Not Satisfied by a Wish-Fulfillment Novel? You're Identifying with the Wrong Character

"This is outrageous!!"

[Gill's Cuisine] Slaps thigh in frustration:

"He even picked one, huh?"

[Ginseng Rooster] sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I can't help it—haven't you heard of 'likes and dislikes stemming from the same cause'? We follow him because he's not very bright, so we have to figure out how to deal with the messes he makes because of his lack of intelligence."

[Gill's Cuisine] I understand, but I'm still quite annoyed:

"What other options are there? I think we should just launch a direct assault on Sand Capital."

"It's not that simple. Sand Capital is well-fortified and heavily fortified. We've only fought one battle today; who knows how many more we'll have to fight before we can break through."

"If we can break through, that would be fine. I'm more worried about the peace talks you mentioned..."

[Gill's Cuisine] whispered in my ear:

"This reminds me of the light novel I've been reading lately."

What kind of wish-fulfillment novel?

"It's the kind of 'feel-good' novel where a great general or prince rebels because he's vying with the emperor for the female lead, and the rebel army even reaches the gates of the capital, only to have the commander-in-chief relinquish his military power and await his death because of a promise from the emperor or the threat of the female lead's life."

"Draft beer, what's so great about this?"

"I'm not bringing the coach into it, so of course I'm having a blast."

[Gill's Cuisine] whispered:

You see--

"Imagine the female lead: it's like the two most powerful and influential people in the world fighting to the death for you—isn't that satisfying?"

"If we include the emperor, then minotaur enthusiasts will be ecstatic. To commit such heinous acts and still be able to control hundreds of thousands of people with just one life—isn't that satisfying?"

Even Nobody should know that if those in high positions are all idiots, then their chance has come...

[Ginseng Rooster] thought for a moment and then asked:

"It felt good, but the problem itself wasn't solved..."

"How do those wish-fulfillment novels resolve the issues later on? Does the male lead really go and give himself away?"

"Who told you the commander-in-chief is the male lead?"

"Huh? And who is the male lead?"

"The indecisive commander's capable adjutant was executed."

"!"

[Ginseng Rooster] suddenly realized:

You mean we need to...

He made a cutting motion at the neck, then shook his head.

"No way, brother. Putting aside whether we've developed feelings for each other after all this time, the problem is we're in a fantasy world. Without High Tier, you can't do anything."

"Besides, Colin is a High Tier, we can't beat him, so your method won't work."

"It works, just needs a few tweaks."

[Gill's Cuisine] is very confident about this:

"I remember you were the one who named him 'Fang Soldiers,' right? Don't you remember what Fang Soldiers is good at?"

"Skilled at changing bosses."

"That's not it."

[Gill's Cuisine] Trying hard to suppress a laugh:

"Good at making decisions on my own."

"What empire coming or not? Isn't it the scouts gathering information? Then let me ask you, who's in charge of the Messengers right now?"

"Ah, you're planning to make me..."

"Replace the scouts, conceal the news, isolate the army from both inside and outside, and have the entire army set up camp to the north, avoiding any encounters with the Imperial army as much as possible."

Upon closer reflection, what [Gill's Cuisine Ginseng Rooster said actually makes a lot of sense.

With his companion's guidance, he suddenly understood many things:

"I understand. The first step is to get Colin's agreement to move the camp north to avoid a direct confrontation with the Imperial army."

"From now on, all we need to do is control the people who come into contact with Colin every day. Anyone who dares to say anything more can be sent to attack the city."

"That's absolutely right, bro."

[Gill's Cuisine] Nodding frantically:

So do you have a solution for this?

[Ginseng Rooster] thought for a moment and said firmly:

"I have a way. I have some intelligence; if we piece it together, we can guide the conversation in this direction."

"Very good!"

[Gill's Cuisine] It sped up and stood up immediately:

"Also, I need to give the Empire a heads-up beforehand, telling them to try to attack from the south of the city. I'll go contact [the Great Wei Boxing Champion] now."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Colin."

The two hit it off immediately and soon got to work.

[Ginseng Rooster] found Colin, who was recovering his strength.

The new generation of Holy Remains councilors and the veteran [Thousand Faces] fought for several hours outside the Sand Capital without a clear victor, until Colin's main force of hundreds of thousands of Skeleton Man arrived at the city, at which point the two sides temporarily ceased hostilities.

Although it's unclear whether [Thousand Faces] used his full strength, [Ginseng Rooster] felt that if the main force hadn't arrived, Colin would have been completely outmatched.

At this moment, Senator Colin was recovering his vitality in the makeshift camp, but his movements were not like those of a meditating cross-legged figure in a fantasy work. Instead, he looked more like a half-dead fish leaning against a rock that could hardly be called a "wall," panting heavily.

"Sir, are you alright?"

[The Ginseng Rooster] asked politely.

"Fine."

Colin propped himself up:

"How's it going with your task of overseeing the camp setup?"

"The entire army has been settled."

[Ginseng Rooster] said:

"I just have something else I'd like to ask your opinion on."

"Speak."

Colin tilted his head slightly to show that he was listening attentively.

[The Ginseng Rooster] then recounted the firsthand information he knew, mixing it all together:

"A couple of days ago, the former warlord of the [Whale Tail] Legion sent someone to persuade the 50,000 remnants of the [Whale Tail] Legion, and now there's a result."

"Really? What was the result?"

"Those 50,000 remnants are willing to submit to us, but on one condition."

What are the conditions?

"That's right. The [Whale Tail] Legion excels in naval warfare and is currently stationed near the port. If they're too far from us, they're very vulnerable to being easily defeated by the city's elite forces—[Thousand Faces] has already begun moving troops towards the port since taking over the city's defenses."

"So what do they want us to do?"

"Therefore, their condition is that we want our entire army's encampment to move north, closer to the port, so that we can support each other in the later battles."

Colin pondered for a moment upon hearing this:

What do you think?

I think it's okay.

[Ginseng Rooster] said seriously:

"Fifty thousand people are really important to us. Having fifty thousand more is equivalent to Sand Capital losing fifty thousand people, which means a total of one hundred thousand people..."

"I understand. So, would it be difficult for us to agree to their conditions?"

[Ginseng Rooster] thought for a moment and said:

Actually, it won't.

"Since our goal was to storm the Sand Capital and kill [Thousand Faces], and given that the armies outside could encircle us at any time, there was no need for us to besiege the city."

"After merging with the remnants of the [Whale Tail] Legion, we can begin to attempt a full-scale assault."

"Although siege warfare usually lasts for several months, the Skeleton Man do not need food and water in the conventional sense, so there is no point in simply besieging them without attacking."

"It would be best to capture the city before the end of the month; otherwise, a prolonged delay will be very disadvantageous for us."