Chapter 159: Borrowing a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul

William paid no attention to Hans's insults. With a chuckle, he continued, "My idea and strategy are quite simple: we will start with this batch of Vikings. They are literally a fresh source of manpower delivered right to our doorstep, and we can make use of them."

William walked over, pointed at the operational map spread out before them, and began to explain the details to the two men.

"Isn't there a town right here? We will voluntarily abandon it first."

"Abandon the town? You mean drawing the enemy deep into our territory," Hans said, frowning as he looked at the location of the settlement on the map.

The town happened to be situated precisely at the boundary where the ocean met the land. If they retreated from this place, the Vikings would undoubtedly find a way to invade it. The reason was simple: out at sea, the Vikings could not obtain the necessary supplies they desired; therefore, they had to come ashore to acquire what they needed.

William had been pondering this plan for a long time. With absolute confidence, he said, "Keep listening!"

"We will give up this town, and the Vikings will surely attack it. But we will thoroughly loot the place beforehand. By the time the Vikings arrive, it will be a ghost town, and they won't get a single thing."

"Then, we will dispatch a detachment of troops to the mountains to lure those people into pursuing them uphill. Once they ascend the mountain, we will immediately descend and completely encircle the heights. Their water sources, their provisions—we will cut off every single supply line they have."

"If they attempt to charge down the mountain, we will use the terrain below, set up our artillery, and bombard them. These people have never witnessed this style of warfare; there is no way they will be able to break through our lines."

"Next, we will send an emissary to issue threats."

William let out a cold, sinister chuckle. At that moment, he resembled a venomous snake slowly wrapping itself around its prey, preparing to tear off chunks of flesh one bite at a time.

"We will tell them that they must surrender and serve us; otherwise, we will trap them here and starve them out, while simultaneously invading that large island of theirs in the northwest, turning all their families and compatriots into our slaves."

"Hahaha... That is my master plan!"

Hans's spirits soared into the clouds. "My dear brother William! You are simply a genius. You actually managed to come up with such a brilliant strategic plan."

William nodded. "Of course! Following our Western Kingdom will lead us to victory!"

The two men hurriedly summoned their officers to announce the combat plan. The officers were filled with excitement, finally seeing a glimmer of hope for victory.

Meanwhile, the Viking commander, Gustav, was leading a formidable army of twenty thousand men in a grand and aggressive advance.

The general was not old, merely thirty-one years of age, and still possessed the fiery blood of youth. Having heard of the tragic massacres inflicted upon their compatriots in the north, he had sworn on the spot that he would personally sever the heads of at least a hundred men from the Western Kingdom and Germania to make them pay for their blood debt in full.

"Brothers! We are going to slaughter the men of the Western Kingdom and Germania, and force them to kneel before us. That is the greatest glory for a warrior!" Gustav delivered his pre-battle oath.

The warriors under his command shouted in unison, responding fiercely, "We are willing to follow you and win our glory!"

Most of these soldiers were young men who had not experienced many brutal battles and had previously only fought easy, victorious campaigns. Consequently, they underestimated the hardships of war, foolishly believing that the battles ahead would be as smooth as the ones before—that they could charge into enemy lines, slice through the enemy like cutting melons, and easily claim their spoils and rewards.

Yet, an army like this also possessed the fearless, newborn-calf vigor of youth. Seeing that the morale of his troops was high, Gustav laughed heartily and pressed forward with his forces.

From a distance, William and his companions watched as Gustav's imposing army swept majestically toward them.

William let out a long breath and said to his two colleagues beside him, "This Gustav clearly turns out to be a fierce tiger of a general, and the army he commands can be considered a formidable force of wolves and tigers. What a pity that he is about to walk right into our trap and become our pawns."

William chuckled softly, a deep sense of self-satisfaction hidden in his heart.

Hans nodded, remarking with a sigh, "I used to think that we Germanic people were already brave and skilled in battle, but compared to this Viking army, our spirit and vigor are still far inferior."

With a smile, William replied, "Don't worry, Hans. These people will soon become our slaves."

"War relies on more than just courage; sometimes, it requires brains, and brains can often triumph over courage."

"Let's retreat now and leave the town to them."

The Western coalition forces fell back. To deceive the enemy, they deliberately left behind some elderly, weak, and sick individuals to stall at the very rear. On the one hand, this was meant to induce Gustav and his men to lower their guard by breeding overconfidence; on the other hand, it reduced their own logistical burden.

Gustav led his troops to capture the town and sought a decisive battle with the main enemy force. Upon learning that the Western army was stationed in the mountains, they charged upward without hesitation.

What he did not know was that the moment he took that step, he had already walked into a trap from which there was no turning back.

Just as William had anticipated, the Viking army was trapped in the mountains, after which William sent emissaries to issue threats: surrender or be trapped here to starve, and have your families enslaved back on the island. Furthermore, they would all have to fight for the Western Kingdom; if they resisted, the Western warships anchored by the coast could sail for Britain at any moment.

Deprived of their ships, the Vikings had no choice but to surrender in humiliation.

The Western coalition forces gained twenty thousand fierce Viking troops, dramatically increasing their strength.

On the other side, Chen Mu was still unaware of these events. He was currently planning an offensive against the Western Kingdom's oil extraction fields.

Partly this was because the Great Xia supply lines were far too extended—supplies had to be transported from the Tsarist Russian Empire to the Northeast, and then shipped here via cargo vessels, making gasoline critically scarce. Additionally, it was a move to cripple the Western Kingdom's resources, as Chen Mu knew that Europe possessed very little oil; seizing this facility might leave the Western Kingdom entirely devoid of fuel.

A few days prior, the Great Xia army had already captured the northern town and established contact with General Li Feng. Chen Mu had instructed Li Feng to maintain his defensive positions and had transferred a batch of supplies from Li Feng's command.

Chen Mu ordered two thousand Great Xia soldiers to garrison the Fortress of Roma, the Danube Fortress, and the Roman Ferry—the ferry seized from the Western Kingdom, which Chen Mu had renamed.

Following that, he ordered the remaining eight thousand musketeers and six thousand Roman soldiers to assemble at the Danube Fortress.

These eight thousand musketeers formed Chen Mu's main strike force, all transported via electric crawler vehicles, granting them high mobility and formidable long-range combat capabilities.