Blackrock Fortress Quartermaster

The fact that Bai Xiaowen was the first to be consulted was also due to the fact that Bai Xiaowen's past performances had successfully increased his importance in Nicholas's mind.

Bai Xiaowen had already conceived of this idea after Nicholas announced his eligibility to attend the high-level military meeting.

"Your Highness, the Remnant Allied Army are no less numerous than ours, and their fighting strength is several times greater. However, in this war, we, as the City Defense, also have our advantages," Bai Xiaowen said. "Blackrock Fortress is fortified, with walls constructed entirely of solid black rock. For the enemy, the weakest point to breach is the city gate..."

"Through today's battle, we have annihilated the Remnant Vanguard Army, severely dampened the enemy's morale, and boosted the confidence of both the army and the people. Now, we must leverage our City Defense advantages and avoid rashly venturing out to engage the enemy in open field combat..."

The chief of staff frowned and said, "Then what should we do? Should we withdraw all our troops back into the city?"

Today's Human Allied Army's battle plan was proposed by Nicholas's chief of staff. However, in Bai Xiaowen's opinion, this chief of staff was rather amateurish in terms of war strategy. He was not only inferior to the famous strategists of the Three Kingdoms Plane World, but also to generals like Zhang Liao and Li Dian.

If Bai Xiaowen had devised the strategy for the first battle, he would never have allowed the weak Northern Frontier Lords' Allied Army to engage the vanguard of the Remnants head-on. A casualty ratio of four to five to one would be tantamount to murder.

Using Nicholas as Ambush to lure out the enemy's elite forces and letting Archbishop Arlo's forbidden-level divine magic be the key to victory was decent, but it was merely Overwhelming Crush the enemy with sheer force; it wasn't exactly a brilliant strategy. Finally, the failure to send troops to ambush and kill them beforehand was a major blunder.

However, this is also determined by the war customs of the Kane Plane, and is related to the cultural background.

Generals are more accustomed to leading their soldiers in formations to charge and engage in real combat, rather than relying on strategy to win. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of different troop types and being able to deploy different types of troops under different conditions, or to carry out multi-troop coordinated operations, already makes them good commanders.

Faced with the chief of staff's questioning, Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "It's definitely not feasible to withdraw all troops. A defensive posture would be tantamount to handing over the initiative to the enemy. My suggestion is to actively defend and wait for an opportunity to strike."

A brief silence fell over the meeting room, as everyone seemed to be pondering the meaning of those words.

"That seems to have a deeper meaning. Dio, just say everything you think. Don't be nervous, it's okay even if you make a mistake," Nicholas said.

Bai Xiaowen nodded, and after obtaining Nicholas's consent, walked to the map behind his main seat.

"We can conscript civilians to dig trenches around Blackrock City to slow the rapid advance of the Remnants forces," Bai Xiaowen said. "In City Defense battle, the longer it takes for the attacking forces to reach the city walls, the greater their losses will be."

Count Danton nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. We can put some obstacles in the trenches, like Impale or something, to give those beasts a good thrashing."

"This means we have more time to shoot arrows and throw stones from the city walls." The chief of staff nodded.

Bai Xiaowen continued, "Not only on the city walls, but also near them, we can build arrow towers. When the enemy charges, the soldiers stationed on the arrow towers can fire freely. If the enemy doesn't take down the arrow towers, they will suffer heavy losses. And if they choose to attack the arrow towers first, the arrows and stones from the city walls will also cause them heavy losses."

"The walls and arrow towers protect each other; it's a brilliant design," Cecilia said softly.

Bai Xiaowen spoke of very simple ancient China City Defense strategies, but to Nicholas and the others, it was as if a door to a new world had been opened.

"While defending, we cannot ignore the importance of offense. In my opinion, the supply lines of the Remnant Allied Army are a significant weakness," Bai Xiaowen continued. "The northern desert is barren and food is already scarce. This time, even Remnants elderly, women, and children of the remnant army have gone on this campaign. How will they manage to provide food for the rest of the army? Both Orcs and trolls are incredibly voracious eaters..."

"Therefore, we need to send out more reconnaissance troops to ascertain the distribution of the Remnants forces. Once we find a suitable opportunity, we should send out elite troops to strike! If we can destroy their important locations such as granaries, that would be even better."

Bai Xiaowen concluded, "This is what I meant by 'active defense, waiting for the right opportunity.' Hold your ground, leaving the enemy no chance to strike; when the enemy is bogged down in battle and their morale is low, then seek an opportunity to attack and strike at their vital points!"

A moment of silence fell over the conference room.

Prince Nicholas coughed and said, "Well said. Does anyone have anything to add?"

The others in the meeting room shook their heads.

Just kidding, this "active defense" strategy is ten times better than the strategy used in today's battle; the two are completely incomparable.

"Very well, let's follow Baron Dio's advice and formulate a defensive plan." Prince Nicholas stood up, and everyone else stood up as well.

A burst of applause rang out.

"Dio, you are a military genius. I hope you will continue to contribute your talents to the Empire and to humanity," Prince Nicholas said sincerely.

Bai Xiaowen received a notification from the Spirit Realm Rules:

"Prince Nicholas's Affection Level towards you has increased; the current Affection Level level is: Friend."

"Lord Cecilia's Affection Level towards you has increased; your current Affection Level level is: Friend."

"Lord Cecilia's Infatuation Level for you has increased; her current Infatuation Level level is: Heart Fluttering (unchanged)."

"Archbishop Arlo's Affection Level towards you has increased; the current Affection Level level is: Acquaintance."

"Count Danton's Affection Level towards you has increased..."

Bai Xiaowen received a boost in Affection Level. He breathed a sigh of relief; his efforts had been worthwhile. Although there were no direct rewards like Merit Points or equipment, the people in the small conference room were all decision-makers of the Human Allied Army, and gaining their Affection Level was a significant, albeit implicit, benefit.

The meeting ended, Nicholas's chief of staff began drafting orders, which Nicholas then signed and distributed to the commanders of the various infantry phalanxes.

Digging trenches and building arrow towers is no easy task in the freezing cold of the Northern Frontier. However, the soldiers of the Spirit Realm are different from ordinary soldiers in the Earth Plane; their strength is often several times or even ten times that of ordinary people, so efficiency is not an issue.

Just imagine, Bai Xiaowen used dozens of bandits as human locomotives to drag the entire supply of the Cliffside Mine back to White Stone Town on foot, and none of the bandits collapsed or died from exhaustion.

After the meeting, Bai Xiaowen approached Prince Nicholas and volunteered to serve as the commander of the reconnaissance unit.

Prince Nicholas was somewhat puzzled. In his view, Bai Xiaowen would play a greater role at the military conference if he stayed in the city.

However, the work of the reconnaissance troops is also very important, especially in finding out the enemy's military strength and numbers, which is not something that ordinary people can do.

In the end, Nicholas agreed, only instructing Bai Xiaowen to be careful.

This displeased Bai Xiaowen. "I volunteered to do this dangerous work, and you're not even going to give me any benefits? I don't have a leader like you."

Bai Xiaowen subtly suggested that some supplies were needed. Prince Nicholas suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed the clerk who was writing furiously nearby.

It turns out that this clerk was Basil Heber, the quartermaster of Blackrock Fortress.

Bai Xiaowen chose to open the merit exchange list, and Basil Heber entered humanoid vending machine mode.

"So much?"

Bai Xiaowen felt tears welling up in his eyes. This was the first time he had ever seen such a rich list of merit rewards. Compared to the list before him, Liu the Imperial Uncle and the Kusanagi Family could all just die.

As expected of a prince personally leading the expedition, there are bound to be many good things to be had.

Equipment, items, and food—three main categories. Each category is overflowing with a dazzling array of items, ranging from low-level to high-level, with dozens or even hundreds available for exchange.

Of course, exchanging these items requires reputation points. However, Bai Xiaowen is now revered within the Human Allied Army.

Items that can be exchanged simply by being friendly and respectful are generally of low quality. Bai Xiaowen doesn't care about low-quality equipment and items.

Scrolling to the very end of the equipment section, Bai Xiaowen's eyes narrowed slightly. The last section was filled with Gold Equipment!

Of course, the Merit Points required to exchange for a piece of Gold Equipment are also staggering; the cheapest bracers cost 5,000 Merit Points. Moreover, the Gold Equipment appearing on the exchange list are all Top-grade Gold Equipment that primarily feature additional attributes and do not include any practical skills.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi currently don't have all the equipment slots. Since they have plenty of Merit Points and don't need to exchange for other items, it would be a waste to selectively exchange for some equipment they don't have, or to trade for some blue and white equipment.

However, the reputation required for Gold Equipment is... Exalted.

"I wonder if there's a ' Broken Oath ' listed under 'Items'?" Bai Xiaowen was thinking about this permanent team-building fragment item and carefully flipped through the list, but unfortunately, he didn't find it. It seems that the [Black Edge's Oath] quest can't be solved by exchanging for it.

However, several useful items still appeared when you turned the page.

[Mass Teleportation Scroll: S-Tier Item. Teleports you and nearby allies (effective radius = user's Spirit/10, unit: meters) to the target area. Teleportation will fail if there are hostile targets nearby.]

[High-Purity Holy Water: S-Tier item, can be applied to weapons or armor, with significant effects against Undead Species / Fiend Species enemies.]

[Frozen Storm Scroll: A-Tier item. When used, it creates a frozen storm within a 100-meter radius, dealing freezing damage and slowing all enemies within the area for 10 seconds.]

There are also good things among the major categories of food.

Foods like Rye Bread can restore Life Value during battle, which goes without saying, though its effect is slightly less than that of steamed buns in the Three Kingdoms Plane World. However, Rye Bread is only the lowest-level food; there are higher-level foods that provide a temporary buff after consumption, and their effects don't stack with battle potions, which is quite impressive.

What caught Bai Xiaowen's eye was the "ale," which could actually restore the stamina of awakened beings. Like the "rice wine" in the Three Kingdoms Plane World, it was a specialty of that world, probably a food unique to a world set in medieval Europe.

The merit points required for the beer are not high, only 25 points per bottle. Bai Xiaowen bought 20 bottles first, spending 500 Merit Points - when he uses the fire moves of the Kusanagi-Style Ancient Martial Arts to attack enemies, it will consume stamina.

After browsing through the food categories, the redemption list isn't finished yet; there's a smaller category called "special items."

Bai Xiaowen glanced at it and was about to turn the page when she suddenly stopped.

"This is... a return item?"

[Return Scroll: A special item that instantly teleports the Awakened back to Earth Plane, regardless of whether they are in combat. Can only be used in the Spirit Realm Plane. Important Note: If the main quest is not completed, all Psionic Points, equipment, and items acquired in the current Spirit Realm Plane will still be lost.]

Bai Xiaowen checked the price of the [Return Scroll]: 5000 Merit Points.

The value of such a thing is hard to define, but it is undeniable that in situations where gambling is necessary, having a [Return Scroll] provides a greater sense of security.

Moreover, [Return Scroll] has no binding requirements and has high trading value.

Thinking of the 5000 Merit Points, comparable to the price of Gold Equipment, Bai Xiaowen gave a wry smile. Although it was expensive, Bai Xiaowen was still determined to exchange for it, and he would exchange for as many as he could!

Among the information Bai Xiaowen collected, return items are extremely rare and precious. He has only encountered one in the fourth dimensional world Bai Xiaowen has explored so far. If he doesn't buy it now, there will be no going back.

As for a Return Scroll being worth a piece of Gold Equipment? In Earth Plane, the price of a return item is much higher. Many wealthy players are willing to pay a satisfactory price for a return item, so it definitely holds its value.

After reviewing the exchange list, Bai Xiaowen left Blackrock Fortress.

Cecilia followed him in silence the whole way, and only after they left the fortress did she ask, "Why did you volunteer for the reconnaissance mission? Staying by the prince's side is not only safe, but also an opportunity for a meteoric rise in rank."

Bai Xiaowen's goal was, of course, to kill more enemies and loot more treasure chests, but he couldn't reveal that reason.

He turned to look at Cecilia and smiled.

"Only by understanding the enemy can we defeat them. I need to see for myself just how powerful the main force of the Remnant Allied Army is before I can devise a way to deal with them. Besides, I've already shared all the tactics and strategies I could think of at the military conference, so staying by the prince's side as an advisor won't be of much use."

"I will ask the prince for permission to accompany you on the reconnaissance mission," Cecilia said.