A cold wind blew through the canyon. At the end of the blood-red canyon, a group of people appeared. There were knights in full armor, mages with staffs, and archers with keen senses. The archers had long ears and a pair of bright eyes carefully observed everything around them. Fans of the book also liked to read: "What's more, there's no need to worry about me."
Behind the army, countless soldiers were pushing black war chariots forward. Banners fluttered in the wind, and every soldier had a giant elephant embossed on their shoulders. It was the emblem of Giant Elephant City's king.
… …
We fell silent as we stared at the image on the interface.
Swhoosh!
Hot and Sour Noodles waved his hand and canceled the image sharing. "This is a shared image sent by the assassin I arranged there. Although we've defeated Dark Cloud and Flowing Cloud's allied forces, Giant Elephant City still has 40 million players who haven't made a move yet. Now that their Russian allies have destroyed Giant Elephant City's teleportation formation, they have no choice but to pass through the Lost Forest. It'll take them less than 5 hours to reach us, and that means they can continue to suppress us. If that happens, we'll be surrounded by enemies from both sides."
I stabbed the Purple Ying Sword weakly into the black soil next to me and asked, "What do you want then?"
Hot and Sour Noodles gritted his teeth and looked at me helplessly. He said, "Someone needs to go to the Life and Death Duel Valley. The valley entrance is less than 200 yards wide, so as long as we send an absolutely powerful force over there, we'll be able to hold the valley entrance and hold off Elephant City for 15 hours. That way, we'll have a chance at victory for all of us."
"One man holds the pass against ten thousand enemies?"
I exclaimed in astonishment, "The terrain around the Life and Death Valley isn't very high. If our archers and mages climb up to the top of the mountain and form a fan-shaped attack, it'll be a tough fight."
Hot and Sour Noodles nodded. "There's always a price to pay for victory."
I bent down and unsheathed the Purple Ying Sword. Then, I said, "Eve, can you help me gather my troops? Give me 5000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen, 2500 Cyan Tiger Cavalrymen, and 20000 archers, mages, and bards. This isn't something that just anyone can do, so I'm the only one who can do it …"
"No!" He Yi shook her head resolutely.
Li Chengfeng also walked up to him and said earnestly, "Lu Chen, you are the frontline commander. Even Zhang Chun doesn't have as much of a grasp of the war as you do, so the frontline cannot do without you. As for the mission to stop Elephant City in Life and Death Duel, just leave it to me!"
I said decisively, "No, this time it must be me!"
Li Chengfeng raised his eyebrows. "F * ck, you don't trust your brother?
If you, Lu Chen, can do it, why can't I, Li Chengfeng, do it too?
The Life and Death Duel is dangerous, and so is Purple Grape City. What's the point of being so calculative? "
Feeling a bit helpless, I gritted my teeth and said, "Fine …"
Li Chengfeng smiled and said, "Yeah, I don't need anything else. Just give me 5000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen and two Knight General beauties from the guild, Heaven's Rain and Diamond Dust. That way, I'll have 2000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen. Defending a Death Duel for a couple of hours is a piece of cake …"
Xu Yang raised his sword and said, "Li, I'll give you the most elite troops I have. Everyone else, read it as normal!"
"Haha, thank you, Brother Xu Yang!"
… …
It wasn't long before Li Chengfeng and his 5000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen and 50k elite players departed for Purple Grape City. Their destination was Death Row Valley. We needed to delay Elephant City's advance, or we would have to face an ocean of enemies and never be able to conquer Purple Grape City.
As for international allies, we couldn't count on them at all. Coldsword City was the number one city in Russia, and they had always had a good relationship with Sky City. However, it was impossible to count on them to help us. Unless we annihilated all of the elites of Giant Elephant City, Coldsword City would help us take over Giant Elephant City and then take it for ourselves. This was the way of forming an alliance based on mutual benefits. It wasn't a brotherly relationship that didn't care about gains or losses.
Other than the 50k Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players under Li Chengfeng's command, Snowy Cathaya had also sent almost 10k cavalry to support us. Blazing Hot Lips had sent 100k cavalry, but they weren't elites. The only true elites were Li Chengfeng and his people. The rest of the guilds had to conserve their strength to attack Purple Grape City. That was our true goal.
"Dragonlight Cavalry, full speed ahead! Let's stop their vanguard first!"
Li Chengfeng gave the order, and the Dragonlight Cavalry galloped into the distance.
… …
After the battle at Wildfire Plains, we still had over 12 million players left. In total, there were more than 400 guilds participating in the battle. Our main forces were still Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Purple Lily, Snowy Cathaya, Blazing Hot Lips, The Monarch Descends, Baidicheng, Peach Garden, Righteousness and so on.
"Alright …"
I stared at the horizon of the plains and said, "This should be enough for us to challenge Purple Grape City. The good news is that not many of the Japanese players are still alive. Everyone, protect our siege equipment and advance. If we maintain our speed, we should reach Enemies at the Gate in an hour or so. Fans of the novel like to read" Enemies at the Gate "!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. The good news was that I still had 5000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen and 4000 + Dragonlight Archers. They were probably my final trump card, and I couldn't afford to lose them like this. I would cry if I didn't.
No one advanced too quickly because Red Maple was sure to have organized a battle formation at Purple Grape City to welcome our charge. We had to be careful with our movements, or we would fall into disarray. If we had to face an attack from Cyan Earth City, we would be in so much pain that we'd wish we were dead.
(Note: Leaf might have mixed up the locations of Cyan Earth City and Elephant City when she posted a map of the battle at Purple Grape City on Weibo. In that case, Cyan Earth City is north of Purple Grape City and north of Flying Flame Desert, while Elephant City is south of Purple Grape City and south of Life and Death Valley. I'm not going to change the locations I mentioned in the article because I really can't figure out where to change them. Please bear with me, brothers and sisters … Also, this book was originally published by LA66, so please support the original and Leaf!)
… …
After we left Wildfire Plains, a purple city appeared on the horizon. It was none other than our ultimate goal in this Nation War, Purple Grape City!
Purple Grape City was located at the easternmost part of the map, and it was rich in resources. There were all kinds of maps around the city, and it was suitable for players of all levels to grind. Moreover, the city's minerals and medicinal ingredients were completely different from China's production system. That was why Black Swamp Chariots and the like were built here.
The bricks of the city were made of an unknown stone, and it was about 70 yards tall. It wasn't as tall as the Great Wall of the Impassable Realm, but it was much taller than the average tier 2 city. Right now, the walls of Purple Grape City were filled with Japanese players, and the upper floors of the city were filled with Black Swamp Chariots and arrow towers. As expected, Red Maple had finished his preparations and was just waiting for us to charge!
Chiang!
Xu Yang unsheathed his sword and said, "Advance slowly and stop 500 yards in front of the city. Prepare to attack!"
"Wait!"
I raised my hand and said, "Purple Grape City is a large city, and its defenses are incredibly tall. Their firing range is increased to at least 1000 yards or so, so let's stop one kilometer away from the city. Don't get too close, or else we'll be attacked if we can't hit the enemy. It's just like the US Navy's Aegis system. That's why they can look down on our navy. It's because they have such a wide range that they can lock onto us for hundreds of kilometers before we can even hit the enemy …"
Xu Yang nodded. "Mn, I'll listen to you. Everyone else, just watch as normal!"
… …
We slowly advanced until we were one kilometer away from Purple Grape City. Then, we set up a formation and let down a hundred or so Blood Fiend War Drums under He Yi's command. This way, our siege party would be able to enjoy the Attack and Defense buffs of the war drums as well.
On top of the city walls, Red Maple was standing on a stone lion statue at the edge of Purple Grape City's walls. He laughed loudly and said, "Chinese, you believe that lions represent authority and royalty. Now, let me tell you something. Even if you've come to Purple Grape City, you will return empty-handed. Moreover, I will take my revenge just like I did to this stone lion statue!"
His blade flashed across the air as he said that!
Chiang!
Sparks flew everywhere, and the stone lion's head was severed from its body. It fell from the city walls and shattered into pieces!
"Fuck, this motherfucker is so arrogant!"
Gui Guzi shouted angrily. He raised his Spear of the Knight God and said, "Boss Broken Halberd, let's attack the city right now and kill these bastards! These motherfuckers are too arrogant!"
I suppressed my anger and shook my head. "Let's wait a little longer. Let's wait until all our supplies have caught up to us!
Also, we need to split up and attack the city from all sides. We need to find the best opportunity to break the city, or we won't be able to take down Purple Grape City in 20 hours. This siege is a battle of wits. "
"Mn."
Next to me, Lin Yixin rode the Moonchaser Tiger up to me and asked, "Little Cheat, how about we attack the south gate with you?"
I nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Let's gather our elites at one point and destroy the south gate first!
Also, get ready to mobilize your forces at a moment's notice. There aren't many Japanese players in the city, so we'll attack wherever their defenses are weak. We'll catch them off guard! "
"Oh, got it …"
Lin Yixin hurriedly called over Snowy Cathaya's players and asked them to join up with Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. There weren't many of us left after the terrible battle at Wildfire Plains, so we needed to work together or we wouldn't be able to do anything.
… …
At this moment, He Yi suddenly shivered. "Ah?!"
"What's wrong, Eve?" I asked in concern.
He Yi's eyes were filled with shock and confusion. "Lu Chen, it's Death Duel Valley. That map …"
"What's wrong with that map …"
"Death Duel …"
"What?!"
Shocked, I opened the database and looked up Death Duel Valley. To my surprise, I discovered that the "Death Duel" mode would be triggered the moment a player entered the map. If a player died in Death Duel mode, their level would drop to zero, 10% of their current level would be taken by their opponent, and all their equipment would be taken!
… …
My mind went blank in an instant, and a wave of grief and anger rose in my chest. I immediately pushed through the crowd and arrived at Righteousness's camp. Grabbing Hot and Sour Noodles by the collar, I pulled him off his mount and pressed the Purple Ying Sword to his neck. Then, I shouted angrily, "Zhang Chun, you knew about the Death Duel, and you sent my brother to his death on purpose, didn't you?!!"