ăIâd expect no less from a hidden capture target.ă
After much flipping, System 12345 remarked with a sigh.
ăThereâs so little information on her⊠Why is there only this little information?! GAHHH!!!ă
System 12345 howled in annoyance.
ăWhere did I store the data?!ă
Up to this point, System 12345 thought that it had only committed a small mistake, and it only had to rectify it by filling its host in on relevant background information. To his horror, it couldnât find information about the Sindhi lady in its sea of database.
ăUgh⊠Who cares? My host is a master at conquering capture targets anyway. He can work it out even with just minimal information.ă
ăDonât worry, my host. Gopala is pretty easy to conquer. Sheâs your standard, foolishly optimistic beauty. A confident and driven woman, she confronts life with a positive attitude. However, thereâs no way to succeed in everything.ă
ăEh, why did I suddenly feel a little cold? Is someone nagging at me?ă
System 12345 divulged the little information it had.
ăMy host, let me indicate her location for you. As for the restâŠă
System 12345 muttered to itself for a long time before finally ending it off withâŠ
ăAll the best, my host.ă
Over at SindhuâŠ
âHow could I be so foolish?â
Sitting on an elephant, Weryomahners stared at the sight before her in disbelief.
âI heard that Sindhis tended to exaggerate, but I didnât expect their ruler to be the same.â
The brilliant morning rays shone upon Sindhu, evicting the lingering coldness of the night.
Sindhuâs camp was in a merry mood.
Amidst the cheerings of their comrades, the Sindhi soldiers, having just plundered nearby cities, returned with huge sacks of resources and crying women.
Be it massive porcelain vases, delicate furniture that were worth a fortune, or resplendent screens, they were all chopped apart and thrown into the fire as firewood. Grains, chickens, lambs, and herbs were thrown into a pot and stewed until it became an unidentifiable mush.
Unkempt soldiers squeezed around the fire, salivating as they eyed the mush inside the pot.
Many little stands popped up outside the barracks at a shocking pace to trade with the soldiers their spoils of war.
As for the unfortunate women dragged into the barracks, they shrieked amidst the bellows and laughter of the drunkards.
âYour Majesty, is this the army that you said can rival the Tangs?â Weryomahnersâ lips twitched.
Gopala could almost bring down the sky with her boasts.
Her initial claim of having 50,000 armored war elephants and 500,000 troops was unrealistic, but Weryomahners thought that Gopala had at least half of that strength. If the latter had over 10,000 armored war elephants, she might still stand a chance against the Tangs.
If the armored war elephants trampled the frontlines while war monks constantly cast spells on their backs, there might still be a glimmer of hope.
But now, Weryomahners, who had been invited to tag along as an accompanying military mage, had fallen into despair.
The Sindhi army was unqualified.
Make no mistake, Weryomahers wasnât faulting the Sindhi soldiers for their plundering; most soldiers in this era behaved in such a manner. Even Gopalaâs war elephant had trodden ahead without caring whether there were any pedestrians in the path.
No, Weryomahners was just doubtful whether this bunch of things was qualified to be an army.
For instance, 90% of the soldiers here had yellowish faces and emaciated physique; they were obviously conscripted coolies who wouldnât contribute much to the battle. They only had value as cannon fodder or menial labor; it was doubtful whether they could even apprehend criminals.
As for the remaining ones, their physiques were decent and a portion of them were armored. However, their discipline was trulyâŠ
There is no point discussing something non-existent.
They were about to set off soon, but the Sindhi soldiers were still entering and leaving the barracks on their own accord, boasting about how many heads they had taken, how much wealth they had plundered, and how many women they had played with.
This made it hard for Weryomahners to estimate just how big Gopalaâs army was.
Regardless, it was nowhere at the scale Gopala had boasted.
âDo you see?â Gopala asked confidently.
She waved at the armored warriors, which stirred a wave of âLong live Your Majestyâ.
ââŠâ Weryomahnerâs eyelids twitched. âYour Majesty, if I may ask, do you know how many troops you have right now? Thereâs no way you have 500,000 soldiers.â
âHahaha!â Gopala wasnât embarrassed despite having her lies exposed. Laughing it off, she calculated with her fingers and said, âAround 400,000?â
âYour Majesty, do you take me for a fool?â Weryomahners felt anger rushing into her head even though the lady before her was Sindhiâs ruler.
âMaybe 300,000?â Gopala replied in uncertainty. She noticed Weryomahnerâs hostile expression and quickly changed the number, âHow about 200,000?â
ââŠâ
âDonât worry so much!â Gopala said with a light-hearted laugh. âYou just have to know that we are very strong! My troops are strong enough to crush the Tangs!â
Weryomahners clenched the fists hidden in her sleeves.
200,000? Who knows if you even have 50,000 soldiers?!
She suddenly felt the urge to hurl a spell over and blast Gopala into bits.
Calm down, calm down. I shouldnât get angry. It isnât worth it.
The Sindhi soldiers arenât important. Whatâs important is that the armored war elephants are the real dealâŠ
But soonâŠ
âYour Majesty, didnât you say that you have 50,000 armored war elephants?â Weryomahners asked in despair. âHow is this 50,000?!â
Gopala had just brought out around a hundred armored war elephants.
Weryomahners thought that Gopala had only brought out a portion of her troops for demonstration, but when she saw no other armored war elephants after waiting for some time, a shocking thought arose in her head.
It canât be that these are all the armored war elephants she has, right?
âEh?â Gopala innocently looked at Weryomahners. âIs there not 50,000 of them? I must have remembered wrongly then. Ehe! But thereâs nothing to worry about. Thereâll be troops from other places rushing over to converge with us. We should have 50,000 armored war elephants then.â
Sindhu was highly decentralized in this era. In comparison, even the Holy Romain Empire could be considered to be centralized.
Gopala was thinking that her subjects would lead their troops over to join her along the way.
Weryomahners fell into despair.
By this point, she already knew that Gopala was going to lose the war; it was just a matter of how she lost the war.
Weryomahners began scheming her escape.
Iâll be torn to shreds if I follow Gopala on this expedition. Go and die by yourself if you have a death wish; I havenât had enough of living yet.
So, Weryomahners spun an excuse to excuse herself, âYour Majesty, Iâm afraid that the difference in the climate is getting to me. Iâm feeling a little giddy. I heard thereâs a mage living in the northern mountains that has medicine for such symptoms. Please excuse me for the time being. Once Iâm feeling better, Iâll immediately return and do my part for both our nations.â
Through the power of her witchcraft, Gopala bought into her words and allowed her to leave. âGo on and do what you must. Return as soon as possible.â
Breathing a sigh of relief, Weryomahners hurriedly fled.
Return as soon as possible? My apologies, but Iâm not planning to return!
Weryomahners left in such a hurry that she didnât notice the glint in Gopalaâs eyes.
âHeh! Tsenpo Ling, I have informed your envoy of my intention, and your envoy didnât object. Your envoy is the one who thought that we canât beat the Tangs and left, so you canât blame me for whatâs to come.â
Through her maneuvers, Gopala convinced Weryomahners that the Sindhi army was weaker than she claimed, prompting the latter to flee in a fluster.
This opened the room for Gopala to move freely.
She was planning to first attack the ex-vassals of the Tibetan Empire that had now surrendered to Great Tang.
Soon, more armored war elephants arrived at the barracks, raising their strength to over 500!
âHmph! Is there any army in the world that can survive our armored war elephantâs charge?â Gopala said with a triumphant smirk. âMy loyal warriors, set off!â