"Ah!!!"
But then came a scream, and the player who had been hit by a large machete in the head was instantly knocked back into the ground, fate unknown.
"Mere evil arts, how dare you flaunt them in front of me!"
With one strike repulsing the enemy, Feng Xianâs face showed a hint of ferocity. As the only disciple of Shenfengzi, the power he wielded was beyond that of ordinary fighters; he actually possessed the ability to harm enemies without physical form.
After driving off the attacking enemy, he began maneuvering the dragon beneath him, constantly shifting positions and dodging the artillery fire raining down from above, refraining from any conspicuous actions to guard against the long-range attacks that were also dangerous to him.
Thanks to the well-trained army, despite the significant losses under artillery fire, they were not completely panicked. Each squad leader led the surviving soldiers to fight off the entangling insects and charge from all directions towards the artillery army of Huang Country, fully unleashing the speed advantage of rune soldiers and dragon riders.
This was followed by a brutal chase and attrition battle, with the Feng Country Army annihilating the insect and artillery armies of Huang Country despite suffering over thirty percent losses. Although the outcome was undoubtedly a victory, there was no trace of joy on Feng Xianâs face. He realized that Huang Country was increasingly understanding how to deal with the elite troops of Feng Country, which might make the situation progressively unfavorable if they continued to fight.
"Based on past experience, it will take them at least three days to replenish their next batch of insects, especially since we also destroyed a unit of their artillery army, which replenishes much slower than insects."
The tall player who had been following Feng Xian was still alive at this point and even appeared largely unscathed, with just a pale face indicating excessive mana consumption.
"No need for comfort; we suffered greatly this timeâthe reinforcements we had just received were completely defeated..."
Feng Xian shook his head, still looking displeased. As the battle dragged on, he increasingly felt he was losing control of the situation, partly because he hadnât learned on Divine Peak Mountain how to deal with the endlessly spawning insects or the variables introduced by the players, elements beyond the scope of traditional military strategies.
As they gathered the remaining troops for the return, a figure on horseback suddenly descended from the sky and landed near them. Who else but Wang Zhifan, the King of Feng Country, whom they hadnât seen in months?
"My lord! I led the troops poorly! Willingly accept punishment!"
Upon seeing Wang Zhifanâs distinct and powerful aura confirming his identity, Feng Xian admitted his fault without hesitation, believing that the past battle tarnished the reputation he had built over the previous months.
"General Feng, do not fault yourself; victory and defeat are common in warfare."
Wang Zhifan didnât witness the battle but inferred from their condition that they had suffered a significant setback, so he offered words of comfort.
It wasnât that he intentionally didnât come to aid, but the battle lines were now stretched extremely long, with battlefields scattered among various southern nations in the Chaotic Realm. Huang Country had intentionally created this situation to restrain his personal strength, forcing him to be stretched thin.
Initially, he thought that with Feng Xian being a skilled combatant and having new reinforcements under his command, he could independently handle a segment of the battle, so Wang Zhifan focused his support on other fronts. Little did he know that Huang Country was also adept at controlling the battlefield, taking advantage of his lack of attention to cause a heavy loss to Feng Countryâs forces.
"With how the war has progressed, I understand Huang Countryâs strategy well. Conventional tactics might be difficult to break their scheme; only special strategies will suffice."
In front of his subordinate generals, after offering comfort, Wang Zhifan shared his latest thought.
"Might I ask what special strategy His Majesty plans to use?"
Feng Xian was intrigued. From a young age, he studied various stratagems and tactics on Divine Peak Mountain. However, the current situation couldnât be resolved by mere clever tricks, as their enemy exceeded whatâs recorded in military texts in every aspect. Unless the opponent made foolish mistakes, they were left with no way to break the deadlock but to slowly wear down the opposition.
"Itâs nothing too special, just beheading the enemy commander."
Wang Zhifan casually revealed his plan without worry of it being overheard by potential schemers.
"But the Huang Country leader has been in hiding since before the major battles began. He definitely wonât let us find any trace of him, let alone take his head."
The mage player beside Feng Xian couldnât help but comment to Wang Zhifan upon hearing the plan.
What he said was indeed true. At the beginning of this campaign, the player who was the King of Huang Country would occasionally show up since nobody knew the future circumstances, and none of the factions knew who their ultimate opponent would be.
However, before this major battle or even earlier, the King of Huang Country had realized that Wang Zhifanâs Feng Country was his main enemy.
The trait and invincible combat power of Wang Zhifan were well-known to him, which led him to preemptively guard against being beheaded by exploiting personal battle prowess, instead deploying large-scale attrition tactics and hiding himself strategically to counter opponents like Wang Zhifan.
At present, unless Wang Zhifan could single-handedly eliminate the expansive Huang Country and its vassals, he must constantly provide support to his forces and watch as his territories fall into the quagmire of war.
"There is a method, and itâs not particularly troublesome. You all just wait for now."
Wang Zhifan replied with a mysterious smile to this issue, then rode off on his Red Deer Horse, bidding them farewell, and instructed them to patiently await the news of the enemy commanderâs status.
"Is there really a method? Is His Majesty comforting us?"
Feng Xian wasnât optimistic after Wang Zhifanâs departure, but quickly a figure flashed in his mind.
"Could His Majesty be seeking help from the master?! But the master is now aged and traditionally uninvolved, and locating him is a major issue..."
As Shenfengziâs disciple, Feng Xian was well aware of his masterâs mysterious and powerful nature, especially his Divination Skill, capable of finding someone in hiding. However, knowing his master, getting him to assist was no simple task; he was always elusive and hard to find, not to mention asking for help.
The reality differed from Feng Xianâs speculation; Wang Zhifanâs method didnât involve seeking help from the powerful Shenfengzi but relied on his means.
On this day, Wang Zhifan rode his Red Deer southward into Huang Country, venturing solo into the enemy stronghold. He donned the Mad Tree-man Mask, allowing him free rein to gather intelligence here.
It didnât take long for him to target several high-ranking officials in Huang Country, such as those in charge of internal affairs.
"Do you know where your king is hiding?"
In the bedroom of one such Huang Country official, Wang Zhifan looked at the now blank-faced person and asked. The current state of the official was closely tied to the skill effect of a certain equipment in Wang Zhifanâs possession, rendering him a permanent idiot.
"I donât know... no one knows... the kingâs whereabouts..."
The unfortunate person, unable to lie, revealed the harsh truth that the opposition was already prepared for Wang Zhifanâs tactics from the start.
"Then tell me your kingâs name, appearance, age..."
Wang Zhifan wasnât surprised by this result and proceeded to inquire about details the person must know while holding an excellent-grade goblet-like item in his hand.