Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1696 - 537: Luo Yuan Pleads Guilty, Three Armies Encircle, Xu Ning’s Little Scheme

"Luo Yuan’s incompetence has put our army in a situation of being attacked from both front and rear. Even death cannot atone for such a grave mistake. I hereby request to resign from the position of Central Marshal, leaving my fate to the Lord!"

The allied forces from the towns of Wuchuan and Jinshan hadn’t yet left sight before the commanders of the Central and Rear Armies arrived ahead.

Luo Yuan, honest as ever, immediately kneeled before Xia Hong upon reaching the city wall, pleading guilty, his face full of shame and self-blame, not even daring to lift his head.

Naturally, Xia Hong’s expression was far from pleasant.

Fifty thousand troops had slipped away right under his nose, and Luo Yuan was completely unaware. For a chief commander, this was an almost fatal mistake.

The crucial point was that he had just used the Fog Miasma Gu Technique to confuse the Wuchuan Army and cleverly captured East Valley City, winning a beautiful battle; yet within less than a few hours, he fell victim to Cai Qiu’s deceitful secret technique.

Great Xia had plenty of countermeasures for deceit techniques, like small torches, Suppression Talismans, and Yellow Candles; all four armies were equipped with these supplies. That they still fell for it only showed that the entire Central Army, including Luo Yuan, was completely carried away by the earlier victory, entirely unguarded.

In fact, if Xia Hong hadn’t responded properly and timely captured Aikou, it’s highly likely that Yuwen Dao’s 40,000 Central Army troops would have been defeated, which would have undoubtedly added more uncertainty to the Southern Slope situation.

Of course, the situation had now completely reversed, and Great Xia still held the upper hand.

Winning is winning, but a mistake is a mistake!

Just as Xia Hong was about to speak to the kneeling Luo Yuan, a figure suddenly flew out from within the city and spoke first.

"Lord, the urgent task at hand is to pursue the allied forces of the two towns. Lord Luo’s guilt can be dealt with after the battle; it’s not too late!"

The newcomer was none other than Xu Ning, who had just arrived ahead of the Wuchuan Army to report at Aikou.

Xu Ning was initially at East Valley. When the Wuchuan Army disappeared, he first thought Qin Feng was taking troops north to reinforce Wuchuan City, so he rushed to Wuchuan City to report to Xia Chuan. After a hint from Xia Chuan, he realized Qin Feng was leading troops east to Aikou, hence he detoured to Aikou.

In this back-and-forth, covering three places, a lot of time was spent, so by the time he arrived at Aikou, the Wuchuan Army was already closing in. Thus, the intelligence he brought barely played any role, as Xia Hong had already made his arrangements.

"Then we’ll speak of this later!"

Changing commanders on the battlefield was certainly not an option, so Xia Hong readily took the ladder Xu Ning offered him.

Xu Ning sort of saved him from embarrassment, and Luo Yuan immediately cast a grateful glance at him, alleviating much of his inner anxiety.

This battle at Aikou has almost sealed the fate of the towns Wuchuan and Jinshan’s obliteration, and Great Xia’s unification of the Southern Slope is now assured. Since the Lord doesn’t hold him accountable at this moment, even if he’s pursued after Great Xia’s dominance, it won’t be too severe.

"The allied forces of the two towns have fled north. If I am correct, they should exit Qing Valley, then proceed west along the south slope of Moao Mountain, bypassing Hanzhao, entering Yinhe Valley, occupying Jinyang City, and then fortifying Jinyang, waiting for Cai Qiu’s reinforcements."

Upon hearing Xia Hong’s words, the commanders’ eyes flickered, nodding slightly.

Cai Qiu’s actions weren’t hard to guess; apart from this route, the allied forces of the two towns had no other options.

"Lord, I say, we need not concern ourselves with these more than 100,000 troops. Wuchuan and Jinshan are isolated cities now, with only tens of thousands of Earth-digging Realm within. Let’s concentrate our forces to capture them, then arrest the families of the soldiers in the two towns and bring them directly to Jinyang City. Would these 100,000 troops still dare not surrender?"

As soon as Xu Ning finished speaking, quite a few present had a subtle shift in their expressions.

With Xia Hong’s Beast Emperor-level puppet, capturing the two towns was not difficult for the Xia Army. Following Xu Ning’s suggestion, the allied forces of the two towns could indeed destroy themselves without a fight, reducing Xia Army casualties and preparing for future battles with feudal towns.

"Chen Cang and Cai Qiu are shameless, but Great Xia still has dignity. Forcing others to surrender by threatening women and children is an act this Lord disdains!"

Having lived two lifetimes, Xia Hong was certainly not this pedantic.

In reality, Xu Ning’s suggestion sounded impressive, but its feasibility was low.

Seizing the towns, then coercing the allied troops with their families entailed two major difficulties:

First, attacking the town. Although the allied forces of the two towns have retreated, Cai Qiu would surely continue to monitor the Xia Army’s movements. If they attacked the towns, who’s to say the allied forces wouldn’t return?

All fourteen Beast Emperor-level puppets have been exposed, and Cai Qiu may have countermeasures the next time. If they fail to quickly capture the town, dragging the Xia Army into a prolonged battle, more uncertainties would arise;

Secondly, coercing soldiers with their families—aside from whether or not this would work—if it does succeed, will the people of Jinshan and Wuchuan willingly integrate into Great Xia and become Xia people?

Some actions might not show their impact immediately, but over time, they have endless repercussions. If they can defeat the allied forces of the two towns openly and with integrity, there is no need for underhanded tactics. Regardless of success, it would just bring trouble in the end.

"Moreover, from this moment, our enemies are no longer just the towns of Jinshan and Wuchuan..."

Xia Hong’s low murmur left the present generals stunned momentarily before they quickly realized.

"Dawn is coming soon. According to intelligence, Cai Qiu’s army can pass through the Bone-Eroding Path at the latest by the night of the third. We must intercept and annihilate the allied forces of the two towns before they march south!"