On Zhou Yan's side, the Qing Empire's army had already entered. Without any suspicion, they marched into the city and began preparing to leave a thousand soldiers to guard the four city walls.
The remaining five thousand men were to be stationed in the border cities, as instructed by their lord, who deemed border cities to be in greatest need of soldiers.
The armies that had come before them had all successfully taken over cities without a hitch.
They hadn't anticipated any surprises. Therefore, after they had all entered the city, a large number of soldiers emerged from both sides of the city gates, quickly seizing control. They also heard a deafening roar, and the ground trembled; this should be cavalry.
How could there be cavalry within the city?
Subsequently, they saw the cavalry in front of them and their suspicions were confirmed. (꒪Д꒪)
Could anyone tell them if these were their own people? (o_o)?
"Rumble!" As Zhou Yan's army charged, the terrifying speed and impact of the cavalry unleashed astonishing power.
The Qing soldiers who were hit were sent flying, crushed, and trampled, then they simply vanished. Fallen soldiers would disappear directly.
After Zhou Yan's cavalry began their charge, the teachers of Sheng Yang Academy collectively closed their eyes. They truly did not wish to witness this scene, yet it was unavoidable.
The terrifying cavalry annihilated all six thousand soldiers who were unequipped. The Qing Empire's army suffered an immediate loss of six thousand men, and Ranke, far away in the Qing capital, had no idea of anything that had transpired here.
On the other side, Chen Qingzhi's ambush was also entering its final stages. The enemy had also headed towards the canyon shortly after Chen Qingzhi's ambush was set.
Here, there were also six thousand soldiers. Without any hesitation, they entered the canyon.
Upon seeing the signal flag from the soldiers above the canyon, Chen Qingzhi immediately shouted, "Charge!"
The iron cavalry roared, unleashing terrifying charging speeds as they launched a fierce assault on a group of bewildered soldiers.
The enemies were stunned at first, then shouted, "Not good, there are enemies!"
"Ahhh!!!"
"Retreat, quickly withdraw!"
"There are enemies behind us too!"
With the soldiers led by Chen Qingzhi attacking from both the front and the rear, they completely annihilated all six thousand Qing soldiers.
Up to this point, the Qing Empire had a total of twelve thousand men wiped out, and Chen Qingzhi's losses were minimal, only a few dozen men.
After eliminating the enemy, Zhou Yan and Chen Qingzhi did not stop. They continued their advance towards the remaining cities of the Qing Empire.
Upon reaching the city walls of the Qing Empire, Zhou Yan flew onto the wall, personally killing the mere few hundred soldiers stationed there, then opened the city gate, allowing his army to storm the city and ultimately capture it.
[Congratulations on capturing one of the Qing Empire's cities, you have gained 1 point and can summon an additional two thousand people.]
City after city of the Qing Empire was captured by Zhou Yan, and eventually, he and Chen Qingzhi arrived at the Qing Empire's last capital.
"Report!" A soldier hurried over.
"What is it?"
As the army approached the city, Ranke was still in the imperial palace discussing matters with the Qing Empire's ministers.
"The enemy has broken in!" the soldier said in a panic.
"What? They've broken in, are you joking?" Ranke immediately disbelieved. How long had it been since the start, and someone had already reached them? Was this treating him like an idiot?
"My Lord, I am not joking," the soldier quickly replied.
Ranke quickly realized the gravity of the situation. He truly hadn't expected someone to reach his palace so early in the game.
"Quickly summon the soldiers to counterattack!" Ranke immediately ordered his soldiers, intending to fight back.
However, before he could even finish gathering his soldiers, Zhou Yan arrived directly at the Qing Empire's imperial palace and, raising his fist, sent Ranke "home" with a single punch.
Ranke also hadn't expected his opponent to be so strong, being defeated in a single move.
When Ranke reappeared outside the competition space, he still couldn't believe he had lost so easily, not even knowing who had defeated him.
The entire competition arena, with millions watching, did not mock Ranke. They could only say that his luck was terrible, having become Zhou Yan's neighbor.
"It's Zhou Yan from Ziwei Academy, I've noted it." Ranke saw the image on the screen, then dejectedly left the arena and returned to the teachers of Sheng Yang Academy to quietly shed tears.
It was too tragic. In less than a day, his nation was annihilated, with no time to develop. This was too much of a bullying!
In the outside world, only a short time had passed. Even within the competition space, only a little over ten hours had passed.
Zhou Yan had successfully eliminated a nation, allowing him to summon an additional twenty thousand people. This was a significant advantage. He summoned another two thousand miners to excavate various ores and forge equipment, enhancing his army's strength.
After the Qing Empire was eliminated by Zhou Yan, the entire territory of the Qing Empire became part of the Zhou Kingdom. Furthermore, all the resources and wealth of the Qing Empire were now his. The currency in this competition space consisted of silver and gold, and Zhou Yan obtained a considerable amount after eliminating the Qing Empire.
Although he had eliminated the nation, Zhou Yan also discovered the underlying hidden danger of instability among the populace. He had already informed Xiao He to undertake these appeasement efforts.
Zhou Yan first began to set up defenses, stationing four thousand soldiers in each of the border cities. The remaining time was spent appeasing the common people of the Qing Empire.
With Xiao He on the job, these tasks were quickly assigned and carried out, and the hearts of the entire Qing Empire's populace were soon pacified.
With abundant resources and so many top-tier blacksmiths, the blacksmiths under Zhou Yan's command forged equipment at astonishing speed, with pieces being crafted rapidly.
Although these pieces of equipment did not all reach diamond quality, Zhou Yan did not require excellent equipment at this moment. Decent equipment would suffice.
Especially for ranged weapons like bows and arrows, priority had to be given to their creation.
Every nation was rapidly developing and arming its soldiers.
Meanwhile, after entrusting all national affairs to Xiao He, Zhou Yan began planning the next offensive with Chen Qingzhi.
Zhou Yan certainly did not halt his offensive. Instead, based on the geographical location of his country, he made various arrangements.
First, they discovered that they could indeed recruit soldiers and purchase horses here. Of course, to recruit soldiers, they could not lack silver and gold. Fortunately, the treasuries of every nation contained a good amount of real silver and gold, which allowed Zhou Yan to recruit many soldiers.
With money in hand, twenty cities immediately began recruiting soldiers.
The recruitment of these soldiers was not for them to fight on the battlefield but to defend the cities.
Zhou Yan did not expect them to engage in combat.