Chapter 431 Fertile Capital

   According to legend, in the distant era of prosperity, the land illuminated by the sun was once the most fertile place on this continent.

  There used to be luxuriant foliage, forests covered with hills, endless farmland, and metal slaves working endlessly in the fields. People don't need to work, but they can enjoy the glitz of the prosperous world all day long. Everything is born and inexhaustible.

   Only one agricultural division in Luoxia Province is enough to feed 90% of the population on this planet.

  To this day, even though the glory of the past has been covered with dust, the afterglow of the sunset still shines on this place, warming the lingering survivors in the ruins.

   This is still one of the happiest places in the wasteland.

  As long as you don't step into the desert, you don't have to worry about those mutated creatures. Every inch of cultivated land here is protected by the armies of various kingdoms and "river banks".

  Rich and sufficient food, so that the people of the spirit of the sand sea can not worry about hunger.

  Although it is feudal here, it is united enough. It is not like the scattered sand in the eastern provinces. A group of looters can set off a **** storm at will. Children who have just left their swaddling babies have to learn not only to walk but also to shoot to survive.

  It turns out that in the difficult years after the end, it is better to believe in something together than to believe in nothing.

but-

   In the opinion of William Falcon, Prince and Field Marshal of the Falcon Kingdom, this is not enough.

  Although the kingdoms are united by faith, there is no trust between them.

The Spirit of Sand Sea once taught the kings that brothers and sisters should be united and help each other in times of difficulty, but in fact the kings are suspicious of each other and are always on guard against each other's use of blood to usurp their titles and enjoy the power bestowed by faith , hated their own obligations.

  It would be fine if the spirit of the sand sea could give its favor equally to every kingdom in this desert.

   But it did not do so, and even the disasters that fell were not equal.

   Oasis No. 1 disappeared first, and the yellow sand swallowed everything there.

   Followed by Oasis No. 2, the fertile soil of the Falcon Kingdom is shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye, losing more than 20% of its territory in just half a century.

  The selfish kings refused to provide help to the Falcon royal family, and the gods also did not respond to the Falcon royal family's prayers. Instead, they continued to bring disasters. They could only seek help from external forces...even the demons in the west.

  However, thanks to the selfishness and cowardice of the kings, the progress of the war has never been smoother.

  Facing the lightning-like offensive of the Falcon Kingdom, the kings who were suspicious of each other had no power to parry, and until now they have not been able to form an effective resistance.

  After finishing the most powerful lion, he will immediately march north to take down the Golden Lizard Kingdom. So far, apart from the Falcon, only the southernmost Hump Kingdom remains in the entire Luoxia Province.

  They, who have been unable to change the situation, have no other choice but to surrender.

   At that time, this piece of land sheltered by the sun will be united like never before.

  Since he was very young, William has had this dream in his heart. He dreams that one day he can unify the desert, and then restore the desert to its former glory with its powerful dominance.

   Turning a desert into an oasis may sound unimaginable, but he believes there is always a way.

   Even if it cannot be done now, someone will be able to do it in the future.

  After all, the spirit of the sand sea once said that this place was originally a world covered by yellow sand.

  As for the second half of the sentence often said by believers - "The world will eventually be swallowed by yellow sand and return to the embrace of the spirit of the sand sea".

  That's just the interpretation of a self-destructive person.

In contrast, he is more inclined to interpret the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea as - "This place will finally return to the best era one day", "The oasis is a gift from man to the gods, not a gift from the gods to man." give."

  Since it is a man-made thing.

  There must be a way to rebuild it again.

   And what he has to do now is to destroy the corrupt kings with thunderous wrists!

   Become the master of this desert!

   "...Operation Thunder has been cancelled. This is an order from General Griffin. He asked me to convey it to you."

  In the tent.

  William, who was staring at the strategic map, heard a bad news from the army officer who walked into the tent.

  He opened his eyes slightly, and after a moment of silence, he lowered his voice and said.

   "I need a reason."

  5 teams of 10,000 people, more than 70,000 kingdom soldiers, have assembled on three sides of the "City of Harvest".

   There is the granary of the No. 9 oasis, and it is also a strategic center in the middle of the Lion Kingdom.

  The huge dam named "River Bank" surrounds a circular area with a radius of about ten kilometers.

  This towering dam is entirely made of alloy, irrigating thousands of square kilometers of fertile soil inside and outside the "river embankment". No one knows how it works, only that there is inexhaustible fresh water in it, and it can restore the purity of polluted water.

  Under the protection of the Spirit of Sand Sea, ordinary weapons can't hurt it at all.

   Therefore, the Lion Kingdom deployed a large number of weapons on the circular "river embankment" and sent heavy troops to guard it, turning it into an unbreakable fortress, echoing the king's capital hundreds of kilometers away, and forming a horn of each other.

   But relatively, as long as this place can be captured, the army of the Falcon Kingdom will be able to drive straight to the east until the capital of the Lion Kingdom, and there will be no danger along the way!

  The "Thunder" plan was formulated precisely to take down this important town.

   They have been preparing for this for a full month, including mobilizing troops and planning offensive plans and so on.

However…

  General Griffin, who made this plan, canceled it in one sentence?

   What a joke!

  But soon, what the officer said next made William's mood sink to the bottom.

"Camp 530 was attacked, and the tanks, rifles, bullets, shells that were supposed to be sent to the front line... these supplies are now in the hands of the guerrillas, enough for them to arm a team of ten thousand people, and when they break away from the supply line Under the circumstances, persist for two months.”

   "Our plane is searching for their traces, but they are very cunning and hid in the hills northeast of the No. 9 oasis."

  Deserts are not all endless plains. In addition to the sand dunes, there are also desertified hills and valleys in the middle of the province near the river valley.

   "Camp 530?! How come... aren't your elite stationed there?!" William asked anxiously.

  The officer nodded and said very simply.

   "Yes, but even if it is an elite team, there is only one thousand-man team. From the current point of view, it should be people from the enterprise who launched a surprise attack on our camp and even used electromagnetic pulse weapons."

  Enterprise…

  William frowned.

  Although he is eager to win the Fertile Capital, it does not mean that he is reckless.

  In fact, it was precisely because of careful decision-making that he was able to maintain a record of consecutive victories and win the entire territory of the Honey Badger Kingdom within a week.

  If the battle plan has been leaked, and there is suspected activity on the north side of oasis 9 by corporate troops and partisans armed with Legion weapons, it is really not a good idea to rush into an all-out offensive.

   "...I remember there was a tribe of raiders out there called the Bear Clan? Is there a way to buy them off?"

  The officer shook his head.

   "We tried, but those people have been frightened by the alliance, and the rest of them are just hiding in the mountains as bandits... I even doubt whether they still have the fighting power."

  After Dillon died in battle, the centurions and ten commanders under his command had completely turned into deserters. Although some people were still willing to return to the legion, they couldn't change anything at all.

  William's face was solemn, and he pondered for a moment.

   "This war is best resolved quickly. If it drags on for too long, there may be changes."

   "Of course, Lord Griffin thinks so too."

   After reading the expression on the prince's face, the officer said with a faint smile.

   "...So, we quickly prepared a second attack plan. Unlike Operation 'Thunder', this time we plan to use some unconventional means."

  William frowned, and vaguely read an unusual meaning from the officer's tone.

   "Unconventional means?"

  The officer did not speak, handed him a note, and made a joke in a teasing tone.

   "Burn it after reading it, we can't leak any more secrets this time."

  William glanced at him suspiciously, took the note and unfolded it.

  When he saw the above text, William was taken aback for a moment, and then his face changed.

  He looked at the officer, staring intently at those indifferent pupils.

   "I am against this plan! We need a complete and fertile capital, not a rotting ruin!"

  The officer shrugged blankly.

"Sacrificing a 'farm' in exchange for the entire oasis is definitely worth it in our opinion. If we delay for a month, formulate a new plan, and redeploy our army, we may face several times the current number of enemies."

   "In addition, this is also the opinion of the head of the Eastern Legion."

"We don't want this war to go from a local conflict to a full scale war between Legions and Corporations, neither we nor they are ready for it. Shatter our enemy's defenses with a thunderbolt before the Corporations increase their leverage here And the will to resist is the least costly option.”

  Listening to the ruthless voice, William stared at him.

   "You don't even know what that means. The miracle of destroying the spirit of the sand sea is a blasphemy against the gods!"

  However, the officer just smiled lightly.

   "Profanity? Do you still care about this?"

  Looking at the livid prince, the officer continued in a slow tone.

   "It will take a while for the weapons to be delivered, so prepare them too."

   As for the objection.

  He pretended not to hear.

   After saying this, the officer turned around and left.

  Standing next to William, a general of the kingdom swallowed and asked in a low voice.

   "Your Highness... what is the legion planning to do?"

  William was silent for a long time without speaking, and seemed to be struggling in his heart.

  However, it was only for a moment.

  He is not an indecisive person. Those who achieve great things should not care about small things. As long as they win in the end, Luoxia Province will usher in eternal peace.

   No one can say he was wrong.

  Besides, even if he thinks it's inappropriate, he can't stop the legion's decision.

  Handed the note to the oil lamp on the table, and William watched as a pinch of flames jumped from the note, engulfed it little by little, crushed it into ashes, and finally fell on the copper plate.

   "They plan to release the demons from 200 years ago, blaspheming the favor of the gods... Heh, but what he said makes sense, we have already sold our souls to the demons in exchange for power, do we still need to care about this?"

   Throwing down a faint self-deprecating sentence, William left the general with a dazed face, and walked out of the tent alone.

  That expressionless face made it hard to see what he was thinking at the moment.

  Nuclear bomb.

  An inexpensive and easy-to-use device.

   It is said that with the push of a switch, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people can be wiped off the map, and a piece of fertile soil can be turned into unlivable ruins.

  The calamity of the gods takes half a century to do, it only takes a moment to do it.

   This is not a particularly brilliant technique.

   But definitely works.

   "Get on the horse."

   Come to the stables.

  William patted the shoulder of the bodyguard next to him, then walked to his tall steed, turned over and rode on it.

   Not all desert people like camels.

  The black horse produced in the great desert is the favorite pet of the people of the Falcon Kingdom.

  They are as powerful as mutants. They can charge in the rain of bullets with heavy armor on. They are born without fear of gunfire and gunfire, let alone death.

   "Where are we going? Your Highness." Riding his horse to keep up with William, the captain of the guard with a beard asked while holding the reins.

  William narrowed his eyes and glanced to the east.

   "Go to the front!"

  The captain of the guard expressed hesitation on his face, and said cautiously: "It's too dangerous there. Prince Winter's army always shoots at us from time to time. I don't recommend you to go to such a dangerous place."

  William laughed and kicked the horse's **** to make it run.

   "No danger! The tortoises in their shells have only a few days left, and we will be able to step over their corpses soon."

  Before that beautiful castle turned into a twisted mass of steel.

  He intends to ride on his beloved war horse and take another look at it.

  …

  At the same time, in the fertile capital of the No. 9 oasis, inside and outside the towering circular "river bank", there are patches of floating bright yellow farmland.

  The harvest season is coming.

   I don’t know whether the first to harvest them will be the sickle of the farmer or the track of the tank.

  On the embankment.

  Prince Winter, who was holding a telescope in his hand, was looking towards the west, with a trace of solemnity on his wrinkled face.

  The fortress under his feet is not only the granary of the Lion Kingdom, but also the forefront of the war.

  The majestic "river embankment" is a natural fortress, and it is almost impossible to be destroyed by conventional weapons because it is completely cast by alloy.

  The troops stationed here are the elite of the kingdom—the "Scarab" team of 10,000 people!

  Including two teams of 10,000 people consisting of more than 22,000 conscripts, the garrison here has exceeded 30,000, and there are tens of thousands of farmers in training.

  Thousands of 97mm smoothbore guns were pushed onto the "river embankment", in addition to nearly a hundred 230mm cast iron mortars.

   Don't underestimate these old antiques.

  Although the shooting range is limited, it can still play a miraculous effect relying on the unbreakable bunker.

  As long as the number is sufficient, combined with shells filled with high explosives, they can also pose a considerable threat to the attacking troops.

   Not to mention that they also prepared a large number of gas tank rockets.

  In addition to these old antiques, the Lion Kingdom also purchased a certain number of 100mm howitzers, and handed over 30 of them to Prince Winter.

  The range of these modern light artillery can reach 20 kilometers, but they lack ammunition, and the deterrent significance is greater than the practical significance.

  However, the defenders stationed here are not worried about the troops outside, and all of them are waiting solemnly with high morale.

  No matter how powerful the tanks of the legion are, it is impossible to cross the "river bank" made of alloy.

  The supplies in the Fertile Capital are sufficient, and they can stay here until the next century!

  As long as the capital of prosperity is still there, the capital of the king will be there, and the kingdom will be there!

  It will be like a tenacious nail, nailed in the direction of the Falcon Kingdom's troops, and anyone who tries to pull it out will be doomed to be stained with blood.

  Everyone is ready to live and die with this fortress.

   “…Falcon Kingdom troops are digging trenches within 5 kilometers of us.”

   Passed the binoculars in his hand to the adjutant on the side, and Prince Winter looked at the orderly on the side with a blank expression.

   "Let the 1st Artillery Squadron get ready and show our enemies some color!"

   "Yes!" The orderly stood up straight, gave a military salute, and then trotted towards the radio station not far away.

  After the bombardment coordinates were reported, more than ten explosions were heard soon.

  Breaths of white smoke drew parabolic trajectories in the air, landed on the enemy's position, and burst into groups of white smoke.

  The 230mm cast-iron mortar had a range similar to that of a light mortar, but was much more powerful, quickly blowing up those digging trenches.

   However, looking at the group of engineers who suffered heavy casualties, Prince Winter frowned.

  The adjutant on the side also noticed the abnormality, with a hint of shock in his eyes, and said through gritted teeth.

   "My lord... those sappers digging trenches, it seems we-"

   "It's the enemy," Winter said blankly, without hesitation interrupting him, "Keep firing!"

  The adjutant nodded silently, picked up the binoculars again, and looked at the distant position.

  Hate and anger shone in his eyes.

  These shameless guys...

   Actually used captives as cannon fodder!

  This kind of base method is not only a blasphemy of the ancient covenant, but also a betrayal of faith!

   He swore.

  He will definitely get it back from those people!

   Turned around and left the front line, Prince Winter took the elevator back to the fortress.

   At this time, a messenger trotted over, stopped in front of him, stood still and walked an army.

   "Report! The palace sent it urgently!"

   After receiving the letter from the messenger, Winter took a look at it, and his frown finally relaxed.

   Seeing the change of expression on his face, the staff officer who was following him couldn't help asking.

   "Is it good news?"

  The only piece of good news this month is that their allies are finally planning to send troops.

  Although I heard that it is only half the size of a thousand-man team...

   Wen Te nodded, and handed the letter in his hand to the staff officer beside him, with a rare lightness and joy in his tone.

   "Our allies successfully destroyed the Legion's supply hub in the north, and the Legion's 'Thunder' plan was thwarted. Our north will probably be safe for a while, and we can concentrate on dealing with the bugs outside."

   I have to admit that the alliance's intelligence network is terrifyingly strong.

  I just learned the code name of the entire operation, and the alliance thousands of miles away has already killed the entire huge and well-thought-out plan in the cradle.

  All signs indicate that the alliance's penetration into the desert has reached a level that cannot be ignored.

  The Kingdom of Lions knew little about them.

  Thinking of this, Wen Te couldn't help but secretly made up his mind while being apprehensive in his heart.

  If the Lion Kingdom can successfully survive this crisis, he will definitely persuade His Majesty the King to increase the budget for intelligence work.

or…

  You can do this work by yourself.

   "50 Conqueror tanks... including self-propelled artillery and trucks, as well as enough supplies to arm an army of 10,000 people. It's really thanks to them that they can take down such an important military base!"

  The expression of the staff officer was slightly moved.

  Suddenly, he thought of something, looked eagerly at Prince Winter and asked.

   "What about the equipment?"

  Prince Winter smiled faintly.

   "Eighty percent of it was handed over to the Restoration Army led by Yade... Don't even think about it, they won't give it to us."

  There was a pity expression on the staff officer's face.

  That is the equipment that can arm a team of ten thousand people...

   "If only we had sent troops there."

   "Who should we send?" Prince Winter didn't think it was a pity. "We can't even protect ourselves now. How can we send extra troops to the north?"

  Hearing this, the staff officer was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "What you said makes sense...I hope there will be news from Andre soon."

   "I see enough." Prince Winter replied casually, without any expectations.

  If the Golden Lizard Kingdom really had the idea of ​​sending troops, it should have sent troops here when the declaration of war was sent out before, instead of sitting quietly on the border like it is now.

  The belief of the spirit of the sand sea has never been so weak in this land. Those vows made in front of the spirit of the sand sea are like water poured into the sand, which cannot be counted at all.

  Maybe…

   That stuff is really outdated.

  No matter how this war ends, they will enter an era of intrigue...

  At this time, another messenger came running in the distance.

   There was an urgent letter in his hand, this was the second letter of the same day.

   "Why is there another one?"

  The two urgent letters were delivered at the same time, and Wen Te couldn't help feeling a bad premonition in his heart.

   Good news he has seen it.

   Logically speaking, the probability that the second letter is still good news is too low...

  However, the one who should come couldn't hide, so he finally took it apart.

  There was only a short line in the letter, but it made his face turn pale.

  【A nuclear bomb with an equivalent of one million tons is being sent to the Falcon Kingdom through the desert. 】

million tons!

   For a moment, he felt that even his heartbeat disappeared...

  …

  One and a half months have passed since the celebration with fireworks.

  In the past one and a half months, the biggest change in the north of Shuguang City is probably the road to the north.

  With the help of Ideal Group, this 16.9 million Cr, 169-kilometer concrete road from the northern suburbs of Qingquan City to Luoxia Province was finally completed.

  Before, it took a day or two to go from Qingquan City to Ruigu City, even if it was a forced march.

  Now, there is a smooth road leading directly to it, and it doesn't even take three hours to get there.

   As the manager of the alliance, Chu Guang participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the highway.

  Although before he cut the ribbon, there were already trucks running on it.

"This road is for emergency use after all. If you want to use it for a long time, you still have to pay attention to road maintenance. If it is properly maintained, it should be no problem to use it for 10 or 20 years." Looking at the straight concrete road in front of him, Li Changkong's face was full of words. He said proudly and with a sense of accomplishment.

   Standing beside him, Chu Guang also had a smile on his face, and shook his hand.

   "Thank you so much!"

   Li Changkong said with a smile.

   "You are welcome!"

not far away.

  The chief engineer of the alliance kept people under the knife, still squatting beside the road, looking at the concrete blocks on the ground and muttering.

"How can it be…"

   Coincidentally passing by, Quit Smoking took a look at him, seeing him still squatting there thinking about this broken road, he couldn't help but said.

   "Damn it... you haven't given up yet, have you figured out something?"

  To his surprise, Liuren under the knife actually nodded.

  I saw this guy stretch out his index finger, touched the side of the road, and rubbed it with his thumb.

   "This road is not just cement, there is a fixed structure similar to steel rods inside... but it is not made of steel."

   Quit smoking for a moment.

   "What is it used for?"

"Carbon... may also be some kind of isomer of silicon carbide," Daoshita Liuren clapped his hands, stood up from the ground, and said with flickering eyes, "I don't know what it is, but its tensile strength, Physical properties such as yield strength are higher than steel."

   "Oh..." Quit touched his chin, "It's interesting."

  Seeing this extremely perfunctory expression, Daoxialiuren couldn't help but speak.

   "Don't you think it's weird?"

   Quitting Smoking looked at this guy suspiciously.

   "What's so strange about this? There is also a space elevator in the desert... Materials with higher tensile strength, isn't this something basic?"

   Keep people under the sword: "..."

   makes sense.

  He didn't know how to refute for a while.

  In the distance, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is over.

   Just when Chu Guang was thinking about where to repair the idle equipment, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from his ear.

   "Master! Prince Kaliman wants to see you, saying that he has something important to discuss with you, do you want to meet?"

  (end of this chapter)