Chapter 442: Chapter 263: Landing (3)
Fang Zhen flicked his long spear, shaking off the brain matter. He gazed out toward the distant seashore, but his eyes lingered on the horizon for several seconds.
A moment later, his expression turned serious.
"Go back to Lanxi City and pass on a message. The Eternal Night Council has sent a large army," Fang Zhen said.
"What?" Everyone present cried out in alarm. They all looked in the same direction, but their eyesight wasn’t as sharp as Fang Zhen’s.
After a long moment, they finally saw them: a fleet of over twenty massive warships on the horizon, sailing rapidly toward the island.
...
A little over half an hour later, signal smoke rose from within Lanxi City. For an island, it was still the fastest way to send a message.
When they saw the pillar of smoke reaching for the sky, the Curse Sealers hunting anomalies across the island immediately abandoned their tasks. They had been working in small teams, using blood-bursting potions, and now they all headed back to Lanxi City from every direction.
Fang Zhen had also returned to Lanxi City.
He went to the district where the Whig Society’s leadership was quartered and entered the same three-story building he had visited before.
People had already gathered inside, and messengers and Scouts were constantly arriving with reports.
"We’ve sighted the warships. Two have already landed on the southeast side of the island. By visual count, there are twenty-seven ships. Each one is carrying roughly 300 soldiers, and there are many anomalies mixed in among them."
An intelligence soldier reported his observations.
"Twenty-seven ships, three hundred men apiece? Are you sure you saw that correctly?" West asked, his expression filled with astonishment.
The messenger replied, "Yes, sir. I saw it clearly. Twenty-seven ships. The number of soldiers disembarking from each is definitely no less than three hundred."
West immediately fell silent.
After a long moment, he slammed his fist on the table with a loud BAM.
"They’re insane! Those people from the Eternal Night Council are absolutely insane! Do they really plan to wipe us all out in one go?" West could no longer maintain his usual calm and collected demeanor, his expression turning grim.
The others didn’t look any better. Every one of them had an extremely solemn expression.
Twenty-seven ships, at three hundred soldiers each, added up to 8,100 soldiers. And that wasn’t counting the numerous anomalies they brought along. The total enemy force might be well over ten thousand.
The enemies they had just seen on the ships already outnumbered the island’s defenders four or five to one. And this was just the first wave; there was no telling if more reinforcements were on their way.
Despite having anticipated an attack, this sudden news cast a bleak and gloomy pall over the room.
Fang Zhen, however, observed all this with a detached eye. After all, he had only recently arrived in this world and wasn’t yet deeply invested in the Whig Society’s cause.
"The Chairman is back! The Chairman is back!" At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the council hall. Alexander had returned.
Dressed in a black Martial Artist uniform, Alexander strode into the room. As all eyes turned to him, he said, "I just took a look at the southeastern coast. There are hordes of enemies, and I can sense some extremely powerful experts among them."
Hearing this, Fang Zhen was immediately reminded of the Eternal Night Council’s Vice-Chairman.
"Let’s switch to a war footing," Andrew said. "We have a chance to hold Lanxi City, so let’s just commit to a defensive strategy. If we defend the city, they won’t be able to do much to us."
"No, we might miss a tactical opportunity," West countered, clearly having another idea. "While they’re still landing and haven’t established a firm foothold, we should strike them and then retreat. That’s how we’ll achieve the greatest outcome."
"That’s too reckless," Andrew objected.
Alexander frowned slightly. His two most capable subordinates had conflicting opinions, and both seemed to make sense.
His gaze swept across the room and landed on Fang Zhen, who looked calm and confident. "Fang Zhen," he asked, "what are your thoughts on this matter?"
"Oh, my view on this is rather simple," Fang Zhen replied, unfazed by the attention.
"We should go and assess the situation firsthand. If we find an opportunity to create a local advantage—where our forces temporarily outnumber theirs—then we can launch a raid. If they fall into chaos, we can press our advance, but only to a limited extent."
"However, if the enemy is organized and executing a well-planned landing, then we just fall back."
"It all depends on the reality of the situation, not on forcing one strategy over the other."
Alexander’s eyes lit up after hearing Fang Zhen’s analysis. "That’s exactly what I was thinking!" he exclaimed.
"Then it’s settled. Assemble the elite Curse Sealers. We’re going to take a look."
Alexander then turned to Fang Zhen. "Shall we go together and see these soldiers and anomalies from the Eternal Night Council for ourselves?"
"Let’s join forces and hit them hard!"
Fang Zhen said, "I was thinking the same thing."
Alexander laughed heartily. "Excellent! Then let’s you and I go together and see exactly what kind of elite troops the Eternal Night Council has deployed against us."
...
「Half an hour later.」
Fang Zhen arrived on the southeastern side of the island, accompanied by Alexander and a contingent of troops from Lanxi City.
Most of them were mounted. Their force numbered over 400, the majority of whom were Curse Sealers.
The southeastern side of the island boasted a fairly wide beach. The scenery was spectacular, with snow-white sand and an azure ocean forming a beautiful landscape. In a modern world, it would undoubtedly have been developed into a holiday resort.
Now, however, the place was crawling with Abnormal Ghosts and other anomalies swimming in from the sea. They covered the beach in a dense swarm, advancing from the sand toward the forest beyond.
There were indeed twenty-seven large ships, just as the report had stated. The vessels were rather boxy, reminiscent of the treasure ships of legend, with massive cargo holds.
The ships weren’t docked directly on the coast. The water was too shallow for their draft, and there were no piers. Instead, they had anchored some distance from the shore and opened their large, above-water cargo bay doors.
Soldiers were disembarking in a constant stream using small boats, while the anomalies simply jumped into the water and swam ashore, some carried by the tide.
Alexander scanned the beach below, observing the anomalies and the soldiers who had already landed. After a moment, he remarked, "Roughly two thousand enemies so far."
With that, Alexander turned to Fang Zhen. "So many of them," he asked. "Are you afraid?"
