Chapter 1201: Infamy and glory
There were not only people but also horses in the knights’ defensive formation. In such a chaotic situation, it would be almost impossible for Ren Xiaosu to seek out the Norman family’s patriarch by himself.
The Norman patriarch hiding in the crowd was just like having a massively destructive weapon in their midst. If the patriarch didn’t make a move against them, great! But if he did, the 6th Field Division behind Ren Xiaosu would probably suffer heavy casualties.
Ren Xiaosu shouted in the crowd, “9 o’clock!”
After that, he made Old Xu charge left first. Meanwhile, the 22 T5 combatants, the Great Hoodwinker, Luo Lan, and the martyred spirits quickly arrived at Ren Xiaosu’s flanks and charged forward in an arrowhead formation.
Wherever they moved, none of the knights could stop them.
Wang Yun was still surveying the battlefield with his binoculars as his gaze started wandering near the edge of the battlefield.
The fleeing civilians and the cavalry who had just joined the battlefield contributed to the noisy farce. Within Ghent City, there were even deserting knights and sorcerers. While few in number, there were indeed some.
From the look of things, the patriarch of the House of Tudor suddenly fainting had dealt a huge blow to the morale of the entire House of Tudor.
Wang Yun stood on the high platform and saw Chen Jiu standing on a similar structure on the opposite side.
When he saw Chen Jiu, Chen Jiu also saw him. The two of them had their binoculars raised as they looked at each other.
Chen Jiu was shocked. But before he could think whether to wave at Wang Yun, Wang Yun’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
It was not that Chen Jiu did not look suspicious, but Wang Yun felt that since Chen Jiu could get his hands on a pair of binoculars, it meant he was not on the same side as the sorcerer clans.
A moment later, Wang Yun actually saw a strange figure on the edge of the battlefield.
“Old Ji, get me down!” Wang Yun shouted.
The earthen observation platform quickly collapsed back to the ground. Wang Yun stuffed the binoculars into Zhang Xiaoman’s hands and pointed in the 2 o’clock direction. “The Tudor family’s patriarch is over there. Keep a close eye on him! If he shows any sign of waking up, quickly inform Future Commander!”
“Wait, where are you going?” Zhang Xiaoman shouted.
But Wang Yun did not even bother turning around to respond to him. Instead, he ran straight into the shadows of Ghent City in the darkness of the night.
The city, the lights and shadows, the walls, the weapons, the people, and the horses, all of these sights were processed into a huge dataset in Wang Yun’s mind. But at this moment, he threw away all of these distractions and was left with only one fixation in his head.
As he ran wildly, his medium-length hair swayed in the wind due to the speed he was moving at.
Wang Yun was wearing a black combat uniform and a pair of black, steel-toed combat boots that squeaked from his heavy movements. The rallying cries on the battlefield in the distance were extremely clear, but he could only hear his own voice at this moment.
His panting, his footsteps, the route, it was all he knew!
“Turn left!” Wang Yun turned left and leaped onto a low roof.
Zhang Xiaoman occasionally looked over to Wang Yun from the observation platform. He knew Wang Yun was pursuing a certain target, but he did not know who it was.
In this huge city, Wang Yun kept adjusting his route as he calculated the other party’s speed and his own.
The strongest brain in the Northwest was in complete overdrive due to this inexplicable pursuit.
Every time he passed an intersection, countless choices would form in his mind. It was just like a multiple choice exam, but Wang Yun had to ensure he chose the most correct answers.
Due to the rapid chase, Wang Yun’s blood temperature started to rise. His sweat started dripping profusely in the wind, but he did not think of giving up once.
Wang Yun enjoyed this feeling. He really liked this feeling!
Everything that happened in the past, the scheming life he led, and those depressing unachieved dreams of his all disappeared now.
Now that he thought about it, it really seemed to be destiny that the Great Hoodwinker would say the words “Prosperous Northwest” to him in the secret prison.
What was he fighting for at this moment? Was it for money and rewards? No.
Was it for the sake of holding high office? No.
All of this was so he could protect the future of the Northwest with everyone, as well as the enthusiasm to work hard with them!
This made his mind even clearer than before. It was far clearer than it had ever been!
“Turn right!” Wang Yun suddenly ran towards a monastery in Ghent City. He traversed across the roofs with every step calculated precisely.
When he climbed up to the top of the monastery’s dome, he suddenly leaped into the empty night sky in front of him. “I’ve caught you!”
The moment he leaped, Wang Yun looked down and saw the street below him. A cloud of black mist was quickly traveling through the shadows.
While he was still midair, Wang Yun’s pupils suddenly turned silvery. He reached out at the black smoke and shouted, “Restrict!”
The formless air started compressing inwards. For Wang Wenyan, who had turned into the black mist, he was being hunted by his natural enemy!
Wang Wenyan, who was the black mist, was forced back into his human form and fell from the sky with Wang Yun.
With two loud thuds, the two of them dropped heavily onto the stone pavement. As they fell, Wang Yun disarmed all of Wang Wenyan’s weapons with his superpower.
But Wang Yun did not even utter a sound of pain. He just lay on the ground and started laughing like a lunatic.
Two streams of blood started flowing out of his nostrils. This was the aftereffect of overexerting his brainpower. However, he would be fine after resting for a while, so Wang Yun was not really bothered by it.
Wang Wenyan slowly stood up and said coldly, “Is it worth it to overextend yourself for that young man with no ideals?”
Wang Yun got up and pointed his pistol at the other party’s forehead. He said with a smile, “He doesn’t have any ideals? Are you fanatics fit to judge him?”
“What else then?” Wang Wenyan sneered. “What plans does the Northwest have?”
“We just want to live well on that land. What’s wrong with growing vegetables, building irrigation canals, developing trade, and building roads?” Wang Yun spat on the ground.
When overloaded with exercise, the oral cavity would secrete more mucus to moisturize the respiratory tract.
“What kind of an ideal is that?” Wang Wenyan said coldly.
“Do we have to think about ambitious things every day like you people for us to have ideals?” Wang Yun said disdainfully, “Extreme fanatics like yourself will only make the world worse.”
Wang Wenyan did not argue further. Actually, both of them knew neither of them could really convince the other in this debate.
Wang Yun calmed down. “Be a good person in your next life. Don’t go around killing innocent people anymore.”
Wang Wenyan said coldly, “I’m a woman, and as the director of the Wang Consortium’s intelligence and field operations, I request that Fortress 178 grant me diplomatic immunity.”
No matter when, Wang Wenyan had always represented herself as a man to others. It was like this in Luoyang City, and also the same here in the Kingdom of Sorcerers. However, she was indeed a woman. It was just that her short hair, sharp clothing, and relatively neutral appearance allowed her to hide her true gender.
As a man, it allowed her to have more assertiveness when carrying out missions.
But now, as a highly experienced intelligence agent, she would make use of any and all circumstances to create an opportunity for herself.
“I know you’re a woman.” Wang Yun sneered. “I knew since the time in the Pyro Company’s Sacred Mountains. That’s why I can’t take you to meet Future Commander. I can’t let him bear the infamy of killing a woman. Let me bear the burden instead.”
Bang! Wang Yun aimed at Wang Wenyan’s forehead and pulled the trigger.
The moment he pulled the trigger, Wang Wenyan tried turning into a black mist again to avoid the bullet. However, Wang Yun was already prepared for it. The surrounding air instantly compressed around Wang Wenyan and left her unable to move.
After that shot, Wang Wenyan fell to the ground with blood seeping out of a wound in her temple.
Just in case, Wang Yun even shot the other party twice more in the heart. It wasn’t until he was sure she was completely dead that he heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the ground to catch a breather.
He pressed his radio and reported, “Future Commander, Wang Wenyan has been taken out.”
…
A 180-strong assault column was advancing on an intersection on Crown Avenue in Ghent City. Every time the Northwest Army’s soldiers armed with guns and ammo advanced a certain distance, they would ensure the angle of their covering fire was able to deal with any sudden threats.
All of the soldiers were clutching their automatic rifles and steadying them with their left hands, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
Within each assault column, 12 soldiers were equipped with 40 mm underbarrel grenade launchers acting as the fire support team.
Once they encountered a large cavalry attack or had a tough battle at hand, they would have to react quickly and clear the way for the assault column.
These soldiers were wearing bulletproof vests with embedded steel plates. They had Fortress 178’s standard-issue pistols holstered to their outer thighs, and there was even a spare pistol holstered under their armpits on the side of their bulletproof vests.
The troops Black Fox had brought from Stronghold 144 this time were armed to the teeth.
“All clear here.”
“All clear here as well.”
“All clear here too.”
As the assault column advanced, voices of the soldiers in the lead were constantly transmitted over the radio.
On top of the buildings on both sides of the street, dozens of archers from the House of Tudor quietly drew their bows and poked their heads out from the roofs.
But before they could take aim, several soldiers in the assault column on the street discovered their presence in advance and fired a series of shots at them.
The rattling of their guns was cracking and decisive. The powerful suppressive fire forced the archers back.
As the enemies were no longer in their direct line of fire after retreating back onto the roofs, the assault column’s gunfire was unable to immediately penetrate the roof of the building and hit them.
“T4s, scale the walls. T3s, form a bridge,” the company commander ordered sternly over the radio.
Five soldiers appeared in a flash from the assault column and slung their guns diagonally across their backs. Meanwhile, two other comrades beside each of them formed a “bridge” with their hands.
The moment they stepped onto the “bridge”, the T3s who formed the bridge launched them towards the top of the building.
The five T4-ranked combatants made use of the huge reaction force to bound towards the roofs like birds. While they were still in midair, they pulled out their pistols from their leg holsters and started shooting.
Following close behind were some of the standard soldiers. More than 20 of these soldiers went up onto the roofs and took out the remaining enemies to ensure there would be no survivors.
Anxious shouting and screaming erupted from the roof before it fell silent again.
“The roofs are cleared,” a T4 combatant reported.
Truly, Ren Xiaosu’s decision to have P5092 abduct the Pyro Company’s remaining troops back to the Northwest was definitely a wise move.
Among these 10,000-strong troops, a third of them were T3 combatants, and a large number were even T4 and T5 combatants.
Before P5092 met them, even he did not expect the average strength of this remnant force to be so strong.
But later, he figured out the Pyro Company and the Wang Consortium had been engaged in a fierce war, so only soldiers who were strong enough could successfully pull off the retreat plan to the northern plains.
The weaker soldiers would have already been caught and killed by the Wang Consortium.
Therefore, the survivors in this group were all elites.
The normal soldiers on the roofs started pulling back while the five T4 combatants stayed behind as lookouts.
But a moment later, someone on the roof level farther ahead suddenly got up and gunfire was heard. One of the T4s who was still up on the roof was suddenly shot in the thigh.
The T4 combatant was caught off guard and fell off the roof. Several soldiers below quickly caught him and lessened the impact of the fall.
The company commander said on the radio, “It’s an improvised firearm. The gunshot came from 11 o’clock. Grenadiers, bombard the target area.”
A soldier angrily raised the muzzle of his grenade launcher and pulled the trigger. The grenade flew through the night sky with a long trail of white smoke behind it and hit the target accurately. A huge explosion erupted at the top of the building in front, and the hidden enemy was sent flying.
“Check the wound,” the company commander ordered.
The T4 combatant who had been hit stood up and said, “No need, it’s lead shot.” With that, he used a dagger to cut open a small area of his pants at his thigh, revealing the wound inside.
Under normal circumstances, lead shot was relatively softer, so when it hit a target, the kinetic energy would be fully released. The shattered lead bullet would cause a gaping wound with large areas of irregular abrasion and, if not handled in time, could even cause lead poisoning to the wounded. If the lead entered the bloodstream, it could even destroy the entire circulatory system.1
But T4s were clearly different from normal people. Moreover, the quality of lead shot in the Kingdom of Sorcerers was far inferior to that of the Central Plains.
When the lead shot hit the T4 combatant’s leg, it did not even manage to penetrate the muscle tissue and only left a wound on the epidermis.
The T4 combatant took out a first aid kit and wiped his dagger with alcohol swabs. Then he forcefully sliced off the palm-sized grazed skin to prevent the lead fragments from affecting his circulatory system and causing any aftereffects. His muscle tissue was not even damaged after he sliced off his skin.
“Alcohol, gauze.” The T4 combatant briefly treated his wound before getting back up on his feet. “Let’s continue advancing. I can move with no problem.”
Everyone watched in silence. This T4 combatant had to be in a lot of pain, but he did not even wince throughout the ordeal. This was the kind of war machine the Pyro Company was so proud of.
The company commander glanced at him. “Why don’t you return to the rear and rest? The commander has set up a field hospital on Anning East Road. As long as you retreat there, you’ll receive treatment immediately.”
“No need,” the T4 combatant said with a shake of his head.
The company commander clapped the T4 combatant on his shoulder. “Bro, you’re really tough! Let’s continue advancing then!”
The company commander was from the 6th Infantry Brigade and had gone through the Battle of Mt. Zuoyun. He was promoted to company commander after that battle.
To be honest, the integration process of the Pyro Company and the 6th Infantry Brigade might not really be that effective. After all, they were two fighting forces and had not known each other for long.
The two sides fought together only because they were soldiers and had to fully obey orders and work for a common objective. But in fact, their personal relationship would only make them nodding acquaintances, not friends.
But everyone knew it would be different after this war.
Half an hour later, the assault column arrived at the edge of the battlefield. After turning another corner, they would probably come into view of the messy defensive position of the knights.
The company commander stopped in his tracks and spoke in a low voice into the radio, “Take five minutes to rest and regroup.”
They had arrived at the enemy’s flank, ready for the tough battle that would ensue five minutes later.
The company commander was panting heavily when he suddenly laughed over the radio, “Sometimes, I’m quite envious of you comrades from the Pyro Company. You’re all like fucking animals who don’t get tired at all. By the way, why did you all agree to join the Northwest Army?”
The T4 combatant who was injured earlier laughed and said, “It’s very simple. After Commander P5092 found us, he only said one thing that made us decide to follow him to the Northwest.”
The company commander was stunned. “What did he say?”
T402992 said with a smile, “Commander P5092 told us that if we followed him, he’d let us die in battle with dignity.”
At that time, the Pyro Company’s remnant troops were retreating towards the northern plains like stray dogs. All of the strongholds controlled by the Pyro Company had fallen in the face of the attacks by the Wang Consortium’s troops. They had seen too many of their comrades dying without honor. They were no longer fighting for the survival of the Pyro Company in the Central Plains but had died because of the ambition of some lunatics.
At that time, it was extremely tempting for these Pyro Company warriors to be given a chance to die with dignity.
On the long boulevard of Ghent City, time was ticking by. Everyone fell silent again as they adjusted their mental state. The company commander watched his watch and counted down the time.
After five minutes passed. He said calmly on the radio, “Is everyone ready? Future Commander is still waiting for us. Let’s move out!”
With that, the entire assault column charged out of the street. Although they were a little fearful, they did not intend to retreat.
The fire support team finished firing a volley of grenades at the enemy’s defensive position in one go.
This assault column that had detoured to the enemy’s flank was a sharp knife suddenly stabbing into the enemy’s ribs!
…
“Is Tudor, that old codger, still unconscious?” An aged voice roared from the Norman family’s position, “He’s such a good-for-nothing!”
“Patriarch, it looks like he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. The Knights of Tudor are still retreating bit by bit.” The commander of the Knights of Radiance said, “Patriarch, should we retreat? It’s still the Knights of Tudor that are mainly under attack. It’s not too late for us to leave now!”
“Where do we go?” The Norman family’s patriarch said coldly, “Are we going to give up Ghent City?”
The situation on the battlefield was gradually turning into a one-sided battle. The Tudor family’s patriarch fainting was like the first wave of dominoes, causing a massive chain reaction.
More importantly, the elite knights the sorcerer clans were so proud of were like helpless children against a modern army.
Every time those dark, menacing weapons fired, a group of knights would fall.
There were also strange vines constantly sprouting from the ground as they took the lives of the knights in droves.
“We have to take action.” The Norman family’s patriarch said coldly, “Our fate is intertwined with what happens to the House of Tudor. If we let the enemy wipe them out, it’ll be difficult for us to hold out by ourselves after that. The enemy we’re facing this time is too powerful!”
The dozen or so snipers Black Fox had brought were already in position on high ground. Their eyes never once lingered on the normal knights.
P5092 had only assigned one mission to them: Find the sorcerers in the crowd and kill them.
Some sorcerers were killed as soon as they took out their Eyes of True Sight.
Before tonight, no one had expected that a group of Central Plains forces would actually appear in Ghent City. Furthermore, these troops were even capable of driving them back within their own territory.
In the more than 200 years after The Cataclysm, the Kingdom of Sorcerers developed a high and mighty arrogance when facing the Central Plains.
They had plundered people and resources from the Central Plains and even took gold, silver, and riches from them. Every war that broke out was initiated by the Kingdom of Sorcerers.
Although Fortress 178 was gradually becoming stronger, the Northwest Army had never attacked the Kingdom of Sorcerers inside their territory before.
In the war 17 years ago, the Kingdom of Sorcerers was actually considered to have suffered a defeat. But after they returned home, the old aristocracy of the Magi reached a consensus in their portrayal of the war: We don’t have to admit we were defeated, but let’s not go there anymore in the future.
Over the past 200 years or so, the decadent sorcerer dynasty had formed a stereotypical mindset: It’s impossible for the Northwest Army to launch a counterattack on the Kingdom of Sorcerers.
Even if the Northwest Army did counterattack, the 1,000-kilometer supply line would be a problem for them. If the Northwest Army embarked on the difficult journey and arrived at the Kingdom of Sorcerers, the Magi’s elite knights and archmages here would surely teach them a lesson in blood.
In fact, the sorcerers were right. Fortress 178 still had many tasks waiting for them to handle, and they were truly incapable of establishing such a long supply line.
But what the sorcerers never expected was that someone from the Central Plains would actually learn how to use their Enchanted Doorway spell and gain direct access to their kingdom.
Supply line? There was no need for such a thing anymore.
The massive Stronghold 144 had become the forward operating base for this war. Even if there were any casualties, they could immediately be sent back to the field hospital in Stronghold 144 for the best treatment.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu, Luo Lan, and the T5 combatants were closing in on the Norman family’s patriarch.
The Norman family’s patriarch had donned heavy armor. He said to the archmage next to him, “Cover me, I’m about to make my move—”
But before he could finish speaking, a sniper bullet shot out from nowhere and turned the archmage next to him into a bloody mist.
The blood even splattered into the Norman family’s patriarch’s armor through the gaps of his visor.
The Norman family’s patriarch was stunned when he saw Ren Xiaosu and Old Xu charging through the crowd. They charged in wedge formation like an icebreaker ship sailing through ice-covered waters. Wherever it passed through, cracks would mercilessly appear in the solid armor of ice with a terrifying crackle.
“Zhou Yingxue, have the vines reached my feet yet? Clear the obstacles ahead for me!” Ren Xiaosu shouted into his earpiece.
“Alrighty, I’ve been waiting for a long time,” Zhou Yingxue replied.
A moment later, a manhole cover in front of Ren Xiaosu was blasted into the air by the vines. The surging vines brushed away the knights in front of Ren Xiaosu like a tidal wave and forced open a path for him.
The vines also tried to attack the Norman family’s patriarch, but he used some kind of defense that caused the vines to wither once they got within ten meters of him.
It was not only the vines but even the knights and sorcerers around the Norman family’s patriarch who were pulverized into nothing.
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. In order to protect himself, the other party even indiscriminately attacked his own people.
At this moment, a sniper bullet traveled several hundred meters through the air to reach this patriarch. However, the protective spell around him was even able to quickly obliterate the powerful sniper bullet.
The palm-sized bullet spun and came within ten meters of the Norman family’s patriarch. Then, as though it had encountered a grinder, it turned into powder bit by bit and dissipated into the air.
It was as though there were an absolute domain surrounding the other party that ensured his safety.
However, no other spells appeared after the other party had cast this spell. It seemed like the domain of safety had to be continuously cast and could not be interrupted.
He could not even move from his position.
The Norman family’s patriarch stood in the Absolute Domain in his armor, and his black visor seemed to be silently mocking everyone around him.
But the Norman family’s patriarch suddenly saw a dark Shadow Door open in front of him. Then an armored arm stretched out from it.
The power of the Absolute Domain started destroying the armor on that hand as the nanomachines were pulverized into dust and disappeared. But no matter how many nanomachines got destroyed by this Absolute Domain, new ones continued to reform as part of the armor.
They were fearless warriors as they regrouped and got destroyed one after another. The billions of little guys only had one purpose,which was to protect Ren Xiaosu’s arm.
Ever since they were “born,” they only had one mission. They were driven by the will of humanity to become true war machines. Even if it meant self-destruction, they would not hesitate.
The Norman family’s patriarch was unable to move away from where he was standing due to the need to continuously cast the spell. As such, he could only watch helplessly as the arm resisted the destructive power of his spell and stretched out in front of him bit by bit. It was slowly piercing through steel with its will, but the determination was firm and unwavering.
And then… the Norman family’s patriarch saw that arm snatch the black Eye of True Sight from his hand!
The Norman family’s patriarch froze on the spot. The black Eye of True Sight had been taken away from him just like that?!
The reason the sorcerers were wearing armor now was because of the slapping incidents at the Winston and Vaduz Cathedrals.
They did not have time to raise their ability to withstand stress, nor did they know how to better defend against the person behind this move. The archmages thought that since that were the case, they might as well put on their armor. At the very least, they would not look too bad if they got slapped in the face.
A lot of people thought this was a face-slapping spell that was specifically and only used for slapping people’s faces.
But no one could have expected the hand could actually take away the black Eye of True Sight.
The Norman family’s patriarch tried to hold his Eye of True Sight tightly, but how could his grip be stronger than Ren Xiaosu’s? At that moment, he felt like his fingers were about to break, so he had no choice but to let go!
The Eye of True Sight was the foundation of a sorcerer’s spell casting. Without it, their ability to cast spells would be destroyed.
Just as his Absolute Domain was destroyed, a sniper bullet flew towards him again. The gunshot from the shadows was a judgment that declared the end of his life.
Ren Xiaosu put the black Eye of True Sight into his pocket. “Zhang Xiaoman, where’s the Tudor family’s patriarch?”
“Future Commander, he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. They’re moving him towards your 10 o’clock. It seems like they’re planning on retreating,” Zhang Xiaoman answered excitedly. Zhang Xiaoman even felt like crying. It had already been an entire night, and he was finally of some use now!
