Chapter 273 - 161: Collaborators (Part 2)
After several hours of brutal fighting, the Northern Expedition Legion’s offensive had intensified once again, the density of their assault increasing significantly.
To preserve their forces as much as possible, the Sniper Corps didn’t let their soldiers fight until their energy was completely depleted. Instead, they swapped in replacements when only a small amount of energy remained. As a result, they were running low on soldiers at full strength, and it looked as though their line couldn’t hold.
The kill zone created by their ranged units was growing weaker. With more Northern Expedition soldiers charging, the damage was spread thin, allowing more and more of their melee troops to reach the Sniper Corps’ Shield Soldiers.
About a hundred meters in front of the Sniper Corps’ Shield Soldiers, a new front line had formed, where the melee troops of both sides engaged in fierce combat.
When the melee troops clashed at similar densities in one-on-one combat, the superior quality of the Sniper Corps’ soldiers became apparent.
A single melee unit from the Sniper Corps could drive back three to five enemy units of a similar level. Because they held the upper hand in combat, it was easier for them to find an opportunity to withdraw, letting a fresh soldier take their place while they rested and recovered.
Even so, the high-intensity fighting was rapidly depleting the Sniper Corps’ combat-ready melee units, and their death toll continued to climb.
The Northern Expedition Legion, however, braved immense casualties and relentlessly charged the Sniper Corps’ lines, pushing them back with a veritable tide of bodies.
...
Inside the Sniper Corps’ main camp, the lords, seeing the dire situation, swarmed around Li Hua once more.
"Li Hua, this isn’t working! We can’t keep fighting like this."
"We have to change tactics! Or can your hero deploy again?"
"You have to decide now! We’re running out of time!"
...
Li Hua was hesitant. ’I know Lin Yu’s troops are already behind the Northern Expedition Legion,’ he thought. ’If we retreat now, we’ll no longer be pinning them down. If Lin Yu’s forces get discovered, they’ll be all alone.’
’Screwing over an ally like that, especially with their representative right here in our camp... it just doesn’t feel right.’
Then again, he was reluctant to deploy his hero again. ’I’ve already revealed too much. If I don’t send them out again, people might just think my hero can only fight for half a day at most.’
’That’s still a long time, but it’s not so incredible that it would drive people mad with greed.’
’But if I do send a hero out again—whether it’s the same one or a new one—it will only attract more unwanted attention and greed.’
’Neither option is good. But if I just let the Sniper Corps keep fighting the Northern Expedition Legion head-on, we’ll definitely be crushed.’
’Besides, there’s no point in annihilating these soldiers at the cost of our own heavy losses. They’re basically Death Warriors to the Northern Expedition Legion; their lords couldn’t care less if they live or die.’
Li Hua didn’t dwell on it. This was no time for indecisiveness; he had to make a decision quickly.
"Alright then..." Just as Li Hua was about to make his decision, Lin Kong hurried to his side and whispered something in his ear.
Li Hua nodded after listening and continued, "In that case, we will execute a temporary strategic withdrawal."
"Don’t—" the Zhao Family brothers cried out.
"Hold on!" Li Hua said with a wave of his hand, stopping the Zhao Family brothers. "We are not admitting defeat, nor are we just going to let the Northern Expedition Legion march into the plains."
"Right now, our soldiers are just low on energy. Our casualties aren’t severe, and all of you have managed to preserve the core of your forces."
"Therefore, we need to send the bulk of our soldiers who are still in good condition into the Zhao Family brothers’ cities."
"First, to help them with their defense. We can’t have people thinking we’re a bunch of ingrates who abandon their allies."
"Second, to slow the Northern Expedition Legion’s advance."
"And third, to make the Northern Expedition Legion underestimate our true strength."
"After we withdraw, we must recover our strength as quickly as possible, then watch for an opportunity to launch a counteroffensive."
"We must recover quickly, because that opportunity could come at any moment."
After hearing Li Hua’s plan, the Zhao Family brothers fell silent. While they were unhappy with the arrangement, it was honorable enough; he hadn’t abandoned them completely.
Their cities were about to become bait and a roadblock, but that was still better than being completely sacrificed.
The assembled lords discussed the matter and ultimately agreed to Li Hua’s proposal. A small minority had been inclined to simply pack up and go home; they were mostly lords from farther territories who had only come to fill out the numbers, and the brutal reality of the battle had them spooked.
However, seeing that the ranked lords were preparing for another engagement, they figured that even if they didn’t qualify to advance, currying favor with those who did was a good deal, so they kept quiet.
Under the command of the lords, the Sniper Corps’ front line began a slow withdrawal. One contingent of their remaining forces fell back to the Zhao Family brothers’ cities to prepare their defenses, while the rest retreated rapidly behind the main camp.
The ranged units on the perimeter walls moved along the camp’s fortifications, firing as they went to slow the Northern Expedition Legion’s advance. Finally, they jumped down from the rear wall and made a swift withdrawal.
When silence fell over the Sniper Corps’ camp, the Northern Expedition Legion charged in, only to stare at the empty grounds, unsure of what to do.
It was like throwing a punch with all your might only to hit empty air. The person who threw the punch would feel winded; in a severe case, they might even be hurt by their own momentum.
Mei Yuan was feeling that now. He had come up with a brilliant tactic, playing to the strengths of his human-wave assault, and the result was... the Sniper Corps had simply run away.
This left him deeply frustrated. He glowered at the two cities flanking the mountain pass.
Lights flickered atop the walls of the two cities, and figures darted back and forth. Clearly, both had been prepared for a defense.
’But so what if they’re prepared?’
’Do a couple of measly, unranked lords actually dare to resist my Northern Expedition Legion?’
"Order all soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion to split into two forces and attack the two cities at the pass. Immediately!"
The soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion, considering their routing of the Sniper Corps a victory, were riding a wave of high morale. Upon hearing the order, they quickly split into two armies and surrounded the two cities.
The Zhao Family brothers’ two cities were built with a distinctive style, clearly designed with purpose before the competition began. They were not traditional farming cities, but military fortresses, packed with dense defenses and numerous mechanisms.
Furthermore, they were fortunately situated with their backs to a mountain range, meaning only three of their four walls could be assaulted. They had also built a massive castle nestled against the mountainside.
A fortress like this had allowed them to easily repel enemy attacks during the Zombie Calamity in March and the Eye Demon Invasion in October.
Unfortunately, constructing the fortress had consumed so much of their resources that they failed to earn enough points to qualify. With another couple of months, or a few more defensive battles, they probably would have advanced without issue.
Faced with such a fortress, the soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion were not the least bit intimidated. They had already taken a dozen or so cities on their path here; they were rich in experience.
Besides, they weren’t afraid of lords who holed up in their cities. ’If they were really a threat, would they be hiding behind walls?’ they thought.
The only ones they feared were the tough ones who met them head-on in open battle.
...
The siege began quickly. The Zhao Family brothers’ fortress was incredibly well-defended, with high, thick walls, and the Northern Expedition Legion’s soldiers struggled in their assault.
Furthermore, since their Catapults had suffered heavy losses during the artillery duel with the Sniper Corps, they severely lacked firepower. They couldn’t just breach the outer walls and pour into the inner city as they had with previous conquests.
Thus, they had to rely on scaling ladders and rope ladders to assault the walls directly. In the rear, logistics troops scrambled to construct battering rams and other gate-breaching engines.
At the base of the two fortresses, swarms of Northern Expedition Legion soldiers scaled the ladders, climbing endlessly toward the top. Every few moments, a body would be knocked loose, tumbling back into the crowd below.
The few soldiers who reached the top of the wall struggled to withstand the defenders’ attacks, desperately trying to buy time for the men climbing behind them.
The two sides fought like rabid beasts, ignoring the wounds they sustained, caring only about tearing a piece of flesh from their enemy.
Shortly after the battle began, the fortress walls were already stained red with blood. Most of it had splattered upward from the climbing Northern Expedition Legion soldiers, but some of it trickled down from the defenders above.
Moonlight pierced through the clouds, casting a pale glow upon a crimson mist that rose from the battlefield, painting a scene of eerie, bewitching beauty.
...