Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 419 Unexpected Recurrences
The flickering indoor lights couldn't illuminate the furrowed brows of the "Unreturning" stewards, who, though human, always had a strange look in their eyes, and sat around the long table.

The subtle fragrance of burning premium oil, mixed with the stench of the mines emanating from the stewards, lingered in the stifling air, causing old Eugene to cough heavily.

Throughout history, the Starry Continent has been home to hundreds of races and thousands of species, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. But no matter how you compare them, everyone agrees that humans are among the most intelligent.

However, this trait is usually described as "cunning" or "treacherous" by other races!
In the ancient epic poem "The North Wind," which is widely circulated among the elves, the origin of the human race, which suddenly appeared in the world, was described in this artistic way.

The gods bestowed magic upon the elves, and humans secretly stole a portion of its brilliance;
The gods bestowed power upon the orcs, and humans secretly stole fragments of that power.
The gods bestowed upon half-beasts agility, and humans secretly stole a portion of that agility.
The gods bestowed greed upon dwarfs, and oh, humans accepted it all, becoming no different from dwarfs...

Of course, in the eyes of various races, what complements intelligence is the low moral character of humankind.

At this moment, the leaders of the "Never Return" human race that Eugene had summoned, sitting in this room, each had their own thoughts.

Those who try to continue following the orcs are not doing so out of loyalty, but because the orcs' centuries-old power still exists, and they are worried that the totem army on the wasteland might crush the white deer again at any time.

"The royal army... will eventually march south. In the past few centuries, when has humanity ever truly won? If a reckoning were to take place in the future..."

In their minds, it seemed as if the nightmare of their ancestors wailing under the iron hooves of orcs was replaying itself.

Those who attempted to defect to the human race were certainly not doing so for any racial righteousness; it was simply because Han Hai's gun barrel was almost touching his forehead, and the bullet was likely to be fired at any moment.

After all, even in Vulture Cliff, the heart of White Deer, one could hear the distant rumble of cannons every now and then.

Faced with the heated argument in the room, old Eugene slammed his hand heavily on the table.

“I’m putting my words here.”

"We don't know when those wild beasts on the wasteland will come down. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, maybe they won't come down even when we're all dead."

"But even if they come down, what good outcome can we expect?"

"In the eyes of the orcs, aren't we just cannon fodder? If we haven't escaped by the time the next big battle starts, we're doomed!"

These words immediately silenced the heated debate.

That's right. The human race on the other side of the vast ocean is so powerful. If the beast race is defeated, our group will definitely face a brutal reckoning.

If the orcs win, their own group will likely suffer the same fate; using "No Return" as cannon fodder has always been an orc tradition.

Over the past few years, the Han Hai people have repeatedly proven their formidable reputation by defeating the orc army, leaving behind the corpses of orc shamans, the broken wings of wyvern riders, and the heads of their warlords.

Even if Han Hai can't defeat the orcs from the royal court, surely he can defeat his own vassal army?
As expected of the veteran "No Return" chief, Eugene's meticulous analysis clearly laid out both the path of "waiting to die" and "seeking death."

Then all that's left is to surrender?
"Alright, now that everyone has figured out the reasoning, we should do it as soon as possible."

"Once they come knocking on our door, we'll be worthless!"

"Father, are we really going to take this path?"

The one asking the questions was Eugene's son, Eugene Jr., who was twenty-four years old and had been a foreman at the mine for twenty-five years, having started his job while still in his mother's womb.

Although he has plenty of work experience, he seems a bit simplistic in his thinking. I wonder if it's because he works too long hours and has too much of a work ethic. When he asks questions, he speaks in a very formal and rigid manner.

"There are still two orc squads of a thousand men each at the mine, what should we do?"

"What to do? Since they've already turned against us, we should kill them! Are we going to keep them around for breeding?"

Old Eugene muttered some curse under his breath, but since it was his son, any curse seemed to relate to him. He could only glare fiercely at young Eugene and beckon his subordinates to come closer.

"This matter must be planned meticulously!"

"First, we must not let this get out of the way. For everyone's safety, I'll play the villain. From now on, all of you managers can either stay here and I'll treat you to good food and water, and then send you out to enjoy yourselves after this is done."

"Either you go out on business, you must be accompanied by my bodyguards all day long. If anyone has any improper thoughts or can't control their mouth, then don't blame me, Eugene, for being ruthless and taking their head as a sacrifice for our important mission!"

"Secondly, we need to prepare a backup plan."

"These orcs in the mines are easy to deal with, but if we make a move here, the armies of the major tribes will definitely come to attack immediately. This is not something we can handle. Therefore, we need to make contact with the humans in the east in advance!"

At this point, old Eugene slightly raised his chin, a hint of pride in his voice.

"I made preparations for this a long time ago."

"Over there in the Vast Ocean, I have a distant relative named Brin, who is now a very prominent figure in the Vast Ocean territory. He is a... major! I heard that he wields considerable power and commands several thousand elite soldiers."

"A few months ago, I secretly asked someone to visit him."

The Brin that Eugene mentioned was indeed a renowned figure in the Vast Sea Territory. He was once Hamon's vanguard general. Because he was bullied by the orcs, he persuaded Hamon to betray him and became famous in the Battle of Liao Pass.

After that, the National Army went into battle several times, and Brin fought extremely bravely. It can be said that Brin made a great contribution to Hamon's army being able to be named the "Return of the Righteous Army".

As for so-called distant relatives, they are probably the neighbors of one's aunts, uncles, classmates, teachers, or the grandson-in-law of someone else's family...

But it doesn't matter, as long as you're willing to climb up, you'll eventually succeed.

Brin promptly reported Eugene's contact to the National Defense Forces, which then forwarded it to the Supreme Military Command, thus establishing initial contact between the two sides. However, at that time, the situation in West White Deer was not yet so dire, and Eugene only harbored thoughts of private negotiations, not yet discussing the matter of surrender.

However, as the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, old Eugene once again grasped at this lifeline.

Eugene meticulously recounted the negotiation process, and the stewards present exchanged glances and immediately began to shower him with praise.

"Our commander-in-chief is truly insightful and far-sighted; we admire him immensely!"

"We never imagined that our esteemed leader had planned to this extent. It is truly an immense honor for us to work under his guidance!"

"My tribe has three hundred men and seventy warriors, who are ready to be dispatched by Commander Eugene at any time!"

"Me too, us too!"

Eugene looked around. This last offer had finally calmed everyone down, and he immediately began making arrangements for the mining area.

"The most valuable thing we have here is those iron blocks in the warehouse. Old Bai, you'd better send someone to guard them well. When we go to the Han Hai, these will be our capital for making connections with the nobles there!"

"Don't worry, sir. I'll find a pretext for theft and lock up the warehouse. It'll take at least a few dozen days to inventory and investigate. During that time, not a single piece of ore will leave the warehouse!"

"it is good!"

Eugene nodded approvingly, then turned to another burly swordsman, the captain of the Vulture Cliff mining team.

"I've already made arrangements at the armory. Every few days, there's a night when the guards are all our own people. Go in quietly and take some weapons and armor to arm the kids in the mine protection team. Whether things go smoothly or not depends on you!"

"Yes, sir!"

"it is good!"

"I have prepared a magical beacon and will send someone out to contact the other side. As long as they are ready to provide support and hold off the orcs' follow-up army, we will immediately take action, coordinating from within and without, to take Vulture Cliff!"

"Gentlemen, I hope we can all work together to wash away the shame of the White Deer Clan!"

The crowd responded with a roar, each person as excited as if they had drunk a shot of strong liquor, breathing heavily and their faces flushed.

After the meeting ended, old Eugene walked alone to the small stone window, slowly pushed it open, and a cold wind immediately rushed in through the crack, invigorating him.

Looking down through the window, thousands of orc and human miners, densely packed and filling the valley, crawled like ants in the mine pits, using both hands and feet to drag baskets of ore out of the pits and into the enormous machine at the valley entrance. This round, massive machine was a remnant of the White Deer Kingdom, consisting of inner and outer layers that could rotate in opposite directions. Once in the hands of the humans, it operated with magic arrays and was driven by spirit crystals, capable of grinding the ore into fine particles while separating the stone from the soil. The sifted ore particles could then be directly smelted in the furnace.

However, because the orcs used it too ruthlessly after taking over Vulture Cliff, and there was no longer any maintenance from the mages, it broke down more than a hundred years ago.

After being modified by a dwarf engineer hired by the dwarf, the machine has now become a "human millstone," with hundreds of burly men shirtless, wearing only shorts, pushing dozens of levers extending from the disc while sweating profusely.

Occasionally, the cracking of the overseers' whips and the painful cries of the miners could be heard in the air.

Over the next few days, old Eugene became exceptionally busy. He frequently inspected the various mine shafts, work sheds, and warehouses, had heart-to-heart talks with the managers and supervisors, personally led people to "count" the supplies in each warehouse, and even considerately paid the long-overdue wages to the human mine protection team.

The mine was filled with joy and high spirits.

However, the orc commander of the mine, Milos of the leopard tribe, was no pushover. Soon, this old orc with a scarred face intercepted Eugene at the warehouse entrance.

"Steward You seems to be quite busy lately!"

Eugene bowed deeply, his face beaming with smiles: "Lord Milos, isn't the weather getting colder and the situation outside unsettled? The grain transport team has already been delayed several times. I need to be careful with the supplies, otherwise, I'm afraid we won't have enough food and fuel to get through the winter!"

"What's going on?"

Milos took a step forward, and a smell of sweat and blood wafted over him.

Old Eugene took a half step back and chuckled awkwardly, "It's just... the situation on the other side of the river isn't good. I heard the human forces have already crossed Howling Moon Ridge. I'm worried that if... if something unexpected happens, we should prepare in advance, shouldn't we?"

Milos's pupils narrowed to slits as he stared at old Yu for several seconds before suddenly grinning, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth:
"Manager You's consideration is very thoughtful, but don't worry, with me and my children here, nothing will happen at Vulture Cliff!"

"Since you're worried about the warehouse, starting today, I'll have people directly guarding it. You, just focus on keeping an eye on your men and making sure they don't slack off!"

"You don't need to worry about anything else!"

"..."

Without waiting for Eugene's response, Milos turned and left in a gust of wind.

After being thwarted by the orc centurion, old Eugene returned to his stronghold with a heavy heart, only to hear even worse news.

To avoid being discovered, he arranged for his trusted subordinates to activate a magical beacon dozens of kilometers away from Vulture Cliff, making contact with people on the other side of the Vast Ocean.

"My lord... over there, they've replied..."

"What did you say? What conditions were agreed to?"

“They…they said…” the messenger closed his eyes, his voice trembling, “the only option is to lay down your weapons and surrender unconditionally. We…we reject all the conditions we have proposed.”

Old Eugene's face immediately darkened.

He admitted that his request was a little... well, a bit far-fetched.

For example, the existing ore and resources at Vulture Cliff will be split 50/50 between our side and Han Hai.

For example, since we are so familiar with the mining area, we hope that we can allow them to continue to be stationed at Vulture Cliff. If that is not possible, we should at least arrange a decent place for them to stay and provide them with tens or hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, since we also need to support our families!
Furthermore, in comparison to Brin's title, he should at least best grant himself a similar title, and ideally, give himself an independent position within the military.

By the way, some of the families he manages are still in the orc tribe. Han Hai needs to help him redeem them, or allow him to exchange orc prisoners for them...

Did Eugene not know that his demands were excessive? Of course he did, but wasn't this just asking for the moon?

In the minds of these "non-returning" individuals, isn't the condition something that can be negotiated slowly, with each person taking a step back and the other making a concession?

But the other party refused to even talk! A cold, hard "unconditional surrender" shut down all his carefully prepared ways out!
"They didn't leave us anything at all?"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger knelt on the ground, looking like he was about to cry, clearly feeling that he had messed things up: "They only have one sentence, they won't talk about anything, they want us to surrender unconditionally!"

"Without money and soldiers, how can we protect ourselves? If they turn against us, won't we be at their mercy?"

"They said they couldn't guarantee our safety, that they would... they would investigate us, and that if we had a history of serious crimes, we would be prosecuted according to the law!"

Old Eugene felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and collapsed to the ground.

What constitutes a serious crime? That's entirely up to the other party!
Besides, having managed the mines for so long, which of the supervisors under his command hasn't taken dozens of lives?

After a long pause, Eugene suddenly looked up: "Brin has no grudges against us, so why is he being so heartless? Is it those Restorationists who are causing trouble?"

The messenger banged his head against the stone slab repeatedly: "My lord, my lord, I don't know, I really don't know!"

"I know, it must be like this!"

On the Xibailu Plain, the Restoration Society and the "Never Return" people had a blood feud that had accumulated for hundreds of years, a feud so deep it was impossible to dissolve.

Eugene asked himself honestly, if he were on the other side, they would probably lure him in first, take over the Vulture Cliff mine without bloodshed, and then turn around and deliver a thunderous blow.

The conditions he set were largely to guard against this worst-case scenario. His demands for money, land, and military power were simply a way to ensure he always had some self-defense capital, making the other side hesitant to act.

But the other side wouldn't even put on a show.

Let alone that I can't accept these conditions, even if I could, how could all my managers and mine protection team members accept them?
That night, Eugene's cabin was brightly lit.

In the second round of negotiations, Eugene drastically reduced his demands. For example, he only wanted 70/30 of the mine's resources, with his group taking only 30%. As for the titles, he didn't want them anymore; he just wanted to keep an army.

The other party refused without hesitation, offering the same cold and uncompromising statement: "Unconditional surrender!"

The third time, Eugene didn't even ask for ransom for his family, nor did he need to join the army. He just wanted to share some of the wealth with his men, leave the White Deer Plain safely, and live a life of leisure and wealth in the Silver Kingdom or the Azure Wave Kingdom to the south.

"Unconditional surrender!"

Eugene was utterly desperate.

He really couldn't understand why, no matter how powerful the other party was, they would have to pay some price to take over this long-established mine. Why couldn't they even meet this small condition?
Could it be that those bastards from the Restoration Society are determined to wipe them out? Do they have that much influence over that Lord of the Vast Ocean?

After much deliberation and sleepless nights, Eugene finally made a desperate decision!
Then let’s have a fight.

These arrogant fools will probably only understand how generous the conditions Master You is offering them when they've suffered a bloody defeat at Vulture Cliff!
Of course, Han Hai Ling probably thought the same thing.

Allowing the other party to surrender unconditionally is probably the best negotiation condition they can get.

Contrary to Eugene's expectations, although the Restoration Society and the "No Return" people were sworn enemies on the West White Deer Plain, the group led by Rhino Moon were all extremely pragmatic.

Having struggled back from the brink of death, they made no demands of the lord who saved them.

As for Chen Mo, the Han Hai Control Zone is currently undergoing a comprehensive reform and large-scale construction transformation. Chen Mo has no intention of launching a full-scale attack on the West White Deer Plain. Therefore, the lord himself maintains an extremely stable stance.

It's acceptable for the National Defense Forces to defect on the battlefield!
You can lay down your weapon like "Thunder Roar"!
But you can't negotiate any terms with me!
This reflects a unique sentiment of the lord!
Repaying resentment with virtue, why repay virtue?

The lord's nonchalant and indifferent attitude was, in the eyes of some, more terrifying than a large army pressing in.

Beneath the surface, a turbulent undercurrent began to stir.

Ultimately, as expected, an accident occurred at the Vulture Cliff Mine in the West White Deer Plain!

(End of this chapter)