CHAPTER 1922: CHAPTER 1915: PURGE WAR

The peace bought with money lasted for more than half a month.

During these past few weeks, the situation has been ever-changing.

Odelanqi finally took the initiative to provoke war, launching a full-scale attack on the Church Court a week after the standoff.

This war, which took place within the territory of Odelanqi, is referred to as the Purification War, part of the Aud Empire’s unification war.

The aim of this battle by Odelanqi is to cleanse the Church of Light’s influence in the northern continent and rebuild secular society.

Only in this way can Odelanqi truly transform and become the real Aud Empire.

In response, the Church of Light announced the excommunication of some military and political officials of Odelanqi, particularly King Gudelv.

On the other hand, the Church did not sit idly by but instead put up fierce resistance.

Armaments from Earth greatly increased the combat effectiveness of the Church’s army, using the Purification Legion as a template to rapidly modernize its armament and organization in the war.

Although magical weapons still hold a pivotal position in the Church’s army, they no longer solely rely on these weapons.

The outbreak of war caused logistics on both sides of the conflict to become strained, so they both sought military assistance from their allies.

Both sides have established massive logistics and transport departments to deliver Earth-sourced weapons while keeping an eye on each other’s supply lines.

In just one week of skirmishes, the two sides engaged in over a dozen clashes centered around the supply lines, with a level of intensity that sometimes surpassed the main front.

Clearly, Gudelv’s threats did not cause Lipei’s side to abandon their support for the Church Court. In his anger, Gudelv finally began to seriously consider the option of capturing Lipei to cut off the Church’s backup.

To conquer Lipei in one fell swoop, relying solely on existing forces would be far from adequate; additional troops must be dispatched.

However, despite Gudelv’s grand mobilization of a million troops, he was shocked to discover, when the time came to fight, that the forces he could directly command were pitifully few.

The unification war of the Aud Empire inevitably aimed at annexing neighboring countries.

This left Odelanqi facing the predicament of being besieged on all sides from the beginning, making the forces under Gudelv’s command needed for both the Purification War and the defense against possible attacks from all directions, leaving him with very little deployable mobile forces.

Virtually most of his troops were pinned down at their positions, unable to move, and Gudelv had hardly any reserve mobile troops, making opening a second front towards Lipei seem like a delusion.

To gain the initiative in the war, Gudelv needed to summon reserves and quickly assemble a second-line force capable of mobile support. But this also required time and could not be achieved overnight.

Before the war began, he was filled with pride and confidence. But when it actually commenced, he realized that there were many unresolved issues.

In fact, Gudelv’s biggest problem was not considering the political planning behind the war.

Or rather, he overemphasized the changes brought by war while ignoring the principle that war is a continuation of politics.

The opening of the Art of War clearly states: "War is of vital importance to the state, a matter of life and death, the path to survival or extinction, it must be thoroughly pondered."

Even military texts from thousands of years ago still emphasize repeatedly that war should be avoided if possible.

From this perspective, it is evident that Gudelv had not read this book, nor did he accept the relevant information.

Gudelv was eager to solve the problem through military means, without considering the necessary political and diplomatic maneuverings before the start of the war.

In contrast, although the Church of Light was old-fashioned, they continuously engaged in diplomatic communication and political operations before the outbreak of war, ensuring Lipei’s stance to secure all support without any pressure.

Even Lipei sent special envoys to Holy Heart City, urging Odelanqi and the Church to negotiate and consult to avoid escalation of the situation.

However, Gudelv considered none of this, perhaps due to confidence or arrogance.

He was like a very smart student who, before an exam, confidently believed he could rely on his intellect to achieve perfect scores and thus looked down on peers who studied before the test.

However, the facts proved that the measures taken by his peers were effective.

When the conflict began, the intelligent student panicked as he realized he could not answer many questions. His proud intelligence turned out to be mere cleverness, useless in the exam.

Unless Gudelv possessed absolutely overwhelming military strength and ammunition reserves, he would face embarrassment as soon as the war started.

In this situation, Gudelv could only resort to demanding that the western corps of Lipei try to harass or even cut off the Church’s logistics supply line from within Lipei.

This approach clearly violated the gentleman’s agreement between the western corps and Lipei. According to Cheng Ziang and Oklo Laf’s concord, the Aud Army was only allowed to enter a designated area to retrieve supplies given by Lipei.

The Aud Army was absolutely forbidden to step into Lipei territory without permission from Lipei.

The western corps was closely monitored by Lipei’s defense scouts, and as soon as they made any move, Lipei immediately detected their intentions.

"Report, multiple small Aud Army units detected entering Lipei territory, requesting instructions." Baiyue brought the intelligence file to Luo’er and handed it over as he stated.

"What do they want, do they think Lipei’s warnings are just empty words?" Luo’er glanced down at the documents in his hand, then at the map on the wall, and angrily cursed.

"Odelanqi has already fully engaged in war with the Church, it seems Gudelv intends to back a desperate situation." Cheng Ziang stepped forward and said.

"Should we launch a counterattack?" Cheng Ziang continued to ask.

"Now is not the time," Luo’er shook his head and said seriously, "The main force of the Aud Army is deployed outside artillery range, with only small units infiltrating Lipei. If we can’t deliver a heavy blow to the main Aud forces, these small skirmishes are pointless."

"Should I go and warn them?" Cheng Ziang suggested.

"I am concerned about unforeseen events." Luo’er glanced at him and expressed concern.

"Don’t worry, isn’t Xiao Fula there to protect me?"

Cheng Ziang confidently patted his chest.

"Why do you, a staff officer, always like running around outside?" Luo’er couldn’t help but ask.

"I learned it from you." Cheng Ziang replied matter-of-factly.

"Hehe," Luo’er gently smiled and shook his head, "Fine, go discuss things with them. If they dare to break the agreement again, don’t blame us for turning hostile."

Without saying more, Cheng Ziang arranged a transport plane and brought a few people toward the western corps.

As the transport plane flew over the walls, Cheng Ziang saw the enormous railway guns on the ground already in deployment status, with massive shells and long propellant packs all prepared nearby.

The extreme range of the railway guns exceeded two hundred kilometers, completely covering the western corps’ encampment.

However, since there were only a few, to enhance firepower, more than a dozen rocket launchers were also deployed.

Though in the Otherworld, the accuracy of rocket launchers was questionable, they had quantity in their favor. A barrage from dozens of rocket launchers would be enough for the western corps to handle.

Cheng Ziang took a transport plane to a position five kilometers away from the western corps and then mounted horses with the vanguard team, bringing two attendants, and galloped toward the base.

Familiar with the way, he quickly reached the base, and after a complicated reporting process, he was allowed to walk into the camp and made his way directly to Oklo Laf’s tent.

At this time, Oklo Laf was sitting in a chair, polishing an exquisite Browning pistol with silk.

Cheng Ziang burst into the tent with fury, seeing Oklo Laf’s relaxed expression made him even angrier, restraining his temper as he somberly inquired: "Commander, we had previously agreed not to enter Lipei territory lightly, so why have you gone back on your word?"

"No need to be so angry," Oklo Laf gestured with the pistol, smiling he said, "His Majesty hopes our western corps will take action, doing nothing is simply unjustifiable."

"I understand your enmity with the Church, but the Church is still our ally. I hope the Commander avoids attacking the Church’s transport units within Lipei; otherwise, we will have to take the blame."

Cheng Ziang took a deep breath, speaking with sincere tone.