Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 375 South Bank Strategy
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Yue took out paper and pen and handed them to Li Wei.

"Xiaowei, first draw the terrain and contour lines on the other side of the river. The three of us will study the future offense and defense. Hathaway is a good girl. We are all at ease leaving the south bank to her."

Li Wei nodded, and without hesitation, he immediately drew a precise topographical map of the south bank on the paper to ensure that it was easy to understand at a glance.

At the same time, he also introduced to Hathaway: "The terrain on the south bank is mostly hilly, but there are no peaks higher than 300 meters. This terrain originates from 500 miles upstream and ends 600 miles downstream. It can extend as far south as 300 miles and as short as 100 miles. There are many small basins or plains in between. More than ten years ago, most of this area was developed. There are three highways, five rural roads, three small county towns, five small towns, and forty-two villages."

"However, more than a decade has passed. Affected by the chaotic magical particles, the trees and weeds in this area have grown wildly, and the fertile fields have been covered up, making it quite difficult to redevelop. But once developed, it will be a foundation for generations to come, and at the same time, it will become the most important barrier for the North Shore region."

"So next we need to complete the layout in an orderly and quick manner. My general idea is to build the Earth Fortress on the south bank corresponding to the Riverbank Fortress, taking advantage of the terrain, at this unnamed mountain peak. The Earth Knights can be placed here, so that it can echo the Riverbank Fortress."

"However, this place should not be your baronial territory, Hathaway. I hope you can trigger the city-building quest and then build a level one city here, which is a hundred miles east of the Earth Fortress. This place was originally a small town with a coastal road connecting it to the Earth Fortress and leading east to the small town base on the north bank. However, the bridge between the small town base and the south bank has been destroyed, so we will need to build a bridge in the future."

After Li Wei finished speaking, a portion of the topographical map of the south bank was drawn. "Aunt Yue, what are your thoughts?"

After Li Yue and Hathaway inspected the site, Li Yue said in a deep voice, "The construction of the Earth Fortress must be accelerated. The mountain you mentioned is nearly 300 meters high. I have also seen it. The summit is flat and the area is about 15 acres. It is the perfect place to build a fortress. Even if the fortress is not yet completed, the mere advantage of a 300-meter height will be enough to inflict a devastating blow on any enemy."

"It is worth mentioning that Xuanxuan has already begun to build enchanted catapults and enchanted giant crossbows. These are powerful weapons with a range of up to five kilometers. However, they require a lot of magic power. Normally, each one requires two units of magic power to build. On a normal day, each shot consumes 0.1 units of magic power, which is extremely expensive."

"After you left this time, Xiaowei, I thought it over and over again, and finally your second aunt and I decided to use twenty units of magic power to build two enchanted catapults and four enchanted giant crossbows. The remaining magic power will be used for launching. If nothing unexpected happens, they will all be transported here within five days."

"In this way, by placing some of the enchanted giant crossbows on the earth fortress, even though the mountain is still 400 meters away from the river, it will be enough to cover a radius of 5 kilometers."

"There's another matter, which concerns the magic mine. Our previous plan was to build the magic mine at the end of the month after the radiation storm to maximize magic absorption. But the situation is different now, Xiaowei. We must build the magic mine immediately, but not in the Earth Fortress, but in the Riverside Fortress. Since Hathaway still has a territory relocation quota, she can purchase the qualification to build the magic mine after the relocation is completed. This magic mine will be located in her baronial territory."

"Of course, there's another point. To show the sincerity of our vassal lord, the Earth Fortress needs to be jointly defended and managed by both of us. In other words, it's equivalent to having our troops permanently stationed at the Earth Fortress."

"Alright, I have no other opinions."

After Li Yue finished speaking quickly, Hathaway immediately looked at Li Wei for help. This old bitch is too ruthless and heartless. It was clearly my Knights' headquarters, but you guys have turned it into half of ours? What kind of logic is that? Li Wei, you said before that you would give me the greatest freedom on the South Bank.

Li Wei smiled brightly and said, "Okay, it's decided then. Tomorrow morning, we'll start by building the bridge. The materials and manpower needed to build the fortress can be transferred from the mine at Base 349. As for the magic mine, it can indeed be built first, because I think this might have provoked Duke Frost. If he gets desperate and comes to fight us, that would be bad."

Upon hearing this, Hathaway's expression changed slightly. She looked at Li Wei with a pitiful expression. Damn it, you're really heartless. They say that even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness, but you don't even acknowledge me after you've put your pants on.

However, she said instead, "I also think what Aunt Yue said is very good. Since I am a vassal lord, I must show my sincerity. The Earth Fortress is in a dangerous location and does need to be heavily guarded. However, as for Duke Frost, I think he is unlikely to resort to desperate measures. He will not launch a general attack on us before he has destroyed Socrates."

"The Ice Duke's feint attack was an excellent strategy, but if he hadn't captured Socrates and then attacked us halfway through, it would no longer be a brilliant strategy or tactic, but rather a headless fly. War is cruel, not child's play." "Because Socrates' territory has a deep foundation and a strong background, he can be quickly revived with full strength as long as he has a breath left."

"I'll say it again: it's late May or early June now, and within three months, Socrates' territory will definitely be breached! And during this period, Ron's territory may also be taken over, as long as Ron's symptoms get a little more severe."

"I don't know what kind of boost the Ice Duke will receive when he gets two Expansion Cards and a lot of Professional Cards, but we will definitely have another year to develop, and the Ice Duke will never use troops during the radiation storm."

"Even so, I still firmly believe that if Duke Frost were to launch a war next year, he would prioritize conquering Zhao Kewu's territory and decide whether to attack us depending on the situation."

"Perhaps in the end, the Ice Duke might just test us with one or two matches, and then he'll probably back down. There are some variables involved, namely the Neanderthals. What is the basis of their cooperation with the Ice Duke? Are they suspicious of each other? What is the Ice Duke's ultimate goal? And what is the Neanderthals' ultimate goal?"

"There are too many variables, so my advice is to seize the time, carry out large-scale construction, improve the defense line, train soldiers, and plunder resources. Do not launch an attack easily. Defend the basic territory and hone your internal skills. As long as we can hold out until April of the year after next, we will win."

Hathaway's opinion was completely opposite to Li Wei's. At this moment, she glared at Li Wei angrily, as if to say, "If you're not convinced, let's make a bet."

Li Wei didn't take the bait at all. Instead, after thinking about it seriously, he nodded and said, "Hathaway, you're right. I didn't think it through. Duke Frost is no ordinary person. He has great perseverance, determination, and wisdom. He can develop to this level from the apocalypse. It can't be judged by common sense. Let's follow your suggestion. If there are any shortcomings, we can discuss and revise them in practice."

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic. The river is currently in its high-water season. If we want to build the Earth Fortress and connect the two fortresses, we need a sturdy bridge that can be used by vehicles. There used to be a highway bridge here, but for some reason, half of it was destroyed. Currently, only five piers and a 50-meter section of the bridge remain. We need to build at least 150 meters of bridge to repair it."

"Aunt Yue, when Lenos led his engineering team to inspect the bridge before, did they conduct an assessment? Is there any actual report?"

"Yes, the riverside fortress is essentially a port. If this bridge cannot be repaired, it will definitely have a significant impact on its future development. Lenos and his team are quite professional. Although they don't have a suitable bridge engineer, with the original bridge piers still intact, the rest is actually quite easy."

"However, the southern fortress was under construction at the time, and there were not many people available. They believed that if construction started then, it might take four months to complete. In addition, if a large number of construction workers and materials were withdrawn, the construction progress of the southern fortress in the territory would be slowed down."

"Recently, south of the eastern bridge, those superhumans are also working hard to build a fortress to block the bridge. Although they are being very cautious, they must also take into account that Duke Frost will send people to build more fortresses in the southern hills, thus advancing step by step."

At this point, Li Yue also had a headache. She wasn't good at these things, and neither was Liang Yuzhi. But Li Wei's plans were too big, stretching from the territory's main camp to the riverside fortress for a full five hundred miles. Now, they were going to build a bridgehead on the south bank. It sounded easy, but it was incredibly difficult to do.

She tried to persuade them, but neither Li Wei nor Hathaway seemed to care. Hathaway, in particular, seemed completely unaware of the risks, even saying that the Ice Duke wouldn't attack this year. How shameless of her!

At this moment, Li Wei glanced at Li Yue and immediately understood her worries. He then smiled and said, "Aunt Yue, don't worry. If it really comes down to it, we can just retreat to our base camp. I understand the principle of sacrificing territory for people. With my second aunt and you here, we are two pillars supporting us. We are a solid support for me to take risks. In short, the matter of building the bridge and constructing the earth fortress is settled."

"I'll order Lenos to send at least thirty engineers over in a bit, and also bring Thomas over. We'll send at least fifty craftsmen on our side, and I'll personally lead the effort. Let's launch a major campaign!"

(End of this chapter)