Chapter 1509

He Lingchuan shook his head: "They can at most transport grain from within the country. Using grain to strangle the Bekka army's neck won't last long." Xin Yi also said: "Transporting grain from within Bekka over long distances is inefficient, but if Bekka is determined to take Yuheng City, it can still bear this cost."

Money, grain, supplies—Bekka has so much it can squander them freely—

It has always had a habit of extravagance and waste.

"There are still small states nearby. Given time, they can still obtain grain and fodder, though not much."

At this moment, the personal guards came to report: "General, the meal is ready."

"Since it has come to this, let's eat first." He Lingchuan then said to everyone, "Eat your fill; there will still be action at dawn."

More action? Everyone exchanged glances.

He Lingchuan's aura was gloomy, his face devoid of a smile. Wendaolun stepped closer and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

"Our game with Bai Mojiji is about to end." He Lingchuan gazed at the lights on the northern auxiliary city wall, "The Bekka army's frenzied assault tonight carries a desperate, all-or-nothing air—perhaps Bai Mojiji is under too much pressure and must achieve victory. If the Emperor is dissatisfied with his inaction on the front lines, he won't last long either. Let's send him on his way."

He understood deeply how Bekka's bureaucratic system operated in reality: failure to produce results within the set time invites punishment. Bai Mojiji's unauthorized deployment and defeat is a disgrace to the demon nation.

Moreover, He Lingchuan and Bai Mojiji's game of you attack, I defend has a precondition: the risk must be controllable.

Once he realizes this game will truly endanger Yuheng City, he can only overturn the table and quit playing.

Wendaolun also understood the stakes, yet remained puzzled: "Bai Mojiji has these three mechanical giant worms—why didn't he bring them out earlier?"

He Lingchuan also didn't know the reason: "Either these few giants have usage restrictions, or he intends to leave them for Yuheng City."

Wendaolun let out a soft snort: "Exactly—Yuheng City can't keep its evasion barrier open all the time; if this thing breaches it..."

"Regardless, this war will enter a new phase." He Lingchuan exhaled deeply, "Mr. Wen, after tonight, Yuheng City will face even greater difficulties."

Wendaolun chuckled: "Isn't that why we came?"

Two hours later, the long night drew to an end, the east began to whiten.

Liutiao and Shawwei stood on the southern auxiliary city wall, setting up siege crossbows, aiming at the opposite auxiliary city.

"Did you see the red spires on the two leftmost and rightmost corner towers?"

"Yes!" Liutiao glanced again. She remembered these two were clearly black roofs—how did they now sport red spires?

"Aim."

Liutiao and Shawwei raised their siege crossbows, each aiming at one red spire.

He Lingchuan glanced down—the army had already assembled below the city.

Everyone looked up at him in silence.

Silence, but resolute.

They had prepared to retake the northern auxiliary city.

He Lingchuan himself set up a siege crossbow, aiming at a building in the center of the northern auxiliary city—it too had a red roof.

"Fire!"

Three specially made long crossbow bolts, whistling with wind, flew across a hundred paces and struck the red targets.

They come with a wind-stabilizing effect, enabling fast, stable flight, almost unaffected by wind.

Boom—three tremendous booms! …

After occupying the northern auxiliary city, Bekka's military laborers were busy moving supplies from the riverside camp into the auxiliary city.

With high walls and thick gates, it can serve as a future foothold.

Bai Mojiji washed the blood and dirt from his battle robe; the cool wind blowing from the opposite riverbank dispersed his gloom and also whetted his appetite.

Those close to him know that General Bai always feasts heartily after a victory, even if it's now midnight.

The chef he brought from Lingxu City had already roasted a large slab of herb-coated beef ribs for him—slow-roasted at low temperature for three hours, ensuring a charred crust and tender interior.

Bai Mojiji ate meat in large mouthfuls and generously rewarded the barbecue chef.

Whenever he's happy, he's generous—thousand gold cannot buy his joy! But he had only eaten half his midnight snack when he heard a tremendous explosion, shaking dust from his roof.

Wall plaster and beam ash fell onto the beef short ribs, ruining the good meat.

But Bai Mojiji had no leisure to worry about food; he slammed his hand on the table and rose: "Enemy attack..."

Before he finished speaking, another tremendous boom—this blast was too close; the wall he faced was instantly shattered, splintered wood, bricks, and tiles exploding inward, hitting everyone in the room head and face! Wall and roof alike were blown open to the sky.

The external guard leaning against the wall was blown away—life or death unknown. Bai Mojiji was also shaken deaf in both ears for a moment.

Immediately after, explosion sounds rang out without cease, from near to far.

Bai Mojiji had no time to brush dust from his head; he rushed to the wall and looked—inside the city, chain explosions were underway: stables, granaries, armories, barracks... all were burning fiercely.

Flames shot up to the sky, horses neighed in panic, people ran in chaos.

Bai Mojiji looked on, his liver and gall nearly bursting, shouting repeatedly: "Move the supplies! Quick, quick, quick!"

The Bekka army relocated camp overnight, moving military equipment and grain into the storehouse, soldiers resting in the camp—then came this chain of explosions!

Even though the Bekka army is experienced, this left them dazed. Earlier inspections had shown no suspicious flammable or explosive materials inside the city.

The urgent task was to rescue supplies—but the guards pointed south and shouted: "City gate! General, look at the city gate!"

Bai Mojiji fled from the collapsed wall gap toward the city gate and looked—before him was pure darkness—

The city gate had fallen, because the city wall had collapsed, a large section had caved in, even the foundations had sunk in.

The soldiers on the city wall, unaware, fell down several levels, bricks and stones also raining down.

"We've been tricked!" Bai Mojiji stomped his feet repeatedly.

Though Yuheng's army lacks Bekka's wealth and grandeur, the northern and southern auxiliary cities, since their founding, have buried array devices in the foundations of the city walls and main buildings, forming a grand array called "Jade and Stone Burn Together"! This array normally remains dormant, as its sole function is self-destruction.

It destroys all important structures in the city, including the city walls.

The array devices total seventy-two, long buried in the building foundations, with bricks and tiles added and mud plastered on top—except for those in the know, invading armies would detect nothing.

Its activation method is the "Red Target."

The Red Targets are normally hidden within the buildings, not visible. Before abandoning the northern auxiliary city, the Yuheng army flipped the Red Targets onto the rooftops.

Two Red Targets must be struck, with an interval of ten breaths between them, to trigger the "Jade and Stone Burn Together" grand array. Of the seventy-two array devices, if forty-two remain operational, the array can activate.

Therefore, He Lingchuan and the others fired three arrows simultaneously, and the explosions in North Auxiliary City bloomed everywhere.

The entire city wall collapsed, and even the main buildings in the city were blown into wood chips.

The Bekka troops stationed in the city were blown to pieces; despite having yuanli protection, over a thousand were injured, varying in severity.

Bai Moji couldn't help but curse aloud.

The other side would rather be jade shattered than tile whole; they wouldn't leave even a single auxiliary city for them.

As the explosion sounded, the gate of South Auxiliary City opposite swung open, drums boomed, and the Yuheng Army roared as they charged forward!

At the front, a blood-red banner fluttered in the wind, bearing a single large character: He! He Lingchuan's principle has always been to strike when they're sick, to take their lives.

The Yuheng Army had been holding back for most of the night; when dawn came, they burst out for revenge, truly full of fighting spirit.

Bai Moji didn't even have time to curse his mother; on one hand he organized the Bekka troops to resist the enemy, on the other he had to divert personnel to rescue supplies.

Originally there wasn't enough food to eat, and now with this bombing and burning, tsk...

At this time, the main buildings inside the auxiliary city were also destroyed in disarray, with hardly any intact houses left.

This place originally had no city, only watchtowers; Wen Daolun later expanded it into a garrison city in his later period, and no ordinary civilians were brought in. So after the troops withdrew, this is actually just an empty city.

How could He Lingchuan leave a good city to the enemy? They built it with their own hands, so they would destroy it with their own hands!

Now the main target of the Yuheng Army's offensive is the auxiliary city that was once in their own hands, while the Bekka Army instead must desperately defend it.

Even the well-informed Xin Yi murmured: "An eye-opener."

Everyone says battlefield conditions change in an instant, but this has become too interesting.

Building a city is not easy, destroying it what's difficult? Yuheng City knows this auxiliary city inside out; this time the chain of explosions was carried out with special skill and special style.

Bai Moji originally wanted to preserve North Auxiliary City, after all he truly wanted a foothold on the west bank of Dahe! But gazing at the empty city walls, gazing at the auxiliary city burning fiercely, gazing at one building after another collapsing, Bai Moji was momentarily at a loss.

What to defend? How to defend? Burned into empty shells, occupying this auxiliary city what use is it? If they want to station troops, they must first repair; if they want to repair, they must go cut timber. How many Yuheng troops are waiting in this forest nearby for Bekka people to be isolated and walk into the net? He pressed his temples, only feeling his mouth dry and tongue parched, his head buzzing.

Fallen into a trap, fallen into a trap! What to do, what to do! The commanders asked him for instructions two or three times before he steadied himself and ordered:

"Repair the city walls, keep the enemy outside!"

He spent over twenty days to stand on the west bank of Dahe, and he doesn't want to easily retreat back to Jingju State. Operating here, he can directly threaten Yuheng City.

To go back is to lose.

But the terrain here is unusually flat, at most a few sand slopes, no defenses to rely on; the main army camp standing alone by the riverbank is not safe.

Moreover, there's no record of any unit being able to both resist enemy attacks and set up camp at the same time.

The best choice is still to garrison North Auxiliary City.

If it's on fire, put it out; if the city wall collapses, repair it quickly and it can still be used.

All the generals opposed: "General, the Yuheng Army is fiercely attacking the south gate, we can't spare hands to repair!"

"Even if you can't spare, you must!" Bai Moji's face was blue with anger, his eyes nearly bursting, "If we can't fill it with sand and stone, we'll fill it with human lives!"

At this moment he felt a bit regretful; he shouldn't have sent the Xiluo troops away.

The Xiluo troops are useless for anything else, but they have many people; a dark crowd rushing to block the gap in the collapsed city wall, the Yuheng Army would have to exert effort to break through them.

Now to take the elite Bekka troops to fill the gap, his heart feels like it's dripping blood.