Chapter 185 An Obvious Trap

Morale was a key factor that contributed to a successful defence.

And this was not simply referring to the morale of the guards, but that of the inhabitants of the town as well.

People's thoughts were complex and unpredictable.

In a situation where the inhabitants of the town had lost confidence in their guards, it was unknown just what they could end up doing.

Some might fall into despair.

Some might pack and flee.

Some might even resort to betraying the guards for an opportunity to curry favours with the impending enemies.

Thus, General Mingli Yongsheng clearly understood that his top priority right now would have to be restoring the confidence level of the masses.

However, how would General Nanbai Zhaoyu allow him to do as he pleased?

"Capture them."

General Nanbai Zhaoyu's cold voice sounded out right as the battle concluded between Lu Tianzi and his tenth opponent.

The moment he gave his orders, Lu Tianzi and the rest of the group made their move, instantly surrounding the twenty Essence Building realm martial artists who had been sent out by Drakesin Town.

"Damn it!" the martial artists who were surrounded cursed under their breath.

Faced with martial artists who were of a higher cultivation realm, there was not the slightest chance of them breaking out of the encirclement.

Some of them cast hopeful glances at General Mingli Yongsheng who was currently standing atop the town walls, only to be faced with the latter's stoic expression.

Looking at that stone cold expression of the general, these men felt their blood turn cold as well.

At this moment, they finally understood that it was truly the end of the road for them.

After all, even the mighty General Mingli Yongsheng would be helpless when bound by a Heaven's Oath!

Resigned to their fate, the twenty of them closed their eyes, waiting for the end that was to come.

However, what they expected did not arrive.

Instead of performing a mass execution, those from the Shadowfront Regiment stepped forward to strike them hard on the back of their necks.

Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!

One by one, the Essence Building realm martial artists from Drakesin Town fell to the ground, having lost consciousness for the moment.

"Well done." General Nanbai Zhaoyu complimented. "Now, proceed as you have been told!"

Upon his command, numerous soldiers from the Shadowfront Regiment stepped forward, carrying wooden beams that they quickly hammered into the ground.

Each of the unconscious soldiers had a strange liquid forced down their throats, something that Lu Tianzi watched with great interest.

Before the start of the battle, General Nanbai Zhaoyu had briefly shared with them the general idea of his plan.

Thus, Lu Tianzi knew for certain that this strange liquid was called Nerve Water. It was a poison used by the Scarlet Moon Army, and had effects similar to some sort of tranquiliser. If used in suitable amounts, it was able to cause weakness to a target, preventing any further resistance.

Having dabbled in poison previously, Lu Tianzi closely examined this Nerve Water as it was being administered, trying to learn as much as he could about it.

After they were done with their tasks, those from the Shadowfront Regiment returned to their ranks in an orderly manner.

What they left behind, however, was a neat line of twenty Essence Building realm martial artists, each tied to a wooden beam.

"What is the meaning of this?" General Mingli Yongsheng looked right past them, staring straight at General Nanbai Zhaoyu. "The agreement is for them to be executed, not taken hostage!"

"That's not exactly right." General Nanbai Zhaoyu smirked. "When we made the Heaven's Oath, the agreement is not for them to be executed, but for their lives to be left in the hands of the other party, isn't it? Since that is the case, it is up to me to decide what to do with them. Even if I wish to execute them, I can choose not to do so right now! What is wrong with that?"

General Mingli Yongsheng frowned.

It was impossible for someone who was bound by the Heaven's Oath to go back on their word.

Thus, just the fact that nothing was happening to General Nanbai Zhaoyu meant that he had not infringed on the agreement.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to acknowledge the other party's words.

"The soldiers in Drakesin Town, listen up!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu suddenly spoke, once again projected his voice to reach even to the furthest corners of Drakesin Town.

With how wide the coverage was, not only the soldiers listen, but even the other town inhabitants stopped what they were doing to follow suit as well.

This was a rare chance to learn more about their enemy!

How would they dare to miss a single word that was about to be said?

After all, this could heavily influence their next step, be it to stay or to flee!

"We of the Scarlet Moon Army have with us twenty of your comrades. As if they were mere objects, they had been lost to us in a contest that has beeen agreed to by your General Mingli Yongsheng," General Nanbai Zhaoyu continued. "Now that we have them in our hands, every day from today onwards, we will be killing one of them! But of course, this is not without room for negotiation. As long as anyone of you above the Essence Building realm comes out here and win a fair duel with one of us at the same cultivation realm, we will release all of them immediately!"

"Such an obvious trap!" General Mingli Yongsheng snorted in contempt. "Do you dare swear a Heaven's Oath that you will keep to your promise?"

"Hahaha! A Heaven's Oath again?" General Nanbai Zhaoyu laughed. "If you want me to do so, it is not entirely impossible either. However, I can't always be the one on the losing end of the deal. This time, what do you have to offer in exchange?"

"Tch! Just kill them! No one is going to fall for your little schemes!" General Mingli Yongsheng swiftly evaded the topic.

After all, he had zero intentions of letting anymore of his men face that monster!

"As expected, they are mere dispensable pawns to you, aren't they?" General Nanbai Zhaoyu shook his head in disapproval. "In that case, you can always kill them personally. It is not as though I am stopping you. Though I wonder what others will think of someone who is incompetent enough to lose your subordinates in a contest, and even when given a chance to redeem their lives, decides to cower away in fear!"

General Mingli Yongsheng gritted his teeth in frustration.

Not stopping him from killing them personally?

The Heaven's Oath dictated that the lives of the men had to be in the hands of the other party!

If he actually made his move, it would be infringing on the agreement!

As for having one of his subordinates act on his behalf, that was not entirely impossible. He was simply restricted from giving the order.

After all, he was the one who swore the Heaven's Oath, and his subordinates were not bound.

On top of that, many in his ranks had served him for a long period of time, and understood his style of handling things.

Even if he did not speak of it explicitly, they would understand his intentions, especially since they witnessed him swearing by the Heaven's Oath earlier.

It was just that having someone else do the killing for him could seem even more pathetic.

If they went ahead with such a plan and word spread about it, it would not only be a stain on his reputation, but it might even cause morale in the town to plummet even further!

Just like the other party said, others might truly start thinking of him as someone who was incompetent enough to lose his subordinates in a contest, and even when given a chance to redeem their lives, decided to cower away in fear!

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That was especially the case when the thought had already been implanted in their heads by the other party.

However, if he simply left things be, the guards under him would be forced to watch as their comrades were killed one by one.

That was surely not a good option.

But considering the current situation, was it already the best option he had?

"Oh, there is something I forgot to add!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu grinned. "We of the Scarlet Moon Army are generous in nature, so even if an Origin Core realm expert wishes to challenge us, we will accept all the same!"

"Tch!" General Mingli Yongsheng clicked is tongue in irritation.

Was this a test to see if he had the highest cultivation level in the town?

Considering that the enemy general was at the Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm, anyone below that would only be disadvantaged if they went out there.

And even if he disregarded that, after having reached the Origin Core realm, who would be willing to put their lives on the line for the sake of a mere twenty Essence Building realm soldiers?

After all, without the restriction of a Heaven's Oath, there was nothing stopping the other party from ganging up on any Origin Core realm martial artist who exited the safety of the town!

"Send down my instructions, I want all officers to meet me in the strategy room right now!"

Flicking his sleeves in frustration, General Mingli Yongsheng turned around and stomped off the top of the town walls.

"I will be waiting for any brave challenger, with or without your general's consent!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu put in one last word before turning back to his soldiers. "Set up a defensive barrier! We will be camping here for the rest of the month!"

"Yes, sir!"

The men who originated from Shadowfront Fortress moved quickly, testament to the fact that they were already used to doing this.

One by one, large tents were put up and formation flags were put down.

Before long, the bottom of the slope where the Shadowfront Regiment stood had completely transformed into a military camp, complete with defensive formations and temporary barricades.

These defensive formations even stretched forward to encompass the line of Essence Condensation realm hostages, preventing any harm from befalling them.

Of course, such a defensive setup might be able to deflect ranged attacks from Essence Condensation realm martial artists, but it would never be able to stop an Origin Core realm martial artist from taking the lives of these hostages.

But General Nanbai Zhaoyu was certain that no one of that cultivation realm would make a move to kill these hostages on the sly, and that General Mingli Yongsheng himself would be the one to make sure of that.

After all, reputation mattered a lot in the eyes of generals!

Men of the army deeply respected strength and strategy.

While taking down enemies with crafty tricks was a sign of intelligence, taking down their own hostages who were not even in a position to reveal classified information was a sign of helplessness.

It would be a different matter if their deaths were inevitable, but in this situation, General Nanbai Zhaoyu had gone out of his way to provide them with a lifeline!

Even if these people were dispensable pawns to the general, it did not mean that they have no true friends within their ranks.

While these people might not have the strength to rescue their friends, seeing their friends killed off by people on their side would utterly crush their morale!

That would be the last thing General Mingli Yongsheng wanted.

By leaving them to die in the hands of the Shadowfront Regiment, General Mingli Yongsheng could instead direct their hatred to the enemy.

That way, they would even be able to fight with increased vigour and call upon greater strength when the attack on Drakesin Town truly began!

It was just a pity that General Nanbai Zhaoyu cared not for that.

In his eyes, this attack on Drakesin Town was nothing but a diversion!

While Drakesin Town was a key defensive point in the eyes of the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom, it was not the case for the Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

After all, the direction towards which the town had to be defended was completely different for the two sides.

Of course, if the opportunity arose, he would not hesitate to capture the town.

However, even if he did capture it, General Nanbai Zhaoyu would simply raze it to the ground just like the towns before it!

What truly mattered to him, as well as to the upper echelons of the Scarlet Moon Army, was not the fight in the north at all.

As long as he could pose enough of a threat for the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom to pull in further reinforcements, weakening their defences in the central region, he would have accomplished his mission here.

And thanks to having Nanlu Tianzi under his command, the result of this day had been a great success!