Chapter 1924: Offensive Strategy

The man before him spoke, "Brother Wang, I am still with the Yangshan army. This is merely an illusion created for me by Emperor Jiuyou." Emperor Jiuyou had tasked him with persuading his brother to surrender, but would not permit his real self to return to the city. Immortals possessed many means to facilitate remote communication between him and his brother.

Before King Luodian could respond, he continued:

"You didn't forget to wear your Moonstone Ring today, did you?"

The moment he heard this, King Luodian closed his eyes, his heart sinking. Today was precisely his deceased mother's birthday. Every year on this day, he would wear the precious ring she had given him, bathe, and offer incense. With the capital under siege for the past two days, he hadn't had time to complete the full ritual, but the ring was indeed on his finger. Only his own brother could have known this.

"Are you injured?"

Qu Ruhai's illusion shook his head. "It's not serious," he replied.

King Luodian's brows furrowed. "What does Emperor Jiuyou want you to do?" In truth, he had known the moment his brother first spoke.

Another peal of thunder rolled across the sky, and the dragon's shadow in the clouds stretched its body, appearing lifelike. Without waiting for Qu Ruhai's reply, King Luodian waved his hand. "Open the gates; let him in," he commanded.

The city gate nearby opened and then closed. He Lingchuan watched Qu Ruhai's illusion step inside, then turned and returned to his tent.

Inside the main tent, a sand table was set up, with more than a dozen small flags of various colors stuck into it. Wan Qiliang, who followed close behind, knew that the red flags represented conquered territories, while the green flags indicated the positions of the Yangshan army. Looking at the map, the red and green flags were scattered across every corner of the Blazing Gold Plain, except for the eastern region.

Several urgent reports lay on the table. He Lingchuan picked one up, glanced at it, then casually took a small flag and placed it on the sand table.

Their own territory: 1.

Wan Qiliang looked at it and chuckled, "Actually, there should be two flags: Shizhoutou and Liuping."

"They're close enough; one marker is fine," He Lingchuan said. When He Lingchuan dispatched his men, Yang Meng, who was guarding these two locations, immediately opened the city gates and led his troops out to welcome the Dragon God. It was a swift and straightforward surrender. The Black Armored Army captured both places without losing a single soldier.

Wan Qiliang's gaze, fixed on He Lingchuan, was filled with profound admiration. On their journey back to North Harbor from the sea, the Black Armored Army accompanying He Lingchuan had already surmised his intent to sweep across Blazing Gold. Yet, none could pinpoint where their lord would strike the first blow. The first strike was paramount; a decisive and impressive blow would ensure a swift and overwhelming response. The Black Armored Army on the ship had also debated this vigorously.

Wang Fubao believed the campaign would surely begin from Julu Port. Julu Port had long been jokingly referred to as "Yangshan Port" by outsiders. Apart from Jucheng, it was virtually Yangshan's primary base, exceptionally well-stocked with personnel and supplies. It also controlled the most prosperous port in all of Blazing Gold, maintaining constant contact with the Yangshan Archipelago for easy resupply. Wan Qifeng, conversely, believed their lord's uprising would commence from the Woolly Mammoth Forest in the north, launching an attack southward. Their group had landed at North Harbor, and reaching Julu Port would necessitate traversing the entire Blazing Gold Plain, a journey of two or three months without rest. This would be too time-consuming, introduce too many variables, and contradict He Lingchuan's strategic demand for a "swift campaign." Not to mention their "baggage" was too extensive and heavy. It was unrealistic; it would be more practical to launch the uprising directly from the north.

The others debated throughout the journey, but He Lingchuan paid them no heed. Before the uprising, he simply made covert preparations, never revealing his strategic plans to anyone—much like before he caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace years ago. When the grand operation finally commenced, even Wan Qifeng, Wan Qiliang, and others were stunned. He Lingchuan's ultimate strategy was neither to strike south from the northern landing point nor to conquer Blazing Gold by departing from Julu Port in the southwest. To him, both approaches were far too slow! The Blazing Gold Plain was so vast; his campaign had to be efficient.

Therefore, he adopted an unprecedentedly bold strategy: the Black Armored Army would launch simultaneous uprisings from seven different locations!

He Lingchuan personally led the main force, attacking southward from the Woolly Mammoth Forest in the north;Qiu Hu launched his campaign from Julu Port in the southwest, advancing eastward and northeastward;Su Yishui and Huang Zhiming led the main team, with Yu Shiqi and Yu Xianzhang as their subordinates. They initiated their uprising from Buzhen in the central-west, moving east to merge with Yang Meng's forces at Shizhoutou, and then continued eastward. Qiu Hu provided full support for these two routes.Doctor Li led the main team, with the Weng brothers as their subordinates, launching their uprising from Qiao State in the central-south;Tao Ran led the main team, with Du Xiaoyi as their subordinates, setting out from the five towns and thirteen villages in the south, seizing territory towards the central region; Doctor Li primarily supported these two routes.Lu Yaofei and Zhao Yibing led the main team, with Zhong Lizheng as their subordinates, launching their uprising from Xinuo Beach in the south;Xiao Qi led the main team, with Xia Ke as their subordinates, launching their uprising from Dragon's Gorge Lake in the southeast, not far from Yaodi; Zhong Lizheng primarily supported these two routes.

Main and secondary teams cooperated, providing mutual support; the commanding generals of each team had the authority to promote and dismiss personnel as they saw fit. Furthermore, there were pre-arranged plans for how each team would divide or merge forces after capturing significant strongholds.

Among these seven armies, the northern line led personally by He Lingchuan was the most formidable, so its starting point was less critical. Julu Port, as Yangshan's established stronghold, was already considered impregnable. Thus, the crucial factor lay in the remaining five uprising locations! These locations not only had to be easy to conquer but also needed to exert a strong strategic influence on their surrounding areas, providing convenient land and sea routes for subsequent advances. Remarkably, to date, all five armies had achieved immediate success in their initial engagements, conquering their objectives in a single decisive strike. After the first strike, subsequent battles along all lines yielded continuous reports of victories and proceeded with remarkable smoothness. Observing their routes, their advance was truly unstoppable and unimaginably smooth.

Wan Qiliang greatly admired his lord. The Blazing Gold Plain was so immense, with myriad potential locations; how had he settled on these particular five as starting points? Notably, even though Qiao State—which Emperor Jiuyou had tasked Doctor Li with conquering—was small, it was still a nation. Its defensive capabilities and organizational structure were superior to those of ordinary towns and villages. Why had Emperor Jiuyou bypassed smaller settlements to prioritize it?

He, of course, did not know that in Emperor Jiuyou's eyes, this sand table resembled a galaxy, twinkling with starlight. In the eastern and northern parts of Blazing Gold, stars were sparse, with only a few scattered points; however, in other regions of the Blazing Gold Plain, particularly the southwest and central-south, stars densely sparkled, their radiance converging. And in places like Shizhoutou, Liuping, and Jucheng, including the starting points of these five armies, the starlight coalesced into a dazzling, brilliant sea of light.

These points of light manifested on the sand table represented the power of prayers and vows! The Resonant Dragon Battle Armor, evolved from the Asura Armor, retained its ability to manifest the power of prayers and vows. The owner of the Resonant Dragon Battle Armor knew precisely where the power of prayers and vows was abundant and where it was scarce. The greater the density of this power, the stronger the people's affinity and yearning for the Dragon God and Emperor Jiuyou. Consequently, the Black Armored Army encountered minimal resistance when launching their uprisings in these areas. Conversely, areas with less dense power indicated less acceptance and trust in Emperor Jiuyou, presenting a tougher challenge, such as Yaoguo and Luodian.