"Lord Zihu, what should we do now? Should we retreat?"
A general asked for instructions.
"No! We were already outnumbered and outmatched, and the reason we were able to drive the enemy into retreat was entirely due to our ever-increasing morale."
If we retreat now, morale will plummet and the troops will be demoralized; that would be tantamount to suicide.
Chen Zihu stared at the sand table, his expression grave.
"But if we don't retreat, how will we defend ourselves once the combined forces of the other three tribes arrive?"
Another general then asked for instructions.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. With the current deployment of my formation camp, if the allied forces of the three tribes try to launch a strong attack, I will definitely make them return in disgrace."
Nan Huaiyuan said confidently.
During his years at the Rune Research Institute, he led the research on formations in Chen Village, and developed many powerful new formations.
The most distinctive feature of the array constructed by the Rune Research Institute is its ability to fight in conjunction with intelligent mechanisms.
A prime example is Chen Village's "Intelligent Mechanism Fortress," which combines precise strikes with intelligent programming and traditional formations, resulting in a destructive power far exceeding that of traditional formations of the same level.
Therefore, he was very confident in himself. Unless a master at the Core Formation Realm, any army that dared to launch a strong attack on his defensive formation would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
"Actually, I feel that our biggest problem right now is our troop strength. With the enemy's troop strength, even if they just stand there and let us fight them, we might not be able to finish the war in one or two years."
Chen Zishan, who was in charge of logistics, couldn't help but speak up.
Although Chen Village has expanded rapidly, its territory is still less than one-third the size of the Jianglan Tribe. Moreover, the enemy has been established for generations, and the people are loyal and can easily gather a large number of soldiers, which is something that Chen Village cannot make up for in a short period of time.
As for elite soldiers, after this period of combat training and strict control of the casualty ratio, Chen Village's numbers are now on par with the Jianglan Tribe.
However, in terms of low- and mid-level troops, Chen Village were less than one-tenth the combined forces of the Jiang Lan and Yanzhu tribes.
If it weren't for their overwhelming superiority in equipment, Chen Village would have been unable to defend the territory they had captured.
"Our troop strength has always been our weakness. Our original plan was to fight to sustain our war effort and gradually grow stronger. But now the enemy has realized this and wants to gather all their forces to destroy us in one fell swoop."
So we have to change our plans. Does anyone have any ideas?
Chen Zihu looked around, observing everyone's reactions.
"Haha, it seems it's finally my turn to step in!"
Chen Duo stepped forward and spoke loudly.
"I propose that I lead the Five Elements Army directly to launch a surprise attack on the Jianglan Tribe's base camp and capture the Jianglan Tribe's leader alive."
Thus, the alliance of five major tribes collapsed without a fight; no matter how many troops they had, it would be useless.
Chen Duo's words were like a thunderbolt, shocking all the generals present with her boldness.
Are you sure you've thought this through?
Surprisingly, Chen Zihu did not immediately object.
"Of course! Zihu, I've mentioned this plan to you more than ten times already, I'm practically talking about it to death, so please let me go!"
Chen Duo persisted.
"Good! Now that things have come to this, this is indeed the best plan. I approve it!"
Chen Zihu had been considering Chen Duo's plan for many days, and now he finally made up his mind.
Although Chen Duo may be in danger this time, there is never absolute safety in this world. As the commander-in-chief of Chen Village, he should not be indecisive or hesitant.
"Haha, I'll go get ready now. Don't worry, Zihu! Just wait for my good news."
Chen Duo was an impatient person, and after receiving approval, she immediately left the military camp in a hurry.
Seven days later, at the Jianglan Tribe.
To avoid sentries and scouts along the way, Chen Duo led the Five Elements Army cautiously, moving much slower than a normal march. That's why it took them so long to reach the Jianglan Tribe's base camp.
The Jianglan Tribe's territory is located beside a huge river and is home to hundreds of thousands of people, making it a fairly large small city.
Nighttime, in the forest near the Jianglan Tribe's territory.
Chen Rufeng, leading 1,500 soldiers, was resting in a dense forest.
"Everyone rests for two hours. After two hours, the entire army will launch a surprise attack."
After Chen Rufeng issued the order, he and the other nine Five Elements Guards came to Chen Duo's side, forming a circle to listen to Chen Duo's instructions.
"Lady Chen Duo, what should we do next in this surprise attack?"
Chen Rufeng was initially skeptical of his cousin, who was a few years younger than him, leading him, but Chen Duo's outstanding performance over the past few days gradually convinced him to accept Chen Duo leadership.
Chen Duo took out a round Rune Artifacts from her storage ring, which was covered with mysterious runes.
She tapped the disc -Rune Artifacts a few times, and soon a virtual panoramic map appeared.
"These are the images transmitted back by the reconnaissance dummy we just deployed. Take a look, everyone. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them with me."
The set of Rune Artifacts that Chen Duo is currently using is the All-Terrain Detection System that Chen Mu has been perfecting.
This system uses reconnaissance golems such as rune bats and rune flies to collect information about the battlefield ahead. Then, through powerful algorithms, it organizes, splices, and stitches the information together to present a real-time panoramic map of the battlefield.
With this map, the enemy's every move was clearly visible, which is why the generals in Chen Village were able to easily anticipate the enemy's moves and achieve victory against overwhelming odds.
Unfortunately, operating these intelligent Rune Artifacts requires time and training, and even now there are not many people in Chen Village who can use these intelligent Rune Artifacts proficiently, but Chen Duo is one of the best among them.
Before holding a meeting with the Five Elements Guards, Chen Duo had already studied the panoramic map ahead, and now she began to explain her plan directly.
"For this surprise attack, I plan to use the waterway. Your Five Elements Battle Formation can move underwater, and as long as you keep your movements small, they won't be able to detect you."
Afterwards, we landed from this location and launched a direct attack on the inner city's residential areas.
Although the rune flies released by the All-Terrain Detection System are very good at burrowing into small places, there are still some places they can't get into, such as bedrooms, or some enclosed warehouses, training rooms, and so on.
Their goal for this operation was to plunge the Jianglan Tribe into chaos, and the best way to do that was to kill key figures in the Jianglan Tribe. If they could kill the Jianglan Tribe's leader Jiang Kechang, that would be even better.
They couldn't know exactly where these important figures were, so attacking the residential area directly was a good option.
"I have no objection to the plan! However, if we attack the tribal territory, there is a high chance that there will be Core Formation Realm cultivators left behind there."
Lady Chen Duo, are you confident?
Chen Rufeng spoke up to remind him.