Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

"I plan to divide the defense line into three parts."

"The first part is the wooden bridge. I remember the first obstacle I encountered when I went up the mountain was the wooden bridge; you blocked me there."

"At that time, I realized that the wooden bridge was a natural barrier and a very advantageous location, and we absolutely could not give up so easily."

"We can loosen one end of the bridge cable beforehand and deploy a large number of soldiers there. When the monsters attack, we can lure them onto the bridge and then cut the cable."

"This way, we can wipe out the first wave of monsters attacking from the foot of the mountain."

"With the bridge cables cut, our large numbers of men can fire arrows from the other side to wear down those monsters as much as possible. If we don't have arrows, we'll use stones or anything else that can be thrown."

"Do you remember when I asked you to collect resin a while ago? It can come in handy now."

"Once the canyon is almost completely filled with the corpses of the monsters, scatter the collected resin and then set it on fire."

"The corpses of those monsters are excellent fuel. I believe the wall of fire they form will prevent those monsters down the mountain from attacking for a while."

"The second line of defense is around the castle. This line of defense doesn't need to be manned too much; you could even deploy some adult women. Their main role is to keep watch."

"The surrounding forests are often cleared by you, so there are basically no monsters. Even if there are, they are only three or five roaming around. With the help of barricades and spears, even women can kill these monsters."

"Our last line of defense is our castle."

"When the first two lines of defense are breached, everyone must retreat to the castle immediately without any delay."

"Because the purpose of the first two lines of defense is not to fight the monsters head-on, but to deplete their offensive power as much as possible, so that they do not have enough strength to break through the castle gate, thereby reducing our casualties."

"But if too many people are lost in the first stage, then reducing casualties becomes meaningless. So when it's time to retreat, we must retreat."

Edmund pondered for a moment, then his eyes gleamed.

"Your plan is perfectly feasible, but you are not a seasoned veteran, and you lack some details."

Vittorio humbly sought advice.

"What details?"

"First, there needs to be a commander standing on the city wall to give orders to everyone. Everyone needs to see his actions clearly. Once he signals everyone to evacuate, everyone will evacuate immediately to avoid chaos."

"Secondly, regarding cutting the bridge cables, this is the most difficult step of the entire process. Because we need a decoy. This decoy cannot be too reckless, nor too cowardly; if necessary, they can even sacrifice themselves. Only such a person can shoulder this heavy responsibility."

Vittorio's heart tightened.

"You don't want to do it yourself, do you?"

Vittorio watched him nervously, ready to stop Edmund if he were to say yes.

This is not based on any personal feelings, but on practical considerations—when it comes to military operations, the situation must be taken into account first.

Edmund was the strongest of them all and the backbone of the survivors. If they lost him in the very first stage of the battle, morale would collapse, and the defense of the city would become impossible.

Edmund shook his head.

"Don't worry, I won't do that."

"So you already have someone in mind?"

Edmund nodded, a struggle in his eyes, but ultimately he made up his mind.

Some decisions were very difficult, but he had to make them for the sake of everyone's survival.

A moment later, inside the castle hall.

Edmund faced the two young men and relayed to them, word for word, all of his and Vittorio's plans.

The two men exchanged a glance and immediately agreed, without much hesitation or thought.

"Lord Tieyan, please let us go!"

Edmund sighed and looked at the two young men in front of him.

One of them was named William, and the other was named Lucas. They were both seventeen or eighteen years old and were orphans.

Thirteen years ago, a disaster took their parents away; they were Edmund's first group of adopted children.

Edmund chose them for two main reasons.

First of all, they are orphans and don't have many ties.

Secondly, they had been trained by Edmund since childhood, and their martial arts skills were among the best of the survivors.

Finally, they were absolutely brave.

After careful consideration, Edmund decided to entrust this important task to the two young men.

"I shouldn't have made any requests of you, because it would be cruel to put the lives of all people on the shoulders of just the two of you."

"And this mission is so dangerous, I'm practically asking you to go and die."

"But I still hope you will agree. Not just for yourselves, but also for your deceased parents. I remember when you were little, you asked me, what is the true meaning of a knight's duty?"

"Now I can tell you with certainty that it is like a boulder lying across the middle of the river, a final charge against the invincible."

"Can you accept my request?"

The two young people smiled, their faces radiating the fearlessness and courage unique to their age.

"Lord Tieyan, please let us go!"

Edmund didn't laugh; he simply patted them heavily on the shoulder and then went over all the details of the mission again.

Finally, Edmund watched them leave.

There was no time for sentimentality; he quickly moved on to the next arrangement—to position the strongest women on the castle's flanks, behind the barricades, with spears in hand, to guard against any magical beasts that might sneak up from the forest.

Just as Edmund was arranging these two things, Vittorio was already standing at the castle gate.

They split up and notified different people of all the plans.

Vittorio's message was naturally directed to the main battlefield—the heavily armed forces positioned at the wooden bridge in the canyon.

At this moment, almost all adult men capable of fighting were gathered at the castle gate, totaling more than ninety people, including the twenty-two guards that Vittorio had brought from outside.

Isolde stood before them all, awaiting orders.

"Lord Vittorio, I will obey your command."

Without further ado, Vittorio laid out the entire plan and agreed on a signal for retreat.

"I will be standing on the city wall in a moment, acting as commander. When I order you to retreat, you must retreat without hesitation."

At this moment, there is no time for pre-battle mobilization, nor for inspiring rhetoric.

Vittorio simply said, "Go."

But no one underestimated this battle. Because everyone knew that if the defense failed, this would be their last battle—they were fighting for their lives.

Isolde nodded firmly and led all the combatants to the broken canyon not far from the castle.

The darkness stretched endlessly, with only scattered red lights flickering in the middle of the forest.

Lucas and William had already made preparations on the other side of the wooden bridge.

When the last trace of red soaked into all the moonlight, and the entire moon became a completely red disc, the chilling aura reached its peak.

With a strange wolf howl, countless magical beasts emerged from the forest.

The crowd, already lined up and ready, gripped their weapons nervously.

"They're here."