[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence":3,"chapter-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-411":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Warlord: Starting with Daily Intelligence",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338874,4572,"Chapter 411: It","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-411",411,"\u003Cp>Wuuu wuuu wuuu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kill!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, with the sound of horns, the first wave of assault began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This first wave of twenty thousand consisted of ten thousand in the front, and five thousand on each flank!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the cover of five catapults, the serf soldiers quickly reached the base of the wall and began climbing ladders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the defenders above continuously dropped stones, logs, and shot arrows to block and defend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, when it comes to siege warfare, the human race is professional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, their siege weapons are far superior to those of the beastfolk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides simple wooden ladders, there were also mobile siege towers resembling watchtowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outside of the siege towers was covered with wooden planks and wet ox hides as shields, with staircases inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soldiers could safely reach a platform level with the wall inside the tower, then extend wooden bridges to leap onto the ramparts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This not only reduced the risk of climbing but also enabled rapid deployment of large numbers of troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, due to the beastfolk’s numerical advantage on the walls, even with such formidable weapons, seizing the ramparts remained extremely difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle had just begun; even if a soldier managed to leap onto the wall, the next moment he would be mercilessly cut down by enemy spears or greatswords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attack by twenty thousand lasted about an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an hour, the retreat horn sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this was not a pause in the kingdom’s siege; it was the rotation of minor noble units onto the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was standard procedure in siege warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the age of cold weapons, sieges lasting days or weeks were short; some lasted months, even years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, to sustain such prolonged sieges, soldiers fought in rotating shifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, the same group of soldiers, deprived of sleep for days and nights, would be broken even if made of iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the second wave of twenty thousand arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their siege tactics were hardly different from the first wave; they tangled with the beastfolk army for an hour, killed some vassal troops, suffered some casualties, then were replaced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they were withdrawn, the third batch of minor noble units took their place, then the fourth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the hour neared and it was about to be Gervas’s turn, Adams suddenly appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ostensibly came to find Mil, but in truth he came for Gervas, slipping him a letter without drawing attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Adams left, Gervas opened it and was startled by its contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the letter, Adams warned Gervas to have his subordinates hold back during the assault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He urged them to prioritize their own safety over bravely killing enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, Adams wanted Gervas’s men to go through the motions without real effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such conduct would be unacceptable in any army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Adams made this suggestion to Gervas because his father had secretly revealed a piece of information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That the key to this siege lay not in daylight, but in the night of this very day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, how well the minor nobles performed was irrelevant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For truly capturing the city through direct assault would take at least four or five days, perhaps even over a week.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tonight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The information came from Adams; it was almost certainly reliable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Adams had carefully instructed Gervas to burn the letter immediately after reading it and not to reveal it to anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this alone, it was clear few knew of this secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only figures of high stature, like Lord Austin, had the privilege to know such things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, Gervas summoned Lei Meng and Mil, whispering instructions to each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both nodded vigorously after listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, an hour passed, and it was finally the fifth unit’s turn to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lei Meng led the Storm Legion into battle as the horns sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quickly, they reached the foot of the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike other units, Gervas’s force this time consisted entirely of crossbowmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though three hundred of his men carried longswords at their waists, they did not use them; instead, they continuously drew and loosed arrows to strike enemies on the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their accuracy was certainly not as precise as that of professional archers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But crossbows, once one understood the three-point alignment method, were dozens of times more accurate than longbows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the wall above was packed with enemies, so these swordsmen still inflicted considerable casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gervas, you’re brilliant!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed! Hah! All archers—your men don’t even need to scale the wall!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are so many assault troops; a few more won’t matter. But we lack enough archers to cover their advance!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So having my men support with crossbows reduces casualties—this is a win-win!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Absolutely a good move!” Mil and the others saw nothing wrong with Gervas’s tactic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Gervas’s previous headcount proved his merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, his men were so formidable; wasting them in such brutal siege warfare would indeed be a waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, while Mil and the others didn’t care, others certainly did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willard had been in a foul mood these days; after all, he had spent so much effort scheming against Gervas, only to see him escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, seeing Gervas using his swordsmen as archers, he would not let him get away with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Gervas, do you know you’re showing cowardice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I give you two choices: either order your swordsmen to scale the wall immediately, or I’ll record this as a crime against you in the Register of Offenses!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Willard approached Gervas directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon meeting him, he delivered a harsh threat without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so? Lord Willard, what if I don’t choose either?” Gervas showed no surprise at Willard’s outburst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this opportunity arose and Willard didn’t appear, that would be strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not choose? Lord Gervas, you don’t get to decide. Last time, you said I was merely a battle supervisor and couldn’t alter your battle order!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this matter? It’s exactly up to me, the battle supervisor, to decide. I’ll count to ten. If you haven’t chosen by then, I’ll choose for you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willard sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this was recorded in the Register of Offenses, Gervas’s prior merits would likely be nullified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if Gervas didn’t want that, he’d have to send his men into battle—casualties would be heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So no matter what, Gervas would pay a price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet unlike Willard’s expectations, Gervas showed no tension or worry; he merely coldly smiled: “Is that so? Lord Willard, then try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think I won’t?” Willard’s fury surged. “Fine! Lord Gervas, I’ve warned you—this is your own choice!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Willard wasted no time, immediately picking up his goose-quill pen to record Gervas’s offense.\u003C\u002Fp>",1093,"2026-06-20T22:44:02.688Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2a67ceddc5f1a8ec2b77b347fa5961920c7a9a56d26ce3a5c4b28546ede77b40","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-412","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-410",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]