Chapter 170: Decisive Battle (Part 1)

Inside the imperial palace of the Liao capital, the Emperor of Liao stared at the Empress Dowager of Liao before him, his expression extremely grim. He never expected that his own meticulous plan was merely a part of the Empress Dowager's broader scheme, and that he had been manipulated by her from the very beginning. Now, he had lost everything!

"Your Majesty, if our nation can deal a crippling blow to the Song Dynasty's national fortune this time, it will extend our dynasty's destiny for another century. The Empress Dowager's actions are ultimately for the greater good of Liao!" persuaded an elderly minister.

"You... all of you..." The Emperor of Liao gasped for breath, his fingers trembling as he pointed at this most trusted minister. He desperately wanted to order the guards to drag this man away and subject him to a thousand cuts, but he no longer possessed the power to do so.

His arm dropped limply to his side. The Emperor of Liao leaned back against the dragon throne, a pale, bitter smile escaping his lips. "Do as you wish!" He surrendered to despair, knowing that regardless of the final outcome for the Liao Dynasty, he would not be allowed to survive.

The Empress Dowager of Liao commanded, "Guards, escort the Emperor to his chambers to rest! Relay my orders to all generals: prepare for battle!" Though she was not seated upon the dragon throne, the aura of authority radiating from her at that moment was no different from sitting on the throne itself.

After rendezvousing with Song Jiang and his forces, Sun Meng noticed that the battle aura surrounding the Liao army was growing increasingly dense. Even at the fringes of the opposing auras, he could feel a heavy, oppressive weight.

'Is this the suppression effect of national fortune? The Liangshan forces seem to have very little national fortune backing them!' Sun Meng glanced toward the Liangshan main camp. He saw that the fifty thousand soldiers served merely as a medium connecting the Song Dynasty's national fortune with Liangshan's, yet this reserve of fortune was pitifully small.

This was practically setting Liangshan up for a bloody war of attrition against Liao!

Sun Meng frowned. If things continued this way, even if Liangshan emerged victorious, it would only be a pyrrhic victory. They would be entirely incapable of directly crushing the Liao Dynasty, let alone annihilating the nomadic tribes of the grasslands. What on earth was the Emperor of Song thinking? Did he truly not wish to seize this golden opportunity to eliminate the Liao Dynasty once and for all?

At that moment, Sun Meng felt that he genuinely could not comprehend the thought process of such rulers.

Just then, a team communication alert chimed, sent by Kokolalu.

"I've uncovered some unusual activity. The Song Dynasty has launched a military campaign against Western Xia, and the offensive is fierce. They've already captured five major cities."

Opening the map for a quick glance, Sun Meng raised an eyebrow. Judging by their proximity, the five captured cities effectively secured the entire border between the Song Dynasty and Western Xia, without expanding their contact line with Tibet. It seemed they were just looking to grab some easy gains!

Sun Meng could not help but chuckle. The Emperor of Song was truly absurd; rather than exerting force against his primary adversary right before him, he chose to bully Western Xia, a state that could be wiped out at any time. The most ridiculous part was that he didn't even completely conquer them—who knew what he was actually afraid of?

Returning to his tent, Sun Meng sought out Pixar and Mu Xingye.

"What are your thoughts on this?" Sun Meng asked the two of them.

Pixar replied, "If the battle between the Liao army and our forces results in mutual exhaustion, the main strength of the Song army remains virtually undamaged. Relative to other nations, they will have effectively grown stronger."

"You mean the Emperor of Song never intended to wipe out the Liao Dynasty in one fell swoop, nor did he plan to destroy Western Xia!" Mu Xingye said in astonishment. During this time, they had all witnessed the formidable combat power of the Liangshan army. It was truly incomprehensible why anyone would possess such a powerful force and yet pass up the chance to eliminate a major enemy like Liao.

"I heard there are internal rebellions being suppressed within the Song Dynasty. Could it be related to that?" Sun Meng suggested.

"Is it because they're afraid that if they achieve external victory and focus on governing new territories, it will lead to internal instability?" Mu Xingye pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't think we should keep hiding the cyborg unit any longer. As long as we strike fiercely into the enemy ranks at the crucial moment, with the three of us acting as the vanguard to eliminate the enemy leadership, we should be able to secure a resounding victory."

Sun Meng nodded. "Then I'll go speak with Song Jiang. After all, we'll still need their cooperation when the time comes."

Meanwhile, in the main tent of the Liangshan forces, Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Wu Yong, and Zhu Wu were deep in discussion over how to execute the decisive battle against the Liao army.

"The Liao army has deployed a massive grand formation using these cities as tactical bases. The only way for us to break it is by using a counter-formation. Their formation cores must be set in these three locations. Once we breach these three points, we can fracture the Liao army into three isolated segments. Eliminating them one by one will be much easier then," Zhu Wu said, pointing out three locations on the map.

"However, the enemy won't let us breach these critical points so easily. We will need a decoy to draw out the Liao forces," Wu Yong said, glancing at Song Jiang. The imperial court's soldiers were entirely unreliable, which meant Liangshan's own men would have to serve as the bait. Who could guarantee that those acting as bait would survive until the main force succeeded?

If deception was required, could Song Jiang bring himself to say the words?

Song Jiang naturally understood the meaning behind Wu Yong's gaze. If he personally explained the stakes, there were certainly brothers who would willingly step up as bait, but was it truly worth it?

He had already received intelligence from the rear: because three rebel factions within the country had risen up, the imperial court had dispatched troops to quell them, meaning they could only guarantee a fraction of the grain supply. Everything else would have to rely on captured provisions, and as for troop reinforcements—forget about it.

Without adequate troop reinforcements, such an excuse might fool ignorant peasants, but how could Song Jiang not know how many soldiers the Song Dynasty possessed? Though their quality might not be guaranteed, their numbers were certainly more than sufficient! Such an outcome pointed to only one possibility: the imperial court wanted Liangshan and the Liao forces to destroy each other!

Taking a deep breath, Song Jiang reflected that since he had sworn an oath to protect the country and the people, he should no longer hesitate. Just as he was about to speak, a minor scout hurried into the tent and reported, "General, Master Sun has arrived."

Sun Meng stepped into the tent and smiled. "I didn't expect Brothers Lu, Wu, and Zhu to all be here!" He turned his attention to Song Jiang. "I've come to offer my help. As I mentioned before, I command a force of ten thousand men. This unit has undoubtedly reached the caliber of elite troops, and I hope they can play a vital role in the upcoming decisive battle."

Song Jiang's eyes lit up. "Brother Sun, here is the situation. During our discussion just now, we realized that defeating the Liao army in the end requires breaking through these three critical locations..." With that, Song Jiang explained the tactical simulation they had just devised on the map.

Sun Meng frowned. The cyborg units were only suited for all-out assault; using them as decoys would defeat the purpose of stalling the target!

"Brother Song Jiang, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but my troops are somewhat unique. They exist almost like biological puppets." Sun Meng wanted to explain further, but realized it was difficult to articulate in a way Song Jiang and the others could easily comprehend. "How about this? Just come with me and see for yourselves."

Song Jiang and the others exchanged glances. They knew it was a heavy burden to ask anyone to serve as bait, but Sun Meng's attitude suggested he wasn't entirely closed to the idea.

Shortly after, they followed Sun Meng to the hidden stronghold of the cyborg troops.

"This is..." Song Jiang and the others looked on in astonishment as they observed the cyborgs. Earlier, Sun Meng had described these individuals as puppets, but neither their tactile feel nor their visual appearance resembled any kind of puppet they had ever imagined!

The four Liangshan leaders continuously poked and prodded the cyborgs, trying to figure out how they differed from living humans.

That very evening, Sun Meng and Mu Xingye departed the Liangshan main camp with the cyborg army, while Pixar traveled back alone into Song territory.

"Who would have thought they would make such a massive sacrifice," Mu Xingye remarked.

After confirming the sheer might of the cyborg unit, Song Jiang and his strategists had formulated a truly frantic plan: they would volunteer their own forces to act as the bait, trading it for an opportunity for Sun Meng's forces to launch a direct strike on the Liao capital!

"They must have realized the imperial court's true intentions. But Song Jiang himself is a deeply conflicted figure; he desperately wants to show absolute loyalty to his country while also fiercely protecting his brotherhood with his men, so this choice isn't entirely surprising," Sun Meng mused. "Besides, our mission carries considerable danger as well. Wu Yong mentioned that we will likely have to weather the backlash of the dragon's Qi ourselves."

"Are you afraid of that?" Mu Xingye chuckled.

"Of course not. They think we're merely a faction of martial artists, completely unaware that we represent two advanced civilizations," Sun Meng replied with a smile.

"When the time comes, we'll have them help us clear out those nomadic tribes on the grasslands too. They won't refuse then, right?" Mu Xingye said. Everything they did was ultimately geared toward completing their mission and earning higher reward points.

The next day, Song Jiang personally assigned the commanders, and nine distinct columns of troops marched out toward the Liao army.