Chapter 780: Chapter 780: Strike at the Heart
"General!"
However, when the black-bearded middle-aged colonel found the general of the Metal City, he was indeed indulging in pleasure at the brothel.
Three or four scantily clad, flirtatious girls were sitting around the Metal City general. One was even sitting on his lap, holding a fruit plate and feeding him with her mouth.
The girl kissed the general's stubbly cheek lightly like a little bird pecking, then tried to run away. Unexpectedly, the general reached back and directly embraced her waist, then kissed her roughly with his coarse lips.
"General~"
The general's actions instantly stirred up a flurry of flirtation and tittering in the room.
The black-bearded middle-aged colonel stood outside the door like this, his face solemn, but he did not say a word.
At this moment, the loosely dressed Metal City general inside the room finally "noticed" the middle-aged colonel standing outside the door.
"Hmm? Xu Ying, when did you arrive?"
Then the Metal City general waved his hand slightly, dismissing the girls beside him.
"Since Lord Xu has come, official business takes precedence."
"You all go down first."
Upon hearing the general's words, the girls immediately pouted and complained coquettishly.
"Then, General, remember to come find us again~"
"Definitely!"
"Definitely!"
The Metal City general nodded repeatedly with a smile on his face. Only after everyone had left, leaving only the middle-aged colonel and the Metal City general in the room, did he turn his head and ask.
"Lord Xu, I was just about to look for you. What a coincidence."
"What did you want to see me about?"
"This humble one does not dare to presume the title of lord."
Xu Ying heard the Metal City general's words and spoke solemnly in a deep voice.
In the Golden Empire, there were strict regulations for the title of "lord." Only those with the rank of general and above, or princes and nobles, were qualified to be called lords.
Although the rank of colonel in the military was second only to general, it was clearly not qualified.
"General, with the long night descending, the Shrykes appearing outside the city have been increasing."
"There are even monsters from the Grey Waste."
As the scout colonel of the Metal City, one of the Five Forts, Xu Ying had been leading cavalry patrols to sweep the areas around the Metal City in recent days, clearing out these Shrykes that had "trespassed" into the empire's borders.
He had not yet encountered monsters from the Grey Waste. These monsters were not as easy to deal with as the "weak" Shrykes.
Monsters from the Grey Waste could easily kill a squad of ten Golden Empire cavalry patrolmen, and such tragedies had occurred before.
To deal with monsters from the Grey Waste, it was necessary to mobilize more soldiers and heavy weapons such as ballistae and war chariots to kill them.
Therefore, as the scout colonel, Xu Ying had recently changed the scale of the patrol squads from ten men per squad, sending out ten squads a day, to a hundred men per squad, sending out two squads a day, constantly sweeping out the trespassing enemies to protect the safety of the people in the rear.
"We should unite with the other four cities to send light cavalry deep into the Land of the Shrykes and strike at the heart, nipping the danger in the bud." "At the same time, this can also probe the reality of the Grey Waste. If there are movements in the Grey Waste, our troops can also make preparations early."
He proposed that the Metal City general unite with the generals of the other four cities—the Fire City, Earth City, Wood City, and Water City—to form a joint army of the Five Forts. They would take the initiative and directly penetrate deep into the Land of the Shrykes, catching them off guard and nipping the danger in the cradle.
The Land of the Shrykes was also located on the continent of Essos. To its northeast were the Grey Waste and the Cannibal Sands, to the west was the Blood Sea, to the south were the Five Forts, and to the southeast was the Great Sand Sea. Within the Land of the Shrykes, there was also a legendary terrifying ruined city called K'Dath.
The garrison here at the Five Forts believed that the attacks from the northeast mostly originated from the movements in the Grey Waste and K'Dath.
Because the Shrykes would not actively approach the empire's borders in their daily lives. Although these Shrykes were regarded as monsters by the people of the empire, they actually possessed a certain level of intelligence and were a low-level civilization of humanoid race.
These Shrykes knew that approaching the empire's borders would face the hunting of scout squads. However, they still took great risks to constantly migrate closer. This indicated that there were problems behind them.
There were people, or rather, some kind of monster, or ancient evil god, driving these Shrykes, forcing them to constantly flee towards the empire's borders, serving as the vanguard to impact the Five Forts.
And this city called K'Dath was the core threat to the security of the empire's borders.
Legend had it that K'Dath was the first city in the world, even older than time itself. It was said that unspeakable evil ceremonies were held in K'Dath to satisfy the greed of mad deities. Its terrifying reputation frightened even the Shrykes living south of this place.
Xu Ying's proposed idea was to take the initiative, leading the imperial cavalry to launch a surprise attack directly into K'Dath, completely destroying this evil heart, burning the statues of evil gods inside, smashing their altars, and then setting everything ablaze.
However, Xu Ying's worrisome words also made the smile on the face of the Metal City general in front of him slowly fade.
"Hmm..."
Because the history of Yi had never been interrupted, the descent of the long night was a major crisis recorded in the entire history of the empire.
The people of Yi had detailed records of the entire process of the descent of the long night and the collapse of the Dawn Empire. In this regard, their records were more detailed than those on the Westeros side.
Therefore, the people of Yi were more fully prepared for the crisis, not only in terms of material preparation but also in psychological construction. However, the plan put forward by Xu Ying was undoubtedly risky, simply dancing on the edge of a knife.
If something went wrong, this joint cavalry force from the Five Forts would be sending themselves to their deaths for nothing, and not a single one would escape. After all, the greatest advantage of the imperial garrison against these demons and monsters was the city walls of the Five Forts. Giving up the city walls and taking the initiative to attack indeed carried too much risk.
But correspondingly, if successful, the gains would also be substantial.
Risks and opportunities often coexisted. It depended on the attitude of the commander.
"Hmm."
The Metal City general's expression was solemn. He pondered for a moment, then finally nodded. He neither agreed nor directly refused.
"Hmm, Xu Ying, you're right."
"I will consider it."
Hearing that the general had listened to his suggestion and said he would consider it, the scout colonel of the Metal City also secretly let out a sigh of relief.
However, before he could relax, he heard his immediate superior change the subject and speak again.
"But for you, this matter can be put aside for now."
"Huh?"
The black-bearded middle-aged colonel was slightly stunned.
"Have you heard of the Valyrian Empire?"
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