A Textbook Siege and Reinforcement 5

Tansen Meilin had actually already devised a decent plan to stop Xu Lingqu's advance.

First, by choosing not to reinforce Dongwen this time, Xu Lingqu's plan to besiege and strike reinforcements would fail, and the troops she sent out to intercept reinforcements would inevitably have to retreat in defeat. If they didn't retreat, scouts could track their movements and strike at them whenever convenient in his subsequent plans.

He would take the 55 people from Zhicheng, and also pull his own 88 people from the other fortress points, concentrating them at Fortress Point 5. He would dispatch 50 of his own men to join Zhicheng's 55, forming a 105-man mobile unit that would lie in ambush along the riverbank to observe.

Xu Lingqu had already captured Fortress Points 1 and 3. After a brief rest, she would inevitably expand eastward. Time was tight—with only two days in the competition, they'd have roughly 24 hours left. She must have promised certain benefits to rally the forces of Ci Mei and Situke to her cause, and the western points simply weren't enough to distribute among them.

There were two routes from the west to the east: one from Fortress Point 1 to Fortress Point 4, and another from Fortress Point 3 to Fortress Point 5. Crossing the river was too conspicuous to be completely hidden. Once they detected which route she was taking to cross, they'd launch a surprise attack, doing everything possible to stop her from crossing.

If she advanced on both fronts simultaneously, they'd prioritize attacking the route from Fortress Point 1 to Fortress Point 4, because there were still 38 Lianda students guarding Fortress Point 5, who could also take the initiative to fight and pin Xu Lingqu's forces down by the riverbank.

As time passed, Xu Lingqu would fail to fulfill her promises, and internal discord would inevitably break out among her ranks, leaving her even less able to focus on the eastern fortress points.

His plan had few major flaws, but his tone was imperious, and for Jie Luo, the eastern side was mostly Lianda's points. This basically meant burning Zhicheng's students to light up Lianda.

Jie Luo didn't agree with Tansen Meilin's proposal at first, which infuriated Tansen Meilin so much that he launched into another round of curses after the communication channel closed.

But by then, Jie Luo had no time to worry about his feelings. At that moment, Zhicheng's sub-commander at Fortress Point 1 reported to him: "They've been surrounding us for a long time, but it seems they have no intention of attacking us."

Jie Luo figured that this time Xu Lingqu was again making a false siege and real attack, having sent ambushers along the road. Still, to be safe, he'd dispatch scouts to check whether Xu Lingqu actually had people lying in ambush on that route.

He racked his brains for any way to break the deadlock. Leaving the people at Fortress Point 1 under siege indefinitely wasn't an option; if they were left alone, those 20 people and Fortress Point 1 would eventually become Xu Lingqu's meal.

Tansen Meilin wasn't idle either. The scouts he'd sent out returned with news: Xu Lingqu's people hadn't yet taken Fortress Point 3, but there were indeed traces of an ambush on the road from Fortress Point 3 to Fortress Point 5.

He snorted coldly, thinking that he'd long seen through this woman Xu Lingqu's tricks. Only fools like Yetai Yangquan would be toyed with so easily.

"Have everyone from the later points withdraw and concentrate all forces at Fortress Point 5." He was already preparing to execute his plan, to firmly stop Xu Lingqu at the riverbank.

Meanwhile, Xu Lingqu, seeing that the time was right, ordered a direct assault on Fortress Point 3. With their numbers, taking Fortress Point 3 was lightning fast. Yetai Yangquan was killed in action despite his unwillingness. With that, all 100 of Dongwen's members were eliminated, sealing their fate as this tournament's bottom-dwellers.

Lei Nuo was ecstatic when he heard the announcement of Dongwen's complete annihilation. Following Xu Lingqu truly promised a bright future—what had he been thinking when he'd abandoned Moxie and run off earlier!

After entering Fortress Point 3, Xu Lingqu had the students, exhausted from prolonged high-intensity combat, rest first. It seemed she had no immediate next move.

Yun Yao still didn't understand why they'd feign a siege on Fortress Point 1 without attacking. "What's the point of this?"

"To give Shen Shouli and the others a place to rest," Xu Lingqu said coolly.

"Ah?" Yun Yao's mouth twitched. So they'd sent Shen Shouli's group over to surround the fort and, incidentally, rest?

At that moment, Jin and Ye Yu, who had gone to set up the ambush, sent word: "Lianda seems to have seen through our ambush. There's no sign of them sending reinforcements at all. They seem to be gathering their forces at Fortress Point 5. We're still at the ambush site."

Xu Lingqu didn't reply immediately. Instead, she asked Xu Xiqin, who was leading reconnaissance at Fortress Points 1 and 4, "How's it going?"

Xu Xiqin reported, "Jie Luo also sent people out to check for reinforcements. They didn't find anything, and they've gone to probe the direction of Fortress Point 1. They've noticed we only have 46 people surrounding the point. What exactly are you planning, sister?"

Xu Lingqu smiled. "When Zhicheng's people come later, you'll need to run fast."

She then switched topics and said to Jin and Ye Yu, "Given this situation, Jie Luo will definitely send people from Fortress Point 4 to reinforce Fortress Point 1. Fortress Point 4 will be left vulnerable. Ye Yu, take 50 people with heavy firepower equipment, quickly cut across the forested area northeast from the Fortress Point 3–5 route, and capture Fortress Point 4. After taking the point, hold your position on alert and rotate shifts for rest. Jin, take 20 people to maintain the feigned ambush to deceive Lianda's scouts. Once Ye Yu takes the point, quickly move to Fortress Point 4 and consolidate the capture."

Yun Yao was stunned. "So you were feigning a siege on Fortress Point 1 all along, just to... to lure Jie Luo's men out of Fortress Point 4?"

By this time, Jie Luo, after another round of communication with Tansen Meilin, had received the following information: there were no ambushes on the Fortress Point 1–4 route; the mere forty-plus people surrounding Fortress Point 1 were a sham; Xu Lingqu had indeed dispatched a sizable force to lie in ambush on the Fortress Point 3–5 route; and her main force was resting at Fortress Point 3.

From this, Jie Luo concluded that Fortress Points 1 and 4 were nothing but a bluff by Xu Lingqu to scare him—she'd calculated that he wouldn't dare send reinforcements and had only sent a few people there. She'd pulled all her truly capable forces to deal with Lianda, while for Zhicheng, she was just waiting for her troops to rest before capturing it.

Having discovered all this, Jie Luo saw a golden opportunity to rescue the 20 people at Fortress Point 1: he could send reinforcements now, and with coordination from inside, catch them off guard. He could still cut his losses, retrieve at least 15 people, and then, in conjunction with Tansen Meilin's plan, keep Xu Lingqu's forces pinned firmly on the riverbank.

Jie Luo felt he'd found a fatal flaw in Xu Lingqu's strategy. Full of confidence, he gathered 40 people at Fortress Point 4 and decided to reinforce Fortress Point 1.

Perhaps because he'd been under prolonged mental strain without rest, he failed to realize in that moment that this flaw seemed tailor-made, just waiting for him to step into it.