What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

Such a huge difference in circumstances immediately made the soldiers of the expeditionary force see through the hypocritical nature of the elven upper class.

Before conscription, they are deceived by using the concept of national honor and national reputation to make them leave the country and travel thousands of miles to fight in other countries.

Now, the expeditionary army's plan is completely snobbish. Seeing that they can no longer squeeze benefits from them, they will use them as slaves at will... No! Even the lowest level of the black orcs in the Dwarf Empire live in an environment that is definitely a hundred times better than the trenches!

Under the cover of an angry atmosphere, waves of thoughts slowly began to rise within the expeditionary force.

Why do we have war?

Who are we fighting for? Who should we be fighting for?

Who are our friends and who are our enemies?

Chapter 375: The Truth (Rewards and Extra Updates)

Of course, these thoughts did not emerge out of thin air; they definitely had the help of the Elf Guild.

However, the Elf Guild did not expect that these thoughts would spread so quickly. They had made certain attempts before, but they were all sneered at by the soldiers and the results were very bad. They can only say that it was the reinforcements from the Elf Kings that helped them, and they should thank the Elf Kings.

Whenever night fell, the soldiers of the expeditionary force would gather in the cold trenches to keep each other warm, and then tell each other stories about their hometowns, the hard but beautiful life before the war, and their relatives, lovers, and friends.

It is impossible to verify who initiated this activity. The original purpose was just to prevent people from accidentally freezing to death in the cold night. But gradually, this activity became their only hope of dawn in the dark time.

They were just the most nameless civilians, with no military exploits or glory to speak of. If they had not lived in the Elf Continent and had not had the appearance of an elf, they would not even have been able to sense what the Elf Empire had to do with them!

As the communication deepened, the content of their conversation was not just about their own memories, and gradually they began to discuss why they came to this place.

After questioning each other, they found that none of them volunteered to join the war! Either they were deceived by lies such as money and honor, or they were forcibly conscripted or abducted... no matter which Elf King they were under.

The same experience made them resonate with each other. When they talked about the various actions of the elf nobles later, they found that all crows are evil.

Everywhere, the upper elf nobles always maintain an elegant, humble, and compassionate image on the surface, but what they do behind the scenes is equally bloody and despicable. After this discovery, the storytelling gathering that was originally just a gathering to recall the past and think of the good times turned into a grievance meeting.

Countless sufferings converged together, and soon a huge consensus was formed - their sufferings all came from the exploitation of the upper elves. As long as the nobles exist, their suffering will continue.

Even if the war was over and they won, the situation would not change in the slightest. They could not gain much benefit from the victory, nor could they get any honor. After taking off the military uniform, they would still be exploited by the nobles.

In comparison, dying here seems more like a relief.

But why?

We are all spirits. Why can they enjoy the life of luxury without working all day and risking our lives? But we have to work like slaves for the rest of our lives.

Are kings, princes, generals and ministers of different species?

The subsequent changes in thought evolved naturally without even the need for deliberate guidance from the Elf Guild.

A few days later, a heavy snow slowly fell.

Although this kind of snow is nothing compared to the northern part of Calradia. Here, it takes a whole day for snow to accumulate. For some natives in the northern countries, this is not even snow! It's just dandruff.

However, for the soldiers of the expeditionary army, such snow was simply fatal. After just one night, more than a dozen elf soldiers were frozen to death! Most of the other soldiers were also pale and their lips were purple. On the other hand, the troops of the Elf King in the distance were able to hold their tents in warmth, eat hot food, and drink warm drinks.

Some officers could even live in tents that were enhanced by divine power and as warm as spring. The falling snow outside the curtains became a unique scenery.

This scene touched the elegant elven officers with emotions, and they immediately wrote down all kinds of magnificent and ambitious poems to express their bravery and will to fight! As for the expeditionary soldiers huddled in the trenches, I'm sorry, I couldn't see it and didn't think of it.

The next morning, the soldiers of the expeditionary army could no longer bear the cold winter, so they carried their guns and went to the expeditionary army headquarters in groups to ask for an explanation. This shocked the expeditionary army's superiors, who did not dare to neglect it and quickly reported the matter to their superiors.

However, the Southern Legion, which was supposed to be in charge of this matter, has already resigned, and none of the remaining nine Elf Kings are willing to take care of this matter, let alone provide supplies to aid the expeditionary army. After all, these supplies were transported from the Empire to the front line with great difficulty. Why should they be given to you?

As a result, the top military officials began to pass the buck to each other, and no one was willing to care about the life and death of the expeditionary force.

Seeing that the matter was about to come to nothing, the starving expeditionary soldiers could no longer endure it.

Since they were going to die anyway, starving to death or freezing to death, they might as well have a full meal before dying! Thinking of this, they all picked up their muskets and launched an attack on the warehouse not far away.

The soldiers guarding the baggage warehouse were not elite troops to begin with, so how could they possibly defeat the expeditionary force equipped with muskets? As a result, they were disarmed in a few moves. The expeditionary soldiers kicked open the warehouse and moved the clothes and food inside.

Not only that, they even found fine wine, tobacco, and fresh fruit in the warehouse. This made the expeditionary soldiers furious! We can't even get food or keep warm, but you're occupying precious supply lines to transport luxury goods for yourself!

In order to vent their anger, some expeditionary soldiers held a party directly in the warehouse, drinking the fine wine that only officers could enjoy and eating food they had never heard of.

As the snow piled up, this kind of thing happened more and more frequently in the elves' bases.

This made the officers furious, but the number of perpetrators was too large. If they were to shoot them all, who would be here to guard the trenches? They could only let bygones be bygones and increase patrols, while warning them that robbing baggage depots was a serious violation of military discipline and that they would be executed directly if caught.

However, I am not afraid of death, so why should I be frightened by it?

Such intimidation is of no meaning to the expeditionary soldiers who may not see tomorrow.

More importantly, even the patrols equipped with divine magicians seemed no match for the expeditionary soldiers.

Although their muskets could not compete with those of the Vienna Alliance, they were muskets after all, weapons that could threaten divine magicians and sharpshooters.

Most importantly, these expeditionary soldiers had all experienced the purgatory of death from the very beginning, and had survived the trench confrontation for so long that their psychological qualities had already been transformed, and they were no longer the civilians they were before. Their psychological qualities and even their coordination abilities had even surpassed those of the patrol team.

As a result, the patrol team was beaten and fled in panic, and the baggage depot was still frequently robbed.

The officers were overwhelmed, but they did not dare to resort to violence, so they could only take out some supplies from their warehouses to help the expeditionary army overcome the current difficulties. This allowed the expeditionary army to stop pointing their guns at their own people and stay quietly in the trenches again.

But the impact of this incident is indeed far-reaching.

These expeditionary soldiers suddenly realized a truth: only with guns in their hands could they speak with confidence.

However, they realized this truth too late, because the elven officers also realized it.

After using food and clothes to ease the anger of the expeditionary army, they immediately issued a temporary order that all the muskets of the front-line companies must be kept and counted in a unified manner. No one was allowed to use them privately.

What if the enemy's troops take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack?

Anyway, it has been snowing heavily during this period, and the enemy has not had any intention of attacking for a long time.

Wait until they call.

When they heard that they were going to be disarmed, the soldiers of the expeditionary force were naturally unwilling to do so, but they had no choice but to let the Elf King's troops provide them with sufficient supplies during this period and promise to double it in the future, which reduced the number of soldiers willing to disobey orders. Without a mass base, everyone could only follow orders.

After that, the expeditionary army did behave itself for a while. However, the elves showed their fangs again and gradually reduced the supply of materials, which was finally maintained at a very low level. The expeditionary army once again faced financial difficulties, but this time they had lost the opportunity to repeat the old tricks because they had no weapons.

This made them understand a new truth.

If you are not resolute in your struggle, it is the same as not fighting at all. Never compromise for the sake of immediate interests!

It's just that I realized this truth a little too late

That night, the sound of artillery fire awakened the expeditionary soldiers who were fighting against darkness and cold!

The enemy attacked!!

However, at this time, they didn't even have weapons in their hands.

January 2024: The third reward will be over 01 Meow Cookies.

Chapter 376 Who are our friends? (Rewards and more)

Under the bombardment of artillery fire, the officers woke up from their dreams. Without even having time to put on their coats, they immediately smashed open the door of the armory and distributed muskets to the soldiers (the authority of the armory was not in the hands of the front-line officers).

Since there was no prior drill, the entire trench was in chaos. If the soldiers of the Vienna Alliance rushed over at once, the entire trench would probably fall.

Some soldiers even gave up resistance and continued to huddle in the corner, letting the light of the explosion illuminate their desperate faces again and again.

But something strange happened

A long time had passed since the cannons were fired, but they still did not hear the sound of the enemy's charge horn.

What is going on??

Is it just a feint?

There is no reason...

Some brave soldiers stuck their heads out, only to find that on the battlefield that was lit up by artillery fire again and again, there was not a single human figure, but instead there were boxes of supplies piled high.

"What is this?"

"When did they move the stuff over there?"

"Are these bombs? But if they are placed so far away, they won't affect us even if they explode."

The elf soldiers looked at each other.

At this time, a sharp-eyed soldier suddenly shouted: "These are not bombs! They are! They are clothes! And food! Caron... come and have a look."

Hearing the shout, an elf soldier named Charon immediately rushed up.

Unlike other elves, he was wearing an officer's uniform. Despite this, the elf soldiers around him were not afraid of him at all and even called him by his name.

Previously, officers of the expeditionary army were basically from the Southern Legion. Now, with the departure of the Southern Legion, the already limited number of officers has become even smaller. In order to cope with the gap, they can only elect officers from within the expeditionary army. Many of them were ordinary soldiers one moment, and were dressed as officers the next.

In terms of tactical qualities, these officers were obviously unqualified, but they had a very harmonious relationship with the lower-level soldiers and were very considerate of each other. This was something that was simply impossible in other elf troops.

"What are you talking about? This is impossible!" Caron immediately poked his head out of the trench. He rubbed his eyes, but what he saw was not clear. So he immediately took a monocular telescope from the dead officer's body. After carefully examining it for a long time, he said with certainty: "It seems to be correct. These boxes are indeed filled with clothes and food."

"But why did the troll put these things in the middle? Are they trying to lure us to take them?" a soldier asked curiously.

"If you ask me, who should I ask?" Caron said helplessly.

"It must be a trap!" A soldier slapped his thigh and said, "We send our men out, and then the ambushers nearby shoot us dead."

"But... these things are so tempting."

"That's enough." Karon interrupted the elves' speculations and said, "Although I don't know what the other party's intention is. But this shouldn't be a trap."

"why?"

"The purpose of a trap is to catch necessary prey. Do you think we have any prey worth their trouble?"

"Uh..." The elves were speechless for a moment.

"Besides, we just need to send a few people over to try it out, and we'll know. If they open fire, it means this is indeed a trap." Kalon said, "Do you think the trolls went to so much trouble to move the supplies to the middle just to attract a few of us scouts to explore the way?"

"Then let's send a few people to give it a try?" a soldier asked tentatively.

The other soldiers looked at each other, but no one volunteered.

After all, it was the middle of the trench, but there were countless eyes and countless muskets pointing at it.

"I'll go." Finally, it was Caron, an officer, who said, "Since you elected me as your centurion, I must do something for you."

After that, Caron took off his gun, clothes, binoculars and other valuables, and then said: "I am going to die, remember to report to my family, and you can share these things too."

"Karon..."

The other soldiers wanted to say something, but Caron had already jumped out of the trench and rushed towards the pile of supplies.

He did not intend to hide his figure. He rushed into the pile of supplies, stood on it, and waved at the enemy's trench.

boom!

Just then, a gunshot rang out from the troll's trench.

The sudden explosion scared Caron so much that he almost fell off the pile of supplies. However, he soon discovered that the opponent's shot was fired into the air. The opponent's meaning was also very clear, we saw you, but we don't intend to kill you.

Karon's heart immediately settled down. He opened one of the boxes and found that it was indeed full of supplies. Fur clothes and various dried meats were exactly what they needed most!

Regardless of the reason why the other party left this box of supplies in the middle, Caron sincerely thanked them. Thinking of this, he bowed respectfully in the distance, then dragged one of the boxes and returned to the trench with difficulty.

His return immediately caused an uproar in the trenches.

The soldiers of the expeditionary army never imagined that their own people deducted all their money from them and watched them freeze to death in the cold trenches, while the enemy showed them leniency and sent them precious supplies.

Soon, more than a dozen elven soldiers left the trench. They came to the side of the supply box trembling with fear. After finding that there was no danger, they immediately started to transport the supplies back. Soon, all the supplies were dragged into the trench.

"Don't fight over them! I'll distribute them all." Caron stepped on the supplies and said, "Give priority to the injured and frostbitten compatriots for all the furs and clothes. Take out some of the dried meat for everyone to eat at night, and store the rest for emergency use! Winter is still long, and the other side can't keep supplying us."

"All up to you!"

After all the supplies were distributed, a soldier found a letter in a box.

Most of the elven soldiers were illiterate, so they gave the letter to Charon and asked him to read it to everyone.

Caron opened the letter and began to read.

[Brave Elf Warriors:

Although we have been fighting as enemies for a year, we know that there is no blood feud between us, and there is no reason to fight to the death. You are just like us, poor people who are coerced by the elf nobles and the hegemony of the empire.

None of us deserve this war. We are all victims of this war.

Perhaps we should be comrades fighting side by side, but the elven nobles turned us into enemies and watched our fights like watching wild beasts in the Colosseum.

This is not our intention. We hate war, just as you do.

So my friends whom I have never met