Chapter 380: Marching on Water Curtain City

After dealing with the group, it was already deep at night, and silence reigned once again. However, the shock Rod had caused everyone earlier would remain etched in their hearts forever.

Led byLock andMerck to the city lord’s study, Rod had no choice but to send Lucy and Nightingale back first. With only the three of them in the room, it became especially quiet.

“Hehe, kid, we were just talking about you earlier. We were worried you’d take too much time and planned to set off the day after to leave you behind. Who would have thought you’d advance so quickly!” Locke said thoughtfully inside the room, looking at Rod. He was an honest man who didn’t hide his intentions and spoke straight out. Merk, on the other hand, seemed quite embarrassed.

“Mm, that’s right. If I hadn’t advanced this fast, you would indeed have left first. What’s the situation now?” Rod nodded in agreement. Having spent considerable time on the battlefield, he understood these matters well, so he wasn’t dissatisfied at all.

Seeing that Rod wasn’t upset, Locke and Merk also smiled sincerely. They then explained the current situation to Rod: Wuyou City was now completely under their control, and everything was back on track. The next step was to carry out their planned actions.

“No! We’re not going to Dark Moon City!” After listening to Locke’s explanation, Rod lowered his head and pondered for a long time before suddenly looking up and speaking.

His firm tone and gaze were puzzling. This plan had been devised by him himself—what could have gone wrong to warrant a last-minute change? They had all strongly supported it initially. If they weren’t going to Dark Moon City, where else could they go? Should they defend Wuyou City and wait for a pincer attack from the pro-war faction?

“Not going to Dark Moon City? Then what are we going to do?” Merk frowned and asked in a deep voice after pondering for a moment. He wanted to know what new plan Rod had!

“You don’t need to worry about the Dragon Clan. Nothing bad will happen to them—they certainly won’t side with the pro-war faction. Everyone can rest assured on that. As for our current situation, it’s favorable for us. There’s no need to rush to Dark Moon City. Things there are chaotic right now, and we probably can’t help much even if we go. My idea is to head straight here!” Rod said slowly, a sharp glint in his eyes, as he pointed at a location on the map.

Seeing where he pointed, Merk and Locke’s expressions changed instantly. They stared at Rod in disbelief, utterly surprised.

It’s not for any other reason—Rod’s target is none other than Water Screen City, the stronghold of the War Advocates. Is he planning to attack Water Screen City? Has he gone mad?
You must know that behind us, there are hundreds of thousands of troops from the War Advocates, eyeing us warily. The news of Wuyou City being occupied will likely spread to every corner of the Dark Source within a day or two. At this time, what we should do is retreat promptly and go back to help Dark Moon City crush the War Advocates’ army. Even if we can’t win, we must prevent them from gaining enough time to attack us!
Yet Rod has chosen Water Screen City. Indeed, Water Screen City’s strength has diminished a lot these days, but it remains the stronghold of the War Advocates—far beyond Wuyou City’s comparison! If we encounter resistance there and the War Advocates’ army turns back to chase us, we’ll be in a hopeless situation.
“Do you really plan to attack here?” Merk asked Rod with a furrowed brow, wanting to know why Rod wanted to attack this place.
“No, we can’t go to Water Screen City. Damn it, if they don’t come to bother us, we should be happy. Why attack others now?”Lock was the first to oppose Rod’s plan.
Rod wasn’t surprised by their reactions, as if he had anticipated it. With a smile, he said, “That’s right—we’re going to attack Water Screen City!”
“No, there are hundreds of thousands of War Advocates’ troops behind us, and the Wolf Clan is also watching us closely. We can’t take the risk!” For the sake of his family, Merk had no choice but to oppose Rod’s idea. Now, he andLock were on the same side.
“What’s the problem? There’s no need to worry about the Wolf Clan—they don’t have time to deal with us. I can guarantee that. As for the War Advocates’ army at Dark Moon City? They don’t have the mood to turn back and bother us. The battle at Dark Moon City is tied, and they’ve just gained a slight advantage. Why would they give it up now? Remember, they’ve invested so much manpower and resources for this advantage—they won’t give up halfway. The Wolf Clan won’t agree either! So it’s inevitable that they won’t be able to pursue us fully, let alone send many troops.”

“If too many troops are sent out, it might give Dark Moon City an opportunity to strike. They know the strategy of luring the enemy away from their stronghold to rescue it. Since the pro-war faction has shown their true intentions, there’s no way they’ll back down. In fact, they might even refrain from pursuing us if it means losing Dark Moon City, as capturing it would eliminate their biggest enemy. They’ll have plenty of time to chase us later. What would you do if you were in their shoes?” Rod analyzed slowly, gazing into the distance with a confident smile on his face.

His words filled the room with gloom. Merk and Locke fell silent, seemingly pondering Rod’s words. He wasn’t wrong—the Wolf Clan couldn’t divide their forces, otherwise the Dragon Clan wouldn’t let them live in peace. Besides, the relationship between the Wolf Clan and the pro-war faction wasn’t close enough for them to go to such lengths for them.

Indeed, the pro-war faction was being held back by the opposition. From the moment their army set out to attack Dark Moon City, the two sides had become sworn enemies. There was no chance or time for them to withdraw now—the opposition wouldn’t give them that chance. Moreover, if the opposition learned of their actions, they’d surely work even harder to delay the pro-war faction, thus buying them more time.

But was Water Screen City really that easy to take? That was doubtful.

“What about the neutral factions? Don’t forget, we were able to capture Worry-Free City smoothly because their army went to Dark Moon City. Now that we’ve cut off their retreat, will they just stand by and do nothing?” Locke raised the most crucial factor—the neutral factions.

Although it seemed Worry-Free City had been taken and the neutral factions destroyed, in reality, their main forces and over half of their strength were still intact, right near Dark Moon City. If they turned around to chase us, it would be a serious threat to our side.

“Yeah, that’s right. The neutral factions are a huge threat!” Merk agreed with Locke’s view.

Rod wasn’t concerned at all by their worries. He sneered at them, “Are they really neutral? They seem more like the pro-war faction. They won’t admit to being neutral, and the pro-war faction won’t allow it either!”

The identity of the neutrals, hidden for a thousand years, has now been revealed. If Wuyou City hadn’t been lost, it wouldn’t matter, but now that it has been lost, they must keep this secret hidden. Otherwise, both the war faction and the neutrals would face the scorn of tens of millions of people. How could they then rule over the Source of Darkness? They didn’t want to deal with so much trouble, so the best solution was to continue hiding it, as if the neutrals had been wiped out.

Those sent to hunt them down would also have to operate under the guise of the opposition! And surely not all of them would return! After all, it was precisely because Dark Moon City refused to surrender that the war faction revealed this secret hidden for a thousand years. How could they possibly return just for Wuyou City? As analyzed before, the war faction wouldn’t go to such lengths for this, especially since they didn’t know their next target was Water Curtain City, nor would they send a large number of troops to hunt them down. Otherwise, they would be facing battles on two fronts, and they weren’t that foolish.

So, overall, no matter what they did, they wouldn’t face much pressure from behind—the least amount possible. More importantly, if they went to Dark Moon City at this time, they would become the target of everyone, facing truly massive retaliation. It’s obvious that if one’s enemies appear before them, it would be foolish not to take revenge.

It was for this reason that Rod made such a decision on the spot.

As Rod analyzed the situation, Merk and Locke grew increasingly silent, their expressions constantly changing as they hesitated and struggled.

Theoretically, retreating was the best choice, but Rod’s reasoning made sense. So they had to make a decision based on their own judgment, acting carefully—after all, a single mistake could lead to irreparable disaster and doom their clans. They bore an extremely heavy burden.

A long, long time passed!

Finally, Merk spoke up: “The fate of my Black Phoenix clan lies in your hands. Whether it perishes or achieves glory depends on this decision. I hope you won’t disappoint me.” After saying this, he seemed to lose all strength and slumped in his chair.

Rod, on the other hand, showed a knowing smile. He knew Merk would definitely make this choice—he was a far-sighted clan leader.

“My Scorpion King clan as well. You kid, don’t forget—you’re also an honorary elder of the Scorpion King clan. Just don’t lead your clan to destruction!” After Merk spoke, Locke also expressed his views and opinions.

“Good! Please rest assured, both of you. After this battle, I guarantee that both the Black Phoenix Clan and the Scorpion King Clan will embark on the path to glory they’ve always strived for! I won’t disappoint you!” Rod certainly understood the principle of giving back as one receives. With the other party placing such trust in him and entrusting two clans to his care, it would be unreasonable not to give them a satisfactory answer. Moreover, he had the confidence to do so. Yet, after saying those words, Rod immediately felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier, almost suffocating him.