"This is my plan..."
Within the meeting hall, Ruan Tianque started to describe his battle plan.
Annan only had a week left. To break out of the three way attack by Great Xia, they needed to go head to head and strike out.
Apart from using the 900 thousand combat occupation players, they also had to make use of the imperial city guards.
Ruan Tianque analyzed, "With the Great Xia Army's fighting strength, we need at least three times their number to beat them."
After the discussions, the plan was as such.
On the south, 200 thousand guards along with 200 thousand players would face off against the 2nd legions of the Guards Legion Corps and the City Protection Legion.
On the east, the same number would face off against the 1st and 3rd legions of the Guards Legion Corps. The 160 thousand troops of Haiphong City would mainly be used to defend against the ocean attacks of Great Xia.
On the north, 200 thousand guards and 400 thousand combat occupation players would face off against the 1st, 3rd, and 5th legions of the City Protection Legion Corps.
With such an arrangement, Hanoi only had 200 thousand Guards and 100 thousand players left.
Ruan Tianque was really confident, "As long as the three sides stabilize, the imperial city as our backlines will also be safe. Hence, we do not need to house too many troops there."
The matter was settled just like that.
4th month, 22nd day, the retaliation of Annan began.
600 thousand imperial city guards and 800 thousand combat occupation players walked out of Hanoi, splitting into three paths to engage the three armies of Great Xia to try to wipe them out.
Before leaving, the Annan players held a huge proclamation ceremony outside of the city.
"If we do not destroy them, we will not return."
The proclamation sounds were like that of a tsunami, drowning out everything around them and causing the earth to tremble.
This was the determination of a nation.
When they learned that Annan had struck out, Great Xia immediately changed their strategy. The north and south troops stopped attacking cities and camped on the spot, waiting for the arrival of the Annan troops.
To Great Xia, this was going to be a tough battle. Neither Huo Qubing or Shi Wanshui wanted to waste troops before the big battle.
At the same time, the three armies of Great Xia started to strengthen the defenses of their camp and gather up grain for the upcoming battle.
When the Annan troops got the news, they naturally read it differently.
"Great Xia is afraid!"
All of a sudden, the troops were excited, the morale soared, and all the darkness from before was swept away. The army unknowingly quickened their pace, thirsting to do battle with the enemy.
The first to engage was the north side.
25th day, afternoon, the 600 thousand troops of Annan arrived in Tuyen Quang. 20 miles north of it was the base of Great Xia's north troops - Pingxiang City.
Both sides each occupied one city and was locked in a standstill.
The Annan side naturally did not think of it that way. After resting for a night, they launched their attack on Pingxiang City.
Unfortunately, they had underestimated the elites of the Great Xia Army.
Shi Wanshui followed the orders from the command center, defending instead of attacking. No matter what the Annan side did, they would not move.
Since Annan wanted to fight, let them siege!
The price of sieging was huge. Naturally, the Annan players were not fools, so they would not fall for it.
Just like that, the first day of the battles ended.
27th day, the Annan army could not take it anymore because news spread that another batch of merchant ships left Beihai Port and was travelling toward Annan.
Without a doubt, this should be the second batch of troops from Great Xia. Annan did not have much time left.
Helplessly, they could only go on the offensive.
Having the determination that this was their last chance, the 600 thousand troops surrounded Pingxiang City, launching a ferocious assault. All four sides of the city walls were Annan soldiers.
Annan's attacks were like a crazy storm, powerful and relentless. One wave came after another, from morning till night, they did not stop.
When an army went crazy, it was a terrifying sight.
Even the elite City Protection Legion Corps suffered heavy casualties under such attacks. Luckily, there were 200 thousand of them, so they were not so easily broken.
Both sides had no way out, so this battle was a really intense and cruel one.
Pingxiang City was like a meat grinder, dragging in both sides and crushing them into pieces. Blood flowed into a river.
Within a day, the yellow soil was dyed red.
"Are these people crazy?"
Even the courageous Shi Wanshui had never witnessed such a scene before. The City Protection Legion's opponents were unusual, and all of them tossed death aside, only caring about killing the enemy.
Some Annan soldiers charged up the city wall. When they saw that they were going to get stabbed, they hugged onto a City Protection Legion Corps soldier and jumped off the wall, dying together.
The eyes of the players were all blood red, charging through the enemy formation fearlessly. Some even jumped into a group of people to try to kill even more enemies.
They did not think about returning, only about killing the enemy in front of them.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The killing intent from the 600 thousand troops gathered up and formed a huge blood red cloud that covered the sky.
As this battle went on, the cloud got bigger thicker and deeper.
Oppressive red, evil red.
The Annan army got more and more crazy. Their eyes flushed red as they entered a berserk state.
This battle got more and more intense; no one could stop it.
Such an enemy was simply too terrifying. Shi Wanshui had no choice but to personally lead the troops to raise the morale.
After one day, 20 thousand City Protection Legion Corps troops died.
In such a short time, it was a rare matter for the Great Xia Army to suffer such heavy casualties.
The price that the Annan side had paid was close to 80 thousand of them dying. The bodies stacked high under the city wall, blocking up the city protection river.
After the system update, bodies of NPCs would not despawn.
These bodies stacked up under the city wall, becoming of great help for the sieging side. They would step on the bodies of their allies and launch an even fiercer assault.
Be it the Annan Guards or the combat occupation players, they had all transformed into devils and had lost their humanity.
When night fell, the Annan army finally woke up and returned to their camp like a flood.
Retreating was only because of the timing, and the Annan soldiers shouted, "We will continue tomorrow. We will not stop until we win!"