Chapter 152: The Benefits of Upgrades

【I don’t know why the main capture target, Tsenpo Ling, is suddenly paying attention to my host, but it should be a good thing.】

System 12345 thought to itself.

【But we can put her aside for the time being. Let’s focus on the appetizer first... Ehehe!】

Once again, System 12345 posted another portrait that showed a dark-skinned woman shrouded in a mysterious veil. She had golden and silver accessories hanging all over her body.

【She looks like an exotic dancer, but that’s not it. She’s a powerful mage. Those who don’t know her name call her the Lizard Queen over her expertise in controlling Desert Monitors.】

【My host, since you’re walking down the all-kill route, why don’t you conquer her too?】

System 12345 snickered

【You should tread carefully since she’s a mage, so...】

Oh? I just realized something...

System 12345 suddenly realized something.

I’ve been pinpointing the target for my host, but he’s the one who came up with his plan and dealt with it all on his own... Doesn’t that mean that I didn’t help much?

That won’t do! I’m not training my competencies at all!

My graduation is already guaranteed, so I should be pursuing excellence instead!

System 12345 decided to personally take charge and provide its host with a step-by-step guide to complete this mission!

【My host, the Lizard Queen often demands the nearby cities to offer tribute to her. You can rush to one of these cities, hide there, then... 】

【Oh? You’re pretty close to one of the cities. That’s great!】

System 12345 quickly removed the fog of war around Zhujubo.

【My host, you should head here!】

...

Zhujubo’s city lord wasn’t so naive as to think that he could defeat hundreds of thousands of terracotta soldiers with just his army. It was much more reasonable for him to guard the city for a month instead.

Zhujubo was a resilient fortress, with deep ditches and sturdy walls, ample rations, and an army of 20,000 valiant soldiers and a few thousand war slaves. Other than that, they also had a huge number of adventurers and mercenaries.

Even if they were severely outnumbered, it shouldn’t be too tough for them to hold their ground for some time.

As long as they could hold till reinforcements from other cities arrived, with the Lizard Queen and the Antlion Whisperer ambushing the terracotta soldiers from behind, the Tang army would surely fall in defeat!

Of course, this was assuming they could last till then!

So, Zhujubo’s city lord dispatched a few envoys forth to feign interest in a negotiation.

The Tang army would need to set up their camp and construct siege equipment anyway, so it would be a waste not to attempt negotiation.

Besides, it wouldn’t be easy for the Tang army to take down a sturdy fortress like Zhujubo. Ideally, it would be best if they could convince Zhujubo to surrender, with an outright attack being the last resort since they would suffer heavy casualties from that too.

Zhujubo’s city lord figured that if they displayed a lack of confidence in the negotiation, looking as if they were inclined to surrender, the Tang army might just fall for it. That could convince the Tangs to refrain from launching an outright assault, at least in the short term.

“All of you, make sure to stay sharp!” Zhujubo’s city lord ordered. “I don’t care how you insult them as Tang slaves in your mind, but make sure to address them as the Tang’s imperial army or heavenly soldiers. Bootlick them until their greaves are too slick to step on dirt!”

Bzzt! Bzzt!

The lightning defense towers unleashed their prowess.

Devastating lightning crackled forth as thousands of silver snakes, wreaking havoc on the terracotta soldiers. The terracotta soldiers’ magic resistance might be higher than the skeletons, but it was really just a meager difference.

Wherever the silver snakes ravaged, the terracotta soldiers collapsed. Their mud bodies were scorched, and their bones were charred.

Countless terracotta soldiers were blasted into the sky before raining down. Some larger chunks of mud even crushed a couple of terracotta soldiers beneath them.

It also didn’t help that they were hindered by the moat and the ditches filled with sharp spikes.

Many terracotta soldiers collapsed for good.

Whoosh!

A blast of crimson flames that resembled a giant dragon hissing with its greedy tongue swallowed the terracotta soldiers whole, turning them into bundles of fireball.

“Ready...fire!”

The archers on the city walls fired their glowing magic-piercing arrows. There was no need to aim; the terracotta soldiers were so concentrated that they could hit an enemy with closed eyes.

A portion of the terracotta soldiers below halted their footsteps to fire back at the city walls. However, they were at a disadvantage being on the lower ground, and the Tibetans had all kinds of defensive artifacts to neutralize their arrows.

As such, the terracotta soldiers’ counterattack turned out to be lackluster.

Zhujubo’s city lord shook his head as he eyed the enemy corpses stacking up beneath the city. “Which idiot is commanding those terracotta soldiers? His troops die in vain! The enemy should now know that it’s futile. They should be retreating any time now.”

He raised his head and revealed a gleeful smile, only for his face to stiffen up seconds later.

He noticed a problem.

The terracotta soldiers were suffering heavy losses, but their numbers weren’t decreasing at all! There were still countless terracotta soldiers swarming toward Zhujubo, and they extended from beneath the city walls all the way to the horizon.

It was truly an ocean of gray.

“...Shit!” Zhujubo’s city lord exclaimed.

A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.

Damn it!

The necromancer can’t be thinking of sacrificing his terracotta soldiers to forge a straight path over the city walls, is he? Given the terrifying number of troops he has, he might just be able to pull it off!

“Call more men up here!” Zhujubo’s city lord screeched. “Anyone who can hold a weapon is to come to the city walls right now!”

...

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Shu Yichao clicked his tongue as he watched the battle.

“These terracotta soldiers are much better than the skeletons. Cover them in a layer of mud, and they become much better at filling potholes than mere bones.”

Skeletons struck by the lightning defense tower would be reduced to ashes, but the terracotta soldiers would at least leave a clump of charred clay. Thirty terracotta soldiers could easily fill a hole that would usually take hundreds of skeletons.

That greatly accelerated the pace of Shu Yichao’s attack.