Chapter 557: Chapter 265: Attacking Wuman (Part 2)

They fled over 300 miles in one breath, returning to Stone City, the capital of Wu Savage Country.

Back in his country, after catching his breath, Li Xiong took stock of his remaining troops and discovered that only a little more than 20,000 were left.

Just half a year ago, he had commanded an army of 160,000 to 170,000 soldiers.

Thinking about this half-year of consecutive defeats in battle, he had not only lost thousands of miles of territory but also surrendered years of achievements overnight.

At this point, even the Wu Savage Country, which he once saw as a sure thing, was difficult to hold onto, as the enemies were approaching the capital.

Under the continuous blows, Li Xiong, who was once ambitious and aspired to swallow the entire Da Changhe Country to reestablish the foundations of Shu State, could not help but feel sorrow and deep frustration.

His original arrogance had almost completely disappeared under these continuous failures.

So when Li Shou returned with Chu State’s conditions and relayed them in their entirety to Li Xiong,

This Heroic figure of Xi Shu could no longer maintain his pride and chose to lower his head under Lu Yuan’s near-exacting conditions.

He had no choice.

Several years ago, he had caused trouble in Xichuan, and after less than two years of glory, he was defeated and forced to flee in disgrace. He not only lost his country, but also abandoned the Qiang Tribe, escaping with just over a hundred confidants and heading for the Barbarian land.

After finally arriving here and steadying himself, he worked hard and diligently to infiltrate and dominate the Wu Savage Country’s court, seizing control of the country’s army.

Then he launched a rebellion in an attempt to unite the entire Great Changhe Country and create a new foundation.

However, after a less than two years of glory once again, his army of more than 100,000 was completely wiped out, and he lost thousands of miles of territory.

At this point, with his loss of troops and land, he only has a little over 20,000 soldiers and Stone City left under his control. Of the original hundred-plus confidants he brought with him, only forty-something remained after the consecutive defeats.

And even this last bit of assets, who knew how long he could keep?

Under such circumstances and facing such blows, Li Xiong no longer had the heart to struggle, nor the strength to negotiate.

And to be honest,

After having experienced so many setbacks, he had begun to doubt whether he really had the ability to establish an empire.

With this mindset, Li Xiong didn’t want to struggle anymore.

Now that Great Chu is willing to accept him, he might as well take advantage of what little he has left to secure a future for himself.

Let it be the Nong Dong Four Countries then, however.

It’s still a domain of two and a half prefectures, with a population of two to three hundred thousand and nearly a thousand miles of territory.

After struggling for more than ten years, having this last piece of foundation was not all that bad.

It’s better than being defeated, losing everything, becoming homeless, and fleeing in embarrassment, right?

So in the end, Li Xiong, who had already given in, even though he knew the conditions he signed were humiliating and not befitting his Inborn Grandmaster status,

Still chose to agree.

Then he arranged for Li Shou to continue rushing to Chu State, desperately seeking reinforcement.

“Now that my elder brother has collected his remaining troops and recruited the best of the nation, he finally gathered 40,000 men to defend Stone City. However, with the ferocious offensive of the Chilih and the unrest within the city, even if my elder brother holds on, he cannot last long.

If Your Majesty does not send reinforcements, I am afraid that it will not take a month for Stone City to fall.

By then, losing this capital of the Wu Savage Country, the entire Lingdong region will be completely lost as well.

Da Changhe Country will then recover its lost territory and reintegrate its nation. If they try to fight back, it will be no easy task.”

Li Shou, with a whining voice, recounted Li Xiong’s current predicament and once again expressed his request for reinforcements.

Listening to him, Lu Yuan could not help but be shocked.

Although he knew that with the interference of the Divine Palace, Li Xiong would not last long and his downfall was only a matter of time,

He never would have thought,

That in just two or three months, Li Xiong would already have had his back against the wall and was on the verge of destruction.

That was an army of more than 100,000 and territories that stretched for thousands of miles.

Even if they were just pigs numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it would not have taken Da Changhe Country such a short time to capture them all, right?

Plus, the land of a few thousand miles, even if they ran, it would take at least a month to cover, right?

How did they lose so quickly with so many men and so much land?

‘Li Xiong really is a man who can’t stand up to scrutiny. No wonder he lost Xichuan so quickly and didn’t even dare to face me in the end, leaving his army and fleeing directly.

I really don’t know how he managed to become an Inborn Grandmaster with such little ability.’

Lu Yuan cursed uselessly in his heart, but now was not the time to reproach this guy.

Li Shou was right.

If they lose Stone City and Wu Savage Country, then the force he would have to face when invading Da Changhe Country would be more than 200,000 soldiers led by Li River from Wu Savage Country.

For this army that had just put down the rebellion and had incomparable morale.

Although their overall quality was poor, with many of them being equivalent to militia and village braves and there being few truly elite,

Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Lu Yuan to defeat them and advance into Da Changhe Country.

So right now, while Li Xiong has not completely failed, it is his last chance to send troops to invade the Da Changhe Country.

Only by relying on Stone City as a base and securing Wu Savage Country as a stable rear,

Chu could gradually encroach upon Da Changhe Country.

Thus, after realizing the seriousness of the situation and facing Li Shou’s plea, Lu Yuan immediately said, “I will send troops right away, march into Da Changhe Country, and relieve Stone City.”