498: Chapter 478 Raghu's Demise, Battles Move to the Eastern Territory

When talking to Domit, Zhang Mu's eyes were always wandering and his words were disorganized, occasionally uttering fragments unrelated to the topic.

Zhang Mu was certainly not suffering from hysteria or mental instability; he was thinking about the promotion method for the Epic rank. On the way from the underground Command Post to the Lake Royal Capital, his thoughts never stopped for a moment.

By asking Avril, Zhang Mu learned that if he wanted to join the ranks of the Epic, the Church was an indispensable part.

To be honest, he still found it hard to understand why the Church, which stood on the side of the gods, would get involved, what necessity there was for their participation, and what their underlying motivation was.

Enthusiastic and generous, unable to bear seeing a Gods Blessing who failed the contest for Legendary fall into ruin, so they opened a new path for them?

Among many guesses, this seemingly absurd one was actually the most logical; when Zhang Mu learned that the shadow of the Church was hidden behind the birth of an Epic, this was also the first thing that subconsciously popped into his mind.

However, the Gods Blessing he met by chance in the Forest of Spirits revealed that the Professional promotion sequence did not include Epic; a Gods Blessing who lost in the battle for the Legendary throne could not become an Epic to make themselves stronger.

Unable to bear humans being enslaved by gods, so they tried to explore ways to save humanity?

But the humans on the Saul Continent didn't need saving at all.

If the gods were the owners and the humans on the continent were the livestock they kept, then the owner would probably lose even his underwear.

Looking at the history of the Saul Continent, what have the gods done to humanity?

Humans were originally at the bottom of the continent's food chain; from elves above to wild beasts below, any creature that could breathe could trample on humans.

The gods gave them statues of god, bestowed power, and helped humans wear the crown of the overlord. It is true that the gods had their own selfish motives, but it was mutually beneficial, not one-sided exploitation.

Zhang Mu scratched his head; did the Church feel that life was too dull, dislike that daily life was too comfortable, and think of finding some suffering for itself?

Unable to figure it out and having no clue, he temporarily cast it aside and pondered his own path to Epic.

Setting aside those doubts, to become an Epic, he absolutely had to go to the Church Holy Mountain; this was a river blocking the road ahead, and even if the waves were turbulent, Zhang Mu could not retreat and had to cross it.

"But going to the Holy Mountain now is purely seeking death." Landing before the Royal Capital's gates, Zhang Mu sighed, "But I still have to go. After things on Domit's side are finished and the Kingdoms bordering the Eastern Border are handled, then I'll consider when to set off."

Originally, Zhang Mu planned to set off after destroying the Gangnuo Empire, but the empire had an Epic, and Zhang Mu currently had no confidence in suppressing one, let alone killing one.

The good news was that the Gangnuo Empire seemed indifferent to its Bauhinia Legion and Wyvern Cavalry Regiment being almost completely wiped out within Lake.

Months had passed since the great battle between the two sides; the various legions of the Gangnuo Empire remained stationed where they were, and the King had not issued a call to assemble. According to the intelligence department's inquiries, there was little public opinion calling for revenge against Lake, and there were no signs of sending troops for vengeance at all.

"Anyway, I can't do anything about Ganno now; since it doesn't plan to move, that's for the best." Zhang Mu muttered as he passed through the city gate and walked toward the palace.

...

Kingdom front line.

The bombing by the air force formation and the ambushes by the Special Operations Squad caused heavy losses to the Kingdom.

The entire army of the Kingdom, including Brando, seemed to have their courage crushed by this battle; they retreated steadily in the face of Domit's subsequent attacks, unable to organize even a decent resistance.

The Lake vanguard arrived near a city and set up camp and artillery positions overnight, preparing to capture the city gates the next day after getting enough rest.

But when the Lake Soldier formation marched to the city walls under the morning sun, the defending troops in the city had already fled in panic, leaving only the citizens who didn't have time to escape huddled trembling before the city gates, holding banners that said "Welcome the Lake King's Army" to show their submission and begging the Lake Soldiers not to hurt them.

The process of the siege battles for the next few cities was basically the same.

The gloomy mood of the Lake Soldiers did not improve because of the victories without fighting—all their military merits had run away.

The slightly comical farce finally ended when the Lake main legion surrounded the Lagu Royal Capital.

Most of the Soldiers of the Kingdom's First-Tier Legion fled in successive cowardice; they could not be blamed for being weak, as the actions of Brando and other high-level officials almost giving away the cities to Lake for free had damaged morale too much.

The Soldiers lamented that the Kingdom had no future and naturally prioritized saving their own lives. They fled back to their villages, discarding their armor and weapons halfway, and worked hard in the fields after putting on Farmers' linen clothes.

However, the defensive strength in the Lagu Royal Capital did not weaken because of this; instead, it far exceeded all the cities Lake had conquered.

The Kingdom only had one Royal Capital left, and the remaining Professionals, Saint-levels, and Soldiers who still had courage all gathered here.

The siege battle was launched that night.

Outside the city, Lake set up more than a dozen high-power large searchlights, their brilliant white beams of light scattered across the city walls, making the battlefield as bright as day; the Lake infantry lined up in the open ground, waiting for their officers' orders to charge.

Although the war had not yet begun, both sides seemed to have foreseen the final outcome.

The Kingdom Soldiers understood very well that they were destined to be defeated and perish; if there was a difference, it was probably a matter of sooner or later. With morale low to the point of being almost zero, their combat effectiveness naturally could not be relied upon.

Their actual performance was even worse than the Lake front-line commander had expected; after only two rounds of howitzer volleys, the heads of the densely packed Soldiers on the city walls all disappeared.

It wasn't that the shells had blown them all to death, but that they had all fled.

The defensive force on the city walls was crushed, but the Lake infantry's action to seize the city gates was still not very smooth.

Kingdom High-tier Professionals took to the sky from behind the city walls, and the magic condensed in their hands smashed toward the infantry formation like raindrops.

If it had been a month ago, the Lake First-Tier Legion, which lacked effective defensive magic means, would definitely have suffered heavy casualties; fortunately, the First Army had already joined the battle.

Various kinds of magic poured from the air toward the Infantry Regiment, but before they could get close, the First Army Soldiers rushed to the front and activated the magic rifle's shield Core, blocking all the fireballs and ice spikes.

The High-tier Professionals found that the low-level magic, which was fast to release but had a low lethality limit, was ineffective, so they immediately changed their thinking, raising their staff high to chant high-tier magic.

Lake would not let them play their part.

The Special Operations Squad did not follow the main legion; they had reached the Lagu Royal Capital by forced march before the main army arrived and lay in ambush near the city gates. The moment the High-tier Professionals appeared, the crosshairs of the sniper scopes had already landed on their foreheads.

The firearm arrays began to operate, and the members' magic power was poured into the captain's sniper rifle along the Mental Energy link, reaching the limit of the Core's endurance, and the captain pulled the trigger.

A scene that had terrified the High-tier Professionals a month ago reappeared before their eyes.

The companions beside them suddenly screamed and fell, and although they spread their Mental Energy, they could not perceive any trace of the hidden troops, only witnessing the crowd gradually thinning out.

The number of High-tier Professionals in the Kingdom was not small, but it was not infinite either. After Damu led the Special Operations Squad to snipe more than half of them, the psychological defense of the remaining High-tier Professionals completely collapsed, and they flew toward the horizon without looking back.

It was another staged victory, but the Lake front-line commander's nerves remained tense, or even more so.

He was wary of the Kingdom's last force—five Saint-levels.

In the raid a few days ago, one Saint-level of the Kingdom died; logically, their enemies only had four left, but the King of Lagu was also a Saint-level. The King could not enter the field in a conventional war, but he would definitely appear in the ongoing decisive battle.

If he didn't appear soon, the Kingdom would fall.

However, something strange happened again.

The front-line commander gazed intently at the city gates for a long time, but still did not see the Kingdom Saint-levels fly into the sky.

He suspected that the Saint-levels were brewing large-scale magic in the shadows, so he called over the First Army Professionals to ask, and the answer he got was that no magic fluctuations were coming from the city.

"Damn it." The front-line commander stood before the main camp, his eyes flickering with uncertainty, hesitating whether the order to enter the city could be issued.

If the Kingdom Saint-levels really were arranging large-scale magic in the city, the Lake legion would most likely be completely wiped out if they entered rashly; do not underestimate the terror of Saint-levels, they could definitely do it.

The front-line commander lowered his head and hesitated from late at night until the horizon turned pale, thinking that it was not an option to stay in front of the gate forever; they would have to occupy this Royal Capital eventually.

He turned to his adjutant and said, "Order the Third Legion, Second Division, Sixth Battalion, First Company to enter the city and search the entire city for the position of the Kingdom Saint-levels."

This was a somewhat cruel order. Once a company-sized force was attacked in the Royal Capital, it would be certain death, but he could not think of a better way, only using human lives to risk testing the enemy's plan.

The First Company was quickly assembled, maintaining a charging formation as they approached the city gates. After observing slightly with binoculars and seeing no enemies, the company commander waved his hand forward and led his subordinates through the city gates.

Watching the backs of the First Company Soldiers disappear into the dimly lit gate tunnel, the front-line commander subconsciously clenched his fists.

Five hours later, the company commander sent a message—the preliminary search was complete, no Saint-levels were found, only some Soldiers and low-tier Professionals were encountered; they had already abandoned resistance and were sitting by the roadside waiting to be captured.

Learning that all the Soldiers of the First Company were safe, the front-line commander breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but then frowned again.

Where did the Kingdom's Saint-levels hide?

Did they flee?

Or were they deliberately ignoring the First Company, trying to lure our main legion into the city?

He thought for a moment and instructed the adjutant: "Notify the troops, the Third Legion is to enter the city, the other legions are to dig trenches in place, and the Artillery Regiment is to remain on alert; if there is even the slightest movement in the city, blow it up."

The adjutant saluted to indicate he had received the order, turned and ran to the command tent to find the signalman, and conveyed the command to the Vice Legion Commander of the Third Legion—the normal procedure would be to contact the Third Legion Commander, but Domit was concerned about assassinations by the Kingdom Saint-levels, so he had placed all the Legion Commanders in the rear.

The Third Legion set off immediately, walking through the city gates in a long line; the Vice Legion Commander dispatched some Soldiers to assist the First Company in continuing to search the Royal Capital and screen for dangers, while arranging for the remaining Soldiers to occupy the palace.

The legions outside the city were also busy.

A few Soldiers held their guns and fanned out to take responsibility for protection, keeping alert for enemy troops that might be hidden in the surrounding dense forests, while the rest of the Soldiers received tools such as entrenching shovels and worked hard to dig trenches, and logistics Soldiers ran back and forth to transport machine guns over.

The next morning.

The defensive line was completed, and the Third Legion, which had searched almost every inch of the Royal Capital, reported the search results—it could be basically confirmed that the Saint-levels were missing; according to the interrogation of the citizens, it was speculated that they fled the Royal Capital half a month ago.

Standing behind the signalman, the front-line commander took off his headset, lifted the door curtain, and went outside, gazing at the warm morning sun.

"The Kingdom is finished. Next, the east..."