Chapter 18: Sir, the Times Have Changed
Around the Rongsha Fortress, the armies of the Flame Sand Kingdom and the Peru Kingdom had already descended into chaotic melee. The dwarf forces had completely sealed off the surrounding area, and the troops of Grand Commander Niboso were besieged.
At present, the Rongsha Fortress had been captured by the Peru dwarves, making it extremely difficult to retake. Grand Commander Niboso made a decisive move, ordering all his troops to break out of the encirclement.
Unfortunately, his opponent this time was a formidable one—Spring Iron Sheep, renowned in both kingdoms. The surname Spring held extraordinary significance in Peru. Although the monarchy in Peru was not hereditary, the current Peru King was named Spring Steel Sheep.
The relationship between Spring Steel Sheep and Spring Iron Sheep could be inferred from their names alone.
Spring Iron Sheep commanded 470,000 dwarf soldiers and was an old rival of Grand Commander Niboso. Judging by the current momentum, the two sides were about to clash in a decisive battle around the Rongsha Fortress.
Regardless of the outcome on the battlefield around the Rongsha Fortress, this battle would undoubtedly change the situation between the two kingdoms. The long-standing pseudo-truce was about to be shattered today.
The Peru Kingdom had already gathered its strength, and the Peru King’s ambition was fully revealed. He wasn’t after the territory of the Flame Sand Kingdom but the resources hidden beneath the desert and the numerous supernatural creatures on it.
Leaving aside the chaotic battlefield of the Rongsha Fortress for now, Su Xiao’s soldiers, after breaking through the encirclement, headed back to their camp.
Breaking out this time involved some luck. Spring Iron Sheep and Niboso were locked in fierce combat, and Spring Iron Sheep paid no attention to Su Xiao’s routed troops, naturally not sending elite forces to intercept them.
This gave Su Xiao an opportunity to break out. With Bubu Wang and Baha conducting dual reconnaissance, they found the weakest point in the encirclement.
After marching for 40 minutes, Su Xiao returned to the camp. As soon as he arrived, he immediately summoned all his squad leaders and thousand-man commanders for a meeting.
After brief discussions with these officers, including Oss, all of Su Xiao’s officers went to settle the soldiers.
The soldiers assembled in an open area. Su Xiao’s original 12,000 soldiers formed a circle, leaving hundreds of gaps, and began sorting the routed troops based on their armor and weapons.
All ordinary routed soldiers were pushed out of the circle, leaving only the officers, including low-ranking officers like ten-man leaders.
Su Xiao’s method was to use his authority as Grand Commander to temporarily postpone the wartime desertion charges against these low-ranking officers. Hundred-man leaders and ten-man leaders were all demoted to ordinary soldiers. As for the thousand-man commanders and squad leaders who commanded 10,000 soldiers, they were all detained.
Su Xiao selected a unit of 100 soldiers and personally met with its hundred-man leader, ordering him to escort all the thousand-man commanders and squad leaders of the routed troops back to the Sand Capital and hand them over to High Priest Uno.
These mid-to-high-ranking officers of the routed troops couldn’t be kept. Sending them to the Sand Capital was the best choice. After marching for over ten days, by the time they reached the Sand Capital, it would be too late for Uno to do anything.
Su Xiao sat in his tent. The mid-to-high-ranking officers of the routed troops had already been sent away, and the mid-to-low-ranking officers were demoted to ordinary soldiers. This completely dismantled the structure of the routed troops.
The second thing Su Xiao did was promote all ordinary soldiers who had performed exceptionally in the first battle based on their kill count. Yes, Su Xiao’s reward and punishment system was that simple and crude.
Kill 5 enemies: Appoint as ten-man leader, reward 5 gold shields.
Kill 10 enemies: Appoint as hundred-man leader, reward 10 gold shields.
Kill 50 enemies: Appoint as thousand-man commander, reward 50 gold shields.
Kill 200 enemies: Appoint as squad leader, reward 200 gold shields.
When this promotion system was announced, the soldiers’ eyes turned red. The enemies on the battlefield were like walking gold coins. Status and wealth could be gained on the battlefield. If not now, when?
Promotions began in rapid succession. Most of the soldiers who had followed Su Xiao before were promoted. The soldiers who didn’t get promoted watched enviously. Disparity drove motivation.
Over four hours later, the soldiers stood in square formations. Su Xiao forcibly integrated these soldiers together through somewhat rough methods. Under normal circumstances, this would cause major problems, but since Su Xiao didn’t need the soldiers to form battle formations or anything, there were no issues.
[Tip: The War Lord title has been activated to its maximum effect.]
[Currently commanding soldier-type units: 59,620 people.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally developed some momentum. What he had worried about most before was having the War Lord title but no soldiers to command.
Although he now had many soldiers, supplies like food and fresh water would only last about six days, and he only had over 10,000 gold coins. The rewards promised to the soldiers had to be fulfilled.
What to do when supplies were lacking? Go to war, of course. The battlefield around the Rongsha Fortress was still ongoing. If he didn’t seize this opportunity, he wouldn’t be living up to the fine traditions of the Law Destroyers.
Su Xiao walked out of the tent. The breeze stirred the black velvet cape behind him. Aside from everything else, this cape was very comfortable to sleep on, living up to being the fur of a supernatural creature.
“Move out.”
With Su Xiao’s command, nearly 60,000 soldiers marched in full force toward the battlefield.
Crack!
A thunderclap echoed in the sky. Dark clouds churned overhead. A night raven landed on Su Xiao’s arm, spat out a sand pouch, and a line of text was traced out by fine sand.
“In 6 days, 30,000 war beasts, huh.”
Su Xiao raised his hand, and the night raven flew away. Thirty thousand war beasts were a very valuable resource. Once the war beasts arrived, there would be beast cavalry. If all his soldiers rode war beasts, the scene...
He set aside these thoughts for now. Su Xiao sat on the war chariot, gazing ahead. After this round of war ended, the “goods” Kaisa had ordered would also arrive soon. If that matter went smoothly, he would obtain a type of war weapon.
Under the enhancement of the War Lord title, the marching speed of Su Xiao’s soldiers was extremely fast, only slightly slower than cavalry.
Half an hour later, the battlefield appeared ahead. Due to Su Xiao’s elevated position, he could see a small part of the battlefield.
Centered around the Rongsha Fortress, the soldiers of both kingdoms were engaged in a chaotic melee across this large area. The Rongsha Fortress had been retaken, and Grand Commander Niboso was inside the fortress.
Don’t think this was good news. The reason the Rongsha Fortress was retaken was that the Peru main forces had been relentlessly attacking the Flame Sand army. Forced into a corner, the Flame Sand army retreated to the Rongsha Fortress, paying a heavy price to retake this fortress with most of its walls collapsed.
The current situation was that Grand Commander Niboso’s troops were trapped. With so many soldiers, they could only set up defenses near the Rongsha Fortress.
The surrounding area was filled with dwarf troops. Spring Iron Sheep intended to annihilate all of Niboso’s forces. Niboso commanded nearly 500,000 soldiers. If they were wiped out, it would be a devastating blow to the Flame Sand Kingdom, possibly forcing them to withdraw from the central battlefield and set up new defenses in the desert area behind.
Inside the Rongsha Fortress, a two-story stone house.
Grand Commander Niboso leaned back in a wooden chair, gently rubbing his forehead with one hand, and asked, “When will the reinforcements arrive?”
“They might not come.”
“?”
Grand Commander Niboso looked at his Vice Commander. After staring at him for a few seconds, a smile appeared on Niboso’s somewhat gaunt face.
“How many gold shields did the Peru King give you?”
Niboso suddenly found his own question laughable. If gold coins could buy off the Vice Commander of Flame Sand, then Flame Sand was truly on the verge of destruction.
Flame Sand was not a kingdom about to perish. The rulers like the Sand Emperor, Uno, and Carros had their flaws, but they had never been stingy with the front lines. Supplies, weapons, war beasts—all were the best the kingdom could offer, and military funds were never lacking.
“...”
The Vice Commander lowered his head, a hint of mockery in his eyes, but more of disdain.
“The false king will always be a false king. The glory of the Pernier family will once again bathe Flame Sand. Sir, the times have changed.”
The Vice Commander drew the curved blade at his waist, and the several guards in the stone room also drew their longswords.