Doctor, I'm really strong!

After all this preparation was completed, the former Wendigo warriors discovered that they no longer needed to do anything.

Melee? Don't be ridiculous. After a volley of incendiary bombs, even a 70% hit on the enemy would be considered an off day. The sheer number and vitality of the demons made Liu Jiuli use this place as a training ground for level 3 artillery. Every day, artillery units would come here to relieve the troops, and the weapons became increasingly dazzling and colorful.

From the initial howitzers, cannons, and rocket launchers, to the current rocket launcher tests, they've all been brought here to let the demons have a taste. Every day, the front line is ablaze with artillery fire, not only piercing through the demons but also repeatedly breaking down the psychological and physical defenses of the Ursus Emperor's inner guards who are fighting alongside them.

The psychological reason is envy, the physical reason is lack.

However, the Wendigos aren't without work; their gear has been completely updated and their designs are increasingly resembling those of the "Fifty Dollar Brothers."

Although there are no pure-blooded Wendigos other than Patriots, being mixed-race is an advantage in itself. The inclusiveness of multiple races is the key. In fact, even so-called pure-blooded Wendigos are the result of many generations of crossbreeding. You can't restore all the DNA back to its original state. The so-called pure-blooded race is a false proposition.

For example, among the new generation of Wendigo, there are individuals with stronger magical talent and considerable combat strength. The Patriots are focusing on cultivating several successors, none of whom are less capable than him.

In the game, the Patriots are described as the last pure-blooded Wendigos to enhance the sense of tragedy. In reality, the extinction of an individual can help the entire population, as long as its numbers do not drop to the point of being unable to reproduce, to find a suitable opportunity to multiply and proliferate.

Anyway, there are over a thousand Wendigos in the Northern Fortress, and most of them have families. If you include their children, they don't seem to be endangered at all.

The only difference is that, unlike the Patriots, they are not distinguishable as a species based on their appearance alone. Instead, they are closer to ordinary Sarkaz, only taller (average height exceeds two meters) and have better Originium Arts talent. Without being told, it would be difficult to tell them apart with the naked eye.

This is reality—simple, unadorned, and without any special features.

The gentleness of reality lies in its description of reality itself; the cruelty of reality lies in its refusal to reveal reality itself.

Around the Spring Festival every year is the time when evil spirits are most active, so the warriors in the Northern Fortress don't have the leisure to celebrate the New Year. But this year they are more relaxed than in previous years. As for the reason, just look at the defensive line that stretches for hundreds of kilometers and is filled with fortresses, minefields, trenches and barbed wire. The evil spirits say the game experience is extremely poor.

"Coordinates have been entered."

"Target locked."

"fire!"

With the roar of cannons, another Spring Festival has arrived.

"Wait, what is that?"

Section 284: The Abnormalities of the Demon

(Calling for comments, ?(^?^), comrades, come quick!)

Whether in real life or in novels, when something you are familiar with changes, it is almost always bad news.

For example, the demons discovered by the drones may seem no different from the demons around them at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they appear to be more human-like than the others and move much faster.

"The enemy has entered the artillery zone."

"Begin shelling."

The soldiers sitting in the control room pressed a few keys, and the giant cannon at the firing position, with the help of the servo mechanism, completed loading and aiming, and then launched more than 5 tons of shells to a distance of 100 kilometers.

The community's electromagnetic gun technology is mature, and the current research focuses on miniaturization. However, for fortress cannons with a caliber of 1,000 millimeters, space and weight are not problems. A single cannon is a giant turret that can effectively suppress targets within a radius of 300 kilometers.

A total of 25 of these giant cannons were deployed in the northern fortress, while they were protected by a cluster of more than 5,000 other cannons of various sizes, none of which had a caliber of less than 155mm.

Before a giant cannon, everyone is equal.

Large sections of the map were erased of demonic traces, but people soon noticed something was wrong.

"The kill radius of the shells has been shortened. Look, these enemies a kilometer away can still move."

"No, it's not that the shells have become weaker, it's that the enemy has become stronger. They are different from the previous demons; they are new models that have never been recorded before. These demons are stronger."

"That's not the case. Look, this is a comparison chart of the damage effects. They are harder than the previous demons."

"So the demons have started stacking armor, is that right?"

"But this speed doesn't resemble that of a tortoise after being stacked."

A large number of demons began to approach, and a black wave swept in, staining the white snow with blackness. They gathered all the creatures around them into their ranks and then surged forward.

"The demons' attack speed has increased!"

"Rocket launcher ready to fire!"

"Use incendiary bombs to cut through the battlefield and eliminate them one by one!"

Everything was proceeding smoothly, and more and more explosives were being launched onto the battlefield, until a flying shell was intercepted by a barrage of bullets.

"The demons are using ranged attacks for defense."

"The defensive strength has not changed significantly, but the density has increased more than tenfold."

"Don't panic. Their interception altitude is only two thousand meters. Our unmanned reconnaissance aircraft have a much higher service ceiling. Let the enemy be cleared out within a hundred-kilometer artillery zone."

"Our artillery positions are ready!"

The demons have changed somewhat, but they remain calm. Due to the innovation of weapons and equipment, the enemy is now being greeted by various shells and missiles from 300 kilometers away. The community's reconnaissance aircraft have even penetrated 1,000 kilometers into the north to conduct reconnaissance. If the target is high enough in threat and valuable enough, then missiles carrying thermobaric weapons will be used to bombard the area.

Whether the infantry's close combat distance has been extended to more than 300 kilometers, or they are remotely striking the enemy from inside a thick fortress, there is really nothing to be afraid of. The brief panic will soon be stabilized by the safe environment.

"What a peaceful day."

Patriot, holding his specially made large teacup, sat on a rocking chair on the balcony of the command post, looking like a contented retiree.

As for the distant artillery fire, to the Patriots, this level of engagement was nothing more than a drizzle. They hadn't even seen the enemy; it was practically like retirement.

Don't let his current lazy appearance fool you; he's fully armed, with his weapon right beside him. If an enemy appears, he can sweep them away in the blink of an eye and then calmly continue drinking his tea.

The way soldiers relax is different from how ordinary people relax.

Below the command post, many Sarkaz children were having a snowball fight. They were descendants of mixed-race Wendigos. For Patriots, the children were the future, the future of the Wendigos, and the future of the Sarkaz. Now the children could enjoy their childhood freely and happily without any restraint. For this alone, Patriots were very grateful to Liu Jiuli.

For those suffering people, this is the sun in their hearts, the light of hope.

Frostnova has her own life now, and the children have their own childhoods. Everyone can choose their future. Patriot now has everything he wanted, so he can fight without any burdens and thus become stronger.

It wasn't just the patriots; all the Wendigos thought the same way. They had worked so hard to achieve their current lives, and they wanted to protect everything they had. Even the Wendigos who no longer obeyed the Sarkaz royal family would not object if Liu Jiuli gave the order to be the vanguard in breaking through Saint-Germain Castle.

They now only have a semblance of kinship with the Ursus Empire. After the two sides completely severed ties, this sentiment has become increasingly weak. After all, no matter how the Wendigos measure it, the Community is doing a better job than the Ursus Empire.

The shared ideas are spreading rapidly among the younger generation in Wendigo. Everyone agrees with the leader, even though not everyone can fully grasp every nuance. But as long as these ideas spread, it will be a huge victory, and someone will always step forward to lead more people toward a better future.

Patriot's old men were playing with the children outside when Patriot saw a tall shield guard being tackled by several children. But the shield guard wasn't angry at all; instead, he happily pretended to be knocked down, which drew laughter from the children.

This innocent laughter is more precious than the most valuable treasure in the world.

"Captain, the enemy has been eliminated, it's our turn now."

"Ah."

Patriot put down his teacup, stood up, picked up his halberd, and his crimson eyes under his helmet were quickly filled with fighting spirit.

"Follow me into battle."

"Yes!"

In fact, Patriot is now a major general, but in the North, he is still referred to by his old title, of course, only among acquaintances in private. In public, he is still Major General Patriot or General Patriot.

As for why they would launch another attack after driving the enemy away, it was to investigate the results of the battle and see what changes had occurred in the enemy. Liu Jiuli absolutely could not tolerate the situation where a rival in love was eventually taken down by the enemy in one fell swoop. Therefore, after each battle, professionals had to collect samples of the demons and bring them back for research. This process was definitely dangerous, as demons were very tenacious enemies, and it was hard to guarantee that some of them were not completely dead.

In situations like this, professional guards are needed to protect you throughout, and the Wendigo Legion is the best security force.

The 1,000 active-duty Wendigo soldiers are divided into ten companies of 100 men each. Two companies are deployed after each artillery barrage, while the rest remain on standby in the rear. This allows the troops to be deployed for training from time to time. Since the battlefield is usually more than 100 kilometers away, helicopters are the common means of transportation, and sometimes they travel by land-based ships.

This time they were traveling on a heavy quadcopter transport plane. One such plane can carry fifty Wendigos because the Wendigos' bodies and equipment are so heavy, equivalent to more than two to three times the weight of a fully armed ordinary soldier. If it were an ordinary soldier, this quadcopter transport plane could easily carry a whole company.

When they landed in the shelling zone, the Patriots immediately noticed the problem.

"Something's not right about these remains of demons!"

Section 285: Change

(Summoning comments, good morning everyone! (^?^))

For the community, February 12, 1105, was the Spring Festival, and the whole country was enveloped in a festive atmosphere.

At this moment, on the borders of various countries, many people looked towards the direction of the community, where there were fireworks and songs and dances, where they could eat their fill, wear warm clothes, and have a place to live. It was the paradise they longed for, as long as they could cross the border alive.

In the dead of winter, trekking through the snow, especially at night on foot, few could persevere to the end. Many more perished along the way, their corpses left to be devoured by various creatures. Those who survived gritted their teeth and pressed on silently, treading with extreme caution; if they were discovered before reaching the border, they were doomed.

These people were refugees fleeing the Southern Shogunate of the Eastern Kingdom; the community was their only way to survive.

The reason why disaster victims appeared in such a bumper harvest year was mainly because the Southern Shogunate of the Eastern Kingdom did nothing humane. Everyone knew to run away from the agricultural tax that was levied on September 1st.

Due to the allure of the community, the outflow of people from the eastern country is increasing, and it is a one-way outflow. Raiden's governance has enabled the Northern Shogunate to curb the population loss in the north to some extent, but the Southern Shogunate is obviously going down a path of inhumanity, and land annexation has reached a point that is outrageous to both gods and men. Various rice riots are emerging one after another. The community's population opening policy has given these people a new place to go.

Go to the community; you can survive there.

When this statement became a consensus among the people under the rule of the Southern Shogunate of the Eastern Kingdom, more and more groups began to flee.

The Southern Shogunate's reaction was also very ape-like, directly ordering the execution of all peasants who dared to leave the land. However, this resulted in an ever-growing number of fleeing peasants. Under the leadership of certain individuals, these outcasts of the eastern lands became rebels, armed against landlords and daimyo. The weapons used by these rebels were mostly from the community.

To emphasize, these were weapons exported by the community. The Eastern Kingdom itself also purchased a considerable number, calling them "firearms" or "fire tubes".

It is said that some daimyo even developed a technique for firing volleys at samurai while they stood in a row.

Using 98K-level weapons to conduct platoon shootings is quite audacious, making one want to punch the person who suggested it. But since it's a tactic used by the East itself, let them be. Anyway, on the battlefield, this kind of dense formation will end the battle in minutes. Once the white flag is raised, everyone will save themselves trouble.

Many Eastern armies are now being armed with firearms, meaning they are importing weapons from the Commonwealth to arm themselves. These export weapons are inexpensive, and the Southern Shogunate can easily arm several infantry divisions. These firearms make the foot soldiers even more powerful and easier to recruit, and they are really effective at suppressing unruly people.

The only drawback is that the community does not sell automatic weapons to other countries; they only sell non-automatic rifles. Automatic weapons such as submachine guns can only be purchased in small quantities when countries make purchases with each other.

As for why the rebel guerrillas within the Eastern Kingdom have so many automatic weapons, the community has no idea.

If you have any objections, provide evidence. If you can't, believe me, I'll slap you across the face!

Unable to do anything to the community, the Southern Shogunate of the Eastern Kingdom could only resort to ruthless measures against its own people.

However, the long border between the two countries was there, and the community expressed a warm welcome. The patrol teams of the Eastern Shogunate alone could not protect all areas. Moreover, not all patrol teams were willing to arrest civilians. Most of the foot soldiers were poor people from the lower classes, and some even deserted during patrols and ran directly to the community.

Anyway, the Southern Shogunate of the Eastern Kingdom didn't dare to arrest anyone. Those who dared to be so stubborn were beaten to death and thrown into the snow to feed the dogs.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

"Quiet! Hold on (softly), we'll have food after this."

This group of twenty people, originally fifty, had not been attacked during their escape, but the harsh winter caused their numbers to dwindle. They had long since run out of food. Fortunately, the Eastern Kingdom was not far from the community, otherwise they would have to start thinking about cannibalism by now.

Anyway, during famine years, I often heard that cannibalism had started in neighboring villages or somewhere else; now it's just my turn.

"Run! The white dog has spotted us! Ah!"

Gunshots rang out, accompanied by screams. A patrol of foot soldiers spotted the group and immediately gave chase. After all, not all foot soldiers would choose to sympathize with their fellow villagers. There were quite a few who would use the heads of their fellow villagers to gain military merit. The Southern Shogunate had clearly stated the reward amount: any foot soldier who accumulated ten rebel heads could become a low-ranking samurai, much like the Qin state's system of rewarding heads for military merit.

Frankly speaking, in the Eastern Kingdom's class system, low-ranking samurai are a tragic class who aren't even qualified to attend meetings and are just cannon fodder. But for ordinary people, this is already a very good upward path. At least they have a government job and have become important figures who can decide the life and death of ordinary people.