Chapter 014: Strategy

After bidding farewell to Moses, Du Fan and Naixiu took control of the Qing Suo and flew swiftly toward Duke Green’s residence in the northern camp.
“Du Fan, why did you arrive so late?” Duke Green, who was studying military maps by lamplight, asked as soon as he saw Du Fan.
“Father, there are news from the Siluo Province. There are many matters to handle, so I had to go to Siluo Province with Naixiu first,” Du Fan said apologetically, looking at his father studying late into the night.
“Hmm, tell me about the situation there,” Duke Green asked, not immediately pressing Du Fan about returning to Siluo Province, but rather inquiring about the front lines.
Hearing this, Du Fan thought to himself, Truly worthy of being a renowned general of our time. Upon hearing that he was returning to Siluo Province, his first reaction wasn’t as a father, but rather concern, nor did he immediately ask why Du Fan wanted to go back.
This battle-hardened general, the supreme leader of the Empire of Gavin’s strongest northern army, wanted to know first-hand information from the front lines! Although Duke Green surely had battle reports on the battles around Red Lake City, could those reports compare to the firsthand account from someone who had just returned from the front?
“The siege of Red Lake City has reached a stalemate. But once Naixiu and I return, the experts of the Frozen Alliance will be stronger than us,” Du Fan replied promptly when his father asked.
“The Frozen Alliance has six holy-grade experts. These six can form a battle formation, and their coordination is strong enough to overwhelm Moses. After all, Moses is already on the verge of reaching the divine level. It’s easy to imagine how formidable their combined force must be.”
“Not only that, but each of those six can summon magical beasts, which can combine into a strange beast. This beast combines all the strengths of the six beasts in terms of physical attributes. It not only has astonishing defense but also terrifying physical attack power. I’ve fought this combined beast, and even with all my effort, I could only barely defeat it.”

“Moreover, this merged monster has a skill called ‘Breaking Magic!’ Although it lacks magical abilities, with this skill, all magical attacks from the continent become ineffective against it. Additionally, its ‘Breaking Magic’ ability can directly break through the domain of even the strongest domain masters. From this, we can see just how powerful this bizarre monster’s skill is.”
“Son, if Moses fought that monster, who do you think would win?” Hearing Du Fan’s words, Duke Green immediately asked.
“It’s hard to say, but I still support Moses,” Du Fan said with a smile. “My elder brother Moses is an elf war mage. Back then, he was surrounded by six supreme-grade masters in a critical situation and didn’t even have time to use their elf war magic techniques. But if he faced that monster alone, once my brother’s combat skills were unleashed, Father, you’d be shocked.” Du Fan said with a laugh.
“Haha, son, hearing you say that, I’m really looking forward to hearing what will shock me.” Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Duke Green also laughed heartily.
“But Father, neither the formation created by those six supreme-grade masters nor that monster can be defeated by George and Allen. So, Father must still send masters above the supreme grade to Red Lake City,” Du Fan said.
“Who do you think should be sent?” Hearing Du Fan’s words, Duke Green smiled. Now, aside from George and Allen, and himself, all the masters above the supreme grade in the northern camp were Du Fan’s people. That’s why Duke Green asked who should be sent to Red Lake City.
“Elder Li Luo is out of the question—he’ll definitely follow Nayixiu. Rob must stay by your side. It seems we can only send those three dual-element supreme-grade mages,” Du Fan said gloomily. “I hope that with those three dual-element mages around, my elder brother and second brother can hold their own against those six supreme-grade masters,” Du Fan said helplessly.
“That’s difficult! From what you say, the six supreme-grade masters of the Icebound Alliance are all melee fighters, while those three mages are all ranged attackers. If George and Allen have to hold them off while the three mages cast spells from behind, it’s unlikely such a tactic will succeed. One mistake, and George and Allen could end up in great danger,” Duke Green said worriedly.

“Father, if that’s the case, I’ll take Elder Lihe to Red Lake City!” Naixiu suddenly said, hearing the discussion between Duke Green and Du Fan.
“It would be best if you could go, but what about Du Fan? Without you, many things will be difficult for him,” Duke Green said, looking at Du Fan.
“Don’t worry, Father. Back then, with Du Fan’s level of cultivation, he could navigate among various forces without any problems. Now that he has reached the level of a domain powerhouse, with space transfer capabilities, the speed of Qing Suo, and absolute protection, it will likely be very difficult to harm him,” Naixiu said with a smile.
“It seems there’s no other choice,” Duke Green nodded after hearing Naixiu’s words.
Seeing Du Fan’s lips move, Naixiu quickly said, “Du Fan, matters are urgent. Once you find out what’s going on over there, just come back right away.”
“Don’t worry. Even if I haven’t finished my tasks, if I want to see you, it only takes two hours thanks to Qing Suo’s speed. And if you want to see me, just bring Rob with you—three hours at most,” Du Fan said seriously, looking at Naixiu.
With means of transportation like Qing Suo and Rob, communication between the Northern Army and Siluo Province had become much simpler.
“Du Fan! Du Fan, are you there? Didn’t I see you coming?” Loud shouts suddenly came from outside.
Hearing this voice, Du Fan’s frown disappeared.
“Rob, I’m here!” Du Fan ran to the entrance of Duke Green’s military camp and called out loudly.
“Haha, Du Fan! I’ve missed you so much these past days!” As soon as he saw Du Fan, Rob rushed over and hugged him, saying repeatedly.
“Where’s Lilith?” Seeing that it was just Rob, Du Fan asked quickly.
“Lilith has fallen asleep,” Rob replied immediately.
“Hmm, Rob, I need to return to Siluo Province soon. You stay with Lilith, and I have to entrust you with protecting her as well,” Du Fan said.
“Du Fan, you’re really unfair! You leave me here alone when you go to war, and now you want to leave me behind when you return to Siluo Province, right?” Rob said unhappily upon hearing this.
“Rob, if you want to see me, invite Naixiu and come visit me together,” Du Fan said with a smile again, looking at Rob.

“Okay, that’s what you said! Remember, you just left me behind like this. From now on, I’ll definitely behave properly and go to Siluo Province every day to harass pretty girls.” Hearing that Du Fan wouldn’t take him to Siluo Province, Rob started talking nonsense again.
“Oh, Rob, what are you saying? I’ll still come back to Siluo Province eventually. It’s just for a short while. Please be at ease—I’ll be back soon,” Du Fan said with a smile.
“Son, given the current situation, should we attack or defend the city?” Duke Green asked immediately as he saw Rob and Du Fan arguing endlessly.
“We’ve decided to defend for now,” Du Fan replied right away upon hearing Duke Green’s question.
“Alright, let’s defend for now. After all, the side defending the city suffers far fewer casualties,” Duke Green said with a smile. “But our speed of conquest shouldn’t be too fast either!” Duke Green sighed suddenly.
“What do you mean, Father?” Du Fan asked in confusion upon hearing this.
“There are many drawbacks. The faster we fight, the more our troop supply is consumed. Each soldier lost from the Northern Legion, or even an elite from it, is a permanent loss!” Duke Green explained.
Hearing this, Du Fan nodded. The Northern Legion now numbered nearly 300,000 members—all brave warriors! These soldiers were either active or retired from the Northern Legion, and every one of them had gone through rigorous training, making them the renowned Northern Legion of the continent. Losing even one such soldier was a huge loss.
“Secondly,” Duke Green continued, “if we conquer too quickly, it will surely arouse the jealousy of various forces in the Gavin Empire!”
“Especially Fischer. If we show such a powerful military force, that prince will likely be worried day and night, trying to weaken the strength of our Green family,” Duke Green added.
“Rather than making that prince anxious, let’s slow down our offensive pace. Naixiu, after you go to Red Lake City, convey my orders—have them spend two months improving themselves there,” Duke Green said with a smile.

“Doesn’t it need to take this long?” Du Fan replied in surprise upon hearing his father’s order.
“Du Fan, it really doesn’t need to take this long. I deliberately set such a long timeframe because during these two months, I want to firmly establish several strategic positions in the north! Otherwise, once the Icebound Alliance takes control, the north of this empire will fall into chaos and fall into others’ hands, which would be a huge loss!” Duke Green said with concern.
“Father, has Fischer come up with some new trick again?” Du Fan asked quickly after hearing Duke Green’s words.
“That’s right! Look, after sending one army, he sent another. His intention is clearly to lure our entire army into the war against the Icebound Alliance so that he can seize the territory that our Green family has controlled in the north for hundreds of years!” Duke Green frowned.
“That’s why I need two months to set up some strategic positions. If Fischer behaves properly, it’s fine. But if he tries to target our Green family, well, he’ll regret it!” Duke Green said seriously suddenly.
“That’s enough, Du Fan, my child. Take care of whatever needs to be done!” After saying that, Duke Green smiled at Du Fan.