Chapter 51: A Perfect Strike!

Lin Mu led the troops of the middle route. Instead of beating drums, gongs, or shouting before the enemy, they stealthily concealed their presence, slowly lowering their bodies as they approached the mountain fortress gates. Although the goal was to draw enemy fire, it did not mean they had to make a grand spectacle. Lin Mu intended to charge the main gates head-on to take out the archers on the watchtowers.

Because the defending soldiers were negligent and derelict in their duties, Lin Mu encountered no effective resistance. He charged straight in, using his spear butt to swiftly knock out a soldier with a single strike.

The other soldiers followed suit; the more than thirty guards at the main gate were struck down before they could even sound the alarm.

The drowsy defending soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by the nearly thousand-man force...

However, the actions on the watchtowers were a step too slow. Archers had already begun attacking Lin Mu’s group, and warning arrows had been fired, alerting some of the soldiers within the fortress.

"External enemies are attacking the fortress! Quick, put on your armor and grab your weapons! Hurry, hurry! You slowpokes, do you want to die? Move, move!"

"Xiao Zheng, hurry, hurry! Enemies are attacking! Get dressed, quickly! Heavens, what bad luck. I just took off my armor to get some sleep, and now the enemy is at the door. Just my luck!"

"Who on earth is attacking us? In the middle of these deep mountains and forests! Men, hurry up and put on your clothes and armor! Move quickly, just like during military training—fast, fast!"

"Maintain discipline! Where did your organizational discipline go? Even if the enemy is right in front of you, you must strictly follow military regulations, do you understand?!"

...

The soldiers on day-and-night guard duty were extremely fatigued. After falling into a half-sleep, it was difficult for their energy to return to its peak in a short time. Furthermore, because their rest periods were so short, their combat effectiveness was significantly lower—a physiological inertia caused by physical exhaustion without adequate recovery.

In their drowsy state, some soldiers were constantly yawning and rubbing their eyes; their weapons were held crookedly, and their armor was disheveled.

Seeing the situation of Lin Mu in the middle route, the soldiers of the other two routes also mobilized.

Compared to Lin Mu, Feng Zhong and Xiao Hu were even more ferocious. With a flick of the back of his left hand, he would knock someone unconscious, and with a light sweep of his right, another would fall. Their speed was incredibly fast and domineering, creating the illusion that they could fell twenty men in ten steps and leave no trace in a hundred.

Just as planned, Lin Mu led the middle route to draw the enemy's fire, while Feng Zhong took the left and Zhang Xiaohu took the right. Both were exceptionally fierce, possessing the strength of ten thousand men, and they quickly took down Qingfeng Fortress.

Fan Shun, an intermediate general, fell to Feng Zhong in less than five rounds.

Lin Mu's side suffered no fatalities, though they had to kill some of the enemy's loyalist soldiers who fought to the death.

Out of 5,000 men, 4,989 were captured and 11 were killed—a very successful operation.

As Lin Mu apprehended Fan Shun, a system notification appeared

"Ding!"

"—System Notification: Congratulations to Player Lin Mu for leading his troops to an easy victory in the second battle. Special rewards: Prestige +10, Command +5, Morale +1."

"—System Notification: Congratulations to Player Lin Mu for reclaiming control of Qingfeng Fortress. To gain the fortress as a vassal, you must obtain the recognition of either the Fortress Master or 80% of the fortress residents."

"Ding!"

"—System Notification: Player Lin Mu, your confrontation with mysterious forces will trigger unpredictable changes. Please be cautious!"

Lin Mu heard the system prompts but paid them little mind. In his past life, he had heard battle victory notifications countless times, and of course, he had heard the notifications for defeats as well... As for the "please be cautious" part, he simply chuckled.

This operation had been very complete: strict military discipline, swift and orderly movement, and impressive combat power. It seemed Feng Zhong had trained them very well during this period.

After ordering the soldiers to settle the captives, Lin Mu did not immediately interrogate them. Instead, he instructed his subordinates to find the Fortress Master, Gao Hai.

In the fortress's assembly hall, Lin Mu met a dejected and listless Gao Hai.

When the soldiers found him, he was still in the fortress prison. Although the Azure Dragon soldiers had not physically abused him, they had certainly not treated him well.

"It has been a long time, Fortress Master Gao! I am late; please forgive me!" Lin Mu apologized first. Indeed, after promising Gao Hai, he had been preoccupied with his territory and had not contacted Qingfeng Fortress. Although there had been some commercial transactions, as his territory developed more rapidly, those trades had gradually ceased.

Meeting again, he hadn't expected Qingfeng Fortress to have fallen. These Azure Dragon soldiers were flaunting their power within the fortress, victimizing the innocent people!

"No, no, Village Chief Lin is not late. These Azure Dragon bandits only arrived a few days ago; they have only looted some treasures and harmed some poor souls! Sigh..." Gao Hai sighed. He had thought that from now on, he would be a prisoner of the Azure Dragon Fortress, a vassal, a slave without freedom, and a tool in their hands. He never expected that the Lord Lin Mu, who had once made a promise, would actually bring troops to help. Moreover, seeing their well-equipped, resilient, and spirited soldiers with sharp, bright eyes, he realized their strength was unfathomable—far more formidable than the men he had trained before. Gao Hai felt deeply depressed.

"Haha, Fortress Master Gao, I previously accepted the task to help your fortress. I have been working tirelessly in my territory, feeling as though each day were a year as I trained my soldiers, hoping to assist Qingfeng Fortress as soon as possible! Now that our territory's military strength has taken shape, we rushed here without delay. Fortunately, a great disaster was not wrought, and the situation is salvageable," Lin Mu said, cupping his hands.

"Furthermore, we have trained 3,000 elite troops and intend to campaign against the Azure Dragon Fortress. We will incorporate the small Azure Dragon Fortress into our territory so that they can no longer harm the world," Lin Mu added. In truth, he was also sending a subtle warning to Gao Hai: *Look, my territory has trained such elite troops in just a few months; 3,000 elites can conquer the 100,000-strong Azure Dragon Fortress. Are you afraid?*

"I did not expect Village Chief Lin to already possess such elites. It seems your territory's development is progressing by leaps and bounds! I thought of many ways, but then I remembered the ancestors speaking of the miraculous nature of 'Outsiders.' I reached out to you on a whim, never imagining that the hope of our Qingfeng Fortress would truly be you. The world is truly strange!" Gao Hai lamented.

Previously, when Lin Mu first arrived at the fortress, Gao Hai had somewhat looked down on him. Although he had not been impolite and had no intention of attacking Lin Mu's territory, he had sent his subordinates to scout Zhenlong Village. Unfortunately, at that time, they saw only a tiny village of a thousand people with no walls, just a few tens of thousands of acres of cleared land for crops, and only a handful of patrolling soldiers. Their strength was truly low, which led him to look down even more on Lin Mu and his territory. Consequently, when his fortress was attacked, he hadn't sought help from Lin Mu.

He hadn't expected that by accidentally issuing a task, he would actually succeed. Were "Outsiders" truly as divine as his ancestors said? He had only heard rumors before, but now he was truly convinced. There was no smoke without fire; he had simply been too narrow-minded.

"Sigh, actually, the current state of Qingfeng Fortress is also my fault. Asking the Azure Dragon Fortress for help to clear the beast herds was already a desperate measure. I failed to make the decision to train my own army, leaving me without the power to protect my territory and leaving us at the mercy of others. I have failed the people of this fortress!" Gao Hai wiped away tears, looking heartbroken and full of regret.

"Fortress Master Gao was only forced into such a desperate measure. Besides, the situation in Qingfeng Fortress is unique; it is understandable that you could not train too many soldiers. You have poured your heart and soul into the residents just to provide them with a stable environment. It is only that the Azure Dragon Fortress is ambitious; they are not content with mere trade and wish to annex you," Lin Mu consoled him.

Qingfeng Fortress's development strategy was not wrong. The terrain was not ideal for training soldiers, but it was suitable for growing crops and fruits—it was more accurate to call it a logistics base. Moreover, the people here were peace-loving and sought only to live and work in tranquility; most had chosen production-oriented professions, and soldiers were very few. It would have been tragic if they had been wiped out by the Azure Dragon Fortress.

When Lin Mu invaded, he had observed that most of the residents held life-sustaining secondary professions and were non-combatants. Compared to the well-trained Azure Dragon soldiers, they were vastly inferior, and compared to his own three thousand soldiers, the gap was like the divide between heaven and earth.

Lin Mu had once thought this was a population base gifted by the system for establishing a God-level village, but he hadn't expected so many setbacks. In his past life, this place would likely have been captured by the Azure Dragon Fortress and turned into their logistics base. Lin Mu wasn't entirely sure, as he hadn't developed this area in the early stages.

He also hadn't participated in the regional plotlines, so he had very little information to reference.

Regardless, Qingfeng Fortress was considered subdued. Next, Azure Dragon Fortress, here I come!

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(End of Chapter)