Chapter 1998: Who Can't Hold Out Knows

Falling Phoenix Pool, Guo Army's main camp.

The main camp was stationed on high ground, and Guo Bai Yu stood on a height overlooking Mian City not far away.

From here one could see the soldiers on the city walls walking back and forth.

They've been holding out for over two months, yet these guys are getting more energetic the longer they hold out—Guo Bai Yu doesn't quite get it. Not mentioning those flash-gold natives, back when he followed Dan Ze in fighting over cities seized by the Luo Dian people, though the Luo Dian are famed for bravery and skill in battle, being besieged by them for over half a month would make anyone collapse.

In a siege, what the besieged side consumes quickly isn't just food, weapons, and medicine—it's also lives!

When a siege drags on too long, people inside the city inexplicably vanish; those who remain are emaciated and listless.

Not like the people of Mian City!

Though they recently succeeded in looting grain outside the city, their fear of Guo Bai Yu should be deeply ingrained—so why can they still resist stubbornly?

This defies common sense.

Guo Bai Yu knows better than anyone what the Flash Gold Plains and its wars are really like.

The people here have wild but fickle hearts, clinging to the idea of "as long as the green mountains remain, there's no fear of no firewood," utterly selfish and self-serving. As a grim analogy, the local magnates and their troops who recently flocked to him from all directions are the true picture of this "quality."

Flash Gold powers rise and fall overnight—what difference does it make who rules? Civilians would have to lose their minds to want to live and die with a city.

After besieging Mian City for over two months, its people still haven't broken, but Guo Bai Yu has run out of patience.

"Watch the heavens—total assault, just these next one or two nights!" he declared.

The supervisor behind him spoke up to stop him: "The time hasn't come!"

As Guo Bai Yu's influence grew, the Heavenly Palace assigned him a supervisor to oversee and guide him. This person was originally a Qingwei under Qingyang, utterly loyal to her.

Guo Bai Yu glanced at him sideways: "Supervisor, my lord, when would be the best time for a total assault?"

"The Black Armor Army hasn't arrived yet. You must prioritize the Protector's plan."

"The Black Armor Army is dragging its feet—I don't think they'll come anytime soon. I take Mian City, then move on to the next city to wait for them—what's wrong with that?"

The supervisor immediately replied: "Mian City has held out this long—the more miserable they suffer, the louder their cries for aid to the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, and the greater the Black Armor Army's rescue efforts will be; otherwise, with war erupting across the so-called Dragon God's territory, our side has plenty of sharp-edged elites, and He Xiaoyao's gaze may not even prioritize this place."

By "our side," he of course meant the Flash Gold magnates who have reached an agreement with the Heavenly Palace.

Guo Bai Yu enjoys hunting and knows that to hunt wolves or bears, one method is to break the legs of the young and toss them into a trap—their cries will quickly draw the mother bear or wolf.

The supervisor cut in: "He Xiaoyao's army is intensifying training, yet your task remains unfinished."

Guo Bai Yu frowned: "Wasn't I the only one entrusted with a heavy responsibility by the Protector? Why haven't others succeeded either?"

"You only need to do your own duty—why bother with how others fare?"

Guo Bai Yu chuckled: "Waiting like this isn't a solution—my subordinates are complaining endlessly, confused why I haven't launched a total assault. They came from all over to follow me, and if I fail to take Mian City after a long siege, they'll surely look down on me!"

On the Flash Gold Plains, the strong are respected. His earlier assault on the Dragon God's territory was irresistible, drawing crowds to join, and the Heavenly Palace gave him more support—but Mian City has stubbornly blocked him for over two months, left and right attacks failing, and grumbling in his camp grows louder, saying he Guo Bai Yu is all show and can't take Mian City.

After leaving Yaoguo, he quickly grasped the Flash Gold rule: to make subordinates obey, first instill fear, then respect—fear comes before respect. If they stop fearing you, you'd better watch your back.

He won't let a mere Mian City damage his prestige. Though Qingyang Protector has a plan, Guo Bai Yu doesn't want to be a mere tool.

Otherwise, he'd end up as passive as Bai Tan, played by the heavens like a drum.

"As long as you defeat the Black Armor Army, who dares say you're not up to par?"

"The general is outside, and military orders may not be heeded." Guo Bai Yu stared at the supervisor: "All these messes up and down the army—I alone must bear them. I will take this city, no matter what—you can't stop me."

This so-called supervisor relies on the Heavenly Palace's authority, but here he holds no real power.

"I will report to the Protector..."

"Then report." Guo Bai Yu snorted. What does it matter? By the time the Heavenly God and the Protector learn of it, this battle will already be over.

What attitude the Heavenly God holds toward humanity and toward Flash Gold—those Flash Gold magnates, country bumpkins, don't know, but he, as a former Yaoguo general, has seen through it.

Before, he also regarded Miao Zhantian as supreme, but after experiencing Yaoguo's fall and feeling the Heavenly God's support for Bai Tan, he realized: no matter how reverent he is toward the Heavenly God, the other side will only see him as a dog.

The supervisor spoke darkly: "If you defy orders and act, you won't get the Heavenly God's help. 'With divine aid'—those four words aren't a joke; at critical moments, you'll know their weight."

Guo Bai Yu understood: the other side was threatening him not to use divine descent power.

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Taking Mian City doesn't require divine descent—but he also doesn't want to offend the gods, lest he cut off his own future path.

He could only endure and say: "Why not we first take Mian City, then successively seize the four lands of Zhuoshui? Earlier, Zhuoshui was secretly sending grain to Mian City—heard the city guard there is still a confidant of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor; if attacked, they should cry out louder."

Staying here, daily consumption is a huge sum. The supervisor sent by the Heavenly Palace doesn't care, but Guo Bai Yu himself can barely bear it.

The supervisor turned and left.

Several hours later, he told Guo Bai Yu: "Also acceptable."

Guo Bai Yu knew he had communicated with the Heavenly God, immediately relaxed, and went on to draft the attack plan.

……

The Nine Abysses Great Emperor led troops to assault the first barrier of Chixia:

Twin Fortress.

This is actually two fortresses, one on each eastern and western hill, mutually supporting.

In fact, the allied forces had once captured Twin Fortress before, but after the Heavy Martial General returned to Chixia, he in one breath pushed the allied forces back to Baili and retaken the eastern and western twin fortresses.

Before attacking, He Lingchuan specially sought out General Pei to ask: "When you initially captured Twin Fortress, how long did it take?"

"Two and a half months." That commander replied: "Twin Fortress commands high ground, its walls are solid, and it can mutually support."

"So where lies the difficulty?"

"……" Facing the pressure of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, General Pei wanted to wipe sweat: "The mountain path is wide and not hard to walk, but there's only one route, leading to the eastern fortress. To reach the western fortress, you must first take the eastern one. But once we attack the eastern fortress, the western fortress's enemy comes to reinforce."