It's 10 p.m.

Before Saskia could rest after the meeting, she received new news from scouts sent by Halson to the south.

According to them, the Yan Kingdom's army showed no signs of leaving Pariston, which reassured Saski. He then ordered the scouts to take advantage of the night to circle around to the back of Pariston as much as possible to see if the Yan Kingdom was sending more troops out to Pariston.

Meanwhile, the scouts monitoring Pariston from the front brought new information.

"Sir, we can see the Yan people building fortifications in the distance, right outside Pariston."

"Oh?" Saskia, whose shoulders were being massaged by a guard, raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir, they are indeed building fortifications, and in addition to the ones directly east of Pariston, shortly after we exchanged information with the people on the north and south flanks, they also discovered that the Yan people were building defensive fortifications while they were scouting ahead."

As soon as he finished speaking, Leo, who was standing next to Saski, rested his chin on his hand and said, "Sir, it seems that the Yan people have already made Pariston a stronghold that they must control."

“Pariston itself is not important and has no good defense system, but it is the first town outside Enzos’s exit and has an important strategic position.”

Saski stroked his chin and said, "But it's a bit ridiculous that these guys are building fortifications all night."

"Although Pariston is not large, it is completely impossible to deploy a full defense in a short period of time."

Leo nodded and said, "Yes, but building fortifications means that they are already preparing to fight us after they have noticed our army approaching."

"This will be a positional war."

At this point, Leo leaned close to Saski and said in a deep voice, "Sir, why don't we launch a surprise attack tonight? While they are still building their fortifications, let's disrupt their defense plans."

Saski turned to Leo with some surprise: "Aren't you always cautious? Why have you become so aggressive?"

Leo said, "Disrupting the enemy's original plans is definitely to our advantage."

Saski shook his head and said, "But wouldn't that disrupt our plans as well? I don't think it's necessary. Let them go and build fortifications. A few hours is not enough time to build a systematic defense. As long as they don't evacuate Pariston, that's enough."

“Build fortifications? Ha! They’re building their own graves. I’ll send them to their graves tomorrow.”

Leo fell silent, while Saski said with a relaxed expression:

"Alright, go and rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll crush these Yan people."

——

Pariston.

"Your Majesty, it appears that the enemy has a considerable force. In addition to a large number of enemy scouts to the east, we have also spotted enemy activity to our north and south."

"They are monitoring us from all angles," the communications soldier, who had gathered information from various sources, said to Qin Ze.

"It's alright. Our main force is in this town. If we don't go out on our own, they won't know how many people we have," Qin Ze said calmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but it seems the Goths are eager to attack and will likely be coming at us soon."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ze said:

"We will remain unchanged in the face of all changes. Whenever they attack, we will have enough troops to deal with them."

"I just hope they don't make a lot of noise but deliver little more than an appetizer, instead of the main course."

"But I think we'll soon find out what kind of army they brought this time."

"Report any urgent news immediately. You may leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The communications soldier immediately left.

——

As time passed, it soon came to three o'clock in the morning. Phil and Harrison, who were located in the north and south respectively, led their light cavalry to the side of Pariston as agreed at the appointed time.

The journey was surprisingly smooth. Along the way, they discovered that all the sentries deployed by the Yan Kingdom had vanished without a trace. Clearly, they had all retreated back to Pariston. Despite this, Phil remained cautious and did not order the cavalry to speed up.

Halson, however, with no obstacles along the way, immediately ordered a faster pace, intending to get around to the other side of Pariston as quickly as possible.

Two hours later, near five o'clock, the main force facing Pariston head-on, led by Saskia himself, marched towards Pariston.

Since the main force was less than five kilometers from Pariston, they were able to see the outer defenses of Pariston in the distance after only forty minutes of marching.

Under the moonlight, the main road leading into Pariston is surrounded by a dense array of staggered stone walls, not continuous and each only a few meters long, yet exceptionally tall, reaching two or three meters high. Scattered beside the stone walls are dozens of gun emplacements.

"These bastards are quick on their feet, and they look quite professional, but how many rounds of our shelling can they withstand?"

"I'm riding on my warhorse, binoculars in hand," Saski said disdainfully.

Leo beside him had a grave expression: "Sir, the Yan Kingdom's artillery has a much longer range than ours, and our forward troops are about to enter their shelling range."

"There are no shelters here; we have to advance under heavy fire."

Saski tossed the binoculars to the messenger beside him and said, "At the very beginning of the battle, we will need to suffer some casualties, but once we close the distance and rush into Pariston, we will slaughter them like chickens."

Having said that, he turned his head and said loudly, "Pass down the order: get ready, the attack is about to begin!"

"Break through the enemy's defensive fortifications as quickly as possible, and follow-up troops must immediately follow!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger immediately relayed the message. At this moment, at the forefront of the army was the artillery corps. Warhorses with their faces covered by black cloths were pulling iron-clad chariots. Some were completely covered in iron and contained infantry, while others were simply carrying artillery.

A moment later, a loud battle cry rang out.

This heavily armed artillery force charged toward Pariston with unstoppable momentum, while on the opposite side, the Yan army artillerymen, already prepared within the makeshift fortifications, aimed their cannons at the tanks.

Meanwhile, behind the Golgar army's rear, Saski pulled out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, then looked up at the artillery units charging ahead and sneered:

"In a little while, Phil and Harrison's troops will join our attack. A three-pronged offensive will leave the Yan people reeling..."

At that moment, "Boom boom boom!"

Dozens of heavy artillery shells, fired from the direction of Pariston, whistled through the night and hurtled towards the Golt artillery corps.