Chapter 815 - Broken Promises
As soon as King Rob announced his orders, the system released a game-wide announcement. This expedition was now an event that players could participate in. Not to mention the fact that players could earn achievement points and rewards from the event——
“Ding!”
System Notification: Players, please note, the SSS Tier Main Military Quest [Tian Ling City Expedition] has now been announced. Tomorrow at 12 o’clock, noon, the Tian Ling City armies — the Flame Dragon Army and the Royal Army will set out for the Revered One’s Territory by passing through Dragon City. Any player can participate to earn rewards and achievement points. The top three players will have the chance to obtain a Deity and Country Tier reward. Additionally, if the expedition is successful, all players will receive two times the amount of the original rewards!
……
As I walked out of the palace, I opened up the [Zhan Long] core officer chat and said, “There’s an event tomorrow that all of [Zhan Long] will participate in. I am going after Luo Lin!”
Dancing Forest: “Well, well, is the battle for revenge finally here?”
Qing Qian smiled and said: “That’s right, that’s right, it’s a battle of revenge!”
Wan Er stared into my face for a long moment before saying, “Pig, why are the NPC armies releasing your Royal Army and the Flame Dragon Army? You must’ve offended someone high up in the empire…”
I chuckled, “Something like that… That’s why I’m having my doubts about this expedition. So, I hope that all of [Zhan Long]’s players will attend. Otherwise, if we leave it solely to the Royal Army, I’m afraid that Crown Prince Theodore won’t provide very much support…”
Li Mu grinned, “Don’t worry, I expect most of our core players will participate regardless. Even if every last one of us were to lose a level, we won’t allow the Royal Army to be decimated!”
“Alright, let’s get to preparations. We’ll set out tomorrow at noon!”
“OK!”
……
I sent a few messages to Wan Er, urging her to go to bed early. It was already very late in the night. She retorted back, saying I needed to sleep as well. While I had agreed, I knew that it would take at least an hour for me to finish all of my preparations before I could go to bed. There were just too many tasks I needed to complete with the Royal Army first. Who knows when I’d be able to log off.
Outside the city were countless wooden pillars erected in the dirt. All the Dragonling prisoners were hung at the stake. They struggled futilely before slowly releasing their last breath of air.
I walked out into the town with Xia Ye, Long Xing, and the other generals behind me. One of the Dragonling lieutenants recognized me. As he grabbed and scratched at the rope around his neck, he cursed at me, “Li Xiao Yao, you said before that if we surrendered, you would spare us. Why? Why… why are you killing us now? Just what have we done wrong? Did we put our faith in the wrong man? Li Xiao Yao, you’ve gone back on your word. I curse you. Just you wait! You will live the rest of your life in misery!”
“Shut up!” Long Xing spun around and glared into the lieutenant’s eyes, “Did you think that our commander didn’t fight for you guys? Contrary to what you might think, he does not make the decisions in this city. Besides, have you Dragonling soldiers not killed your fair share of villagers? Do you not think you deserve this punishment? Go peacefully, and stop your wretched whining from dirtying our ears!”
The lieutenant’s eyes burned and he cursed, “You’re going back on your word. You deserve a punishment worse than death.”
Long Xing turned around without another word. He walked over to his horse and pulled out a bow. “Shua!” The arrow shot through the air, piercing the lieutenant's throat straight through. Blood gurgled up his throat. He couldn’t even make a sound.
One of the executioners was furious, “What right do you have to kill a death row prisoner? You… how can a deputy general be so lawless?”
Long Xing coldly replied, “What are you going to do, kill me?”
The executioner glared at him and then turned away, mumbling under his breath, “These unreasonable soldiers. They should just go and get cut into pieces by the Hybrid Demons!”
Han Yuan raised his blade and said, “What did you say?”
The executioner flinched.
I lowered my voice and gave a curt order, “Han Yuan, don’t say anything anymore. We’re going back to the fort!”
I reigned in my Flying Scythe Horse and walked away in silence. Xia Ye followed up behind me and angrily vented, “General, I know you feel bad. But… but, there’s no need for us to regret any of our actions. Everything our Royal Army has done has been watched and judged by the heavens. A hundred years from now, our posterity will make their judgments. Don’t think too much about the prisoner’s words.”
I nodded in response, but I could still feel the frustration in my heart. However, I did feel some comfort. Long Xing, Xia Ye, Xiao Lie, and Han Yuan have finally become a powerful fist altogether. This kind of Royal Army will eventually develop into a fearsome force, one strong enough to awe all of Tian Ling City, and maybe even the continent!
……
After I returned to the Royal Army garrison, I went straight to the Central Tent. Long Xing proceeded to ask, “Commander, the 81 ships that we recovered from the Dragonling Empire and the four we originally had total up to 85 ships. They’re all docked beside the Royal Army shipyard. But our expedition to the Hybrid Demon Territory is over land. There’s no way we can bring them along. What should we do with them?”
I thought about it for a long time, “Leave a thousand men behind to guard our campgrounds and then another thousand for the docks. The rest of the men will set out in this expedition, I think it will be much more terrifying than we imagine.”
Han Yuan said, “General, what makes you say that?”
I wryly smiled, “When we were at the Sea of No Return and Deer Lake, we killed quite a few of the Hybrid Demons and we even dealt with two of the Hybrid Demon Kings. But… Han Lin is the Sea Demon King and was already an outcast from their army. On the other hand, Blood Giant Kehl is the King of Giants, a musclehead without any brains. In other words, those two were the weakest Kings of them all. Luo Lin, who’s ranked 15th, has both brains and power. Then there’s Ignaus, Lanais, and Xi Fu, whose powers we can’t even imagine. Their armies are well maintained and undamaged. It’s already arrogant for Tian Ling City to try and take them on over land. Based on the intellect of Lanais, Xi Fu, and Luo Lin, they must have already thought that we would take the initiative to invade their territory. We have very few ships, so it’s very unlikely for us to go out to fight over the Sea of No Return. The only other path we’ll take is over Dragon City, and the only other route to take is through the Revered One’s Territory. If I were one the Demon Kings, I would deploy my troops to the borders and ambush the oncoming Tian Ling City troops. In other words, both sides will have readied tens of thousands of men and soldiers. We might as well be going to die!”
“This….”
Han Ling took a deep breath and his face became pale, “If that is the case, then why doesn’t General make that clear with his majesty? Why must our army take this risk?”
I let out a bitter laugh, “Your majesty’s heart was set. Why would he listen to the words of a small General of the South? Besides, Louis’ words had already created a false image of victory for his majesty. That is something that his majesty has dreamt of for decades. We can no longer sway his decision.”
Long Xing pounded his fist into the sand table and said, “D*mned Louis, that b*st*rd should be cut down by a thousand blades! My lord, after this battle, we should take the first chance to kill Louis off!”
I smiled back, “Let’s wait and see. He is a commander after all. Killing a general of the empire isn’t a small matter. Besides, Louis is incredibly good at kissing *ss. He deeply understands everything his majesty likes. We, on the other hand, are just military men. There’s no need for us to think so much about this. Let’s just win this battle first! That’s right, have the hundred cannons and the fifty Dragon Crystal Cannons arrived yet?”
“We still have to wait for a while before then.” Xia Ye replied.
I turned around and said, “General Xia Ye, send two thousand of your soldiers and have them escort the new military equipment. Afterwards, bring all the large-scale weapons in the Royal Army to Dragon City. When we set out for battle, those will be in the front. If we can’t match the Hybrid Demons in terms of power, then we’ll at least make the most out of these heavy cannons. Also, we won’t be resting for the next two days. Tighten up the training sessions. This way, less people will die in the upcoming battle.
Xia Ye nodded with a smile, “Roger!”
……
I roamed the Royal Army grounds for a long time before going to Dragon’s Den. As before, Dragon’s Den was recruiting Cliff Dragon Knights. I tried deploying them out, but I ended up receiving a notification that they were only permitted to go 2,000 yards outside the territory. Any further and I would lose control over them. This was also a type of fairness control. Otherwise, if I could bring along NPCs like the Cliff Dragon Knights who had 120% of my stats to other battles, the players and guilds would probably cry their hearts out.
I continued all the way until three in the morning. When I logged off, I knew I needed to get a good rest. Once we reach the expedition, it was probably going to be at least 25 straight hours of battle.
After I took off the helmet, I ate a quick snack and went straight to bed.
A lot of different people appeared in my dreams. They seemed to be players from the game. I saw flashes of Louis’ arrogant grin. The scenery immediately shifted, showing me Long Xing and Han Yuan’s bloody corpses on the ground. I screamed and ran over to them, only to see Theodore, Owen, Pearl and King Rob all lying in a pool of blood. It was as though my dream was a mirror of my greatest fears. When my eyes finally opened, it was eleven in the morning. Everything was a dream. There was still time for me to change the ending.
……
I took a quick shower and by the time I walked out, I saw that Dong Cheng and Wan Er were already waiting for me. Tang Qi and Dong Cheng Lei were also there. Dong Cheng Lei had even brought a bunch of snacks for Dong Cheng and Wan Er. That b*st*rd spoils his little sister too much. She sweetly gave her brother a shoulder massage and said, “Brother, I want the pink Chanel bag, the newest style. Could you help me buy one from your friend?”
Dong Cheng Lei didn’t even ask how much it was and smiled, “Alright, I’ll ask when I go home this afternoon. Afterwards, I’ll have it be shipped here.”
“Thank you!”
Dong Cheng hugged her brother with a grin, “Brother is the best!”
I sat down at the dining table and said, “There’s only half an hour before the event begins, what should we eat?”
Wan Er smiled, “We’ve already ordered take out. The delivery should be here soon!”
“Alright~”
A few minutes later, a Vespa drove up our driveway and a young delivery man walked up to our front door with breakfast. It wasn’t a feast, but everyone gathered around the table and we happily talked as we ate. After the quick breakfast, we all logged on. This expedition for other players was just a chance to gain some rewards, but for me, it was a life and death battle for the Royal Army!