MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again-Chapter 1271 - 248: War Clouds Before the Battle (Part 2)
"Everyone, I respect your choice. I will not force you to express your opinions directly. I will give you half a day to consider, and you should all think carefully with your soldiers under your command."
After speaking, Grand Marshal Long Lin waved his hand, indicating everyone to leave, not wanting to hear anyone’s speech.
Lu Kang and Qin Hong, along with the others, rose silently, bowed to Grand Marshal Long Lin, and then left the central tent one by one in an orderly fashion.
Once out of the tent, Lu Kang and Qin Hong quickly escaped back to their respective garrison areas.
The other two suburb Marshals initially wanted to mock them a bit to vent their grievances, but seeing the two running so fast, they felt embarrassed to chase after and scold them.
Back in their own tent, Lu Kang and Qin Hong stared at each other, exchanging glances.
Lu Kang’s eyes revealed a hint of resentment, clearly expressing: You’re the City Lord’s disciple, and before the expedition, why didn’t you ask your mentor for more troops, making Photon City lose face today.
Qin Hong’s gaze was also filled with resentment: You’re the Grand Marshal of this expedition, and about troop allocations, you should have fought with my mentor over it; can’t believe you’re unaware of the usual rules of deployment, making Photon City lose face today.
Moments later, it seemed like they understood each other’s glances, both snorted coldly, turned their heads away, no longer looking at one another.
Soon, Lu Kang mentioned the two plans proposed by Grand Marshal Long Lin to his subordinate commanders. Such a choice would not be told to the lower-level soldiers, allowing them to make their choice. The lowest it would go is to the thousand-man unit leaders; further down, it’s not their place to make choices.
Half a day of intense discussion passed within the large tents of various campsites.
Grand Marshal Long Lin reconvened with the commanders of the suburb sections by evening.
He got straight to the point: "Gentlemen, choose one or choose two. Raise your hands if you choose two."
Clearly, Grand Marshal Long Lin leaned towards fighting to the death. With over six hundred thousand in the city and over three hundred thousand outside, combined, it’s not significantly less than the million Tianlang Army surrounding Hua’an City. The problem is you’re splitting into two groups, while the Tianlang Army is unified. Their three hundred thousand outer troops might not withstand the breakout from Hua’an City joining them and could be enveloped and swallowed by the Tianlang Army.
Thus, choosing the second path means almost certain death unless a miracle occurs.
As Grand Marshal Long Lin finished speaking, everyone present raised their hands in agreement.
Seeing the unanimous raised arms, Grand Marshal Long Lin smiled with relief: "With heroes and loyal men in the Rongtian Domain, willing to sacrifice their lives for the Rongtian Domain, I truly feel heartened. This is the fortune of the Rongtian Domain, the fortune of its ten thousand citizens!"
Marshal He smirked: "Grand Marshal Long Lin, let’s not waste time and quickly set up our strategy. Since we won’t be waiting for reinforcements any longer, we might as well act now and avenge our fallen soldiers of Rongtian Domain!"
Upon hearing this, Grand Marshal Long Lin waved, and two adjutants carried in a massive sand table from outside the tent, centering on Hua’an City, depicting all mountains and terrain within thirty miles in detail.
"Gentlemen, the million Tianlang Army besieging Hua’an City aims to weaken our Rongtian Domain’s reinforcements to the West. Additionally, as the central city in the West, if Hua’an City falls, it essentially means giving up the vast plains of our Rongtian Domain’s West. By that time, the Tianlang Domain’s cavalry will ravage the western plains at will. Therefore, we must fight this battle and keep Hua’an City protected!
This siege is led by Tianlang Domain’s Tu Ke Hamon, commanding nearly thirty thousand cavalry and a thousand Ghostly Wolf Riders, along with seventy thousand infantry in phalanx for attacking the city. What we most urgently need to deal with are these thirty thousand cavalry and the thousand Ghostly Wolf Riders."
Listening to Grand Marshal Long Lin’s narration, although everyone was mostly aware of these facts, hearing it again still made them frown.
Indeed, among their thirty thousand troops, approximately ten thousand are cavalry, frankly, not even a match for the Ghostly Wolf Riders. And for those twenty thousand infantry, the opponent’s thirty thousand cavalry could easily crush with repeated charges. This disparity in troop types is all too evident on the battlefield.
"Therefore, gentlemen, be prepared to die at any time." Grand Marshal Long Lin said calmly: "To win this battle, our first task is to deal with the Ghostly Wolf Riders. The goal isn’t to annihilate them, but to lure them away from the Hua’an City battlefield, reducing the threat they pose to us. I wonder who among you would willingly take on this heavy responsibility?"
Upon hearing this, the leaders present fell into silence. They were all top commanders in major cities, let alone that Grand Marshal Long Lin had explained so explicitly. If they still couldn’t understand, it would mean their brains were truly lacking, and there would be no point in staying here.
To lure the thousand Ghostly Wolf Riders, bluntly put, is to sacrifice lives. The crucial point is you can’t have too few troops in the bait offered. It’s primarily the two larger suburbs with enough cavalry to feed to these wolf cubs, and such casualties would be heart-wrenching for anyone.
At this moment, Marshal He gritted his teeth and spoke up: "Grand Marshal, Old He is willing to offer all my six thousand cavalry as bait for the Wolf Riders."
Upon hearing this, Grand Marshal Long Lin slightly shook his head: "Not enough."
He then turned to the Marshal with the surname Zhang and said: "There’s an old saying in the Tianlang Domain about Wolf Riders: ’If the Wolf Riders don’t reach ten thousand, ten thousand can’t be defeated.’ A thousand Ghostly Wolf Riders might divide into two teams, acting like meat grinders, attacking from left and right, grinding your formation to dust, into minced meat. Just six thousand cavalry won’t interest the Ghostly Wolf Riders; we must offer bigger bait so that they feel this achievement outweighs attacking the infantry phalanx."
Facing Grand Marshal Long Lin’s gaze, Marshal Zhang displayed a wry smile: "In that case, all seven thousand cavalry under my command this time are offered, making a total of thirteen thousand cavalry. I just wonder if the Ghostly Wolf Riders have the guts to take them down."
In response, Grand Marshal Long Lin nodded decisively: "They do have the guts. Before coming here, I received a secret military report from the Military Department. The first battle of the Western Battle Zone was between thirty thousand Ghostly Wolf Riders and Marshal Duo Man from our Rongtian Domain.
Marshal Duo Man, entrusted by Emperor Rongtian, guarded the West for many years, commanding more than eighty percent of the cavalry, amounting to a thirty-thousand cavalry corps, securing the west border for nearly a hundred years, with no one from Tianlang Domain daring to intrude. Unfortunately, Marshal Duo Man underestimated the world-renowned Ghostly Wolf Riders and was defeated by them, with only over eight thousand out of thirty thousand cavalry escaping. Marshal Duo Man also died in that battle on the battlefield. If it weren’t for our Rongtian Domain suffering a crushing defeat in one battle, how could the Tianlang Domain dare to be so arrogant?"
Regarding the origins of the war between the Rongtian Domain and Tianlang Domain, not many among those present really knew. Firstly, they were too far from the Western Battle Zone, with isolated and blocked information, and secondly, they were just following orders. Having just arrived in the West, they hadn’t even reported to Hua’an City yet.
Three thousand Wolf Riders against a thirty thousand strong cavalry corps, a ten-to-one ratio, ending in a devastating defeat with heavy losses. First and foremost, they couldn’t deny the prowess of Duo Man’s cavalry, or else the Tianlang Domain wouldn’t have dared to encroach on the border for nearly a century, so it only goes to show the terror of the Ghostly Wolf Riders.
Hearing what General Long Lin said, everyone fell into a deep silence again. Such formidable Wolf Riders, the thirteen thousand cavalry they’ve lined up might indeed just be sacrificial lambs.
Moreover, without the thirteen thousand main cavalry, what do they have to counter the million-strong Tianlang Army?
The ’nine lives and one death’ scenario mentioned by Grand Marshal Long Lin before was already a conservative estimate.
At this point, Qin Hong suddenly spoke up: "Without the thirteen thousand main cavalry, we would lack the strength to directly face the Tianlang Army. So... let Photon City take care of these thousand Wolf Riders!"
