Chapter 950: Chapter 54: The Beginning of the Assault (Part 3)
It seems that overpowering the Land of Demons in terms of momentum is a bit easier than imagined.
They had originally been prepared for a bitter battle, but the Land of Demons yielded territory so easily. No matter how you look at it, this proves that the Land of Demons’ military lacks initiative in combat, to the point they can’t even manage a passive counterattack.
"Lord Maki, what do we do next?"
"Search carefully and see if there’s anything suspicious about this town, but be careful not to cause any damage."
"Yes."
Fifty Hidden Sand Ninja stepped out of formation and began sweeping through the entire town.
Maki was also worried that the Land of Demons was using this town as bait, having planted some terrifying explosive weapon inside to launch a surprise attack on the Hidden Sand unit.
Although the likelihood of this was small, precautions still had to be taken.
An hour later, the sweep team returned.
Proving that Maki’s worries had been unnecessary.
There was nothing wrong with the town at all; no detonation devices, surveillance equipment, or anything of the sort was found.
Not only that, the sweep team also found a small amount of grain, medicine, and other important supplies in the residents’ homes.
And of course, these supplies were gladly accepted one by one by the unit under Maki’s command.
Holding the town’s layout map, Maki fell into thought for a moment, then began issuing orders to turn this small town into a temporary garrison for the Hidden Sand Ninja.
A large number of ballistae were pushed into position and set up at key locations in the town, making it both easy to attack from and easy to retreat to.
By the time the arrangements were completed, it was already dusk.
Looking up at the sky filled with brilliant evening clouds, Maki still did not see any Ninja of the Land of Demons appear in the air. He let out a cold laugh, tinged with mockery.
If, before he invaded this town, the Ninja of the Land of Demons had come to stop him, they might have forced him to expend some effort and prevented his unit from advancing.
Unfortunately, when he crossed Hell Valley, the Land of Demons did not come to stop him.
And now, when he led his forces to invade this town, the Land of Demons still did not show up to stop him.
Having missed two major opportunities in a row, Maki couldn’t help but conclude that the high command of the Land of Demons’ military was being manipulated behind the scenes by a bunch of idiots who didn’t understand warfare.
During the Third Ninja Realm War, the Ninja Village of the Five Great Nations raced against time over critical terrain, attacking each other back and forth, all to seize more geographical advantages and take the initiative.
But after thinking it over, Maki also felt relieved.
Although the Land of Demons possessed a Ninja Squad, they had never participated in a Ninja Realm War. Faced with war, they probably had no idea how to command at all.
Maki felt he had discovered the greatest weakness of the Land of Demons.
◎
Two days passed in the town, everything was calm and peaceful, and there were still no signs of Ninja of the Land of Demons in the sky.
Although many Hidden Sand Ninja had relaxed their guard because of this, Maki still maintained a high level of vigilance in dealing with whatever might come next.
Contempt was one thing, but the Land of Demons was well-equipped, and that point could not be ignored.
So whether it was day or night, Maki required the on-duty Hidden Sand Ninja to be on full alert, keeping a death grip on the sky with their eyes.
The Hidden Sand unit, having already seized the initiative, could not give the Land of Demons any opening. Before reinforcements from the Hidden Sand Village arrived, they had to occupy as many advantages as possible, until the Land of Demons no longer had any power to resist.
At dusk, after inspecting the town’s defensive arrangements, Maki was just about to go eat when a buzzing sound suddenly rose in his ears.
He and the surrounding Hidden Sand Ninja looked up.
They saw a Ninja of the Land of Demons using a flying device to move through the air, the sound coming from there.
"Just one person?"
Maki calmly looked up at the sky, wanting to see what this Ninja of the Land of Demons intended.
Before long, a large number of snow-white sheets of paper suddenly drifted down from the sky—leaflets printed with text, scattered by that Ninja of the Land of Demons above.
Maki didn’t take it to heart. He casually reached out and caught one of the leaflets that was about to brush past him, and focused his eyes on it.
To whom it may concern—
Your side has unprovokedly occupied our land. For the sake of our Country’s peace, if your side does not return Windmill Town within three hours, our forces will launch an air raid on Windmill Town.
After reading this letter, we hope your side will think thrice before acting, so as not to inadvertently harm the friendship between our two Countries.
...
After distributing the leaflets, the Ninja of the Land of Demons did not linger and flew off into the distance, returning to report.
As for whether the Hidden Sand Ninja would take this threat seriously after seeing it, that had nothing to do with him personally.
Maki quickly finished reading the contents of the leaflet, let out a cold snort, and tore the leaflet in half, letting it drift away on the wind.
"So they’ve finally come? Something that’s already in hand, how could we spit it back out? And coming to demand it at this point, don’t they think it’s a bit too late? Prepare for combat operations and let them witness the power of our Hidden Sand Village!"
"Yes!"
The surrounding Hidden Sand Ninja were visibly excited, ready to give the Land of Demons a head-on blow.
◎
Night, eight o’clock.
In the forests of the Land of Demons, one black silhouette after another shot into the sky amid the roar of machines and powerful arcs of electricity, flying straight toward the border town of Windmill Town, where the Hidden Sand Ninja were located.
The wings of the flying devices trailed light as they began to accelerate in the air, flickering with electrification, appearing and disappearing in a flash.
They crossed the forest and saw the plain under the night, then saw the border town standing on that plain.
That was Windmill Town, a border town of the Land of Demons whose people were simple and honest and whose lives were prosperous. But now it was under the control of the Hidden Sand Ninja. The objective of their operation tonight was to carry out a surprise attack on the Hidden Sand Ninja in the town from the skies above Windmill Town.
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