CHAPTER 489: CHAPTER 394: WIND ROLLS THE SCATTERED CLOUDS_2

Moreover, he had personally inspected the battlefield only yesterday and discussed with his generals how to attack Outpost Fort. He had received word just that morning that the army’s morale was high, ready to attack at any moment.

How could it be that in less than a few hours, his own forces were divided and surrounded, with Riftfort conquered? The vanguard of the Eternal Domain had begun their march toward Storm City.

Are my tens of thousands of Wildwind Warriors just wooden decorations?

Are they so vulnerable?

Anderson couldn’t figure it out. He even suspected the messenger was an enemy disguised by magic.

"What exactly happened?" Anderson demanded loudly, once he confirmed the messenger bore no magical disguise.

The hero who delivered the message recounted in detail the events that had unfolded on the Outpost Fort battlefield.

While planning the assassination of the Tower Mage, Yan Xing had also established a timetable for launching a comprehensive attack on the Wildwind Principality. If the Alchemy Factory accident in Storm City failed to draw out the Tower Mage, the sudden outbreak of war would surely provoke a response from him. However, facing a Tower Mage in a state of battle readiness would significantly increase the difficulty of the assassination.

The time for the general assault arrived.

In the direction of Outpost Fort, the Eternal Domain’s artillery concentrated 1,000 heavy cannons, 500 rocket launcher vehicles, and cannons of various other calibers to blanket the Wildwind Principality’s positions with firepower for fifteen minutes. All one hundred thousand shells were unleashed upon the Wildwind Principality’s positions with utmost speed.

The Wildwind Principality, preparing for an attack, had concentrated its main force of approximately 50,000 soldiers within its defensive positions. On average, this meant each soldier would face bombardment from two shells.

After the Wildwind Principality’s soldiers were battered by round after round of artillery fire, the Eternal Domain’s bombers arrived above their heads.

One hundred Beak Eagle bombers.

Five hundred Deer Hunter Dive Bombers.

Escorting them were 1,200 Gryphon Fighter Jets of various models.

Six hundred Battle Griffins.

One hundred fifty Mecha Gryphons.

Twenty-four aerial fortresses.

Most of the Eternal Domain’s current airborne forces were concentrated here, forming an aerial armada that truly eclipsed the sky.

The Wildwind Principality’s air force scrambled to meet them, but their main force of Divine Beasts suffered a crushing blow from the outset. This time, the Gryphon Fighter Jets, which had previously turned tail at the mere sight of Divine Beasts, charged at them like valiant knights. From a great distance, they launched Beehive missiles from beneath their wings.

The Divine Beasts had never encountered such air-to-air combat weapons, which possessed both tracking capabilities and extreme maneuverability. Caught completely off guard, scores of them were shot down by the Beehive missiles. The Wildwind Principality’s own griffins were even less capable of withstanding such weaponry and were annihilated within a short time.

The unprotected airships, facing a combined assault from the aerial fortresses and ground-to-air missiles, were shot down one by one, having had no opportunity to contribute effectively to the battle.

In a remarkably short period, the Wildwind Principality’s Army completely lost air supremacy. Their ground forces were left entirely exposed beneath the wings of the Eternal Domain Air Force.

Bombs rained down from the Beak Eagle bombers, and the Deer Hunter Dive Bombers launched unrestrained assaults, shattering the defensive lines of the Wildwind Principality’s army. After eliminating the airships, the aerial fortresses also joined the ground assault. Circling at low altitudes, their cannons fired shells with deadly precision into the trenches. It was like plowing a field, but instead of upturned earth, they left a gruesome trail of blood and gore.

Facing this terrifying onslaught, the Wildwind Principality’s soldiers had no idea how to respond. They scurried for cover, but the entire area offered no sanctuary. Explosions and bodies were everywhere. The soldiers howled in agony as the ground was repeatedly ravaged by the aircraft.

And when the Eternal Domain’s aircraft had expended all their ammunition, their armored vehicles roared to life, charging into the devastated defensive lines. Most of the magical traps the Wildwind Principality’s army had laid in front of their positions were destroyed in the bombardment; the few that remained posed no significant threat to the Eternal Domain’s tanks.

The Eternal Domain’s forces concentrated their tanks and combat vehicles, advancing like a thundering steel torrent, rolling over the trenches. The Wildwind Principality’s soldiers were powerless against these steel behemoths; they could only watch in horror as they were crushed beneath them. They had completely lost the power to counterattack.

After completing their encirclement, one part of the armored group blocked the Wildwind Principality’s army’s retreat routes from the rear, while another part advanced toward Riftfort. The infantry that followed carved up the Wildwind Principality’s main force.

Riftfort, the Wildwind Principality’s key forward base for its planned offensive against the Eternal Domain, was targeted by bombers the moment the Eternal Domain launched its general assault. Beak Eagle Bombers relentlessly bombarded the fortress, while Deer Hunter Dive Bombers executed pinpoint strikes to neutralize key defensive emplacements within the bastion. Then, the Super Tactical Squad and the Airborne Division, already airdropped behind Riftfort, launched their assault on the fortress. Once tank reinforcements broke through and arrived, a pincer attack was launched, and they stormed into Riftfort in one fell swoop.

From that point on, there was no longer any suspense in the battle for Outpost Fort.

In terms of both equipment and tactics, the Eternal Domain’s forces completely outclassed those of the Wildwind Principality’s Army. It was akin to using Gulf War-era weaponry and World War II blitzkrieg tactics against an army barely at a World War I level of capability. Even though the Eternal Domain’s army was still inexperienced with its new weaponry, the sheer technological disparity allowed them to achieve an overwhelming victory.

The Duchy’s Army was utterly annihilated. Faced with the Eternal Domain’s Army advancing on Storm City, the fortifications Anderson had constructed along the route stood no chance of halting their progress. The only thing slowing them down were the muddy roads left by the rainy season.

At this moment, Anderson was left with only two choices: to hold Storm City to the death, or to flee to Highland City with Storm City’s treasures.

Yan Xing had just said that their army would not block his retreat to Highland City.

Was he really going to admit defeat just like that?

Anderson couldn’t accept it. He still didn’t even understand how he had lost; tens of thousands of troops had vanished within a few hours.

How did Yan Xing do it?

It made no sense to him!

But time did not allow Anderson to dwell on what he couldn’t comprehend. Storm City’s skies were filling with aircraft from the Eternal Domain, ready to bomb the city at any moment. Moreover, he had no idea how many soldiers Yan Xing had brought into the city with him. Given their ability to easily assassinate Tower Mages like Moflin and Miler, the likelihood of him successfully defending Storm City was virtually non-existent.

Furthermore, Yan Xing’s audacity in assassinating mages from Cloud Tower signified that Thunderous Swamp was prepared for a direct confrontation with Cloud Tower. In a power struggle of this magnitude, remaining in Storm City meant becoming meaningless cannon fodder.

Anderson was a decisive commander. He ordered the abandonment of Storm City, the destruction of the Alchemy Factory, and the evacuation of all Goblins and alchemical materials they could carry. At first, he even considered burning Storm City to the ground. But, fearing Yan Xing might retaliate along his retreat route, he ultimately abandoned the idea of a scorched-earth policy.

In just one day and night, while the residents of Storm City remained oblivious to what had transpired, all the troops, officials, and nobles of the Wildwind Principality vanished without a trace. The city’s roads were littered with discarded items.

Upon hearing that the ’swamp barbarians’ of the Eternal Domain were attacking, all residents of Storm City locked their doors and hid in their homes. To fuel the war effort, Storm City’s internal propaganda had thoroughly demonized the Eternal Domain. The Swamp Tribe was said to be even more barbaric than the orcs, fond of looting and cannibalism...

Now, Anderson, who had never before abandoned Storm City, had fled without a single battle. It seemed the Swamp Tribe was truly more ferocious than even the orcs.

The residents of Storm City hid, trembling, as the flourishing city presented a desolate scene. "Listen!" they’d whisper in terror, "Those things in the sky making those awful sounds... they’re man-eating magical beasts!"

Yan Xing walked the streets of Storm City with his Super Tactical Squad. The soldiers who had been ubiquitous just the day before were now nowhere to be seen. Only the ducal flags, still fluttering from high perches, indicated the city’s de facto allegiance. Aircraft from the Eternal Domain flew extremely low, engulfing Storm City in the deafening roar of their engines.

"Master!" In his consciousness, Chui Chui, dressed in an adjutant’s uniform and wearing a beret, saluted Yan Xing. "The Third Battalion of the Fourth Regiment of the Eternal Domain’s First Airborne Division has landed at the temporary airfield constructed outside the city using magic.

"The Third Battalion is now ready to enter Storm City.

"Do you order the Third Battalion to enter the city, occupy the Lord’s Mansion, and take control of Storm City?"

Yan Xing replied, "Permit them to enter the city!"