dognovel Chapter 96 The Trial Ends (Part 1)
Chapter 96 The Trial Ends (Part 1)
The eighteen allied forces arrived in Nanhai Prefecture almost simultaneously. As soon as Zhao Rui entered Li Chenglong's tent, he said happily, "Captain Li, I was saying before that with such a long journey, at least half of them would desert. You said they wouldn't run away, and I really admire you. Now, not only have none deserted, but their numbers have actually increased. A million troops! What a scale!" Before Li Chenglong could speak, Zhao Liying and Wang Bing also entered, saying in unison, "Our six allied forces have arrived. Please inspect them, Captain Li." He clenched his right fist and waved it in front of his chest: "Good, very good. Now our allied forces are fully assembled, a million strong. To be honest, I've only ever commanded a little over two thousand men in Dawn City. Now, this is more than 500 times that number. It's quite a bit of a challenge."
Zhao Liying calculated the time: "Captain Li, we believe you can lead us to final victory. Back when our first generation of Chinese leaders were conquering the country, there were only a dozen or so people at the beginning, but later it grew to an army of millions. Today is September 11th, less than 20 days until the deadline. We will definitely be able to go back." Han Xiaoling put on the special forces uniform, looking every bit the qualified soldier. Although she still looked young, her eyes already revealed a determination and confidence beyond her years. The five of them raised their right fists together and said in unison, "United as one, we will fight to the end!"
Li Chenglong took out four psionic persimmons: "These are your four. I've already reached my five-persimmon limit, so I won't eat any more this time. After you finish this round, you should also reach your limit. Zhao Rui, you asked me earlier why so many people aren't fleeing, but instead why the number is increasing. First, we've controlled their supply lines. Without supplies, even if they try to escape, they'll starve to death, so they won't easily run away. Second, after more than two years of attrition, the various states should have realized that if this continues, the population will only decrease, and the cities won't be able to hold out. They'll be overrun by zombies eventually, so it's better to take a gamble now."
As he was still speaking, Jin Hai walked in: "Commander-in-Chief, all the leaders of our Eighteen-Route Allied Army have arrived at the command room. Please come to the pre-battle meeting." Li Chenglong stood up solemnly: "Alright, I'll go right away." When Li Chenglong entered the temporary command room, he found it was already full of people. The city lords, deputy city lords, and various army commanders of the Eighteen-Route Allied Army had all arrived. Seeing Li Chenglong and the others walk in, they stood up and applauded to welcome them.
Li Chenglong took out the information he had just obtained and said, "First of all, I welcome everyone's positive response to our call to action to wipe out the mysterious ruins, the stronghold of the zombies. Our reconnaissance drones just sent us a video. Please take a look." He then projected the video footage. The crowd saw, under the filming of several strategic drones, that the ruins were rapidly moving towards the shore. The ruins were enormous, covering at least a hundred square kilometers. Once they reached the shore, countless zombies poured out from the various exits of the ruins, then coalesced into several large armies and charged towards the allied forces.
After everyone finished watching, Li Chenglong said, "As you all saw in the video, the zombies seem to have discovered our intentions. This time, they've brought the mysterious ruins ashore, and all the zombies have come out in full force to fight us to the death." He then pressed a button, and a magnified map of Nanhai Prefecture gradually unfolded. Li Chenglong, holding a command stick, began to deploy tactics: "Jin Hai will lead the central army, totaling 30 men from six prefectures, to defend the southeastern hilly area of Nanhai Prefecture. They will use the terrain advantage to block the zombies. Just block them; there's no need to launch an attack. Qianzhou City Lord Wan Yong will lead the western army, totaling 45 men, to fight the zombies at the Lingchuan River in the west. Dezhou City Lord Yan Chen will lead the eastern army, totaling 45 men, to block the zombies on the Bazhou Plain in the east. This afternoon, we will advance with all three armies simultaneously. This is the first battle, and also the last. The first battle is the decisive battle; one battle will decide the fate of the world."
A heated discussion ensued. Some thought Li Chenglong's strategy was too risky; if they couldn't win, there would be no chance to retreat. Others believed that the key was this do-or-die spirit; if everyone hesitated, failure was inevitable. Despite the intense discussion, everyone ultimately agreed on the strategy. Jin Hai asked, "Commander-in-Chief, in the previous deployment, which army will you be leading?" Li Chenglong replied, "I won't be with any of you. Zhao Liying and I, along with a few others, will lead Liang Zhenye's First Army of 10,000 men. While you're fighting the zombies, we'll directly attack their ruins, their main base. The zombies all come from there; there's definitely something fishy going on there. If we take down their lair, they won't be able to create any more zombies. So please make sure you keep the zombie army occupied, fight fiercely, and draw their attention so our small force can more easily enter the ruins."
Hearing this, those who had previously questioned the risks of Li Chenglong's strategy fell silent. Leading a small force deep into enemy territory was undoubtedly several times, even ten times, more dangerous than their own direct confrontation with zombies on the front lines. A single misstep could lead to encirclement and total annihilation. Jin Hai then distributed the deployment orders to each prefecture. Li Chenglong concluded, "I urge everyone to work together. The survival of our unit rests in your hands!" The crowd shouted in unison, "We swear to live and die with this position! With one heart and one mind, we will wipe out the zombies!" After everyone left, the deployment began according to the original plan.
At 3 PM, the eastern army set off first, followed by the western army at 4 PM. The central army, with a shorter route, would depart the following morning. Li Chenglong needed to wait until the main forces engaged in battle and drew the zombies' attention before he could begin his own plans. Since over 10,000 men was still a bit too many, he and Liang Zhenye decided, after discussing it, to consider mobility and tactics, to take only 5000 men with them, while the rest would continue the attack alongside the central army.
In the early hours of September 12, the central army also began its operation. Li Chenglong and his men, along with 5000 men, followed behind the central army, waiting for the war to break away from the main force and cut through the middle of the western and central armies to directly attack the ruins.