991: Chapter 911: Brewing Tea to Repel Thousands of Troops (Super-sized Chapter in Request for Monthly Votes) 991: Chapter 911: Brewing Tea to Repel Thousands of Troops (Super-sized Chapter in Request for Monthly Votes) “Report, Captain, the vanguard troop has entered the siege area, should we proceed deeper and deploy the siege equipnt?”
Beneath the glowing projection, an inquiry sounded through the communicator.
“Proceed deeper,”
The man with the jawline beard shifted his gaze from the projection and looked towards the silent, lofty wall.
Dark clouds obscured the stars, concealing the last vestige of light in the sky; under the shroud of night, the grand and colossal wall stood like a barrier at the world’s end, in front of the dense array of lights.
He spoke slowly, continuing, “All troops, advance and prepare for the siege.”
——
Wick District
Speeding floating warplanes flew past, mingled with the cha in the sky.
“General, we will arrive at North City in no more than thirty minutes.”
On the simple control console, the image of a long-haired officer materialized before Scott.
“Too slow,”
Scott raised his head, looking towards the high wall piercing into the clouds, “Order the last of the heavily armored troops to break away from the main force.
Light troops and Sky Behemoth forces should accelerate to maximum speed.”
“Yes!”
The long-haired officer nodded emphatically, cutting the communication.
“Have we received any news from the Prisoners’ Gang?”
Scott retracted his gaze and looked at the communicator by his side.
“No news, General,”
The communicator shook his head, “We have been trying to make contact, but neither the Great Tutor nor the other tutors who contacted us before have any news.”
“Any news from the South City Defense Army?”
Scott lifted his head, looking forward, and continued to ask.
“The South City Defense Army has sealed the entire high wall; the whole South City Defense Army is defending the city.
The City Defense Soldiers we bribed haven’t sent any intelligence so far,”
The communicator shook his head, “However, according to the intelligence from agents outside the high wall, the Evis Space System rcenary Corps’ siege is still ongoing, and they have likely caused significant damage to the city gates.
South City should be breached soon.”
“Get a line to Director Lunsar of Nord Bank,”
Scott looked ahead and said directly.
“Sure.”
The communicator quickly tapped a button in front of him.
With a brief busy tone, a bespectacled and gentle-looking man appeared in the projection on the control console.
The man smiled at Scott, “Isn’t this the future Mayor of Yilan City?
It seems your plan has run into a bit of trouble?”
“Linen is more troubleso than we anticipated,”
Scott said calmly, “He must have seized control of my City Defense Forces left in North City by now.”
“I must say, that surprises ,”
Lunsar’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly resud his usual deanor and smiled, “However, this is a war amongst your City Defense Forces—what can we do?
We can’t intervene.”
“Don’t play dumb,”
Scott’s gaze swept across the smile on Lunsar’s face, “Can’t you hear the shelling of Evis Space System attacking South City?
Evis Space System and Kopace Mining have already ford a temporary alliance, sieging from both north and south.
Does Nord want to see Yilan City completely controlled by Evis Space System and Kopace Mining?”
“Warriors with muscles for brains love chaos, but we are just the opposite.
Disorder and chaos make the normally stable markets panic and irrational,”
Lunsar sighed, “You can’t imagine what the stock market will plumt to tomorrow morning.”
“Enough with the sob story,”
Scott said hoarsely, “Whether it’s a loss or a gain, you’ll make a fortune.”
“While short-term profit is substantial, long-term stability is even more important.
Of course, a little bit of chaos is the perfect embellishnt to order, reminding everyone how hard-earned our current life is,”
Lunsar shook his head, smiling at Scott, “In fact, we do support you,”
He paused, then added pointedly, “But I thought you would choose to cooperate with Linen, join forces to resist the Kopace Mining rcenary Corps, and deal with your ‘family affair’ internally after the common enemy is repelled.”
“Corvey can’t withstand the assault of Evis Space System, and North City can’t resist the Kopace Mining rcenary Corps, whose military strength is even greater than Evis Space System.
“I’ve collaborated with Linen only to summon a North City Defense Forces that would be effortlessly crushed.
The outco of this war was predetermined, and,”
Scott continued calmly, “Linen must die; he’s too dangerous.”
“Of course,”
Lunsar said with a smile, “only when there’s no mayor does the city need a new one.”
He watched Scott, still wearing that formulaically mild smile,
“General Scott, I think that’s probably why the board sees potential in you.
You have clear objectives and will stop at nothing to achieve them, yet you also have a strong sense of self-awareness, able to see changes in the situation and adjust your position accordingly.
“I believe that in the future, on the grand stage of the Federation, there will definitely be a place for you.”
His earlier question had been inquiring if Scott would ‘go solo’ and collaborate with Linen, to which Scott had provided his answer.
“However, although the outco of the war is already predestined,”
Lunsar’s tone then shifted, “if you can deal with Linen before Kopace Mining, it would make things much easier for us when we support you.”
“He won’t live.”
Scott said with composure.
“Of course, we are all regretfully aware that the esteed Mr.
Lin En’s life is not long for this world.
I’m sure that very soon, Yilan City will return to the broad path of prosperity and stability,”
Lunsar chuckled, “May God bless you, Mr.
Mayor.”
After cutting off the communication, Scott looked up towards the high walls getting closer.
It was as if he could see an aged lion standing atop that wall, consud by raging flas.
Despite fierce struggles, its death was inevitable.
The breach of North City by the Kopis rcenary Corps was almost a certainty, and Linen was bound to die.
The only question was who would kill him first.
Linen.
He gazed at the majestic walls, his dark eyes as deep as an abyss.
The city’s new ruler would rise upon the remains of the old one.
——
North City Command Center
A young officer walked to the door of the office and glanced at the elderly reading inside.
The elderly sat there quietly, without speaking or making any big movents, and the crisp sound of pages being turned echoed in the air.
The young officer opened his mouth slightly; he wanted to ask sothing but ultimately didn’t speak.
Instead, he let out a nearly imperceptible sigh and retreated to a corner of the corridor.
He looked up at the guard in the hallway.
The usually bustling corridor was now eerily quiet – so quiet that the young officer felt he could hear the heartbeat of others around him.
Everyone was tense, but all tried to maintain a facade of ease on their faces.
······
Sitting behind an old desk, Commander Mid watched the pistol in his hand, carefully inspecting the firearm which was covered in signs of wear and tear.
Then he took out a cotton swab and maintenance oil, lifted his hand, activated the catch, removed the slide, and disassembled the gun into parts.
The gunfire at the edge of the city faded against these crisp chanical sounds, and the silence of the night outside the window was unusual.
It was like any other ordinary and typical night.
——
A dense array of lights congregated below the towering high wall.
Missile launchers were adjusted, and rows of heavy artillery were swiftly installed on the soft earth.
A cool breeze blew beneath the cloudy sky, seemingly dampening the air around.
“The Vanguard Troop is deploying their formation.”
“Group Two of the First Battalion is entering the operational area.”
“Group Three of the First Battalion is entering the operational area.”
······
A series of succinct broadcast announcents resounded in the communicator.
The bearded man looked down, watching the video projection in front of him, watching the Sky Behemoth plumting from the sky.
Then he lifted his head, looking towards the still silent high wall.
After a brief pause, he turned his head to look at the mountains beside him.
He then raised his hand, manipulating the control panel, and a panoramic map projected in front of him.
He adjusted the map so that he stood on the side of the city’s defenders.
From this perspective, the terrain outside North City of Yilan City roughly presented a trumpet shape: the horizontal line was the high wall, to the left of the diagonal line, or to the west, were high and steep mountains, and to the right, or to the east, were plains.
The mountains made it impossible to transport a large amount of equipnt, so the rcenary Corps took the route through the eastern plains, where rchant caravans frequently traveled.
The roads were easier to traverse and more suited for large-scale troop movents.
The entire combat zone—that is, the area sandwiched between the diagonal and horizontal lines inside the “trumpet”—was a small triangular plain.
It was spacious enough for deploying troops to besiege the city and close enough to the city walls.
At this mont, the vanguard of the rcenary Corps had entered the triangular plain, while he was at the mouth of that trumpet shape.
The bearded man looked up at every cannon port on the city walls, then glanced at the sky, and pressed a communication button on the side, “How many troops have entered the combat zone now?”
“Almost a third, Captain.”
Ca a quick response from the communicator.
“What is the weather expected to be tonight according to the teorological observation?”
The bearded man continued to inquire.
“Should be…
clear skies?”
There seed to be so hesitation from the communicator, “But it looks like it’s going to rain now?”
The bearded man looked down at the ground beneath the night sky, where a portion of the vehicles’ wheels were slowly moving forward, stuck in the soft mud.
The soil of the Northern Plain of Yilan was quite loose to begin with.
Although there were intact trade routes for caravans to use, several routes couldn’t accommodate so many armies.
Most vehicles of the entire rcenary Corps were traveling on muddy ground.
Even though all rcenary Corps vehicles were all-terrain vehicles designed for the wilderness, carrying heavy siege equipnt ant they could only move normally in the wild.
With this soil quality, once it rained…
The bearded man raised his head, looking at that city, calm as if it was undefended.
In an instant, all the clues linked together in his mind.
Lin En, terrain, rain clouds, South City, reinforcents.
He watched the video feed from South City, pressing another communicator button without hesitation, and shouted, “All troops halt advancent, rear guard beco vanguard, imdiately retreat from the combat zone.”
“Huh?”
An officer’s voice imdiately sounded through the communicator, “Big Beard, what’s happened?
According to our intelligence, there’s only a handful of stragglers left in the North City of Yilan.
We’re almost at the city gates.
In at most half an hour, we’ll be able to break through the city gates and take down this city.”
This was the captain of the Kopes Second rcenary Group, who also served as the deputy commander of this large rcenary Corps ford by the rger of two rcenary Corps.
“We just received a ssage from a reconnaissance squad, the Evis Space System rcenary Corps in South City has been attacked, caught in a pincer attack by the City Defense Army and unknown military forces, and are likely going to be defeated.”
The bearded man lifted his head to look at the projection map, his voice hoarse,
“Yilan City still has reinforcents?!”
There was so shock on the other end of the communication, unintentionally raising their tone.
“It’s going to rain.”
But the bearded man did not reply; he simply looked up at the sky again.
“Rain will at most make the ground muddy, affecting vehicle movent, but as long as we deploy and secure the equipnt…
wait,”
The officer on the communicator paused, “This trumpet mouth terrain is the most suitable for a siege.
As long as their troops block the trumpet’s mouth, with one side a high wall and the other mountainous plus the rain hindering passage, we would be directly surrounded here and beco sitting ducks,”
Then he couldn’t help but curse, “Damn this weather, it was clear just a mont ago, how could it suddenly…
No, it’s not the weather, it’s a supernatural ability, so sort of extraordinary item that can change the weather!
This is a trap!!”
Imdiately after, he realized sothing and said loudly, “No, we still have a chance.
Their reinforcents from South City must still be fiercely fighting with Evis Space System’s troops now, it would take ti for them to get here.
As long as we can breach the city walls before that, victory is still on our side!”
“I saw Lin En on the city walls.”
The bearded man stated calmly.
“Lin En?
What Lin En?”
There was bewildernt on the other side of the communicator, which quickly turned into realization, “Wait, Mayor Lin En?
Isn’t he at the Mayor’s Mansion, wasn’t Scott attacking him…
Damn it, has that bastard Scott played us again?
“What’s he trying to do, collaborate with Lin En to repel us and then kill Lin En himself to beco Mayor?
Can he handle this on his own?
Doesn’t he know that if he remains our dog he could continue to be Mayor, but if he fights with Lin En and loses, he gets nothing?
Stupid pig!”
“That’s for the board of directors to consider, it has nothing to do with us,”
The bearded man said hoarsely, “There’s also another possibility, that Lin En took control of North City behind Scott’s back.”
“How’s that possible?!”
The voice on the other end of the communicator obviously got emotional, “That’s a wild guess on your part.
How long has it been since Scott lost contact with us?
If I rember correctly, isn’t that Lin En guy nothing more than a figurehead Mayor without any troops or artillery?
He couldn’t have pulled together an army so quickly.
“Could he personally climb the walls of North City alone and seize North City from Scott, who’s been operating there for decades?
Despite how much of a bastard Scott is, his capability isn’t really in question.”
“Hmm.”
The bearded man responded calmly.
He himself didn’t quite believe this guess.
“So, Scott and Lin En have tead up and even found reinforcents outside?
What a sha that Lin En is a fool for letting you see him, he should have stayed hidden,”
The officer’s breath on the other end of the phone seed to steady as he took a deep breath, “No, Big Beard, we still have a chance.
We have a huge advantage in troops right now.
If we can break through the city at all costs before reinforcents arrive, then we still have a chance of winning.”
“First, we don’t know if the reinforcents are just one group,”
The bearded man rasped, “Second, soldiers, weapons, these things cost money.
If this venture fails, who will bear the responsibility when the board of directors pursues accountability?”
When he uttered those words, the communicator on the other end fell silent.
“The whole army withdraws.”
The bearded man lowered his head and quickly said.
The massive war fortress began to tremble rapidly, turning around beneath the night sky.
And the brilliance that had spread out in front was also quickly reversing.
The bearded man looked up at the silent city walls.
He still felt sothing was amiss deep down.
In fact, it was also possible that the enemy was creating a false front, and there might not be many people on the other side.
And just at this mont, as if sensing their intent to retreat, the originally silent and still city walls lit up with brilliance in an instant.
One after another, launch ports opened in succession, and rows of drooping railguns suddenly rose, taking aim uniformly at the ground below.
At this mont, they were not close enough to the city walls, staying on the edge of the high-kill range of those gun barrels, so the operators of the gun barrels also seed hesitant, not firing right away.
Heavy raindrops fell from the sky as if attempting to hinder the footsteps of the retreat.
“Vanguard Troop, cover the rear, be on guard,”
The bearded man pressed the communicator and roared, “Abandon unnecessary equipnt, retreat at full speed!”
Such artillery movents were not sothing a group of stragglers could achieve.
—
North City Command Center
Commander Mid slowly assembled the parts of the handgun that had been dismantled and maintained.
Bang—
As he was assembling it, a broad-faced officer violently burst through the door, “Commander!”
Mid’s hand trembled, almost knocking the parts from his grasp.
He looked up at the broad-faced officer, “Didn’t I tell you to get back to your post?”
“Comman…
Command…
”
The broad-faced officer gasped, his face turning red as he looked at Mid, “Commander, the Kopis rcenary Corps has withdrawn.”
Bang—
The parts in Mid’s hands fell onto the table, making a crisp noise.
He stared blankly at the broad-faced officer, “What?
What did you say?”
“Commander, the Kopis rcenary Corps has withdrawn!!!”
The broad-faced officer took a deep breath and shouted, “The Kopis rcenary Corps outside has withdrawn, no idea why, they just left, no, I should say they fled, and they fled fast, leaving a bunch of stuff behind!”
“Mr.
Lin En doesn’t know what magic he used, but it really worked.
It’s an, how on earth does his brain work, is he the illegitimate child of a Divine Being?”
“Don’t fuss,”
Mid lowered his head, habitually picked up the parts from the table, and looked at the pitch-black tal piece.
After a long ti, his sowhat vacant pupils finally regained so luster,
“Wow, an.”
—
Buzz—
With a slight vibration, the young officer raised his wristband and looked at the ssage on it.
Then his pupils suddenly contracted.
After flipping through several tis and confirming that the ssage indeed ca from Commander Mid, he sprang to his feet, his shoes slipping against the floor as he staggered to the heavy office door, leaning against the doorfra, he looked at the Elderly inside the office reading a book, and excitedly shouted,
“Mr.
Lin En!
Kopes Mining has withdrawn!”
“Hmm,”
The Elder sitting beside the bookshelf picked up the teapot that was roasting on the stove, poured the steaming hot tea into a cup, then removed the tea strainer from the cup, picked up the tea cup, and took a gentle sip of the tea, “I know.”
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