Chapter 462: Proactive Strike

High above, the gale howled.

Boorqi slowed his speed to match the Flame Dragon, flying continuously for over two hours before entering the territory of Morse Duchy; Lei En noticed the dragon's stamina waning, so he found a deserted stretch of wilderness to land.

More than forty Flame Dragons, after landing, gasped heavily, breathing in large gulps.

Extreme Warriors leapt onto the ground; their weight plus armor and weapons exceeded a thousand pounds, a considerable burden for the Flame Dragons.

Boorqi shifted back to human form, took out a chest of gold and counted it with glee, showing no sign of fatigue, only heightened excitement.

"Boss, how much am I getting this time?" he asked eagerly, clutching a handful of golden dragons.

The Extreme Warriors also perked up their ears.

Lei En has always been generous; after each campaign he shares the treasure and spoils with everyone. The early followers such as Xikalius have already amassed a fortune, becoming the wealthiest among the Makurag tribe.

This time the Extreme Warriors contributed little, merely handling transport, yet even a small share of the haul would be substantial.

Lei En had already made arrangements and said, "Since you contributed more this time, take two hundred thousand golden dragons; each Extreme Warrior gets five thousand golden dragons."

"Long live the boss!"

The Extreme Warriors cheered, for a single trip earned them five thousand gold—something they could never even dream of before.

Boorqi was also delighted, his tricolored pupils brimming with joy.

Since joining Lei En only a few months ago, his wealth has been growing rapidly; his petty treasury expands, making money both easy and safe. By contrast, back when he spent years plotting to steal Baron Buckley's fortune from the Zhupile Mountain City, recruiting mercenaries and exhausting effort, he almost blew up in the end.

Now it seems that being bound by Lei En's Soul-binding Ring as his mount isn't necessarily bad; rather, it's the greatest luck in a dragon's lifetime!

Boorqi squinted and kept counting the money.

Lei En's Soul Eye detected his emotional shift and smiled to himself.

Buying hearts with money is indeed an excellent method, but it depends on who wields it and whether they have the power to protect their wealth.

Duke Dens, accustomed to this tactic, failed to consider the ramifications and was harmed by it.

Lei En's gaze fell on a short figure: Ding Laji sitting alone on a nearby stone, silent, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding events. Since leaving Rock Lion City, he has maintained this demeanor, his soul a gray‑white hue, thoughts unreadable.

"Are you alright?" Lei En asked as he approached.

"Lord, I'm fine," Ding Laji replied after a few seconds, forcing a smile to mask his disappointment, and said, "I haven't yet congratulated you on subjugating the Dens family."

"But you don't seem very pleased," Lei En said, shaking his head dismissively.

Ding Laji instinctively tried to deny, then recalled Lei En's ability to see through lies, hesitated, and asked, "Sir, if Duke Dens hadn't scraped together ten million golden dragons overnight, or had resisted fiercely, what would you have done?"

Lei En looked at the surrounding Extreme Warriors; the answer was obvious.

When he summoned the Extreme Warriors to rush to Rock Lion City last night, he made two preparations: first, secure the money and leave; second, kill them if the money wasn't obtained.

Duke Dens evidently sensed the intent, which is why he ultimately complied so meekly.

Although Ding Laji had guessed beforehand, Lei En's reply still startled him; he opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Do you regret it?"

Lei En asked, and before Ding Laji could answer added, "You treat them as family, yet they see you as a monster. Your goodwill, in the eyes of Duke Dens and his clan, is viewed as bringing disaster upon them; they now hate you to the bone and are probably unleashing God's Curse upon you. Does it feel terrible?"

"Yes…" Ding Laji muttered dejectedly, "I was clearly doing it for their sake!"

Lei En didn't know how to persuade him.

He possessed the Soul Eye, allowing him to see people's true thoughts. Within the Dens family, aside from Koste's slight concern for Ding Laji, no one regarded him as kin. When Duke Dens saw his own son, his emotions were pure disgust and revulsion; Lina's soul glowed a red‑black, as if she had encountered an irreconcilable enemy.

Even Koste's concern was wavering, far weaker than his affection for his sister Lina.

After Ding Laji gravely injured Lina, Koste's attitude shifted unnoticed, and he never spoke to him again.

Like hostile relatives who have endured countless humiliations, Ding Laji still considered them.

Is this a masochistic addiction?

Lei En examined Ding Laji closely; the fellow was not only physically malformed but also psychologically twisted, likely suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

His impression of Ding Laji remained positive—a man of loyalty and righteousness, more trustworthy than most people on earth—but he was too entangled in his family. Without a pull, Ding Laji would eventually be destroyed by his kin, even losing his life.

Untying a bell still requires the one who tied it, yet this rope is knotted dead, almost impossible to undo.

Lei En's mind shifted; if it couldn't be untied, he might as well burn it.

"Lord?" Ding Laji called softly, his face breaking into a chilling smile as he saw Lei En pondering.

Lei En snapped back to attention, yet revealed nothing of his thoughts. After a half‑hour rest, the Flame Dragon's stamina recovered substantially, and it took off again.

After three rests along the way, Baroske City appeared ahead in the afternoon.

Lei En gazed into the distance; the great army beyond Torrent Fortress had already set out, leaving Baroske City and leaving only a portion of its strength to guard the harbor and city. He had communicated with Emilyss on the road; the army proceeded as planned, not needing to wait for him, and would later catch up with the Extreme Warriors.

"Fly to Dragon Crystal Island."

At Lei En's command, Boorqi and the dragon flock turned seaward, soon reaching Dragon Crystal Island and descending into its ancient castle.

The Extreme Warriors unloaded the chests and moved them into the castle's main hall, stacking them around the teleport array.

Under the curious gazes of the Wizard and centaurs guarding the teleport array, Lei En opened the portal straight to Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng; the Extreme Warriors swiftly transferred the chests. On the other side of the array, Reslin had already led a contingent of Extreme Warriors stationed at Glamorgen, awaiting to take over the massive fortune and move it directly into Lei En's Wu Shi Ta.

The entire process took less than ten minutes; ten million golden dragons safely landed in the bag.

As for the use of this money, Lei En already had a preliminary plan, but it would wait until after the war to be dealt with.

He did not linger on Dragon Crystal Island; after shutting down the portal, he took off immediately.

He flew eastward.

At dusk, Lei En caught up with Emilyss's army.

From high above, a ten‑thousand‑strong army marched majestically across the land; over half were centaurs leading the front, with numerous centaur scout squads constantly running ahead to scout and avoid ambushes.

The River Bay Legion's Sturgeon Warriors followed closely; only five hundred strong, yet that comprised half the legion's force. Duke Feishe's troops were mainly Transcendent, and together with his vassal lords' private armies formed a Transcendent Army of nearly four thousand.

These Transcendents lacked uniform professions or gear, grouping in clusters of dozens or hundreds at the rear of the formation.

Among the ten‑thousand troops, the most conspicuous were two Transcendent corps.

The Spear‑wing Knights and Scale‑riding Guard, each numbering just under two hundred, protected Emilyss and the Wizards.

Lei En observed from the sky for a while.

The way war is fought in the Ai Lun E Si world differs greatly from the previous life because Transcendents exist; apart from the Gunwing Knights and the Scale‑riding Guard, most Transcendents have no mounts, ordinary warhorses are slower than they are, they cannot save much stamina, and riding requires large amounts of fodder that slows the march, so they prefer to go on foot.

Almost all Transcendent armies are infantry, yet they march quickly and are more agile.

In just one day the army left the domain of Duke Feishe, passed through the territory of Cold River City that had been wiped out by Extreme Warriors, crossed the border, and entered the lands of the Lao Bodi'er family.

They rested only twice en route, and as night fell they arrived at the first objective.

This is the castle of one of the Lao Bodi'er family's vassal lords, a baron.

Outside the castle lies a small town of only thirty‑to‑forty thousand people; five thousand centaurs have sealed the town, and walls over six meters high are no match for the Transcendent army, with few guards present, and before any siege the gate was opened from within.

Ai Mi Li Si sent a thousand centaurs into the city, surrounding the castle.

Unexpectedly, the castle offered no resistance.

A few aged guards shakily emerged from the castle, informing that Baron Kiribin had taken his family and fled the city a few days earlier.

The baron not only took his private troops but also most of the precious treasure, leaving behind an empty city. Many residents, fearing death in the war, fled with their families overnight, and those who remained were in constant dread.

The army's leaders stared at each other, especially the nobles of Kangjiatuo, who were all very surprised.

Abandoning the fief and fleeing the city.

In Kangjiatuo this is unacceptable; once a lord makes that decision he essentially relinquishes his rule, breaks his vassals' oath, cannot answer to his suzerain, and loses the people's support, since a lord is duty‑bound to protect his subjects.

In Kangjiatuo's history, lords who abandoned their cities usually met worse fates, even more tragic than those who held out.

Failure to resist, even if captured by the enemy, is understandable.

The great families have an unspoken pact not to casually kill noble lords; after the war most lords can return to their lands and resume their status.

Ai Lilisi stood in the empty castle hall, watching the shivering servants—old, weak, sick, and crippled—who had all been abandoned.

Her expression was grave; such an abnormal situation could not be good news.

"Send the order: spend the night tonight at Oakwood City."

Duke Feishe and Wa Luogen took the command, ordered the main force to camp outside the city, took over the city, sent people to pacify the residents, and arranged night patrols to prevent enemy night raids.

After dinner, they convened in the baron's castle study to discuss.

Under the bright crystal lamp, Ai Mi Li Si sat at the head; a trace of fatigue lingered on her beautiful face. Though she concealed it well, Lei En noticed and felt a little odd. She is a level‑14 Dragon‑vein Apostle, a legendary mid‑stage Transcendent, and had marched a day without fighting—how could she be tired?

He covertly observed with his Soul Eye but found nothing abnormal.

"Wa Luogen, any news on your side?"

Ai Mi Li Si gently pressed her brow and asked her intelligence chief, "Have you discovered where Baron Kiribin fled?"

"Your Majesty," Wa Luogen rose and replied, "I interrogated those guards, cross‑checked with reports from the spies hidden in the city, and Baron Kiribin appears to have gone to Windrage Fortress."

"Windrage Fortress!" Duke Feishe was perplexed, "He still dares to go to Windrage Fortress; isn't he afraid of being held accountable?"

If a vassal abandons his fief before fighting and runs to Torrent Fortress, regardless of reason, he will surely be seized and tortured, perhaps even beheaded! This is the bottom line for noble lords; daring to abandon a fief means there's nothing they cannot do.

Baron Kiribin, a vassal of the Lao Bodi'er family, fleeing to Windrage Fortress is nothing short of courting death!

Wa Luogen shook his head, "Baron Kiribin is not that foolish; he enjoys great prestige among his subjects and is well‑liked, unlike a lord who voluntarily abandons his fief and drives his family into an extremely disadvantageous position."

"He must have a more important reason for abandoning his fief," Wa Luogen hinted.

Duke Feishe instantly thought of a possibility.

"You mean Baron Kiribin was instructed by the Lao Bodi'er family? That's why he dared to abandon his fief and fled with his family."

Wa Luogen nodded, "Other than that, I can think of no other reason."

"This is not good news," Ding Laji said. "If I'm not mistaken, the Lao Bodi'er family is concentrating all its forces in Windrage Fortress to meet us in decisive battle. They surely know the situation at Torrent Fortress, are aware of the Wizard Corps, and no matter how many they have they cannot hold Windrage Fortress; they are likely to leave only a few troops to guard the city, sending the main force to ambush us elsewhere, or to slip around and strike our city from the rear."

Letting the enemy choose the battlefield is certainly not a good thing.

The Lao Bodi'er family's plan is indeed clever, shifting from defense to offense, turning passivity into initiative, and our own army's delay at Baroske for several days gave them ample preparation; they are still hidden somewhere unknown.

Duke Feishe was so shocked he nearly jumped up.

If the Lao Bodi'er family swings to the rear and swiftly raids Baroske City, the remaining forces could not possibly hold it.

Lei En was also startled; the Transcendent Army's war is indeed thrilling—being outflanked before even fighting?

(End of chapter)