Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1743 Misstep
The daytime passed quickly, and as night fell, Hilke and his men, who had been stationed at Outpost No. 3 the previous day, dared not relax their vigilance in the slightest.

Given the nature of snake people, if the other party wants to launch a counterattack, it will definitely be at night!

But reality did not turn out as they expected.

On the first night they occupied Outpost Three, the Snakemen made no move.

The next morning, Hilke rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache.

"These snake people are even more cunning than I expected."

They didn't know if the other party had anticipated that they would be on high alert at night, so they simply didn't come, which was equivalent to wasting their entire night.

Compared to Hilke, who is good at using his brain, Joseph is a typical pure warrior who is only responsible for taking action.

Looking at Hilke's furrowed brow, the only thing Joseph could do was remain silent and not disturb his thoughts...

I can't use conventional thinking to predict the actions of these snake-people. I need to put myself in their shoes. If I were the Snake-People King, what would I do in this situation?

I definitely won't take action during the day, but even at night, given the desert environment, I can only guarantee my own safe escape, but I still can't be sure of winning.

How can I win in this situation?

As his thoughts continued to wander, a fine wrinkle appeared between Hilke's brows.

[Take them down one by one?]

Upon realizing this, Hilke was clearly startled.

"Oh no, the snake people might be attacking our main force!"

On the vanguard side, although they had three Vajra Realm warriors, the main force only had Peter left.

At the same time, to be fair, Peter was indeed the weakest of the four Vajra Realm warriors.

Under this premise, the main force is indeed larger in size, but the snake people also have the Desert Giant Serpent, a strategic-level behemoth unit. How can ordinary troops withstand the impact of the behemoth?
Currently, the only one in their Northeast Army capable of containing them is Qian Sui.

Upon hearing this, Joseph's expression immediately changed.

"Then let's hurry back and provide support!"

Hilke nodded with a serious expression.

Fortunately, the centaur race's physical abilities far surpass those of humans, and even though they had wasted a whole night, they were still in pretty good condition.

"Forget about this outpost, prioritize the safety of the main force. On the way back to reinforce, beware of snakemen ambushes!"

Although this is just Hilke's speculation at the moment, the cost of losing the bet is too high, and they can't afford to gamble.

Abandoning Outpost 3 and rushing back to reinforce it has become the optimal solution at this stage.

After issuing the order, Hilke immediately summoned the giant eagle knights who were with him.

"Get back to the Northeast Army as quickly as possible and inform the general of the situation here!"

"Yes!"

Without time to think, the giant eagle rider immediately set off.

The giant eagle rider's figure quickly disappeared from his sight, but Hilke felt no relief whatsoever.

The current situation is far more passive than he had anticipated.

If the Serpent Clan's forces were to attack their main force, and the Giant Eagle Knights returned in time to inform Li Ce of the situation, how much impact would that have on the outcome?

It's important to know that snake people move significantly faster than ordinary infantry in the desert.

The biggest problem for the main force right now is that it lacks the hard power to confront the Serpent People. To achieve this, their vanguard must get ahead of the Serpent People and rendezvous with the main force of their Northeast Army. But at the moment, it's really hard to say.

All Hilke can do right now is 'do his best and leave the rest to fate'.

When not needing to move in coordination with the main force, the Giant Eagle Knights are highly efficient at moving and can deliver messages very quickly.

After confirming the latest situation, Li Ce frowned deeply.

What he was most worried about happened.

You can't say he didn't anticipate this at all, but what war is without risk?
There is no perfect, foolproof strategy in this world. If you hesitate and look back, you will end up accomplishing nothing.

As commanders, they can only weigh the pros and cons within a predictable range and then make a choice.

Compared to Shi Lei, Li Ce was neither a conservative nor a radical in terms of combat command.

If I had to describe him, he would be considered bold, and he often likes to use unconventional tactics to achieve unexpected victories.

The result of doing this is that it's easy to go overboard and accidentally backfire.

The present moment is undoubtedly a prime example.

The problem now is that the snake-men have not shown up since the withdrawal from Outpost 3. The giant eagle knight brought only Hilk's speculation, and you can't be sure he's right.

In a flash, Li Ce quickly selected a giant eagle knight and gave the order.

"Send a message to the vanguard, saying that we will take measures to split up and retreat."

The giant eagle riders set off immediately, and Li Ce turned around and called Wei Qing over, explaining the situation to him.

"Next, we will divide the main force into two, with each of us leading one force and retreating separately."

In the next wave, facing the potential attack of the snake-men, Li Ce's priority will be to buy time and minimize casualties.

After understanding the situation, Wei Qing knew that this was the best solution at the moment. He readily accepted the order, mustered the troops, and set off.

Three days passed quietly during the actions on both sides.

Knowing that snake people are nocturnal, they will definitely launch an attack at night.

Therefore, the Great Zhou troops also adjusted their work and rest schedules accordingly.

During the hottest part of the day in the desert, they would set up sunshades to rest. As evening approached and the temperature in the desert began to drop rapidly, they would hurry on their way.

The same thing happened that night, but as they were traveling, they suddenly found that the desert beneath their feet began to shake violently.

This situation instantly put the soldiers on high alert.

"What's going on? A large cavalry force is approaching? The vanguard has returned?"

The soldiers were filled with surprise and doubt, but also with a hint of anticipation.

If their guess was wrong and the Snake People had no intention of launching an attack, then it would undoubtedly be a good thing for the Northeast Army.

Listening to the sounds of his soldiers, Wei Qing, riding on horseback, frowned deeply.

[No, this tremor doesn't seem to be caused by cavalry movement; it's more like something is stirring up the entire desert beneath our feet!]

In a flash, Wei Qing, reacting quickly, hurriedly shouted the order...

"Order the entire army: Tactical Number One, execute immediately!!"

Almost at the same time that Wei Qing gave this order, the desert beneath the feet of the Northeast Army suddenly exploded, and the enormous figure of the Desert Serpent burst into their field of vision!

(End of this chapter)