Chapter 587 - 359: The Eighteen Nobles’ Crusade Against Zog (Part 2)

Chapter 587: Chapter 359: The Eighteen Nobles’ Crusade Against Zog (Part 2)

"Mass-producing troops?" Figxin had never heard the term, but after a moment’s thought, she quickly understood what it meant. "Yes, my plan is to hold Delong Castle and mass-produce troops. Capturing it has another advantage: it’s easy to defend and hard to attack, making it an excellent training ground. The enemy’s harassment and attempted assaults will be constant. I can use this opportunity to have our warriors start with low-difficulty combat and quickly accumulate practical experience."

’So that’s it,’ Zog thought. ’She’s planning to farm the Royal Family’s legions for experience points.’

’Wait a minute... this tactic of using the enemy as a training camp... why does it feel so familiar?’

"I have no objection to that, but can we guarantee we’ll have enough time for training after taking Delong Castle? Training new recruits takes half a year at least. If the enemy gathers all their forces and launches a major offensive during that time, it won’t be ’low-difficulty combat’ anymore."

"That’s why our counter-attack must be a success. We need to create an overwhelming advantage to strike fear into them. I know these nobles all too well. To them, war is just business. If the risk outweighs the reward, they’ll find all sorts of excuses to refuse or delay. The so-called King is merely the most powerful Lord, stronger than the others, but he doesn’t have the authority to command them directly. Or rather, he can issue commands, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be executed efficiently or accurately."

Figxin had pointed out the flaws of the old system directly.

"Alright, let’s do it that way then. What support do you need to take Delong Castle?"

’Figxin made it quite clear,’ Zog thought. ’Taking Delong Castle with only two thousand people would be difficult. She was implying that she needed my help.’

Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Figxin’s face. She had been afraid that Zog would want to command the war himself.

She greatly respected Zog’s abilities, but commanding a war was not within a Dragon’s skillset. An amateur leading a professional always spelled disaster.

However, Zog continued his usual practice: letting the professionals handle their own areas of expertise.

"I need air support from your Giant Dragons. Since only you can command them, and the Dragons of the Northern Domain must remain stationed there, I’ll need you to dispatch a force from the Dragon Race in Deepwater City. Their mission will be to destroy military targets inside Delong Castle."

"Of course. That’s simple enough," Zog agreed immediately.

Dragons, after all, had some violent genes. The ones assigned to delivering packages and farming had been getting a bit restless after working for so long.

They usually resorted to fighting each other.

But their brawls were well-controlled. At worst, they’d inflict minor injuries, which would heal quickly thanks to the Dragon Race’s regenerative abilities.

Their population wasn’t large to begin with; killing off a few of their own would be practically inviting extinction.

If they were given a chance to go bomb a city, no Dragon would be able to resist the temptation.

"Then I won’t need any other support," Figxin said decisively.

"When exactly will you need the Dragon Race?"

"There’s no rush. It will be some time before the war begins. At least, not until after they’ve sent their declaration of war."

"A declaration of war?"

"Yes, it’s a noble tradition. Before starting a war, they must send a declaration to the enemy. It usually starts by boasting about their own strength, then positions them on the side of justice while condemning the enemy’s evil deeds, and finally, it sets a time for the battle to commence."

"They even write down the start time?"

Zog almost lost his composure. These nobles fought their wars with a certain classical, romantic flair.

"Do you need a reply drafted? Zete Mage is quite skilled at this, he just rarely gets a chance to show it."

"A reply? I’ll write it myself."

’A declaration of war, huh? The goal is to make the other side as angry as possible.’ When it came to raising blood pressure, Zog was an expert.

"Oh, right. Here’s some promotional copy about you. Take a look and see if there’s anything inappropriate that needs changing."

"Promotional copy... about me?" Figxin was taken aback.

"Of course. We need a just cause, don’t we? Are we just going to let them spread rumors in the newspapers calling you the Monarch Slayer and not fight back?"

Zog hadn’t expected the Royal City to engage him in a propaganda war. But when it came to propaganda, he wasn’t targeting anyone in particular...

...He controlled all the platforms and channels. He was the player, the referee, and even the organizer. How could they possibly compete with him?

Figxin looked at the thick stack of promotional copy. A single glance was enough. The words used to praise her made her skin crawl.

"I don’t need to look at it. I trust your writing skills. I’m going back to mobilize the troops," Figxin said, a bit embarrassed. "Thank you for helping me clear my name."

"You’re welcome, future King of Sutton."

Hearing this title, Figxin grew even more flustered. She felt like Zog was teasing her. She hastily said her goodbyes and fled the meeting room.

「Later, Zog went to the Dragon Race’s gathering area in Deepwater City.」

It was the same old scene: they were either sleeping, stuffing their faces, or enthusiastically beating each other up.

"AHEM..." Zog coughed twice to get the Dragons’ attention. Once all eyes were on him, he began.

"I have an opportunity for you... a chance to go attack a Human city!"

Before he could even finish, the Dragons went wild, pushing and shoving as they swarmed toward him.

"Me, me, me!"

"Pick me! Pick me!"

"Give me the chance, I’m begging you..."

Zog deliberately let them stew in their excitement for a moment before calmly adding, "This time, you will only be attacking specific targets. You are not allowed to plunder anything."

The new condition did nothing to dampen the Dragons’ enthusiasm. They continued to shout "Me, me, me!" frantically.

"This precious reward will only be given to the few Dragons with the best performance this month."

At these words, the Dragons froze for a second, then quickly realized what he meant and darted toward the mission board.

The Giant Dragon-assisted farming service had mandatory assignments, but there were also optional overtime tasks that the Giant Dragons could volunteer for.

These were usually for smaller-scale farms.

The profit wasn’t high, but a little money was still money.

Seeing the Dragons’ enthusiastic attitude, Zog smiled with satisfaction.

’Using overtime as a reward... I really am a genius.’

After settling matters with the Dragons, the enemy’s declaration of war arrived.

Zog opened it and took a look.

Whoa! He had always considered himself fairly well-educated, but as he stared at the declaration—a veritable showcase of long, convoluted sentences—he found himself struggling to even figure out where one sentence ended and the next began.

They didn’t understand the first thing about a proper flame war.

’When you’re trading insults, you at least have to make it simple and easy to understand,’ Zog thought. He took two seconds to write his reply and handed it to the messenger.

Elsa stared, completely bewildered. "What did you write?"

"One word that’s more aggressive than all those pages combined," Zog said mysteriously.

—————————

「Outside Fengmu Town, in the Sutton Alliance Army’s camp, Sir Willy raised a pair of binoculars to observe the situation in the direction of Deepwater City.」

So far, there was no sign of movement.

’It’s strange,’ he thought. ’Our grand army is at their doorstep, yet it’s so quiet. Are they preparing to surrender?’

’Could it be that after receiving our declaration of war, they’ve already started drafting their letter of surrender?’

In his eyes, victory was practically within his grasp.

His confidence stemmed from the strength of the Alliance Army. An army of one hundred thousand—a force rarely seen in the history of Sutton.

Not only were their numbers plentiful and their equipment superb, but they also had a legion of nearly three thousand Transcendents.

This was a formidable power that most nations could not muster.

And he was the commander of this great Alliance Army, adding another glorious Chapter to the illustrious history of the Willy Clan.

Within the camp, countless family banners fluttered in the wind, but the one belonging to the Willy Clan was planted in the very center, at the highest point.

Under his excellent leadership, this Alliance Army was unprecedentedly united. The one hundred thousand troops had been assembled for several days, yet there had been fewer than twenty incidents of conflict between Warriors under different Lords.

Even in a historical context, that number was commendable.

The soldiers came from different regions and spoke with different accents. They were all eager to claim glory, yet none wanted to be the first to charge. With nowhere to release their excess energy, the camp brothels were completely overwhelmed.

Under such circumstances, conflict was only natural.

Sir Willy smiled faintly. ’I truly was born to command great armies.’

Just then, the messenger returned.

"Sir, the reply has arrived."

"Hahaha, was he trembling with fear as he wrote the reply?" Sir Willy said smugly as he opened the envelope. His expression instantly froze.

"1"

There wasn’t even any punctuation.

The hand holding the letter trembled slightly.

1?

"What’s the meaning of replying with a ’1’!?" he roared, tearing the letter to shreds in a fit of rage.

The messenger beside him said timidly, "Sir, a ’1’ is what people use online these days to mean ’got it’."

"I know that! Do I need you to explain it to me!?"