CHAPTER 835: CHAPTER 835: DRAWN SWORDS AND TAUT BOWS!

Heading to Jin Galun Harbor are not only the Burning Corps and two "Overlord" transport planes.

On the billowing waves of the Poluo Sea, one can see transport ships with uniform models lined up in a long queue, advancing straight towards Jin Galun Harbor. Alongside this transport fleet is the fleet of the South Sea Union!

On the wide decks are hanging uniform digital camouflage nets, and under these nets are ferocious armored vehicles parked!

Among them, there are not only old model equipment like the ZJC-1 "Chimera" armored vehicle that earned great merit for the Alliance, but also some new equipment just recently introduced.

Like the "Model Three" Tank jointly developed by Factory No. 81 and Huge Rock Military Industry!

If the Model Two Tank still shows traces of the "truck carrying the big gun," the Model Three Tank can already be considered a true main battle tank.

Whether it’s the low body, the sloped armor turret, or the full-protection system under positive pressure, all of these have many similarities to real-world main battle tanks, yet they’re not entirely the same.

As for the main gun, it remains a 155mm, not much improved from the Model Two Tank.

Though a larger caliber means a lower ammo load, it doesn’t concern the players driving it — having enough power and strength is the true principle!

The same goes for the Model Three Tank’s Type B "Destroyer Variant," which aside from an added turret design and a "Dove" style vehicle-mounted missile launcher, incorporates more standardized components, yet the main gun remains the 60MJ railgun with a caliber of 60.

In addition to these revised old model equipment, these cargo ships also carry some brand new models.

For instance, the FK-1 "Defender" anti-air vehicle.

Previously, the Alliance’s anti-air munitions were mostly anti-air cards carrying quadruple anti-aircraft guns and simple vehicle-mounted radars, as well as players with exoskeletons carrying portable anti-air missiles.

The FK-1 "Defender" designed by North Island Heavy Industries combines both tactical concepts and mounts them on a simplified version of the "Chimera" armored vehicle shell.

However, although this vehicle shell is a simplified version, its firepower should not be underestimated.

The 20mm "Red Dot" rapid-fire cannon mounted on its top uses a design similar to the close-in weapon system of the South Sea Union destroyer, driven by an electromagnetic acceleration device and paired with North Island Heavy Industries’ designed vehicle-mounted radar and anti-air missiles.

The weight saved on armor is fully compensated for in the mass bomb ammunition rack.

This thing is like a destroyer sailing on land!

Though it has only a single tapered cannon barrel, it can instantly unleash a firepower mesh comparable to the simultaneous firing of four quadruple 20mm machine cannons!

It’s quite effective whether dealing with high-altitude fixed-wing aircraft or ultra-low-altitude quadcopter drone swarms!

Additionally, the two anti-air missiles mounted below the fire control radar are also dismantled from the destroyer, targeting supersonic jet aircraft of equivalent cost from the Corps –

Apart from those mass-produced equipment, the Corps is also equipped with some high-maintenance-cost high-tech equipment.

Objectively speaking, the South Sea Union filled in the Alliance’s gaps in cutting-edge technology, especially in microelectronics. Before this, although the Alliance had ample technological reserves, producing high-tech equipment still relied on companies’ help.

On the contrary, the Alliance did not merely extract from the South Sea Union.

The Alliance’s extensive technical reserves, especially in materials science and biology, as well as its advantages in scale in industrial, logistic, and economic fields, complemented the South Sea Union’s weaknesses in numerous areas.

Throughout this mutually beneficial cooperation process, both sides have made significant strides in various fields.

The FK-1 "Defender" is precisely a culmination of this trend! Yet it is just one among many.

Stepping outside the official forces’ leading military-industrial sphere, similar civilian cooperation is also numerous.

This close cooperative relationship involves not just the employment of hundreds of thousands of people and the profits of numerous processing plants, but it also touches on the underlying logic of human society’s functioning—division of labor and cooperation.

This unbreakably strong relationship can only be replaced by another more advanced production relationship.

You can’t build it just by throwing money, and a single battleship can’t break it.

However, the Witch Camel already misses the chance to know, and even if they knew, it’s too late.

Poor skills are not the principle, being poor and yet addicted is.

The Empire does have some wise minds, yet without exception, those who understand the truth pretend not to and work with half-baked crooks to bully clueless fools, losing all the tokens they robbed from honest people.

At first, the South Sea Union’s fishermen only sought wealth rather than life, for the Empire that little suffering was not even hardship, at best a minor itch.

Coincidentally, both seeking wealth and life corps also set eyes on this guy.

Even if the Alliance wasn’t planning on directly getting involved, it had to put its chips on the table...

Standing at the edge of the deck, Gnome King Riches blows against the incoming sea breeze, squinting his eyes and looking towards the west. After a while, he suddenly blurts out.

"...I heard brothers of the Burning Corps have all arrived?"

Elena says with a smile.

"Yeah, I saw it on the Forum."

Gnome King Riches: "Damn! Why can’t we take the plane?"

Elena gives him a subtle look.

"...Well, since our equipment is heavy, manually funny."

Meanwhile, as the two chat and laugh, Mole is staring at the map of Lowell State in the ship cabin.

This time the deployment in Poluo Province includes two Corps, one being the Burning Corps and the other the Skeleton Corps.

Putting aside the support company, maintenance company, logistics company, and guard company mainly made up of NPC soldiers, players of the Skeleton Corps are primarily in 5 battalion-level combat units.

Two of those are mechanized infantry battalions, divided into 6 companies, 18 platoons, and 54 squads. Including 2 battalion-level command vehicles and 6 company-level command vehicles, there are a total of 62 "Chimera" armored vehicles!

Meanwhile, three are armored battalions, divided into 9 companies, 27 platoons, and 81 squads. Coupled with three battalion-level command vehicles and 9 company-level command vehicles, there are a total of 93 "Model Three" tanks!

While this equipment doesn’t form a straight-line formation, on an open field, it still represents a fairly majestic steel tide.

According to the Manager’s orders, the border of Lowell State is the final red line.

If the Corps’ soldiers dare to step beyond it, they will coordinate with the Burning Corps to launch a full-scale offensive against the Corps.

However, a red line is just a reference. If the Corps genuinely launches a complete invasion of Poluo Province, they wouldn’t likely wait for the opponents to reach the red line.

After all, they’re not players or NPCs; the Manager did grant some special powers for urgent situations.

The premise being sufficient discussion with the Burning Corps.

With Brother Fang Chang here, Mole is not too worried about misjudging the situation or anything similar.

By contrast, he was more worried about the transportation conditions in the Poluo Province.

There are only a limited number of roads from Jin Galun Harbor to the capitals of Tiger State and Leopard State.

And among these roads, even fewer allow armored units to pass quickly.

"...Thankfully, the military factions of Leopard State and Tiger State spent money to build some roads. Without these roads, our tanks might not even be able to drive out of Jin Galun Harbor."

After studying for a long time, Mole cursed under his breath, throwing his pen onto the map.

The staff officer standing next to him also frowned, touching his chin and muttered thoughtfully.

"The road conditions in Poluo Province are indeed very poor... Moreover, in a few months, it will be the rainy season, and the traffic conditions along the Everflow River will likely become more severe."

Speaking of this staff officer’s identity, he was a Weilante person named Vedes.

Like Vanus, he was born from the Expeditionary Army, and even the time he joined was only a few months apart. However, his fate was not as good as Vanus’s; first, he followed Centurion Dylon to become a ’bandit,’ and later he was captured by Shelter No. 404.

However, like Vanus, he made a series of choices afterward.

After the Battle of Falling Leaves, he did not go home with other prisoners but chose to stay in the Alliance.

Considering that this time they might face the Army directly, the Alliance Army’s staff department sent him to the Skeleton Corps to serve as a frontline staff officer, responsible for providing suggestions and advice.

Mole did not doubt his loyalty much, only treating him as an ordinary NPC to communicate with.

"...That’s true. However, this might not be a bad thing for us, who specialize in defensive counterattacks. If in the end, they do push the front line to our doorstep, then it will be their logistics line that is stuck in the mud, and after that, it will be the air force’s job."

Although in this mission the Goblin Corps did not deploy systematically to the front line, only a few ’ace pilots’ piloting the Alliance’s next-generation aircraft reached the military base at Jin Galun Harbor to contest air supremacy with the Army’s advanced aircraft, this does not mean they have no air force available.

Jin Galun Port Authority procured a large number of W-3 propeller planes, forming a total of five aviation squads dedicated to tactical bombing, strategic bombing, and close ground support tasks.

These propeller planes produced by Goblin Technology have very low environmental and logistical requirements for taking off, and are extremely easy to operate. While completely not a match for supersonic aircraft in the air, they offer excellent cost efficiency and are particularly adept at ground support!

At this moment, Mole suddenly noticed his nose, then smiled and said.

"I almost forgot to mention, this time we might be dealing with your fellow countrymen. If you feel uncomfortable, you can speak up early, and I can arrange for you to go to logistics."

"There’s nothing uncomfortable about it." Vedes smiled indifferently, unconcerned, "The mistakes made by the Weilante people must be corrected by the Weilante people, just as mistakes made by the Shelter must be corrected by the Shelter’s residents. I am very clear about what I am doing... But you, aren’t you afraid of my nose?"

Mole laughed heartily.

"Then you underestimate me too much."

Just as his words fell, the phone on the command table suddenly rang.

Stopping the unrelated topic, Mole reached out and picked up the phone, his tone serious.

"This is the temporary command post of the Skeleton Corps."

A response quickly came from the other end of the phone.

"...This is the escort fleet. Jin Galun Harbor is 500 kilometers ahead of you. According to sonar and radar detection, there are no hostile ships operating in the nearby sea area. We will continue to sail according to the original route, and the remaining journey is up to you."

Mole nodded.

"Received, good luck to you."

"And to you too."

The brief communication ended, and the escort fleet led by the "Harpoon" cruiser separated from the Alliance’s transport fleet.

The latter will continue to advance towards Jin Galun Harbor on the East Coast of Poluo Province, while the former will traverse the vast sea area directly to the western region of the Poluo Sea to stand by.

Although the Alliance voted in favor of ’freezing the Sticky Community seat of the Xilan Empire,’ it did not actually abandon the survivors struggling on this land.

If these guys dared to set fire at West Sail Port today, they could recreate a new tragedy at Silver Moon Bay or even Potato Harbor tomorrow, just like what had happened in the River Valley Province.

Every early citizen of the Alliance was a survivor of that disaster.

If diplomatic means can no longer solve the problem, then what follows is the surgeon’s job.

Although the Alliance’s performance was still restrained, responding only with equal strategy to the increasing demands of the Southern Legion, its subordinates were clearly eager to fight.

For example, the Honey Badger Kingdom.

Five divisions of troops have already gathered at the border, eyeing the neighboring Falcon Kingdom vigilantly.

The last war humiliated them greatly; just after liberating the entire territory, the other side surrendered.

As for the most populous Lion Kingdom, they also mobilized the forces of three divisions.

Unlike the ’Bald Brother’ of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, the Lion Kingdom is entirely ’Buddhist.’ They, who are excessively secular, merely wish to seek pleasure and do not want to fight.

The reason is very simple. Back then, the Army had not even reached their Royal City before being pushed back by the Alliance. Thus, their hatred of the Weilante people is not as deep as that of the Honey Badger Kingdom, and their dislike is mainly because those big noses nuked an already abandoned ’miracle.’

However, having learned from the last war, they clearly no longer entertain the illusion that once the powder keg is ignited, anyone can avoid being affected.

This time they will not give the Weilante people any chance.

They will eliminate the ’risk’ before everyone’s eyes as soon as the nuclear bombs enter the eastern part of the Great Desert.

As for the Camel Hump Kingdom and the Golden Lizard Kingdom, their attitudes are likely similar to that of the Lion Kingdom.

Suddenly becoming the thorn in the side of the desert nations, the Falcon Kingdom, which is now cowering and hiding in a corner licking their wounds, is thoroughly terrified.

The nobles of the Falcon Royal Court are casting pleading glances towards the Eastern Legion, hoping that by acting so obediently, the big noses might send a few more units of ten thousand troops their way.

The industry representatives formed by the lower-level citizens, however, have secretly colluded with the Alliance, beating their chests and promising that as long as the Army dares to come, they are willing to hand over the Army’s encampments and logistical supply lines, asking only that innocent ordinary residents be spared.

It was they who helped the Alliance’s Guards Corps uncover the weapons sent to West Sail Port.

This kind of backstabbing task is what they are most familiar with, as it is implausible for nobles to drive the trucks themselves, carry boxes, load supplies, and dig trenches on the front line themselves.

They cannot fight.

And they certainly can’t fight against the Alliance; if there needs to be a fight, let the nobles do it themselves.

Since Griffin took a gamble, the entire Falcon Kingdom has lost almost an entire generation.

And as Bister Town has developed, it has attracted a massive amount of the kingdom’s labor force like a black hole, leaving the kingdom with almost only women, children, and the elderly. The remaining young adults can’t even fill a single division’s strength.

The storm center of West Sail Port is tugging at the sensitive nerves of all survivor forces on the Wasteland.

At least the survivors living around the Great Desert were more or less affected.

And just as the situation in the Poluo Province was heating up, three specially-identified teams were quietly entering the necrosing "heart" of the Empire.

Among them were the "messengers" of the Army, as well as "messengers" from the Alliance.

However, both identities need to be taken with a grain of salt, because they contain some diluted truth.

The only genuine ones were those mercenaries from the Free State.

They were indeed real mercenaries, no doubt, but unfortunately, their business skills were a bit rusty. Presumably, they outsourced to another outsource, and finally, the work ended up in the hands of some Waste Land Wanderer.

This kind of thing was not a first or second occurrence.

Anyway, the Old Soldier wasn’t sure what kind of excitement they were trying to cause in this godforsaken place; he just saw a few corpses with clear non-local features hanging at the North Gate of Tiandu.

He inquired at the gate and learned that these people claimed to be Free State mercenaries, wearing exoskeletons and holding guns that went rattling on, just like the "Iron Men" from the east.

According to the vendor selling porridge at the city gate, a battle occurred between the two sides in the street near Tiandu’s North Gate.

That battle was a real mess, even more exciting than when the Imperial Guard and the Heavenly King Army clashed.

Seeing it as worth a silver coin, the vendor vividly described the scene, chattering and turning red in the face.

With his gestures, it was as if those people blew up the entire street.

In short, nearly a hundred Heavenly King soldiers died, while only two of those mercenaries were killed.

Later, probably after running out of ammunition, those "Iron Men" began to retreat but eventually, six of them were captured.

"...They didn’t keep the captives?"

Looking at the increasingly excited vendor, the Old Soldier couldn’t resist asking.

The vendor paused, then shook his head like a rattle drum.

"No, they didn’t keep captives. The Heavenly King’s people never leave captives, quick and ruthless, killing people like slaughtering chickens."

Thinking about it, it made sense.

This bunch had already gotten bloodthirsty. How would they care whether the captured were from the Free State or the Slave State, probably never even heard of where that ghost place is.

The Old Soldier’s Adam’s apple moved as he looked at the porridge-selling vendor twice more.

"...Aren’t you afraid of getting splattered with blood doing business here where people kill like they slaughter chickens?"

The vendor chuckled, showing a bright smile on his coal-smudged face.

"You’re joking again, sir. Where isn’t it like slaughtering chickens and people here? Going to Lion State or Elephant State, would it be any better?"

The Old Soldier couldn’t resist asking further.

"Then why don’t you go... to Jinjaron Harbor? Surely it’s different there."

The vendor laughed and waved his hand.

"Oh, easy for you to say. I bet you haven’t swum in the Everflow River. Not to mention those who didn’t climb ashore, even those who did, don’t know how many drowned ghosts are hidden in the reeds."

Watching the silent customer, he sighed and continued.

"If I had no attachments, I might have ventured into that Everflow River. But I still have a family to feed; who else would feed them if I left? Whether alive or dead, those who went down the river, hardly any came back."

"Besides, I guess it may not be as good as rumored. What does Jinjaron Harbor have that West Sail Port doesn’t? Factories or piers? Those guys killing like slaughtering chickens came out from the docks and factories. If they could survive, why would they rebel, just for fun?"

He shook his head while speaking again.

"I think those ports and factories aren’t any good. Only ever see free men and tenants starve to death; never saw a slave starve to death."

At this moment, Penny, who had been silently standing behind the Old Soldier, couldn’t help but speak up.

"...Then why do you support the Heavenly King?"

The vendor was shocked by this blasphemous talk, quickly glanced around, and saw no one with an armband present, then looked at the person who had spoken.

The person wore a thick headscarf, almost covering the entire face, exposing only a pair of eyes.

Her shoulders draped with a desert-colored robe, she was wrapped tightly, completely disguising her origin, but seemed to be a woman.

Never had he seen a woman with such a figure.

The vendor sheepishly smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and scratched his soot-blackened hand at the back of his head.

"Miss, what you said... he never asked for my consent when he rebelled either."

Penny was momentarily speechless.

The Old Soldier beside her, however, couldn’t help but chuckle and pulled her along, glaring at her harshly.

’Are you crazy?!’

Penny, knowing she was at fault, lowered her head and muttered an apology softly.

Her occupational hazard had kicked in just now, and she couldn’t stop herself from blurting such words.

Once conscious again, she realized she had done something highly dangerous.

Gazing at Penny who was willingly admitting her mistake, the Old Soldier couldn’t find any words to scold her, so he simply shot her a warning glance and turned his head back.

As it happened, he had initially planned to move with that something from Distant Vision.

After all, hearing the name sounded like a team, and people with a team are definitely more reliable than those without one.

However, as luck would have it, as soon as he hooked up with those people, he bumped into Penny, the daughter of Bennott, at the port.

This spirited girl, upon hearing of his mission to Tiandu, immediately insisted on accompanying him, even willing to disguise herself as his servant.

The Old Soldier initially tried to dissuade her, but unfortunately failed completely.

He even considered knocking her out and locking her in a tent, but worried that once she woke up, her stubbornness would lead her to act alone.

People who could work as battlefield reporters were mostly those unafraid of death.

Others might just talk big for fun, but she could actually pull it off.

Rather than letting her take the risk alone, it’s better to have her with me, at least there’s some protection.

As for Centurion Bennott... blame him for betting so big.

The reporter of the Triumph Newspaper is determined to bring the truth home; he can’t just stop them.

His eyes moved between the two, and the vendor looked at the Old Soldier and asked with a laugh.

"Sir, want to have two bowls? I’ve been selling this porridge for eight years; the taste is definitely something!"

The Old Soldier watched as he stuck the hand that had just scratched the back of his head into the porridge again, his stomach twisted, and he squeezed out a sentence.

"No... I’ve already eaten at noon."

He believed the taste was definitely unique.

After all, the oil added in could stir-fry another dish...

Throwing a few more silver coins onto the stall, the Old Soldier didn’t dare to linger, grabbed Penny’s hand, and hurried away, deliberately weaving through several alleyways before hiding back at the inn.

Just as he expected, shortly after he left, the vendor immediately reported their activities to the patrol at the city gate.

However, interestingly enough, the patrolling city guards didn’t listen to the vendor’s explanation; upon hearing about the silver coins, their eyes turned greedy.

A few men with clubs beat the vendor up, and indeed found several coins on him.

Now caught red-handed, although they didn’t catch the mastermind, he couldn’t escape the label of a spy.

The guards gave the vendor a good beating, making him pale and not daring to bring up the previous matters. Only then did they lightly let him go, pocketing the coins as they swaggered away with their clubs.

Joking aside, they are the ones managing this area; how could they not know things have been unstable lately?

Just a few days ago, some Free State mercenaries appeared, reportedly to catch those six unlucky guys, costing the Heaven King Army over a hundred brothers.

He only has one head, so, of course, he’d pick the weakest target to bully, not looking for trouble for himself...

...

Outside the city, at the inn.

Watching the Pangolin close the door and go to the window to look outside, Penny, sitting on the bed, took off her stifling headscarf and asked in a low voice, seeing his tense expression.

"Why don’t we just come clean about our identities? Just tell them... we are envoys of the Legion."

The Old Soldier casually replied.

"Even your father doesn’t dare to send a Weilante envoy over; can’t you guess why?"

If they weren’t directed by someone, how would they dare to massacre the entire port, leaving no prisoners?

In other words, since they were directed by someone, what difference would it make to kill one more envoy?

Having cross-verified information on the forum, he was now basically sure that Absek was the Southern Legion’s interest representative, and Anush was the scapegoat pushed to the front.

Once the Southern Legion is fully prepared, they will march to Tiandu to eliminate the Heaven King Army.

Then, Absek and the like would just need to switch allegiance.

Whether they call themselves Poluo Legion or something else, as long as they cut ties with the Anush Empire, even if they turn on them at a crucial moment, the Southern Legion will hand over the Empire to them, much like "a shell change" going public... at least that’s what Absek and his group thought.

However, this scapegoat called Anush was clearly unwilling to die like this, and might have already sensed some internal traitor wanting to jump ship, so he had to bind them tightly to his chariot with more insane methods.

As for the betrayal, they could settle that after the civil war was over.

Absek probably wouldn’t mind negotiating with the envoys of Triumph City, but Anush would not leave his subordinates a way out.

Thus, the Old Soldier made an agreement with his far-sighted brothers.

They would first contact Anush, while his side went to negotiate with Absek.

There is no future in cooperating with the Southern Legion; letting the wolf in isn’t called "saving the country by a curve," this hungry wolf would swallow them whole.

And everyone nearby as well.

If they could convince Absek, it would be for the best; if not, they would have to come up with another plan.

In any case, after everything was over, he would provide the relevant clues to Penny.

As for whether the Triumph Newspaper would publish the entire course of events, that he couldn’t say.

After hearing Pangolin’s retort, Penny was silent for a long time, thinking about something completely different from him.

"...So he sent you here?"

The Old Soldier paused, then simply said.

"Exactly, although I am from the Legion, I’m not a Weilante. If the Heaven King Army troubles me, I can pretend to be from the Alliance to get through."

"..." Penny, biting her lip, had a complex expression.

Seeing her indescribable expression, the Old Soldier softened his tone.

"If you’re feeling sorry for me, there’s no need. This is part of my work—"

"I’m worried about you!" Penny glared at him, showing a trace of sadness in her eyes.

She couldn’t quite explain why; she just had a bad feeling.

It’s because these people, over and over, use others as a price, getting outsiders to take on the responsibilities and duties that should have been borne by the Weilante themselves, leading to the current state of affairs.

Her father never reflected on it... that person was just regretting his lost bet, never considering making up for his mistakes.

Then you shouldn’t have followed me, adding difficulty to my mission...

Looking at the sorrowful Penny, the Old Soldier didn’t know what strange thoughts she was having, just inwardly commented.

Just as he was about to say something, a gentle knock came from outside the room.

"...Excuse me, is this Mr. Pangolin’s room?"