Volume 2 Chapter 88
After crushing the resistance at Forgrave City and leveling it to the ground, the vanguard of the Western Alliance Army finally arrived before Luna and her defenders.
A full 180,000 troops, 15 War Behemoths, and 10 Steel Chariots. Although not as massive as the force that attacked Picard's City, it was still despairingly powerful.
No Ninth-Rankers appeared. Only twelve Eighth-Rankers led the main force behind the Behemoths. To the Alliance, this was just another small city, unworthy of serious concern.
"Ah... this is truly... a despairing gap..." Luna looked at the approaching Behemoths, the corners of her mouth twitching weakly.
She didn't fire first. She had no Fortress Cannons, and mortars couldn't penetrate the Behemoths' armor. But... she wasn't without a plan!
"According to the plan—Retreat!"
Luna took one last look at the approaching Alliance army, then led her subordinates away from the wall.
The walls of Goron City, protected by only a Seventh-Rank Defensive Array, were destined to fall. A single volley from the Behemoths at twenty kilometers would shatter them. Defending here was meaningless. Luna didn't even activate the defensive array.
And the Alliance? Seeing an almost empty city, they laughed, thinking they had extinguished the demons' will to fight, and approached without pausing.
20 kilometers... 15 kilometers... 10 kilometers!
Behind the slope on the outskirts, Finn and Byron's Shock Troops were ready. Behind them, Grayson's artillery was primed.
Luna led her subordinates into the city, scattering into various houses and bunkers, hiding like vipers in the dark, ready to strike.
"Hahahaha! Did the whole city run away?" Inside a Behemoth, a Grand Mage laughed.
"Unsure. Let's fire a volley to test!" The core Magister remained calm, scanning with Elemental Sight. Unfortunately, there were too many large mana sources in the city; he couldn't distinguish specific threats.
A Seventh-Rank Magister's Elemental Sight had a range of ten kilometers, but Luna had camouflaged her troops well.
It didn't matter. He kept the shields up at all times. At this distance, he dared to fight even a Ninth-Ranker!
The cannons on the War Behemoths aimed at the wall. Massive mana was extracted from pure mana stones inside, gathering in the barrels—
PEW-PEW-PEW...
White rays swept across the wall, slicing through stone like a scalpel and destroying the internal runes.
But it wasn't enough! The rays lifted, sweeping the city interior! In an instant, dozens of houses were sliced in half and collapsed.
After a chaotic sweep, half the city was in ruins, and half the wall had collapsed.
When the dust settled, the Behemoths arrived at the foot of the wall. Lifting their massive legs, they pushed over the remaining ruins and stepped inside!
"NOW!!" Luna's eyes sharpened. Her tense face instantly turned wild with excitement.
"DIE!!"
She slammed down the detonator in front of her. At the same time, she shouted into the communicator: "Everyone! Get down!!"
"BOOM!!!"
With a deafening roar, 3,000 tons of explosives buried in the earth behind the wall detonated. The shockwave leveled every building in the city!
The War Behemoths were swallowed instantly. Secondary explosions erupted within the fireball as their ammunition cooked off, sounding like a chain of heavenly thunder. The blast thoroughly destroyed all the Behemoths and wiped out the troops following closely behind.
Dust was still rising when Finn and Byron, hearing the explosion, led their Shock Troops out, charging toward the chaos outside the city.
In the rear, Grayson had deployed hundreds of mortars far denser than regulations allowed. Each gun fired nearly twenty rounds a minute, raining shells onto the Alliance.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM...
The intense bombardment inflicted massive casualties on the Alliance troops already thrown into disarray by the massive explosion. Many were sent sky-high before they even realized what had happened.
"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Some High-Rank Knights reacted, shouting orders. "Enemy charge! Counter-charge! Counter-charge!!"
BOOM!!
Before he could organize the line, a shell landed nearby, blowing him off his feet, ears ringing and eyes blurred.
"CHARGE!!"
Finn and Byron attacked from left and right like pincers, encircling the chaotic Alliance troops.
Mana Drills formed, cutting into the disorganized ranks like hot knives through butter. No one could stop them!
The twelve Eighth-Rankers had been too close to the Behemoths and were swallowed by the city-wall explosion, leaving no corpses. They took a large number of elite knights with them.
The remaining rearguard was weak to begin with. First swept by the shockwave, then battered by Grayson's rapid-fire barrage, they had lost command cohesion and couldn't withstand the shock assault.
"Kill! Leave no one alive!!"
After one charge, Finn didn't let up. He turned his spearhead and charged again into the collapsing Alliance formation.
After several passes, Finn was exhausted, and the Alliance vanguard was nearly annihilated.
"Haha! Satisfying!!" The Blood Demon slumped on his horse, laughing wildly, venting the pressure he had felt since Talisk.
Byron watched him, wanting to say something, but shook his head and let him be.
For so long, they had fought battles with hopeless odds, staking everything, hovering on the edge of death just to trade for a pyrrhic victory.
Today, for the first time, they crushed the Alliance. They routed them easily with minimal casualties. He deserved to vent.
"Stop being crazy! Come here, we need to build the defensive positions quickly!" Luna glared at Finn from a distance, dissatisfied.
"Yes!" Byron responded, helping Finn off his horse and walking toward the city ruins.
Blowing up Goron's walls gave them victory, but it also stripped them of cover.
Although the cover hadn't been much use, losing it was still a blow. But Finn, though he sighed, did not regret it. It was their only way!
Without this suicidal defense, they could never have stopped the Alliance, or even delayed them!
"Strength..." In the rear, Grayson sighed. "Engineering Corps! Hurry! Construction at full speed!!"
Chapter 212: The Expulsion
Seres Territory.
Charlo, accompanied by Davis and two squads of police, pushed open the doors of the Council Hall.
"Don't move!"
"Everyone stand up!"
"No sudden movements!"
The Seres Police were effectively armed police, or reserves.
Equipped with "M1891 Mosin-Nagant" rifles—the same standard issue as the Seres Army—their training manual was identical to the military's. Except for not going to the battlefield, they were indistinguishable from regular troops.
Now, these well-trained police rushed in, quickly surrounding the people inside.
"Sir Charlo! What is the meaning of this?" An old man in luxurious clothes stood up, staring at Charlo.
"Rest assured, gentlemen!" Charlo smiled. "I am not here to hurt you. I just want to ask you... to leave Seres!"
"Nonsense!" Another old man glared at Charlo. "The compilation of the Code is not yet complete. How can we leave? Does Sir Charlo wish for us to lose faith with the Empire?"
Breaking faith was a disaster for a noble. Once labeled untrustworthy, one was blacklisted in noble circles.
One's own family would distance themselves to avoid fallout. Other nobles would despise you and cut you out of any cooperation or profit-sharing.
Trust among nobles was thin; suspicion was the norm. Unless bound by generations of intermarriage, checking past records of "breach of contract" was the only way to gauge reliability. Even one mark of untrustworthiness could ruin future prospects.
"Of course not!"
Charlo shook his head. "In fact, your work is done. From the beginning, I only invited you here for the basic framework and official endorsement! Now that the general framework is complete, you should naturally return!"
"Sir! I think we haven't!" The leading elder's eyes were sharp. "You repeatedly drew lines for us! You even want to restrict the Supernatural! What exactly do you intend to do?"
"Simple!" Charlo stared back without fear. "As a newly promoted Count... I have little influence and shallow foundations! If I don't restrict the Supernatural, I fear that soon, the knights in my territory will no longer be mine!"
The two confronted each other. Mana fluctuations clashed, sending papers on the table flying.
"Hehe! Sir is worrying needlessly! As an Imperial Count appointed by His Majesty, you need not worry about anyone plotting against you!" The elder increased the pressure. Majestic mana pressed toward Charlo, forcing the surrounding police to step back in unison.
"Hmph!!" Charlo snorted coldly. His full power erupted, threatening to blow the roof off.
The elder groaned, taking a step back. His momentum was broken.
"I can't see the unseen..." Charlo said pointedly. "For example, the Landon Family, a great noble house as old as the nation, has been pressing me hard lately! I, a small Count, am walking on thin ice. I must be cautious..."
The Landon Family was powerful, but his paper currency circulated only within the original Ironwood territory. How was it discovered now?
It could only be leaked by the only outsiders—the Legal Delegation. And considering Seres's "backward" communications, it could only be transmitted by a High-Rank Magister using High-Magic—Magic Projection!
Who in the Legal Delegation had that capability?
Only the head of the delegation—Baden de Dean!
"Truly a young hero..." Baden wiped the sweat from his face. A veteran Seventh-Rank Magister, losing in a mana contest to a newly promoted Seventh-Rank Knight!
"I understand... I will take my old friends and leave!" Weighing the losses of a conflict here, Baden quickly changed his attitude, becoming exceptionally respectful. "I hope you are satisfied with our results. If you need work on the Code next time, I hope you will seek us out again!"
"Of course, I am very satisfied!" Charlo emphasized the word. "Now, Sirs, please go back!"
"Yes!"
Under Baden's signal, the group of old men left. As he passed Charlo, Baden whispered, "Don't go too far... Sir Charlo. This is not just the Landon Family, but a warning from Grand Duke Folk! You are, after all, in the East!"
"I don't need you to tell me that!" Charlo kept his face expressionless. "Go quickly! Or I'm not sure if Grand Duke Folk would be heartbroken enough to jump if he lost a highly respected Magister?"
As he spoke, the sword in Charlo's hand unsheathed slightly, reflecting a cold glint.
Baden was startled. Saying nothing more, he almost stumbled as he ran away.
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