Chapter 2478: Shield of the Ram

On the scorched plain, vultures circled overhead. From the small patches of woods and low mountains around, one could see that the scenery here was originally very beautiful, but after becoming a battlefield, this natural beauty was replaced by a sense of slaughter.

Central battlefield, Segona City.

The flags representing the Sand Flame Kingdom were blown by the breeze. Soldiers stood guard on the city wall. If all fortress cities were ranked, the current Segona City was absolutely one of the three most difficult cities to attack, with only Sand City and Mountain City (Peru Kingdom capital) ranked ahead of it.

The pattern of the central battlefield changed because of Segona City. This place became the boundary between Sand Flame and Peru. Inside Segona City was Sand Flame Kingdom territory, and outside was the border of the Peru Kingdom.

600,000 dwarf soldiers of the Peru Kingdom were stationed here, and the one commanding these dwarves was Spring Tieyang, known in Peru as the Shield of the Kingdom.

It was worth mentioning that the surname Spring didn't represent the royal family. The current Peru King was named Spring Steel Sheep, and his younger brother was Spring Tieyang. The two brothers, one was the King, and the other was the Commander-in-Chief of the central battlefield.

Besides these two brothers, their cousin Laidun Hongxu was also a ruthless person. It was no exaggeration to say that this dwarf family was full of talents.

Laidun Hongxu lost Segona

Rumors are, of course, unreliable. The capture of Segona City had basically nothing to do with Laidun Hongxu. He was originally just recuperating inside Segona City. The dwarf officer in charge of defending the city died in battle. After the city fell, this dwarf officer fought to the death. It is not only one's own side that produces heroes; they also appear among the enemies.

Regardless, it was a fact that this dwarf officer lost Segona City. In order to cover the Goddess's escape, Laidun Hongxu chose to lead the remaining thousands of soldiers in the city to surrender and took the initiative to shoulder the blame for losing Segona City.

The subsequent Battle of the Peru Gate was originally commanded by Spring Tieyang, but it ended in defeat. Laidun Hongxu, who had just been released from Segona City, decided that he would shoulder this black pot; Peru still needed Spring Tieyang.

Spring Tieyang is not a man who forgets righteousness. He has already sent envoys multiple times to talk with Su Xiao, willing to pay a certain price to redeem Laidun Hongxu.

Su Xiao naturally refused. The reason is simple: Hongxu is just too good at shouldering blame. If he were sent back, who knows who he might end up taking the fall for again.

Su Xiao had experienced how difficult Spring Tieyang was to deal with during the 'Battle of the Peru Gate'. He originally thought he had defeated the various parties, but who knew that with Laidun Hongxu helping to shoulder the blame, the Shield of the Kingdom, Spring Tieyang, stood up again.

A total of 600,000 dwarf soldiers separated Segona City from the Kingdom of Peru. This time, Spring Tieyang had 100,000 Ram Cavalry under his command, plus the remaining 500,000 dwarf soldiers; their combat power can be imagined.

Looking at Su Xiao's side, counting the newly transferred soldiers, the soldiers under his command reached 320,000. Comparing the individual combat power of the soldiers, his side's soldiers were weaker than the Ram Cavalry but stronger than the ordinary dwarf soldiers.

Su Xiao's advantage is that if the war situation is unfavorable to him, he can retreat at any time; behind him are the troops of Grand Commander Nieposuo.

Spring Tieyang's side is different. How far they retreat represents how much territory the Kingdom of Peru has lost.

Segona City, inside a three-story stone building.

Su Xiao looked at the map on the table. According to the intelligence he already had, if he started a war with Spring Tieyang now, his probability of defeat was over eighty percent.

Not to mention anything else, just the 100,000 Ram Cavalry alone was enough to give one a headache, plus Spring Tieyang's command ability. Once a full-scale decisive battle unfolded, let alone invading the Kingdom of Peru, Segona City itself might fall.

Spring Tieyang is blocking here. As long as he can crush the opponent, the risk of Su Xiao invading Peru will be much smaller.

Su Xiao invading the Kingdom of Peru is not just about reaping benefits. His main quest is to capture the God of Lush Life alive. As a deity of the Kingdom of Peru, if he doesn't beat the Kingdom of Peru into submission, rashly going to capture this country's neutral deity will trigger all kinds of chain reactions.

It would be fine if Su Xiao hadn't led an army; he could have infiltrated Peru to secretly search for the God of Lush Life. But now, the high-level officials of the Kingdom of Peru should have all seen his portrait, and the risk of infiltrating the Kingdom of Peru is extremely high.

Ignoring the map on the table, Su Xiao began to ponder how to maneuver with Spring Tieyang. It is unwise to force a confrontation right now; finding a way to upgrade the 【War Lord】 title is the key.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao decided to start the war immediately. Only when the war breaks out can he obtain war merits, which is the key to exchanging for titles.

He summoned Deputy Commander Aus. After conveying the order through Aus, the soldiers in the city were mobilized.

Hum—

The long sound of a horn spread out. A total of 200,000 soldiers gathered outside the city, while 120,000 were left in the city to defend it.

Knowing he couldn't win and still going to force a confrontation with Spring Tieyang is a very stupid act. Su Xiao decided not to fight Spring Tieyang first.

The march began. As soon as Su Xiao left the city, Spring Tieyang received the news. With so many soldiers moving, it was impossible to hide from each other's eyes and ears.

Learning that Su Xiao was not attacking the border of Peru but had led his troops back to the central battlefield, Spring Tieyang felt something was wrong.

He now had two choices: take advantage of Su Xiao not being in Segona City to lead his army to attack the city. As long as Segona City was occupied, Peru's disadvantage would vanish.

The second choice is for the 500,000 dwarf soldiers to hold their ground and send 100,000 Ram Cavalry to march within Peru, keeping parallel with Su Xiao's troops at all times to prevent Su Xiao from leading his army to attack other fortress cities.

If other fortress cities were broken, it would be meaningless for Spring Tieyang to take Segona City; it would only shift the main battlefield. As long as the fortress cities on the border of Peru fell, they would become a second Segona City.

Weighing the pros and cons, Spring Tieyang decided to send 100,000 Ram Cavalry to march within the Kingdom of Peru, keeping parallel with Su Xiao in the central battlefield across the border to prevent Su Xiao from attacking other fortress cities.

Two hours later, Spring Tieyang received news that the 'Vanguard Fortress', which was far from Segona City, had been attacked. A black dragon appeared on the battlefield, and a total army of 200,000 was attacking the city.

Upon receiving this news, Spring Tieyang was very calm; he had already prepared a backup plan. 100,000 Ram Cavalry were nearby.

However, the news sent back by the Ram Cavalry regiment was that they only saw corpses everywhere and the Vanguard Fortress burning with black flames after they arrived.

Ten minutes later, Spring Tieyang received another battle report: 120,000 enemy soldiers stationed in Segona City were attacking.

Spring Tieyang, who had been guarding the border, decisively engaged in battle. But after the fighting started, he discovered something was wrong. His old opponent, Kukulin Bai Ye, was right in front of him and hadn't led any troops to raid the Vanguard Fortress at all.

This strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain gave Spring Tieyang a headache. The Ram Cavalry regiment could not return to defend; once they did, the Vanguard Fortress would be lost. The combination of 200,000 enemy troops + a black dragon was very difficult to deal with.

Inside a camp of several dozen square meters, Spring Tieyang looked at the map on the table, his brows tightly locked. His feeling now was very strange; he was completely being led by the nose by the enemy. It was as if the enemy knew his decisions and secret orders beforehand.

Roars came from outside the tent. After pondering for a moment, Spring Tieyang said:

"Change the batch of messengers."

Spring Tieyang's words shocked the adjutant beside him. This order meant there was a traitor among them.

Not far from Spring Tieyang, Bubu Wang yawned. It had been staring here for a long time.

Information is power. Knowing what Spring Tieyang was going to do next, the war was not as difficult to fight as imagined.

This resulted in the border defense line guarded by Spring Tieyang being as solid as a rock, while the surrounding fortress cities were hammered until they doubted their lives. They weren't afraid of soldiers attacking the city, but with a black dragon spraying black flames in the sky, they couldn't hold on.