Fang Chang's concerns are not unreasonable.

The premise of the siege is that the besieged defenders still have a trace of will to resist.

For the nearly 3,000 Imperial soldiers who were enclosed in the "Kraba Market", it was obviously a mystery whether they owned it.

However, he actually has greater ambitions than simply capturing a prince......

Camp Lowell.

The Killer Dagger, dressed in an exoskeleton, finds Rassy, who is sitting on an ammo box fiddling with LD-47, and gets straight to the point.

"Come to life."

Setting aside the new toy she had just arrived, Lassi jumped down from the ammo box and bowed her head.

"At your command, my lord."

The murderous dagger didn't talk nonsense, he directly took out a tablet and stuffed it into his hand, and clicked on the map and the battle plan listed next to the map with his index finger.

"About 3,000 remnants retreated to the market of Kraba, where they requisitioned the houses and all the bunkers they could use, and built a new line of defense around the area with the remaining ammunition and individual anti-armor weapons. The good news is that they've driven away civilians from the area, and we can use whatever support fire we can muster at our disposal. As for the bad news, I haven't seen it yet."

"But even so, you still don't want to be careless, and I don't want a pack of reservoir dogs to suddenly regain their confidence. You need to do what we say, step by step, first surround this bazaar, and then put pressure on the besieged troops from the four directions of south, east, west, and west, to force them to break through......

The index finger pointed at the map, and the murderous dagger paused, and continued.

「…… We speculate that they won't go straight to the north, and that both the east and west sides are good options. In order to reduce the uncertainties, we need you to put more pressure on the west and make some feints as appropriate, so that they can choose the east as the main direction of the breakthrough as much as possible."

Lassi looked at him with a brow, puzzled.

"Why let them go? I can take them all for you."

The Murderous Dagger said patiently.

"This is the second step of the plan. We hope to intercept them while they retreat, and drive some of the deserters to their positions outside the settlement, and take advantage of the support of the 10,000 people outside the settlement, and eat the people who have fled outside the city and the 10,000 people lying outside the city."

This method can be regarded as a workaround for encircling the point to send reinforcements.

After deploying a force of 10,000 men to the trenches on the front line, Alayan, who was stationed outside the settlement, did not make any new moves, and seemed to intend to let the routs in the settlement organize their own forces to break through, while the reinforcements were mainly covering.

It seems that the general did not intend to pay more soldiers for this stupid plan of attack, and this just happens to be further proof that the attack itself was an accident.

It's like the 1,000-man team that "landed on the beach" at the French Fries Harbor.

There was a look of surprise on Lassy's face, partly surprised by the plan itself of the Alliance brothers, and partly surprised by their appetite.

That's a whole team of 10,000 people!

And it is also the most elite trump card of the empire!

However, there was no timidity on his face, and after a brief thought, he asked an inconsequential question, but he himself was curious.

"If you're going to let them go, why don't you just let them go from the north? Isn't that closer?"

The murderous dagger was stunned for a moment, looked at this guy with a strange expression, and asked rhetorically.

"Would you run straight north instead?"

Lassi was also stunned.

Why not?

Regardless of this guy's confused expression, the murderous dagger glanced up at the sky and continued in a hurry.

"When it gets dark, we judge that they will choose to rest for the night and hold their ground until dawn the next morning, which is generally the most lax time and the best time to break out...... That's the plan, we'll let you know if there's anything new, and now we need you to act now."

With a hint of fierceness flashing in her eyes, Lassi reached out to pick it up

glanced at the rifle resting next to the ammunition box and nodded earnestly.

"Leave it to me."

Looking at Lassy, who turned around and walked towards the camp radio station, the murderous dagger suddenly remembered something and stopped him again.

"Wait."

Lassi stopped and turned back.

"Anything else?"

The murderous dagger pointed at the tablet in his hand.

"There are a few people up there that we want to live. There are others, if someone surrenders, they can stay alive as much as they can...... Remember, the living are worth more than the dead."

Lassi bowed slightly.

"Yes."

……

Craba Market.

Located in the middle of the northern part of the city, it is the largest bazaar in the northern part of the city, consisting of hundreds of thousands of shops and stalls, surrounded by rows of square houses.

Usually these stalls are filled with colourful food, spices, textiles, trinkets, and leashed animals, and even scrap electronics and mechanical clocks brought in from other places.

It is not only the poor and the townspeople who come here to buy daily necessities, but also some of the merchants who make big deals and the little nobles in luxurious clothes who come here on a whim, looking for strange goodies or spilling from those who do not know how to do it.

It's no exaggeration to say that anything that the Xilan Empire has, whether it's cheap red clay or toys from Ideal City, can be found here with a little time.

Normally the market would be busy from dawn until the sun went down, but today it is as lively as ever.

The only difference is that the bustling crowd has changed from shouting merchants and picky customers to a group of "gray wolves" who have fled......

"Stop! What are you doing!? This is my house, you can't—ahhhhh

A man in his mid-thirties was thrown out of the door by a soldier by the arm, and was wheeled out into the street with his two disheveled wives and six children.

Judging from the dress and appearance of this family, although their status is not high, they are by no means snakes, rats, insects and birds.

But it didn't make a difference to a group of routs who had just suffered defeat.

Not listening to the angry man's arguments, the soldier raised the muzzle of the PU-9 submachine gun and pressed it against the man's head, yelling and shouting.

"This isn't your home! Right now! Immediately! Leave! If you don't want to ask for trouble!"

The cold touch made his heart feel like a cave of ice, and he only felt a chill in his hands and feet, and his lips trembled and he couldn't speak.

Just next to another house not far away.

An old woman clung to a soldier's leg and pleaded, but was kicked into the door.

Not long after, there was a sudden burst of gunfire, and then a group of soldiers crossed the bleeding threshold with a machine gun.

The man was completely stunned, and a wave of warmth flowed down his trouser leg to the ground.

Glancing at the frightened man who peed his pants, Dilip didn't even bother to speak, and went straight across the threshold into the house.

The guard behind him reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, shoved him to the ground, and coldly threw down a word.

"It's for your own good."

"Get out!"

The man didn't dare to stop, so he stood up with a roll, didn't care about patting the dust off his body, and dragged the people away in a hurry.

The market was in shambles, and the grizzled residents were pushed and driven out of their homes before they could even pack their belongings.

A group of people crowded on the dirt road two blocks away from the Kraba market, bewildered by the unfamiliar streets around them.

Stunned-looking mothers wander looking for lost children, well-dressed men hesitantly knocking on nearby doors to ask if they can take them in for the night, and unbuttoning a piece of bread hard enough to knock out teeth......

Children who have been separated from their loved ones are curled up on the ground and crying bitterly, and devout believers have their hands in their hands

Namaste prayed, and some people sat on the ground in despair and muttered.

"What should we do?"

"How long are they going to stay...... a grizzled man muttered under his breath, "Are they not leaving, and we're just waiting here?"

The old man next to him sighed, his face full of sadness.

「…… I have to wait."

At this moment, the fate of all people seems to have changed temporarily, no matter what shape of label is attached to their bodies.

Looking at the street that gradually melted into the twilight, some people shook the child in their arms and hummed softly, some sang along, some people closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment of tranquility and equality, weaving a song in the noise and chaos......

They're actually lucky.

Most of the soldiers here are losing battles for the first time, and they still treat them as subjects of the Empire, and it is difficult to say what will happen if they lose a few more battles.

The rout retreating to the market of Kraba had finally completed the construction of its defensive line before dusk, and by this moment the sound of gunfire was already ringing in all directions.

They discover that it does not appear that the devils who have been summoned by the alliance are surrounding them, but a militia force made up of locals.

And this also made these werewolf soldiers trapped in the market extremely angry.

In their opinion, this is undoubtedly a betrayal.

Fortunately, the combat effectiveness of these militias was not very strong, and although they tried to make several feints under the cover of mortars, they did not have any obvious effect, so they retreated to an encirclement, and from time to time they fired a cold gun.

But even so, no one dared to relax.

They were too impressed by the rampant crabs, and no one could guarantee that the crabs would not follow the militia outside in the next offensive......

It was getting dark.

The green double-sword flag still did not flutter on the roof of the Governor's Palace, but at this moment, Prince Dilip, who was in a difficult situation, had no time to dream of that unrealistic dream.

Glancing at the communications soldier who was still debugging the radio, he beckoned the guards to come to his side and gave him a command.

"I'm hungry, get me something to eat."

The guard nodded hurriedly and beckoned the servants who accompanied him to prepare food.

After a while, a bowl of ginger paste with floating beans was served, along with a small plate of onion juice and two slices of sesame seeds in the basket.

Several of the guards guarding the room swallowed involuntarily, but Prince Dilip frowned.

"It's all beans."

The servant who brought the food said with a bitter face.

"My lord, that's all they have in the kitchen......

Dilip's brow twisted into a hemp rope.

The cake sprinkled with sesame seeds was okay and had a buttery smell, but the beans were for livestock, not for human consumption at all.

After hesitating for a long time, Prince Dilip pushed the food away in disgust.

"Search other houses, I want meat."

The servant didn't dare to squeak, and the guards on the side hurriedly nodded and gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

As he watched the guard leave, Dilip noticed that the other guards in the room were swallowing saliva, and ordered the servants to give them the food.

Looking at those gobbling up guards, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up with a hint of ridicule.

A bunch of inferior people who don't know decency.

The frustrated sense of superiority seemed to have been found elsewhere, and Prince Dilip felt much better.

It just so happened that at this time, the radio station was finally repaired, and the communication with the rear command was finally restored.

Overjoyed, Dilip immediately ordered the communications corps to call the rear headquarters, and then grabbed the phone, shouting before Alayan could speak.

"What the hell are you doing! Why did I cry out for a long time and not even see the shadow of a shell!"

There was a rustling of electricity in the earpiece, and there was no response.

Seeing that Alayan was frightened by his momentum, Dilip took a deep breath and continued in a soothing tone.

"Because of your poor support, there is a little bit of a problem on the front line now, but it's not a big problem...... Anyway I need reinforcements, give me another 5,000 men and 12 guns and more anti-armor weapons and explosives, the Coalition got an iron lump out of nowhere, damn it, we should borrow a few tanks from the Legion!"

Alayan waited patiently for him to explain everything, and then calmly replied with only two words.

"Come back."

Dilip was stunned, and then his whole face turned red.

"You're commanding me!"

There was another long silence in the communication channel.

Seeing that there was no echo for a long time, Dilip's originally angry mood suddenly couldn't help but feel a trace of panic.

It wasn't until this moment that he really recognized his situation at the moment.

He is not playing a sand table game of war games with His Majesty in the palace, but standing on a real battlefield, even surrounded by enemy troops!

If this guy leaves himself alone-

Dilip's lips trembled, and after waiting for a long time, a pleading finally came out of his dry throat.

"Help me."

There was finally an echo on the other end of the radio.

「…… Tomorrow at five o'clock in the morning, I will try to launch a round of artillery bombardment on the city near the Kraba market to cover your breakthrough from the encirclement. There's a team of 10,000 people outside the city to meet you, listen, this is your only chance, your chance not to be captured by the Alliance, and come back alive."

Carefully memorizing every word on the radio, Dilip nodded tremblingly.

"Yes!"

Before Alayan finished his words, he paused and continued.

「…… In addition, it cannot be ruled out that our enemies deliberately put a road for you in order to lure you out of position, and then put you in their pockets and catch them all. Remember, before you set out, send people to feint a few times to test the strength of the firepower, and don't take the easiest path."

At the same time as the voice fell, the communication was also hung up.

Prince Dilip only felt his back soaked with sweat, and sat down in his chair with all his strength.

Looking out the window at the last rays of light that were sinking into the roof, he seemed to be staring at hope that was about to fall into darkness, and his eyes were full of despair.

Hopefully survive the night.

Wish......

At the same time, at the command post more than ten kilometers away, Alayan slammed the phone on the table, and then sat down on the chair with a painful face.

The surrounding officers were silent, and no one spoke.

It is already the best ending to be able to save that idiot from Dilip, but it is not bad that he died on the way to break through.

At least don't get captured by the Alliance.

Otherwise, the enemy will have another chip in his hand.

As for the remaining nearly 3,000 Gray Wolf Army warriors......

I can only resign myself to fate.

……

The long night finally passed, and a touch of white was imprinted on the docks of Golden Gallen Harbor.

But it was not the first rays of the morning sun shining on the land that tore away the last glimmer of silence of the night, but the deafening sound of cannons.

"Fire!"

The artillery positions of the Gray Wolves resounded with a roar, and 100 grenades rose into the sky one after another, falling towards the city near the Kraba market.

It turns out that General Alayan has two brushes.

Yesterday he spent the whole day testing the ultimate range of the Allied artillery, and after completing the test, he dispersed the artillery outside the effective range of the port artillery positions.

However, on the contrary, this distance is basically close to the limit of range for the Empire's 100mm howitzer.

Brownian bombs were scattered around the city, with only two-fifths of them falling around the Craba market, and even one-fifth in the market.

As for the rest

Two-fifths of them, no one knows where they will fall.

"Mommy...... These guys really don't treat the survivors here as their own."

Standing on the wall of Camp Lowell, the Murder Dagger looked in amazement at the billowing smoke rising from the city in the distance.

If it weren't for the fact that Dawning City didn't look like this, he almost didn't even remember whose territory this was fighting on.

"It seems that the Craba Market does have someone they will do whatever it takes." Looking down at the survivors who had blocked the doorway under the wall, the Kidney Fighter said helplessly, "Anyway, who is going to explain to them that they have encountered this kind of warp fire...... It's useless to break the wall, it's more dangerous to get all together."

To put it mildly, a grenade hit the roof, and although it was eighty percent dead for the family, most of the fragments and shockwaves were able to be buried by the walls.

From the point of view of minimal casualties, the safest time is to stay at home, rather than crowding the streets.

In particular, Camp Lowell is a strategic location, even if it is not the main offensive direction of the Gray Wolf Army today, it is impossible to say what will happen tomorrow.

The Murderous Dagger sighed.

"I'll try it."

Although he didn't feel it made sense......

At the same time that the Gray Wolf artillery launched an artillery bombardment of the northern city of Port Goldgallen, nearly 3,000 routed troops trapped in the Kraba market also began to break through.

Armed with rifles, the Grey Wolf soldiers gathered along the edge of the building, and in units of 100 people, they launched a fierce attack on the militia on the outskirts of the Kraba market from four directions, south, east, west, and north.

The sound of gunfire echoing inside and outside the bazaar was like firecrackers, and bullets whizzed like a rain of bullets.

The wooden stalls were toppled down the street as shooting bunkers, and in a short time they were riddled with bullets.

Soon a group of soldiers wrapped the broken bricks and dirt from the shells in bed sheets and piled them on the two-wheeled bucket truck to make makeshift shelter.

One man pushed a bucket cart full of obstacles towards the rushing forward, and nine men followed, firing and charging forward with their lives.

From time to time, someone was shot and fell, but soon someone made up for it.

Driven by the desire to survive, the soldiers of the Gray Wolf Army were like hyenas forced into a corner, and they burst out with amazing combat effectiveness, and for a while, the militia that fought several times their size couldn't raise their heads.

Seeing the hope of escape, Prince Dilip, who was hiding on the second floor of the house, excitedly poked his head out of the window, tore his hoarse voice and yelled at the soldiers in the bazaar.

"Rush over to me! The way home is just ahead! In front of you is nothing more than a bunch of cannon fodder! Hopelessly garbage! Cowards who betray the Empire! Use your rifles to tell them who is the real brave man——!

Thanks to the constant gunfire and artillery fire all around, the soldiers leaning on the edge of the bunker could not hear his roar, otherwise it is difficult to say whether anyone would not be tempted to raise their heads and give him a shot.

Satish, the commander of the Thousand Commanders who was in command nearby, happened to hear it, and his brows twitched fiercely, but he could only hold back the anger in his chest and pretend not to hear.

Damn!

Who the hell is this thing that is trapped here!

Just as he was cursing, new news came from the front.

A hundred-man squad has managed to break through the defense line deployed by the puppet army on the eastern flank, opening a way to retreat outside the settlement.

Listening to the good news reported by the front-line officers on the radio, the commander took a deep breath, returned to the downstairs of the house where Prince Dilip was, and shouted loudly towards the window on the second floor.

「…… My lord, our soldiers have opened a gap in the east! Come down, we'll cover your retreat!"

Prince Dilip was just about to respond, but suddenly remembered the previous admonition of General Alayan, and hurriedly swallowed back the words that had already come to his mouth.

"No! I don't go from there! That's the trap of the Alliance! Have you forgotten how hard they fired yesterday? How could they be

Let us go! It must be a conspiracy on their part, they deliberately let us out of the east and then wipe us out!"

Hearing this wayward speech, Satish almost didn't spurt out a mouthful of old blood.

One thing to say, this analysis is indeed not unreasonable.

If he were the commander on the other side, he would also consider using the tactic of "encircling three and one", but shouldn't this be something to discuss before starting to break out?!

Now that the line of defense has been opened, everyone has seen the hope of escaping, but you said you wouldn't leave here?!

Are you kidding!

This guy really treats the people under his command as a wargame in the sandbox?!

"We don't have a choice!" Holding back his anger, Satish yelled at him, "We've left at least five hundred brothers behind to open this line, and even if it's a trap, we'll have to gamble and rush through it now!" This is the only chance! There's no way they're going to take them all!"

"Captain Satish, I say it again! That's an order! The soldiers, who had already broken through the defensive line, continued to advance, and the rest headed towards ...... Break through to the north! If you refuse to obey the order, wait for Your Majesty to ask you for your guilt!" Prince Dilip roared inwardly, panic and madness written on his pale face.

To be honest, he didn't know what to do anymore.

When playing chess pieces on the sand table, there is no bullets and artillery fire flying in the sky, and every wrong decision can save his life.

Perhaps the only thing he was a little better than the layman, and he knew that it was better to do anything than nothing at this time.

Just do what Alayan says.

If you lose, you can still throw the pot at that guy.

He was so remorseful now that he shouldn't have opened that mouth in the first place, and asked Alayan to ask the 5,000 people to fight the governor's palace.

However, it is too late to say anything.

The plan wasn't on track from the start, and every unexpected order made the situation worse.

If only the enemy could allow him to press the pause button and think about it......

It's best to give him another look at the hand.

Satish looked desperately at the prince standing on the second floor, stumbled back two steps, his lips trembled for a long time, and finally snatched the phone from the hand of the communications soldier and shouted in despair.

"Units that have broken through the defenses move on! The rest of the divisions launched an attack on the defense line on the north side of the market! Whatever it takes, rush me over!"

There is no point in doing anything now.

Offering loyalty to His Majesty will at least preserve his family.

At this point, he could only break the jar......

……

The east side of the Craba Market.

The incessant gunfire suddenly died down without warning, like a candle flame blown out by a light breeze.

The remnants of the Gray Wolf Army, which had already pried a gap in the encirclement, suddenly gave up their offensive in one go.

Except for the hundred-man team that had broken through, it was still desperately moving forward, but the remaining soldiers turned their guns and killed the north side of the market.

It's as if they're tearing the line apart, and they don't intend to rush over the line that has already been breached.

Without the support of follow-up fire, the hundred-man team that broke out of the encirclement was quickly captured, with a gun pointed at the back of the head, and crouched on the ground with a disgraced face.

The defensive line on the east side of the market, which had been broken through, was also closed again under the hesitation of the militia.

This strange scene surprised everyone.

If it weren't for the fact that people were on the front line, Lassi couldn't believe it was true.

But even if he saw it with his own eyes, when he heard the report from his subordinates on the walkie-talkie, the whole person was still stunned for a moment.

「…… Did they really go north?"

"Yes...... They concentrated all their forces to break through to the north! Damn, these guys are crazy!" The noisy gunfire and rapid gasps came from the other end of the walkie-talkie, which showed how anxious the battle situation was.

Lassy

Immediately follow up.

"How's you doing? Can you hold it?!"

Frontline Officer: "Problem...... It shouldn't be big! Although they are numerous, most of them are exhausted...... Do you want to let them go?"

With a sigh of relief in his heart, Lassi pondered for a moment and ordered decisively.

"Hold your ground! Give me to hold at all costs! The brothers of the alliance want the lackeys of the empire to roll east, and they must not let a single person go north!"

The front-line officer replied in a resolute tone.

"Yes!"

Hang up the communication.

Lassi then instructed his subordinates to withdraw the brethren who had filled the gap in the eastern side of the market.

He knows very well who gives him the power in his hands, and he knows even more that if he wants the alliance to support him all the time, he must show value to match it. And to do this, completing the order is even more important than the victory itself.

He is eager to prove himself.

Even if he fights to the last drop of blood, he will also twist the neck of that group of hyenas back from the north!

He didn't believe it anymore.

These guys really don't want to go east!

But—

Although the "master's order" is more important than the victory itself, it is impossible to say that Lassi did not wonder at all.

Looking at the entrance of the market not far away, he was silent for a long time before muttering in a voice that only he could hear.

"I'll just say they'll retreat north......

At the same time, on the wall of Camp Lowell, the murderous dagger overlooking the battlefield through the quadcopter drone also had a confused expression.

He saw with his own eyes the remnants of the Gray Wolf Army, trapped in the market, break through the defenses on the eastern side of the market.

However, before he could send a signal to the 3rd and 400th Men who had been in ambush for a long time, he saw that the group of "gray wolves" suddenly gave up and broke through to the north of the market.

What kind of operation is this?!

"It's not scientific......

His mouth was repeated, and his eyes were full of incomprehension.

However, just as he was about to report the anomaly to the temporary command in the rear and ask for instructions on the next step, the situation under the drone's lens took a new turn.

As if they could no longer withstand the continuous casualties, the remaining Grey Wolf soldiers gathered all their strength and launched a final onslaught towards the defensive line on the north side of the market.

The last burst of gunfire was somewhat desperate, and both sides paid a heavy toll on it.

However, the militias who remained there still managed to hold the line.

Several successive breakouts did not make any progress, and the remaining 1,000 or so "gray wolves" finally collapsed and scattered into a plate of scattered sand on the solid defensive line.

But even so, they did not choose to withdraw from the eastern side of the market, even though the militia surrounding the market had left their doors there.

They dropped their weapons and walked out of cover with their hands raised in despair, unable to stop shouting as much as their commander cried......

Even, after discovering that the reprimand was useless, their commander followed suit and walked out with his hands raised.

Not only did the Murder Dagger fall silent, but even Fang Chang and Lao Bai, who were far away in the temporary headquarters, were also stunned after hearing the news from the front line.

This trump card with "high hopes" from them......

You just voted for it?!