World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 675: The Triple Threes: Suo Lun’s Ruthless Move! Zhi Wei’s Dead End!_2

Chapter 675: The Triple Threes: Suo Lun’s Ruthless Move! Zhi Wei’s Dead End!_2

"Everyone outside is waiting, aren’t they? Let them come in!" Zhi Wei said.

"Yes!" Crown Prince Zhi You said and then went out to summon them.

Moments later, dozens of high-ranking generals entered the tent, with the lowest rank being deputy commanders of ten thousand troops.

The deputy commander bowed and said, "Duke, under the current circumstances, should we retreat to Baiyun County or should we continue to hold our ground? Please instruct us."

By this time, no one was suggesting proactively launching an attack on the city anymore, for it was impossible.

Duke Zhi Wei asked, "How many men do we have left now?"

"Over sixty thousand," the deputy commander said.

Duke Zhi Wei closed his eyes. He had over sixty thousand troops at his disposal; Suo Lun probably had about the same, maybe even less than sixty thousand.

If it were for safety, they should retreat to Baiyun County City.

But once they retreated, it would undoubtedly be a declaration to the world that Zhi Wei had suffered a great defeat!

After pondering for a moment, Zhi Wei said, "This crushing defeat is due to my underestimation of the enemy. I will confess my guilt to His Highness the Crown Prince. However, it is absolutely impossible for us to fall back to Baiyun County. We still have sixty thousand troops. By staying here, we can still present an encirclement around the Fenglei Fort Defense Line. This will tie down the main forces of Suo Lun’s army, making it easy for Duke Turing Tuo’s army to capture Tianlang Pass."

Once these words were spoken, everyone nodded their heads in agreement, admiring Zhi Wei’s savvy.

If Zhi Wei were to retreat now, it would be a declaration of total failure to the world. In that case, the credit for exterminating Suo Lun’s forces would all go to Turing Tuo alone.

But if he didn’t retreat and continued to hold his position, presenting a posture of besieging Fenglei Fortress, then when Turing Tuo destroyed Tianshui City, Zhi Wei would also have a share of the merits.

And that way, his daytime defeat would become a partial loss in the overall war.

A major victory overall, with a minor setback. In the end, it could be considered meritorious with no mistakes.

Zhi Li would surely not want Duke Turing Tuo to hog all the glory and would hope that Duke Zhi Wei could balance the situation. By then, Duke Zhi Wei might still be crowned a king, outranking Turing Tuo.

Once they fell back to Baiyun County, it would all be for naught.

"Wouldn’t Suo Lun’s forces come out of the city and engage us in the field?" all of a sudden, the deputy commander asked.

Zhi Wei said, "At most, Suo Lun has only forty to fifty thousand troops. If he stays within the fortified city, he has the advantage. But once he comes out for a field battle, he loses all the advantages, and he would not be so foolish."

In the end, Duke Zhi Wei and all the generals decided to hold their ground, besieging the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, and wait for Duke Turing Tuo’s army to arrive!

...

Inside the Fenglei Fort Defense Line!

Suo Lun’s army was holding a military council, gathered around a huge sand table.

This sand table was a model of the entire Tianshui City and half of Linhai City, including Tianlang Pass and Fenglei Fort Defense Line.

"Zhi Wei will definitely choose to stay put and not retreat to Baiyun County City," Suo Lun said. "Duke Turing Tuo’s army is advancing at full speed, and it will take about fourteen days to reach Tianlang Pass. In these two weeks, we must annihilate Zhi Wei’s army!"

Pointing to the model of Zhi Wei’s army on the sand table, Suo Lun said, "We must completely wipe them out, especially Zhi Wei. We can’t let them escape."

Then, he pointed to a river on the sand table.

This was the Tianshui River, a tributary of the Nu River, flowing from north to south and serving as a natural boundary between Baiyun County and Tianshui City.

The river was located about twenty or so miles behind Zhi Wei’s army from the Fenglei Fort Defense Line.

To facilitate the movement of his forces, Duke Zhi Wei not only constructed four stone bridges over the Tianshui River but also built dozens of pontoon bridges.

Suo Lun said, "Elder Yan Yan, you will take eight thousand troops and make a detour to the rear of Zhi Wei’s forces via Linhai City. On the western bank of the Tianshui River, you will establish a position to cut off Zhi Wei’s army’s line of retreat."

"Yes!" Yan Yan said.

"Princess Zhi Yan, once Elder Yan Yan has established a position on the western bank of the Tianshui River, you immediately take the Griffin Beasts and blow up all the pontoon and stone bridges on the Tianshui River," Suo Lun ordered.

"Yes, husband," Princess Zhi Yan said.

Indeed, because of her high martial skills, the princess, who was a dignified royal and future queen, was being used by Suo Lun for all sorts of tasks.

One moment she was an assassin, the next she was rescuing someone, then capturing someone, and now blowing up bridges.

Although she was the high sovereign, she showed no resistance to Suo Lun’s commands, doing whatever was asked of her.

This also reassured Ashi Liren and Yan Yan, among others, that Princess Zhi Yan had a very broad mind. When she ascended to the throne as queen, she would not do anything like ’throwing away the bow after the birds are gone.’

Ashi Liren asked, "Lord Suo Lun, do you plan to engage Zhi Wei’s army in the field?"

"Yes!" Suo Lun replied.

Liren asked, "If Elder Yan Yan takes away eight thousand troops, we will only have just over fifty thousand left. Do we have a chance against Zhi Wei’s sixty thousand in a field battle?"

"We have a chance, easily!" Suo Lun said with a smile.

His relaxed demeanor immediately filled everyone with confidence.

...

After the meeting, Suo Lun stood on the high battlements of the castle, looking down at Duke Zhi Wei’s camp, and sneered, "Zhi Wei, you should not have stayed to defend your position, you should have retreated to Baiyun County!"

Just then, a fragrant breeze blew, his back softened, and he was embraced by Zhi Yan.

"Husband, it’s been seven days, I have endured for seven days..." Zhi Yan said plaintively.

However, Suo Lun, still retaining his senses, said, "Here?"

"In the middle of the night, this is the highest part of the castle, no one can see us," Zhi Yan said.

Seductive as a fox spirit, enchanting as a fairy!

As Suo Lun was being intimate with Zhi Yan, thoughts of Zhi Ning, far away in the Flame Empire, surfaced in his mind.

During the day, his heart was filled with unease, unable to calm down, and it had nothing to do with the battlefield, Yet in this moment, calmness descended.

Zhi Ning should be about to give birth soon, or maybe she already had.

...

Marching day and night, for two days and two nights.

Yan Yan led eight thousand troops, took a detour to Linhai City, marching over four hundred miles, and arrived on the west bank of the Tianshui River.

To protect the pontoon and stone bridges over the Tianshui River, Duke Zhi Wei stationed two thousand troops on the west bank of the city!

At night, these two thousand troops defending the river were fast asleep.

Yan Yan conducted a brief assembly, then immediately initiated the attack.

Eight thousand attacked two thousand, and although they were weary, they took the enemy by surprise, and in just over half an hour, they achieved a complete victory, exterminating all two thousand soldiers defending Tianshui City for Zhi Wei, and took over the camp on the west bank of the Tianshui River.

At the same time, Zhi Yan led the masters of the Shadow Cabinet, flying over Zhi Wei’s army camp at night on griffins, and bombed the stone and suspension bridges over the Tianshui River with explosive packets.

The narrowest part of the Tianshui River is only twenty meters wide, so it is possible to construct sturdy stone bridges.

But no matter how strong a stone bridge is, it cannot withstand the explosion of several hundred pounds of gunpowder, and the first round of bombing completely destroyed three stone bridges.

As for the pontoon bridges, Zhi Yan and others directly used great swords to destroy the iron chains of the pontoons, turning them into piles of rotten wood, which the river swept away cleanly.

With that, the retreat of Zhi Wei’s large army was completely cut off, and the mere few dozen meters wide Tianshui City became an uncrossable chasm!

In front lay the heavily armed Fenglei Fort Defense Line, behind them all the bridges across the Tianshui River had been destroyed, and on the west bank of the river was Yan Yan’s eight thousand-strong army.

His sixty thousand-strong army was completely trapped in this valley that stretched over twenty miles long and four miles wide!

...

"Duke, the stone and pontoon bridges over the Tianshui River have all been destroyed. The two thousand guards on the western bank have been annihilated, and our escape route has been entirely occupied by Suo Lun’s several thousand-strong army," a scout leader rushed into the camp, hoarsely exclaiming!

After destroying the stone and suspension bridges, Zhi Yan and others immediately returned to the Fenglei Fort Defense Line on the griffins.

Then, they continued to fly out, taking advantage of the night.

This time, however, what the griffins carried were five-hundred-pound barrels of oil.

And the target was Zhi Wei’s large army’s Grain and Forage Camp!

In the night, barrels of oil fell from hundreds of meters in the air.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

The barrels of oil violently shattered, spewing the oil everywhere.

Finally, a small explosive package fell down and exploded violently.

"Boom..."

In an instant, thousands of pounds of oil were ignited.

Flames rose from the Grain and Forage Camp of Zhi Wei’s large army.

At the same time, Zhi Yan, leading several griffins, made trip after trip back and forth, repeatedly bombing the area.

They dropped dozens, even hundreds of huge oil barrels into Zhi Wei’s large army’s Grain and Forage Camp.

Add fuel to the fire.

Tens of thousands of pounds of oil, coupled with flammable grain and fodder.

Despite the frantic efforts of countless soldiers to put out the fire,

the entire Grain and Forage Camp was completely engulfed in flames!

"Duke, our grain and fodder have been burned to ashes by a huge fire!"

...

Note: The first update is here, I ask for your support, thank you all!

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