Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 470 The Trade Hunter's Bountiful Harvest

The battlefield that has lasted for three years in the summer has gradually taken a confusing turn since the beginning of summer.

On the northern front, amidst the fog and mist, the battle quickly descended into chaos.

Dimo is indeed a good leader. Based on his trust in Oscar, a veteran lieutenant, he made the decision immediately to join forces!

Strictly speaking, this violated the basic tactical plan of the Green Pine Kingdom, but Dimo ​​knew very well that in the end, everything would still depend on fists.

In this starry world, strong individual combat power or a powerful group of troops is the most reliable reliance.

When his father, Zircon Monroe, was alive, he was incredibly powerful, possessing formidable military strength and a loyal knightly order. He expanded his territory and rose to the rank of second-class marquis, holding a pivotal position in the kingdom. His Majesty the King and various ministers treated him with great respect.

When his father died in battle and his elder brother Hysen succeeded him, although Zircon Territory still possessed a vast territory and considerable military strength, its high-end military power had been diminished, and Hysen himself had limited abilities. The kingdom took the opportunity to ennoble Hysen as a first-class earl.

For Heisenberg himself, it was a "promotion," but for the position of Zircon Lord, it was equivalent to a demotion of two ranks.

When Hysen was defeated, the Green Pine Kingdom did not consult with the family at all, but pulled out an obedient little brat from the Zircon family and put him in the position of the temporary lord of Zircon.

Using the pretext that Hysen's whereabouts were unknown, the current lord's title was not adjusted for the time being, and he was merely kept as an insignificant viscount.

Dimo has a clear vision of the future of Zircon Territory.

If the battle with the Vast Ocean is lost, the people of Zircon Territory will be the perfect scapegoats. The kingdom will pin all the blame for the chaos, the defeat, and the shame of lost territory on them, punishing them internally to appease the nobles and handing them over to the Vast Ocean as a scapegoat.

Even if the kingdom wins, or the two sides fight to a draw, Zircon Territory is very likely to be broken up into several small viscount territories, or even baronies, and gradually become a lower-class noble territory.

At that time, one's talent and intelligence will turn from an advantage into a glaring flaw, leading to either becoming someone's lackey or dying a violent death.

Now, Dimo ​​saw a special opportunity, a chance to turn the tide.

In a very short time, he gathered the team his father had left him together, and then he made a decision that surprised everyone.

He not only wanted to gain military merits from the Emerald Kingdom to exchange for the "Tiger Token" of the Vast Sea, but also wanted to try to sever the connection between strongholds like Iron Fist Village and the Green Pine Scattered Soldiers, and completely monopolize this channel.

The stated reasons are high-sounding and legitimate.

"Uncles and generals, the 'Tiger Badge' we obtained is genuine, but whether it counts as a war achievement is entirely up to the kingdom. If the news leaks out, will those parasites in the court allow us to receive the reward?"

After a moment's thought, everyone shook their heads.

"Therefore, the tighter this matter is kept secret, the better, and the later it is exposed, the better. Try not to let too many outsiders know about it!"

The word "outsider" instantly brought everyone present together.

“Those scoundrels in the court suppressed us and put me in the most dangerous place on the front line, which has now made it easier for us to do our work.”

"My battle plan is divided into three parts."

"For the first mission, I will personally lead the team, with General Zevi and General Sawyer accompanying me, to capture Emerald's soldiers. Those guys are at their most arrogant and overbearing. If we find an opportunity to take down one or two of their big shots, we will have enough leverage to make a deal with Han Hai!"

"Yes!"

"The second thing, Uncle Oscar, is for you to go to Iron Fist Village again, bring some generous gifts, and have a talk with your old friend. Could you please not let the 'Tiger Brand' matter slip out yet? Give us some time, and we'll definitely offer him a price that satisfies him!"

Inside the large tent, the candlelight flickered, casting indistinct shadows. Dimo ​​pushed his longsword forward, carving the symbol of Iron Fist Stronghold into the ground, and then drew a semi-circle.

"For this last part, I'd like to ask Uncle Ronan to take your scouts and keep watch around Ironfist Stronghold. If any other Green Pine stragglers approach, stop them if you can, and if you can't, fight them off. Don't let them have a chance to get in."

The knight commander, Ronan, hesitated for a moment: "Young Master Dimo, isn't this... infighting?"

“Uncle Ronan, from the moment Harold threw us to the front lines, we Green Pine have been killing each other.”

Dimo slowly raised his head, looked at Ronan carefully, and then glanced at the other generals from left to right. His voice suddenly became very low.

"We lost the battle of the Crystal Valley. The kingdom's most elite troops were defeated so badly. We are nothing more than pawns who traded our lives with the Vast Ocean."

"Harold threw us to the front lines simply because we Zircon Territory and the Vast Sea have a deep-seated grudge. He calculated that we couldn't surrender to the Vast Sea and that he could exchange our lives for a few more."

"Those Green Pine Army soldiers behind us, supposedly lying in ambush in the vast sea, aren't they also keeping an eye on us?"

"It's all about fighting for survival. What else can we do at this point? Are we really going to let them spread the word and let us all die under Han Hai's guns on the front lines?"

By the end, Dimo's voice was choked with emotion, and he was on the verge of tears.

The Marquis of Monroe once regarded this youngest son as his most like-minded successor, even believing that he could inherit the title of "Crystal Twins." Now it seems that he may have surpassed his father.

After a tearful outburst that unified their thoughts, Dimo ​​then methodically arranged the battle plan. Finally, he ordered the slaughter of a batch of military horses, allowing the officers to have a hearty meal. Afterward, they each received their orders, drew their swords, and embarked on their journey.

Before leaving, Ronan spoke to Dimo ​​alone again, hesitating several times before finally saying, "Young Master Dimo, I'm afraid those people from the Vast Ocean don't have good intentions. They might be deliberately trying to send us to attack the Emerald, hoping to cause a lose-lose situation..."

"I know!"

Dimo tilted his head slightly, his dark blue eyes fixed on the distance: "Uncle Ronan, I know all that, but so what?"

"Or rather, what can we do?"

Dimo turned around to face the knight who had watched him grow up, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"The vast ocean in front is the enemy, the green pines behind are also the enemy, and as for those jade dealers, aren't they the enemy too?"

"If they don't die, we will die."

The young general quickened his pace, approached Ronan, and suddenly wrapped his arms around the knight, embracing him tightly.

Dimo was slightly shorter, so he bent down slightly, like a child snuggling up to an elder, and rested his head against Ronan's breastplate.

This is a very intimate and extremely dangerous move. For a professional, the other person's hand can easily break their head, which is equivalent to handing over their life directly to the other person.

"Uncle Ronan, I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die either!"

“When my father was still alive, he said more than once that if I became a lord, you would definitely be my chief knight commander. You are the one I can trust the most!”

"Haisen was wrong; he foolishly provoked that Lord of the Vast Sea."

"My father was also blinded and did not see the true strength of the enemy before launching an attack on Han Hai."

"But what did I do wrong?"

Dimo slightly raised his head, his eyes filled with clear, aggrieved tears, like a terrified child.

“I did nothing and I lost everything. Now, I have no chance to become a Zircon Lord. I just want to survive.”

"In this place where dead people are everywhere, someone has to survive. Why can't it be us?"

Ronan was stunned.

He was the chief bodyguard that Marquis Monroe assigned to Dimo. He had watched the boy grow up since he was a child. Dimo's first experience as a "knight" was riding on Ronan's neck, waving a stick he had picked up from somewhere, and excitedly shouting "Charge!" as he stormed into the Earl's hunting grounds.

Now, he has grown up and become the most outstanding heir to the territory, but he has also completely lost the opportunity to inherit it.

He said he wanted to live.

Ronan gave Dimo ​​a tight hug, then stepped back half a step, slightly bent his knees, clenched his right fist, and struck his breastplate hard with the handguard, producing a clear, metallic clang.

The knight commander rose and strode towards Iron Fist Stronghold. Dimo ​​stood there for a long time, watching Ronan's figure completely disappear into the jungle, then turned, mounted his warhorse, and raised his arm.

"Soldiers, let's go!"

"Kill those jade connoisseurs who have no balls!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A day and a half later, Dimo's carefully laid trap captured a large mixed cavalry and infantry unit from the Emerald Duchy.

These guys are getting too cocky.

They certainly had reason to be proud. Since heading south, the strongest power, the Vast Ocean, had given them the runaways, and the Green Pine Kingdom had disbanded its forces. Under these circumstances, the Emerald Army, marching in large numbers, was practically invincible on the land of Cloud Mist.

They burned, killed, looted, and did whatever they pleased, never encountering any real resistance.

This force consisted of over 240 cavalrymen and 960 infantrymen. Their battle formation was quite impressive, with vanguards, rearguards, flanks, and reconnaissance units. However, the cavalrymen had looted valuables hanging from their saddles, the infantrymen carried captured livestock on their shoulders, and a group of stumbling, ashen-faced women followed in the ranks.

This team was instantly flattened into a pancake by the ambush carefully prepared by the veterans of Green Pine.

The green pines fired a volley first.

On the other side of the hillside, dozens of firing positions, which had been concealed by branches and soil beforehand, simultaneously unveiled their camouflage, revealing the cold fangs of the pine-type heavy crossbows.

"Om-"

After the resounding twang of the bowstring, there was a mournful sound as if the air was being torn apart. The thick crossbow bolt, carrying enormous kinetic energy, instantly covered a distance of hundreds of meters and pierced the ranks of the Emerald Legion, its primary targets being the cavalrymen on horseback.

Especially those signalmen who might be carrying magical warnings.

Each signalman was assigned at least three heavy crossbow bolts, which were accelerated by a magic circle. Caught off guard, the man hit was thrown from his horse and fell silent before he could even let out a complete shout.

Immediately afterwards, the archers lying in ambush on both sides peeked out, and a dense rain of arrows poured down.

The queue for jadeite instantly erupted into chaos.

Dimo gave the enemy no chance to catch their breath. He spurred his horse and brandished his lance, becoming the first to charge out from behind the hillside where he was hiding.

The warhorse neighed loudly, its hooves thrashing as it galloped down the slope, raising a cloud of dust in its wake.

The guards around him sped up desperately, trying to shield the young master from possible attacks, but Dimo's horsemanship was simply too outstanding. Under his control, the jet-black steed was like a black lightning bolt, always charging ahead and leaving all the guards behind.

Dimo had no choice but to fight.

Although the Emerald Duchy had always been defeated by Green Pine, at this moment, those he could call uncles and elders had all been sent to more important fronts that he could not personally oversee. Those who followed him were loyal, but not necessarily so loyal, generals. He had to lead them with his own actions.

The Emerald Duchy did not disappoint him as always.

At first, when he saw the dozen or so cavalrymen charging forward, Emerald's general let out a disdainful snort. Since heading south, he had never seen a Green Pine army of more than thirty men, and their advance was naturally invincible.

The Emerald General drew his sword, ready to order an attack and teach these reckless Green Pine bandits a lesson.

However, just a few seconds later, upon seeing the dense cavalry rushing out from the shady side of the hillside, the general turned and ran without hesitation.

This escape sealed the fate of the entire brigade.

The Green Pine cavalry encountered almost no decent resistance, easily cutting into the murky Emerald Legion. After a powerful breakthrough, they split into several squads to pursue the fleeing enemy cavalry, while the rest turned their horses around and launched another counter-attack.

In one round trip, the battlefield was instantly littered with corpses.

The spears dragged out desperate screams, the horses' hooves trampled on fresh flesh and blood, and the Emerald Infantry, in a frenzy, scattered like headless flies, easily caught by the Green Pine Knights, who skewered them with spears or decapitated them with sabers.

In just a dozen breaths, an entire emerald brigade was wiped out. None of the cavalrymen who fled immediately escaped; they were all riddled with arrows by the pine archers who had laid an ambush and cut off their retreat.

Immediately afterward, Dimo ​​didn't stop. He quickly ordered his soldiers to put on the armor of the Emerald Soldiers, raise the banner of the Emerald Duchy, and head straight for the Emerald Duchy's military camp.

They easily breached the enemy camp's gates, launching another fierce surprise attack.

This time, they failed to stop the enemy from releasing the magical signal, but the results were still quite substantial.

Under the watchful eyes of the enemy, Dimo ​​commanded his men to systematically loot all the supplies and corpses. The troops quickly disappeared into the vast darkness of the Crystal Plains. By the time the main force of the Emerald Duchy had repeatedly scouted and cautiously approached, the Green Pine People had already vanished, leaving behind only a scene of devastation and mutilated corpses scattered everywhere.

The captured heads, standard armor, emerald battle flags, legion badges... all sorts of materials that could prove the victory were loaded onto more than a dozen large carts, which creaked and groaned as they were brought in to the disbelief of the Iron Fist Stronghold guards.

By the way, the Ronan Knights arranged by Dimo ​​did not disappoint him. Although they were somewhat unwilling, once they received the military orders, they acted extremely fiercely, sealing off the front line of the battlefield. They also took down several Green Pine Squads that refused to listen to advice and tried to approach the Han Hai controlled area, and killed more than thirty people in total.

Without hesitation, Dimo ​​put the heads into the convoy as well.

Just kidding, these are all bargaining chips!
So what appeared before the old cripple, Han Hai's agent, was a convoy of soldiers and equipment from both the Jade and Green Pine sides. This left the seasoned mercenary somewhat bewildered. Who the hell did this?

Regardless, Dimo ​​showed great sincerity; he didn't even ask about the price before sending over his acquisitions.

As expected, Han Hai, who followed the rules, did not disappoint him.

Based on the spoils provided by Dimo, Han Hai supplied "Tiger Brand" armor at a ratio of five to one. Furthermore, Han Hai opened a temporary market specifically for Green Pine, allowing Dimo's men to freely purchase food, weapons, armor, and even intelligence...

A five-to-one ratio is not excessive. You have to understand that on the meat grinder front in the Crystal Valley, if you ignore the consumption of ammunition and undead creatures, the casualty ratio of soldiers on both sides is close to four hundred to one.

If the battlefield could really be exchanged at a ratio of five to one, the Green Pine Kingdom would probably be willing to trade with the Vast Ocean until all its members are wiped out.

Judging from the exchange terms offered, Han Hai is truly generous to friends willing to cooperate. Even as an enemy, Dimo ​​couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Look at the Green Pine's court, what kind of people are there?
I received two whole boxes of Tiger brand cigarettes, and what's even more amazing is that the other party had done special treatment when delivering them.

Dimo grabbed a handful from the box and held it up to his eyes, his heart filled with an overwhelming sense of turmoil.

Each "Tiger Badge" bears completely different "traces of battle." Some "Tiger Badges" have obvious signs of collision and bending, some have messy scratches from being touched by sharp weapons, some are covered in dust and mud, and some are stained with blood...

If Dimo ​​hadn't been a firsthand witness and knew where these "Tiger Badges" came from, just looking at these spoils, he would have been completely convinced that his troops had fought a bloody battle and fought to the death to obtain these spoils.

If it was just speculation before, he is now almost certain that Han Hai's decision is not simply about receiving a salary without working.

A general with such meticulous attention to detail, capable of handling matters to this extent, would he really stoop to "colluding with the enemy"?
It can only be said that, due to their consecutive victories against Green Pine, the Han Hai side somewhat underestimated the Green Pine generals' abilities. The extra steps they took to help them make their act more convincing allowed the astute Dimo ​​to glean some information.

The generals stepped forward one after another, eager to witness the moment. With such a "great achievement" and "great wealth" in hand, everyone was in high spirits.

Even Ronan, who had been somewhat awkward, now had a rosy complexion and relaxed eyes, and took the initiative to pat the young lord on the shoulder.

"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and send these back to get a big reward!"

Dimo grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth.

"No, we're not going to change it!"

"?"

"The kingdom wouldn't want to see the achievements of my Zircon family, and the other Turquoise generals wouldn't tolerate it either. If we change too many, something bad is bound to happen."

“Uncle Ronan, I’ve just figured it out! Let’s sell these ‘Tiger Brands’ to the other Green Pine Generals and let them collect their rewards!”

"We're just happy to earn a little bit of our hard-earned money!"

(End of this chapter)