You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

"You'll die just as easily if you let them boss you around, so you might as well get rid of them."

"Stop looking back and forth, we must unite to protect ourselves."

"Yes."

The example set by the inside agents led to the formation of communities of interest in various neighborhoods and streets, which began to close off and become exclusive. The chaotic situation was dismantling the organization and making it more difficult for the defending forces to mobilize resources within the city.

Admittedly, they did stockpile a large amount of supplies at the beginning, but when they actually used them, they found that theory and data were two different things.

The city defense battle was a success, and the money flowed like water.

With no new supplies coming in but expenses continuing, no amount of inventory could sustain the situation, even as food supplies within the city lord's mansion began to tighten.

"My lord, this is the current reserve list, and the situation is not optimistic."

Song Yan, seated at the head of the table, glanced around and realized that the consumption of grain far exceeded expectations. In fact, people gradually realized something was wrong, because the variety and quantity of supplies were decreasing, and the market immediately reacted:

Price increase!

Soaring prices made it unaffordable for many people to buy food, leaving them with no choice but to join the army.

It is one way, and Song Yan even helped to replenish the troops, but this is not a solution and is very dangerous.

He paused for a moment and said, "Release some reserves to control prices."

"Is that enough?"

"Reduce supplies here and prioritize them for the army, so everyone can hold out a little longer. Don't worry, Daqian is definitely holding on too. They'll get tired of launching offensives every day. Didn't we just repel an attack today?"

As Song Yan said, today is the first time Daqian has launched a direct attack on a city, and they are trying out a tactic.

The strange thing is that the intensity is very low.

It seemed as if Feng Tianyin was actively controlling the scale of the attack, cautiously probing, only engaging in things like ramming the city gates and setting up ladders, without even deploying siege towers, treating it almost like a drill.

Using our southern plateau as a model? That's absurd.

It was precisely because Daqian officially launched its attack that everyone became even more panicked. The slow, insidious attack had finally begun, but the outcome was still nowhere in sight.

A stalemate has been reached.

Moreover, the Great Qian Dynasty started night raids, just like now, where people aren't allowed to sleep in the middle of the night and are frequently bombarded with catapults. They don't give you a chance to rest; the whole thing is pure torture.

"You may all leave now, I need to rest."

After dismissing everyone around him, Song Yan took a deep breath and felt that his spiritual energy had indeed become stronger.

The continuous killing, death, and war further strengthened the connection between the warp and this place, and also gave them power.

well.

He felt a completely new sense of transcendence, his body became healthier, and he seemed to have regained twenty years of youth.

"The high priest's immortality might be replicable."

Song Yan only cared about his own strengthening. According to the lifting effect of psychic energy on people, this process should be called ascension, that is, raising one's status. Nothing else mattered; now that the path had been found, he had to continue.

--------

The night at the Daqian camp outside the city was uneventful.

The position where the catapults roared was on the other side, with people on duty in shifts so as not to disturb this side, so everyone could rest peacefully.

Compared to the people of the Southern Plains who all have dark circles under their eyes, the people of the Great Qian are full of energy.

Eat when you want to eat, drink when you want to drink, and sleep when you want to sleep.

With strong logistical support, they maintained their usual rhythm of life, remaining consistent throughout. They slept especially well today; after all, many were exhausted from the small-scale siege battle during the day and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

The commander's tent, however, was brightly lit and remained lit all night.

Standing in front of the sand table, Feng Tianyin pointed to the model of the Nanyuan city-state, where the underground gap was also reproduced.

"How many days left?"

"My lord, it should take at least two days to break through. At the same time, there will be a section of the city wall that collapses, but the force of the collapse is hard to estimate, such as the height, width, and slope of the collapse..."

Before she finished speaking, the girl tilted her head and smoke began to rise from it, her eyes sparkling with light.

The generals fell silent, not daring to disturb the high priest's calculations. His predictions were always accurate, though the process was shrouded in smoke. A moment later, Feng Tianyin quickly drew a rough map of the landslide.

Deng Kaixuan immediately replied, "We can attack; the collapsed wall will become our breakthrough point."

"I will send my most elite heavy cavalry to ensure a breakthrough."

As for tunnels, they should be left to the infantry, and only the most battle-hardened elites should be able to carry them out. These two forces can ensure early penetration.

"Let's do it this way."

"In addition, we need to create an inside agent on the other side of the tunnel to open the main city gate as soon as possible. Only then can we begin the real battle."

"Two days later, I will lead my troops to break through the suppression from the front."

Feng Tianyin had already chosen her position; her trump card would naturally be placed in the most difficult area to conquer, and the fierce battle on the city walls was inevitable and could not be easily bypassed. Because without securing this high ground, even if they managed to enter the city, they would be attacked from above.

She must occupy the city walls to ensure the interconnectedness of the various breaches.

At that time, they will unleash a barrage of deadly attacks.

Upon hearing this, the generals immediately agreed that it was most appropriate to have the high priest boost morale and start from the battlefield on the city walls, while they would take care of the rest.

The specific details of execution were left to the generals, while the general direction was established by Feng Tianyin, and the rest needed to be supplemented.

A busy night.

The high-ranking officers of the Great Qian Imperial Guard did not rest until dawn, marking the end of their brainstorming session.

Both sides took a break for the next two days.

However, no one was truly at ease, as if they all sensed the danger. It was the calm before the storm; after a fierce battle that lasted for half a month, the rainy southern plains were shrouded in cumulonimbus clouds.

A cool breeze howled, the air was damp, and a downpour was about to wash away the bloodstains that had been left on the land.

The time is coming.

------

The heavy rain arrived as expected.

The dark clouds made the sky dark, and what should have been the dawn was shrouded in gray in the drizzle.

Such weather made the soldiers guarding the city of Nanyuan even more drowsy.

The squad guarding the city gate was particularly exhausted. After all, the Great Qian Imperial Guards routinely used catapults to bombard the city at night, making it impossible to sleep. Even as they gradually adapted, they still couldn't sleep soundly, so before their shift ended in the morning, they could only say one thing:

Sleepy.

They huddled in small groups against the ruins in the corner of the wall, taking shelter from the rain under the rotten wooden shacks.

There used to be a house here, but it was burned to the ground by a fireball thrown by a catapult. You can still see broken pots and pans in the corner.

It's barely usable as a place to shelter from the rain now.

Now everyone feels the hope of victory is slim. Who can blame them when the Daqian army has proven so resilient? They're too tough; they're still eating and drinking well, while everyone else is experiencing soaring prices and inevitably complaining.

When will this end?

"I'm exhausted. Why aren't the Daqian people leaving? Where are they getting so much food?"

"Didn't you see how many auxiliary soldiers they have? The season is perfect now, just let the warhorses graze, we can easily wear them down."

"Can we really outlast them? Lord City Lord, you've misjudged the situation."

"Hard to say."

"If the bombing continues like this, the city will fall sooner or later. At that time, we can only rely on the High Priest's mercy. I heard that she has never massacred a city and can strictly control the Daqian army."

"The premise is that we don't make too deep a grudge. What if the siege battle is protracted and many people die?"

The group fell silent, not uttering a single word.

Don't be fooled by everyone's current exhaustion; the brutal war of attrition hasn't entered its mid-to-late stages, so we can basically hold on. But if the phase of repeated sieges begins, then we'll all be heading to hell together.

"You guys chat first, I'm going to use the restroom." Someone waved and left.

A sheltered spot in a corner.

He loosened his belt and shook it, but didn't hear the sound of water hitting the ground. Looking closer, he saw a head wearing a helmet pop out.

The unfortunate raider washed his face and drew his longsword at the same time.

Holy crap!

The exclamations went unnoticed by anyone, as the occasional boulders being launched provided cover.

Soon a small team emerged from the tunnel.

Almost as soon as they gained a foothold, the team digging at the foundation on the other side took advantage of the rainwater erosion and suddenly used explosives to blast it open. Although it was crude and inferior gunpowder used for the time, it was still an explosion, and this was the first time it had been used for military purposes.

With a loud bang, a chain reaction ensued, and the weathered city wall collapsed, revealing a breach.

woo-

At the same time, the bugle sounded, and the entire Imperial Guard of the Great Qian Dynasty was mobilized in the pouring rain, rushing towards the city wall at top speed.

"Quickly plug the gap; we must hold it or it'll all be over."

As if things weren't going to go wrong, shouts of battle also came from the other tunnel. To the astonishment of the people of Nanyuan, a heavily armored unit appeared out of nowhere, each one exuding a murderous aura.

They actively distracted the enemy and attacked the city gates, sweeping all before them and achieving victory in every battle.

The elite of the Imperial Guards!

He could cut an ordinary soldier in half with a single stroke.

Because a significant portion of them possess psychic combat skills, including many heroes and powerful individuals, they have consistently served in the military, fulfilling their role as assault troops. Their experience, equipment, skills, and physique are all impeccable; they are clearly invincible in the battle against the tiger-men and sheep.

"Don't panic, they're not a large force. Hold on, our reinforcements will strengthen the city's defenses."

The two sides began to engage in close combat within the city.

However, elite heavily armored soldiers of the Imperial Guard kept emerging from the tunnels. They were like super soldiers of the classical era, capable of killing one person with a single blow, and were simply impossible to resist.

Their pressure towards the city gate tied down the Nanyuan troops.

"Hold on!"

Relying on their numerical advantage, the defenders gradually formed a pincer movement, hoping to block the enemy from retreating back into the tunnels.