Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1864 Three Questions
A new day begins, and the undead sentinels on the front lines, responsible for keeping an eye on the goblins' every move, bring back news once again.

"The goblin forces have begun to penetrate deeper into the desert!"

Upon confirming the news, Shi Lei's expression darkened slightly.

The journey from the front lines to the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty takes two months just for one way.

In other words, by the time he received this news, the goblins' operation had already been underway for at least two months.

"Did they discover something?"

"should not."

The undead sentinel shook his head.

"They didn't detect our presence; they probably want to get more oil."

Back then, in the war between the goblins and the gnolls, although the gnolls started it, the goblins were outsiders at the time, so they were essentially defending their home turf.

The subsequent massacre was clearly motivated by the goblins' objective: to seize the oil resources near the gnoll territory.

For such a technologically advanced power, the importance of oil is self-evident; it is no exaggeration to call it a lifeline resource.

Even if you asked Zhou Xu, he would only give a four-word answer: 'The more the better!'

After discovering the abundance of oil resources in the desert, the goblins realized its value and wanted to further explore it to acquire more resources. Their actions were not inherently problematic.

But invisibly, it poses a threat to them, who are on the other side of this desert.

The news quickly reached Zhou Xu's ears.

After learning the situation, Zhou Xu didn't react much.

Ever since they confirmed the existence of goblins, they have been preparing for the war that might break out.

Zhou Xu was already mentally prepared for this situation, not to mention that they had even held several tactical meetings.

Now that things have come to this, we should just proceed with the plan as originally intended.

The Saint Laurent border garrison, led by Shi Lei, and the Russian border garrison, led by Li Ce, had already completed their troop reinforcements and basically restored their wartime scale.

During this period, in order to be on the safe side, the Ministry of Military Affairs also launched a new round of conscription, so that if there were not enough troops at the front line, the new recruits in the rear could be quickly replenished.

Although the border fortresses on both sides did not immediately relay the relevant information after confirming the order, the information was not immediately disseminated.

However, in the context of desert warfare, the frequency and intensity of routine military exercises have significantly increased.

During this period, some news inevitably began to circulate among certain groups of officers.

"Have you heard? It seems like war is about to break out, with that goblin."

Upon hearing Old Zhang's noticeably lowered voice, Flying Claw paused, startled.

Where did you get this information?

Old Zhang didn't say anything, he just pointed upwards.

The grappling hook also fell silent.

To be honest, he is very satisfied with his current life.

If possible, Crawl would even like to continue living like this forever.

To maintain his current livelihood, he could abandon his hatred.

But now, upon hearing that they might be fighting the goblins, the long-dormant flames of hatred in Flying Claw's heart were quietly ignited, making him work even harder in the subsequent military exercises and daily training.

Meanwhile, Shi Lei and Li Ce had already begun arranging transport teams to deliver war supplies to the Oasis stronghold, while simultaneously accelerating the construction of defensive facilities within the stronghold. In their view, this battle was inevitable; the only question was when it would begin.

Shi Lei and Li Ce were extremely familiar with this matter. They had lived their way up from the primitive tribal era to the present day, so they knew very well that when two forces clashed, there was no possibility of starting peace negotiations without fighting.

The reason is simple, just three questions.

How can I tell if you're good or bad?
How can I be sure you don't have any ill intentions towards me?
How can I make sure you won't attack me?
These three questions are enough to spark endless suspicion.

The simplest and most effective way to avoid these risks is to strike first!

If the opponent is weaker than you, eliminate them directly, seize their resources and territory, and while strengthening yourself, also eliminate the threat.

If both sides are evenly matched and fight back and forth, they will eventually find that neither can defeat the other, or realize that continuing to fight will cost them both dearly.

Congratulations! You have met the prerequisites for ceasefire negotiations and can now begin to try to coexist peacefully and be good neighbors.

At this point, some people might ask, what if you strike first but find that you can't beat the other side and are about to be wiped out?

That's even simpler.

If you can't even beat your opponent when you strike first, then you have even less chance of winning under normal circumstances; you're doomed to die either way.

You need to understand that these three issues affect all forces simultaneously, not just yourself.

While you are doing this, the other party will also be doing it.

Nobody dared to gamble, which led to this situation.

While the borders of Saint Laurent and Rakshasa were fully prepared for war, the goblins' actions clearly did not stop.

For an undead sentinel stationed on the front lines, a round trip would take about four months, which would be plenty of time for the goblins to do many things.

The technological forces are equipped with various technological devices, so once they start an operation, their efficiency is often very high.

This is undoubtedly the case with goblins.

Under these circumstances, whether by luck or something else, the goblins found the right direction, which caused their frontline exploration forces to close the distance to the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty in a short period of time.

Having confirmed the news again, Shi Lei and Li Ce tacitly began to transfer troops to the Oasis base.

Clearly, they did not intend to meet the enemy on the borders of Russia and Saint Laurent.

They planned to find out more about each other in the desert first!

They had been preparing for this operation for a long time, and all units acted with exceptional speed after receiving the orders.

Based on the locations provided by the Undead Sentinels, Oasis Point 1 and Oasis Point 2 are undoubtedly being deployed as core strongholds at this stage.

If war were to break out, it would be most likely to occur in this region.

If handled properly, the two oasis outposts might even be able to support each other.

As for the Oasis No. 3 outpost under Li Ce's command, its location is somewhat off-center from that area, but we still can't let our guard down.

When the undead sentinels returned, they knew exactly which way to go.

However, when the goblin troops advance, their sense of direction cannot be so precise.

If the direction deviates, the goblin troops are very likely to move to other desert areas.

In other words, the possibility of Oasis Outpost No. 3 also exists, and all necessary preparations must be made! No mistakes can be tolerated!

(End of this chapter)