Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife - Chapter 213

Chapter 213: Chapter 170 Speechless Lin Xiuming_3
 

After seeing Lu Chen off, Lin Xiuming returned to the city and, gazing at the heavy snowfall above, couldn’t help but wonder if the North Fre King’s army had really not retreated.

With such heavy snow, did the North Fre King still insist on attacking North City? Was there something wrong with his head?

Just then, Lin Xiuming’s confidant approached him and said, “General, we’ve found something.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming immediately responded, “Take me there to see.”

Lin Xiuming then followed his confidant to the northern part of Tianguang City.

Many buildings in the North City had collapsed, and although the heavy snow had masked the traces of battle, a closer look still revealed the signs of a massive conflict in Tianguang City.

The large craters amidst the ruins immediately reminded Lin Xiuming of the ones he had seen in Wanning Valley.

Looking at the battered North City, Lin Xiuming chuckled to himself and muttered, “A convincing act, they almost had me fooled.”

Just one glance at the battlefield was enough for Lin Xiuming to reconstruct what the scene of the conflict at Tianguang City’s North City must have been like.

Obviously, the North Prince had employed a strategy of luring the enemy in deep, first drawing the North Fre King’s army into Tianguang City, then bombarding them with North City’s mysterious weapons, and finally sending out troops to deal with the North Fre King’s forces.

At this moment, Lin Xiuming took another look at the North City gate and concluded from its intact state that the North Prince had intentionally let the North Fre King into Tianguang City.

The war that occurred in Tianguang City was nearly identical to the battle at Wanning Valley, where the enemy was lured into a narrow space, leaving the Barbarian Tribe’s cavalry with no escape, and then annihilating them.

Lin Xiuming thought back to the footprints they had seen on their way north and guessed whom those footprints belonged to.

In the battle at Wanning Valley last time, the North Prince had captured more than a hundred thousand Barbarian prisoners, and it was likely that a vast number of Barbarian soldiers were captured this time as well.

Right then, Lin Xiuming’s confidant asked, “General, how should we report the demise of the Black Cavalry to the court? We weren’t present during the war and have no idea what actually happened.”

Lin Xiuming indifferently said, “Just report the truth, whatever the North Prince says, we report that.”

This time was different from before; this time they had headed north with only twenty thousand men and hadn’t brought a Military Supervisor, so it was just Lin Xiuming writing the battle report. He could write it however he liked, as long as it wasn’t too outlandish.

Just then, the sound of urgent drumming suddenly filled the air from the city walls, causing Lin Xiuming’s heart to skip a beat.

At that moment, Li Feng came running in a frenzy and exclaimed, “General Lin, something terrible has happened—the Barbarian cavalry has returned!”

Lin Xiuming’s eyebrows furrowed as he quickly ordered his soldiers, “Assemble the troops, prepare for battle!”

Afterward, Lin Xiuming joined Li Feng on the city tower of Tianguang City.

The snowstorm was intensifying, and all they could see was a dark mass in the distance.

It was some time before Lin Xiuming could make out the details of the shadows; judging by the furry clothes they wore, they were indeed Barbarian cavalry.

Lin Xiuming frowned—could it be that the North Prince had spoken the truth?

The Barbarians hadn’t retreated?

How could that be possible?

He had just seen the traces of war in the North City and thought that the North Fre King’s army had been annihilated by the North Prince, yet no sooner had the North Prince left North City than the Barbarian army appeared again.

Narrowing his eyes, Lin Xiuming estimated the size of the Barbarian cavalry outside.

Their numbers weren’t overwhelming—about five thousand—but that was still not enough to capture Tianguang City, especially since he had just led an imperial army of twenty thousand to Tianguang City.

Just as Lin Xiuming was about to command his soldiers to shoot arrows, one panicked soldier came up to him and said, “General, disaster has struck—Tianguang City has run out of arrows and we have only trebuchets left, with no rocks to throw. Each of our soldiers has only a few arrows; they’re completely unprepared to resist the Barbarians laying siege!”

They had been in a hurry when heading north. Moreover, the supplies they’d transported to North City had already been turned over. Apart from some hand-to-hand combat weapons, they hardly had any arrows left.

If they were to defend the city, then they could only rely on Tianguang City’s own weapons for defense, but upon arriving, the soldiers discovered a complete lack of long-range weaponry, which terrified them.

Upon hearing the soldier’s words, Lin Xiuming was stunned—how could Tianguang City have no arrows or rocks?

How was this possible?

How were they supposed to defend without long-range weapons?

Lin Xiuming turned to Li Feng and queried, “General Li, how could Tianguang City be out of arrows? Even after a major battle, a fair number of usable arrows can be salvaged from the battlefield, right?”

With a cough, Li Feng replied, “Well, perhaps the Prince took them when he left. We have to defend not only Tianguang City but also several other cities to the west. The Prince probably assumed that with General Lin’s well-equipped army, which carries its own weaponry, there was no need for Tianguang City’s arsenal, so he took it all, planning to send it to the other cities.”

“You know, General, North City is rather poor and short on resources, especially military supplies, so we have to shift them around as needed.”

Hearing this farfetched explanation, Lin Xiuming was so furious he felt like cursing.

The military supplies they had initially brought from the Capital had long been handed over to North City; where else would they have obtained any weapons or equipment?

This was the first time he’d heard of a relief force arriving at the front line only to take all the weapons away.

It wasn’t just arrows that were gone; even the stones meant for hurling had been removed.

What kind of joke was this?