The Demon Lords

Chapter 453 56 The Disappeared Army_1

Zheng Fan returned to his tent. He desperately wished for a bath, but such luxury was non-existent in the army, nor was it a priority at the moment.

Siniang rested Zheng Fan's head on her lap, gently massaging his temples. The Blind One had already explained the matter of them acting as envoys.

For Siniang, as long as no one died, everything else was a trivial matter. After all, why not have some fun amidst their circumstances?

Therefore, unlike traditional women, she didn't plead tearfully for her lord to refrain from taking such risks in the future.

Siniang understood her lord's temperament well. A man's true nature often revealed itself during challenging or delicate situations.

She knew that if given a choice, her lord would not choose to put himself in harm's way; he cherished his life. However, military orders were absolute, and there was no way around them.

Liang Cheng walked in. Zheng Fan still lay with his head on Siniang's lap, a sight Liang Cheng had long grown accustomed to.

"My lord."

Zheng Fan opened his eyes and asked, "How is the construction of the siege equipment coming along?"

Liang Cheng shook his head. "It's only been a day. Even though we've conscripted many Qian people for labor, we've only managed to build a few scaling ladders. We've also gathered some weapons left behind by the Qian army."

Sieging a city is an inherently difficult endeavor. Preparation is crucial, but time was too short. Many tools useful for a siege simply couldn't be prepared in time.

Things like battering rams, arrow towers, and even catapults were nowhere to be seen.

The walls of the imperial capital were extremely high, and there were many defenders. Although their morale was low, they held the psychological advantage of defending from within a fortress.

Zheng Fan sighed. Perhaps, as Li Fusheng had said, they were fighting this battle not for a specific outcome but purely for the sake of fighting. They couldn't just look at these formidable, smooth walls and then leave, only to face another set of equally formidable walls elsewhere. Even a dog knows to mark its territory by peeing when it goes to a new place.

"Alright, I understand. You can go rest now," Zheng Fan said.

In such a situation, the impact an individual or a small group could have was truly insignificant.

Even Zheng Fan and the demon lords by his side could do little more than watch from the sidelines. If there was one more thing they could do, it was to pray that Li Fusheng wouldn't use their men as the vanguard tomorrow.

"My lord, you should rest. Daylight is approaching," Siniang said.

Zheng Fan obediently closed his eyes.

「At that very moment, a troop of cavalry rode in from West Wind Crossing.」

They headed straight into the army camp, rousing Li Fusheng, who had been planning to snatch a little more rest to conserve energy for the morning's siege.

Inside the command tent, Li Fusheng cursed loudly upon receiving the letter delivered to his hand, then shattered the table with a palm strike.

Of course, Zheng Fan didn't know about this. When the sounds of the military horns echoed through the camp, he briefly hesitated about calling in sick. Ultimately, he decided to delegate command of his troops to Liang Cheng and go find Li Fusheng at the central command.

Since skulking in the camp wouldn't look good, he might as well go stand by Li Fusheng. He had a rough idea of Li Fusheng's martial skills—probably not Third Rank, but likely around Fourth or Fifth Rank. The key aspect of battlefield combat was often efficiency and adaptation to circumstances. Unlike a formal duel on a stage, one couldn't fully display all their skills, making it difficult to accurately gauge an opponent's true strength.

Even unranked veteran soldiers, seasoned in countless battles, might kill far more enemies in the chaos of war than high-ranking experts. Their chances of survival were also often much higher than those experts.

Regardless, standing by Li Fusheng's side meant he wouldn't have to worry about that woman, Baili Xianglan, approaching him.

Li Fusheng had heard from Zheng Fan about the incident with Baili Xianglan yesterday. Seeing Zheng Fan come to report on the military situation, Li Fusheng merely smiled.

Yesterday, they had sent him into the city as a Yan envoy, and he had nearly died there. They couldn't possibly ask him to undertake another risky mission today.

Besides, Zheng Fan, with the 'cheating' help from the demon lords under his command, had made a strong impression on Li Fusheng and the two Lords. It was only right to offer him some protection.

However, what surprised Zheng Fan was that after the North Army formed up, there was no distinction between front and rear guards. In fact, everyone was mounted.

The North Army's infantry was by no means weak. In this era, cavalry were generally of higher quality than infantry, simply because their training and upkeep costs were different.

Zheng Fan had witnessed the North Army's dismounted infantry overpowering the Qian army many times during their southward campaign.

Zheng Fan had been trying to learn about warfare, so he was genuinely puzzled by the current maneuver. Shouldn't the assault troops for the siege be resting now? Everyone was on horseback. Were they so confident that the imperial capital's walls were shoddily built that they planned to charge through the gates on horseback?

Li Fusheng turned his head, glanced at Zheng Fan, and nodded slightly.

Zheng Fan was speechless for a beat. Then, he immediately put on an understanding expression.

Li Fusheng sighed and nodded again.

Zheng Fan also looked up and let out a wistful sigh, as if in perfect empathy.

In reality, he understood nothing at all. With Liang Cheng not by his side, there was no one to slip him a cheat sheet.