Roland Lowell immediately summoned all his generals and officers to the council hall. Although this time they had managed to save hundreds of thousands of soldiers without disaster, no one knew what dangers might arise next.
"We may have won a beautiful victory today, but no one should lower their guard. Remember, the enemy still has fifteen unused Skyshaker Bombs—there’s no room for carelessness," Roland said to everyone.
"That's right—the destructive power of those Skyshaker Bombs is terrifying. I witnessed it myself: every shot shook the ground like thunder. I've never seen such mighty firepower before," said the general who led two hundred thousand soldiers.
"General, I have a bad feeling," said General Li. "Feiqing Yun is a cautious strategist. The reason he pulled back so quickly was to prevent morale from collapsing. He’s bound to do something to rally his troops."
Everyone agreed—if the enemy wants to boost morale, they’ll definitely use the Skyshaker Bombs again. This time, they’ll learn from their mistakes and won’t use them blindly.
Roland looked around the room and said, "If my guess is right, the enemy will aim their Skyshaker Bombs directly at our soldiers on the walls. The ramparts aren’t very wide, so it’ll be nearly impossible to dodge or escape. If that happens, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Exactly, General—your analysis is spot on. I checked the walls closely: those Skyshaker Bombs have a range of about three hundred meters, while our arrows can only reach two hundred. If they bring the bomb carts to two hundred and fifty meters or closer, we’ll be completely exposed, unable to strike back at all.
Plus, they could bombard the soldiers inside the city too. If that happens, we’ll be trapped like fish in a barrel—we can’t afford to ignore this threat," added another general who’d just returned from outside the gates.
Roland’s face paled at this—if the enemy could wipe out tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand of his men without losing a single soldier, their morale would skyrocket.
"Pass my order: immediately withdraw most of the soldiers from the walls, and pull the troops inside the city back by five hundred meters. I want to see how they plan to hurt our men now," Roland commanded.
"Wait!" one general immediately interjected.
"General Nathan Namgong, do you have any objections?" Roland asked in confusion.
"General, if you do that, you’ll be alerting the enemy. Soldiers inside the city can pull back, but those on the walls must stay put—and they need to act like they’re celebrating a great victory. Slaughter pigs and sheep, drink to your heart’s content, put on a real feast. We have to make it look like a triumphant party," said General Nathan Namgong.
Everyone looked at him in confusion. Roland asked, "What’s the point of this, General Nathan? Explain your reasoning."
"The enemy knows we’ll be celebrating after a victory, so a feast is perfectly normal. If they plan to attack, they’ll have plenty of scouts watching our every move. If we withdraw troops now, they’ll instantly realize we’ve seen through their plan.
Then those fifteen Skyshaker Bombs won’t be used, and the threat will hang over us forever. If they do attack, it’ll probably be at night. We can send dozens of Heaven Martial Realm experts to lie in wait two hundred meters outside the walls and monitor the situation.
Once it’s dark, we can gradually withdraw the wall troops, leaving just ten or twenty thousand to keep up appearances. That way, the enemy won’t suspect a thing. We can even stage screams and chaos inside the city, making them think our casualties are catastrophic," General Nathan Namgong continued.
"Excellent! General Nathan, you truly are the army’s brain. We’ll do as you suggest—withdraw the wall troops only after nightfall. I’ll leave the arrangements to you all. I need to absorb stellar force from Starstones; that ambush earlier nearly cost me my life," Roland said.
With that, everyone left the council hall, leaving Roland alone to sit and absorb stellar force from the Starstones.
Meanwhile, Evan Chu and Selena, after leaving the fortress, flew for half a day before landing atop a mountain peak.
Evan Chu couldn’t figure out why Selena had stopped here—there was no convoy transporting Skyshaker Bombs in sight. He couldn’t help but ask, "Selena, why are we stopping here? Is your stellar force depleted and you need to rest?"
Selena glanced at Evan, then removed her veil and asked, "Do you think I’m beautiful?"
Evan nearly wanted to kick her—he asked a serious question, and she just ignored him and turned it back on him.
Still, Selena really was stunning. Every time Evan saw her face, he thought about the gulf between them. Yet she always liked to take off her veil when no one else was around.
"You’re gorgeous—so beautiful it’s dizzying, intoxicating, makes people daydream. But it doesn’t work on me, I’m immune," Evan replied, rolling his eyes at her.
"Ha, you’re just in denial. Sooner or later, you’ll fall in love with me—just wait and see," Selena laughed, her voice soft and melodious.
"Is that so? Well, I’ll just have to see how long it takes. I’m not that easy, Selena. If I were, I’d have made a move ages ago on a beauty like you," Evan scoffed.
But deep down, Evan knew he was only fooling himself—of course he liked her. The gap between them, though, felt insurmountable.
He knew he’d cross that gulf one day, but not now—not until he broke through to the Divine Martial Realm.
"Tell you what, Evan—if you want to know why I stopped here, just call me Xuan’er and I’ll tell you!" Selena said.
Evan glanced down the mountainside and spotted a wide river in the distance, with a main road running alongside it—straight into the mountains. The road beneath the peak was a mandatory crossing point.
"Zoe Chen, I know even if you don’t say it. This is where the waterway and the road intersect. No matter which route they use to transport Skyshaker Bombs, they’ll have to pass through here. We’re here to ambush them, aren’t we?" Evan grinned.
Selena hadn’t expected Evan to see through her plan so quickly. She admired his cleverness, though she kept a nonchalant face. "Evan, is it really so hard to call me Xuan’er? You can say my name, but not that nickname?"
Evan felt helpless—she was impossible to reason with. Annoyed, he shouted, "Xuan’er! Xuan’er! Xuan’er! Xuan’er..." He called out the nickname a dozen times before finally stopping.
He looked at Selena and said, "There, are you happy now?"
"Not happy. That was way too explosive—I want it gentle," Selena laughed.
Evan was stunned. He collapsed to the ground and said, "Come on, sis, enough with the games. Can we get back to business?"
"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. You’re absolutely right—this is the only route the convoy can take. Keep an eye on things below; I’m tired and want to sleep for a bit," Selena said.
"You..." Evan’s words caught in his throat—he really felt like he’d been played.