1896 The Situation

Jasmin didn't wait for Fang Heng to change his mind and immediately said, "World Lord Fang Heng! We are willing to cooperate, no, we're eager to serve the World Lord! It's an honor for us!"

The players nodded in agreement.

Either they refused to cooperate and died, or they surrendered and made a fortune.

Even an idiot would know what to choose!

The players couldn't help but glance at the small hills of equipment from the corner of their eyes. They looked at Fang Heng carefully and asked, "World Lord, what do you want to know? As long as we have the information, we won't hide anything."

Fang Heng gently nodded. "Very well. Firstly, I want information about the current situation in the Jones Kingdom and the Holy Court."

Jasmin and the other players exchanged glances, wearing expressions of concern.

"World Lord, a few of us are players living in the Jones Kingdom. We only recently joined the battlefield after receiving a mission from the country. We aren't affiliated with the Holy Court players. As a result, we have limited knowledge about the Holy Court."

"In addition, the cooperation between Jones Kingdom and the Holy Court has always been kept confidential. We only learned about it recently and hurriedly accepted the mission to come here, hoping for some luck."

Fang Heng nodded understandingly. "No problem. Just share what you know. The more information, the better."

"Um... When we exited the fortress, there weren't many Holy Court players. The leader was a Holy Court bishop named Kotter. The one currently overseeing the military fortress is the imperial's uncle."

Another player chimed in, "We've heard that Jones Kingdom, in collaboration with the Holy Court, modified the teleportation passages inside the military fortress. These passages connect to the advanced game world of the Holy Court. Holy Court reinforcements continuously arrive through these teleportation passages."

"Due to the unstable condition of the passages, teams can only come to support once in a while," the player added.

Just as he had expected, the Jones Kingdom military fortress was a military base for the Holy Court.

Destroying the troop deployment point would probably give him a large number of mission completion points.

"What about the situation inside the fortress?" Fang Heng continued. "How strong are the defenses?"

"The teleportation passages are guarded by Holy Court personnel, with assistance from the Jones Kingdom's guard forces," one player replied.

Jasmin supplemented, "I took a glance when passing by earlier. The defense inside the fortress is extremely strict. Anthea, the commander of Jones Kingdom, is in charge of guarding it. It will be hard to sneak in."

Fang Heng lifted his head, his gaze once again directed toward the three military fortresses outside the canyon.

"Can the teleportation passages only operate periodically? Is the number of Holy Court troops that can pass through each time roughly the same?"

"Yes, that's what we've heard. We can't provide specific details," they answered.

Fang Heng muttered to himself, deep in thought, as he lowered his head.

If ordinary players like Jasmin could discern his identity, it was likely that the few players from the Holy Court could do the same.

With the news of him occupying the canyon now circulating, the plan to intercept the troops was probably no longer viable.

The Holy Court would undoubtedly make adjustments.

The most straightforward solution would be to alter the troop's route, steering clear of the canyon area. This would allow the reinforcements to continue pouring into the heart of the Enkama Empire.

He needed to adapt his battle strategy to seize the initiative.

The fortress was inherently defensible, and Jones Kingdom's military strength was not formidable. Consequently, the number of troops available for combat wouldn't be substantial.

If he could devise a way to directly breach the fortress...

Who cared?

There was no time to waste.

After a few hours of waiting, the deceased zombie clones had all resurrected. With the additional zombie clones gained through the 'Mutated Infected' talent, the combat strength of the zombie clone army had further escalated.

He could confidently engage in a head-on confrontation.

Charge!

Tried to take down the military fortress! Seized the dispatch point.

It would be great if he could get it.

If breaking through wasn't feasible, he'd have to consider alternative strategies.

Fang Heng swiftly made a decision and addressed Jasmin and the others. "For the sake of avoiding trouble, please stay here for now. I'll still need your assistance in the future."

Jasmin and the others exchanged glances and nodded.

They were mere puppets at this point. It was already good enough that they could survive. How could they have so many choices?

...

On the other side, Anthea returned to the military fortress with her heavily injured team. She promptly sought out the imperial's uncle to report and engaged in discussions with the Holy Court members.

The Holy Court's guard force within the military fortress was insufficient.

Bishop Kotter hadn't anticipated encountering such a situation.

Upon investigation, the results were shocking.

It explained why the frontline battle differed so significantly from their expectations.

It turned out their supply lines had been intercepted.

Moreover...

The name of Fang Heng accidentally reached Kotter's ears from the gamer who managed to escape.

The incidents involving the vampires, the disappearance of Saintess Viona, and even the recent rumors about the demonic seed were all closely tied to Fang Heng. The Holy Court had categorized Fang Heng as an extremely dangerous individual.

Currently, the Holy Court transmitted this data to the front line and the holy realm through gamer channels and the teleportation passage.

Upon learning that the team had fallen into an ambush and suffered defeat, the imperial uncle's mood took a turn for the worse.

"Tell me! What happened? Why are the undead showing up in that location!"

"Imperial Uncle, please calm down. There is a large number of undead concentrated in the canyon. Based on their previous patterns, they tend to exploit the geographical advantage of the canyon, lying in pause to ambush passing teams. They lack the ability for long-distance assaults or city attacks."

"Discovering the enemy's scheme this moment is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Since we now understand that the undead are hidden in the canyon, we might as well ignore them," Bishop Kotter suggested, trying to pacify the group. "Let's stick to our original plan, take a detour, and strike at the heart of the Enkama Empire."

Upon hearing this, the group found the proposal reasonable.

The low-level undead creatures lurking in the canyon were slow-moving units.

Long-distance attacks and sieges had consistently been their weaknesses.

Anthea's expression turned somber, and she remained silent.

Indeed, the Holy Court's representatives were correct.

Once the Holy Court's plan to invade the Enkama Empire succeeded, the undead in the canyon would be of little consequence.

However, she couldn't shake off a lingering sense of unease.

After all, the Holy Court had initially pledged that their Jones Kingdom would remain unaffected by any war.

And now?

The undead had already appeared at the border!

"What is your opinion, Commander Anthea?" Bishop Kotter inquired.

Anthea glanced at the imperial uncle beside Bishop Kotter.