CHAPTER 862: CHAPTER 862: THE TRUE PRAIRIE FIRE

[General Absek, I am Emperor Akbar of Xilan, sending you this telegram today not for anything else, but for the safety of the countless people of Xilan.]

[I admit, the previous king’s handling of the Grey Wolf Army was indeed inappropriate. The bereaved and injured were not properly settled or treated, yet even so, this is not a reason for your treacherous rebellion.]

[However, I am not an autocratic person, out of consideration for the camaraderie of my subjects, I permit you to surrender now to avoid death, and grant you the title of Duke of Lion State, preserving your wealth and honor unchanged.]

[If General ignores my advice and causes the citizens of Xilan to suffer, bearing an eternal infamy, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance to turn back...]

The courthouse in West Sail Port, within a modestly decorated office.

Akbar Xilan leaned over the table to write a two-thousand-word letter of persuasion for surrender, then rose to respectfully hand it to the Weilante military officer behind him.

"How did I do?"

The Young Emperor’s eyebrows raised, his smile holding a hint of pride and a touch of fawning.

However, the Weilante officer didn’t even glance at it, responding indifferently.

"That depends on how the recipient responds to it."

Akbar’s smile froze on his face, but he forced a couple of laughs.

"What you’ve said makes sense... I hope that Absek won’t be foolish and surrenders sooner."

The Weilante officer grinned, patting him on the shoulder and then unexpectedly touched his face, as if petting a very obedient dog.

A truly good dog.

His smile held a trace of obvious mockery and disdain, a genuine expression of contempt.

Akbar’s mind buzzed for a moment, staring incredulously at the man, not understanding the meaning of the face-patting gesture, misunderstanding it instead as something related to male-female affairs.

This guy...

Could he possibly have those interests?

Goosebumps ran all over his body, causing him to take a step back in horror.

But the officer offered no explanation, taking the letter and striding out the door.

Inside the office stood another person, an elderly man of the Lion Clan who remained silent.

He was once just a citizen of West Sail Port, a janitor working at the courthouse, then inexplicably granted a noble title by the Weilante and required to accompany Akbar as a servant, while also serving the Southern Legion by spying on the Emperor.

As for the Emperor’s original servants, they had all been driven away, replaced with people from West Sail Port.

Including the so-called imperial cabinet, even the Emperor’s confidantes were of the same sort.

These were not allies, but clearly a group of kidnappers.

The old man sighed lightly, offering a few comforting words to the little emperor who looked both angry and dejected.

"Your Majesty, please be patient... You don’t need to stoop to their level."

Akbar calmed down, shaking his head and said.

"The Weilante are emotional people, sometimes careless and direct... I can understand."

The old man was completely taken aback, gazing at the young emperor, as though he saw the late king in him.

Resemblance.

Such a strong resemblance...

...

The 30th ten thousand troops breached Lion City!

The victorious news reached West Sail Port and another front line of the Southern Legion Poluo Province War Zone—Sulak County on the northern line.

Upon seeing the shocking war report, General Otley couldn’t help but grin.

"This madman."

Using incendiary bombs to bombard a densely populated area of millions, this guy truly acted decisively.

Isn’t he afraid of losing control over the fire, burning all those millions of heads?

Luckily it’s the rainy season, the smoke from the fire ushered rain from above.

Otherwise, the entire city might have been burnt down!

The aide standing beside him nodded softly and said.

"But one must admit, it’s indeed very effective."

The opposing six ten thousand troops directly collapsed, beaten by several thousand teams until they were no longer an army.

The million survivors in the city were also reduced to mere cries and shouts.

Although the consumption of ammunition was somewhat high, in relation to the gains, the cost is completely within enduring limits.

If at this time, Commander Ryan chooses to continue advancing eastward, perhaps the entire Tiandu would be in chaos, driven by internal struggles whether or not to resist, fighting amongst themselves into a frenzy.

Especially that Absek.

According to their analysis of this person, that "small town citizen" will almost certainly flee.

Otley nodded approvingly, acknowledging his aide’s opinion.

"...when the reinforcement airships arrive, we might want to emulate it a bit."

Elsewhere, in the central camp of Sulak County, several patrolling soldiers were also discussing the matter.

"There must have been at least ten thousand burnt to death."

"Ten thousand?! I suppose it must be at least a hundred thousand!"

"Damn, that’s really satisfying!"

A few Weilante soldiers gathered together, excitedly discussing the victorious report from Lion City.

They were all under General Ross and witnesses of the West Sail Port tragedy.

Due to the verbal posturing of the Alliance messenger and the cowardice and incompetence of General McLenn, they did not manage to strike satisfactorily at West Sail Port.

Now finally, there was a ruthless individual avenging the three thousand Weilante residents who died, clearing the repressed anger lodged in their chests.

Indeed, the true predecessors of Triumph City must be the Southern Legion.

Those civil officials corrupted by gold and the landlords of the Eastern Legion have long since spoiled!

Beside them, Centurion Peter smoked one cigarette after another, unable to listen any longer, and chimed in.

"What’s the point of this? Even if they don’t bomb, those natives wielding burning sticks wouldn’t be able to stop them."

He thought of those serfs with red soil in their pockets who died in the woods.

His superior told him to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help but want to say, what kind of heroism is it to massacre a group of unarmed civilians?

He had never loathed his identity and honor so much; being with this group only filled him with shame.

Several soldiers were stunned, staring at each other in silence, until an old soldier spoke up.

"There’s still meaning, even if just to break the Poluo people’s will to fight—"

"And what if it doesn’t?" Peter countered, "The same trick doesn’t always work, and this time we’re facing an opponent many times our number."

"We’re here to show them that numbers are meaningless!" the old soldier’s temper flared, his neck turning red as he argued vehemently, "In one day, at least a hundred thousand of them died. We’re showing them that even a couple of billion won’t be enough for them to last a year!"

Is it that easy?

Even if they could wipe out ten billion rats in a day, they couldn’t kill off all the rats in the world.

Actually, when you think about it, they had never truly conquered the lands they held.

Since the day Yavente City was established, their war has never ended.

Maybe they’re the furthest from a new era.

Not wishing to argue with his comrades, Peter shook his head, extinguished the cigarette butt in his mouth, and tossed it aside.

The serfs watched from afar, meeting his gaze before hurriedly fleeing.

Peter always felt a sense of discord, yet couldn’t pinpoint its source.

It wasn’t until the serfs were gone that he suddenly realized, no one was stealing his cigarette butts anymore...

...

In the south of Lion City, what was once a dense cluster of houses had become ruins.

The great fire didn’t just burn the Southern Urban District; it nearly consumed half the city.

When Ryan entered the city, he didn’t deliberately massacre the local residents, because there was no need anymore.

Enough people had died already.

The survivors didn’t even dare to breathe loudly in front of them, let alone resist.

He wasn’t obsessed to the point of killing for the sake of killing; instead, he ordered his thousands of leaders to hire some locals, forming a defense force to maintain order in the city.

There were still remnants of the Poluo Country’s army in the city, many of whom had mingled with the civilians.

These people were a hidden danger.

Their decision to hide rather than flee indicated they hadn’t given up the fight.

But they couldn’t hide for long.

Soon, he would imitate General Giulion’s methods at West Sail Port, giving a piece of the colonial pie to some of the colonized, making them wealthy, powerful, dignified... and even new nobles.

In this way, no one would long for Absek. They might even praise the Southern Legion’s colonizers for arriving in time, saving them from misery.

This is what they call using both kindness and authority.

Once the local survivors found happiness in servitude, even the wheat growing in the fields could go from being the farmers’ credit to the Weilante people’s credit.

By then, a fertile colony would have been born.

There might be some resistance, like the various small and large rebellions across the army, but it would never become a grand army of 200,000.

The command vehicle of the 300,000-man team passed quietly along the muddy road, and Commander Ryan deliberately opened the observation window to glance at his "achievements".

In the torrential rain, the desperate people searched the ruins for their relatives’ bodies. Some stared blankly at the ashes of their homes, or lay on the ground wailing.

Those soulless figures didn’t evoke any pity from him; instead, they brought him an inexplicable satisfaction.

This is the fate of those who oppose the army!

However, seeing the same faces over and over became dull, and once satisfied, Commander Ryan closed the window and turned to the adjutant sitting across from him.

"Have they found that guy named Udonuo?"

The adjutant shook his head and replied,

"No... It’s said he died in the fire."

Ryan sneered.

"Ha, at least he died a warrior."

He had heard that guy was part of the old Heavenly King Army.

If he hadn’t died, Ryan wouldn’t have killed him but would have kept him around to show him what would become of the place he fought for, his hometown, and even the entire Poluo Province...

That would be the real revenge.

After a pause, the adjutant continued solemnly.

"... Also, we just received word from the rear that our 902mm heavy cannon was intercepted by the Alliance’s Skeleton Corps. The 34th thousand team suffered over half casualties, and it was the Alliance’s armored division that defeated them. They are currently retreating with the transport logistics units toward West Sail Port."

The 34th thousand team’s casualties were severe, to say the least.

But that was inevitable since they had collided with the Alliance’s armored forces, and later the Alliance’s air force struck them again.

Ryan was displeased, but said nothing more, merely nodding calmly.

"I know."

The adjutant hesitated for a moment, then asked,

"Shouldn’t we do something?"

The railway was quite important.

Including that armored train, and the 902mm heavy cannon on board.

But Ryan wasn’t worried and calmly said,

"There are twenty-two ten thousand troops at West Sail Port, and they’ll handle the rest. General Giulion had long anticipated the Alliance’s all-out effort to target our logistics and naturally prepared contingencies. We don’t need to worry about it."

The adjutant still had some concerns but didn’t ask further and changed the topic.

"Then... what about us next?"

"Tiandu."

Ryan said the word, the corners of his tense mouth curling upwards.

"Why wait for that Otley fellow to take Dog State before we act, when we can directly pierce through the entire Poluo country while they’re still dawdling."

Upon hearing this, the adjutant’s spirit was lifted, and the concerns in his eyes were replaced by burning battle intent.

Tiandu!

The capital of Poluo Country!

Once we capture it, the outcome of this war will basically be decided.

Looking at the adjutant whose eyes burned with intent to fight, Commander Ryan chuckled softly.

"...I heard there’s an unusually huge starship there, I’m curious to see what it looks like."

The adjutant sitting opposite him also smiled as he spoke.

"Leaving such a legacy in this pit is truly wasteful. Those useless civil officials seemed indifferent. We might be able to use it to build an airship larger than the Horn Number."

Commander Ryan smiled meaningfully.

"That depends on whether our air force buddies show any interest. We can’t just let them get this for free."

...

A torrential downpour lasted a long time, from Lion City all the way to Tiandu.

A sentry donned in a raincoat was patrolling along the mud-laden road when he suddenly saw a horse galloping from afar.

A person was sitting on the horse.

The Leader had long requisitioned all nearby horses to the frontline, and the entire Cow State might not be able to see many horses.

Noticing the unusual figure, the sentry immediately became alert.

He raised his rifle in hand, aiming at the rider passing through the rain curtain, and shouted loudly.

"Stop!"

The person did not respond, continuing to gallop toward them.

The sentry swallowed hard, hesitating with his companion about whether to pull the trigger, just as the horse suddenly seemed to become exhausted, let out a long sigh, and fell to the ground.

The person was thrown off, mud splashing all around. The horse flailed wildly in the mire before finally foaming at the mouth and died.

The sentry and his companion exchanged a glance and immediately ran forward, only to find that the person lying on the ground was a Thousands of leaders. Startled, they hurriedly helped him up.

"Si... Sir..."

Yishel glanced at him numbly, then looked in the direction of Tiandu city, wordlessly pushed away the hand supporting him, limping toward the direction of the city gate, without caring for the dying horse on the ground.

His hair was plastered against his face like wet straw, and his lifeless face seemed to have lost its soul.

The sentry stared at him in a daze, watching the limping figure silently walk off into the distance, finally gritting his teeth and slinging his rifle over his shoulder before quickly following.

"Sir, we have bicycles at the post... I can give you a lift! It’s faster this way!"

After saying this, he draped his raincoat over the man’s shoulders.

At last, Yishel responded, muttering a thank you, and allowed the young lad to carry him.

The two overlapping figures moved through the rain curtain, hurrying into a nearby post.

Soon after, a bicycle was brought out, the sentry straddling it and fiercely pedaling, wishing the chain could spark from his efforts.

Yishel sat behind him, staring blankly into the clamorous rain curtain.

He tightly clutched the package in his hand, inside which there was a camera given to him by a journalist, holding photos he had taken at the frontline.

He would never forget those faces.

Nor the fire that swallowed everything...

...

Over ten thousand kilometers away, in the ideal City of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, bathed in the grace of countless blessings.

In the highest building of that thriving utopia, the final hearing on the recently heated issues was underway.

The council members sitting here were about to make the final decision on how much budget the corporation would allocate to stop the Army’s continued eastward expansion.

Supporters had their reasons, whether to secure arms orders or for moral reasons, they felt compelled to act.

Contracts unfulfilled are meaningless, unending appeasement would only make the Army more arrogant.

Opponents also had their viewpoints, noting that these budgets would ultimately be footed by all Citizens of Ideal City, who had already spent considerable credits on unrelated people over the past two years.

Indeed, contracts unfulfilled are meaningless, but the Army is like indestructible cockroaches without memory, they couldn’t continue playing "War Game" time and time again with those big-nosed people.

A shareholder from the Endpoint Group spoke at the meeting, suggesting perhaps they should find a way to finally dismantle these military zealots completely, rather than sending them off wave after wave.

Of course.

He actually had no solid ideas on how exactly to dismantle the Army.

Though that could be a topic discussed at another meeting.

Due to the needle-point action of the debate, it was almost expected that this hearing would be intensely contentious.

However, the development was completely contrary, those council members who were quarrelling uncontrollably until yesterday, were now terrifyingly quiet.

In the central of the spacious venue, on the holographic cubic screen, a city with a million people was burning in flames.

The settlement was not much smaller than Ideal City, and perhaps even a little bigger. Though the former lacked bizarre tech and towering architectures.

In front of the cube, stood a human-shaped hologram.

That person was Li Ke from the Academy Research Department.

Until this hearing, his crowning achievement was his dramatic fall at the Falcon City Gate.

And now, his Research Ship had flown to the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

"...The aforementioned is what the Army is doing in the Poluo Line province. Theoretically, it could happen anywhere in this world, as it has countless times before."

"Council members can continue to debate. Hopefully, the footage we provided hasn’t disturbed your enjoyment."

No further words needed.

The silent images had already spoken it all.

Li Ke nodded slightly, the pale-blue hologram vanished in the expansive venue.

Among the seats, everyone was silent.

On their faces were written bewilderment, anger, and disbelief or unbearable sight.

At this point, the ambassador from the Alliance, Shu Yu, stood up and glanced around at the council before continuing to speak.

"...We did not participate in the negotiations of the old contract, but we understand that relying solely on a contract is insufficient to restrain anyone."

"Besides ending the war itself, we must put war criminals on trial, make reparations for wrongs... only then can we ensure that similar tragedies will not occur again, just like what we did in Haiya Province."

Looking at the whispering council members, he spoke solemnly.

"If you’re unwilling to do it, leave it to us. We don’t mind burning ourselves for those suffering survivors."

"However, in return, we need your support, the support within your means!"

After saying these words, he sat back in his chair, leaving the floor to the assembly.

The conference room quieted down again, this time even the whispers were gone, leaving only exchanges of glances.

People seemed to have lost the reason to argue.

In the face of higher interests, the things they were weighing seemed so trivial.

Seeing that no one continued to speak, the meeting’s host raised his hand.

"Let’s vote."

As soon as he finished speaking, he placed his hand on the vote counter and cast his vote.

In less than a minute, the voting ended, with astounding results of 1000:0:0.

This had never happened in the past two centuries, not even one abstention.

History seemed to repeat itself.

Just like their forefathers decided to stay on this land, they made the unanimous decision once again.

Surprise spread across their faces, followed by delight, and even the meeting host muttered an incredulous sound.

As the gavel in his hand fell, a limitless aid proposal simultaneously passed through the council.

They would provide the Alliance with everything Ideal City could offer, supporting their allies to bring the initiators of this war to a dignified court!

At the same time as this limitless aid proposal passed, an extra edition news shook the entire Jinjaron Harbor.

"Lion City Catastrophe! Southern Legion sets the city on fire!"

The newspaper headline was in stark large letters, red ink like human blood.

The photo on the headline showed the "Horn" airship dropping incendiary bombs!

This photo was taken by a Survivor’s Daily reporter, reportedly brought back from the front by a Centurion named Yishel.

Looking at such undeniable evidence of atrocities, all the survivors’ eyes blazed with anger.

"... Damn Weilante people!"

"Damn it! I’m enlisting too!"

"Weren’t you going to Camp 101 to learn skills?"

"Forget it! I’ll only go after killing those big-nosed bastards!"

"Damn it... they’re worse than beasts!"

Commander Ryan ultimately misjudged the situation.

The survivors of Lion City were still mourning the loss of their loved ones. Although many indeed bowed their heads, that didn’t mean submission.

Not only the survivors of Lion City.

But also the survivors of Jinjaron Harbor, Mammoth City, Tiandu City, and countless others.

He clearly knew that the rebellions in the legion’s territories never stopped, yet he deluded himself into thinking that using a larger fire could suppress the burning anger in the hearts of the survivors on this land.

Not only did Ryan misjudge the outcome, but so did General Otley and even General Giulion, the commander of Poluo Province War Zone—they were all terribly wrong about this.

Upon learning of Lion City’s tragedy, instead of running away like a coward, Absek changed his previously indecisive image and not only took command himself as the Grand Leader of Dog State War Zone, but also angrily broadcasted to the entire Poluo Province, calling all Poluos to unite and vowing to fight the legion to the death!

Whether this was political theater, no one knew, but at least for now, he certainly did not flee.

The morale in Tiandu was unprecedentedly high, even those grassroots military officers who had been discontent with Absek no longer cursed this "hypocrite."

Although not as straightforward as Anush, at least he had the courage to fight to the death, which was commendable.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from outside continued to arrive.

The Expeditionary Army of Poluo Province had once contributed to suppressing the Torch Church, and the survivors of the Eastern Provinces naturally wouldn’t leave them unattended.

A dozen transport ships arrived at the port of Jinjaron Harbor.

A group of soldiers wearing gas masks, shouldering rifles, silently stepped onto the docks of Jinjaron Harbor, advancing toward the military base amid local flowers and cheers.

They were the Death Legion.

They had made outstanding achievements in the Battle of Falling Leaves and the Bone Chewing Chaos; their fearless fighting style made countless Looter Tribes and the Expeditionary Army of the Eastern Legion tremble in fear!

This time, five thousand had landed, with another five thousand expected to arrive later.

Seeing the girls tossing flowers by the roadside, Debt Giant Eye couldn’t help but complain.

"Why do we have to wear gas masks? Are we so unpresentable?"

Rowing on the Edge in the marching troops rolled his eyes, lowered his voice, and retorted.

"Do you really think showing our faces all the time is a good idea considering our casualty rate?"

Debt Giant Eye: "... Damn, you make a fair point!"

Those marching in gas masks weren’t just players; many were also Xiaoyu’s sub-entities.

After repeated training by Big Eyes, these sub-entities, which initially seemed as dumb as rocks, finally evolved from lobsters in firing squads to infantrymen from World War I, capable of charging forward with bayonets like legion Clone Cannon Fodders.

The genetic blueprint of these sub-entities came from the cheapest Eaters, costing much less than the clones.

A Level 10 Intelligence player could probably handle ten sub-entities, while his limit was two hundred!

No need to worry about pollution from Mutated slime fungi; Red Soil microbes would take care of their remains.

Once they reached the base, updated their save records, they boarded vehicles heading to the port to transfer to a ship bound for Tiandu City.

The inland port was bustling.

Except for a lone royal merchant ship drifting on the river, almost all cargo ships were requisitioned by Poluo Country authorities and Jinjaron Harbor authorities for transporting war supplies and personnel.

Watching the brothers boarding the ship, Rowing on the Edge shouted to them.

"The Weilante have taken Lion City. We must not let them take Tiandu! The Academy brothers have helped us deploy anti-airship weapons there, and our mission is to hold on at all costs!"

In response, a series of spirited shouts resounded.

"Ahhhh!!!"