Douluo—Chapter 18: An Extremely Ridiculous Military Order? Level 20!
Although Dai Chengfeng wanted to avenge his soldiers, he knew clearly that war was no joke and everything needed to be planned.
Otherwise, it would not be revenge, but sending the troops to die in vain!
The Art of War by Sun Tzu says: If you have ten times the enemy's force, you can surround them, trapping them in a way that they cannot escape; if you have a five-to-one advantage, you can launch a decisive attack, aiming to overwhelm the enemy; if you have two-to-one advantage allows you to divide your forces, creating a distraction or flanking maneuver that can weaken the enemy's defenses; If your forces are roughly equal in strength, you can engage in a head-on battle, relying on skill and tactics to gain the upper hand; If you are outnumbered, you should avoid confrontation and instead seek to evade the enemy, waiting for a more opportune moment to strike; If the enemy's force is vastly superior, it's best to retreat and preserve your resources, avoiding a battle that would likely result in defeat. [T/N: here I used a simplified version]
"Wu'an City has 2 times fewer soldiers available compared to the enemy. How can we surround and annihilate them? Not to mention, we have to attack the city and capture the stronghold..."
Dai Chengfeng took out the topographic map of Wuping City and looked at it carefully.
Soon, Dai Chengfeng frowned. Wuping City is similar to Wu'an City. Both are small frontier cities under the jurisdiction of the big city at the pass.
Although it is a small city, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack because it is built on the mountain.
"Since we can't attack by force, we can only use our wits... Then what is the biggest advantage I have over Wuping City?"
Dai Chengfeng stroked his chin.
Soon, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he grew confident.
"I almost forgot that this world is not my previous life!"
"Isn't my biggest advantage over Wuping City my uncle, Zhu Fan, a Soul Douluo?"
Then, Dai Chengfeng no longer hesitated and ordered outside the door, "Pass my military order!"
"Order Zhu Yan to do his best to build a series of siege equipment such as siege ladders within six months, and at the same time, send people to repair and level the official road leading to Wuping City at all costs for the army to pass in the future!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Soon, the guards outside the door hurried away.
At this moment, Zhu Fan and Zhu Yan, who were from the same family, were sitting by the martial arts field, watching the soldiers training and chatting.
At this time, the guards hurried over and delivered Dai Chengfeng's order to Zhu Yan.
"???"
"Such an absurd... uh... order?"
Zhu Yan listened to the guard's retelling, and his first reaction was... this order was simply ridiculous!
"Try your best to build siege equipment, but at all costs, make the road smooth?"
"Are you sure you didn't remember the order wrong?"
The guard shook his head hurriedly. "His Highness ordered this, and it is correct!"
"And His Highness specifically told you that you don't need to understand, just do it!"
"Yes, I obey!"
Zhu Yan nodded. Although he couldn't understand this military order at all, he still arranged it directly. After all, he had seen his own Highness's command art on the battlefield.
But after giving the order, he couldn't wait to rush back to the martial arts field and find Zhu Fan.
After all, giving such an order made him feel uneasy.
"Commander Zhu Fan, Your Highness wants to take revenge and attack Wuping City, and needs to build siege equipment, which I can understand."
"But you need to build roads?!"
"This, this, this... let me say something extremely treasonous... this order is simply ridiculous!"
"Isn't this equivalent to leaking the news in advance? The opponent's spies can probably guess the time of our attack by seeing when we stop building equipment and repairing roads?"
"Commander Zhu Fan, do you know why Your Highness gave such an extremely absurd order?"
Zhu Fan's eyes were also full of solemnity, and he shook his head. "I can't guess!"
After all, such an order completely violated the taboo of military strategists and took the initiative to expose all his whereabouts to the opponent in advance...
If someone else dared to issue such a ridiculous order in front of him, Zhu Fan would slap him and then scold him for being a fool who didn't know how to lead troops.
But he believed that his nephew was not that kind of person.
"Commander Zhu Fan, don't you know either?" Zhu Yan looked puzzled, with worry in his eyes. "Maybe we can't understand your Highness's foresight..."
"I hope so."
...
In the following time, even if Zhu Yan didn't understand why he had to prioritize paving the road, he still executed Dai Chengfeng's order.
And the soldiers of Wu'an City.
At first, they also questioned Zhu Yan...
But when they learned that the order came from Dai Chengfeng, the Fourth Prince, they stopped asking.
"Your Highness is the lifesaver of Wu'an City. Your Highness must have his reasons for doing this. How can we understand it?"
"Besides, can your Highness harm us?"
For a while, everything went according to plan, and the road repair work was in full swing.
On the contrary, not many siege equipment ware produced.
At this moment, even the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Dai An, knew about Wu'an City's unusual behavior.
Dai An looked at Zhu Fan's letter to him and couldn't help laughing or crying. "Did Chengfeng issue such a confused order?"
"Instead of prioritizing building siege equipment, they prioritized building roads. This, this, this..."
"It's just a jerk!"
The High Priest Zhu Hongye also frowned slightly. "It's a bit confusing."
"Your Highness previously commanded the defense of Wu'an City, and it was fought so well. But now, why..."
For a moment, a trace of worry flashed in the High Priest's eyes.
After all, building roads before fighting, or building them to the enemy's doorstep...
This is simply outrageous! Looking at the history of the Star Luo Empire over more than 500 years, no general dared to fight like this.
Dai An shook his head. "Alas, I can't tell whether this is Chengfeng's plan or just his childlike nature."
"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer..."
"Even if Chengfeng is defeated, our Star Luo Empire can afford to lose."
Everything continued until five and a half months later.
Wu'an City Lord's Mansion, Dai Chengfeng's room.
At this moment, Dai Chengfeng sat cross-legged on the bed, hands clasped, immersed in cultivation, with his soul power surging like a tide.
He closed his eyes tightly, his expression focused, and a slight sweat appeared on his forehead, though he was unaware of it.
After an unknown amount of time, a strong fluctuation of soul power suddenly erupted from Dai Chengfeng's body, and the airflow in the quiet room suddenly became turbulent.
Long hair swayed in the wind, clothes rustled...
Dai Chengfeng slowly opened his eyes, a flash of red and gold in his gaze. "I knew that the world was difficult from an early age, but I still wanted to fly high in the clouds... cough cough, that's not right."
Dai Chengfeng smiled and clenched his fists slightly, feeling the energy flowing through his body, his eyes full of surprise.
"Breakthrough! Soul power finally reached level 20!"
He murmured to himself, with uncontrollable excitement in his voice. "It's worthy of being the Innate Technique derived from the Yellow Emperor's Outer Classic!"
"Even during the day, because of the closure of the Middle Gate and Upper Gate, the efficiency of the exercises isn't high..."
"But I can still break through seven levels in a year!"
Although Dai Chengfeng had broken through two levels by absorbing a murderous aura, without the Innate Technique, he probably wouldn't have been able to refine the extremely violent murderous aura from the battlefield so easily.
"Next, I need to acquire the second soul ring, and then..."
"Revenge!"
Dai Chengfeng's eyes instantly became firm and sharp, as if he could pierce the wall and see Wuping City in the distance.
"Five and a half months—enough to paralyze you? Unless you're also the military genius Han Xin, otherwise..."
Dai Chengfeng said nothing more.
Instead, he turned his head to look at the bloody clothes he had deliberately kept and the long spear, almost broken into two sections with gaps.
He approached and slowly stroked the spear, a relic from the battlefield.
"Huh!"
Dai Chengfeng took a deep breath and whispered, "Wait for me!"
Then, he turned his head and addressed the outside of the door, "Uncle, my soul power has reached level 20. Is the carriage ready?"
He didn't want to wait any longer!
After hearing Dai Chengfeng's words, Zhu Fan, who had been waiting outside, entered.
He looked at Dai Chengfeng, shook his head, and sighed. "Hey, hey... hey!"
"Uncle, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing Zhu Fan deliberately sighing around him, Dai Chengfeng's forehead twitched with annoyance.
Hearing this, Zhu Fan stopped. "Although, I've long known that Chengfeng is a genius with innate full soul power..."
"But don't you think you've gone too far?"
Zhu Fan's eyes were full of relief and envy. "It took me nearly five years to reach level 20 in my soul power—five years!"
"But you?"
"In less than a year, you jumped from level 10 to level 20!"
"I've seen big scenes, but your pace is unheard of!"
"Woo woo woo..."
"Oh my god, how can the gap between people be bigger than that between people and dogs?!"
Dai Chengfeng, annoyed, rolled his eyes at Zhu Fan and then directly walked out the door. "We're leaving today to get the soul ring as soon as possible."
"Chengfeng, wait for me!"
Zhu Fan, watching Dai Chengfeng ignore his teasing, hurriedly trotted behind him. "Have you decided on your second soul ring and which soul beast to choose?"
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(End of this chapter)