To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 826: Chapter 355: The Changing Nature of Offense and Defense

In Changsha Prefecture over there, Chu State had stationed twenty thousand Forbidden Army soldiers and seventy thousand Militia, totaling ninety thousand troops.

Out of these ninety thousand, a thousand Forbidden Army soldiers and nine thousand Militia were drawn out to form a ten thousand-strong legion, stationed at the border of Changsha Prefecture and Chu Ning, serving as the outer perimeter guard.

Such a Ragtag Army-like guard legion couldn’t possibly withstand the assault of an Inborn Grandmaster leading a hundred thousand elite troops.

The ten thousand soldiers on the border of Changsha faced the sudden attack of the Ning Army and were crushed in less than half a day.

Then, within two days, the Ning Army had reached the foot of Changsha City.

Fortunately, within Changsha City, including civilian workers, there were eighty thousand defenders. By urgently conscripting some able-bodied men from the city, they barely managed to assemble a hundred thousand troops.

Such a robust force of soldiers ultimately withstood Xiang Duan’s fierce onslaught and prevented the city from falling.

Now, sitting in Baling, Sun Siwen upon hearing the news, had already rushed to Changsha City overnight to confront Xiang Duan, an Inborn Grandmaster, as a top-tier expert.

However, even though Changsha City was safe with Sun Siwen blocking it.

But the two prefectures of Hengyang and Luyang to the south didn’t have a second Inborn Grandmaster to send for support.

Therefore, Sun Siwen sent the news urgently to Lu Yuan for the King of Chu to decide.

‘Ning Country really did as previously guessed, when they couldn’t make progress on the main battlefield, they started thinking about breaking through from the flanks.’

Lu Yuan thought to himself after reading the letter.

This past month, as the Ning Army hit wall after wall on the main battlefield around Jiangxia City, they faced setback after setback both on water and land.

When counted up, the naval forces lost more than thirty thousand, and there were also forty thousand casualties among the soldiers, the losses that Ning Country suffered around Jiangxia City had already surpassed seventy thousand.

This was not a small number.

It must be understood that the total number of Ning Country’s troops around Jiangxia City, combining both naval and land forces, was only two hundred and thirty thousand.

Now that seventy thousand were lost, they had suffered a loss of one-third.

With such heavy casualties, Ning Country’s forces around Jiangxia City had only a little over one hundred and sixty thousand remaining.

Although these forces were still considerable, compared to Chu State, they no longer had an absolute numerical advantage.

While the Chu Army’s losses in these battles were significant, they only suffered minor flesh wounds, and their main force remained untouched.

As things stood, Chu State’s main Forbidden Army within the city still numbered ninety thousand, and there were also over forty thousand in the naval forces outside the city.

Adding up both contingents, they also totaled around one hundred and thirty thousand.

Facing one hundred and sixty thousand with one hundred and thirty thousand, one side with high morale and the other in consecutive retreats, suffering losses and loss of generals, if both sides really clashed, even if Ning Country had an additional thirty thousand troops, they would essentially not be able to get much advantage. @@novelbin@@

‘After a month of standoff and attrition, Ning Country’s numerical advantage has become negligible. Coming up, just as Chu Wei said, after fighting another day or two, Ning Country will likely withdraw their forces to lick their wounds.

And those new soldiers within the city, having been tempered by the flames of war, have gradually grown and begun to transform into veterans.

Taking advantage of this, perhaps it’s time to take the initiative to leave the city and seek battle with Ning Country.

If we can defeat the main forces of Ning Country in the main battlefield in one fell swoop.

Maybe we don’t need to wait for victories on the other three flank battlefields, we could take advantage of the victory, push into Ning Country territory, and march straight to Jinling, destroying this country first.’

Lu Yuan thought thus and his eyes couldn’t help but flicker.

After such extended grappling and attrition, on the level of low-ranking soldiers, leveraging high spirits and gradually honed experience.

The Chu Army, facing the slightly more numerous but low-spirited Ning Army could very well have good chances of victory, at the very least an even fifty-fifty.

As for the top-tier Innate Combat Power, in Jiangxia Chu State had Lu Yuan and the Spiritual woman.

Lu Yuan needs no further mention, with those cultivators from the Nine Provinces gone, he was unequivocally the number one expert in the world.

As for the Spiritual woman cultivating the Mo Ling Borrowing Life and Cultivating Character Secret Method, her power wasn’t the true essence possessed by Martial Arts Grandmasters but was like Magic Power, a higher power, divine power.

With this divine power, the Spiritual woman could live for two hundred years, and her strength was stronger than that of a regular Martial Arts Grandmaster, reaching the combat power of the second realm of Inborn.

With the two of them together, even if ten Inborns came, they would face nothing but defeat.

As for how many Inborn Grandmasters were in Ning Army Camp, Lu Yuan had yet to determine.

However, through investigations over the past days, it was more or less confirmed that Emperor Shenqiu of Ning, Marquis Wuan Bai Yian, and Marquis Wuyang Li Dao, these three were definitely around Jiangxia.

Additionally, at Changsha City, there was one more, Marquis Wuxin Xiang Duan.

As of now, four out of the six Inborn Grandmasters of Ning Country’s main forces had revealed their whereabouts.

The remaining two Inborn Grandmasters hadn’t shown themselves, and it was unknown where they were hiding.

But even if these two were also in the Ning Army Camp outside the city, facing a mere five Inborn Grandmasters, even with Shen Qiu amongst them in the second realm of Inborn, Lu Yuan had no fear at all.

‘So, after careful consideration, in terms of the likelihood of winning amongst the low-level soldiers, between Great Chu and Ning Country, it’s a fifty-fifty chance. Yet, at the top-tier level of Innate strength, we are in an absolute advantageous position.

This battle, if fought, victory is certain for our side.

However, having suffered losses these few days, Ning Army also knows my side isn’t so easy to attack, and they’ve run aground upon a hard nut.

If I now unexpectedly take the initiative to invite battle, I wonder if Shen Qiu will dare to respond.

If he also learns from my past few days, hunkering down in the camp, defending the main camp without leaving, then it will be my turn to crack the turtle shell.’

Lu Yuan thought of the Ning Army Camp sprawling twenty li outside the city and his head began to ache.