Qianye looked up and saw Wei Benian’s expression, quickly understanding his meaning.
The expeditionary army headquarters was still deploying the area as if it were a conventional war, but the dark army’s strength had clearly surpassed expectations. With such a fierce advance, the several divisions stationed in the Three Rivers County would suffer heavy losses, and one or two divisions might even be completely wiped out.
If Wei Benian’s strategy of holding a fortified city could successfully withstand the assault, it would preserve their strength to the maximum extent. After the war, with the decline of other forces, the Seventh Division under Wei Benian would become the dominant force in the Three Rivers County. At that time, with Qianye’s military achievements, he could seize the opportunity to expand his mercenary group, thereby gaining the qualification to rule a city.
Qianye let out a long breath, deeply admiring Wei Benian. Song Hu had once told him that Wei Benian was proficient in defensive strategies, which was why his reputation wasn’t as prominent. In the martial empire, those who were most talked about were the fierce generals who charged into battle. But today, Qianye truly understood the meaning of “defense.”
Song Hu was indeed not a kind person. He had once had the chance to serve as the chief of staff for a main division, so he could easily guess Wei Benian’s intentions from the smallest clues. From his previous words, he seemed to strongly approve of Wei Benian’s ruthless planning.
People in such positions were indeed not easy to deal with.
Suddenly, Qianye felt a headache coming on. If he followed his current path, as Wei Benian promised, after the war, he could hold a city, and in the future, possibly even a region, or an entire county. By then, he would have to deal with people like Wei Benian and Song Hu, whether as friends or enemies. Compared to them, no wonder Song Hu had initially found Gu Liyu insufficiently impressive.
Although Qianye could understand this kind of strategic layout, he felt a bit uneasy about it.
Looking at the empire, perhaps only Zhang Boqian never engaged in such roundabout tactics. His personality was truly unrestrained; he did as he pleased, often disregarding even the imperial family. Regardless of what Zhang Boqian did, he would always win overwhelming praise. Those who dared to criticize him would end up dead.
Qianye didn’t know why he thought of Zhang Boqian, whom he had never met and only heard about through rumors. Perhaps, like many young, passionate individuals in the empire, he subconsciously admired Zhang Boqian’s way of doing things before reality dampened his spirit.
Commander Zhang never hesitated to kill.
As Wei Benian predicted, the dark army was unstoppable, sweeping through all the towns between Black Current City and the border. Tens of thousands of cannon fodder and countless regular soldiers, including werewolves and demonic descendants, formed an army without any weaknesses, fearless of ambushes and traps, capable only of direct confrontation.
Wei Benian had anticipated this and had already retracted his defensive line, gathering all that could be withdrawn to Black Current City. The civilians who agreed to evacuate all entered the city, while those who refused to leave were left behind. When the dark army passed, their fate was sealed.
The entire Seventh Division retreated into Black Current City, with few scouts sent out, and only within the city’s periphery.
Construction was underway day and night in every corner of the city. Large, long-unused machinery belched steam, and a white mist enveloped much of the city from dawn till dusk, gradually forming a fortress.
All daily life revolved around defense, and any military supplies were unconditionally requisitioned. Naturally, there were many in the city who, relying on their background, resisted the requisition, even hoarding resources to make a fortune during the turmoil. At this point, Wei Benian demonstrated his ruthless methods, executing several noble scions, instantly intimidating everyone.
Now, the population of Black Current City had reached over 100,000, with the entire Seventh Division stationed there, along with an additional 20,000 temporary soldiers. Black Current City was like a curled-up hedgehog, waiting for the beast to come.
Wei Benian’s move, tactically sound in defending against a superior force, was not without its risks. According to the imperial military law, defending territory was among the top ten rules. If Wei Benian allowed the dark army to pass through his defensive zone, it could lead to severe criticism, or even immediate dismissal.
However, Wei Benian was calm. The military merit of killing two commanders could offset the penalty for retreating without a fight, which was also his intention in concentrating his troops in Black Mud Town.
Seven days after the victory banquet, the dark army finally arrived at Black Current City.
When tens of thousands of dark soldiers appeared outside the city, all those who had previously clamored to defend every inch of land fell silent. The sheer number wasn’t the problem; what truly made them hesitant was the dense formation above, with thick clouds swirling into a massive vortex, slowly rotating around the dark army.
At the center of the vortex, five faint columns of light could be seen, connected to the vortex’s core. This awe-inspiring sight was caused by the formidable aura of the dark side, indicating that the army was led by five warlord-level powerhouses!
In the center of the formation, five figures of varying heights and appearances, each exuding a powerful aura, slowly ascended, looking at the prepared Black Current City from afar.
“A bit troublesome.”
“What’s troublesome? It’s just a small city.”
“But how many of our soldiers will die?”
“They only have one commander.”
“Don’t forget, Brams and Sodo both died at his hands. You can’t stop him, and neither can I. That despicable human commander will escape the battlefield when the situation turns bad. If we capture this city but let him go, it will be meaningless.”
The four dark commanders quickly exchanged views, all finding the heavily armed Black Current City difficult to handle. A conventional siege would inevitably cost them.
Unable to reach a consensus, they all looked at the smallest figure in the center, who had remained silent.
This count from the Monroe family, with seven centuries of life, overshadowed the others in both lineage and personal power. After a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice, “We have a long road ahead, and this is just the first stop.”
The other four commanders fell silent. Excessive loss of troops here would affect the subsequent campaign. They all knew the true background of this war and were awestruck by the scale of the mobilization. Nine members of the Eternal Night Council alone had been dispatched!
A failure due to their delay would be a responsibility no one could bear.
The count added, “Also, don’t forget that our mission is not to capture cities and lands.”
The other four commanders nodded. This battle was special, and even they didn’t know the true reason for these orders.
Seeing no objections, the vampire count said, “Then it’s settled. We’ll head to the next city.”
The dark army didn’t linger long and received new orders, not to attack but to withdraw. This greatly displeased many of the impatient dark soldiers. The human city was right in front of them, filled with fresh blood and flesh. Why not attack such a small city?
Many races in the Eternal Night faction were naturally impulsive and impatient, but they forgot that the seemingly gentle and cold vampires were equally ruthless, especially the Monroe clan, known for their cruelty. Several noisy soldiers were dragged out and executed on the spot.
The count’s brutality quelled all dissent, bringing the army back under his control.
When the dark army finally left, many in Black Current City could hardly believe their eyes. They now realized they should show respect to the Seventh Division’s new leader, the refined and noble-born commander.
The dark army left a small force to monitor the city, but most people in Black Current City had returned to “reason,” and no one suggested attacking this force.
From this moment on, the flames of war engulfed the entire Eternal Night continent. The dark army, on an unprecedented scale, divided into dozens of routes, invaded human territories from all directions. In just a few weeks, dozens of divisions of the expeditionary army were defeated, and nearly ten counties were lost. The same number of counties were in critical condition, with their defenses severely weakened, ready to collapse at any moment.
The expeditionary army suffered a severe blow, and at this rate, the empire’s expeditionary forces would be utterly defeated in less than two months, and human forces would be expelled from the Eternal Night continent for the first time in a thousand years.
The empire finally reacted. One month after the war began, the Ninth Legion entered the Eternal Night. A week later, the vanguard of the Seventeenth and Twenty-First Legions arrived. Two months in, elite legions like the Fallen Angels, Red Scorpions, and Blazing Blade dispatched their fighting units to the Eternal Night.
Among the Four Great Clans, the Bai and Zhao families sent large numbers of powerhouses into the Eternal Night, engaging in fierce battles with the dark race’s elites. In the most brutal battle, eleven warlord-level powerhouses died on both sides.
This was a total war, involving the entire empire and the two major factions of the Eternal Night and the Dawn. Everyone was beginning to take action.
Lin Xitang, known for his moderate ways, suddenly ordered his Northern Army to launch a fierce attack on several rebel-held cities in the western border. For the first time, a high-pressure policy was implemented, imposing a curfew and shooting anyone who defied it without warning.
These ruthless measures yielded significant results. Within days, tens of thousands of rebels were captured or killed, almost more than in the past year. Some innocent civilians were inevitably caught in the crossfire, and imperial officials criticized Lin Xitang for callously taking lives. However, the critic soon found himself imprisoned for corruption and embezzlement committed five years ago.
With the situation in the western border stabilized, Zhao Weihuang’s Wolf Smoke Legion, which guarded the same area, moved out, with nearly half of its main force heading to the Eternal Night continent.
Meanwhile, the other great general, Zhang Boqian, always disliked such roundabout methods. Leading a small elite unit, he disappeared, and news of his daring attack on the vampiric stronghold, the Dusk Continent, came days later.
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