Chapter 405: All States Drawn into the Flames of War
The successive state wars that erupted left all the players in the server feeling somewhat panicked, as if they were truly living in chaotic times, with endless warfare and ceaseless attacks.
It was as if overnight, the days of stable development and daily farming had vanished, replaced only by unending war flames.
Youzhou was sweeping through Bingzhou like a hot knife through butter, and the players of Bingzhou were utterly powerless to resist.
The Bingzhou alliance leader sought help from Liangzhou and Jizhou, but both states were unable to assist.
This was because behind Liangzhou stood Yizhou, and behind Jizhou stood Qingzhou.
Yizhou, Qingzhou, and Yangzhou could be said to be the three strongest states in the server. Liangzhou and Jizhou were barely able to defend themselves, so how could they spare troops to help Bingzhou?
Just as the Bingzhou alliance leader was in despair, Qingzhou unexpectedly expressed a willingness to help Bingzhou fight against Youzhou.
Although this was good news for Bingzhou, the problem was that Qingzhou and Bingzhou did not share a border, with Jizhou lying between them!
Qingzhou proposed breaking through a pass and borrowing a path through Jizhou to help Bingzhou resist Youzhou. However, this meant that Qingzhou's forces would have to march directly across the entire territory of Jizhou, building countless fortresses within Jizhou's borders.
Obviously, even the dumbest Jizhou alliance leader would never agree to such a request, nor would they believe that Qingzhou truly intended to help Bingzhou.
After being rejected, Qingzhou directly began building fortresses at the border pass [Guangzong] between Qingzhou and Jizhou, claiming it was a land loan but in reality an invasion.
The entirety of Jizhou declared they would resist Qingzhou's invasion to the death, and the two sides faced off at Guangzong, with a major battle on the verge of breaking out.
Late that same night, players from [Dragon Battle] discovered that Yizhou was building fortresses at Yinping Pass, the border between Liangzhou and Yizhou. This immediately raised the alarm across the entire [Dragon Battle] alliance. Clearly, Yizhou intended to follow Youzhou's example, breaking through the pass in the dead of night and declaring war without warning.
The chat group of [Dragon Battle] was in chaos, but everyone quickly calmed down and rushed to build fortresses at the two passes, Yinping and Yangping, preparing to resist Yizhou's invasion.
In the chat group, many [Dragon Battle] players were discussing the situation, and everyone felt a sense of despair.
The civil war had just ended, with no chance to catch their breath, and now a state war was coming?
"Alliance leader, how strong is Yizhou? Can we beat them?"
"Damn, it seems Yizhou has several big spenders. How are we supposed to fight?"
"Didn't Yizhou say before that their target wasn't Liangzhou? Why did they change their minds? Or were they just lying from the start?"
"Damn it, hold Yinping Pass! Make them scram back to Yizhou!"
Jianping Tu General: "Everyone, don't panic. Yizhou is building fortresses overnight; this battle is unavoidable. Fortunately, we've already paved the way in advance. Everyone, hurry up and claim land to build fortresses, and send your main forces and siege troops here, ready to seize the pass!"
Liangzhou's strategy was to build fortresses at both Yinping and Yangping simultaneously. Yinping would focus on defense, with an attempt to seize the pass. If Yinping couldn't be taken, then they would launch a fierce assault on Yangping Pass, ensuring that at least one of the two passes remained in their hands.
After a prolonged civil war, the situation in Liangzhou was extremely chaotic. Although most of the people from [How Could We Be Without Clothes] had been absorbed, a small portion had yet to be fully integrated. Players from some smaller alliances were still scattered and not under command.
Moreover, due to the extended civil war, the development of Liangzhou's players was generally limited, with resource quantities and general levels clearly lower than those of Yizhou.
Clearly, Yizhou chose this time to invade precisely to take advantage of the fact that Liangzhou's civil war had just ended, with widespread war-weariness and poor development, to crush and absorb Liangzhou in one fell swoop.
For Liangzhou, the only silver lining was that these players were the most battle-hardened group in the entire server, with extremely rich experience. This was probably a blessing in disguise.
……
At 7:00 AM, Yizhou began their attack on Yinping Pass.
At that time, the online Liangzhou players were waiting for the command's orders, hoping to attempt to seize the pass.
Like cities, passes had garrison troops and defense values. After eliminating all the garrison troops, reducing the defense value to zero would allow for a successful occupation. However, the rule in *Rate the Land* was that whichever alliance landed the final blow that brought the defense value to zero would claim ownership of the pass.
This was similar to the concept of stealing the dragon in *League of Legends*—how much damage you dealt didn't matter; what mattered was the final hit.
It was a mechanic that players both loved and hated, but overall, it had its own logic. Because of this rule, in such pass-seizing battles, the stronger side could gain a significant advantage, while the weaker side wasn't left completely helpless, at least having a glimmer of hope.
While Yizhou attacked Yinping Pass, launching an all-out war against Liangzhou, Jingzhou also broke through Chibi Pass and declared war on Yangzhou.
The actions of Yizhou and Jingzhou were highly synchronized, clearly indicating a pre-arranged strategy. It was highly likely that Yizhou and Jingzhou had been on the same side from the very beginning.
At 12:00 PM, both state wars had concluded.
Yizhou successfully captured Yinping Pass.
After all, there was a disparity in strength between the two sides. Yizhou had more players and greater combat power. In the final round, all their siege troops arrived within the same second, instantly reducing Yinping Pass's defense value by over 1,800 points, crushing Liangzhou's hopes of seizing the pass.
However, the outcome of the Jingzhou-Yangzhou battlefield surprised everyone, because Jingzhou failed to take Chibi—Yangzhou snatched it!
Yangzhou had two major alliances: [Splendid] had been on the Xuzhou battlefield, dividing Xuzhou while keeping an eye on Qingzhou's movements, while [War Soul] was responsible for resisting Jingzhou.
In this "Battle of Chibi," [War Soul] executed their plan flawlessly.
In front of Chibi Pass, [War Soul] deployed only thirty people. Although they had built many fortresses, most were empty decoys.
However, these thirty individuals were all veteran players with fully equipped siege troops. [War Soul]'s commander had briefed them countless times on this pass-seizing operation, and everyone knew exactly what to do.
Just as Jingzhou was about to capture Chibi Pass, these thirty siege troops set out in sequence and arrived simultaneously, directly snatching the occupation rights to Chibi Pass.
This was easier said than done, because all troops had different speeds and distances. To have them all arrive in the same second required everyone to be highly focused and possess extremely strong execution.
Yet, [War Soul] actually managed to snatch Chibi!
And that wasn't the end. [War Soul]'s feint at Chibi was actually a cover for an attack on another border pass between Jingzhou and Yangzhou, Xiakou. While Jingzhou was fiercely assaulting Chibi, [War Soul] simultaneously mobilized their main forces to break through Xiakou Pass.
In the end, both Chibi and Xiakou Passes were captured by Yangzhou!
Enraged and humiliated, Jingzhou wanted to regroup and retake Chibi, but [War Soul] directly transferred several high-level fighters to Chibi.
If Jingzhou wanted to break through the pass, they would have to repeat the entire process: first defeat the garrison troops, then clear the defense value.
But now that Chibi belonged to Yangzhou and was no longer neutral, once the siege phase began, Yangzhou's high-level fighters would garrison the pass. Jingzhou's siege troops would all be sent to their deaths, devoured cleanly.
A few high-level fighters easily defended Chibi with minimal effort, while on the other side, [War Soul]'s main forces had already pushed through Xiakou and entered Jingzhou's territory.
Within a single day, the entire server's situation had undergone a dramatic shift, and every single state was now engulfed in the flames of war!