Battle Royale of the Sinners

After the persuasion and a bit of framing, more than 40,000 Ganling citizens agreed to follow Tong back to Julu City because Tong promised them a job, a resident, free food, and tax-free for a year.

Ten thousand people insisted that they would remain in Ganling as it was their birthplace. They wanted to stay and protect the land of their ancestors.

Tong respected the decisions of the latter population. Thus, he fulfilled his promise by having his soldiers rebuilding their lost houses. The idle infantries demolished the burned houses and started repairing the city.

The ten thousand logistic troops were ordered to escort the citizens back. They left the city in a hurry after Tong had announced that Sun Jian Army was spotted in Ganling territories.

The rest of the cavalries were on standby as they would be the rear guards once the city repairing was over. It would take two days to build shelters and houses for the ten thousand civilians of the city. Until then, Tong would garrison his force in this city for a while to monitor Sun Jian's activities.

1 PM.

The messenger team rushed back to the city. They reported out Sun Fang's demand which angered everyone.

"Arrogant! Who the hell do they think they are!?" Zhang Xiu swore out in reflex.

Gao Shun touched his chin and muttered. "They are picking a fight with us?"

Bo Cai, Zhang Ji, and Li Feihong also flared up. Only Tong, Zhang Liao, and Zhao Yun remained indifferent.

Seeing that Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun kept themselves under control, Tong was satisfied.

'As expected from Zhang Liao. He's a top general. Zhao Yun also improves a bit, but it still took him half a minute to control his breathing. He's not at Zhang Liao's level yet, but he's growing fast.'

Tong raised his hand to silence everyone. He coughed and gave a new order to the messengers.

"Go see Sun Jian again. Feihong, help me write a letter. This time, tell them that we agree to withdraw our troops from Ganling, but we'll retreat in a week. In turn, Sun Jian Army has to stay 50 kilometers away from the city walls during these 7 days, or we will consider it a war declaration."

Everyone was shocked again that Tong was willing to compromise. He was too easygoing!

However, Zhang Liao had a faint smile on his face. He caught the hint of Tong's plan when he noticed the contradiction about the days required for the handover.

'It only takes 2 days at most to complete his promise to the civilians but he is asking Sun Jian for 7 days. He's using the gap of 5 days to ensure the troops' safety, and he can keep the distance from Sun Jian Army.'

'Once Sun Jian takes the city, it will be just like he takes an empty city. He can't also invest into it since there is only 10,000 population remaining. If he abandons the city, the people in the city will spread an ill rumor about Sun Jain that his troops chase away their true benefactors and leaves them to death.'

'Then, Sun Jian Army will be known as greedy immoral troops that try to steal credits from others.'

'A good plan if it's succeeded. But…'

'Will Sun Jian agree to this term?'

Zhang Liao pondered while he was looking at Tong. It was a different feeling from following Lu Bu around.

When he was with Lu Bu, Zhang Liao had to take the role as the tactician and the strategist alongside with Li Feihong because Lu Bu always put himself on the frontline and only relied on his instinct when he was in charge of the troops.

On the other hand, Tong was different. He was a versatile commander that could jump into the frontline or stay behind to adjust the strategic policies for the entire army, which lifted up Zhang Liao's burden by a lot. With Tong as the head of the army, Zhang Liao could concentrate on his micro-management of his troops and utilize his own tactics if he needed to.

'It's quite relaxing working under him. I wonder what Fengxian would think if he were here. Ha! He'll probably pick a fight with Tong for the right to command the entire army for sure.'

…

3.30 PM

Tong's messengers revisited Sun Jian. They gave a letter to him instead of oral reporting.

Sun Jian read the letter with a smile. As he was an understanding man, Sun Jian was about to agree to the terms, but Sun Fang stopped him.

"May I see the letter first?"

Though Sun Jian was dissatisfied with Sun Fang's attitude, he passed the letter to his son.

Sun Fang read the letter with a frown. He had never expected that Zhang Jiao Army would compromise. He thought that with his provocation, Zhang Jiao Army should have gotten worked up to jump into the battle with Sun Jian.

If the Zhang Clan Army successfully withdrew, Sun Fang would miss this chance to sabotage the Yellow Turbans.

'I can't let them go back in one piece, but I can't find a good cause for this battle. I'll have to mask my intention and comply with their terms to buy me some time to think.'

'But seven days are too long! Three days should have been enough to withdraw from the city…'

'Wait… three days to withdraw, but seven days in the letter?'

'Aha! They're buying times to retreat! This is a golden chance.'

'I can just pretend to agree with their terms and backstab them!'

'It doesn't matter if the citizens will call us traitors. Once the Yellow Turban Rebellion happens, they will call us heroes instead! We'll tell everyone that we got the tip-off, so we try to stop them before they rebel.'

Sun Fang had come up with a sinister plan in his mind. He smiled at the messengers.

"We'll accept your terms. Our troops will wait here for seven days. I hope that you can forgive us for our conduct earlier."

The messengers were delighted that they completed their mission. They cupped their fists and bowed.

"We do not mind! We're hoping to cooperate with you in the future."

"Say, I forgot to ask. Who is your commander? I wish to know so I can address him correctly later on." Sun Fang probed. He pretended to give them a warm smile as if he was a harmless friend.

"Oh, it's Lord Zhang Tong. Well, do you have any other message for our Lord?"

The smiling face of Sun Fang disappeared. He gave the messengers an irritated glare and chased them out.

"No, you can go now."

…

With the messengers gone, Sun Fang and Sun Jian consulted with Li Jing in the clan chat. Sun Fang told everything to Li Jing.

She texted to the father-son duo. "It can't be helped. Husband, do not attack the city. Let them go."

Dissatisfied by the advice, Sun Fang asked for an explanation.

"Why are you so afraid of this Zhang Tong? Why shouldn't we attack him while we can? He's right in front of us. All we need to do is just a little push!"

"You've lost your cool again, husband. Think about it carefully. Zhang Tong is the first reincarnator that dares to expose himself in the battle of Anping. Don't you think that he might come across other reincarnators as well?"

Sun Fang came to a pause. She was right. If Tong's location was exposed, he would definitely run into other otherworlders for certain. His location has been exposed for almost a year, yet he was still alive! Tong had to be skillful or his cheat skills should not have been weak. Or else, he would not be able to survive for this long.

Li Jing continued. "Most importantly, he is the first one that established a clan with at least five members! Do you know what that means? He should have at least one other reincarnator ally, assuming that he has formed a clan contract with someone last year. If he has formed it this year, then he should have at least 2 otherworlder friends!"

The face of Sun Fang lost color. He had run into reincarnators three times in this life. Each time was terrifying as he had to fight to the death. He managed to overpower the first two, but he almost got himself killed by Li Jing.

Sun Fang knew how powerful a reincarnator is, but he was confident that his combination of [Flight] and [Qi Blast] could steamroll any otherworlder. However, he did not feel so good about facing at least 2 otherworlders at the same time.

"If you're afraid of Zhang Tong that much, why don't you two join hands and fight him together?" Sun Jian could not help but ask since both of them never traveled together if Sun Fang went out on a skirmish.

"My abilities are best suited for fighting alone. Hanfang will drag me down if he's with me."

Li Jing's frank comment pierced Sun Fang's blackheart because it was true. He might have a good combination of unique skills, but he was helpless against Li Jing if she were to get serious.

"Then can you come here and help us, just in case? Even if we don't lay siege on Ganling, it's better to have you here since Zhang Tong is here too."

Within half a minute, a silhouette of a young woman rose up from Sun Fang's shadow. The black shadow faded, revealing a fairy beauty that could fall a nation.

She opened her eyes and smiled at Sun Jian and Sun Fang.

"I will only help you if Zhang Tong really attacks our camp. My skill cooldown is long, so I won't use it unless it's necessary. Please make sure to keep your distance from me if a fight breaks out."

"Still, you haven't answered my question. Why are you delaying our fight? We'll have to fight Zhang Tong eventually, but why don't we fight today?"

Li Jing sighed. She gazed at her muscle-for-a-brain husband and answered him.

"Once the Yellow Turban Rebellion begins, Liu Ping will not take this lying down. He will mobilize his army against Zhang Tong even without our interference. If you've watched the Godzilla movie, you should have remembered the meme quote for our situation."

Sun Fang's eyes brightened. He muttered by reflex.

"Let them fight."