Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
When the feast was over, Guevara called Han Jin aside. No one dared to disturb them, for they knew that it was something confidential.
Guevara explained in detail the recent situation of Black Raven City. During the months since Han Jin had left, the city had undergone tremendous changes. The four capital leaders of Beitman became allies and launched a joint attack. The chief sheriff of Beit City, Woodrow, had revealed his scheme way too early, and he had not been fully prepared for it. He managed to hold on to the city defenses for about a month before being defeated. However, his troops had not been entirely demolished. Along with the remains of his troops, he escaped from Black Raven City and had been occupying Nuremberg for the past one and a half months.
On these issues, Ronning had given very precise opinions. If the capital leaders really wanted Woodrow’s life, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to escape the city, let alone with the remains of his troops! In fact, when they had seen that Ronning could easily capture Black Raven City with the Riptide Regiments, they were extremely jealous. This also meant that they no longer wanted to be peaceful capital leaders. Instead, they were hoping for expansion. Thus, the empty Black Raven City had become their target.
They had forced Woodrow into Black Raven City as a plot to use his troops to consume the forces of the Rapids, while also having them invade the first line. However, Ronning was a very sensitive man when it came to war affairs. When he heard the news from his troops that Woodrow’s force had already left Black Raven City, he immediately knew that something was not right and used a large amount of cavalry to investigate the situation across the border. One of the troops managed to find something abnormal, and along with Guevara’s help, they were able to find their hidden spot.
Based on the current situation, Ronning decided to plot a huge war. Woodrow was merely a small worm. Although his personal strength was strong, his troops were not; they were mostly recruited temporarily, and they did not have much combat power. The confrontation between Ronning and Woodrow was just to numb Beitman’s Allied Forces.
n fact, Ronning wasn’t exactly sure of what he should do. The Riptide Regiment was absolutely inferior when compared to Beitman’s Allied Forces in terms of strength, equipment, and supplies. The one and only bright spot of theirs was their combat skills. It was clear to Ronning that they could not withstand a protracted war, as Black Raven City was already in a devastated state because of Zaganide. Ronning’s troops were getting smaller and smaller as the days went by, and they could not be replenished either. On the other hand, Beitman’s Allied Forces had been resting for a long time, and they also had a much better back up.
Moreover, Ronning had a very bold plan. Beitman had purposely brought Woodrow here just to diminish Ronning’s troops, so he should also live up to their expectations. He would try his best to demolish the Allied Forces, and then followed up with an attack against Beitman! The result of the war would immediately determine if his plan would work or not. If the Allied Forces were heavily damaged, his counterattack afterward would be effortless and unstoppable. If the Allied Forces were given the chance to escape, then the four capital leaders would stubbornly guard the city. Depending on Black Raven City’s current condition, it was definitely unable to support a comprehensive and protracted war.
Ronning wasn’t optimistic about Black Raven City – at least, not within this short period of time. Zaganide was completely relying on the cavemen to support the army. However, they were a very strange race. They could be the lowest ranking slaves in the abyss, but they would never want to be ridden by humans. Regardless of how generous the policy was, or if they were threatened by death, there was only one answer in return: they would never cooperate.
About half a month after Reg had left, Ronning, who had tried numerous times to negotiate with the cavemen, had finally lost his patience and ordered a massacre. The massacre involved the entire province, and it would pass through the Iron Legs of the Riptide Regiment. The cavemen’s blood flowed like a river. The province had more than hundreds of villagers that depended on the cavemen, all of which had now been turned to ruins. The Riptide Regiment’s reputation that Reg’s father, Conrad, had painstakingly built for the past few years, had been entirely ruined. The people around started dubbing the Riptide Regiment as the ‘bloodshed regiment’.
There were many generals who would oppose his commands, but Ronning’s attitude was extremely firm. He said that there wasn’t any army who would be able to survive in a situation where there were both internal and external problems. For the time being, since they wouldn’t be able to resolve any of their external affairs, it was necessary to focus on solving the internal affairs first.
After that, Ronning then sent some of his troops to recruit refugees. The conditions were very generous: they were granted free permanent land and exempted from all taxes for a certain period of time, as long as they were willing to work hard plotting the land.
The battle between Zaganide and Dismark lasted for years, causing the number of refugees to grow like a rolling snowball. Upon hearing Ronning’s condition, most of them naturally flocked in. However, it was impossible for Ronning to depend on these refugees to support his troops. Instead, he still had to take out large amounts of supplies to feed them. It was now winter. Should he watch the refugees freeze to death one by one? Or be starved to death? Putting it bluntly, Ronning was just sitting on an empty mountain. He was using Zaganide’s previously accumulated military resources to barely maintain his own.
Ronning’s current situation could be described as someone who was climbing the edge of a cliff with both hands. He wanted to move up, but his own body was too heavy, causing him to be immobilized. He needed someone to give him a push from behind!
After giving several thoughts about it, Ronning could only put his hopes on Han Jin. From their previous experiences, they had a common language and would be able to understand each other.
In order to wipe out Beitman’s Allied Forces, Ronning needed a large number of military funds. While looking at the numbers listed, Han Jin’s scalp became numb.
When he had gotten Sunier to buy the magic crystals in the past, Han Jin had already been extremely shocked when Sunier mentioned that they needed at least a hundred thousand gold coins. But now… that was nothing!!
The first item on the list was a hundred and twenty magic cannons. Ronning very clearly explained that no matter if it were an ambush, an assault with the help of the weather and the terrain or direct confrontation, a battle still had to be completed by humans. Even the best strategies would only be able to seize a small amount of advantage. It was only possible for them to instantly destroy the defense line of Beitman’s Allied Forces with the help of hundreds of magic cannons. They would be able to cripple the foundation of the troops, and at the same time, greatly reduce the casualty rate of the Riptide Regiment.
Han Jin clearly remembered that when Beitman had gotten the four magic cannons, everyone had said that they had gained a fortune. What Ronning wanted was at least a hundred and twenty magic cannons! Plus, he wanted it in a short period of time… Even a chicken would take months to lay a hundred and twenty eggs.
Looking further down, Ronning was still imagining the scenario after the magic cannons were in place… which was a lack of magicians. Therefore, he was hoping that Han Jin would be able to recruit at least four hundred magicians from Isolated Cliff City. And four hundred was the minimum. Ronning was very clear about this: the more the magicians, the better.
Further down, magic crystals became a problem. Four magic cannons already required the last of the magic crystals; a hundred and twenty magic cannons meant an unimaginable number of magic crystals. The amount that Ronning had gotten from Black Raven City was far from enough.
In comparison, the armor and equipment that was mentioned after that weren’t of much importance.
Luckily, Han Jin was still very sturdy, and Ronning also added at the end that, a few days later, his troops would be able to leave Black Raven City with all its gold coins and would be heading toward Isolated Cliff City. Ronning also specified that the gold coins that he had prepared might not be sufficient, and was hoping for Han Jin to be able to help him with it. However, with Ronning’s sincere tone that sounded like pleading, it wasn’t just that it might not be sufficient, but that it was far from enough.
Han Jin stiffly laid the list on the table without saying a word.
“It’s up to you now.” Guevara sighed.
“Hold it, I didn’t say that I could do it!” Han Jin was now really anxious. The things that were mentioned added up to at least a million? Or even tens of millions?? Added together, the amount of money that he had on him was barely a hundred gold coins. Even if he sold the dragon’s scale and dragon crystal in his space ring, it still wouldn’t be enough.
“These days, Ronning has been so worried that his hair has turned white.” Guevara sighed.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help, but it’s that I can’t.” Han Jin continued, “Forget about me, even if it were Dismark, the head of Holy Crown City who is known for his wealth, he would not be able to prepare so many things at once!” After completing his sentence, Han Jin wanted to leave, as there was nothing left to be discussed. It was an impossible task! Plus, the last time when they had gotten a large number of magic crystals, the Riptide Regiment had regarded all the magic crystals as the army’s possessions and did not share any with them. It made Han Jin feel like an outsider, which had always made him feel uncomfortable.
“In Ronning’s heart, he has already regarded you as a lord that he can be loyal to. Now that there’s trouble… who else can he look to?”
Han Jin was left stunned. From their past experiences, he wasn’t sure why, but he was faintly aware of the fact that Guevara appreciated him much more than Reg and sometimes even showed that he had thoughts of promoting Han Jin to a higher rank. Ronning was also the same. He would always come to Han Jin whether or not there was something important, but on the other hand, seldomly visited Reg. However, no one really talked about this matter openly. Reg and he were friends, and if this were spoken out in the open, it would be awkward between them.
“Ronning is a great general. He may be a little gullible in certain aspects, but the most precious thing about him is that he is clear of what he can and can’t do. If I were you and about ten years younger, I definitely wouldn’t give up on such a trustworthy general.” Guevara stared at Han Jin. “Do you really want to give up on him?”
“This is not a matter of giving up…” Han Jin bitterly laughed.
“It’s true that Ronning has very bold plans, but if it works and if he is able to defeat the Allied Forces, the entirety of Beitman would be yours! This would no longer be such a big matter!! Even if we are to borrow, we still have to prepare what Ronning needs!” Guevaraslowly said.
“Borrow? That’s easy for you to say.” Han Jin continued with a bitter smile, “Where can I borrow from? From whom am I supposed to borrow from?”
“I’m talking about us.” Guevara smiled. “Why did you think I came all the way here?”
“You’re saying that….”
“I am considered as a friend to Hallman, who is the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Isolated Cliff City.” Guevara softly said, “I’ll go to him tomorrow to discuss this, but… since we haven’t met up in twenty years and I am now an old man with no support, it may be possible that he won’t consider me as a friend anymore.”
“The Chamber of Commerce in Isolated Cliff City would be able to prepare these things?”
“Of course,” Guevara said in a playful tone. “To be able to survive in troubled times like these, who wouldn’t have some tricks up their sleeves to protect themselves? Do you think it is that easy for a single army troop to overrule Isolated Cliff City? A hundred magic cannons… the hidden fortune that the Chamber of Commerce has, greatly surpasses this amount. How many years has it been since the establishment of Isolated Cliff City?!”
“Since you already have a solution, why is Ronning still writing me this letter? Trying to scare me?” Han Jin sneered.
“You should know what Ronning and I mean. If we explain it to you, then it will lose all its purpose,” Guevara lightly replied. “All the generals of the Riptide Regiment agree with Ronning’s plan and really want to attack Beitman. However, without large military funds, it will be difficult even to defeat the Allied Forces, let alone try to demolish it. You’re the only person who can solve this problem.”
