Cthulhu Gonfalon

Normally, the fact that it was dark was an equal disadvantage to both parties in war.

However, since the new merchant troops were well trained, they would be more familiar with collaborations with each other in war. Even if it were dark, the diminishing of the abilities would only be slight and rather negligible.

On the other hand, it was different for the aristocrats. Their elite troops were all from different parts of their land, and even though they had a few exercises together, they were not as familiar with each other as the merchant troops, who had had long term intensive trainings together. Even if they fought in the morning, they would still be at a disadvantage, much less at night!

Why did the aristocrats go crazy and decide to wage war in the night, then!?

To this, Sui Xiong only had two words for the situation. Mental illness!

Sui Xiong was not sure what the aristocratic commander was thinking. Even if the commander had some weird idea in mind, by right, he should have known better than to compromise the basic principles of war.

In this kind of situation, if the aristocrats wanted to win, they would have to depend on luck.

In terms of military matters, Sui Xiong was extremely influenced by several “plug flow” online friends. These online friends all looked down on sly schemes and playing tricks and insisted that the only appropriate way to fight and win a war was through pure strength alone. Previously, when Sui Xiong had watched several cinematic films and read novels, he had often sighed at the brilliance of the characters’ schemes. However, he was then criticized by these online friends who taught him the error of his ways.

If one had time to consult their inner demons and come up with schemes, they could spend that time better training hard! All long in history, all famous generals who had gotten famous through their war achievements had had a good and well-utilized army. Generals who got famous through tricks instead of a strong army were rare.

Sui Xiong could roughly estimate why the aristocratic army commander had chosen this time to start a war. He had most likely allowed his troops to get sufficient sleep during the day as well as an ample meal during the evening time. After some rest, they would be in tip-top condition to fight a war. On the other hand, once the night approached, the merchants’ troops would probably be tired from a long day, giving the aristocrats a big advantage.

Such a mindset was theoretical and merely scholastic thinking. It was just like how in the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” there was a scholar who often followed the idea of a condescending strategy. This scholar did not care for his peers’ warnings and insisted on using the mountain plains (which lacked water) as a front. He intended to use the mountainous terrain to disadvantage his enemies who came to attack him. However, this scholar did not consider the situation in which the enemy did not attack but simply surrounded the well-built front, effectively trapping the scholar and his troops. In the end, with such a response by the enemy, the men starved to death inside their camp.

Sui Xiong did not really remember the full name of this scholar, but he knew that his surname was “Ma” and that his full name was extremely hard to read in Chinese. Sui Xiong certainly didn’t know how to write or pronounce it!

According to Sui Xiong, the aristocratic commander was like this “Ma” fellow; they both had lots of weird ideas in their minds!

“Who do you think will win, the merchants or the aristocrats?” Sui Xiong asked casually.

“The merchants, of course. Well, they wouldn’t have a huge victory though, they will probably win due to a slight advantage.”

Sui Xiong was slightly shocked.

“Only a slight advantage? On the contrary, I think they have a huge advantage!”

“If you only look at their usual training, yes, their advantage is huge. The commander from the aristocratic side who chose to start a war at night really has a mental issue, that’s for sure. However, the aristocrats have two advantages that the merchants cannot deny.”

“Two advantages? Do list them.”

“The first advantage would be that recently, their logistics have been strong. As for the merchants, as they were recently harassed and assaulted, they have some logistical issues. The physical condition of the aristocratic troops is thus better than that of the merchant troops.”

Sui Xiong nodded slightly. “And the second advantage is?”

“The second advantage is that the aristocratic troops have already rested enough during the day this morning. Not only have they rested during the day, but their elite troops have also been adjusting to the night shift by sleeping in the day over the last four, five days. They are now completely adjusted and used to sleeping throughout the day and working at night. On the other hand, the merchant troops have received night training before, their natural physical lethargy at night is unavoidable. This is especially so when it is late at night. Even if they have high morale, they will still have decreased abilities due to their lethargy at this time of the night.”

Sui Xiong nodded again.

“These two advantages are quite obvious. In that case, with such advantages, why would the aristocrats still lose?”

“The two sides’ training levels are quite different, which leads to a huge difference in morale and tenacity. Such traits cannot be levelled just by using small tricks.” Wenner smiled. “In war, the basic competition is still between each party’s strength. The merchant troops are sufficiently stocked when compared to the aristocratic troops, and they receive better training. They have better morale and tenacity. Recently, their morale has been at an all-time high as they are angry and want to seek revenge against the aristocrats for all their evil deeds. If they were to fight a war now, they certainly will have 120% of their usual battle spirit.”

“If I were the aristocrats, I would negotiate in this situation. At least I would be able to drag it out till the war on this side has finished and everything has ended, removing the anger on the part of the merchants. In the end, the aristocrats were so narrow-minded that they only considered their small advantages and did not care for the bigger disadvantages. Without looking at the big picture, how could they hope to win?”

Wenner shook his head and cast the fate of the two parties in stone. “The aristocrats will definitely lose; it is just a matter of how big or small their loss is.”

Sui Xiong nodded in agreement and gained a better understanding of that faraway battle happening at the moment. It was probably because the aristocratic commander had wanted to create big news as well, that’s why he had adopted such an insane scheme...

Actually, if one wanted to discuss big news, well, there was the fight between Leon and the dragon. The resurrection of two gods was definitely big news. Not just that, it was huge and scary news as well.

The God of Eagle, who was behind Leon’s soul, was beginning to look clearer. His pair of wings and eagle head as well as body were all slowly become more translucent and was about to become real and opaque any time soon, according to Sui Xiong. Yet, every time the God of Eagle’s body seemed to become almost opaque, it would vibrate violently as if it got electrocuted and immediately return to its originally less translucent state before the whole cycle repeated itself.

This was akin to the analogy of a man rolling a stone up a hill. Every time he almost reached the hill’s peak, the stone would roll down with a “whoosh,” negating all his efforts.

Sui Xiong observed this and couldn’t help but laugh maliciously in his heart.

He of course knew the reason for this. The God of Eagle’s temple and the outside world’s communications were completely cut off by him. Without the temple as his pivotal point, the God of Eagle was unable to transform the power of faith into his Divine Powers. Without this replenishing of energy, he definitely could not resurrect so easily.

On the other hand, for the dragon’s soul, a shadow also surfaced. This was an extremely old, white-haired man that was wearing gold armor and wearing a crown. He was holding a walking stick and riding a horse.

Once Wenner saw this image, he immediately identified who he was.

“Ah, so it’s the God of Royalty!” Wenner nodded and laughed in a rather malicious way. “Haha! Now I can’t wait to see the look on the aristocrats’ faces!”