Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Therese's voice came through the communicator quickly. She wasn't too surprised, but simply corrected him, "We're at war now, so call me General. Just like you would call me Principal in the academy."

“Understood, Chairman,” Shining replied. “Chairman, what are your next instructions?”

"I told you to call her General... never mind." Theresis was already used to having a few troublemakers under her command. The Sarkaz were all pretty much unique personalities: Mudrock was a glue enthusiast, Surtr was a doting old lady, the Demon King was a cat lover, and even the heir to the Banshee Queen was rumored to be an androgynous man who liked wearing high heels and black stockings. One more wouldn't make much difference. As long as she didn't cause trouble and was obedient...

It's better than someone who's disobedient, troublesome, and has a strong personality. There's no harm in comparison; Theresis is still resentful about being tricked by Mudrock and Surtr in the academy office.

"Let's retreat."

Therese gave a brief order and hung up the communication without waiting for Shining's reply.

He was certainly aware of the Black Iron Grand Master's plans. In the past, he wouldn't have had many options against this tactic of hiding in the mountains and avoiding battle. After all, searching the mountains would take time and manpower, and even if they could capture him, it might delay Wayne's journey and affect the overall situation. But now...

Run, run, run? (x)

Cannon! Cannon! Cannon! (√)

He turned to the Victorian soldiers beside him who were beginning to move under his command, and urged them on:

"Faster!"

Soon, the 120mm Victoria-style "Lion's Roar" mortars were all in place and neatly arranged in front of the dense forest mountains. After receiving the "retreat complete" signal from Shining, Therese took a deep breath, and unable to hide the excitement on her face, she raised her hand and covered her ears.

"Fire! Flatten this mountain!"

"boom--!"

The Royal Army truly lived up to its reputation as Victoria's elite force. As a fully mechanized force that had achieved modern warfare, their discipline far surpassed that of the ordinary garrison in Hillshire. At Theresis's command, all the gunners, loaders, and calibrators executed a series of complex tactical maneuvers with near-perfect precision. Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the heavy Originium mortar "Lion's Roar" displayed its terrifying power, living up to its name. The hilltop was visibly bombarded from bottom to top by wave after wave of shells. The specially processed, high-energy stone shells, far more powerful than dirty bombs, activated upon impact, leaving a massive crater over ten meters in diameter on the mountainside with each shot. Trees, rocks, and even steel and iron were all blasted into the sky with the roar of the shells.

And this was only the first round of shelling!

Therese was breathing heavily; he was feeling incredibly high! Shells, flames, blasting into the sky, physically erasing any obstacles in his path—this was the feeling he craved most, the true romance of the Sarkaz.

Unfortunately, the sound of cannons cost a fortune, and the Sarkaz had neither the money nor the cannons. Recalling her own wars, where she had to fight with swords and bows, roaring and shouting on the battlefield, Theresis felt a surge of disdain. Only cannons were the romance of men, and only the roar of gunfire was the most beautiful music. Perhaps only Victoria could play this war symphony with such unrestrained passion!

Unfortunately, it seems Wayne has no intention of sweeping away the enemy's stronghold. But that doesn't matter. Even though it's just a trial card, Theresis wants to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win!

"Second round of shelling, prepare! Bomb! Bomb them all!"

He said loudly, releasing his hands from his ears. Even if the roar of the cannons might shatter his eardrums, he wanted to enjoy the thunderous sound as much as he could.

The second round of shelling seemed to shrink the entire hilltop by an inch. Not a single patch of flat ground could be seen on the mountainside. The areas hit by the shelling were all buried deep underground, now being torn up by the shelling, revealing yellow soil and the remains of tree roots. But this was not the end; the third round of shelling followed closely after only a minute's cooldown.

"boom!--"

With a final roar, the artillery unit rose in unison to cool the muzzles and dismantle the gun emplacements. Therese gazed at the distant mountain range, which looked as if a god had gnawed at it, transforming its "山" (mountain) shape into a "止" (stop) shape, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Let's wrap up and continue to Little Hill County. We'll meet up with my brother-in-law and the others today."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mysterious Iron 3-1

"Ooh—ah—"

Xuan Tie trembled as he dug away the soil covering his body and struggled to crawl out of the crater. Not a single patch of his skin was unscathed; he looked like a grotesque, bloodied man. His life was draining away with the gushing blood from his wounds, and the growing weakness of his once strong body filled him with a deep-seated panic and trembling. Screams escaped from his scalded throat, which had swallowed countless shell ash and dirt, but in the deserted mountains, no one would answer his cries.

Xuan Tie probably wouldn't understand in his entire life why someone would be so extravagant as to use mortars to reduce the altitude of an entire mountain just to capture one person? And after blowing the entire mountain to smithereens, they didn't even bother to search for him on the mountain, but just left, as if Therese's act of blowing up the mountain was just a whim to test the firepower, and it just so happened that he destroyed himself in the process.

It was already an earth-shattering miracle that Xuan Tie was able to survive the carpet bombing of dense artillery fire, but miracles obviously wouldn't last forever. If no one noticed him, he would have countless serious injuries all over his body, and his soul would have been severely damaged by the absolutist. Unable to move on his own, he would eventually die a miserable and painful death in this nameless wilderness on the border of Victoria due to his severe injuries.

Thinking of his fate, a mocking smile appeared on Xuan Tie's face. Xuan Tie, one of the most powerful figures in the Kazimir Unarmored Alliance, a force to be reckoned with in Terra, comparable to the Silver Spear Pegasus, was now to die alone in a foreign land. Not by taking down his lifelong nemesis, the knight-noble, nor by being defeated head-on against an invincible foe, but by being bombarded by dozens of mortars from hundreds of meters away, his body shattered before he could even touch his enemy.

This is not the kind of death befitting an "assassin master".

Or has the era of assassins and knights truly come to an end?

Xuan Tie looked up at the low-level Originium cloud formed by the ashes left after the Originium bomb exploded in the sky. The density of the Originium cloud was not high enough to form a second natural disaster, and it would dissipate soon. However, the yellow lightning that appeared and disappeared and the surging Originium energy that was released were enough to make any knowledgeable natural disaster messenger tremble with fear.

Xuan Tie thought to himself that the era in which individual bravery determined the outcome of a battle was truly over. When he turned around from the cliff and looked back at Theresis and the well-equipped Victoria Royal Army behind him, with its road ships, heavy Originium cannons, siege guns, and even war fortresses, he understood this fact. Because at that moment, he never had the slightest thought of "fighting them," but instead instinctively chose to "run away."

The oppressive feeling that was so overwhelming was truly terrifying.

How he wished he had never taken on this mission, never accepted the payment from the Grand Council, and never left the borders of Kazimierz. But now, it was all too late.

"If I still have a chance to go back, I will... definitely build a conglomerate. Make money, build countless road ships, countless Originium cannons... this is the real battlefield of the future."

He watched the Originium dust cloud gradually fade away with the wind and murmured:

"As for the name, let's call it [Originium Cloud]."

"Leader, there are people here."

An unfamiliar voice came from not far away, but Xuan Tie was no longer able to turn around and ask for help. The light in his half-open eyes had faded along with the source stone cloud.

Not far away, among the retreating Deeppool troops, Celt also heard the Deeppool soldiers' report. She turned her head, looked at the hillside bombarded by artillery fire, raised her hand, and ignited a purple phosphorescent flame—the kindling of life—at her fingertips. It quietly extinguished after a few seconds. Celt silently watched everything until the last flame died out, then she lowered her hand and said:

"We don't need to go, the person is already dead."

She patted Reed on the shoulder, signaling her not to dwell on this small matter, as there were more important goals waiting for them to accomplish.

"Send two Deeppool soldiers over there and bury that man on the spot. Dying under the bombardment of a Victoria Army Group is dignified enough."

“As for us, Raphsini, we can’t stay here for long. We have to go to Londinium—to attend the so-called ‘ritual’ your brother is holding. To take revenge on those conspirators.”

.........

Oochi County, at dusk.

With the help of the garrison, the recapture of the core area of ​​Little Hill County was basically completed. They encountered little resistance along the way; apart from a small number of fanatical Tara separatist thugs, the troops carrying out the cleanup mission didn't even see a single Deeppool soldier. The Ghost Corps seemed to truly live up to their name, appearing only at night and vanishing without a trace during the day.

Once Theresis's main force officially arrived near Hillshire, the recapture operation accelerated considerably. However, Theresis's methods were far less lenient than those of Wayne and Theresa when dealing with the separatist rioters who refused to surrender and stubbornly resisted during the initial recapture efforts led by Wayne.

The surrender order was shouted three times: either lay down your weapons and leave the position, or have your head roll off the line. Theresis showed no mercy to traitors; harsh suppression was the least of his worries. If Wayne hadn't insisted on a combination of coercion and persuasion, he might have hung all the rioters on statues in the city center as an act of revenge.

Wayne unusually acquiesced to the operation.

He wasn't a saint. The atrocities that plagued Littlehill County during its fall can be glimpsed from the photographs taken by Kal'tsit when she led the first garrison into the county seat, and from her brief descriptions. Those Tara thugs, who thought they had achieved "victory," used the most brutal methods against even unarmed civilians. During this period, countless citizens suffered robbery, rape, and even massacres.

Even knowing that hatred was built up through repeated counterattacks and retaliations, Wayne simply couldn't swallow this insult. He chose to arrest the Tara people who surrendered after the garrison entered the city and bring them to trial, while he handed over the ringleaders—those who were still squeezing out their last bit of madness and inciting the people—to Theresis.

In this respect, Mr. Chairman has done a very good job.

As night fell, Therese returned to the garrison camp. The recapture operation was progressing smoothly, which gave Therese more confidence to speak.

“I told you, Wayne, excessive mercy won’t get you anything. Look, when you were leading the garrison in the recapture operation, you lost more than a dozen excellent soldiers because of the scum’s counterattack. But when I handed it over, after I cut off a few disobedient ones to establish my authority, the losses instantly dropped to zero. Traitors don’t understand languages; this is the only way to communicate with them.”

He patted the scabbard at his waist. The sword remained unsheathed. Having just survived an assassination attempt, Wayne's security was now at an unprecedented level. Unicorn had suspended Lontinim's operations and assigned twelve men, each for two hours, to guard Wayne's vicinity continuously.

Seeing Theresis's persistent attempts to lead him astray, Wayne smiled, didn't answer, and changed the subject:

"You reported that you discovered someone suspected to be an assassin near Little Hill County?"

Theresis curled her lip: "Yes. The other party is a Kazimierz, Kuranta, a guy who wields a bow. He's most likely from the Unarmored Alliance. Judging from his appearance, his status is probably not low. He might be Xuan Tie."

The Unarmored Alliance... Wayne knew about this organization. Bai Jin, one of the four legendary girlfriends of the donkey from his previous life, was a member of the Unarmored Alliance. Bai Jin wasn't her real name, but rather her rank within the alliance. As for her real name, Wayne didn't know.

However, the location where Theresis reported finding the assassin was three movement blocks away from the camp where Wayne was at the time. How could the Xuan Tie Grandmaster of the Unarmored Alliance have such an ability to launch such a precise sniping attack from such a distance?

Is this an arrow being shot, or a missile?

"The leader of the Unarmored Alliance, Xuan Tie, almost never takes action. There are only rumors that he once appeared as an old hunter, helping local farmers in Kazimir resist the tyranny of the nobility by shooting down a local noble and his private army. It's said that the arrow he shot wasn't an arrow, but a heavy Xuan Tie greatsword. That's why I'm making this guess. As for Xuan Tie's actual strength, I don't know. Kazdel doesn't often deal with the merchants and knights of Kazimir. You might want to ask the Ursus people."

"Theresis explained. Wayne nodded, about to speak, when Kal'tsit strode in and interrupted their conversation."

"Your Highness, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

PS: Guys, great news! The long-awaited fan-value speech feature, which Shuke has been talking about for centuries, is finally here! It's still a work in progress, though. But this is a historic breakthrough, a breakthrough from nothing to something. I wonder when the next author level will appear.

P.S.: Thank you so much to Yuudachi Poi for the panties! It's been so long since I've received such a generous donation, I'm so touched!

P.S.: Book recommendation: [Synopsis]

I was transported to the world of Demon Slayer and obtained a trial system.

You can get rewards and become stronger by completing the tasks that are posted.

Having lived a mediocre life in his previous life, El is determined to cherish this hard-won opportunity and live a brilliant and dazzling life, no longer mediocre.

So she—

—In the Taisho era, let Kibutsuji Muzan feel pain.

—In a corrupt and declining empire, kicking the empire that has been corrupt for a thousand years, punching the revolutionary army that has humiliated and lost its sovereignty.

—In Uruk, fight alongside the Hero King against the evil of humanity, Tiamat.

She harbors good intentions and hopes that kind people will be treated gently by the world.

But she has also killed people, adhering to the principle that killing is for the purpose of protecting life and eliminating karma, not for killing people.

With this mortal body, they forged a heroic legacy.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Something terrible has happened! Wayne is dead!

Wayne picked up his cup and took a sip of the black tea. Strictly speaking, it was still wartime, and drinking alcohol was not allowed. As a leader, Wayne couldn't lead the way in defying the rules. Hillshire didn't have the coffee Wayne liked, so he could only drink some black tea to change things up. Trying something different every now and then was indeed good for relaxing and cultivating a sense of novelty.

The Little Hillshire tea was surprisingly good, though it's said to be partly due to the tea maker's skill. This particular cup of tea in Wayne was brewed by a young woman named Waiva, a flag bearer in the honor guard. After the attack on Little Hillshire, the garrison was severely short-handed, but Hamilton, in some ways extremely stubborn, had no intention of sending the honor guard to the battlefield, even with the manpower shortage. Waiva, always eager to do something for everyone, volunteered to join the kitchen staff.

The young woman from Vyvan was named Jane Willow, affectionately known as Jenny by the soldiers. It's said that she was the one who led Kant to her Tara friends to persuade them to reveal the location of Baron Bolton's secret meeting. Although the riots and attacks ultimately occurred, she did save many innocent Victorians and Tara people to some extent.

Considering the special circumstances of wartime, Wayne had already sent a message to Lentinium, inquiring whether Vina could transfer Miss Willow to Lentinium and perhaps award her a medal. Once he received a reply from Lentinium, Wayne would personally visit Miss Willow with the medal.

Of course, this is not the time now. Things also have priorities. Meeting a fine Victorian is obviously more important than finding a powerful enemy assassin who is trying to assassinate the king.

"So, you specifically pulled me into a private room, acting all mysterious and avoiding everyone, not even Theresa. Kal'tsit, what do you want from me?"

Setting down his cup, Wayne looked at the green lynx closing the door and asked, puzzled. Kal'tsit pulled out a chair and sat opposite Wayne, taking a photograph from her pocket and pushing it across the table in front of him. Wayne glanced down at it, then looked up; he recognized the person in the photograph—he knew them all too well.

"Isn't this the arrow that tried to assassinate me this morning? Although I don't really think it qualifies as an arrow. You found the assassin?"

Kal'tsit shook her head: "Not yet, Your Highness. But I already know who the assassin is. You must, I mean you absolutely must, protect yourself; the enemy is no ordinary foe."

"Is it the Unarmored Alliance, the Xuan Tie Grand Master?" Wayne guessed, based on the information he had just received from Theresis. Kal'tsit didn't hide anything and nodded decisively:

"It's the Unarmored Alliance. Or perhaps not just the Unarmored Alliance, but the entire Kazimir."

If there were a scholar on Terra who knew everything about legends, ghost stories, and lost, unrecorded histories, it would undoubtedly be Kal'tsit. From the Agor Cataclysm in the deep sea to the origins of the Great Tranquility of Iberia, from the wild spirits of the northern Ursus plains to the scorching, fiery lands of Sargon's borders, Kal'tsit either knew the secrets of these events or was directly involved in them, experiencing them firsthand. The Undead Alliance, however, was merely a commonplace tale among these legends.

"In the past, when Kazimierz was still under monarchy, the noble Pegasus royal family and its bloodline nobles ruled the land. The nobles, enfeoffed in various regions, relied on their formidable personal bravery and unparalleled knightly guards to dominate their territories. Even after corruption, they still possessed supreme fighting power. Unable to endure the oppression, peasants, merchants, and laborers formed an alliance, spending vast sums to seek out capable individuals from across Terra who could defeat the Pegasus nobles. Initially, many flocked to Kazimierz, hoping to claim the high bounty. But neither the tower wizards of Letania nor the immortal remnants of Sargon could withstand a single blow from the Pegasus nobles' cavalry charge. Finally, as the disheartened people prepared to withdraw the bounty, a man of ordinary appearance and simple attire accepted the commission. He claimed to be an ordinary hunter."

Kelsey paused, then began the second half of the story:

"Like a legendary hero's tale, although no one believed that such an ordinary hunter could accomplish what countless authorities could not, the morning after the list was taken down, the first farmer to step out of his house was astonished to find his lord lying on the ground. The Pegasus nobleman's body remained in a charging stance, his teeth clenched, his glaring eyes revealing his cooled rage, but he was already lifeless, his stiff shell pinned to the ground by a simple, patterned black iron heavy sword piercing his chest. From then on, the Unarmored Alliance was officially established. Because of his signature hunting method, 'a simple black iron heavy sword,' the hunter known as 'Black Iron' roamed the various city-states of Kazimir, accepting commissions to execute those heinous knights and nobles. He himself was crowned with the title of 'Knight Killer.' This is the origin of Black Iron."

Kal'tsit pointed to the Dark Iron Greatsword in the photo and added: