Duke Sancho saw Xiao Xun as if he were seeing a relative, holding his hand and refusing to let go. "You're finally here. If you hadn't come, I would have been finished."
Xiao Xun looked at the existing army of the Spear of Vengeance under Duke Sancho. Having just suffered a devastating defeat and being driven to this place, everyone was in low spirits, their morale dipping, their resolve waning.
Especially the tank units and the air squadron, who were all crushed by the advancing enemy forces as they covered the retreat.
Facing this scene, Xiao Xun knew that the first thing to address was morale.
The land was covered in snow, dry and hard. The biting cold wind seemed to freeze people's minds, solidifying their thoughts.
A few solitary sophora trees by the roadside, under the assault of the severe cold, could occasionally be heard snapping. It was as if their limbs were shattering beneath their bark. Occasionally, a thick branch would be blown down to the ground by the harsh wind.
Captain Yin Sha was leading his team along the rugged mountain path.
His face was ashen, and he scanned the surrounding mountains as he walked.
No one in the team dared to speak to him. The team members knew him well; when their superior was in a foul mood, he liked to take it out on others.
The mountains in this area were barren, with almost no vegetation, only sparse drought-resistant shrubs. The iron-grey mountain rocks were exposed, and the weathered scree on the mountain path crunched underfoot, threatening to tumble into the ravine with the slightest misstep.
These mountains were tedious, lacking green grass and wild flowers, waterfalls and springs, birdsong and animal roars. There was no poetry to them at all. The mountains were eerily quiet, deathly still. Looking up, the treacherous cliffs on both sides seemed poised to crush them at any moment.
War was like this: regardless of whether your tactical command was sound, if you won, you were a hero. If not, you were nothing.
It was quite humiliating to think that the Spear of Vengeance had so few men in its entire legion, and they used staffs and iron swords.
During the engagement, Yin Sha felt that the opponent lacked training, their tactical command was primitive, and they simply attacked mindlessly. Logically, such an army should have been easy to defeat.
Yin Sha had over eighty well-trained team members, possessing ultra-modern weapons and superior equipment. Their firepower was fierce, putting them in a different league compared to any army on this planet. Combined with reliable insider intelligence and tactical surprise, they should have had a guaranteed victory.
Yet, after the battle, they had lost more than half of their team members.
Thinking of this, Captain Yin Sha shivered with heartache. These meticulously selected team members were his only capital for establishing a foothold in the Scourge Legion.
Although the Spear of Vengeance had lost the strength of a legion, if Sancho was not captured, this operation was meaningless. Moreover, this was not his first failure. The King of Arrogance had already expressed his displeasure with him. Had it not been for Zhen Hun's intervention, he would have been dead by now. Suddenly, a violent roar came from ahead. Captain Yin Sha started. The scout team he had dispatched maintained a two-kilometer distance from his main force. It was certain that the scouts had run into trouble.
A call came through the radio transceiver from the scout team leader: "Captain, we've been ambushed. It seems to be Sancho's troops. We can still hold on, please send reinforcements, please send reinforcements."
Although Xiao Xun had not brought tanks and aircraft this time, he himself was now a heavy firepower unit.
He had Duke Sancho assemble all available military forces and dispatched messengers. To his surprise, he had an unexpected gain: six lost tanks and over ten armored vehicles were all heading towards Pizikou according to the messengers' directions.
Xiao Xun's target, however, was a large city less than twenty miles outside Pizikou, called Tejako.
Yes, it was the main city in Duke Sancho's territory.
Duke Sancho asked, "Sven, why are you assembling troops so quickly?"
Xiao Xun replied impatiently, "What else? We're going to snatch Tejako back."
Duke Sancho was shocked. "This is a major undertaking. Shouldn't we discuss it properly? With our meager numbers, we can't possibly break through such strong defenses."
Xiao Xun slammed the table. "If Tejako is truly a heavily fortified city, as you say, then how did you end up in this desolate place?"
Sancho was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. "Sven, you must reconsider! If we attack, the entire Saint Roman will fall into chaos. Scourge Legions and undead armies from surrounding areas will reinforce, the pressure will be immense. Can our small force withstand it?"
He feared that he wouldn't even have a place to run if things went south.
"What are you afraid of? His Majesty said that I have the right to deploy all combat units in Saint Roman. Since I'm responsible, even if His Majesty investigates in the future, he'll find me. Just follow my orders!"
Two days later, all the forces that the Spear of Vengeance could muster had assembled, numbering a full two hundred thousand, many of whom were refugees whose homes had been occupied by the Scourge Legion and had joined them.
A siege with two hundred thousand men was true large-scale warfare.
Xiao Xun's greatest strength in games was his "mass production" strategy. More was always better.
Tejako was a strategically important city. Once it was attacked, the surrounding Scourge Legions and undead armies would surely come to its aid.
Besides the Scourge Legions and undead armies, Tejako was also surrounded by survivor forces from many countries, as well as large contingates of Orcs and Frost Giants.
Although there were no coordinated operational orders between the Spear of Vengeance army and the surrounding allied forces, and the internal communication capabilities of the Spear of Vengeance army were poor, with weak contact between the main legions and local legions, the surrounding units were completely unaware that the renowned God of War, Prince Sven, was about to attack Tejako.
However, if the Scourge Legion passed before their eyes, they would not be allowed to walk peacefully.
Seizing the opportunity, the Frost Giant legions, the Orc legions, along with Elves, Centaurs, and other resistance forces, all got involved.
The Midus Scourge Legion, upon receiving reinforcement orders, was attacked by ambushing arrows as soon as they left their camp. Ghouls were dispatched to scout, only to be half-annihilated by suddenly appearing meteors.
The Scourge Legion became agitated. They advanced in battle formation, only to find themselves empty-handed.
The Scourge Legion commander ordered an advance. The troops marched and fought, constantly harassed. Within less than a few dozen kilometers, they had already suffered over half their casualties.
Another contingent of undead reinforcements was ambushed en route. First, they were attacked by a legion of Frost Giants.
After an hour of fighting, both sides had sustained casualties.
After the Frost Giant army retreated, the Scourge Legion continued their march, only to be repeatedly harassed by Wolf Riders.
These warriors were not only equipped with bayonets and sabers but also possessed some kind of firearm, invented by an unknown person, which made incessant crackling sounds and inflicted significant damage at close range. Within thirty to forty meters, all living targets were either killed or wounded.
Seeing the growing number of casualties in the Scourge Legion, the commander ordered a small squad to escort injured Puppeteers and other specialized troops back to the camp. However, on their way back, they were attacked by a group of Bearmen, and the entire squad perished.
Tejako's city walls were four to five zhang high, with wide ramparts. The bricks were laid with mortar mixed with glutinous rice juice, making them exceptionally sturdy. The intact and neat battlements reflected the tactical characteristics of the cold weapon era. Outside the city walls was a moat, but since it was winter, the water had frozen over.
Three major battalions of the Scourge Legion, numbering over thirty thousand men, were stationed here.
Xiao Xun allocated one-third of his forces to intercept reinforcements, sealing all roads within a fifty-kilometer radius of the city.
During the war council, Xiao Xun was extremely autocratic. However, even if he hadn't been, the others had no better solutions. Although they were professional soldiers, when it came to fighting, they were true amateurs.