Le Song reflected on his nephew's past obedient behavior, knowing that he wouldn't back out at the last minute; therefore, the only reason Wang Qi was still around must be one: Yin Yangang was not disobeying orders, but rather intending to do so but unable to!

If it was the vanguard army, including the commander, that had encountered troubles, then the current irrational situation could be somewhat explained.

"War is never an easy thing..." Le Song raised his hand, signaling the flag bearers to sound the attack, commanding the troops already inside the outer city area to launch a full-scale assault from now onwards!

The quickest route from the outer city area to the inner city area was undoubtedly the main road. This road connected the two areas, with residential areas on either side where citizens lived their lives.

Taking the residential area route would involve a winding and time-consuming path. During this critical time where time was equivalent to lives, almost everyone in the main army believed they should proceed along the main road.

Since "almost" was used, it indicated that there were some dissenters to this marching route; strictly speaking, the only one in the entire army who did not agree with it was Le Song.

Regardless of what others might think, only Le Song had the authority to decide, so even if he acted on his own, no one had the qualification to object.

Le Song ordered the army to split into two groups and move towards the inner city area along the small roads near the residential area. His decision was correct, and it was this compulsory command that saved the lives of thousands of people.

The main army proceeded along the main road in a straight line; if the situation evolved as expected, Wang Xiaole, who was already in the outer city area, would use powerful magic to launch a devastating attack on the enemy forces advancing in a straight line.

In this case, the fastest route of march was out of the question; it was more accurately described as the quickest route to death. Although the route near the residential area was inconvenient, it indirectly provided protection to the soldiers.

Even if they were not his own subjects, Wang Xiaole did not want to involve large numbers of civilians in the battle. Le Song's order for the soldiers to enter the residential area undoubtedly prevented Wang Xiaole from using his large-scale attack at that moment. This strategy of using third-party civilians as a shield was not honorable, but it was the best way to minimize casualties on their side.

It was because of such cunning tactics that Le Song was known as the "Strategic General"; a "Strategic General" was never a straightforward and virtuous person who only used honorable methods.

Le Song was like this, and Wang Xiaole even more so!

Since handing over Yin Yangang bound with chains to the soldiers of the kingdom, Wang Xiaole was prepared to confront the Southern Marshal.

Wang Xiaole had been biding his time, waiting for the right moment, a crucial moment where even if the enemy did not take the main road, he could still put them in a passive position.

As Inran's soldiers passed through each house, they temporarily stored their weapons on their backs and held hands with their comrades to avoid dispersing in such a narrow area.

Suddenly, a wave of arrows shot out without warning, raining down like a heavy downpour on the soldiers who had formed a shield wall, making a continuous "thud" sound.

Ambush!

Not only could they not proceed along the main road, but even in the residential area on both sides, Wang Xiaole had prepared a "surprise."

Before the battle began, Le Song had made a fairly accurate estimate of the number of soldiers in the capital city: even if the hired adventurers were included, the soldiers of the kingdom would definitely be fewer than thirty thousand. In fact, the kingdom only had a total of twenty-eight thousand five hundred soldiers.

Of these, eleven thousand were responsible for guarding the palace, and another ten thousand five hundred were stationed on the second city wall.

Adding them up, it was not difficult to see that seven thousand soldiers were missing! Wang Xiaole would never abandon this precious military strength; they would definitely be sent to the battlefield.

The greatest value of these seven thousand soldiers was not to serve as a reserve force or to deal with the vanguard army led by Yin Yangang but rather to be deployed against the main army.

Under Wang Xiaole's orders, the kingdom's soldiers were scattered into various houses, while the original residents of those houses were relocated to safe areas.

After entering the houses, the seven thousand soldiers entered a "ready state" and would only act when Inran's main army bypassed the main road and entered the residential area.

Whether suddenly opening windows to shoot arrows from inside the house or lying on the roof to release magic when the target entered the attack range, the soldiers waited for the right moment to strike.

Caught off guard, Inran's soldiers, combined with the kingdom's advantageous terrain, were at a disadvantage as their opponents had a longer range, making them initially passive.

Although the archers on their side had organized a counterattack, the kingdom's soldiers used the houses as cover, with some even positioned in hard-to-reach high places, causing many arrows to miss their mark.

The only effective means of retaliation left was magic. However, in such a combustible environment, fire magic could not be used, as it might result in the deaths of thousands.

Therefore, only the less destructive ice and wind magic could be used; although not as effective, they still played a role in the current situation.

After suffering casualties, Inran's general gave a solemn command: "Frontline shield bearers, advance!"

The general then turned and called out loudly to the iron shield bearers behind him to regroup amidst the rain of arrows.

Despite several soldiers being shot down by crossbows, Inran's troops formed a formation under continuous urging.

With a deep horn sound, the iron shield formation moved slowly and steadily like a giant rock.

The rain of arrows fell on the thick, heavy iron shields, making a clanging sound, with the arrows dropping to the ground.

Seeing this, the general's face showed no joy; he just patiently waited.

Soon after, a few magicians closer together, coordinated their chanting, causing large elemental arrows to materialize in the air.

Like the sound of a snapped string on a lute.

In the next moment, several thick arrows whizzed out, tearing through the air with a sharp sound, aimed at the shield formation.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of shattering iron shields echoed continuously, as the arrows pierced through the formation, hitting the front row shield-bearers, continuing on to puncture several companions behind them, sending these people flying several yards.

Subsequently, the gleaming arrows found gaps in the shield wall, whistling as they plunged into the crowd, and the cries of agony resumed...

Observing the enemy's unmoved forces in the distance, Le Song realized that the troops he had sent were being held back by the enemy.

The only possible reason for this situation was that the commander in charge of directing the kingdom's soldiers had anticipated his choice to avoid the main road and instead march along the side roads, thereby setting up an ambush in the residential area.

If someone who had prepared a killer move on the main road had already foreseen the situation before it happened, then Le Song, envisioning the next two steps of the battle, was thinking even further ahead.

Thus, Wang Xiaole, who seemed to anticipate more than Le Song, had entered the realm of "anticipating the next three steps."

"A mediocre king could not conduct such excellent tactics; who is truly influencing the battlefield..."

At this point, Le Song did not yet understand the identity of his adversary, but he was clear that whoever it was, he had to treat them as his most formidable opponent and handle them with caution!

To create so much trouble for his own army with just over twenty thousand troops, that kind of opponent was one Le Song respected.

However, respecting them aside, Le Song also realized, "The tide of the battle is about to turn."

With ninety thousand troops under his command, even if he split that number in two, there would still be around forty-five thousand soldiers advancing on each side; in comparison, the seven thousand soldiers were already minimal.

After splitting into two groups, less than four thousand soldiers remained as ambushers on each side.

Regardless of how well the thousands fought, they could never stand against tens of thousands; even though Inran's main forces were initially passive, as the battle continued, the scales of victory should gradually tilt in their favor.

In the end, war was like chess, and Wang Xiaole's use of pieces was pitifully few from the start.

On the other hand, although Le Song had faced setbacks early on, the number of pieces he held was four times greater than his opponent's.

From this point on, the side with more people and resources gradually gained the upper hand.

Wang Xiaole's defenders positioned in the residential area gradually found themselves in a fierce struggle as time passed.

After ground warfare became somewhat easier, the kingdom's flying units, following the general's orders, ascended from the ground to the sky and initiated aggression.

Presently, the elite Imperial Gryphon Knights had taken control of the skies above the capital city.

At this moment when the archers were out of arrows, if the aerial combat units launched an attack, it would be unstoppable.

Massive "aerial" forces were usually only possessed by major nations, like the Pegasus Knight Unit of Dibiles.

As for small nations' "aerial" forces, they were either not formidable enough or lacked sufficient numbers; otherwise, like the Muren Kingdom, they never had one to begin with.

If solely blaming the current king for this issue and making him take on the blame alone was unreasonable; objectively speaking, since the founding king, everyone shared this great burden, and each successive king could not escape responsibility.