Leap Forward Comics: Watch How I Become a Villainess

Chapter 146 Sorcery

The next day, Lu He revised his strategy and led his army to approach Yucheng.

As the city gate came into view, two heads, their faces no longer recognizable, still hung on the gate tower.

It stimulated the nerves throbbing in Lu He's brain, which were now filled with hatred and anger.

"Report!" The scouts explored the interior of Yucheng and found that there were only about 50,000 troops inside.

This feeling of strategizing and winning from afar stirred Lu He's heart. Upon hearing the news, she roughly understood the other party's intention to use the "empty city strategy," but why were they doing this?

“They’re trying to stall for time,” Gao Kuang, who was familiar with military strategy, said. He was the only one among these people who had actually fought in battles and been on the battlefield. “I’m afraid they’ve abandoned Yu City and retreated to Chu City or Chang City to buy time and wait for reinforcements.”

"They have reinforcements?" Chao Huaiyuan was shocked. The disparity in troop strength was already huge. If the enemy had reinforcements, even with the mechanical skills provided by Lu He, it would be difficult to deal with them.

“He can’t support that many private soldiers. The reason he was able to raise 700,000 before was because he recruited bandits and mountain thieves from the vicinity of his fiefdom, including the 100,000 garrison troops from Chu City.” Gao Zhan pondered for a moment: “I’m afraid they are going to borrow troops from Tongchi Kingdom.”

Hmph, Lu He had actually thought of all this long ago, but he assumed that they had borrowed troops from the beginning. He never expected that the 700,000-strong army was actually the work of the King of the Swan himself. He really underestimated him.

Suddenly, she had a change of heart. Wait a minute, is this normal? Did the King of Hu raise such a huge army from the very beginning? Could it be that he had been planning to rebel all along?

“This Prince Hu probably won’t ally with either the Crown Prince or the Third Prince. His goal from the beginning has always been to become emperor himself…” Lu He said, expressing his earlier conjecture: “He has probably been lying in wait for an opportunity…” He may have even coveted the throne as early as when his elder brother ascended the throne, before he was able to seize it.

"This is the message Blackbird sent back, take a look." Chao Huaiyuan handed Lu He the bamboo scroll he had just retrieved. It contained all of Nie Zhiyuan's confession, including their contact with the border general Chao Zhiyi, who had raised an army to attack back from the northern border, intending to launch a pincer attack with the King of Hu, leaving the capital besieged on both sides. "The northern border is about ten days away from the capital, so it would only take a little over a month to get back." Chao Huaiyuan frowned; the situation in the north was not optimistic.

Chao Zhiyi also has nearly 700,000 troops under his command. Bai Jin led the Thousand Machine Division to scout the situation in the north. I wonder if they are alright. If they can't stop them, Li Cen will be in danger!

"We must act swiftly..." Yu City had no civilians, only the army left behind by King Hu. Originally, Lu He had intended to retrieve the heads of General Lu and Prefect Qin, but time was of the essence, and they had no choice but to...

Inside Yucheng, soldiers stood guard on the city gate tower, watching every move below.

For the past half day, the opposing side has been camped outside the city, without launching an attack. Their intentions remain unclear. As night falls, could they be planning a night raid?

The one left to guard the city was a minor military officer who was used to bullying others and had been burning, killing, and looting along the way. He was now lying bored on the city wall, sunbathing, complaining that there was nowhere to have fun in this empty city of Yucheng. No wonder they were soldiers brought by the King of Hu; they were all lustful and their minds were only on playing with women. They were extremely filthy.

"Report! A flock of birds has taken flight from the tent across the way!" The scouts on the city gate saw a spectacle they had never seen before: a dark flock of birds was rising straight up from the tent across the way.

"They can control animals? This is sorcery! How could we possibly defeat them!" The military officer jumped to his feet: "Hurry up and pack your things, I'm going to Chu City to report!" He was terrified and wanted to escape.

After ordering his soldiers to fight to the death, the general packed up a bundle full of gold and silver treasures, mounted his horse, and fled the city. Instead of heading south to Chu City, he fled into the boundless mountains. He abandoned the battle and simply ran away.

Of course, the soldiers in the city didn't know that the adjutant had run away, and they were still nervously preparing archers to shoot down the flocks of birds in the sky.

The flock of birds was too high and did not lower their altitude; they all looked up, nocked their bows, and aimed at the sky.

Suddenly, the flock of birds seemed to drop something down. As countless tiny black dots fell, their outlines grew larger and larger into view.

"shoot!"

Arrows flew into the sky in unison...

As the sun sets, the sky gradually turns red, and the evening glow illuminates the sky, making today exceptionally beautiful.

King Hu stood on the city wall of Chu, admiring the fiery red clouds on the horizon, his heart filled with emotion. He had not seen such a beautiful sight in a long time.

As darkness fell and the sun set, the red glow grew ever brighter, appearing like a sacred halo on the horizon.

"...This is..." King Hu staggered and grabbed the city wall for support. That wasn't Luo Xia; it was Yu City, burned to the ground...