CHAPTER 847: CHAPTER 847: THE LOYAL DIE FIRST

"Rebels... Rebels... They’re all damn rebels! Aaaaaah!!!"

On the border between Horse State and Mammoth State, crooked trenches outlined a chaotic battlefield.

Thunder rolled through the pouring rain, extinguishing the slowly burning smoke on the dry grass, muffling the wails of the injured soldiers in the trenches.

Standing outside the military tent on the frontline, General Arai Yang looked up at the sky, pounding his chest with his right fist.

The muffled sound did not reveal whether it was crying or laughing, yet it was strangely similar to that of the captain of the Forbidden Army guarding the gates of the Imperial Palace.

It’s hateful...

It’s despicable!

Unwillingness filled Arai Yang’s heart.

He had the skills for war and should have had a grand stage on the battlefield, yet he never expected to fall into such a predicament.

Mid-March.

Nearly two months had passed since the fall of Tiandu.

In just two short months, Tiandu had changed hands twice, and the West Winds had lost almost all of its territory.

The frontline was no different.

After nearly half a year of fierce fighting, the Grey Wolf Army was pushed back to the initial state boundary.

By the end of last year, they could still fight back and forth with Laxi’s people, and during the New Year, they even won several battles thanks to tanks provided by the Army.

However, those rebels seemed endless.

One group would fall, and another would surge forward, tearing into his Grey Wolves in the quagmire.

The more they fought, the stronger they became. Initially just a motley crew, now they even used exoskeletons and planes.

In contrast, his Grey Wolf Army grew more fatigued, to the point that even logistics could not keep up.

Especially as the northern part of Poluo Province entered the rainy season.

A sudden heavy rain, already putting his logistics in difficulty, added insult to injury.

The armored units, acting as the spearhead, were stuck in the mud with no time to retreat, faced with the encirclement and divide tactics of the Resistance, and the Mosquito Attack Jets roaring in the sky, they were forced to surrender in formations.

Now the entire Grey Wolf Army had only thirty thousand men left, lacking ammunition and short of food and clothing, an extreme state of despair.

Due to a previous scorched earth policy, there wasn’t a village within a hundred miles, making it difficult to even borrow food from locals.

Discontent brewed within the Grey Wolf Army.

No one wanted to continue fighting, nor was there any point in continuing to fight...

The West Winds was already gone.

The signs of the end had come slowly, but when the great building truly collapsed, it happened faster than anyone could have anticipated.

Just months ago, people comforted themselves that a dying camel was still bigger than a horse. Yet in just a few months, even in the entire Poluo Province, there weren’t many who even remembered it.

Including his most loyal subordinates.

It’s been heard that Absek is a member of the Wolf clan, and since their homeland Wolf State had been liberated, they even considered pledging allegiance to Poluo Country.

"General... we can’t fight anymore, our logistics are cut off."

Watching the general who was wailing in the rain, Staff Officer Gopal knelt on the ground, ignoring the rainwater swallowed into his throat, looking up helplessly at him.

"If we turn south now and take Horse State... perhaps we could preserve the last breath of the West Winds. Once the Tiger Army moves north and takes Horse State, we won’t have any chance left!"

In truth, this was the worst course of action.

The best option was to surrender to the Mammoth Nation, the middle option to surrender to the Tiger Army, and the worst to surrender to Poluo Country.

Yet facing the impenetrable Arai Yang, he couldn’t articulate those real solutions.

Gopal truly believed now.

This guy was a true loyalist!

They had countless opportunities to become independent, yet he abandoned none.

His name would have a place in the history of Poluo Province...

But why...

Did he have to be my general!

Gopal was so anxious he almost had a heart attack.

"Shut up!!!"

Arai Yang suddenly roared, interrupting those treasonous words.

The roar was like a thunderclap, startling Gopal almost into collapsing onto the ground.

Hatred was thickly etched across his face, and Arai Yang wished he could chew up the raindrops on his lips.

"Do you think I’m Laxi... that treacherous dog? I am Arai Yang! I am the Empire’s War God!"

Gopal looked at him despairingly, his lips trembling.

"But the Empire... the Empire has already..."

The words "fallen" drowned in the rain.

His own heart was also full of reluctance.

If only they could fight a dignified battle, but until now, they kept losing at the hands of their own.

Starting from Jinjaron Harbor.

If Prince Dilip weren’t such an imbecile, stuck in the city and getting dizzy from being battered by that Laxi, even if they suffered some losses at the hands of those uncouth people, they wouldn’t have been driven to swim in the Everflow River.

It was the disgrace of his life.

And the shame of the entire Grey Wolf Army.

Arai Yang knew what his staff officer still wanted to say, but he simply didn’t want to listen.

After a long while, as if he had come to a realization, he suddenly gave a long sigh.

"You go."

"I..." Gopal was stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Arai Yang was silent for a moment, continuing to speak at a calm pace.

"Whether you go north or south, I won’t stop you. With your talents, being a general is a bit difficult, but working as a staff officer shouldn’t be a problem."

He looked toward the distant trenches, as if speaking to Gopal, or perhaps to himself.

"You’ve been with me so long, betting all you’ve got, just for some fame, to return home in glory. But now that fame is gone, and many brothers are left disabled, forced to rebel... I can’t keep you with a clear conscience."

"Take the remaining men and leave."

In the torrential rain, it was silent, with only the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the ground.

Gopal’s eyes widened, staring in disbelief at his general’s back, unable to find words for a while.

He guessed what he was about to do, but didn’t know how to stop him.

And just at that moment, Arai Yang shouted once more.

"Get out!!"

"Yes!"

Gopal shouted hoarsely as he accepted the order, gritting his teeth and crawling up from the muddy land, turning his head with every step, staggering toward the military camp.

The rain blurred his vision.

It also blurred Arai Yang.

"Clatter——"

The rain fell even harder.

Everywhere roared with the sound of wind and thunder, as if it were the apocalypse two hundred years ago, seemingly about to swallow the whole world.

He didn’t know how long he stood in the rain.

In a daze, Arai Yang’s vision pierced through the rain curtains and saw many human figures.

Those people stood silently outside the trenches, on the ruins of the rain-fog-covered village, just watching him in silence.

Arai Yang widened his eyes, but those people disappeared again, until the rain blurred his vision once more, and then he saw them again.

At this moment, he suddenly recalled who those people were.

They were the wronged souls who died on the state’s border...

They came to claim their lives.

From him.

And from the empire he guarded.

"Hahaha!"

Arai Yang suddenly laughed.

He leaned back, laughing wildly for a long time, then suddenly drew the pistol from his waist.

So there really are ghosts in this world...

He used to think it was just a joke.

"I curse you..."

Arai Yang’s face contorted, unlocking the safety, pressing it against his own jaw.

"Laxi..."

"And all of you... all the treacherous ministers and rebels... none of you will die a good death!"

"Even if I become a vengeful spirit, even if I never reincarnate... I will pull you down into hell!"

"I’ll be waiting for you there! Waiting for you to come down to accompany me! I’ll have one more real battle with you!!!"

Suddenly, a rolling thunder roared from the sky.

As if decreed by heaven, Arai Yang let out his final roar and then forcefully pulled the trigger, marking the final stroke of "loyalty."

"Bang——!"

The flash of fire, he crashed to the ground.

In the last moment before his consciousness fell into the abyss, he vaguely recalled that a certain Ten Thousand Leader under his command had died just like this.

At that time, he only felt pity; that person didn’t need to die after all, but now thinking about it, it seemed it was he who couldn’t see clearly.

Long, long ago, his legs had already been buried in the red soil, just couldn’t be laid to rest for a long time.

Perhaps, he should have died long ago...

...

The torrential rain fell for five days and nights, only slightly ceasing on the morning of the sixth day.

However, this year’s Mammoth State was unlike previous years; although the Tasang River flooded for a while, it didn’t turn the entire southeastern part of the state into a swamp.

Laxi was a man who honored his debts.

Though he blamed the dead for the riverbank bombing, he cleaned up the mess nonetheless.

Since the implementation of the labor export policy, the Mammoth State Authority had used cement bought from West Sail Port to build a larger dam on the Tasang River, equipped with generators, and planned a specialized flood reservoir zone following the advice of Alliance hydrological and geological experts.

The original riverbanks were private properties of the nobles, but now this dam would serve everyone in Mammoth State.

Furthermore, the authorities extended irrigation channels from the lands owned by the nobles to various villages accommodating displaced people.

Even though the elders of the Moon Clan Resistance Army didn’t like his style, they had to admit that this guy was indeed capable in some sense.

He was tackling specific problems with specific methods...

In the military camp.

Sawa, the captain of the assault team, lifted the tent flap and walked into the camp, looked at Laxi who was gazing at the map, and reported.

"The Grey Wolf Army has retreated."

Laxi was not surprised at all.

Had the rain not lasted so long, the five divisions he deployed at the border might have already surrounded the other side.

"Where did they go?"

Sawa said in a low voice.

"They went south..."

Southward...

They actually went southward.

Laxi was dazed for a while, feeling a sudden pang of melancholy, it seemed Arai Yang indeed despised him greatly.

Heading south was the worst of plans.

Whether joining the Tiger Army or establishing autonomy in the Horse State, there was no future, perhaps not even as good as going west to try betting on Absek’s tolerance and magnanimity.

Tiger State faces the sea on one side, while three sides are strong neighbors, leaving no room to open strategic space.

The location determined that no matter how big the local military factions grow, they can only become mountain lords, and two tigers can’t share one mountain.

If he were in Arai Yang’s position, he would surely head north to join himself, only he would employ him heavily.

After all, the Moon Clan Resistance Army was not a monolithic entity, even from a balancing point of view, it would be beneficial to take him in.

Seeing Laxi’s melancholy gaze, Sawa continued in a deep voice.

"Moreover, we captured several deserters from the Grey Wolf Army at the border; according to them... their general is dead."

"Dead?! Arai Yang?" Laxi stared bewilderedly at him, stepped forward to grasp his shoulders, "How could it be?! How did he die?!"

Looking at the anxious face of his superior, Sawa let out a bitter smile, shook his head, and said.

"...I don’t know, I just heard it was suicide."

Laxi released his shoulder, his eyes vacant, standing dumbfounded for quite a while.

A moment later, he finally seemed to come back to his senses and said to his subordinates.

"Spread the word, Arai Yang died in the bombing. We won this battle."

"That guy wasn’t good, but he was a respectable opponent... Half-mast for him."

Suicide is too disgraceful.

That guy shouldn’t have had such an ending.

After all, he had been his opponent for more than half a year. He wanted to give him a bit of face back.

Shava didn’t ask much, just nodded.

"Yes."

...

"...Extra! Extra! Mosquito Attack Jet shows its might! Empire’s War God dies! Gray Wolf Army flees!"

"West Winds is finished!"

On the streets of Jinga Lun Port, a newsboy with a satchel on his shoulder roamed the streets, shouting, and passersby fished out four-gallon coins to buy a hot-off-the-press newspaper from his hands.

Seeing the news printed on extra papers, the crowd on the street immediately started talking in astonished whispers.

"Arai Yang actually died?!"

"And by a plane bombing!"

"Damn, that guy should have died long ago!"

"I wonder if Witch Camel might be so mad they’ll die to accompany him."

"Hahaha!"

The street was full of noisy banter; they couldn’t find a single person shedding tears for the Empire.

Just a dozen kilometers away on the Everflow River, a man bedridden with illness furiously hurled the newspaper in his hand to the ground.

"Ungrateful wretch!"

Witch Camel cursed, his eyes bulging like a goldfish, and suddenly started coughing.

The eunuchs beside him were startled and rushed to him. Some felt his pulse, some held a towel intending to wipe his sweat, but they were pushed away by Witch Camel.

"Get out!"

That voice was like thunder, scaring the eunuchs to kneel on the ground, retreating to the side on their knees.

Hearing the sounds from the "Sleeping palace," Prince Dilip walked in from outside, just in time to see the newspaper on the ground.

He instinctively wanted to bend down to pick it up, but upon seeing the headline, he sensibly retracted his hand.

[Akbar Xilan arrives at West Sail Port! Meeting with Southern Legion Three Star Ten Thousand Leader Guryang, discussing establishing a new West Winds royal court in the Northern Three States.]

Such a splendid new establishment.

They aren’t even bothering to pretend anymore.

Prince Dilip sighed lightly in his heart and walked to Witch Camel’s bedside.

"Your Majesty... You should listen to the doctor’s advice, watch less news, and don’t harm your health."

Since the last time he fainted, Witch Camel’s health had been declining by the day, and now he couldn’t even get out of bed.

Looking at Prince Dilip’s concerned gaze, Witch Camel suddenly grinned, propping himself up on the bed with his elbow, sitting slightly upright.

"Dilip... Do you know why I didn’t take you eastwards back then?"

Why else, because the Royal Army was to the west...

Prince Dilip lamented silently, inwardly sour that His Majesty truly hurt his brain, yet he dared not say anything aloud, keeping his head low.

"Your Majesty... Please pardon my ignorance, I don’t know."

A hint of rosy color appeared on Witch Camel’s face, and the corners of his mouth curled into a light smile.

"We and the Army are actually both colonizers, only our targets are different... so we are natural allies. It’s not determined by geography, but by something more essential."

"Yet it is precisely because we are both colonizers, we can only enjoy fortune together, not share hardship... Once we fall into hardship, they will mercilessly sink their teeth into us."

Many things cannot be known when in the midst but are clear from the outside.

It was only after leaving Tiandu that he realized a few things.

Those old nobles cheering ’His Majesty is wise’ didn’t genuinely think he was wise.

Those watching from the riverside genuinely regarded him as a monkey to watch.

Previously, he lamented that he was surrounded by fools, thinking there were few usable personnel in the entire Poluo Province, only to be awakened from the dream upon arriving at Jin Galun Port.

It wasn’t that Poluo Province lacked usable people, but those truly capable weren’t willing to work for him, and his tolerance couldn’t accommodate them; thus, naturally over time, only real fools and cleverly pretending ones remained around him.

Perhaps he really should have died earlier.

Witch Camel sighed long and hard, suddenly feeling sorry for those ministers who suffered with him.

They had it tough...

"Dilip, what I regret most now is sending Akbar to the north... Back then, I only thought I shouldn’t put all the eggs in one basket, leaving a trace of bloodline for the West Winds royal court, not realizing it caused all survivors in Poluo Province to suffer."

"That wretched child can’t see clearly... The Weilante People are wolves in human skin. But I can’t blame him, I taught him personally, yet I myself wasn’t clear-headed, only realizing it at the end."

Prince Dilip hastily raised his head, but Witch Camel’s darkened forehead startled him.

"What are you saying... Your Majesty, what’s with saying at the end?! We still have three armies, as long as they convene at Jin Galun Port, reclaiming West Winds is only a matter of time—"

"Gone," Witch Camel waved his hand, coughed, and forced a wine-red hue on his face, smiling dryly, "Yesterday I had a dream, guess who I saw? It was that Arai Yang rascal... Haha, the guy was kneeling outside my door. I called him in to talk, but he got up and left."

Sweat began to form on Prince Dilip’s forehead.

He had indeed heard some rumors, but he didn’t expect these rumors to reach His Majesty’s ears so quickly.

Who brought these messages to His Majesty’s side?!

Not just the entire Empire, couldn’t they even control those around themselves?!

Prince Dilip broke out in a cold sweat, but Witch Camel was indifferent, lamenting to himself.

"I let him down, and let down the soldiers of the Gray Wolf Army... They were all loyal lads, and the most loyal lads in the whole Empire. The incapable one is I, not them."

Prince Dilip knelt on the ground, pressing his forehead tightly against the floor, pleading desperately.

"Your Majesty... Please don’t say more, your health..."

Now, neither saying anything nor doing anything would help; knowing too much is worse than knowing nothing; staying alive is the most crucial thing.

Now that the muddle-headed crown prince has gone to West Sail Port, if anything happens to His Majesty, it won’t be as simple as establishing a new court; the Empire’s rightful claim would indeed fall into the hands of the Army!

Nevertheless, Witch Camel didn’t heed to his dissuasion, continuing to speak on his own.

"No! I must say... My body can no longer bear it; unless I finish my words, I won’t find peace..."

As he spoke, he coughed twice, and this time a trace of blood came up.

The nearest eunuch saw the blood, turned pale, crawled up from the floor, and hurriedly grabbed a pill from the tray on the bedside table.

"Your Majesty, take your medicine..."

"Get out!"

Witch Camel roared, pushing him over, and sat up as if revived.

"I don’t want medicine!"

This medicine he took every day but never felt better; in fact, his condition only worsened.

Even if he were foolish, he still sensed something — someone wanted him dead.

That person wasn’t the Alliance.

Nor was it Jinjaron Harbor.

Not even Laxi, who hated him, or those dissenting warlords.

Witch Camel glared with bulging eyes at Dilip, who was fearfully kneeling, as if these matters had exhausted all his strength.

He extended a trembling index finger, pointing at his brother, and with his dying breath, spoke his last words.

"I, the Emperor of West Winds..."

"I wish to pass the throne to..."

Yet, cruel fate intervened, perhaps due to too many injustices.

Witch Camel, mouth agape, nearly uttered Dilip’s name, but at this last moment, he exhaled his final breath.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!! Why are you all kneeling there? Get up quickly and save him!"

Seeing his brother fall on the bed, Dilip cried his heart out, hysterically shouting, urging the flustered eunuchs to action.

He had no desire to become emperor.

He only wanted Witch Camel to wake up and take back this heavy burden.

Tears filled the room.

The eunuchs scrambled to lift the emperor, stuffing pills into his mouth, giving him water to drink, only to find he had taken his last breath.

"Your Majesty!"

"Wake up, Your Majesty!"

"Wooo... aahhh!!"

The mournful cries filled the entire room, not only from Prince Dilip but almost everyone cried out, tears streaming down their faces.

Except for one person.

A young palace maid.

Eighteen years old, she was blessed with beauty and grace, resembling a midsummer lotus.

Born into a minor noble family in Jinjaron Harbor, she lived a pampered life, much like the men and women described in "The Story After the Storm".

Later, when Governor Nihak was imprisoned, her family fell into decline, and as the second daughter, she too had to step into the public eye to make a living, working at a theater in the port district.

Adaptable by nature, she had seen the prosperity of the new era and didn’t miss the prestige of the old days.

Money was all she needed.

As long as she had money, she could live better than before, even more like a noble than her father, who begged on the royal merchant ship with tears streaming down his face.

Just two months ago, her distant uncle found her, asking her to do something.

He promised her a huge sum of money upon success, more than she could ever earn in her lifetime.

She agreed without hesitation.

With her uncle’s help, she joined the troupe on this ship to perform, effortlessly catching Witch Camel’s eye during a banquet and entering the palace.

Her task was simple: switch Witch Camel’s prescribed medicine with sugar pills and occasionally mention matters about Jinjaron Harbor beside him.

No need to overly praise, just make him realize how much of a failure he was as emperor.

Outside the cabin, she pulled a bottle of sugar pills from her sleeve, dumping them all into the river, watching them vanish in the undulating waters.

She didn’t care whether they were sugar pills or poison; these things no longer mattered.

The useless old man was long since rooted in Red Soil, whether he died sooner or later made no difference, not even if someone gave him a push.

In fact, he should thank her for sparing him from being a defeated king.

Tucking a small earring onto her crystalline earlobe, her red lips curled into a faint smile.

"Uncle."

"That man is dead; can you finally tell me the password to that card?"

The rushing river buried the last of the plots.

While the empire’s old ministers were still in mourning, a telegram, after various twists and turns, finally reached West Sail Port.

The military camp’s command center.

Holding the telegram presented by his trusted aide, General Giulion finally cracked a smile.

Since the trial half a month ago, he hadn’t had much good news, but now at last, something worth a genuine smile had occurred.

"Very good!"

Leaving those words, he slapped the telegram on the command table, then moved to the map.

Studying the strategic arrangements on the map for a long while, he turned to his aide and ordered.

"Terminate ’Migrant Birds’ plan, initiate ’Cuckoo’ plan, have Akbar prepare to ascend the throne and inherit Witch Camel’s position as emperor immediately."

"Also, issue an ultimatum to the Mammoth State Authority, demanding they immediately withdraw troops from the Northern Three States and return them to West Winds’ new king, Prince Akbar! The Army will not abandon its allies; if these rebels do not comply, we will avenge Arai Yang!"

"Additionally, send a telegram to Poluo Country in West Winds’ court’s name, requesting military passage rights. If they refuse, we cannot guarantee their absolute safety."

His aide saluted upon hearing this.

"Yes!"

Watching his aide leave the tent, General Giulion returned his gaze to the map, segmented into pieces by strategic lines, with a joyful smile.

Currently, the Northern Three States were under Mammoth Nation’s control, with around five divisions deployed on Dog State’s border, primarily light infantry and artillery.

Three ten-thousand troop units could break through there.

Once Dog State was captured, he could start the second stage of the offensive—from both the west and north—attacking the heart of Poluo Country, Tiandu in Ox State.

All preparations were ready, just waiting for a shot to be fired.

He had planned for this day for a long time.

The show was finally about to begin!