CHAPTER 421: CHAPTER 202: THREE GUNSHOTS (PART 2)

"Currently, the main focus of the Huaxia Army’s defense is on Jinling New City. They have established quite a solid defensive line there, and the results of the previous two battles against the Beast Tide have proven their choice to be correct."

"They have no reason to come to the aid of a city that doesn’t belong to them..."

"What if this city belongs to them?"

With those words, Zhou Yan was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"Today, the Huaxia Army’s officer has already contacted me."

"He conveyed the intentions of the Huaxia Army to me clearly."

"He hopes I can rise up and pledge allegiance."

"Rise up and pledge allegiance?!"

Zhou Yan instinctively repeated those four words. Unlike Li Xian, who initially heard them, he almost immediately understood the implications behind this suggestion.

"So...he hopes for an uprising in Han Shui City?"

"Exactly."

Li Xian nodded again.

"I have already decided to heed the Huaxia Army’s advice."

"I want to lead the Church Protection Army in Han Shui City to rise up. Originally, I was still contemplating how to deal with the Supreme Army’s Supervision Team within the city, but now that you are here..."

"Perhaps we can join forces?"

"I need to consult the Holy Father."

Zhou Yan stood up.

"Don’t worry, it won’t take too long."

"I will give you a response as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Li Xian exhaled deeply.

Making this decision didn’t bring him any relief.

On the contrary, he could distinctly feel something heavier pressing down on him.

But perhaps, this wasn’t such a bad thing?

...

hours later, outside Han Shui City.

The defeated remnants of the Church Protection Army dragged the wounded and damaged equipment back to the outskirts of Han Shui City.

Without a doubt, their mission had utterly failed.

In the absence of sufficient intelligence support, trained veterans, adequate weaponry, and even sufficient logistics supplies, their attack on that monster was completely, purely a one-time gamble.

If they win, they win; if they don’t, this is the result.

Casualties among the Church Protection Army reached an astonishing one-third, and even among the two-thirds who barely escaped, dozens of them were wounded.

In a troop of merely 300, only about 150 soldiers still retained combat capability.

And even these 150 soldiers’ morale had been entirely crushed.

Standing before the wounded, Li Xian forcefully suppressed the impulse to curse or demand answers, trying to soothe the team’s mood as much as possible. Yet faced with the doubtful, confused, or even despairing gazes of the crowd, his spoken encouragements and reassurances seemed utterly pale.

The only thing that could slightly lessen Li Xian’s guilt was one thing.

This was the last time.

This was the last pointless battle.

From now on, once the task is completed, the people here will no longer need to throw away their lives meaninglessly.

Li Xian took a deep breath, straightened up, just as Zhou Yan walked up to him.

"I’ve completed the task you asked me to do."

"I’ve already assigned manpower to complete the deployment around the Supreme Army’s Supervision Team’s encampment, with key positions mostly manned."

"However, even so, we cannot ensure complete control."

"Because those Supervision Teams consist of experienced Guard Brigade soldiers, their camp’s defense is quite tightly organized."

"It would be great to have Huaxia Army’s assistance... Their drones and unmanned combat robots could save us a lot of trouble."

"I’d like that."

Li Xian showed a slightly helpless smile.

"But, as you know, there are things that we can only do ourselves."

"Understood."

Zhou Yan nodded, then continued to ask:

"What about other preparations? Are they complete?"

"The weapons are ready."

Li Xian lowered his voice slightly:

"I have prepared enough weapons for 400 people, including 40 semi-automatic rifles, a hundred single-shot rifles, and numerous flintlock guns and muzzleloaders."

"Firepower should be sufficient. As long as we organize properly, engaging the Supervision Team shouldn’t be a big problem."

"However, regarding casualties... we might need to be prepared in advance."

"How much casualty do you anticipate?"

Zhou Yan’s expression was somewhat worried. Clearly, he didn’t trust the low combat effectiveness of the Church Protection Army.

Fighting is not an easy task, especially when they’re facing enemies stronger than them.

They’ll feel fear, doubt, and refuse to follow orders due to various reasons.

If losses exceed a certain line, when collapse occurs, mutiny is almost certain.

But compared to Zhou Yan, Li Xian seemed far more optimistic.

"400 against 40, I estimate the casualties will be between 50 and 100."

"After all, those Supervision Teams are armed entirely with 75-type semi-automatic rifles purchased from the Huaxia Army."

"The firepower of those rifles is no joke; it’s even stronger than the Conqueror rifle of the Holy Temple Guard."

"But in any case, they are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers."

"I’ll divide the 400 Church Protection Army members into 8 squads and cut off the connection between each squad."

"This way, even if some squads collapse due to heavy casualties, it won’t affect the others’ continued attack."

"Round-robin?"

Zhou Yan asked instinctively.

"Something like that."

Li Xian rubbed his forehead and said:

"According to the Huaxia Army, this is called the reserve team."

"Understood."

Zhou Yan raised his head, looked at the Church Protection Army returning to the city for rest, and said with a hint of admiration:

"If you knew there was going to be an uprising, you should’ve acted faster."

"At least this time, the losses from blind assaults could have been avoided."

"I thought the same initially."

Li Xian chuckled.

"But now I understand, it’s not that it couldn’t happen earlier, but the Huaxia Army had to wait for this event to occur before suggesting it to me."

"This is actually a necessary condition."

"Without experiencing this rout, how could those under me muster the courage to rebel against the Holy Hall they always trusted?"

"Indeed..."

Zhou Yan nodded thoughtfully but then added:

"However, looking at it this way still seems insufficient, doesn’t it?"

"Their faith isn’t so easily shaken, and also..."

"So I’m not planning to shake their faith—nor does the Huaxia Army intend to."

"They told me a term called ’purge the court.’"

"I’ll tell the Church Protection Army that we are not resisting the Saint, but that we have been persecuted by the foolish and arrogant Supreme Army while the Saint has been deceived by them."

"Thus, we act on behalf of the Saint, to eradicate this malignant tumor."

"They won’t truly understand what they are doing. Even if someday the Huaxia Army takes over this city, they’ll still believe their ’rebellion’ was just an act of loyalty to the Saint..."

At this, Li Xian fell silent.

Zhou Yan then remarked in admiration:

"The wisdom of the Huaxia Army."

"What we can learn from them is far beyond weapons and technology..."

"Indeed."

Li Xian clapped his hands and stood.

He then spoke:

"Prepare for action."

"The uprising will commence in 6 hours."

"At that time, three gunshots from me will signal the start of the plan."

"Understood!"

....

hours later.

The sky gradually darkened.

Li Xian slowly loaded bullets into the magazine of his pistol, checked it carefully, and inserted it into the gun.

Then, he pushed open the door and walked outside.

Following the ladder set up outside, he climbed onto the roof of his residence.

At that moment, the setting sun at the distant horizon revealed a small edge.

The last ray of light was dissipating, and the air carrying a hint of moisture seemed imbued with the scent of sunlight.

Li Xian looked towards the distant encampment of the Supreme Army’s Supervision Team, where amidst the well-lit surroundings, the aroma of food faintly drifted on the wind.

He took a deep breath and raised his pistol.

Soon, after the sun had completely set, he pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"