Chapter 2709: New Commander Takes Office

The Nine Nether Great Emperor's vision and scope far surpassed his intellect and methods.

Now he began to anticipate what kind of storm the news of the "Intestine-Twisting" formula leak would stir up within the Beijia Kingdom.

In reality, although the Demon Emperor had obtained the secret "Intestine-Twisting" medicine formula, that layer of window paper between him and the Heavenly Palace had never been pierced.

This caused the Demon Emperor to plan for three years, while consistently avoiding the fiercest struggle with the Heavenly Demons.

But in this world, the Panlong Kingdom fundamentally could not hold out for three years. So He Lingchuan decided to use the most brutal, most abrupt method to directly detonate the conflict between the Demon Emperor and the Heavenly Palace!

The "Intestine-Twisting" issue would be exposed to the light of day, and everyone would know the Demon Emperor had gotten the formula.

At that time, what would the Demon Emperor, pushed onto the crest of the wave, do?

"Half a year." He Lingchuan murmured, "Perhaps Panlong only needs to hold out for half a year more."

Zhuang Yinan beside him didn't catch it clearly: "Marshal, what did you say about half a year?"

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Nothing."

The time needed to develop the "Intestine-Twisting" antidote was only four months.

This was measured by Cang Yan in practice; Beijia might be even shorter.

He Lingchuan believed the Heavenly Demons also knew this time limit.

Therefore, the conflict between Lingxu City and the Heavenly Demons should peak within four months; perhaps give them two more months? By then, it would be best if Panlong was no longer the Heavenly Demons' primary concern.

"Convene a military council immediately." He pinched his knuckles: "Since Fu Shanlie has left, the Beijia army is a dragon without a head; we must make good use of this golden period."

$$$$$

On the very night Fu Shanlie departed, the war south of the wilderness reignited. But this time it was the Panlong army's turn to be the main attacker, opening with a beautiful night raid.

Because two vanguard armies suffered setbacks, Beijia's choice of terrain was limited; their main force of 120,000 was stationed in a long, narrow, sweet-potato-shaped valley, the rest deployed on both flanks. Even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; even Fu Shanlie had no better arrangement, only able to strengthen defenses at the valley mouth and enhance coordination with the two wings.

This night the imperial broth arrived, the mountains and forests grew restless, and the Panlong army, occupying the high ground, launched an assault on the Beijia host.

Hou Qian could predict the Panlong army would surely take advantage of the void, but never expected their offense to be so fierce, and targeting the strongest central army at that, even heading straight for the main command tent.

The Tiger Wing General led from the front, his sharpness unstoppable.

Originally, besides Fu Shanlie, Hou Qian had never seen a second commander-in-chief fight bare-chested. But the Tiger Wing General advanced ferociously, at the very forefront of the charge, tearing open the Beijia central army's valley mouth fortifications like a spearhead, cutting straight into the camp's depths.

As for Beijia's north and south wings, He Lingchuan also detached troops to intercept them.

This battle was a completely unadorned head-on clash; after only two hours it ended with the Beijia army's main command tent breached, forcing them to retreat ten li and move to more open terrain to dig in.

During Fu Shanlie's tenure, both sides' several exchanges were just testing the waters, minor skirmishes. The moment Hou Qian took over, this Beijia main force truly experienced the Tiger Wing General's ferocity for the first time.

In this engagement, the Beijia army lost over two thousand men; Fu Shanlie, already dozens of li away, heard the news and sighed long toward the sky, wishing he could turn his horse around and fight the Tiger Wing for another two hundred rounds.

Too bad he couldn't; his commander's tally had been reclaimed, and before receiving the Demon Emperor's next appointment he had no authority to lead troops.

After the Beijia army retreated to open terrain, Hou Qian reorganized without daring to slacken, then divided his forces into four routes advancing north. Fu Shanlie led for half a month without gaining an inch — fine; but once military authority reached Hou Qian's hands, the Beijia army instead fell back ten li. Hou Qian hoped to make up for his own blunders before the new commander-in-chief arrived.

Several days later, the new commander-in-chief finally arrived.

The one replacing Fu Shanlie as commander was Lingxu City's General Gao Huaiyuan, from a veteran military aristocratic family, long stationed abroad; over the past fifteen years he had commanded multiple battles against the Shihe, once leading 400,000 troops in one go.

Most importantly, at that time he was closest to the Panlong wilderness southern battlefield.

Although everyone knew he was pushed forward as a result of the Heavenly God and Demon Emperor's game, they still felt this choice was extremely appropriate, even seemingly more suitable for that commander-in-chief role than Fu Shanlie.

When Gao Huaiyuan took office on the fly, the southern wilderness battlefield was already in full swing.

He entered the main tent, reviewed intelligence, listened to analysis, then couldn't help pressing his temples. Why? The Beijia army appeared locked in combat with the enemy, the whole map lively, but in reality the commanding heights and favorable terrain were still occupied by the other side; the Beijia army lost more than won, while Panlong seized the opportunity to launch several fierce assaults in succession.

The Beijia army's numbers were three times the opponent's; how could they fight like this?

Gao Huaiyuan had Hou Qian demonstrate the last two actual battles on the sand table; the more he watched, the heavier his expression grew.

With terrain known, forces known, even the opponent's offensive strategy practically an open book, why did Hou Qian fight so stiflingly?

Gao Huaiyuan deduced the difference lay in on-the-spot command and adaptability.

He heard the Tiger Wing General always fought at the forefront; from the sand table replay, his tactics didn't break convention — just straightforward ramming. So why couldn't the Beijia people pin him down?

Besides the word "brave," every charge, turn, and wheel of the Tiger Wing General was one step faster than the enemy.

One step was enough.

That is anticipation before the enemy.

"Good fellow." The Tiger Wing is a born commander; no wonder Panlong calls him one of the "Twin Stars of the Empire."

This kind of traceless adaptability, this kind of danger perception, cannot be cultivated after birth.

Gao Huaiyuan looked again at the Beijia army's attack routes of the past few days, brows also tightly knit.

"Whose arrangement is this route?"

"It was set before General Fushan left."

Gao Huaiyuan let out a long breath.

After receiving the Demon Emperor's order, he had rehearsed attack routes all along the way; one of the finalized plans was almost identical to Fu Shanlie's conception.

But Hou Qian had already proven with actual action that it wouldn't work.

Tactics must be changed.

Objective factors are too many; sometimes the exact same tactic, used against different opponents, yields completely different results.

Gao Huaiyuan had just taken office, hadn't even drunk two sips of water; his personal guards wanted to bring him food, and without lifting his head he waved them off: "Scram far away, don't come bother me."

The Beijia army can still stand firm to this day because of its massive numbers; reinforcements landing from Shada Port have arrived continuously, totaling 330,000 so far, while the opposing Panlong army numbers 190,000.

Both sides' numbers continue to grow, and both sides' experts are also rapidly arriving on scene.

After experiencing two vanguard defeats, Fu Shanlie's mid-battle replacement, and other mishaps, the Beijia army's original strategy of swift, fierce attack into the heart of the wilderness has already gone bankrupt; from now on they can only advance steadily, step by step, utilizing numerical and logistical superiority.