Chapter 1089: Changing Tactics

If those thousand-plus soldiers hadn't fallen into the water, he would have over three thousand men in his hands right now. Wouldn't dealing with the new enemy's sneak attack be a sure thing?

But there are no "ifs" on the battlefield.

Those thousand men were struggling in the water, yet he had to divert the four hundred men who had come to rescue him to fire arrows and guard the beach! Those were the elite troops he had painstakingly trained; Wu Lu's heart was bleeding.

Previously, he had sent his last remaining men to Luting Beach, determined to take down the Bailong tribe in one fell swoop. As a result, a new enemy emerged from the sea, heading straight for Storm Bay!

Storm Bay and Luting Beach were several miles apart.

Watching his personal guards release signal arrows to mobilize the army, Wu Lu still felt a chill on his back and sweat on the tip of his nose.

Since the end of the Wei Kingdom War, he had never fallen into such a desperate situation.

"Let's go, link up with the main army as quickly as possible!" Wu Lu, surrounded by two hundred personal guards, flew toward the main army. The enemy was storming the beach, and their next step would surely be to capture him.

Therefore, the sooner he returned to the army, the sooner he would be safe.

Storm Bay was a natural harbor where even large ships carrying four or five hundred people could enter, but the speed was very slow.

Therefore, the ones storming the beach first were small and medium-sized ships. In addition to the soldiers rowing, there were Yin Serpents in the water dragging the ships, and the speed was astonishing.

He Lingchuan knew well that this surprise attack and relief battle was all about "speed."

There were too many Bailong civilians. To transport forty thousand people as quickly as possible, the main transfer could only take place at Storm Bay, because Luting Beach could only accommodate ten ships at a time, and those had to be small or medium-sized.

Not to mention the difficulty of transferring civilians to Storm Bay, having so many ships approach Storm Bay would certainly have alerted the Ya Kingdom army. Yet he had to get all his troops onto the island before Wu Lu could react, otherwise, his chances of winning would be at least halved.

Then he had to use some tricks.

Sure enough, the Yangshan Guard Team did not encounter particularly fierce resistance from the time they approached until they landed at Storm Bay—

The Ya Kingdom army was still on its way to Storm Bay and hadn't arrived yet.

The Yangshan Guard Team was one step faster.

Just as He Lingchuan stepped onto the island, his personal guards fired two signal arrows into the sky a dozen zhang away, exploding into red and yellow fireworks in the night sky.

This was the signal for Lu Qingbin and the Bailong people: reinforcements had successfully landed at Storm Bay! Beachhead landings are always the most dangerous and result in the highest casualties, but the Yangshan Guard Team had perfectly timed this, and their casualties were negligible. Qiu Hu personally led a thousand men to charge the four hundred Ya Kingdom soldiers guarding the harbor.

Although the Ya Kingdom soldiers had primordial power to protect them, seeing a vast expanse of enemy troops landing—especially the dense, spectacular formation of large ships—and seeing snake-men moving everywhere on the beach, while their own side had only a few scattered men, they instinctively felt timid.

Qiu Hu used his superior numbers, and with the momentum of a fierce tiger descending a mountain, he easily routed the four hundred men, forcing them to hide in the woods.

The Yangshan Guard Team stepped up their landing, seizing the golden window of time before the enemy's main force arrived, successfully completing the landing of all personnel.

And He Lingchuan?

He wasn't satisfied at all!

Even if the Yangshan Guard Team's landing was very smooth, this was merely a prologue; the real battle hadn't even begun.

The Yangshan Archipelago's night owls had flown back and forth several times and discovered that two thousand Ya Kingdom troops were rushing to Storm Bay.

In other words—

"We were exposed too early!" He Lingchuan's face was cold as frost. "Before we even landed, Wu Lu might have already discovered us."

Dong Rui was shocked. "How could that be?"

Zhu Xiuer said casually, "Either he has cultivated the 'Heavenly Eye,' or he has some magic tool that can break through the mist?"

Wansai Feng had already shot down a golden eagle, but Wu Lu might have other eyes and ears skilled in night vision, or some divine magic tool that could see through the thick fog at sea, thereby discovering the Yangshan army's approach.

Dong Rui immediately asked, "What should we do?"

Since the enemy was prepared and had adjusted their tactics, it would be difficult for the Yangshan Guard Team to catch them off guard again.

In terms of numbers, they didn't have the advantage; in terms of troop quality, if the Yangshan Guard Team, which had only been trained for half a year, could win head-on against Wu Lu's elite troops, that would be against the laws of nature; in terms of primordial power... there was even less comparison.

"If we lose the opportunity for a preemptive strike, Wu Lu will definitely try his best to drag us into a positional war."

They couldn't afford to drag it out; that was the biggest problem for the Yangshan Guard Team right now.

The longer it dragged on, the greater the casualties.

He Lingchuan had spent half a year building up this army; he absolutely could not let it suffer heavy losses before his Bailie plan was implemented.

What to do? He Lingchuan's thoughts raced, and after only a few breaths, he said decisively, "Change tactics!"

He wanted to shorten the time for a head-on collision between the two armies.

"Ah?" Dong Rui and the Soul-Sealing Mirror cried out together.

"We have to take a risk. The night owls have already located Wu Lu's position. For a man as cautious as him to leave the main force, it's truly a heaven-sent opportunity!" He Lingchuan said to Dong Rui, "Let's head over first, just the three of us!"

"Good." Dong Rui, Zhu Xiuer, and the mirror all understood; He Lingchuan was going to capture the leader to win the battle.

If he couldn't take down the Ya Kingdom army, then taking down Wu Lu himself at the right moment was also a good method—

Provided He Lingchuan could pull it off.

The three were the first to land, and after landing, they didn't fight, but dodged the incoming enemies and sprinted toward the woods on the shore.

Wu Lu had originally chosen a good place to station his troops, right between Storm Bay and Luting Beach, which allowed him to attend to both sides. But with enemy troops suddenly descending on Storm Bay, he wasn't far from them.

A cold sneer appeared on He Lingchuan's lips.

Did Wulu think he had responded appropriately and was calculating with divine precision? Did Lu Qingbin think He Lingchuan would only cover their retreat and help them escape?

No, a precious blade must draw blood once unsheathed.

The Yangshan Guard had mobilized almost its entire force; the results they reaped had to be substantial. How could they be satisfied with merely a hurried rescue mission?

He Lingchuan's goal had changed: he not only wanted to rescue the Bailong tribe but also to defeat the Ya Nation's general, Wulu! Teaching the Qinglong tribe a lesson alone was not enough to undermine the Ya Nation.

Between them and Wulu lay two low hills and a long slope. The undulating terrain caused many inconveniences for the advance of these surface-dwelling creatures.

Dong Rui did not say a word; he took He Lingchuan and Zhu Xiuer into the jungle and summoned the Snail Toad in the blink of an eye.

It was not that He Lingchuan did not want to bring more people, but the load capacity of Dong Rui's demon puppet was limited. Once Zhu Xiuer was on board, there was not much room left.

Besides, carrying fewer people meant they could travel faster.

It seemed it hadn't rained in Storm Bay recently, and both the ground and the underground were very dry. The Snail Toad could only move quickly in damp underground environments; the current parched conditions would greatly affect its travel distance and speed.

Thanks to Tang Gaozong, Yu Ge Weiwu, Xun Wu, and Book Friend 20220520092411943 for their tips.

Congratulations to classmate Tang Gaozong for becoming a new Grand Alliance member.

(End of chapter)