191: Chapter 192 The Minister Loves His Soldiers Like His Own Children

After the military order from the Council Hall was issued, Flower City felt as if it had suddenly been pressed down by an invisible hand.

The shouting that had originally been rising in the streets subsided, layer by layer, in less than a quarter of an hour.

The entire city began to change.

The Trade Department was the first to seal off external dealings; starting today, all external sales, purchases, price negotiations, and settlements were suspended.

The Mercenary Guild took down its sign, all external commissions were halted, and every task currently posted on the board was taken down.

Documents from the Government Hall were issued one after another, clearly detailing arrangements for those staying behind, grain transport, warehouse guarding, street patrolling, roll calls, and formation organizing at the drill ground.

Members of the Supervision Department dispersed into the streets and alleys, keeping watch not for those trying to escape, but for anyone who dared to stir up trouble during this chaotic time.

The Tiangong Department was operating at full power; armor plates, bowstrings, arrows, Formation Plates, Spirit Stones, and medical kits were being sent to the drill ground like a flowing river.

One cart.

Then another cart.

The heavy wheels rolled over the bluestone road, causing the entire city to creak.

...

In the eastern district of Flower City, there was a small courtyard.

The gate was half-open, and a dim light glowed inside.

An elderly man with graying hair was bowing his head, fastening his bracers one buckle at a time. His movements were not fast, but they were steady. His old armor pressed against his somewhat hunched frame, making a faint friction sound.

At the doorway, a young woman holding a bowl had been holding back for a long time, but she couldn't help it anymore.

"Father."

The old man grunted an "Hmm" without looking up, continuing to fasten his belt.

"You are already at such an old age, can't you just stay behind?" She walked two steps closer, her voice kept very low. "The Military Department didn't force conscription, so why do you have to go?"

The old man finally looked up at her and smiled.

"It is precisely because there was no forced conscription that I must go even more."

The young woman was stunned.

The old man lowered his head and sheathed the old blade that had accompanied him for many years back into his waistband. His movements were slow, but his tone was firm.

"Flower City doesn't lack this old bag of bones of mine, but if I were to truly shrink away inside, I would despise myself for being worthless when I eat the rice and wear the clothes of this city in the future."

As he said this, he reached out and patted his armor lightly.

"Don't look at my age, I am also a Professional of Flower City!"

"The City Lord saved this old life of mine from the hands of the King of Hell. Now that he needs people, let alone that I am already a Professional, even if I were bedridden with a serious illness, I would still crawl there!"

The young woman looked at him, opened her mouth, but in the end, she did not try to persuade him again.

Watching the old man walk away, until his figure completely disappeared from her field of vision, she smiled faintly and shook her head.

"Husband has left, and the child has left too."

"Now, you have left as well."

"So who is going to eat this big table of food I made!"

...

The Military Department drill ground.

Large swaths of moonlight spread down, illuminating the entire drill ground with a pale white light.

A dense crowd of heads stood under the moonlight, stretching as far as the eye could see.

No one was arguing.

No one was shouting.

No one was looking around.

They simply stood in rows, solemn and grave.

Armor plates pressed against their bodies, blades and spears on their backs, their breathing kept very low.

Yet those pairs of eyes were startlingly bright in the night, as if a fire were burning silently inside.

This time, they were not standing in the city watching others go to war.

This time, they themselves were in the formation.

At the front of the drill ground, Wan'er stood on the high steps, her sleeves hanging down, and she distributed rosters in her hand extremely quickly.

Who moves first.

Who moves later.

Which squad follows the military supplies.

Which squad guards the formation materials.

Every item was clear, and the deployment was distinct.

She did not speak in a rush, nor was her voice high, but with every order she gave, the people below immediately turned and moved, without a single overlap or bottleneck.

Minister Wang Fugui led the people from the Trade Department to count the military supplies on the east side of the drill ground.

Boxes of healing medicine were carried over; roasted Spirit Rice, dried beast meat, and clear water bladders were separated by squad.

Those hands that usually only knew how to use an abacus were moving between the crates tonight, meticulously ensuring every detail was accounted for.

The dust on Tie Shan's face had not yet been wiped clean; he was crouching next to a cart of formation materials, tapping each Formation Plate to listen to the sound, verify the patterns, and then hand them one by one to the apprentices behind him.

Shang Youjun did not stand in a high place.

He walked slowly between the queues, his black official robes looking like a shadow in the night.

He did not speak, only occasionally raising his eyes to look.

With that one glance, anyone who had intended to squeeze forward a half-step would retreat on their own.

The entire drill ground, despite being so crowded, was not in the slightest disorder.

Like a giant machine already locked into place, just waiting for the final command.

Strategist Zhu Ge sat in his wheelchair, stopped at the very front of the drill ground.

He gently waved the feather fan in his hand, looked up at the sky, and then looked toward the direction of the distant city gate.

"Minister."

Lei Lie stood by his side, clad in black armor, his sword still in its scabbard.

Hearing this, he tilted his head.

"It is about time."

Upon hearing this, Lei Lie raised his hand and slowly drew the sword at his waist.

There was not much of a sharp sound when the blade left the scabbard.

The cold white moonlight slid along the spine of the sword.

The next moment, he swung the sword forward.

The camp gate in front opened with a roar.

There were no battle cries.

There were no war drums.

There was only the sound of footsteps kept extremely low, like a dark tide, silently surging out from the edges of the drill ground.

The torrent of Professionals divided into several streams in the night, exited the drill ground, converged toward the city gate from different streets, and then merged into a larger stream at the gate, flowing quietly out of Flower City.

Neat and tidy.

In perfect order.

There was a fixed distance between squads; soldiers, military supplies, and craftsmen each followed their own lines and kept to their own positions.

Weapons did not clash together, and the baggage train did not get stuck for even a half-step.

Looking down from a high vantage point, it was like ink lines that had been drawn long ago, finally falling onto the ground stroke by stroke.

With a gentle wave of Strategist Zhu Ge's feather fan.

A layer of extremely faint gray mist rose rapidly.

Full Army Concealment!

The gray mist was not thick, spreading along the ground, swallowing the faint light on the armor, the movement of footsteps, and even the hot air exhaled by the tens of thousands of people.

Immediately after, the feather fan waved again, and a second layer of cyan formation patterns swept across the ground.

Full Army Speed March!

The army formation, which was already not slow, suddenly increased its marching speed by a notch.

...

One day later... the entire army was left with only one hundred and fifty thousand people.

Compared to the one hundred and sixty thousand when they left the city, it was ten thousand fewer.

The missing ten thousand were scattered along the road they had come from.

Every time they passed a mountain pass, every time they passed a river mouth, and every time they passed a piece of terrain that was sufficiently hidden and stable, a squad of people would silently detach from the main army.

Some buried Formation Plates.

Some nailed down Formation Flags.

Some pushed down soil to cover tracks.

And some stayed behind to guard the nodes.

One place.

Then another.

The road Flower City had traveled was being nailed, bit by bit, into a road that belonged only to Flower City.

Late on the second night, the army formation passed through a long slope.

Below the slope was a forest, and outside the forest was the wilderness.

Lei Lie looked back and nodded secretly.

After two days of forced marching, the army did not have a single trace of chaos.

They were fast when they needed to be fast, and stopped when they needed to stop; the entire hundred-plus thousand people acted like a single breath from beginning to end.

While feeling admiration in his heart, he was also deeply envious.

He knew that this was all due to Strategist Zhu Ge's military management.

And at this moment, Strategist Zhu Ge was right beside him.

His wheelchair had long been fixed onto a specially made marching cart, the wheels pressing against the ground, making almost no sound.

The feather fan swayed back and forth in his palm, and even the wind it created was very light.

"At this speed."

Strategist Zhu Ge looked at the dark night ahead and spoke unhurriedly.

"In half a day at most, we will be able to touch the edge of the Ten Cities."

"At that time, how does the Minister intend to fight?"

Lei Lie did not even think.

"Break in under the cover of night, and take the city in one strike!"

After hearing this, Strategist Zhu Ge smiled.

"The Minister has great insight."

Lei Lie first lifted his chin, but then realized something was wrong.

He tilted his head and squinted at Strategist Zhu Ge.

"Strategist."

Strategist Zhu Ge gently swayed his feather fan, his expression innocent.

"Hmm?"

Lei Lie snorted.

"You are afraid that I will get carried away and lead people into a fierce battle, so you are deliberately testing me, right?"

Strategist Zhu Ge's smile deepened, but he remained in that unhurried manner.

"How could that be?"

"The Minister treats his soldiers like his own children."

"I have always been at ease."

Lei Lie glared at him and let out a heavy breath through his nose.

"Stop flattering me."

"Although the City Lord said that those who obstruct us can be killed."

"But killing is not the goal; taking the city is."

"On this point, I am clear-headed."

...

On the afternoon of the second day, the army of one hundred and forty thousand arrived at the border of the Ten Cities.

Compared to yesterday, there were ten thousand fewer.

The sun hung on the treetops, illuminating the undulating terrain on the outskirts of the Ten Cities clearly.

The outline of the city wall in the distance could already be seen, and further away, one could see the scattered fields outside the city and the figures patrolling the roads.

Yet, these one hundred and forty thousand people from Flower City did not reveal a single trace.

Strategist Zhu Ge raised his hand, and his feather fan pressed downward.

The entire army formation, like water, silently submerged into the dense forest.

Some lay behind trees.

Some hid in the deep grass.

Some even re-wrapped the buckles on their armor, fearing that they would reflect even a bit of light in the night.

No one lit a fire.

No one spoke.

Even when drinking water, they swallowed while suppressing their throats.

Only the sound of the wind remained in the forest.

Since a night raid had been decided upon, they naturally had to hide their tracks during the day.

...

The sun slanted westward bit by bit.

The light moved slowly through the gaps in the trees, dragging those dark figures into long shadows, then shrinking them back inch by inch.

Lei Lie half-crouched behind an old tree, looked up at the sun that was about to set on the horizon, and his palm slowly pressed onto the sword hilt.

Strategist Zhu Ge was not far away.

He did not urge him.

He only looked up, watching the sky that was growing darker and darker, and gently waved his feather fan.

One hundred and forty thousand Flower City Professionals lay in the dense forest outside the Ten Cities, without making a sound.

They were not in a hurry to move.

They were simply waiting.

Waiting for the night to fall.

...

The night finally fell.

When the last trace of daylight was swallowed by the horizon, the one hundred and forty thousand Flower City Professionals lying in the dense forest raised their heads almost simultaneously.

There was still no sound in the forest.

Only the wind brushed across the treetops, bringing up a very, very light rustling sound.

Lei Lie half-crouched behind the tree, his palm pressing on the sword hilt the entire time. When that bit of residual light was completely extinguished, he turned his head to look at Strategist Zhu Ge.

"Strategist."

Strategist Zhu Ge sat in his wheelchair, his feather fan swaying gently, his gaze fixed on the outline of the city that was trapped in the night.

"Hmm."

Lei Lie lowered his voice.

"Is it time now?"

Strategist Zhu Ge did not answer immediately, only looking up at the few lights that were still on the city wall.

After two breaths, he spoke slowly.

"Breaking the city during the day is too conspicuous."

"The Minister chose to break the city at night because, under the cover of darkness, the opponent has fewer defenses, and our actions will be relatively much more concealed. The goal is to take the city in one fell swoop."

The feather fan closed gently.

"Since that is the case, we must wait for the best opportunity. Otherwise, how could we live up to the Minister's painstaking efforts?"

Lei Lie grinned.

"That's true."

"We have already waited for so long, we don't care about this extra moment."

Just like that, another hour passed.

Lei Lie and Strategist Zhu Ge seemed to have a tacit understanding; they looked at each other and then nodded.

Immediately after, Lei Lie raised his hand and pressed it forward.

The first route of troops lying in the forest, like a silent layer of tide, quietly spread out from the shadows of the trees.

...

The army that Lei Lie and Strategist Zhu Ge led this time was not the entire force, but merely one-tenth of the total strength.

Strategist Zhu Ge had already split the ten routes of troops when they were hiding during the day.

Each route was a complete team capable of breaking a city.

The purpose was for the ten routes to advance together and succeed in one go!

The strategy for breaking the city had also been explained while they were on the road.

Assassins go first.

Archers and Mages follow.

Warriors scale the city walls.

Knights, Clerics, and Summoners bring up the rear.

Whichever route succeeds first, that route immediately becomes the pivot point for the next strike.

...

The garrison on the city wall did not yet know what had crept up in the night.

The wind was a bit chilly.

A soldier on night watch shrank his neck, tucked his hands a bit deeper into his sleeves, and held a wine skin in his other hand.

He had just taken a sip when he heard something lightly brush against the brick surface outside the city wall.

It was too light.

It was as light as a wild cat brushing past the base of the wall.

The soldier frowned and leaned his head down to look.

Below the city wall, it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Just as he was about to lean another inch further out, his neck suddenly felt cold.

A hand firmly covered his mouth.

The next moment, a blade edge wiped across behind his ear.

Warm blood had just barely welled up when his entire body was already dragged into the shadow of the parapet.

Not a single sound was made.

On the other side, the second, third, and fourth black shadows also attached themselves to the city wall at almost the same time.

They did not speak.

Nor did they signal each other.

It was as if they had rehearsed countless times; as soon as they landed, they each pounced toward their own targets.

The one blowing the horn.

The one holding the torch.

The one on night patrol.

And the duty leader dozing off against a pillar on the city gate tower.

The blade light shone for only an instant in the night, and then quickly faded away.

A garrison soldier seemed to sense something was wrong; he opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth to shout.

That "E-" had only squeezed out half a sound.

An arrow had already pierced through the air from below, accurately nailing into his throat.

The tail of the arrow trembled slightly.

The person fell backward, crashing onto the city bricks.

Just as the sound was about to rise, a dark cyan magical light silently covered it, suppressing the muffled noise until it was barely audible.

Below the city wall, the Flower City Archers and Mages were already in position.

They did not shoot at the lights.

They did not bomb the city wall indiscriminately.

They only stared at all the places that "could send the sound out."

Wherever a figure moved, that place was suppressed first.

A wave of arrows was as fast as the wind.

Several Spells were as light as mist.

This was not a head-on clash.

This was gagging the entire city's "mouth" first.

Two garrison soldiers on the city wall heard their companion fall to the ground, and finally panicked, turning and rushing toward the bell tower.

They had only taken two steps.

A line of fire swept diagonally from the darkness, directly shattering the bricks at their feet.

Gravel flew up, and the two of them fell headlong; before they could even get up, two figures pounced from the shadows, and with a press of their blades, they pinned them firmly to the ground.

Within a few breaths, the first wave of the city wall had already been cleared.