Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 291 The Han River Uprising
When the infiltration company organized by the Huaxia Army set off for their battlefield, He Shuo, who seemed to be detached from this war that belonged to everyone, was actually not idle at all.

At this moment, he was with Zeng Yi, lying in ambush on the hill north of Hanshui City, monitoring the actions of the Christian Guards within the city.

Returning to the old place suddenly brought back a flood of memories for He Shuo.

As he observed Hanshui City through the telescope module of the smart eyepiece, he spoke:
"Zeng Yi, do you know who chose our current positions?"

Zeng Yi was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously asked in return:
"Who is it? The captain?"

"No."

A mysterious smile appeared on He Shuo's lips.

Then, without keeping him in suspense, he answered directly:
"Actually, this place was chosen by the Blood Skull outside Hanshui City."

"At that time, a squad leader of Blood Skulls led a group of Blood Skulls to attack Hanshui City. They also had a batch of mortars from Huadu."

"We took down that squad leader here and seized the mortar."

"Tsk, the place where dreams begin."

"Back then, we would fight with silenced pistols. Now it seems like we don't really value anything below 20mm caliber."

Zeng Yi almost laughed at these words.

He paused for a moment to recall, then said:

"I remember we had just arrived in Hanshui City back then, right?"

"Actually, Li Shi, Xie Liu, and I met with the supervisor of Hanshui City on the very night you made your move."

"They specified that we should remain hostile to you, and there is no room for discussion."

"To be honest, if we're talking about wavering, that's when it really started."

"The more reasonable their arguments seem, the more unreasonable they seem to us."

"Now it has indeed been proven that our choice was correct."

"It's just a pity we didn't realize it sooner."

"It's not too late."

He Shuo answered casually, then pointed to the distant Han River City and said:

"The Guardians are ready to depart."

"Their target should be that level four monster that is active on the east side of Hanshui City."

Do you think they have a chance?

"No chance."

Zeng Yi shook his head without hesitation.

"Hanshui City has now completely lost the assistance of the Holy Blood Temple, and the force capable of acting as scouts no longer exists."

"They will never be able to establish an information advantage again—and that is indeed the case."

"They set off in a hurry before they even figured out the characteristics of this monster."

"Although they had a few 'heavy weapons,' they completely overlooked the monster's extraordinary mobility, which set it apart from other monsters."

"The most ridiculous thing is that they actually chose to set off at night."

"They don't have night vision goggles. Do they really think they'll have an advantage fighting monsters at night?"

"I don't know if these friars have gone mad or what, but their actions are completely incomprehensible."

"They're not crazy."

He Shuo gave a cold laugh.

"Zhang Tao has gone mad."

“We had previously requested his assistance, and he agreed.”

"So he began to order the Guardians stationed in various cities to attack the monsters in the surrounding areas."

"This was a mandatory order, and these friars had no choice."

"In fact, the bishop priest of the Cult of Machines in Hanshui City, who is Li Xian, also had no choice."

"Because a squad of the Holy Army, representing the Holy Temple, is stationed near his residence; if he doesn't comply, he'll be the one to die."

".Understood."

Zeng Yi let out a long sigh.

Then he asked:
"So, Zhang Tao wants these Christian defenders to die?"

"That's not it."

He Shuo shook his head.

"He did want to eliminate some of the monsters, but besides that, what he wanted to do even more was to eliminate the disobedient forces within the various Christian Guards."

"This is the inspiration he received from the changes in the two cities of Liangxi and Suzhou."

"He rose to power through betrayal, and has now experienced another round of betrayal. He's now on edge and seeing threats everywhere."

"This is our chance."

"I was originally thinking about how to take control of the city of Hanshui, but now it doesn't seem so difficult." "How exactly?"

Zeng Yi immediately perked up.

For him, every action He Shuo takes is a valuable learning opportunity; he not only observes the process but also learns the thought process.

The thought process, from the moment the plan begins, runs through the entire operation.

It's difficult to explain to you with specific descriptions.

"However, I once played a game that was about the expansion and conquest of civilizations."

"In that game, if you directly attack a neutral country's city, regardless of whether you capture it or not, it will eventually lead to a state of war between the two sides."

“At this critical juncture of development, we certainly don’t want to see this happen.”

"So, another way came up."

"Now lower the city's loyalty and cause it to rebel."

"Once this city becomes a rebellious city-state, we can take it over without triggering a state of war."

"Now, we are doing the same thing."

"Hanshui City's loyalty has dropped to its limit. If we give it a push, it will become a free city-state."

"Okay, let's go now."

"The Guardians of the Faith have already set off. Now, let's go find Li Xian."

After one hour.

In a secluded house in Hanshui City, Li Xian sat opposite He Shuo and asked incredulously:

"You want me to kill all the Holy Temple—no, the Holy Army—from Jinling City?"

"Do you know what this means?"

"Treason".

He Shuo answered casually:

“I know what you’re trying to say. You’re trying to say that if we betray them now, it will inevitably invite retaliation from the Mechanicus and the Sanctuary.”

"But what I want to tell you is, what difference does revenge make, and what difference does not revenge make?"

"You will be purged by the Holy Army sooner or later. The few defenders of the faith in your hands, as well as the people of Hanshui City, will be wiped out by them sooner or later."

"If you betray us now and get our support, you still have a chance."

"If you don't betray us, you can just wait for a slow death."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xian let out a long breath.

"So, it's you who want Hanshui City, isn't it?"

“You need a second city as a backup for the new city of Jinling, and also as your last stronghold.”

"If you want it, why don't you come and get it yourselves?"

“I will not resist killing those Holy Army soldiers; I can make the Guardians of the Faith surrender.”

"At worst, I can take them with me and leave."

"Do not."

He Shuo shook his head.

"All we want is Hanshui City, not war."

"Therefore, you must first eliminate those Holy Army soldiers, and then we will 'assist' the Holy Church in defeating you."

"This is an important order, and it absolutely cannot be disrupted."

"why?"

Li Xian frowned.

"This city will ultimately belong to you; the outcome will be the same."

"No, it's totally different."

He Shuo interrupted Li Xian and then said:

“If we follow the method I suggested, it will be a win-win situation for both of us, with only the sanctuary suffering losses.”

“If we follow your method, we and the Holy Church will both lose, and even you will not gain any advantage.”

"Because the army of your protectors will inevitably be exhausted in the battle against us, which you have no choice but to fight."

"So you understand?"

"The fate of Hanshui City was sealed the moment Zhang Tao decided to consolidate power in his own hands."

"You have to do something if you want to survive."

"You must rise up!"

(End of this chapter)