Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 473 War? Working! The Invisible Front
Since receiving "strong support" from the dwarfs, the Green Pine Kingdom has stood taller than ever before.

The kingdom's finance minister started humming a tune again, and with a quick stroke of his pen across the ledger, he made up for the previously owed rewards.

Although the kingdom's rewards for military achievements must be substantial at times like this, those who receive the honors are veterans from various regions, and they are generally sensible enough not to let the kingdom's leaders have worked in vain.

Meanwhile, the lords, generals, and soldiers fighting against the vast sea were once again filled with enthusiasm and fought bravely to "kill the enemy," with the numbers on the battle merit list rising steadily.

Meanwhile, Han Hai was "funding" his enemy with a massive amount of money...

Wait, something seems off.

The dwarfs are known for their ruthlessness and cruelty, but at this moment, they seem to have discovered a new world from Han Hai's actions.

In the past, loan sharks would pay the principal and earn interest, but Lord Chen Mo of the Vast Ocean demonstrated a no-principal operation to the dwarf.

The loan that Wangyue Golden Pavilion lent to the Green Pine Kingdom was a "targeted battlefield reward loan".

According to the agreement, this money can only be used by the Green Pine Kingdom to reward the combat troops fighting on the front lines and in the Vast Sea. It cannot be used for any other purpose, and it cannot be used for military pay or provisions needed on any other front.

To be more specific, this "targeted loan" was used to exchange Green Pine for "Tiger Plate".

Green Pine, having staked the fate of their nation, knows that losing the war means losing everything. Now, they don't care as long as they can borrow money to keep the war going.

Therefore, they accepted all the conditions offered by Wangyue Jingge, whose representative was the dwarf.

Whatever the nine-out-and-thirteen-out, the cut-off interest, or the compounding interest, it doesn't matter!
But to the dwarfs' utter surprise, Chen Mo had no intention of paying.

Instead of paying with cash, what did Chen Mo offer? Vouchers.

"Large amounts of gold and silver coins are inconvenient to use, and they can easily breed corruption in the process."

Chen Mo's reasoning was simple: "I lent money to Green Pine to support their war effort. What if they misappropriated the money and used it for eating, drinking, having fun, and building gardens?"
Ants Kimi covered his head and thought for a long time. The logic was right!
But is this something you, Hanhai, should be concerned about?
Is this forcing your enemy country to work hard and fight a proper war with you?
Forget it, it doesn't seem like this is something we dwarfs should worry about!
Our commission is as good as it gets!

So, the whole process became like this.

The dwarves, acting on behalf of the Southern Branch of the Seven Luminaries Garland Merchant Guild which they "control," provided Green Pine with a huge "targeted battlefield reward loan." However, the loan was not paid in the form of currency or goods; it was merely an "authorized quota" borrowed from the Moon Gazing Pavilion.

When the soldiers on the Green Pine front returned with their captured "Tiger Badges," the Green Pine Kingdom tallied their achievements in front of the dwarf supervisor, and each soldier received a corresponding monetary reward. The dwarf then allocated this reward to the Green Pine Kingdom in the form of vouchers, which the Green Pine Kingdom distributed as rewards to the frontline troops.

In theory, these vouchers need to be redeemed at the location designated by the dwarf. However, in practice, the various legions of Green Pine carry these vouchers and hand them over directly to the "Tiger Tag Trading Intermediary Platform," which is Dimo, to exchange for new "Tiger Tag."

Of course, because the reward amount given by the kingdom is greater than the selling value on the Dimo ​​platform, each legion will have some profit margin left over from each transaction, which means they will have some extra vouchers.

Dimo followed suit and opened a black market, supplying food, weapons, and armor. He said he couldn't give you money, but you could buy some things and leave.

Next, Dimo ​​delivered these vouchers to Iron Fist Stronghold, exchanging them for "Tiger Tokens" in return, and using the extra profits to buy supplies.

This step was deliberately left out by Hanhai; it's essential. Without the profit margins of these intermediate levels, if they only traded "Tiger Brand," these agents wouldn't have enough motivation!
The overall principle of the entire process is simple: the consumption process involves exchanging vouchers for goods, and both parties are cleared of each other; no change is given if no cash is paid.

From then on, this batch of vouchers that had flowed out of the Han Hai Wang Yue Golden Pavilion returned to the hands of the Han Hai Yun Wu front-line command.

In each parallel transaction, Han Hai gave up a batch of "Tiger Brand" products and supplies worth about twenty or thirty silver coins, and received back one hundred silver coins, or the equivalent of one hundred silver coins in Green Pine debt.

Oh, and there's also a bonus head from the Emerald Duchy...

Once the Cloud Mist Leader finished crediting the vouchers to his account, he notified the Moon Gazing Pavilion to balance the books, thus completing the entire transaction. Throughout the whole process, the Green Pine Kingdom was only responsible for paying out money, and they didn't even see a single copper coin of the huge loan they had borrowed.

However, the debt was indeed incurred, and it was all exchanged for a massive amount of "Tiger Badges" (a type of military badge) in the warehouse.

After going through the process once, the dwarfs sensed that something was very, very, very wrong.

Paying the enemy to kill one's own soldiers is not in line with Han Hai's style of doing things. This carefully designed process is full of mystery and intrigue.

A group of dwarf elders privately discussed the matter repeatedly and finally figured out the logic behind it.

"So, Tiger Brand must be fake, and these vouchers can become worthless at any time... Hanhai used a bunch of paper to exchange for Green Pine's debt? And Green Pine still thinks it got a great deal?"

"more than!"

Ants Kimi rubbed the little cap on his head vigorously: "Green Pine spent its own money, commanded its own soldiers to kill Emerald's soldiers, and got back a pile of iron pieces and a few pieces of waste paper..."

"This is really weird!"

Another dwarf elder leaned closer: "If the 'Tiger Brand' and the battle merits are fake, it means that Green Pine could never gain an advantage on the battlefield, and therefore definitely cannot repay the money?"

"Then what will they use to repay it later?"

Ants shook his head: "This is not our concern!"

It's no wonder the dwarfs didn't help Green Pine; every fluctuation in the amount represented a substantial "brokerage fee" being deposited into their accounts.

After a quick calculation, it became clear that the dwarfs not only did not question the matter at all, but also helped to suppress the news, create a smokescreen, and divert attention.

The next one to sense that something was wrong was Dimo.

From the beginning, Dimo ​​had a vague suspicion that the source of these "Tiger Badges" was probably not just about receiving salaries without working.

But it was just a guess after all; he had no way of verifying it, nor did he dare to.

With trading volume this high, if he, as the "core trading platform," still can't sense anything fishy, ​​then he's really wasting his renowned "intelligence."

As a middleman, in a short period of time, he, or rather the military team he led, accumulated a large amount of gold coins, weapons, food, and supplies... The speed of growth made him feel terrified.

He was well aware, of course, that he had only received a small portion of the deal, and a little calculation would reveal that behind his skimming was an astronomical financial loss for the Green Pine Kingdom.

If we win this battle, then everything will be fine. But can Green Pine win?
Stop joking. According to the numbers, all the units of the Han Hai army on the front lines have died at least twice...

If Dimo ​​had any initial hope for this, now he has completely given up on it.

impossible!

Everything is part of someone else's plan.

With red eyes, Dimo ​​stared at military maps night after night, looking at the crisscrossing trenches and marching routes on the battlefield, slowly understanding Han Hai's method of cutting flesh with a dull knife.

"Judging from the strength of the Han Hai attacking the Liuli Valley, the Xinpo River natural barrier and the Nanguan Territory defense line are nothing but trash!"

"Han Hai Ling is putting on an act with Green Pine; they're going to completely drain Green Pine."

"Even those stalemates on the southern fronts might be part of Han Hai's entire plan."

“When the kingdom is completely drained of its lifeblood, that will be the time for them to make their move.”

"what should I do?"

The young lord's hair was falling out in clumps, clearly showing signs of balding.

Over the next few days, Dimo's camp was brightly lit day and night. The young lord summoned his generals in and out, constantly trying to find an answer through various indirect methods.

Or rather, to confirm the answer in one's heart.

After another large-scale transaction of "Tiger" was completed, taking advantage of the time when all the personnel were at their best, Dimo ​​finally came out of his own tent, entered the central command tent, and convened a meeting of all senior officers.

The tent was packed with people. Sir Ronan sat in the first seat on the right, followed by Oscar. Dozens of senior and mid-ranking officers were seated in order of seniority, and all eyes were on Dimo.

"My uncles and esteemed generals!"

"These past few days I've been thinking, whose fault is it that our Zircon Territory has fallen to this state?"

Is it Han Hai?

The large tent was unusually quiet.

Some generals remained silent, looking down as if they hadn't heard a thing; some officers exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what the young commander was trying to say; and some others, equally clueless, nodded repeatedly.

Of course it's Han Hai. Your father was killed, are you going to defend him?
Yes, that's what Timo is doing.

"On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. My Zircon army stormed into the walls of Hanhai City, only to be defeated. We were outmatched. We professional soldiers have nothing to say!"

"Moreover, many of your generals' men were prisoners of war from that battle."

Dimo pointed to several people present, his voice slightly hoarse: "They were released. You all know how Han Hai treats prisoners of war!"

"My father, Marquis Monroe, died in battle, and I lost my right to inherit the territory. You could say I am the biggest victim of Han Hai. But thinking about Han Hai's conduct, they remain calm in the face of the strong and do not bully the weak. Even as enemies, I have to say, they are truly a land of integrity!"

“Even though I, Dimo, deeply hate such an enemy, I can never say that they are wrong!”

Upon hearing this, most of the officers present involuntarily sat up straight.

"But what about our kingdom?"

"The Zircon Territory's legacy, which the Vast Ocean has not interrupted, is about to be cut short by those old parasites in the kingdom!"

"Before, we were barely surviving, living hand to mouth, just trying to stay afloat. Now that we finally have some resources, I've been thinking about how to lead our abandoned Zircon Territory to survive a few more days in this chaotic situation!"

"Gentlemen, I am now completely lost in the fog, unable to see the way forward. I can only ask you uncles for advice on how to proceed from here on out?"

Dimo is a recognized smart kid; not a single word he utters is superfluous.

This wasn't a request for advice; it was clearly a demand for everyone to make their stance clear. Dimo ​​stood up, placing his hands on the table. Some sharp-eyed generals noticed that the young lord was wearing a brand-new enchanted half-body chainmail today.

The first to react was the seasoned veteran Ronan.

As a nobleman of the territory, Dimo ​​certainly had no shortage of armor. In his daily battles, he wore a full set of plate armor that the Marquis of Monroe had carefully prepared for him.

The full plate armor is of moderate weight, provides strong protection, and can be equipped with multiple magic arrays, making it undoubtedly the best armor on the battlefield. However, it has a drawback: it is not flexible enough.

While chainmail offers less protection against punctures and blunt force than plate armor, it excels in ease of movement, especially in infantry combat, where it is far more convenient than plate armor.

Under what circumstances should one prepare for infantry warfare within one's own camp?

Ronan glanced at the generals in the tent out of the corner of his eye, especially Oscar, who was also wearing chainmail and had his hand on his longsword. He sighed inwardly.

These uncertain days are coming to an end.

Of all the generals under Dimo, Ronan was the strongest and held the highest position. It seemed that Dimo ​​relied on him a lot, but Ronan knew very well that this was not the case.

Dimo's most trusted person is actually Oscar.

The reasoning is simple: Ronan was a veteran whom the Marquis of Monroe had promoted all the way up, and a trusted advisor whom the Marquis had placed by his son; while Oscar was a confidant whom Dimo ​​himself had promoted step by step from humble beginnings.

No matter how affectionately Timo calls him "Uncle Ronan," he will only send Oscar to do some of the most private things.

For example, every time I went to hand over those "Tiger Brand" badges.

In a split second, Ronan made his choice.

He certainly hated Han Hai, after all, his old benefactor and superior, Marquis Monroe, had died at Han Hai's hands. It was impossible for him to feel no resentment at all.

But all the professionals in the Starry Sky know very well that hatred cannot allow a person to live, much less allow a family to survive.

Endless mutual killings can easily plunge oneself and one's descendants into the bottomless abyss of the "lowly" class if one is not careful.

Ronan was not alone; he had two wives, three children, and even a newborn grandson, a family that needed to continue.

He looked up and stared at Dimo ​​with wide eyes.

The young man's eyes were a little puffy, and his face showed an uncontrollable fatigue, but his blue-gray eyes were still bright and piercing. Although his face was turned away, Ronan felt that Dimo's gaze was always on him.

Ronan couldn't help but slightly twitch his wrist, then stood up and coughed loudly, interrupting the whispers in the tent.

"The Marquis once told me—"

Everyone in the tent pricked up their ears.

"If he is not here, the only one who can hope to continue the legacy of Zircon Territory is Lord Dimo!"

Ronan immediately knelt on one knee, placed his right hand on his chest, and performed a standard knightly salute.

His voice was deep and resonant, each word carrying the faint sound of metal striking stone.

"Therefore, we Zircon soldiers will obey General Dimo's orders. Just tell us what to do!"

Before Ronan could finish speaking, Dimo's eyes lit up.

The strongest force, the Knight Commander, even raised the banner of the Marquis, firmly expressing their support for him—this was the best outcome he had envisioned.

The child is suffering.

As a monopolistic platform for trading "Tiger Brand" products, it seemed to be making a fortune. However, Han Hai controlled the business extremely meticulously. After careful review, he discovered that the vast majority of the profits were tied up in the "Tiger Brand" products stored in the warehouse.

Han Hai dared to offer Dimo ​​goods first and then payment, but Dimo ​​wouldn't dare to do that to the Green Pine group behind him. So, back and forth, they made a lot of money, but it all turned into inventory that was stuck in their hands and kept piling up.

Now, the Tiger brand badges that have already been traded, plus the Tiger brand badges in stock, are enough to replace the entire Western Expeditionary Force in the Vast Ocean.

Dimo even admired the other person a little, for being able to come up with so many nice-sounding names, and none of them were the same.

But no matter how well the name is made up, it's useless. If this trend continues, it will be exposed soon, and no matter how many reasons you make up, it won't be able to cover it up!

Having come this far, I can no longer return to Turquoise. Even if His Majesty the King were to grant me a second-class marquisate or even a first-class marquisate, and bestow upon me the title of Zircon Lord, I still cannot go back.

The matter he had handled had dragged the kingdom into an abyss.

Even now, I can't stop.

Some things, once started, offer no turning back.

It's like that massive empire on Earth, spending trillions of dollars on military spending every year, yet all the new warships and aircraft are just sitting on PowerPoint presentations.

Everyone knows what's going on, but no one can salvage the situation.

Even God couldn't help it!
Dimo was in the same boat at that moment.

Behind him were the various Green Pine Legions on the Crystal Plains battlefield, all watching with predatory eyes; the high-ranking officials in the Military Affairs Department who handled the rewards; the noble retainers in charge of resource recycling and supply; and the heavyweight figures in the Green Pine Kingdom responsible for foreign loans…

Even if I stop now and bravely reveal the truth, countless people will probably pounce on me, tear me to shreds, and then tell His Majesty the King, "This kid is lying!"

In other words, if Dimo ​​dared not treason, he could be immediately labeled as a "traitor"!

At that time, many of the generals sitting in front of him would probably not hesitate to trample on his own corpse, then take over the trading channel and continue leading the kingdom toward this dead end.

He had no other choice.

Fortunately, the Zircon Guards he had arranged outside the main tent were not needed. The two knights, Ronan and Oscar, easily suppressed the few "traitors" with ulterior motives, and not even a drop of blood was stained on the ground of the tent.

"Thank you, uncles!"

"My mind is made up. I will use all my savings to recruit colleagues and train soldiers!"

"If the battlefield situation changes, we will immediately swear an oath and march north to attack Emerald, seeking a place for us to survive!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Amidst this chaotic fog, on the other side of the Green Pine Kingdom's battlefield, a young man also realized something was amiss.

This is a hybrid of elf and human.

The Elf's Lookout Post is located on a hill about twenty miles southwest of Redwood Fortress. The area is filled with tall trees and thickets of varying heights, which are now in full bloom and gleam in the setting sun.

A tall, slender figure stood atop the highest point of the hill, gazing into the distance for a long time.

Because elves are so rare, there has always been a tradition of incorporating hybrids, especially those who have been oppressed and bullied by humans, into the Silvermoon Forest system. However, in the past, there were distinctions between close and distant relatives and between insiders and outsiders. Usually, being able to become a ranger at the level of squad leader or vice-captain is the ceiling for hybrid elves.

When the Elven race and Lord Chen of the Vast Sea made contact, especially after they marched into the plains, the shortage of management personnel increased significantly. This greatly accelerated the "hybridization" process, and the status of half-elves gradually rose, and they began to reach high-end positions such as local garrison and mid-level military officers.

For example, Og Watson, the city defense captain of White Rock, is a half-dwarf and half-elf.

Later, with the Silvermoon Royal Court joining the Summer Moon Alliance, the half-elves were finally able to make a new breakthrough, and some half-elves were able to enter the management level of the legion.

Of course, the selection criteria are also very strict. Not only must they be outstanding in martial arts and intelligence, they must have a high degree of affinity with the Elf race, have a clear understanding of the situation on the Starry Continent, and they can only be selected from the "trainees" sent by the Elves to the Vast Sea.

To date, only one person has met all the above conditions and was ultimately approved by the Elven Elders to become a vice commander of the Elven Legion.

He is a hybrid of Plains Humans and Moon Elves, and has intricate connections with the royal family. Of course, the most crucial point is that his father's mother is the sister of Liushuang's maternal grandmother.

The army that marched north to fight against the heavens suffered a betrayal, and many of the elves among them were left to wander and leave behind many offspring. This one was discovered early and brought back to Silvermoon Forest long ago.

Although she consistently performed exceptionally well, considered the pinnacle of half-elf talent, the entire half-elf team's potential was capped there, until the emergence of "Princess Yi" Princess Liushuang.

More than a decade of diligent study and hard work cannot compare to the bloodline of one's ancestors.

And so, he was sent to study in the vast ocean, graduated with excellent grades, and upon his return, he rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming the deputy captain of the Silver Moon Guard and serving as the second commander of the Green Pine Campaign.

At this moment, the man's gaze passed over the Redwood Fortress at the foot of the mountain and turned towards the distant northeast.

The elven battle banner behind him was embroidered with the name of his personal guard, which was also his name.

It was at a New Year's tea party at the Han Naval Academy that the students, who were pursuing further studies, earnestly requested Lord Chen Mo to name Dongxia.

Chen Mo, who was terrible at coming up with names, had no choice but to look at the pile of snacks on the table.

"You can call yourself Green Tea... Uh, no, no, that's too awkward. Let's call you White Tea instead!"

"Your name is Candy, your name is Preserved Fruit, but don't rush, don't rush, how about you be called Plum? It sounds so nice!"

"You must be Liu Shuang's cousin?"

"Good results! You must avoid complacency and keep up the good work!"

Chen Mo casually picked up a small transparent cup from the table and named the half-elf officer.

"Your name will be—"

"jelly!"

(End of this chapter)