Chapter 677: A General?

Lei Su’s appearance helped to reverse the deteriorating situation somewhat, and the players from Niuren Tribe pushed the skeletons back again.

Nie Yan glanced at the current statistics. During this time, Niuren Tribe had already lost more than sixty players. If the casualties exceeded a hundred, he would definitely abandon the city and retreat. It wouldn’t matter much if Sura Fortress fell, as his main goal was to deplete Qin Han’s skeleton army. Once the walls were lost, there would be no need to engage the skeleton army in close combat anymore.

Nie Yan’s basic strategy was not to stubbornly defend any single city or fortress. Instead, he would use each fortress’s walls to wear down Qin Han’s skeleton army. Every time a city was abandoned, it would cost Qin Han’s skeleton army dearly. Once their forces were sufficiently weakened, he would deliver a final, decisive blow.

As the Great Prophet, Nie Yan could mobilize the city’s defending forces. However, relying solely on the 7,000 to 8,000 NPC troops stationed in Carol City to eliminate Qin Han’s skeleton army was quite difficult. The enemy’s skeleton forces were simply too numerous—nearly eight million strong. Therefore, the temporary strategy was to wage a war of attrition.

Because Nie Yan had mobilized various guilds to stay away from Qin Han’s skeleton army, preventing them from replenishing their forces, the skeleton army could only expand by destroying nearby NPC villages and towns along the way, causing their development to stall. This made Qin Han increasingly irate, and he became even more determined to capture Sura Fortress. As a result, he ordered an even more intense assault from his skeleton army.

After another half day, Niuren Tribe’s defenders had eliminated over 100,000 skeletons but could no longer hold Sura Fortress and began retreating step by step. They received Nie Yan’s instructions: under no circumstances should they engage the skeletons directly without absolute confidence, and they should avoid casualties as much as possible.

Even when the skeletons broke through, Niuren Tribe players did not confront or engage them in melee combat.

“Boss, we can’t hold much longer; the walls are swarming with skeletons!” some players anxiously shouted in the team chat.

“Everyone, retreat through the portal. Warriors, cover the rear, but don’t throw your lives away. Keep order—first squad withdraws first, second squad follows!” Nie Yan commanded. As soon as he finished speaking, the players immediately withdrew in an orderly fashion according to their assigned teams.

“Boss, what about the Ironclad Catapults?”

“Ironclad Catapults: fire for three more minutes, then destroy them all. Not a single one should be left for them!” Nie Yan said grimly. These were nearly sixty to seventy Ironclad Catapults, and although it pained him deeply, he had no choice. If they weren’t destroyed, they would fall into Qin Han’s hands. However, Niuren Tribe’s total number of Ironclad Catapults already exceeded five hundred, so losing a few was manageable.

Squad after squad entered the portal in Sura Fortress, and one by one, they vanished in flashes of white light.

The skeletons poured into Sura Fortress, crowding into the narrow streets. Their movement speed couldn’t match the players’ running speed.

As the majority of players evacuated through the portal, a series of explosions erupted. The Ironclad Catapults lined up in the center of Sura Fortress were blown to pieces by the violent blasts.

Nie Yan led Niuren Tribe’s players in retreating. Once everyone had left, he immediately destroyed the portal.

Qin Han finally stepped onto the walls of Sura Fortress and looked inside. The fortress was completely empty—there wasn’t a single Niuren Tribe player in sight!

Niuren Tribe had already left, leaving behind nothing but an empty city!

“Damn you, Kuangzei Nieyan! We’re not done yet!”

Qin Han raged furiously. Nie Yan had been too cunning. He had lost nearly half a million skeletons just to capture an empty fortress and destroy sixty to seventy Ironclad Catapults. Niuren Tribe’s losses hadn’t even reached a hundred. Although they had lost those catapults, for a guild as wealthy as Niuren Tribe, such a loss was acceptable.

He gradually realized Nie Yan’s plan. If capturing each fortress cost him over half a million skeletons, his army would soon be completely depleted.

Qin Han was ruthless, but Nie Yan was even more ruthless!

In the two fortresses near Sura Fortress, Nie Yan was setting up a tight defense. These two fortresses didn’t have as advantageous a geographical position as Sura Fortress, so Nie Yan had placed relatively fewer defenses there. Holding off twenty thousand skeletons in each would already be a great success.

On the walls of Fesol Fortress, Nie Yan and his group were gazing into the distance.

“Qin Han must be furious by now. They worked so hard to capture Sura Fortress, only to find it empty,” Lei Su chuckled.

Nie Yan smirked coldly. He could already imagine Qin Han’s twisted face, and a chill ran through his heart. Defeating you isn’t hard at all. Don’t think you’re invincible just because you have an army of skeletons. No matter how many skeletons you have, I’ll wipe them all out!

Nie Yan understood that after capturing Sura Fortress, Qin Han would certainly head straight for Krips Fortress. Krips Fortress was Niuren Tribe’s main city and absolutely could not be lost. There were five fortresses before Krips Fortress, and Nie Yan had to fight brilliantly in the battles for each of them. The battlefield outside Krips Fortress would be where the final decisive battle would take place.

Nie Yan began mobilizing all available forces to prepare for the final battle at Krips Fortress. This included Niuren Tribe’s main forces, elite players from various guilds, Carol City’s NPC troops—anyone who could be used was summoned.

After capturing Sura Fortress, Qin Han’s skeleton army halted its advance. It was likely regrouping and adjusting tactics.

Qin Han realized that continuing this way wouldn’t work—he would eventually be forced into a passive position, so he decided to hold his forces in place.

Receiving news from the frontlines, Guo Huai messaged Nie Yan: “Nie Yan, Qin Han’s skeleton army has stopped advancing. What should we do?”

“Even better if they don’t move. Hurry up and gather materials to build Ironclad Catapults!” Nie Yan replied. In the previous battle, he had discovered that the Ironclad Catapults were incredibly effective—truly a superweapon with unmatched destructive power.

“Got it.” Guo Huai nodded.

“How is our guild’s production capacity for Ironclad Catapults?”

“If we work at full capacity and have enough materials, we can produce about twenty a day. However, materials are a bit tight—we can probably sustain this for only three days.” Guo Huai explained.

War was all about productivity, and Niuren Tribe’s productivity was truly remarkable. Other guilds could barely produce two or three Ironclad Catapults per day, while Niuren Tribe could build twenty!

“Have Holy Roman Empire, Garam Temple, and Light Holy Flame help gather materials and focus on production!” Nie Yan ordered. At a time like this, all productive capacity must be unleashed!

“Understood, I’ll get right on it!”

Even after losing sixty to seventy Ironclad Catapults, Niuren Tribe still had exactly five hundred left—three hundred and fifty of them being Ironclad Catapults, the rest Ballistic Catapults, accumulated over time. With a daily production rate of twenty, there was nothing to fear. Even if some were lost, they could be quickly replenished.

After arranging everything, it was time to log off. Nie Yan and Xie Yao exited the game.

Nie Yan called Lei Su, who quickly replied.

“Second Conference Hall of the First Military Academy. Hurry over—someone wants to see you,” Lei Su said on the phone.

Nie Yan looked at Xie Yao beside him. Regarding matters related to the Heaven King Organization, he decided not to tell Xie Yao for now. Otherwise, she would surely worry. Organizations as mysterious and powerful as Heaven King naturally inspired fear in ordinary people—they could easily control one’s fate.

Looking at Xie Yao’s innocent smile, Nie Yan preferred that she knew less. He wanted to protect her smile forever.

Now standing on the brink of joining the Heaven King Organization, Nie Yan clenched his fist. No matter what, he had to join the Heaven King Organization. Only then would he have enough power to confront Qin Han’s Mone Corporation and Cao Xu’s Century Corporation.

The Mone and Century Corporations were like swords hanging over his neck. A single misstep could lead to his destruction.

Therefore, Nie Yan pursued greater power.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao had breakfast together and went to the First Military Academy. After parting ways, Nie Yan headed directly to the Second Conference Hall as instructed by Lei Su.

In the minds of the First Military Academy’s faculty and students, the Second Conference Hall was a very special place. It had been funded and built by the Heaven King Organization, and they occasionally held gatherings there. Some small conference halls were strictly off-limits to ordinary students.

Nie Yan entered the Second Conference Hall from its entrance when a student-like figure immediately approached him.

“You must be Nie Yan. I’m Luolin, an outer member of the Heaven King Organization. Please follow me,” the student named Luolin said politely.

“Alright.” Nie Yan nodded and followed Luolin inside.

From Luolin’s steady pace, Nie Yan could sense that his physical condition was excellent. Yet, someone this capable was merely an outer member of the Heaven King Organization.

Nie Yan had always had a question: why had the Heaven King Organization chosen him?

Compared to him, there were many students at the First Military Academy with better backgrounds. If it was because of the Sky Corporation, the company hadn’t grown enough to attract the Heaven King Organization’s attention. Could it be because of him personally? But what exactly about him had earned such favor from the Heaven King Organization?

With these questions in mind, Nie Yan continued walking. Passing through a long corridor, the two stopped in front of a tightly closed door.

“The generals are waiting for you inside. Go in quickly.” Luolin looked at Nie Yan.

Generals? Nie Yan frowned slightly. It was probably a code name for someone in the Heaven King Organization. He naturally didn’t associate it with the military. The Heaven King Organization’s members had always been a mystery. The organization had only revealed a small portion of itself to the outside world, yet its immense power was already enough to instill fear in many large corporations and powerful factions.