Otherworld Advance Team -
Chapter 1239 - 1232: The Enemy Provokes
Chapter 1239: Chapter 1232: The Enemy Provokes
"It doesn’t matter," Bai Po waved his hand and said, "This is a conflict between us and the Dongsheng people; there’s no need to drag guests from the Western Continent into this."
"What insights do you have about this invasion, Leader Bai Po?" Linglan asked seriously.
"When the enemy arrives, we will block them. When the Xiaotian Clan and the Zilu Clan arrive, even a thousand generals can do nothing," Bai Po said with disdain.
"Ah..." Hearing his words, Linglan didn’t know what to say and could only sigh in resignation.
It was apparent that the Demon Clan was generally fearful of the Dongsheng Empire’s thousand generals, rather indifferent to the hundred thousand troops. It seemed that in their view, the combat power of the generals far exceeded that of the hundred thousand troops.
"What are your thoughts on this, Lord Luo’er?" Linglan turned her head and asked Luo’er.
"Eh, you want my opinion?" Luo’er was instinctively stunned.
"At this critical moment of life and death, I hope our guest from afar will not hesitate to offer advice," Linglan said earnestly.
"How many defenders are currently in the city?" Luo’er thought for a moment, exchanged glances with Zhuyan Yu, and then asked.
"There should be around thirty thousand now. If the reinforcements from various clans assemble, we can gather up to probably fifty thousand troops in the city, but..." Linglan said, her expression becoming worried.
"So, how many soldiers can be deployed at once to defend the city?" Luo’er continued asking.
"If the enemy attacks one side, then we can deploy about five thousand people at once to defend that wall," Linglan considered and said.
"How long can they hold?" Luo’er continued asking.
"We can..." Linglan exchanged looks with the other leaders, then turned back and said, "Based on the current situation, if the enemy’s hundred thousand troops and a thousand generals come, the city walls could last at most for one day."
"Only one day?" This number clearly surprised Luo’er, plunging him into shock.
"Yes, among the generals of the Dongsheng Empire, there are those who practice the art of lightness, who can easily scale the walls. If we can’t deal with them immediately, the walls will surely fall," Linglan explained.
"I see," Luo’er nodded in understanding.
Seeing Luo’er’s expression, Linglan continued explaining, "However, the Luwu Clan has already arrived in the city. If the Xiaotian Clan and the Zilu Clan can also arrive later, with them defending the city, it should be more secure. At least, the enemy won’t likely conquer it within ten days."
"Have you considered dispersing forces to harass the enemy’s rear and disrupting their logistics?" Luo’er asked.
"We have, but it’s not feasible," Zisu responded in place of Linglan.
"Why?" Luo’er asked in astonishment.
"You don’t understand how powerful a general is. They only need one general to withstand hundreds of us. If the harassing forces are too small, they can’t defeat a general; if too large, we don’t have enough people," Zisu paused, sighed, and said, "These generals are cultivators; we can neither defeat nor outrun them, so a rash attack would only be a death sentence."
"What about launching an attack from the air?" Luo’er asked.
"Hmm..." Hearing Luo’er’s suggestion, everyone exchanged looks, then Linglan shook her head and replied, "We don’t have that capability. Although most Kunzhou are produced in West Outer Heaven, almost all have been seized by the Dongsheng Empire. We hardly have a single Kunzhou, while the Dongsheng Empire has thousands."
"The disparity in strength is just too great," Luo’er couldn’t help but take a deep breath at the realization.
"Indeed..." Linglan said, her head bowed in a dejected demeanor.
"Luo’er," Zhuyan Yu pulled Luo’er aside, then, frowning, asked softly in Chinese, "You aren’t thinking of?"
"I think it might be feasible," Luo’er nodded and replied.
"This matter must be handled with caution, the air fleet is not ours, it belongs to Ronisca. If we allow the air fleet to intervene and we lose the battle, we won’t be able to answer to the headquarters. Moreover, we currently have only a few airboats. If anything happens to them, we won’t be able to return," Zhuyan Yu said seriously.
"But no matter what, the Demon Clan’s issue must be addressed. We can’t just let the Dongsheng Empire annihilate them. After all, this is the first civilization we have encountered since landing on the Eastern Continent," Luo’er said.
"In any case, be cautious, be very cautious. Do not intervene lightly unless absolutely necessary. We’ll consult with Captain Reimer first and decide whether to intervene," Zhuyan Yu said.
"Yes, let’s do as Teacher suggests," Luo’er nodded in agreement.
In fact, Luo’er’s idea was simple. Whether in ancient warfare or modern warfare, logistics are always the most important reliance for both sides. If they could use the aerial advantage to raid the enemy’s logistics, the enemy would find it difficult to organize a large-scale offensive, and thus the crisis at Lingyuan City would naturally be resolved.
While the two were discussing, they suddenly heard a soldier’s urgent voice at the door, "Report to the leaders, the vanguard of the Dongsheng Empire has already arrived at the city, and is now issuing a challenge!"
"How many of them are there?" Linglan asked urgently.
"About ten thousand," the soldier answered.
"Ten thousand people shouldn’t be able to surround the city," Luo’er muttered.
"How many generals are there?" Linglan continued to ask.
"Not sure!" the soldier answered.
"Hmph, ten thousand dare to issue a challenge? I’ll go out and take a look!" Bai Po snorted coldly and walked out of the hall.
"What does issuing a challenge mean?" Luo’er widened his eyes and asked Zisu.
"Issuing a challenge means sending a general under the city to insult us, urging us to come out for a battle. Before the actual battle begins, the generals of both sides will engage in a duel. The winner boosts morale greatly, while the loser’s side will be utterly routed," Zisu explained with a smirk.
"Why does it sound so much like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?" Luo’er asked, turning to Zhuyan Yu.
"Shall we go and watch from the city walls?" Zisu leaned towards Luo’er and asked with a smile.
"Uh, I’ll go myself, no need for Leader Zisu’s grand presence," Luo’er said, retreating as if escaping.
Thus, Luo’er and Zhuyan Yu followed the leaders to the city wall to observe the battle. Just as they reached the top, they saw a dense crowd in the distance outside the city; it was the army of the Dongsheng Empire. They were not far from the city walls, just a few hundred meters away, and the general issuing the challenge was even closer, less than fifty meters from the wall.
It is generally believed that from ancient to modern wars, the overall trend of warfare has shifted from visual-range combat to long-range combat, and eventually to beyond-visual-range combat.
In ancient warfare, due to low productivity, ancient people couldn’t produce more powerful weapons, so warfare at this time was primarily at visual range, with commanders usually not being more than a few hundred meters from each other. The more primitive the warfare, the closer the distance between the commanders.
However, with the advancement of productivity, especially the emergence of long-range projectile weapons, the distance between opposing sides started to increase. By the time of the Song Dynasty, projectile weapons had developed to the peak of cold weapons, with devices like the trebuchet providing significant long-range offensive capabilities, even injuring the Mongol Khagan during the Battle of Fishing City.
In early modern warfare, the pattern began to shift towards long-distance engagements, particularly with the advent of artillery and aircraft, which allowed forces to strike deep into enemy territory, hinting at beyond-visual-range combat.
After World War I, dense infantry charges, a hallmark of visual-range combat, were brutally swept into the dustbin of history, replaced by dispersed troop charges of long-range warfare, epitomized by the Three Three System.
Thus, some people complain that in war movies and shows, soldiers charging under dense machine gun and artillery fire does not make logical sense.
Indeed, the audience’s point is not without merit, but they overlook a fundamental fact: modern war dramas, in order to create an atmosphere of war, often use visual-range infantry charges to depict scenes of long-range warfare, naturally creating a sense of inconsistency.
Simply put, they use the form of ancient warfare to perform almost modern warfare.
Towards modern times, with the continuous improvement in productivity, long-range warfare has progressed towards a form of beyond-visual-range combat, exemplified by various kinds of missiles.
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