Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 271 Beauty is a Curse: Yu Luo Qingze Legion Commander's Desperate Gamble

For the Xiyue Federation, the fire that lit up the sky at Xiasha Port was just a trivial episode in this war. In fact, most of the Federation's high-ranking officials and generals did not even know the name of the small port that was destroyed by war.

Only a very small number of interested people in the Federation, when chatting idly in secluded courtyards or closed rooms, often couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"What kind of mess is this?!"

"Who would have thought that the mess from back then would come full circle and end up on our own head, causing such a huge disaster!"

The listener beside him looked surprised: "Which one are you talking about?"

"What else could it be? The incident a few years ago when the orc wolf riders ambushed and killed that little girl from the Emerald Duchy."

"I do know about this, but what does it have to do with the current war?"

"Ha, your information is far too limited."

"The little girl who was attacked back then was named Liushuang, one of the heirs of the Emerald Duchy's Cloud Mist Territory. She had some unclear relationship with the elves. After being ambushed, she managed to escape. Later, after Cloud Mist Territory was occupied by Green Pine, she drifted to the north and sold herself to that Lord of the Vast Sea!"

"Is that the Lord of the Vast Ocean who once studied in my Federation?"

"Correct!"

"Back then, those heartless bastards in Shuanghe City colluded with Xiasha Port for a few petty gains, letting hundreds of orc wolf riders into the country and surrounding that little girl in Changfeng Hills. Now look, they still remember it!"

"What was that saying again? Did you beat up Xiyue this time to avenge that little girl named Liushuang?"

"Hmph, can't you see that yet? Han Hai is the little girl's husband's family, and Jingling is the little girl's maternal family. They've come to settle scores!"

"A long-distance raid on Xiasha Port, without killing or looting, just to set this fire, don't you understand?"

"Good heavens! This beautiful woman is a source of trouble!"

"How incredibly beautiful must this girl be!"

"..."

Of course, they talked about it privately, but no one would bring it up in public.

Twin Rivers City is the territory controlled by the Federation Speaker, the leader of the thirteen tribes from which Xiyue rose to power, and the famous Long Spear Tribe. Although everyone has some speculation about what happened back then, there is definitely no evidence, or rather, even if there is, it is absolutely something that cannot be brought up.

We must unite!
The Federation has always been united, and this is even more so now that a formidable enemy is at hand.

Therefore, at this moment, the Xiyue Federation, whether it is the royalists or the parliamentary faction, the central faction or the local faction, has temporarily put aside its disputes and reached a superficial consensus—to first drive those pointy-eared people covered in withered vines back to the forest.

We'll consider whether and how to retaliate after we've recovered the territory of the Creek Moon Federation.

The prerequisite for driving the elves back is to reclaim White Stone City, and the prerequisite for reclaiming White Stone City is to recapture Qingze City.

Judging from the results of the actual battles fought between the two sides over the past period, the hope of retaking this heavily fortified city by force was extremely slim. Therefore, the "North Wind" Legion chose a strategy that seemed clumsy, and indeed was very clumsy—to besiege the city, deplete its food reserves, and force it to collapse on its own.

After discovering that the enemy was using some kind of air transport to resupply Qingze City, Lin De, the commander of the "North Wind" Legion, became anxious. Under his repeated urging, Xi Yue's side urgently mobilized and sent a large number of anti-air combat troops to the "North Wind" Legion.

Five days after the airlift operation, the reinforcements from the Xiyue Federation, carrying the strict orders of the Imperial Council and a bellyful of complaints, finally arrived at the outskirts of Qingze City.

Eight squadrons of Griffin Riders, two battalions of Windhawks, two heavy archer regiments, and an anti-aircraft force carrying heavy "Skybreaker Crossbows".

It was somewhat understandable that the infantry and anti-aircraft troops were slow to arrive, given that many places outside were still flooded. However, the fact that the air force was also taking so long was completely unacceptable to Commander Lind Carson.

If the air force travels a little further, it will only take half a day!

As a result, Air Force General Rune, who was leading the team, shut down General Lind with a single sentence.

"If the enemy can cross the Beilu River and use air force to deliver supplies, how can we be sure that the enemy cannot launch a surprise attack on us in the Xiyue area?"

"If we march hastily and encounter an enemy ambush, will your regiment bear the responsibility?"

General Linde slammed his fist on the table in anger, sending the flying cups flying straight into the ceiling and shattering into countless white sparks.

But there was nothing they could do; these were soldiers borrowed from other tribes and not under their own command.

After a series of negotiations filled with wrangling, compromises, and underhanded maneuvering, the newly reinforced air force and anti-aircraft units were finally deployed. Along the northern edge of Qingze City, utilizing the terrain, they constructed a massive arc-shaped air defense encirclement. All crossbow bolts were pointed skyward, and all air knights stood ready, awaiting the next air transport mission from the enemy.

Lu En vowed, "With me here, not a single grain of food will fall into Qingze City."

These past few days, the timing of the other party's transportation has been thoroughly investigated, so after calculating the time, Xiyue's air force took off to intercept.

The griffins flapped their wings, creating a series of whooshing sounds that mingled with the sharp cries of the Windhawks, echoing throughout the takeoff camp. The air knights gripped their weapons and took off one after another, their eyes fixed on the cloud-covered sky.

However, a dozen minutes later, under the watchful eyes of countless people, those familiar airdrop crates, resembling black seeds, still emerged from the clouds as expected, wobbling and swaying as they fell towards Qingze City.

Linde's corps commander, his face ashen, pointed to the sky and roared, "Where are our air cavalry? Are we just going to stand by and watch them shit on our heads?"

Rune's face turned extremely ugly. He had spoken too confidently before, so much so that even this usually eloquent general was now stammering.

"Commander Linde... Commander Linde, it's not that the brothers below aren't trying hard enough, it's just... they really can't reach it!"

"Those Elven air force planes are flying...flying too high! We Dragonhawks have climbed to our limit, but we still can't even see their shadows."

Linde's jaw muscles twitched violently: "So there's no other way? Use the Sky-Piercing Crossbow? Take a high-level mage to the sky and use area-of-effect spells?"

Rune was getting anxious: "General, we can't see! How can we fight if we can't see!"

Linde slumped down in despair.

High in the sky, where even the enemy is invisible, blindly firing crossbow bolts or using area-of-effect magic to smash things is like throwing stones into the ocean, hoping to kill a group of fish swimming at an unknown depth—it's just desperate and unreasonable behavior.

"No, we can't let the enemy supply them with such impunity!"

"We can see those crates the enemy dropped, right? Shoot them down!"

"Qingze City must belong to my North Wind Legion!"

In the following days, in an effort to salvage some of their reputation, Rune did his best. Xiyue's air force attempted to intercept the airdrop crates falling from an unknown altitude from various heights.

But this is above Qingze City, within the city's defenses. Even if the timing is calculated in advance, Xiyue's griffin knights and dragon eagle knights will have to force their way across half of the enemy's city, braving the rain of arrows from the city's elven archers, and burning their life force to get a chance to attack the airdrop crate.

The scattered feathers, shattered armor, warm blood, and the bodies of the human air riders, often falling along with their mounts, swirled and fell from the sky, pooling into shocking patches of red on the ground. The casualty statistics were quickly reported—on average, each destroyed airdrop crate cost the lives of thirty-two air riders! At this rate, all the air reinforcements that had arrived wouldn't even be enough to counter a single day's worth of enemy airdrops!
This is the air force, one of the strongest military forces on the continent. One air knight is worth the training cost of more than ten ground heavy knights. It is a highly mobile force that can be used to exchange for enemy generals and high-level mages. Now, under the absurd military orders of the Federation, it is being exchanged for those damn broken boxes with an unbelievable attrition ratio.

Before they died, the falling air knights could even see, in despair, the enemy picking up the broken grain sacks and gathering the scattered supplies on the ground.

They changed it, but not completely. Their side is completely wiped out, while the other side still has some left!
The daily accumulated battle losses caused Rune's hands to tremble violently.

When the list of dead reached the fourth squadron, no matter how much Lind urged them, the air cavalry resolutely refused to attack!
The airdrop to Qingze City restored order to the city. The powerless Xiyue army outside the city was like a pack of hyenas barking at the eagles in the sky, filled with hatred yet helpless.

During the enemy's desperate attack, the airlift made some slight changes in pace. As soon as the enemy's interception stopped, the supply of materials to the Han Hai Territory was once again brought to full capacity.

The White Rock City outpost field airfield roared day and night. The temporary "ground crew," who had undergone repeated training and become as precise and skillful as elves in daily operations, completed the cycle of guiding landings, checking the fuselage, refueling and loading, and guiding takeoffs at a dazzling speed.

Energetic and long-lived species learn technologies very quickly.

Meanwhile, these drones are laboratory-level products of Dongxia. Locally recruited mages cast stabilizing spells and force field anchors on them. The drones are equipped with self-monitoring systems. According to the assessment given by Dongxia, the stable flight time is no less than 1,000 hours and the number of stable take-offs and landings is no less than 800. Only after these tests will the first routine inspection be necessary.

Those familiar with Dongxia's product style understand that this indicator, like the nominal range of their missiles, is an extremely conservative "minimum guarantee".

As for how much margin there is, we'll only know once we use it!
With efficient logistical support, each drone maintains a transport frequency of more than ten sorties per day.

Like diligent worker bees, they shuttled through the "aerial corridor" between Baishi City and Qingze City, pouring massive amounts of supplies into the besieged city.

More than two thousand tons of supplies were airdropped daily, including food, medicine, arrows, other materials, and even some "special supplies" to boost morale. This continuous flow not only withstood the consumption of the city's large population, but also gradually increased the city's strategic reserves.

Faced with this increasingly tough challenge, Commander Lind Carson and his generals racked their brains and tried every possible method of attack.

They continued to drive refugees into the city, but the effect became increasingly worse. Fewer and fewer people could be found in the outer floodplains, and the search area was expanding. In order to ensure that these refugees could reach Qingze City alive, the "North Wind" Legion had to incur a considerable amount of food consumption.

They attempted to dig tunnels, but Qingze City, as an important city built by Xiyue itself, not only had a solid foundation but also a complete anti-tunnel listening system.

What's more, there are those annoying druids in the city who have cultivated a dense ring of plant roots that extend deep into the ground around the city, making it difficult for any underground disturbance to escape the perception of these "natural sentinels".

After several carefully selected digging experts were buried, the North Wind Legion had to abandon this futile and costly attempt.

Lind also attempted to activate his inside agents who had infiltrated the city among the refugees, and tried to set fire to warehouses, incite riots, and create an uprising.

However, at this time, the order within Qingze City was as solid as a rock and as impregnable as a fortress.

The despair and death that once permeated the resettlement area have been quietly replaced by a vibrant and flourishing life.

The food rations were plentiful, and although the types were somewhat monotonous, they were enough to fill our stomachs.

It's important to understand that even in a good year, these farmers from the countryside can't eat their fill all year round. Whether they can live a stable life with enough to eat depends entirely on the country's increased taxes and the mood of their tribal chief.

For them, this kind of life of "two meals a day, all you can eat" is like paradise!
Clean and hygienic drinking water was even rarer. In the past, in villages, letting the water that had been drawn stand for a while was the best way to filter it. Drinking river or lake water directly was the daily routine for the villagers.

Now, several centralized water supply points have been set up in the city, where the garrison has installed "magical machines" that can filter muddy water into odorless drinking water.

In addition, each refugee settlement was also provided with its own large water purification tank. Simply fill it with murky water, and then the managers will sprinkle in a few small "water purification tablets" that hiss in the water. After a slight churning and settling, the water in the tank will be so clear that you can see straight to the bottom.

The vast majority of people firmly believe that this water is sweet, fragrant, and has an unforgettable aftertaste.

There are also vitamin tablets.

Chen Mo once expressed deep regret at the communication meeting, saying that because it was impossible to guarantee a balanced supply of nutrients such as meat and vegetables, vitamin tablets could only be used as a substitute.

In reality, the villagers of Xiyue have virtually no nutrition; vitamin pills are the best supplements for them.

One pill a day, with a sweet and sour taste, after a few days, the sallow complexion of the refugees receded like the tide, and a slightly rosy glow was visibly revealed.

Finally, there is regular labor.

The able-bodied men repaired roads, carried supplies, participated in training, and carried out patrols, while the women cleaned the camp, sewed and mended clothes, distributed supplies and food, and cared for the sick, weak, elderly, and children...

All workers exchanged their daily labor for "food coupons," which could be directly exchanged for cooked food at the canteen, and sometimes there was even some leftover food.

When life has a predictable trajectory, when efforts yield rewards, and when tomorrow is no longer merely a synonym for hunger and the unknown, people regain their dignity and see hope.

The children in the camp, who originally had big heads and small bodies, even started chasing, playing, laughing and frolicking. Occasionally, some of the bolder children would even follow the patrolling elf warriors in groups, looking at their exquisite armor and pointed ears with envy.

In this situation, it would be extremely difficult for spies hiding among refugees to survive, let alone carry out any sabotage operations.

One bad news after another kept coming in, and the enraged Commander Lind Carson smashed everything he could in the tent to pieces, including the heads of several guards.

"Trash! They are all a bunch of trash!"

Linde, panting heavily, paced back and forth in the military tent like a caged beast. "What kind of elite spies are they? They can't even incite a bunch of lowly commoners!"

"Keep driving away those damned bastards! I refuse to believe they have an endless supply of resources!"

In fact, although the "North Wind" Legion had been unable to capture Qingze City for a long time, it had never relaxed its surveillance of the city.

The legion's scouts observed that the frequency of enemy airdrops seemed to have decreased significantly recently. This subtle change, in Lind's eyes, was like a drowning man grasping at a straw.

Whether it's due to the enemy's shortage of supplies or the fact that those "big birds" high in the sky can no longer fly, this is an opportunity for the "North Wind" Legion.

He must hold on tight!

“My lord,” the lieutenant in charge of driving away the refugees knelt below the hall, bowing his head to the ground, “we…we can’t catch any more refugees. All the living people we could find have already been sent in, and the rest…drowned in the water!”

A glint of madness flashed in Lin De's bloodshot eyes as he stared intently at his lieutenant: "What about the areas that weren't flooded? Hmm? Surely the flood didn't submerge the entire Xiyue! Aren't there still plenty of living people outside? Go! Go and capture them! Drive everyone you can to Qingze City!"

Upon hearing this, almost all the generals in the tent gasped in shock.

Indeed, the banks of the Beilu River were raging with floodwaters, but there were still places that were not submerged, such as the controlled area of ​​Shicui City, the highlands to the west, and the plains to the south.

However, the plan to capture one's own citizens to fill Qingze City is simply too insane.

Is this a case of fighting tooth and nail to support a million citizens, even if it means overwhelming the opponent?
At this moment, looking at the legion commander in front of them, whose eyes were bloodshot and who looked like a madman, and thinking about the "North Wind" legion's current predicament of being able to advance but not retreat, it seemed that the cruel reality could not allow everyone to continue to maintain their conscience.

Take Qingze City at all costs!
Either arrest civilians or have soldiers die.

For the "North Wind" Legion, the answer is certain and unique.

(End of this chapter)