger Soul kept stabbing out and retracting, and all the enemies were hit by my sword. As for the enemies on both sides, I ignored them and left them to my comrades behind me to deal with. In less than five minutes, I defeated this army!
At this time, the main forces of Yin Yue, Thunder League, and Tianshui Pavilion have broken through the Nine Cities defense line from different positions, and the army began to rush into the garrison continuously. The battle has no suspense at this point. The next moment, the garrison that originally belonged to Yin Yue will fall back into the hands of Thunder League!
I rode the Thunderbolt straight to the headquarters, but in my mind, I recalled everything that happened last night...
After the Grand Alliance meeting ended and the strategy for this battle was decided, I returned to the Thunder Alliance. I still felt unwilling to accept the result. It was obvious that our alliance would suffer more losses than gains this time. Could I think of a way to let the Thunder Alliance gain an advantage this time?
After much thinking, I suddenly remembered a famous saying: There are no eternal friends in the world, only eternal interests!
On the other hand, there are no eternal enemies in this world!
So last night, I secretly met with the leader of the Iron Blood Alliance, Iron Hoofs to Rule the World!
Just as I expected, Tieti was originally a smart man. His defeat at the hands of the Grand Alliance this time was not due to his stupidity but bad luck.
So, after receiving my message, although I did not state the purpose of the meeting, the iron hoof still arrived as expected.
Tieti's face was very ugly - of course he couldn't be happy with the current situation. He got straight to the point and said, "Leader Jinglei, I'm very busy. Just say whatever you want to say!"
I secretly praised this man for his magnanimity. I had ruined his plan at the alliance meeting that day and even wanted to kill him on the spot, but he still accepted my invitation. And from his tone, I guessed my purpose to some extent. It seems that there is hope for cooperation this time.
So I didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Iron Blood Alliance Leader, you and I are both very clear about the current situation. Tomorrow the Grand Alliance will launch another attack on the Iron Blood Alliance. This news must be very unexpected to you. I guess you are busy arranging defenses now. I wonder how confident you are that you can hold off our attack?"
A fierce look flashed across Tieti's eyes, but he regained his composure and said coldly, "My Iron Blood Alliance has not yet reached the end of its rope, and the outcome is still hard to predict. Even if I can't defend all the bases, I will still have no problem stopping the attack of your Thunder Alliance."
I smiled and said, "That's true. But tomorrow, my Thunder Alliance will only attack one of your alliance's bases. If you concentrate your forces, you can certainly defend it, but are you willing to give up other places? Moreover, if the battle continues, the Grand Alliance will eventually attack your alliance headquarters. What will you do then?"
Tieti snorted coldly and said, "Even if my Iron Blood Alliance disappears into thin air, I will be happy if I can cause your Thunder Alliance to suffer a little more loss. Stop talking nonsense and tell me your purpose!"
I smiled and said, "Brother Tieti, why are you saying such angry words? If the Thunder Alliance fails in its attack tomorrow, it will only lose a branch, which is not a big deal. However, every time the Iron Blood Alliance loses a small gang, it is one step closer to its final demise. But if Brother Tieti is willing to cooperate with me, the situation may turn around. It depends on whether you can let go of your hatred!"
Tieti frowned and said, "What kind of cooperation can we discuss between you and me? Are you willing to defect from the Grand Alliance to lend me a helping hand? If you want to persuade me to surrender and rejoin the Grand Alliance, please don't say a word. As long as I, Tiexue, still have the strength to fight, I will never admit defeat!"
I shook my head and said, "No, no. What I want to cooperate with you on is another matter. But before I tell you the content, I want to ask you, is it really me, Bloody Sky, who is the person that Brother Tieti hates the most?"
When Tieti heard this, a fierce light flashed in his eyes and he stared at me closely. I remained fearless and met his gaze.
After a while, Tieti suddenly lowered his eyelids and said bitterly, "Brother Tiankong is right. We are enemies for our own benefit. The Iron Blood Alliance suffered a lot from you in several battles, but that was a fair contest of means and abilities. I lost to you because I am not as skilled as you. What is there to complain about? It's hateful that Jiucheng Wumeng said nice things when he formed an alliance with me, saying that the benefits would be shared and the risks would be shared. But after conquering Yinyue, he turned his face and refused to acknowledge it. He forcibly took the Yinyue base from me. He found a good excuse, saying that after Jiucheng had a base in Pojun, it would be more convenient for him to support Tiexue in the future . That time, In the battle, I lost eleven gangs under my command, but I didn’t get any benefits. However, in order to show Jiucheng my sincerity in cooperation, I endured this and still handed over the Yinyue Station to them. However, I received the news of the battle the day before yesterday and immediately asked Jiucheng for help. If Jiucheng was willing to send reinforcements, I would have more troops to deploy, and you might not be able to defeat the nine gangs so easily! But Wumeng used the excuse that he was attacked by Meng Hui Sheng Tang and Yi Bo Yun Tian in Lianzhen City, and refused to send reinforcements from his headquarters, and only ordered the 100,000 troops stationed in Yinyue to "move as the opportunity arises"! What the hell is he moving!"
Tieti had never expressed his resentment to anyone. The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed the table and said, "Nine cities have an army of 100,000 soldiers, but they retreated after being frightened by your 5,000 men. It's obvious that they only care about preserving their own vested interests! Later, I found out that the so-called attack by Shengtang and Yuntian was just a small-scale PK. How could Wumeng regard me as an ally? I was just a tool he used to interfere in Pojun City! Then he shamelessly asked for peace with the Grand Alliance. This man is treacherous. I wish I could grind his bones and scatter his ashes! If it weren't for the fact that the Grand Alliance was clearly unwilling to give up, I would rather declare war on this guy first!"
I was secretly delighted in my heart, but I looked indignant and said, "Wumeng is really abominable! I, Blood Sky, hate people who don't keep their word the most, so when Jiucheng asked for peace, I was the one who insisted on refusing to accept it. But if Brother Tieti is willing to cooperate with me today, I guarantee that Jiucheng will fall flat on its face, and you can vent your anger!"
Tieti Tu calmed down and said, "You and I are still enemies now, and no matter how despicable Jiucheng is, it is still an ally of Tiexue in name. If you want me to cooperate with you to deal with Jiucheng, wouldn't my reputation be ruined? What's the benefit?"
Hey, this guy is worthy of being a hero. He turned back to the issue of interests so quickly. But I don’t worry that Tieti will refuse to cooperate, because the price I offer is definitely high enough!
"Brother Tieti, I don't need you to confront Jiucheng head-on - let me ask you, if Jiucheng doesn't send any soldiers to help you this time, how many gangs can you defend tomorrow?"
Tieti was silent for a moment, then said, "At most five!"
I laughed and said, "Yes, the current situation is obvious. If Jiucheng does not take action, the Iron Blood Alliance will not be able to hold on. The people of Jiucheng are not fools. If the Grand Alliance quickly destroys Iron Blood and unifies the Po Army, and they are still entangled with Shengtang Yuntian, how can Jiucheng resist when the coalition forces come to Lianzhen? If I am right, Brother Tieti also asked Jiucheng for help this time, and Wumeng must have agreed to send troops this time!"
"What Brother Sky means is..."
"It's very simple. I want you to exaggerate the difficult situation of the Iron Blood Alliance as much as possible and ask the Nine Cities to provide as many reinforcements as possible. In addition, tell me the deployment of the Nine Cities' troops. This will be considered a cooperation between you and me!"
"You want to attack the Nine Cities... No, you want to attack the original Silver Moon base!"
"Haha, Brother Tieti is really quick to react! Yes, that's exactly what I meant!"
"Hmph, your request is not difficult to achieve, but what benefits will this cooperation bring to Iron Blood?"
I sneered, "This cooperation itself is of great benefit to Iron Blood. The more reinforcements you get from the Nine Cities, the greater your hope of holding more garrisons. My attack on the Nine Cities not only vents your anger, but also forces the Nine Cities and the Grand Alliance to have no room for maneuver. They will be forced to cooperate more closely with you, Iron Blood. In addition, I am willing to sign a secret agreement with you!"
"What secret agreement?"
"Iron Blood has received the help of the Nine Cities. If we can defend about ten gangs in tomorrow's battle, we will have the capital to turn things around in the future. If so, then forget it. You and I are both ambitious people, and we are determined not to allow each other to coexist with us. So we will still be enemies in the future. Who can dominate the army in the end will be proved by our own abilities. But if Iron Blood cannot defend more than five gangs tomorrow, then your defeat is certain, and there will be no chance of recovery. At that time, I am willing to leave a way out for you and give Iron Blood Alliance a station as a reward for Iron Blood providing us with the opportunity to attack the Nine Cities today."
Tieti was furious when he heard this. I clearly meant that if Tiexue lost, he could join the Jinglei League and become a subsidiary gang, just like the silver moon. But with Tieti's ambition and status, how could he be willing to be inferior to others? However, tomorrow's battle is dangerous and unpredictable. I dare not say that I can win. If I lose, I will let the hard work I put into establishing the Tiexue League go to waste, which is really unacceptable. Therefore, Tieti's face changed several times, and it was obvious that he could not make up his mind.
I struck while the iron was hot and said, "Brother Tieti, even if you don't think about yourself, you should also think about your old brothers who have fought with you to conquer the world. If the war in your alliance fails and the gang is eventually disbanded, will you have the heart to watch them drift away, with nowhere to go, or disperse to different gangs and become small minions?"
Tieti was shocked. Although the Iron Blood Alliance was overbearing to outsiders, Tieti still cared for his own people. Otherwise, he would not have been able to establish such a large gang. My words touched his heart. He also knew that if the Iron Blood Alliance was really defeated, no gang in Pojun City would dare to accept them except the Thunder Alliance. The Iron Blood Alliance was too powerful. Even if it was reorganized after disbanding, its strength would be stronger than most gangs in the big alliance. Who would want to have such a powerful subordinate gang that could not guarantee that it had no ambitions? If you were to rebel against them one day, you would not even be able to cry! The Thunder Alliance was not much weaker than the Iron Blood. After these days of fighting, it subdued Yin Yue and recruited many elite figures from the eliminated small gangs. Its strength has become stronger. After the reorganization, the Iron Blood Alliance will inevitably shrink greatly in size and no longer have the power to compete with the Thunder Alliance. I can safely and boldly recruit it to join my team.
In addition to completely retiring and joining the Thunder Alliance, Tieti has another way to go, that is, to rebuild the gang on his own without relying on any forces. However, if he chooses to build a gang in Pojun City, how can the big alliance forget the old hatred and raise a tiger to harm him? They will definitely uproot the new Tiexue before it has a firm foothold. If he chooses to build a gang in other places, now each city in the Cang Continent has a local gang divided into spheres of influence. If a new force wants to emerge, it will also be heavily suppressed and the road ahead will be difficult. Joining another big gang is also like relying on others. What is the difference between this and joining the Thunder Alliance?
After much thought, if he really wanted to leave a way out for himself, the Thunder Alliance was the best choice. Most of the old brothers of the Iron Blood Alliance were born near Pojun City. They were not only familiar with the environment here, but also felt a sense of belonging to this land. Moreover, the Thunder Alliance was not the most powerful force on the current Cang Continent, so they would be somewhat cautious about the rebuilt Iron Blood Alliance and would not be too harsh in terms of the conditions of subordination. Besides, this secret agreement might not be used, or would Iron Blood win tomorrow? The Thunder Alliance's cooperation request would not cause any loss to him, but would be of great benefit.
Tieti finally made up his mind and said, "Okay, I agree to cooperate with you!"
My mind returned to the battlefield. The defenders of Jiucheng had already collapsed on all fronts. The coalition forces rushed towards the headquarters like a tide. The battle went so smoothly that it was a bit beyond my expectation. But it was no wonder. I made a smart move to cooperate with Tiexue. I knew the troop deployment of Jiucheng very well. How to dispatch the offensive forces was also a careful calculation. It would be strange if I couldn't win or won with difficulty.
Neither the Jinglei League nor the Tianshui Pavilion suffered much loss in this battle, but Yinyue suffered heavy casualties. Only about 5,000 people were left out of more than 20,000 troops. However, for them, being able to retake their original base was the biggest reward, so everyone was very happy.
The fact that Huai Huai and Ba Dao could easily take down Jue Shi was also part of the deal between me and Tie Ti. Last night I told him that because of the overall decision of the Grand Alliance, Jing Lei League would definitely attack Jue Shi. And with the combat power of Jing Lei League, even if it only dispatched 20,000 people, Tie Xue would have to mobilize the same number troops to have a 100% chance of successful defense. Jing Lei League had a precedent of conquering Ba Jian League with 5,000 troops, so no one would think that I was bragging. Instead of mobilizing so many troops to defend Jing Lei League, it would be more cost-effective to give up this station and divide these troops to defend other gangs. Tie Ti understood everything at once, so today in Jue Shi, Huai Huai and his gang only encountered symbolic resistance.
At this time, the attacks of other gangs were successful and unsuccessful, and most of the battles were still going on fiercely. It can be said that the fate of Tiexue depended entirely on today's battle, but no matter what the outcome, the Thunder Alliance had already gained enough benefits.
