Chapter 400: A War of Attrition
Of course, this lineup, once Sun Quan was added and all three awakened, would be the complete form of the "Grand Governor." But since we haven't reached the late game yet, the team composition is limited by cost. For now, we can only bring these two generals.
(In "Rate the Land," each general has a cost value, and the team has a cost cap. So in the early game, you can only bring two divine generals; only later, when the total cost is higher, can you assemble a perfect lineup.)
Most of the troops on the "Clad in Unlined Garments" side were cavalry units focused on physical damage. Facing Lu Meng and Zhou Yu was like being hard-countered; they had absolutely no chance to fight back.
As for the siege teams, they were even worse off. Since siege units basically have no combat power, they were just feeding kills.
By the time all the troops from "Clad in Unlined Garments" at the frontline strongholds were wiped out, the forces of "Deep in the Clouds" still had half their troops remaining!
The chat group of "Dragon Battle" was buzzing with excitement.
"Awesome, we held the line!"
"Damn, those two generals of Deep in the Clouds are too strong. They wiped out everything that came!"
"Let me check the battle report. Deep in the Clouds alone annihilated over a dozen enemy squads!"
"The enemy has no troops left. Quick, is anyone nearby? Bring out the siege units and tear down their strongholds!"
"Not so fast. Wait until the alliance leader's Fortify activates, then we'll clean them up slowly!"
At 5:34 AM, Jianping Tu's Fortify successfully activated!
Everyone in "Dragon Battle" breathed a collective sigh of relief. With the alliance leader's Fortify active, it meant they could catch their breath in this defensive battle. For the next five hours, the alliance leader's city would be in an invincible state.
Now, it was time for a full-scale counterattack.
Deep in the Clouds' troops withdrew, ready to recruit more soldiers before returning to the battlefield. Meanwhile, other players' strongholds were still under construction, expected to be finished by around seven or eight in the morning.
In the chat group, everyone relaxed.
Jianping Tu: "Alright, good work, everyone. We managed to hold the line. Go grab some food and get some more sleep. There's definitely going to be a tough fight today, so make sure to rest."
The others, however, were fired up.
"Alliance leader, didn't 'Clad in Unlined Garments' launch an undeclared war? A sneak attack? Let's go and capture their alliance leader too!"
"Yeah, drive these bastards out of Liang Province!"
"Right! Out of Liang Province!"
Jianping Tu: "Everyone, calm down. Rest first. I've already sent a mass email. Those of you whose strongholds are up, move your troops over and start dismantling the enemy's strongholds. Leave no red tiles behind—tear them all down. That's the only way to be safe."
The alliance leader of "Dragon Battle" sent a mass email to all alliance members, reporting the results of last night's battle.
"Early this morning, the people of 'Clad in Unlined Garments' launched an undeclared war, trying to sneak-attack and capture the alliance leader! Fortunately, someone spotted it in time, and we managed to hold the line. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable. All active members who see this email, build strongholds near coordinates (). All other activities are canceled. The civil war in Liang Province has begun!"
Starting at 8 AM, other players from "Dragon Battle" logged in one after another. Seeing so many new messages in the chat group, they were all a bit stunned.
But once they read the content, everyone exploded.
"What? 'Clad in Unlined Garments' launched a sneak attack?"
"A fight broke out?"
"Damn, a civil war in Liang Province?"
"Those scumbags! I'm going to curse them out on the world channel!"
Everyone was furious. This incident had happened so suddenly, completely disregarding honor and morality, making it utterly despicable.
From around 5 AM to 8 AM, members of both alliances rested—some had breakfast, others went to work.
After 8 AM, the world channel suddenly became lively.
"Everyone, check out coordinates ()."
"Whoa? A night raid? Civil war in Liang Province?"
"...Something this big happened overnight?"
"Exciting! The first state with a civil war. 'Clad in Unlined Garments' has guts. I respect you!"
"With all those strongholds built, and you still couldn't take it down? Are the people of 'Clad in Unlined Garments' that useless?"
"I heard 'Dragon Battle' has a high-level player who single-handedly stopped seventeen squads."
"Then what's the point of fighting? 'Clad in Unlined Garments' might as well surrender now! If you couldn't take it down this time, there's no way you'll win later!"
Not only were spectators from other states watching the drama unfold, but members of both "Clad in Unlined Garments" and "Dragon Battle" were also hurling insults at each other on the world channel.
The people from "Dragon Battle" were the angriest. They had agreed to develop peacefully, only to be hit with an undeclared war and a night raid aimed at capturing their alliance leader. This behavior was utterly shameless!
It was a complete betrayal of trust and a moral failure!
But the people from "Clad in Unlined Garments" argued back forcefully. Liang Province would eventually have to be unified. If they didn't swallow up "Dragon Battle," they would be swallowed by them. And since "Clad in Unlined Garments" was at a disadvantage, a sneak attack was their only option.
Besides, night raids were a common tactic during the Three Kingdoms era. By their logic, should Lu Meng have apologized to Liu Bei too?
The two alliances tore into each other relentlessly.
Despite the arguing, no one was idle. Those who had been quietly farming and developing all started building strongholds near the frontline. Meanwhile, a few players from "Dragon Battle" who had built their strongholds early moved their troops in and began fighting with "Clad in Unlined Garments."
The reason "Rate the Land" is so exhausting to play is that once a civil war or state war breaks out, it can last anywhere from weeks to months, with battles raging day and night without end.
But that's also what makes the game so thrilling. Mechanics like night raids simply can't be replicated in other games because their systems don't support it.
Zheng Hongxi got up, had some breakfast, and felt even more energized. After sleeping for just two or three hours, he got up again and sent his fully recruited troops to the frontline.
More and more people were gathering at the frontline. Red and blue arrows crisscrossed everywhere, locked in fierce combat.
For "Clad in Unlined Garments," since the sneak attack had failed, they had no choice but to launch a full assault. But with "Dragon Battle" already aware, a direct assault wouldn't gain them any advantage.
Large-scale battles like this often revolved around a key point, such as a strategic location or a city. The tactics varied, but overall, it came down to a slow push.
The strongholds of both sides were at least one screen apart, separated by a dozen tiles. Everyone had to deploy troops from their strongholds, so controlling the stronghold clusters became the top priority.
The front line turned into a tug-of-war. Both sides repeatedly fought over the tiles between the two main stronghold clusters. After capturing a tile, they would station troops there, then advance to capture the next tile.
The enemy would also send troops to break through the stationed forces and reclaim those tiles.
The commanders on both sides were constantly sending out mass emails.
"Take out this red tile at ()."
"There's a strong force at (). High-level players, move in."
"This is an empty stronghold at (). Siege units, go straight in and tear it down. Watch out for enemy reinforcements. If you spot any, retreat immediately."
"Scout units, check the lineup of the stationed defenders at ()."