# Chapter 46: The Strategy of the Peruvian King
The capital of the Peruvian King, High Mountain City, lay ahead. Su Xiao's doubts from last night were resolved—why were the dwarf soldiers he encountered so ferocious? The reason was that Su Xiao's marching route had bypassed Stone Marsh City and headed straight for the Peruvian capital. Under such circumstances, how could the dwarf soldiers not be enraged?
Su Xiao's plan had gone awry. He had originally intended to capture cities one by one, forcing the Peruvian King to hand over the Verdant God.
But who would have thought that due to the rapid marching speed and continuous ambushes along the way, his marching route had become increasingly off-course.
Considering the psychological endurance of the Peruvian King, Spring Iron Ram, and others, Su Xiao decided not to retreat and start over.
"Assemble. Attack."
"Sir, are we directly attacking the Peruvian capital?"
Oswald voiced his own opinion for the first time.
"Mm."
Su Xiao's calm "mm" made Oswald's expression somewhat amusing.
"Think twice, sir. We could be surrounded by Peru's rear forces. High Mountain City is garrisoned by the Heavenly Ram troops. Though they aren't cavalry, they're no less formidable than the Male Ram Cavalry."
"..."
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't directly attack High Mountain City, but at least he needed to intimidate them. Just as he was about to order an "assault," a spatial fluctuation appeared.
Several soldiers rushed to Su Xiao's vicinity, dozens of large crossbows aimed at the spatial vortex.
The vortex churned, and an old dwarf walked out from within. He looked travel-worn, his expression both angry and helpless.
"Commander Kukulin Bai Ye, I am an envoy sent by His Majesty Spring Steel Ram, King of Peru."
The old dwarf slightly bowed in greeting. Seeing his attire, Su Xiao raised his hand, and all the surrounding soldiers withdrew.
"I represent the Peruvian King in agreeing to Commander Bai Ye's demands."
When the old dwarf said this, his aged eyes grew moist. He had been chasing them all the way, but the beast cavalry's marching speed was too fast, and his ability would intermittently fail, preventing him from continuously tracking Su Xiao's aura.
"The Verdant God has violated multiple laws of the Peruvian Kingdom, inciting civilians during wartime, attempting to steal the souls of frontline warriors. His heinous crimes—even if Commander Bai Ye hadn't sought him out, we would have imprisoned him..."
After listening to the old dwarf's account, Su Xiao basically understood. The Verdant God must have sensed something. Previously, Su Xiao had "devoured" his avatar using the Devouring Core. For the Verdant God to try to flee at this time was only natural.
"Bring him here. I'll withdraw from Peruvian territory."
"This..."
The old dwarf's expression showed difficulty. Just then, a slight tremor came from the ground—a cavalry unit was charging.
Two kilometers away, all three gates of High Mountain City opened wide. Male Ram Cavalry poured out from within. With the Male Ram Cavalry's marching speed, they had already returned to High Mountain City in advance. After Su Xiao had fought a major battle with Spring Iron Ram, he had rested for a day before invading Peruvian territory.
Having been pushed all the way to the capital, the Peruvian King had no choice. Seventy percent of the dwarf forces were stationed at the border. If he withdrew those soldiers, the other grand commanders of Sand Flame would attack, leading to a full-scale invasion.
Helpless, the Peruvian King could only mobilize troops within the territory, forming a blocking formation along the paths Su Xiao might take.
Unfortunately, the first checkpoint in the forest was breached within an hour. What followed was last night's scenes—Su Xiao leading the beast cavalry in a continuous charge, encountering multiple hastily assembled dwarf interception units along the way.
That Su Xiao had directly fought his way to High Mountain City was no coincidence. He could gain advantages through war, so naturally he moved toward wherever dwarf troops were concentrated, and attacking fortress cities along the way served this purpose.
It was the successive dwarf units that gradually led Su Xiao to High Mountain City. It must be said that the Peruvian King was both ruthless and protective of his civilians. He had deliberately lured Su Xiao to High Mountain City because he knew that other fortress cities couldn't stop Su Xiao.
Did the Peruvian King want a decisive battle to the death with Su Xiao? Su Xiao felt this was impossible. That dwarf had likely seen through the situation. If he wasn't mistaken, the other party would seek a ceasefire treaty with him.
The Peruvian Kingdom wasn't so easy to conquer. This entire campaign had been too smooth—smooth to the point of abnormality.
Below High Mountain City, led by Spring Iron Ram, fifty thousand Male Ram Cavalry poured out of the city in three streams. On the city walls stood rows of heavily armored soldiers—these were the Heavenly Ram troops.
Male Ram and Heavenly Ram—one was the elite cavalry, the other the elite infantry. The former was the Peruvian Kingdom's sharp sword, the latter a heavy shield.
A total of 150,000 elite dwarf troops, 7,000 Royal Guard soldiers, 1,756 Holy Soul Warriors, over 10,000 giant city-defense crossbows, over 5,000 black oil barrel launchers, plus 18 recently constructed Dragon-Hunting Giant Crossbows—this was High Mountain City's full defensive capability.
In normal times, this would be unbreachable. But High Mountain City faced Su Xiao's 260,000 elite beast cavalry, a black dragon, plus Apollo's area cleansing.
That's right—Su Xiao's forces were all elite beast cavalry. To quickly integrate war beasts with soldiers, battle was the best method. Along the way, they had fought over a dozen battles of various sizes, three of which, though short, were exceptionally brutal.
Combined with the War Lord's bonuses, it was no exaggeration to say Su Xiao's forces were all elite beast cavalry.
Wearing silver armor and riding a war ram, Spring Iron Ram stopped half a kilometer away. Behind him were fifty thousand Male Ram Cavalry.
These Male Ram Cavalry showed no fear in their eyes, only a determination to fight to the death. They could lose, but they could not be afraid. They were the Peruvian Kingdom's sharp sword. If even they were scared, what would become of the civilians who couldn't fight?
"Kukulin."
Spring Iron Ram shouted, then urged his war ram forward, approaching Su Xiao alone.
"Roar!"
The black dragon beneath Su Xiao spread its wings and raised its head to roar.
"Shut up. You're too noisy."
Su Xiao stomped on the dragon's back. The black dragon's body trembled before settling down.
Spring Iron Ram stopped a dozen meters away. He had earned his position through his war hammer, so he wasn't afraid of death. Behind him in the city was his elder brother, the king. Even if he fell, his brother could command the soldiers to finish this war.
"Your demands—my brother has agreed. Ceasefire. Peru and Sand Flame will not invade each other. We have been defeated."
Uttering the last sentence, the still-vigorous Spring Iron Ram seemed to age somewhat.
"Agreed."
"!"
Spring Iron Ram's face showed obvious shock. He hadn't expected Su Xiao to agree so readily.
After a dozen seconds, Spring Iron Ram nodded to Su Xiao and turned back toward High Mountain City.
Before long, a large group of soldiers rushed out from High Mountain City and began setting up tables, chairs, and various items in front of the city.
After a large tent was erected, Spring Iron Ram took the lead. Behind him came dwarf soldiers holding long weapons, and among these soldiers, surrounded by them, was a dwarf riding a war ram—the only one in the group on horseback.
This dwarf's war ram was exceptionally robust, with six horns and long belly fur that hung down naturally, white tinged with gold. Its gaze showed intelligence no less than a human's—warlike yet loyal.
The dwarf riding the war ram was equally extraordinary. He wore iron-black scale armor, and the braided beard at his chin was thick, hanging down to his chest. This dwarf was the Peruvian King, Spring Steel Ram.