Chapter 4

"Yes, I'd like to test the waters before we begin our true offensive," Neo replied.

"Split the infantry into two groups. Two hundred will stay by my side, while the other twenty-eight hundred will siege the city with me during the daytime."

Through his day and a half as an expert in the simulation, Neo realized that he didn't want food or sleep. He just needed to rest his mind occasionally. This meant that he, and Yue Fei, could operate at all hours of the day and night.

But, this perk wasn't applied to their troops -- thus, Neo had to think about how to best utilize his troops around the clock.

Officer Rick left the room, then returned after a short while.

"Sir, the preparations are complete."

"Alright, have our troops surrounded the city wall and mount too much, but have the archers fire to their hearts' content.

We have no shortage of arrows."

"Yes, sir."

Neo tapped his fingers. "Be quick about it. We have at most three hours of sunlight left. "

" Yes, sir! " Rick left the tent and could be immediately heard barking orders at the top of his lungs. In just thirty minutes, the sounds of war could b heard from the city.

The two sides clashed for hours until Baron sounded the horn for retreat. This opening clash had told Neo a great deal about Yue Fei's Characteristics and strategy.

Similarly, once Neo's archers were within range they too let loose numerous arrows into the ranks of people on the wall at an astonishing rate. One arrow is unlikely to kill someone unless it hit them in vital organs, but with this many arrows who's to say? The two sides clashed for two hours before Neo sounded the retreat signal. The sun was about to set, and their opening clash had allowed Neo to grasp some of Yue Fei's Characteristics.

Neo had seen that Yue Fei hadn't appeared on any of the four walls. Neo reckoned that since his stats were that of fifty men, Yue Fei's strength had been similarly increased. Yet, he hadn't shown himself on the front lines. This meant that Yue Fei was likely acting as a "Back-line" strategist. If this continued to be the case, then Neo's initial plan would be completely useless.

Neo frowned as he prepared to address his officers. "Night is about to set. Once camp has set down, have the infantryman you picked out earlier join me at the front of the camp, along with two hundred fresh mounts."

"Yes, sir!" Officer Rick responded, then quickly left to complete his task. Just moments later, Neo and his soldier set off quietly from the camp, riding towards the walled city.

Risk

After reaching the walled city in the dead of the night, Neo looked to the sky. The covered a cloudy sky, and a little moonlight made its way to the ground. Perfect for a night operation. The men had received the orders to cover any of their skin not covered up by their armor with mud to make it harder for their enemies to see them at night.

Neo turned to his men and addressed them in a hushed tone.

"Alright, boys. This is what we are going to do." Neo said as he grabbed a torch from the nearby officer. "Everyone is going to grab a length of firecrackers, spread around the walled city, and light them up once every hour until the sun rises. If any of you encounter enemies, don't hesitate to throw away your and retreat to the rendezvous point. After you have thrown off your pursuers, of course."

"Our goal here is not to fight the enemy but to annoy and confuse the enemy soldiers. Once the first crack of the sunlight appears you are to immediately retreat to the camp." He and officer Phillips handed out the firecrackers to their men.

They had prepared them beforehand and had hidden stashes close to the city walls, camouflaged by underbrush and trees.

Officer Phillips spoke up after Baron's instructions. "Alright everyone, you have your assignments. Good luck." He grabbed a couple of firecrackers for himself and turned to leave with the rest of the men.

"Hold on Phillips, I need to talk to you before you leave."

"What is it, boss?"

"I just wanted to remind you to care for your safety above all else, you are a capable officer, and I need you by my side to win this battle," Baron warned Phillips.

"Of course, sir. I'll do my best." Phillips replied before setting out to his position.

A few moments later the first of the firecrackers could be heard exploding along the city wall. The first to light their firecrackers, naturally, were the ones assigned to locations closest to the starting point.

As the first lit up their firecrackers, the ones farther away picked up their speed., and quickly lit their firecrackers.

These firecrackers immediately woke up the entire city, including the soldiers within, who milled about, wondering if they were under attack.

....

"Sir, there seemed to be firecracker noises sounding from outside of the city, and these noises have woken up many of the soldiers." Lieutenant En hurriedly briefed Yue Fei.

"Why I haven't heard anything?" Yue Fei asked while standing up.

"We are at the center of the city here, and it seems these firecrackers are just quiet enough to noise doesn't travel this far."

As potential items to be used, firecrackers had been provided to both sides, along with many other things.

Yue Fei thought to himself before giving orders. "They are just doing this to annoy us and create confusion among the ranks. Double the guards on the walls just in case, but give orders for the rest of the men to continue resting."

" Yes, sir. Are we going to do anything about the troublemakers outside, then?"

Yue Fei looked into the sky. " No. There isn't much moonlight tonight, so it would be dangerous to search for them in the dark. They could have ambushes set just a few hundred feet from our walls, and we wouldn't be able to see them. It's better to stay within the city until the sun rises."