Chapter 97: Preparation

Jin Meng faintly felt that this commission was about to be completed; he would also fulfill his mission, return to his own home, and live an ordinary life.

Feng Yan had already handed the mission to Jin Meng, and after Jin Meng told the clan chief what Feng Yan had entrusted him with, he furtively came to Li Guo City to observe their situation.

The clan chief again summoned the tribespeople; they had already collapsed into disarray, morale low. Feng Yan looked at these fellows before him, his face full of worry. Chen Hao also glanced at them, then shook his head and sighed, saying: "These fellows before us have completely lost their fighting spirit; this bunch is truly ruthless—this isn't even killing them, and they've lost heart. How can we possibly win like this?"

Upon the yellow sand stood these dwarves who had lost morale; their eyes were lifeless, their ranks disordered, making it hard to form any effective fighting force. Feng Yan felt a sigh, but more so a deep helplessness.

Feng Yan waved his hand, and they dispersed. The dwarves slowly scattered, leaving only three people rooted in place, unable to calm their hearts for a long time.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao felt powerless; this deep sense of defeat was helpless yet real.

Wang You looked at the boy before her, she widened her eyes, gazing at Feng Yan, at the pitiful yet loathsome dwarves before her, she stood up, walked toward Feng Yan, and said to him: "It's alright; there will be a way."

Feng Yan hearing this, his heart felt a bit better; then he looked at Wang You's clear eyes, smiled, and asked Chen Hao: "Hey, buddy, that plan you mentioned last time—I think we can give it a try."

After saying that, Chen Hao feigned ignorance, then asked with feigned confusion: "What plan are you talking about? I have no idea."

"It's the money‑scattering plan," Feng Yan replied to Chen Hao, then produced all the gold he had on him.

Chen Hao nodded and said: "I don't know if this plan will work, but let's try; I reckon Jin Meng should be back shortly."

At that moment, Jin Meng was standing guard outside Li Guo's city walls; they believed that dwarves who had not entered the city were already dead, while those who had entered had been led by the king into the palace interior and burned to death, their corpses already used to make the Red‑clothed Devil's potion—now the dwarves were finished. As for the remaining dwarves, they estimated that under the scorching sun they would slowly turn to bone, then to debris, finally buried by the yellow sand, leaving no trace.

For this very reason, the soldiers became lax and careless in their inspections; even the moat's water had become a commodity for them, so many merchant ships could not dock, and the Giant's River had begun to grow congested.

Jin Meng observed everything before him, slowly recording his notes; he firmly believed the soldiers guarding the city gate had completely deteriorated, retaining no fighting ability whatsoever.

Yet he continued observing, knowing this admitted no carelessness; if his negligence caused the adventurers to fail, they would be defeated and he would earn no gold coin, so he stayed there patiently observing.

The bounty hunters received the leader's letter; while feeling resentful, they each held a large gold brick brought by Jin Meng. Feeling the weight of the gold brick in hand, though unwilling, they restrained themselves, after all such a sizable brick would last them a long time.

Every bounty hunter received such a gold brick, together with an order—no attacking allowed!

The bounty hunters were naturally unwilling, but once the gold brick was in hand, they began silently complying with the order.

Time slowly passed; Jin Meng watched the soldiers until dusk, finally confirming their condition. He stood up, his legs trembling, unable to steady himself for a moment. Jin Meng stomped his foot, then eased the soreness in his thighs, thinking: "It turns out these soldiers' vigilance has become extremely lax, even bordering on indulgence; thus the gate guards should be easy to handle."

While thinking, he returned to Feng Yan and Chen Hao, recounting in detail the situation of Li Guo's city defense.

Chen Hao nodded and analyzed: "Li Guo's soldiers now have no vigilance whatsoever, so we can launch a surprise attack—but this requires the dwarves to do something quite interesting. Let's go, let's gather them quickly."

Jin Meng again notified the clan chief, calling everyone together; this time, it would be an attack!

The dwarves felt deep resentment; their fighting power had vanished completely, their will to fight had faded, leaving only a get‑by attitude. They staggered over to Feng Yan and Chen Hao and gathered once more.

Feng Yan did not want another awkward silence, so he had Chen Hao step forward to give everyone a pep talk.

The dwarves looked at Chen Hao, who openly and naturally asked: "You lot, what are you?"

The dwarves gave no reply; the area fell utterly silent.

Chen Hao, no longer caring about the situation, posed a second question: "Do you believe you cannot win?"

Again, silence fell below; no one answered.

Chen Hao roared loudly: "Are you willing to be Li Guo's dogs?"

The dwarves still gave no response; Chen Hao truly grew angry and bellowed: "It seems you are nothing but a bunch of good‑for‑nothings, rice buckets? The fairy‑tale dwarves here are utterly cowardly and weak—are you merely a group relying on divine protection? What are you? What do you amount to? Without the gods, you have no courage; without the gods, you have been frightened into cowardice by the enemy—this is your true face."

"Even if you are an adventurer, I still say this is too much!" a dwarf shouted from below.

"Over the top? What did I say? I'm speaking the truth—you are a bunch of rice buckets, good‑for‑nothings, failures; after all these years of the Gods' Twilight, you've made no progress, and all you can do is kneel before the idols of the gods you worship!" Hearing the opposition below, Chen Hao grew even angrier and retorted directly.

The dwarves below fell silent, gazing at the infuriated Chen Hao, they lowered their heads in silence and then said dejectedly: "If you keep going like this, I won't be able to lead anymore; everything is over—you can simply kneel at the feet of the Li Guo people, as slaves even lower than their dogs!"

After saying that, Chen Hao tried to calm himself, then said: "Tonight we will launch our first offensive, called the Money‑Scattering Operation."