Published: February 12, 2025
At the City Lord's Mansion, or rather the royal palace, there was no longer any sound of laughter and joy. The relaxed atmosphere had vanished. At this moment, on the rooftop, Ahmed's expression was grim as he had just received a distress signal from the Western City.
Indeed, the attacks from these Easterners had come suddenly, catching him and his subordinates off guard. However, this was not a reason for the city gates to be in imminent danger within such a short time!
He had invested a considerable amount of manpower and resources into the city defenses, and he wished that every brick was stained with the blood of evolvers and magic crystals. Ahmed had never thought that this city could be breached, even under sudden assault.
But he also knew that the commander of the Western City would not joke about such matters.
The city defense forces in the Western City numbered over twenty thousand, with several thousand in reserve. Combined with the ten thousand royal guards that had rushed over earlier, almost forty thousand people couldn’t hold out for even an hour before being on the brink of collapse?
“Pfft!” The ten thousand men defender suddenly spewed blood and collapsed to the side. He had exerted himself to the limit in defense, but his mental and physical strength were ultimately finite. Even after consuming recovery potions, he couldn’t withstand the dense bombardment and attacks from outside.
Ahmed's eyes flashed with anger, and he gestured for someone to take him down to recover.
Without this barrier-level character in city defense, the Western City’s defense would undoubtedly become much more difficult.
“Order the Fourth and Fifth Teams of the Second Royal Guard to provide support. Also, draw three thousand men each from the other three directions of the city defense forces, which have been silent, to reinforce there.”
Su Haile, who was beside him, immediately spoke up, “Your Majesty... isn’t this inappropriate? Even if the Western City is in danger, sending the royal guards for support is sufficient. Why draw manpower from the other directions? If a battle breaks out there as well, it could become problematic; these Easterners are cunning.”
Feigning an attack was a tactic often seen in city assault and defense battles. Su Haile was also worried that even though the Western City was currently engaged in intense fighting, what if it was a ruse? What if the true targets were the gates in the other directions? What would they do then?
The Holy City could not afford any losses.
Moreover, the news coming from the Western City was urgent, but before the ten thousand men defender had coughed up blood, he had described the situation there. Based on Su Haile's analysis, although the situation was dire, they could still hold out for over half an hour.
Perhaps they could send a portion of reinforcements and reassess the situation later.
Another point of concern for Su Haile was that while the enemy had invested so much strength in the Western City, if it was suddenly on the verge of collapse, why didn’t they concentrate all their forces there? Perhaps they could have breached the city gates by now!
The only answer he could come up with for this was a feigned attack; the Western City was merely a diversion, or at least one of several key points!
“Awaken the slave army and have them move towards the Western City, standing by behind the city gates.”
Ignoring his subordinate's suggestion, Ahmed continued issuing orders, and those below were already stunned by the content.
Many attempted to dissuade him but were stopped by Ahmed.
“Order everyone in the city to light torches and ignite illumination equipment. I want the Holy City to be brighter than daytime!”
No one dared to speak. They understood that at this moment, the Emperor had made up his mind.
Watching his subordinates go out to relay orders, Ahmed’s lips curled into a cold smile.
The Western City is a key attack direction? That's fine, it’s acceptable. The Western City is the target of a feigned attack? That’s acceptable too.