Chapter 460: The final sacrifice!

The morning sun shone on the Campbell military camp in Jing Shui Tan, plating the camp shrouded in thin mist with a layer of holy light.

Tens of thousands of soldiers had assembled.

The infantry of the Campbell Principality lined up in neat phalanxes, the polished muskets reflecting a chilling cold light in the morning sun.

Citizen cavalry stood on their flanks, and on the other side, the dwarf allies from the High Mountain Kingdom were also ready to go.

They stroked the heavy battle axes and muskets in their hands, or carried huge war machines, like bulls ready to launch a charge at any time.

Everyone was ready for battle, and the burning desire for victory, honor, and land burned in every pair of eyes.

Crossing Jing Shui Tan, it was the territory of Twilight City!

It was foreseeable that it would be a cruel slaughter, yet no one showed a look of cowardice or hesitation.

Not only because the Holy Light was always with the pious Campbells, but also because Her Highness Ailin Campbell stood with them.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Ailin, in full military uniform, with the Light of Praise at her waist, walked firmly onto the temporary platform made of wooden boxes.

On her left was the loyal guard knight Teresa; and on her right was also an old acquaintance of the Campbells—Prince Colin from a distant foreign country.

Looking at the familiar face that climbed onto the platform, a piece of low whispering spread in the military formation.

"It's actually Prince Colin!?"

"Saint Xisi above, His Highness has really returned!"

"Look! I didn't lie to you, right?! I saw him last night!"

"I said so, no wonder Her Highness the Princess didn't show up at the banquet last night, it turns out she was with His Highness the Prince!"

Colin's appearance was not just a strengthening potion injected into this expeditionary army, but also made the rumors of Her Highness Ailin disappearing during the battle self-defeating.

The morale of the soldiers soared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was just that when their eyes focused on Ailin, seeing that bright silver hair, there was still a touch of regret and gloom in their eyes.

In the Campbell Principality, the legend of the Light of Praise could be described as a household name, and its side effects were known to almost everyone.

The former Grand Duke Aaron Campbell left this world shortly after the war ended because he overused the power of the Light of Praise in the decisive battle with the Demon King of Lei Ming County, overdrawing his life.

Now Her Highness Ailin seemed to be walking toward this tragic fate...

For the soldiers who loved this Highness, this was undoubtedly a complicated thing...

Ailin, standing on the high platform, naturally noticed the respectful gazes of the soldiers, as well as the worry hidden behind the respect.

Although she really wanted to tell everyone not to worry about her, just as Prince Colin had instructed her earlier, it was better to let them worry.

Everything takes the overall situation into account.

Ailin glanced at Kuitin, who was tightening his face, and then looked at the centurions and chiliarchs standing in front of each queue.

Seeing that no one discovered the strangeness of her body, especially those dwarves with sensitive noses didn't have much reaction, she finally let go of the tension in her heart.

Suppressing the hundreds of thoughts in her heart, Ailin took a deep breath and started the final war mobilization before marching to Twilight City with a clear and firm voice.

"Everyone!"

"'Praiser' Rolandar and his lackeys have been killed, we have successfully taken Jing Shui Tan, and the capital of Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, Twilight City, is right in front of us!"

"Now—"

"It's time to make a break with the Chaos forces! Victory and glory will eventually belong to us who are illuminated by the Holy Light!"

"For the Saint Xisi children who are struggling under the corruption of Chaos—"

"For Campbell—!"

The sound that could stop the clouds echoed in the school grounds!

Her speech was impassioned, completely igniting the emotions of the soldiers, and the mountain-shaking shouts echoed through the clouds.

"For Campbell—!"

"For glory—!"

In the military formation, almost everyone was high in morale, except for the "hunters" standing in the corner, who were now looking confused.

However, this group of "big guys" who were disabled but strong were also like this on weekdays, so no one cared why they were out of tune with the surroundings.

Players 【Village Entrance Perm Master】 and 【Professional Repair Nuclear Submarine】 rubbed their eyes hard and pinched each other's arms hard.

After confirming that everything in front of them was not an illusion, the two couldn't help but gasp and scream.

"Damn..."

"Demon King????"

The respected Demon King was actually standing next to the hero! 【4

Did the dog developers mess something up again?

Fortunately, not everyone standing here was a "fool"; there were a few veteran players who had come over just to join the fun out of boredom.

【Rich Man Who Eats Dirt】 yawned, looking at the two fussing newbies with a speechless expression.

"Is this your first time playing this game?"

【Master Wang Who Perms Hair at the Village Entrance】 looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean..."

Crippled Canglang: "That was several versions ago. Back then, our Majesty was already jumping back and forth between the Netherworld and the surface world."

Jade-Faced Hand-Tired Wang: "+1, you'll get used to it."

That was over a year ago, maybe even two; back then, quite a few players even ran off to Lei Ming City to start businesses.

They were newbies back then too, and even set up an "Invincible Group" in the new industrial zone outside Lei Ming City, working as construction foremen.

From that time on, the Demon King had been active in Lei Ming City under the identity of "Prince Kelin."

【Master Wang Who Perms Hair at the Village Entrance】 and 【Professional Nuclear Submarine Repairman】 exchanged a glance, and finally prostrated themselves in admiration, sighing, "Awesome!"

That was truly awesome—they even managed to poach the hero of Shengxisi!

This move counts as subduing the enemy without a fight...

After Ailin's mobilization ended, Campbell's great army broke camp immediately and marched in a grand procession toward the direction of Dusk City.

In stark contrast to the high morale of the "Northern Rescue Army," the Green Forest Army's main camp outside Dusk City was currently shrouded in a cloud of dead silence.

The siege had lasted for over a month, and the blood of fallen soldiers had even stained the moat red, yet the walls of Dusk City still stood firm.

Not only that, the fighting on the outskirts of Dusk City was also a complete mess, and every few days, one could hear bad news coming from afar.

Everyone was whispering about how far away Campbell's army was, their dejected voices sounding as if they were discussing their own doomsday.

Noon.

Noisy sounds intruded upon the Green Forest Army's high-level military meeting.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

A scout, covered in blood and filth, scrambled into the main tent in the center of the camp.

His expression was terrified, his voice completely distorted by fear.

"Lord Silong's army... something went wrong!"

The high-ranking officers of the Green Forest Army, who were discussing the next phase of the siege plan in front of the map, were all shocked upon hearing this.

Except for the fact that the expression on Silas's face did not change much, everyone else showed expressions of disbelief.

Lisi grabbed the scout by the shoulders, looked into his eyes, and said calmly.

"Speak slowly, what exactly happened!"

The scout gasped for air, his eyes filled with lingering terror, as if the pursuing troops were still biting at his heels.

"We... we were ambushed in the forest south of Quemubao! A mysterious army that appeared out of nowhere attacked us!"

Lisi asked urgently.

"Was it Bulunnan's people? Or Campbell's people?"

The scout continued with a look of despair.

"Neither... the one leading the troops was a woman who looked like a demon. Her movements were fast, so fast that it was almost impossible to see clearly! I heard from the brothers who escaped from the front that she killed Lord Silong and his personal guards in an instant!"

Everyone gasped upon hearing this.

To be able to kill Silong in an instant, that person must be at least Diamond Tier!

But in this wilderness, where would a Diamond Tier powerhouse come from?!

And—

It was obvious that she was not the only one who ambushed Silong.

The scout swallowed hard and continued in a trembling voice.

"It wasn't just that woman who looked like a demon; they also had countless undead and monsters! We didn't even see where their main force was or how many of them there were before a rain of arrows falling from the sky shot down a huge number of us..."

This heavy news was like a ten-thousand-jin boulder, smashing fiercely into the hearts of every high-ranking officer of the Green Forest Army.

However, it was all just the beginning.

Before they could digest the bad news before them, more bad news from the direction of Griffin Cliff followed one after another...

"Alchemist" Jean was killed in action!

Cause of death unknown!

Three scouts were sent to Griffin Cliff to gather intelligence, and only the one who left last survived to bring back the news from there.

The scout claimed in terror that he saw a great fire falling from the sky, which seemed to be a forbidden magic spell released by the Great Sage!

Upon hearing this, Silas finally froze for a moment, but it was only for an instant, and the expression on his face soon returned to normal.

The Great Sage was impossible; that guy wouldn't get involved in things here.

It must be something else...

The military tent was silent.

The faces of the generals were filled with disbelief.

Especially "Green Headscarf" Kalian.

He could not believe that his twelve leaders, whom he was so proud of, had already lost more than half in these few short months!

Just as Kalian was immersed in the grief of losing his right-hand men, "Longbowman" Lisi was the first to react.

He walked to the sand table placed in the tent, looked at the flags representing the various forces on it, and the expression on his face became increasingly ugly.

To the south was the army of the Campbell Principality; Ailin Campbell, with the support of the dwarves, was pressing step by step toward Dusk City, and it was hard to say how much longer Luolandale could hold out.

As for the north, the "Salvation Army" led by the traitor Bulunnan was also pressing step by step, and had already taken the northwestern gateways of Griffin Cliff and Dusk City.

These two forces were like iron pincers, fiercely clamping onto the most vulnerable front teeth of the Green Forest Army; a slight carelessness would lead them into a situation of total defeat!

What was especially chilling was that Lisi suddenly realized that they still hadn't seen all of their opponents' trump cards.

They were fighting the Campbells, fighting the Salvation Army, fighting the kingdom's regular army, fighting the mysterious forces in the forest... yet it was also as if they were fighting the same person.

The various forces besieging them appeared independent of each other, yet it was as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

Who could it be?

Shengxisi?

Or perhaps... the Demon God?!

But why!

Lisi couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

However, compared to figuring out who the mastermind was, there were obviously more urgent things to do right now.

"We are surrounded."

He raised his head, looked at Kalian, whose expression was equally solemn, and continued in a hoarse voice.

"We must abandon the siege! Gather all troops immediately and retreat to the east, otherwise we will all die here!"

The Gray Swamp territory to the east was the only way out.

The count there had fled long ago, and currently, only homeless refugees and murderous bandits were roaming the area. As for the count's castle, it was firmly controlled by their own people.

Passing through the Gray Swamp territory, they could disperse a portion of their troops into the forest to continue fighting the kingdom's army, while having Silas take a team into the Wan Ren Mountains to defect to the Rotten Flesh Clan, using the power of the rat-men to rearm themselves.

Although Silas had never mentioned it, the vast majority of the Green Forest Army leaders were well aware that the guy had a deep relationship with the rat-men.

Just as they were tacitly aware of the existence of Uerges.

An uprising can fail, but as long as the people are still there, the flame will always have a day to reignite!

However, Kalian, the spiritual leader of the Green Forest Army, fell into a painful struggle after hearing Lisi's words.

Dusk City was right before their eyes!

He could even hear the wailing in the city; those were the cries of the citizens oppressed by the nobles, issued in despair!

He had promised—

He was going to save those people in purgatory!

"But what about the people in the city? We promised them!"

"We can't worry about that now!" Looking at Kalian, who still couldn't make up his mind to retreat, Lisi clenched his fists, couldn't help but raise his voice, and almost roared, "We have already lost too many brothers! Continuing to fight won't yield any results! All of us will become medals on their chests!"

The two argued fiercely.

Just as the atmosphere in the military tent reached its peak of oppression, Silas, the "Quartermaster" who had been silent all along, suddenly coughed lightly.

On that fat face that always wore a kind smile, there was not a trace of fear to be seen at this moment; instead, it wore a sunny smile.

Changing from his usual "peacemaker" persona, he stated his position clearly.

"I support Kalian. Dusk City is right before us, we are only one step away from crossing those city gates, we must not shrink back at this time!"

Both Kalian and Lisi looked at him in surprise.

Lisi hadn't expected this guy to speak up at a military meeting, while Kalian hadn't expected Silas, who was usually "anything goes," to actually stand on his side this time.

To be honest, although he appeared unable to let go of the citizens in Dusk City, he actually agreed with Lisi's suggestion in his heart.

Given the current situation, fighting head-on was indeed not a solution; even if they captured Dusk City, it would be an isolated city, and they might not be able to hold it.

He just didn't want to retreat so quickly.

After Lisi persuaded him for another two rounds, he would have almost made that difficult decision.

It was precisely because of this that Silas's words left him completely baffled, not knowing what this guy was trying to do by suddenly interrupting.

Silas didn't keep the two of them confused for long.

Facing the surprised gazes falling upon him, he walked to Lisi's side, and his fat index finger pressed heavily on the military flag marking Dusk City on the sand table.

"Silong and Jean paved the way to victory for us with their own blood, not so that we could tuck our tails and run away! And Luolandale, he is still fighting the Campbell army, how can we just give up like this!"

His voice grew higher and higher, as if filled with a power to bewitch people's hearts.

Looking back at those gazes falling upon him, he opened his arms, clenched his fists, and said in a voice more impassioned than ever before.

"Dusk City is right before our eyes! We can even smell its breath!"

"As long as we take it, the entire Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng will be ours! Then we can advance to attack and retreat to defend! This is the best comfort for our sacrificed brothers!"

"Therefore, I propose—"

"Launch the final general offensive at all costs, and take the capital of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng before the Campbells arrive at the gates of Dusk City!"

Looking at Silas's manic appearance, Lisi was stunned at first, and after coming to his senses, he was immediately angered to laughter by his "high-minded theory."

What kind of nonsense is this?

Chicken blood is for the cannon fodder; bringing this to a military meeting is simply insane!

Pointing at the two flags on the sand table that had formed a pincer movement, Lisi looked at this manic guy with the eyes of someone looking at a madman.

"General offensive? Are you kidding me? What are you going to use to take their city walls? Haven't we tried that in the past month?"

Facing Lisi's sarcasm, Silas remained calm and said steadily.

"This time is different."

"'This time is different,' sure, haha..."

Lisi laughed and continued.

"Even if you luckily take Dusk City, then what? How are you going to hold this isolated city? There's the Salvation Army in the north and Campbell's great army in the south, you tell me! How do we hold it!"

Facing Lisi's aggressive questioning, Silas just smiled slightly, as if everything was under control.

No longer hiding it.

He said in a tone of showing his cards.

"The great true god Uerges has already taught me the secret method to break the city in a dream. As long as you give me fifty thousand men, I will be able to save the citizens of Dusk City from the oppression of the nobles!"

"Uerges's secret method..."

Kalian looked at Silas in astonishment, his heart sinking suddenly.

He was not entirely ignorant of Chaos, and had even vaguely guessed for a long time that some of his subordinates were using certain forbidden existences for power.

However, he knew deep down that his own strength was not enough to fight the king and the nobles, so he tacitly allowed his subordinates' "each showing their own magical powers" behavior.

There was no other way.

Whether it was extraordinary power or weapons, they wouldn't fall from the sky out of thin air; they could only rely on the only power they could rely on.

However, having said that, this was the first time the name "Uerges" had been brought up so bluntly at a military meeting.

What he didn't expect even more was that the person who said this name was Silas, the "Quartermaster" who was usually the most non-contending.

He had previously thought that the chosen one was "Longbowman" Lisi.

In fact, anyone who has dealt with Chaos knows that guessing such things is meaningless, because obviously they were all chosen ones.

And, they were the lucky ones who made it to the final round.

The difference was merely pretending to be ignorant while knowing, or knowing and enjoying it.

Looking at Kalian, who was staring straight at him, the smile on Silas's face grew even wider, and he spoke in a tone that seemed both helpless and mocking.

"My dear 'Majesty,' we have already come this far, are you still playing dumb? That extraordinary power you possess, if it wasn't given by Uerges, could it have been given by Shengxisi?"

Kalian couldn't speak.

If it were normal times, he would definitely have scolded Silas not to call him Majesty, but now he didn't even have the strength to do that.

Lisi stared fixedly at Silas, saying word by word.

"You still haven't answered my question: how will we hold Dusk City after taking it, and what is the point of holding it!"

It was impossible for them to fight two forces at the same time in Dusk City.

Especially since, up to now, the King of the Ryan Kingdom was still watching the fun from the sidelines and hadn't even sat down at the poker table.

Silas smiled slightly and said softly.

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as we take Dusk City, we will soon be able to enter the final stage of the ritual."

"By then, you will naturally know how I intend to hold it, and what the point of holding it really is..."

Lisi stopped arguing with this madman and cast his final hope toward Kalian.

Kalian's heart was struggling in pain.

Reason told him Lisi was right; retreating now was the only way out, even if they would lose a certain amount of manpower and prestige for it.

However, Silas's declaration of victory at all costs ignited the spark of idealism in his heart.

What if?

Just as Silas had made clear, the one standing behind them was a god from the void—Uerges from behind the universe's sea of stars!

That was a name that even the Emperor would change color at the mention of; neither Shengxisi nor the Demon God could possibly be that guy's opponent!

Strictly speaking, the cards in their hands were bigger than anyone else's!

After a long time, Kalian finally made up his mind, a flash of determination in his eyes.

"Fifty thousand is too few... I'll give you one hundred thousand!"

He looked at Silas and said word by word.

"You must take Dusk City within three days... otherwise, as Lisi said, we will avoid the sharp edge, retreat into the forests of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, and make other plans."

A look of surprise appeared on Silas's face; he hadn't expected Kalian to be so generous, giving him one hundred thousand men at once.

After all, not a single one of those people he was taking away would ever return.

"One hundred thousand... that is naturally even better."

The surprise on his face turned into a respectful smile, and he bowed deeply toward those faces that were either suspicious or trusting.

"Within three days, I will definitely make the flag of the Green Forest Army fly on the city walls of Dusk City!"