Zhou Yan's mounts were incredibly fast. Coupled with the fact that the Qing soldiers were summoned from the imperial palace, they had to travel a considerable distance. The speed of the infantry was naturally far inferior to that of Zhou Yan's cavalry, resulting in Zhou Yan reaching the second city of Qing before the enemy had even arrived.
This speed astonished outsiders, who marveled at the grade and quality of Zhou Yan's mounts.
Only a few teachers with extensive knowledge recognized that Zhou Yan's mounts were all level 70 or higher, with a minimum quality of Elite, and many even being Gold, Platinum, or Diamond tier!
This left them in shock!
Such monsters were not easily encountered, and even if they were, capturing them to become mounts was practically impossible.
The higher the level of a monster, the more difficult it was to capture, let alone make them submit.
It was precisely for this reason that they were incredibly curious about what methods Zhou Yan had used to capture so many high-quality monsters as mounts.
Zhou Yan: Guess! ︿(￣︶￣)︿
"The disparity in troop types is too obvious. Zhou Yan summoned only cavalry, and his mounts are too fast. Rank's Qing country is about to lose several cities before it can even develop!"
"Regardless, Zhou Yan's ability to summon such an army is his own strength. Besides, he's not the only one with mounts."
"Look at Qin Yao, she summoned Dragon Riders. Her mounts are not simple either, but she didn't think of the same strategy as Zhou Yan. Instead, she focused on development. This is a tactical issue. Even if Rank is annihilated, he can only blame himself."
"Zhou Yan's intellect is truly remarkable. He fully utilizes his troop's advantages to gain an edge, which only proves how intelligent he is."
...
Zhou Yan arrived at the second city of Qing once more and occupied it immediately.
[Congratulations on occupying one of Qing's cities, gain 1 point, can summon an additional two thousand people.]
With the ability to summon another two thousand soldiers, Zhou Yan didn't hesitate and immediately summoned them.
[Congratulations on occupying one of Qing's cities, gain 1 point, can summon an additional two thousand people.]
Following this, Chen Qingzhi also successfully occupied a city. Zhou Yan summoned another two thousand people, and the number of Zhou Yan's soldiers increased significantly.
Zhou Yan left a few hundred soldiers behind and prepared to head towards the next city.
This scene left countless people shocked and speechless, while also feeling pity for Rank.
This poor child, before he had a chance to develop, had already lost three cities. No, to be precise, it should be four, because there was a city near Zhou Yan's border that Zhou Yan bypassed entirely.
They naturally understood Zhou Yan's objective in doing so; it would save a lot of time, allowing them to capture more cities.
"Report, my lord, we have discovered enemy traces outside." A soldier reported.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile. He had planned to occupy the next city, but it seemed that was no longer possible.
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Oh, they've finally arrived? It's a pity, it's already too late."
Then, Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes, a thought struck him, and he said, "The enemy surely doesn't know we've already occupied this city. This is excellent. We'll lure them into a trap, open the gates and let them in."
Zhou Yan then ordered all soldiers to hide in the distance of the streets, waiting for the enemy to enter the city before launching a cavalry charge to annihilate them.
"Yes!"
Zhou Yan made his arrangements, and people outside remarked that Zhou Yan was very cunning, luring the enemy into the city when they were unaware it had been occupied, and then destroying them. It was indeed a brilliant plan.
But they had to admit that Zhou Yan's strategy was incredibly wise.
Many understood the principles, but only a small portion could actually conceive of such a plan.
After making the arrangements, Zhou Yan also hid himself, quietly waiting for the enemy's arrival.
These soldiers numbered around six thousand. At this stage, these soldiers were not meant to garrison this city; some of them were still needed to garrison the next city. Unfortunately, they had no idea that city had already been occupied by Zhou Yan.
If these six thousand men were all annihilated, Zhou Yan would be able to sever one of Qing's arms, causing immense pain to Rank.
Rank: Zhou Yan, you are heartless! (╬￣皿￣)
In addition, Chen Qingzhi also received news about the Qing army. The number of soldiers under his command was also six thousand.
As it was a border city, the number of soldiers stationed there would certainly not be small, while the soldiers garrisoning the heart of the country would not require as many.
Unfortunately, these soldiers would not know that the two cities they were to garrison had already been captured by Zhou Yan.
Chen Qingzhi's approach differed from Zhou Yan's. Because he had more soldiers and had carefully scouted the terrain, Chen Qingzhi opted for an ambush.
Chen Qingzhi had examined the terrain carefully. Outside the city, there was an area with terrain that could be fully utilized. As long as they set up a good ambush, not a single enemy would escape.
The road leading to this city was a valley. Chen Qingzhi first sent six thousand cavalry through the valley to lay an ambush in front of it, instructing the soldiers to clear any traces on the ground to avoid detection.
Then, Chen Qingzhi arranged for several powerful individuals to hide in the sky above the valley. Upon seeing the enemy, they were to send him a message.
When the soldiers above the valley sent their message, Chen Qingzhi would lead his six thousand cavalry in a charge towards the enemy.
If only they had enough time and equipment, Chen Qingzhi would have annihilated all these enemies with arrows or by transporting enough stones to crush them.
After setting everything up, Chen Qingzhi also waited for the enemy to arrive.
The live broadcast from the outside world had essentially shifted to the battles involving Zhou Yan.
While others were still developing their territories peacefully, Zhou Yan had already launched a two-pronged offensive, both in the form of ambushes.
The teachers of Shengyang Academy's faces darkened collectively once more.
A strong student was not a problem, but a strong student who also possessed a remarkably clever mind was truly terrifying.
This was undoubtedly a nightmare for other students.
The teachers of Shengyang Academy could already foresee the fate of these twelve thousand soldiers.
They felt a pang of reluctance to see their students annihilated in confusion, yet they also yearned to see a miracle, hoping their students could withstand the enemy in adversity.
...