Chapter 51: A Flawless Strike!

Lin Mu led the central detachment of soldiers without beating grums or sounding horns, nor shouting battle cries before the front lines. Instead, they stealthily concealed their figures, slowly lowering their bodies as they approached the stronghold's main gate. Although their objective was to draw enemy firepower, it did not mean they needed to make a grand display. Lin Mu prepared to launch a frontal assault on the stronghold's gate and eliminate the archers stationed on the watchtowers.

Due to the garrison soldiers being lax and derelict in their duties, Lin Mu encountered no effective resistance. Charging straight in, Lin Mu struck down an enemy soldier with a quick tap of his spear shaft.

The other soldiers followed suit, and the more than thirty guards at the main gate fell before they even had a chance to sound the alarm.

The sleepy garrison soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by nearly a thousand men...

However, the action on the watchtowers was a step slower. Some archers had already begun attacking Lin Mu and his men, firing warning arrows that alerted a portion of the soldiers inside the stronghold.

"Foreign enemies are attacking the stronghold! Quick, put on your armor and grab your weapons! Hurry, hurry, you sluggish fools, do you want to die? Hurry up..."

"Little Zheng, hurry up! Enemies are attacking, get dressed! Damn it, what terrible luck. I just took off my armor for a good night's sleep, and the enemies are already at the door. Utterly wretched luck!"

"Who on earth is attacking us out here in the deep mountains and wild forests? Lads, quickly throw on your clothes and armor, move with a bit of pep! Just like our past military drills, fast, fast!"

"Maintain strict discipline! Where has our organizational discipline gone? Even if the enemy is right in front of you, you must strictly abide by military regulations, understand?!~~"

……

The soldiers, who had been standing guard day and night, were utterly exhausted. After a half-sleep, once their vigilance dropped, it was difficult for them to recover their peak state in a short amount of time. Moreover, with very little rest time, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers plummeted—a physiological inertia when physical fatigue is not met with adequate rest.

Drowsy and bleary-eyed, some soldiers even continued to yawn, rubbing their eyes as they clutched crooked and haphazard weapons, their armor tossed on in utter disarray.

Seeing the situation of Lin Mu's central column, the soldiers of the other two flanking columns also sprang into action.

Compared to Lin Mu, Feng Zhong and Xiaohu were even more ferocious. With a single lift of the back of his left-hand saber, Feng Zhong would knock someone unconscious, and a gentle sweep of his right hand would dispatch another. Their speed was blinding and overwhelmingly domineering. It gave onlookers the illusion that twenty men would drop within ten steps, leaving no trace behind after a hundred steps!

Just as planned, Lin Mu led the central troops to draw the enemy's aggro and firepower, while Feng Zhong commanded the left flank and Zhang Xiaohu the right. Both flanks were exceptionally fierce, possessing the courage of ten thousand men, and they quickly captured Clear Breeze Stronghold.

Fan Shun, a mid-tier martial general, lasted less than five rounds in Feng Zhong's hands before meeting his end.

Not a single soldier on their side was lost, while a few loyalist soldiers on the opposing side who fought to the death were inevitably slain.

Out of 5,000 people, 4,989 were captured and 11 were eliminated—a thoroughly successful operation.

Just as Lin Mu captured Fan Shun, a system prompt rang out:

"Ding!"

"——System Prompt: Congratulations to player Lin Mu for leading your troops to easily secure victory in the second battle. You are specially rewarded with +10 Prestige, +5 Leadership, and +1 Morale."

"——System Prompt: Congratulations to player Lin Mu for reclaiming control of Clear Breeze Stronghold. To gain the stronghold as a vassal, you must secure the approval of either the stronghold leader or 80% of the residents."

"Ding!"

"——System Prompt: Player Lin Mu, your clash with the mysterious faction will trigger some unpredictable changes. Please be aware!"

Hearing the system prompts, Lin Mu paid them little mind. In his past life, he had heard the victory prompts for battles countless times, alongside the prompts for failed battles... As for that "please be aware," well, heh...

This operation had been exceptionally successful. Military discipline was strict, actions were swift and orderly, and the combat power unleashed was impressive. It seemed Feng Zhong had trained them remarkably well during this period.

Instructing the soldiers to settle the prisoners properly, Lin Mu did not interrogate them just yet. Instead, he had his men locate the stronghold leader, Gao Hai.

In the stronghold's council hall, Lin Mu met Gao Hai, who appeared utterly dejected and listless.

When the soldiers found him, he was still locked inside the stronghold's prison. Although the Azure Dragon troops had not heavily abused him, they had certainly not treated him well either.

"Long time no see, Stronghold Leader Gao! I have come late, please forgive me!" Lin Mu offered his apologies first. It was true that after making promises to Gao Hai, he had been preoccupied with his own territory matters and had failed to maintain contact with Clear Breeze Stronghold. Although there had been some commercial trade, as his territory's development accelerated, the trade trips here had gradually ceased.

Meeting again, he never expected that Clear Breeze Stronghold would have already fallen, with these Azure Dragon soldiers running amok within the walls and wreaking havoc upon the innocent!

"No, no, Village Chief Lin is not late. These scoundrels from Azure Dragon Stronghold only arrived a few days ago. They merely plundered some treasures and victimized some pitiful souls! Alas..." Gao Hai sighed. He had thought that from then on, he would remain a captive of Azure Dragon Stronghold, reduced to their vassal, a slave without freedom, and a mere tool in their hands. He never expected that Lord Lin Mu, who had once made a promise, would actually lead troops to their rescue. Moreover, looking at Lin Mu's soldiers—their equipment was fine and sturdy, their spirits were high, their eyes gleamed with sharp focus, and their strength was unfathomable, far superior to the men he used to train—Gao Hai felt a deep sense of bitterness in his heart.

"Haha, Stronghold Leader Gao, previously I accepted the quest from you to help your stronghold, and I have been diligently building up my territory day by day, enduring hardship while training my soldiers, hoping to assist Clear Breeze Stronghold as soon as possible! Now that the military might of our territory has initially taken shape, I hurried over without stopping. Fortunately, no catastrophe occurred, and the situation remains salvageable," Lin Mu said, cupping his fists.

"Furthermore, we have trained 3,000 elite soldiers, and we are preparing to march on Azure Dragon Stronghold. We shall bring that mere little Azure Dragon Stronghold under the fold of our territory so they can no longer terrorize the world," Lin Mu mentioned. In truth, he also meant to subtly test and impress Gao Hai: Look, the soldiers trained by my territory in just a few months—mere 3,000 elites—are enough to conquer Azure Dragon Stronghold and its over 100,000 people. Are you afraid or not?

"I never imagined Village Chief Lin would already possess such elites. It seems Village Chief Lin's territory is developing by leaps and bounds! I had wracked my brains for solutions, and purely by chance recalled our ancestors speaking of the miraculous nature of outlanders, so I casually asked Village Chief Lin for help. I never thought the hope of our Clear Breeze Stronghold would truly lie in you. How wondrous are the ways of the world!" Gao Hai lamented with emotion.

When Lin Mu had first arrived at the stronghold previously, Gao Hai had somewhat underestimated him. Although he had not been discourteously spoken nor harbored any intentions of attacking Lin Mu's territory, he had later sent his men to scout True Dragon Village. Unfortunately, at the time, they had only seen a tiny village of barely a thousand people with no city walls to speak of, having merely reclaimed tens of thousands of mu of land for crops, with only a handful of patrolling soldiers. Its strength was truly negligible, causing Gao Hai to look down even further upon Lin Mu and his territory. As a result, when his own stronghold was attacked, he had not even thought to seek help at Lin Mu's territory.

Who would have thought that casually issuing a quest to him would actually succeed? Could outlanders truly be as miraculous as the ancestors described? Previously, he had only heard tales without witnessing it with his own eyes, but now he was truly convinced. Rumors do not arise without cause, and waves do not stir without wind. It was simply his own vision that had been too narrow!

"Alas, the current plight of Clear Breeze Stronghold is entirely of my own making. Asking Azure Dragon Stronghold for help to clear out the beast horde earlier was already the worst of worst strategies. Furthermore, I lacked the resolve to cultivate my own army and lacked the strength to protect the territory, leaving us at the mercy of others. I have failed the people of the entire stronghold!" Gao Hai wiped away a tear, heartbroken and consumed by regret.

"Stronghold Leader Gao only resorted to that desperate measure because he had no other choice. Besides, Clear Breeze Stronghold has a rather unique situation; being unable to train too many soldiers is entirely excusable. Everything Stronghold Leader Gao has done, pouring his heart and soul into the stronghold residents, was simply to provide them with a peaceful environment. It is merely that the Azure Dragon Stronghold possesses wild ambitions, unwilling to be content with providing protection through trade, and instead plotting to swallow you whole," Lin Mu consoled him.

Clear Breeze Stronghold's development strategy had not been wrong. The terrain here was unfavorable, the training grounds for soldiers were subpar, and the land was better suited for growing crops, flowers, and fruits. To call it a logistics base would be far more accurate. Moreover, the people here lived peaceful, uncontentious lives, wishing only to live and work in peace; almost all of them had changed their professions to production classes, leaving very few combat soldiers. If they were wiped out by Azure Dragon Stronghold, it would have been a tragedy.

When Lin Mu had broken into Clear Breeze Stronghold, he inspected the population and found that the residents were mostly engaged in civilian livelihood professions rather than combat roles. Compared to these well-trained Azure Dragon soldiers, the gap was vast; and compared to his own three thousand elite troops, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Lin Mu had once suspected that this was a population base bestowed by the system for establishing a divine-tier village, but he had not expected so many twists and turns along the way. In his past life, this place must have been conquered by Azure Dragon Stronghold and turned into their logistical base. Lin Mu was not entirely clear on this because he had not developed in this region during the early stages.

He had never participated in the regional plotlines either, leaving him with very little reference information.

Regardless, Clear Breeze Stronghold had now been subdued. Next up—Azure Dragon Stronghold, here I come!

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