Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

Chapter 267 Battle Situation Analysis

Su Yang recognized these names; they were all outstanding performers in the academy's martial arts competition. He was also surprised that these people had been conscripted into the Shence Army to participate in the war so soon after the academy's martial arts competition ended.

Following Qin Xiyun out of the room, Su Yang arrived at a spacious training ground, where he saw Zhu Ning and the other three standing ramrod straight, awaiting orders.

Qin Xiyun stepped forward and addressed the remaining dozens of Shence Army soldiers: "Brothers, today I officially take command of the Shence Army. As you all know, the western border has been largely conquered by the Demon Kingdom. Many of our brothers have been sent to various armies to assist. Those selected for the Shence Army are either exceptionally talented or exceptionally brave. You are either strategists or the frontline of defense. This is our mission!"

"Next, let me introduce the new members." Qin Xiyun gestured for Su Yang and the others to come forward. Zhu Ning led the way, and the others followed. When they arrived at the front of the group, Qin Xiyun introduced them: "These five are the brothers and sisters who have joined the Shence Army today. Don't pry into their backgrounds. Just know that they will be partners who will live and die together and fight the enemy together from now on! Now, let them introduce themselves."

Zhu Ning took the lead and loudly proclaimed, "My name is Zhu Ning, from Huaijing. I swear to defend the Empire to the death!" Following Zhu Ning's example, Cao Hongyun, Xu Wu, and Ren Shuangwen all imitated him. When it was Su Yang's turn, he couldn't bring himself to introduce himself with such a resounding voice, and could only say slightly louder, "My name is Su Yang..."

The audience was still waiting for him to continue, but he felt he had finished his introduction, so he could only stare at them. Fortunately, Qin Xiyun interrupted him in time: "Alright, that concludes the introduction. Now everyone, gather in the operations hall to analyze the current battle situation and plan our next steps."

Moving indoors, everyone found seats and sat down. On the wall in front of them were two maps: the first was a map of the entire Tianyun Empire and its surrounding borders, and the second was a map of the western border.

Qin Xiyun walked up to the crowd and pointed to the first map, saying, "Five days have passed since the war with the Demon Kingdom began. The letter requesting aid has already been sent to other countries, but we will probably have to wait several more days for their support. At the same time, the Demon Kingdom's army on the southern front has also started a war with the Beast Kingdom, but the Beast Kingdom is very strong. The Demon Kingdom has only advanced a few dozen miles on the southern front before being stopped. Look here, everyone."

She walked to the second map and continued, "After the Demon Kingdom breached the Demon City, it split its forces to the north and south, and within two days, it breached the city one after another. Including the Demon City and Shanfeng County, nearly a quarter of the western territory has been occupied. Let's take a look at the detailed deployment map."

She took out a new map, had it hung on the wall, and distributed many identical maps to everyone. She then said, "The Demon Kingdom has a total of 600,000 troops, which entered the country in three echelons under the command of six generals. Currently, the first echelon of 200,000 troops lost 60,000 men in the attack on the Demon City and 20,000 men in the attack on Shanfeng County and other small towns, for a total loss of 80,000 men. They still have 520,000 troops left. Our army lost the entire force of the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eleventh and Fifteenth Armies in the defense, plus the casualties of other troops, totaling 190,000 men."

"This..." The enormous casualties caused everyone present to exclaim in disbelief. To Su Yang, while an exchange of 80,000 for 190,000 was certainly an excellent kill ratio, there were many battles in the original world where the small could defeat the large.

"The Northern Vanguard of the Demon Kingdom is led by Fang Rongxue and Julian with 200,000 troops; the Southern Vanguard by Si Yun and Chen Han with 150,000 troops; and in the center by Baron and Abner with 170,000 troops, occupying the Demon-Controlling City and Mountain Wind County. Currently, the Imperial Army is scattered across various surrounding towns, and facing the concentrated attack from the three Demon Kingdom armies, it has been continuously breached over the past two days. That's the current situation. What are your thoughts?"

After Qin Xiyun finished speaking, she asked everyone for their thoughts. Unlike in class, they were now facing a real war, so although everyone was exchanging ideas, no one expressed their own opinions.

Xu Wu held the map in his hand and looked at it again and again, combining it with the map on the wall. His brows were furrowed. He really couldn't compliment the current deployment. If this deployment hadn't come from the former commander of the Shence Army, he would have wanted to curse on the spot. But just because he didn't curse didn't mean that others could restrain themselves.

One of them stood up and angrily cursed, "I don't know which idiot came up with this kind of unconnected and uncoordinated deployment! No wonder the Empire has suffered defeat after defeat!"

Although Qin Xiyun was pleased that someone was criticizing him, she still frowned and scolded, "Wei Haochu! It's fine to express your opinions, but watch your words!"

Wei Haochu said angrily, "This kind of deployment deserves to be condemned! It treats the lives of the imperial soldiers like dirt. In my opinion, even if we combine our forces and wait for the enemy to move out before engaging them, it would be far better than this deployment!" He pointed to the map in his hand and continued, "The five armies deployed on the northern front have all converged at Zidan Forest. This place is close to Zishan Mountain and Danhe Valley, and it is a key route for advancing northward. The force is 150,000, which is enough to resist the 200,000 troops of the Demon Kingdom."

"As for the southern front, the six armies, totaling 180,000 men, are facing the Demon Kingdom's 150,000. They should be reorganizing and preparing for battle in Kaiyang City in order to seek a frontal rout. How can they be scattered across six small cities to defend themselves?"

"The situation is even more dire in the central region. There are ten armies, totaling 300,000 men, yet they remain scattered in defense. When did our imperial army become so afraid of the Demon Kingdom that 300,000 troops dare not even engage in battle with its 170,000 troops to reclaim lost territory?"

After angrily expressing his views, Wei Haochu sat down indignantly. His speech garnered the agreement of many, but not the approval of Qin Xiyun. She asked expressionlessly, "What about the others? What are their thoughts?"

Once someone fired the first shot, others followed suit, and then several more people stood up to speak. However, their views were basically the same as Wei Haochu's: to combine forces and defeat the enemy head-on.

After listening to everyone's comments, Xu Wu couldn't help but stand up and said, "The opinions of you brothers are not without merit, but I think they are all unfeasible."

These words surprised everyone present, and Qin Xiyun also became interested, saying, "Oh? So what are your thoughts?"

"In my opinion, the Empire's army is no match for the Demon Kingdom in a direct confrontation. The armies of all countries are composed of elementals, with the lowest being third-tier elementals, including the Demon Kingdom. However, you should pay attention to one issue: the demons are all dual-elemental or even multi-elemental elementals, and their individual strength is much higher than that of humans. It is definitely not something that can be resolved by two against one. Moreover, we do not currently know the overall strength of the demon soldiers. Are they mostly third-tier or fourth-tier?"

"Secondly, we don't know why the Demon Kingdom is expanding its battlefield by splitting its forces into three areas. I think everyone should know that splitting forces is a risky thing. Expanding the battlefield also means that there are more places to attack and defend. The western border has already gathered more than half of the Empire's army, and troops are constantly being transferred from the north and south to provide support. I think the Demon Kingdom must have other purposes for splitting its forces."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone shouted, "Just tell me what your suggestion is!"

Xu Wu chuckled softly and said unhurriedly, "The three armies will unite as one, supporting each other, advancing slowly, and gradually encircling and tightening the encirclement."