dognovel Chapter 88 Forming an Alliance
Chapter 88 Forming an Alliance
The next morning, Li Chenglong and his group sat down at the stone table in the backyard to discuss their upcoming tasks. Zhao Liying spoke first: "The zombie horde is expected to arrive in six to seven days. According to the files Jinbo gave me, there are three waves of zombies a year. This is the second wave this year, and it will be even larger than the last one. The conservative estimate for the April zombie horde reaching Jinlan City is 250,000. This time, we need to be prepared for 300,000." Zhao Rui said somewhat dismissively, "Only 300,000? Didn't the system in the Trial Grounds say that the zombies here are ordinary zombies without special abilities? We currently have one level six, two level fives, and two level fours. It won't be a problem for us to fight our way in and out seven times." Li Chenglong said, "We can't be careless. Even an eagle uses its full strength when slaying a rabbit. We must not let momentary carelessness affect the execution of this mission."
Wang Bing was deep in thought. Seeing him silent, Li Chenglong said, "Wang Bing, what are you thinking about? Why don't you tell us? It's better for us to think together than for you to think alone." Wang Bing then slowly spoke, "Captain Li, we're participating in a trial this time. I feel it won't be that easy. If it's really just a few hundred thousand ordinary zombies, eliminating them wouldn't be too difficult. But I'm worried that there are even greater difficulties waiting for us." Han Xiaoling added, "Yes, especially the mysterious ruins they mentioned that fell from the sky and landed in the sea. And so many reconnaissance teams have lost contact. There's definitely something strange about these ruins."
After listening to Han Xiaoling's words, Wang Bing continued, "The second point is that Zhao Rui and I have been discussing their army today. To be honest, their army is practically a disorganized mess, and their combat effectiveness is even less impressive. They lack necessary training. The only good thing is that they have plenty of weapons and ammunition. Even if they recruit tens of thousands more, equipping them would be more than enough. What I mean is that recruiting those people into the army would just be sending them to their deaths, so it's better to recruit fewer."
After listening, Li Chenglong smiled and said, "We do need to be prepared for a tough battle, because I've already sensed that this zombie horde will be anything but simple. But we must not be discouraged or timid. We must press on with our initial momentum, for a second attempt will be weaker, and a third will be exhausting. If we become timid, how can we complete this trial? Besides, today is only the third day of our trial; we still have over fifty days left. We must have confidence. As for recruiting, my suggestion is to recruit as many as possible, the more the better. You can't deny that human wave tactics are sometimes very useful. This time, we not only need to defend against the zombie horde's attack, but also to pursue and attack the slowly retreating zombie horde. This way, we won't face a massive number of enemies after reaching the ruins, and it will be more conducive to completing the mission. Let me explain again: this is a trial ground. Everything here, except for the few of us, is real. Everything else is virtual. Don't get too emotionally involved."
The group talked for a long time and finally reached a complete consensus: to complete the mission at all costs. A short while later, Jin Hai and Wang Hai arrived with two bodyguards. Upon seeing them, Jin Hai said, "Captain Li, people from Dezhou, to the right of Lanzhou, have come." Li Chenglong asked, "Oh? What are they sending people for? Logically, both our prefectures should be facing a zombie horde at the same time; they should be preparing for battle right now." Jin Hai said, "The specifics aren't clear yet. He said he must speak with the city lord. The two young ladies have already gone, so I was wondering if you could go and see them too." Li Chenglong nodded, "Okay, I'll go see them. Zhao Liying, you continue to be in charge of distributing supplies today, but you'll have to manage the details yourself. Wang Bing, you'll be in charge of recruiting soldiers with them. Zhao Rui, go help reinforce the city walls; this work is very important, so be meticulous. Xiaoling, go help your sister Zhao Liying." After receiving their orders, the four of them left.
After assigning tasks, Li Chenglong and Jin Hai left the backyard and went to the front hall. Upon entering, they saw five or six unfamiliar people talking to the Jin sisters, who were seated at the head of the table. Seeing Li Chenglong enter, the Jin sisters felt somewhat relieved; it was a bit much for them, only fourteen or fifteen years old, to chat with seasoned political veterans. Jin Hai introduced Li Chenglong to the people from Dezhou. After hearing Li Chenglong's story, the people from Dezhou were clearly skeptical, especially regarding Jin Hai's claim that Li Chenglong possessed superpowers. However, the fact that he had overthrown Wu Xiaoyi's rule in less than a day left them no choice but to believe it.
The head of the Dezhou delegation shook hands with Li Chenglong: "I am Mei Fang, the representative of the delegation entrusted by Qiu Gang, the city lord of Deji City in Dezhou. I have come here to request assistance. Dezhou recently suffered a poor harvest and also experienced a large-scale outbreak of infectious disease. As a result, we are now facing a shortage of food in the city, and we are even short of personnel to defend against this zombie horde. We have come to borrow some food from them. If you have any spare resources to help us fight off the zombies, we will be extremely grateful and will repay you many times over."
Li Chenglong and Jin Hai exchanged a glance, then said, "This matter is of great importance, and we need to discuss it. Please give us some time, but since the zombie horde is not far off, we will give you a reply as soon as possible." Mei Fang smiled and said, "Of course, then we will take our leave." After saying that, she led her subordinates out and went to the guest rooms under the guidance of the waiter. After Mei Fang left, a soldier sitting next to her said, "We have just experienced this turmoil, and the zombie horde is at most seven or eight days away. We really don't have the spare capacity to support them." The other soldiers nodded in agreement. The head of the logistics department said, "Two young city lords, Lord Li Chenglong, we can provide them with some supplies. After the zombie horde ends, we will immediately start farming and harvest another batch of crops before the next wave of zombies arrives in December."
As Zhao Liying mentioned before, the climate here is completely different from that on Earth. There are no four seasons, and the temperature is very stable all year round. However, the further north and inland you go, the lower the rainfall and the harsher the climate becomes. As a result, crops can grow all year round and can be harvested in less than four months.
Li Chenglong said decisively, "Not only do we need to provide supplies, but our soldiers also need to help. Everyone understands the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,' right? If we don't go to support them this time and Texas on our right is destroyed, then when the next wave of zombies arrives, the zombies that went to Texas will flood into our area. We will encounter twice as many zombies as we do now. You can imagine how difficult that will be. Moreover, we can take this opportunity to contact the surrounding states and form an alliance to achieve the goal of completely eliminating the zombies."
Jin Linfei and Jin Mengfei nodded in agreement with Li Chenglong's opinion. Jin Linfei said, "Our Sanggu Kingdom originally had 30 states across its 450 million square kilometers of land, but due to the zombie invasion over the past two years, only 18 states remain. If we continue to only care about ourselves, we will eventually be overwhelmed by the zombie horde. Uncle Jin, immediately contact the states we can reach and convey our message to them." Jin Hai stood up and saluted solemnly, saying, "Yes, I will handle this matter immediately." After saying that, Jin Hai left.
Jin Mengfei said, "Please invite the envoys from Dezhou in. We need to discuss the next steps." Soon after, the Dezhou envoys entered. The Jin sisters, as city lords, spoke with them and ultimately decided that Jinlanzhou and Dezhou would form a strategic alliance. Jinlanzhou would provide some supplies and over ten thousand soldiers to help them overcome their difficulties. Dezhou, in turn, would provide some of its manufactured weapons and ammunition to Jinlanzhou. As an industrial state, Dezhou was rich in steel and various weapons, so providing these items was not difficult. Finally, the Dezhou envoys thanked the Jin sisters, left a few people to handle the follow-up matters, and hurried back to report.