Chapter 42

Chapter 89: An Xiu: I Didn't Come to Terra to Follow These Petty Formalities

Inside the Ursus Imperial Palace, in the meeting room.

An Xiu, Talulah, Mobius, the Doctor, and a group of others sat around the table, while Kal'tsit, who had just changed into a maid outfit, stood expressionlessly behind An Xiu.

With the conclusion of the Coronation Ceremony, Talulah had truly ascended as the Emperor of Ursus, also declaring that Ursus—the largest war machine on Terra—had fallen completely under the control of An Xiu and his group, both in legal terms and in practice.

Naturally, they needed to discuss their next strategic objectives.

Whether it was beating down Terra's natives for entertainment or changing the plight of the Infected so they no longer suffered oppression, these goals could not be achieved by merely conquering Ursus alone. More nations had to bow beneath Ursus' iron hooves.

The choice of which country to strike first was especially critical. It could neither be too strong nor too weak—too strong would drain Ursus' national power, while too weak would fail to showcase Ursus' current martial might.

Considering the additional condition that the country must border Ursus, An Xiu and the others were left with only two options.

Kazimierz, or Leithanien.

Both countries directly bordered Ursus, yet neither was a massive nation on par with Ursus like Great Yan. Furthermore, both Kazimierz and Leithanien possessed considerable martial virtue, with their military strength ranking among the more outstanding nations on Terra.

If a choice had to be made between Kazimierz and Leithanien, anyone with even a slight understanding of these two countries could easily give the answer.

"Kazimierz."

"If we have to choose, I think it should be Kazimierz."

"Based on a comprehensive assessment of the actual situation, Kazimierz is the best option."

Although the Silver Lance Pegasus of Kazimierz was renowned far and wide, compared to Leithanien, Kazimierz was undoubtedly the easier persimmon to squeeze.

After all, no matter how powerful the battle formation of the Silver Lance Pegasus was, could it be stronger than the Wendigo Legion?

But then again, the same applied to Leithanien's army of casters. With the Shadow Troopers at hand, as long as An Xiu wanted, he could airlift thousands of Wendigos to any location on the battlefield at any time. No matter how strong Leithanien's caster corps was, could they withstand thousands of Wendigos, each with the strength of an Inner Guard, teleporting right into their faces?

"Mobilizing the army will take about a few weeks. Also, if we're going to wage war on Kazimierz, shouldn't we find a suitable reason?" the Doctor asked.

In war, to ensure a justified cause and stand on moral high ground, most nations would fabricate a seemingly legitimate reason before declaring war to boost their own morale and, to some extent, rationalize their actions.

If they were truly setting Kazimierz as their next strategic target, wouldn't they need to think of a suitable reason first before acting?

However, An Xiu simply waved his hand dismissively.

"A reason for war? No need for that. Once preparations are about done, just start fighting directly."

Come on, did he come to Terra to follow all those so-called petty formalities?

If he wanted to fight, he fought. Why babble on about useless things? With Ursus' own six Group Armies, the endless Wendigo Army supplied by Mobius, and Jibril, did he need an excuse or reason to start a war?

Was "Kazimierz is in the way" reason enough? Simply because Kazimierz stood between Ursus and Victoria, Talulah, who had a legitimate claim to the Victorian throne, couldn't return immediately to inherit it. Kazimierz was utterly heinous!

And if he remembered correctly, when dealing with those unruly nobles a while back, a small portion of them had fled with their assets to Kazimierz. According to intelligence from the Shadow Troopers, those former Ursus nobles who had fled to Kazimierz were living quite comfortably after greasing the palms of the Commercial Union's higher-ups.

It seemed those capitalists of Kazimierz were also due for a culling. They needed to thoroughly experience Ursus' strength and methods!

Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Under Talulah's mobilization orders, a large-scale conscription began across all of Ursus.

Aside from the two Group Armies guarding the borders, a full four Group Armies began moving toward Kazimierz from different directions.

Such a massive movement naturally couldn't escape the detection of neighboring countries and factions. For a time, countless eyes once again focused on Ursus.

Had Emperor Talulah, who had only held her Coronation Ceremony a few weeks ago, already grown impatient enough to launch a new war after such a short interval?

Kazimierz, clearly the target of this attack, reacted like a startled Hakimi, immediately activating its Spinosaurus Form. All Conquest Knights within its territory were dispatched to the border with Ursus, standing at full alert.

Thus, when the four Group Armies also arrived at the border one after another, the two sides' armies began a standoff—one that lasted for several days.

"Something's wrong."

In the Grand Knight's Territory, Iolete Russell, current Chairman of the Kazimierz Supervisory Council and Grand Knight of the Conquest Knight Order, frowned as she analyzed the current situation, feeling that something was deeply off.

Had the newly ascended Empress of Ursus, so eager to start a war right after taking power, sent a full four Group Armies to fight Kazimierz just to let both sides' armies waste time aimlessly at the border?

In the past few days, aside from a few small skirmishes, the four Ursus Group Armies gathered at the border hadn't launched a single large-scale offensive.

For the first two or three days, it could be explained as conserving strength, but now a week had passed, and the four Group Armies remained as steady as if fishing from a secure position, simply grinding against the Conquest Knights at the border. Was this normal?

From the Grand Knight's understanding of the Ursus military, that country's army was not so passive. This behavior could only mean they had another scheme.

But as the defending side, the Grand Knight dared not order the Conquest Knights to take the initiative and could only wait and see.

After all, facing a full four Group Armies, Kazimierz was already at a disadvantage. Moreover, the new Ursus Emperor Talulah still commanded a powerful Wendigo Legion. Taking the initiative would be no different from suicide.

Speaking of the Wendigo Legion, in all the days since the war began, not a single Conquest Knight had spotted any trace of the Wendigo Legion among the Ursus Group Armies attacking Kazimierz.

Would Emperor Talulah, making such a grand show of attacking Kazimierz, leave such a powerful army unused? Obviously not.

At this thought, Grand Knight Russell grew even more uneasy. But before she could think further, a loud noise suddenly came from outside.

A Conquest Knight stumbled in, speaking urgently.

"Grand Knight, the Wendigos have appeared!"

"Where?"

"Right here!"

BOOM!!!

Under the Grand Knight's narrowed gaze, several towering figures smashed through the wall of the strategy room and swaggered into her presence.

Chapter 90: The Wendigo Legion Air-Drops into the Command Center, Kazimierz Falls

"That's impossible!"

When she first heard her knight's report that Wendigos had appeared within the Grand Knight's Territory, Grand Knight Russell had wanted to respond just like that.

After all, as the command hub of the Conquest Knights, the Grand Knight's Territory's defenses were as solid as a single slab of iron. Even if that Wendigo Legion under Emperor Talulah's command was formidable, there was no way they could breach this place without making a single sound.

But now, the few Wendigos that had burst through the walls shattered all of the Grand Knight's illusions. Faced with the enemy before her, she tried to draw her weapon and fight back, but they struck first, sending her flying with a single blow.

The Conquest Knight who had first reported the situation didn't escape either; he was sent flying alongside the Grand Knight, crashing through the wall and tumbling outside.

"Cough, cough... What the hell is going on?!"

Forcing herself up from the ground, the Grand Knight, now thrown outside the building, turned to look around. The scenes that met her eyes made her pupils quake.

Wendigos. The entire Grand Knight's Territory was filled with Wendigos. A rough estimate put the number at several hundred.

Though the knights fought desperately, ordinary Conquest Knights were as helpless as infants before these Wendigos, easily slaughtered in an instant. The few Silver Lance Pegasus knights, relying on their battle formations, could barely hold their own against a single Wendigo. But the problem was the sheer number of Wendigos that had appeared in the territory!

With several hundred Wendigos, even the Silver Lance Pegasus knights in formation were powerless. The Grand Knight's Territory, the command hub of the Conquest Knights, was already on the verge of falling in mere moments.

So, the question returned to the beginning: how had these Wendigos appeared?!

Bewildered and confused, the Grand Knight was surrounded by several Wendigos. After a few attacks, she completely lost the ability to resist.

In the shadows unnoticed by anyone, several pairs of crimson eyes watched this scene, transmitting the images to An Xiu, who was observing from afar.

The Wendigos' ability to suddenly break into the enemy's command center was naturally An Xiu's doing. After spending a few days using the Shadow Troopers' unmatched reconnaissance abilities to pinpoint the enemy commanders and high-ranking personnel, he then used the Shadow Kingdom's teleportation ability to directly air-drop the Wendigo Army right onto the enemy command center's doorstep.

Several hundred Wendigos, each on par with an Inner Guard in strength, suddenly appearing in the enemy command center—did the outcome even need to be said?

In just a few minutes, Kazimierz's frontline command center had completely fallen. All the knights were instantly left leaderless.

The four Group Armies, which had been waiting for this moment, immediately sounded the charge. In an instant, the entire border erupted with the roar of ten thousand cannons. Then, waves of Group Army soldiers began tearing through the defenses. The chaotic Kazimierz army couldn't organize any effective resistance.

And that wasn't the end of it. On a stretch of open ground deliberately left by the Group Armies, a full three thousand five hundred Wendigos raised their heads and howled at the sky. Crimson energy gathered, turning into a torrent that flooded the entire battlefield.

Every Kazimierz soldier caught in the crimson energy felt their bodies grow heavy, as if their life and strength were being devoured by an invisible giant mouth, rapidly plunging them into weakness. In response, the Wendigo Legion emitting the crimson energy grew stronger and stronger.

This was a common Originium Art among the Wendigo race—a wide-range, long-distance ability to devour an enemy's vitality. It was also a terrifying super-weapon on the battlefield.

Realizing this, the remaining Silver Lance Pegasus knights with some strength left gathered together into a battle formation, hoping to break through the Wendigo Legion with their combined force and stop their Originium Art.

However, such an attempt was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or a floating leaf trying to shake a tree, in the face of the Wendigo Legion.

After all, the total number of Silver Lance Pegasus knights on the entire frontline might not even reach a hundred. The number that could gather in such a short time was even smaller—roughly around forty.

Forty Silver Lance Pegasus knights in formation, charging against a legion of three thousand five hundred Wendigos.

Would they win?

No one could answer, because the Pegasus knights had already launched their charge with an unstoppable momentum.

How to describe this scene? It was like medieval cavalry charging headlong into a modern tank army. The power they had once prided themselves on became a joke in that moment.

In the instant of collision, the Silver Lance Pegasus knights' formation quietly shattered.

Kazimierz's proudest warriors—the Silver Lance Pegasus knights, who had shattered countless walls in ancient times and made countless enemies tremble in fear—fell. They fell before the Wendigo Legion, which overwhelmed them in both numbers and quality.

With the strongest resistance gone, the Wendigo Legion began sweeping across the battlefield without restraint. Faced with such an onslaught, the Kazimierz army finally collapsed completely.

Kazimierz had fallen.

After the border defenses completely crumbled, the four Ursus Group Armies drove straight in, taking over every city and village within Kazimierz's borders.

Countless civilians hid in their homes, not daring to come out. Fortunately, these Group Armies only took over the cities and showed no intention of looting.

And now, only half a month had passed since Ursus officially declared war on Kazimierz.

In half a month, they had conquered and taken over an entire nation. The Ursus war machine, after undergoing a transformation following the new Emperor's coronation, had bared its fangs for the first time. Its results sent chills down the spines of countless nations, and at the same time, made Talulah's name infamous across the land.

As for this, neither Talulah—whom countless nations and factions saw as the instigator of the war—nor An Xiu, the true culprit, cared much.

Strictly speaking, conquering Kazimierz was just a preliminary plan. Victoria was the real target.

As a Drac bearing the bloodline of the Red Dragon, Talulah naturally held the right to inherit Victoria's throne. In fact, as long as she could safely reach Victoria's capital, Londinium, Talulah could directly inherit the vacant throne without anyone having the right to say a word.

Of course, the remaining Dukes of Victoria certainly wouldn't be happy about it. If Talulah actually showed any intention of going to Londinium to claim the throne, those Dukes would do everything in their power to stop her. Moreover, Victoria's capital was currently in the hands of a group of Sarkaz led by Theresis and the Blood Demon Great Lord. Combined, these two forces would be enough to cause massive trouble in a direct confrontation.

Of course, that was assuming An Xiu and Jibril didn't intervene. If they did—no, if just Jibril alone acted—she could literally flatten all of Victoria.

So, An Xiu and the others weren't worried at all that taking Kazimierz would alert Victoria. In fact, the more alert they were, the better.

It would be best if they gathered all their armies together for a decisive battle. That way, he could let Little Jibril give these Terra natives a little taste of the Winged Ones' power.

PS: Didn't have time to write this morning, so the update is late.

Chapter 91: Platinum: Why is the Emperor of Ursus, Talulah, here?!

After the war, Kazimierz's capital.

Some time had passed since the war ended. Because Ursus's Group Army hadn't engaged in burning, killing, or looting, the streets of Kazimierz's city were already beginning to regain their former bustle.

The smoke of battle on the border hadn't fully dissipated, yet the city seemed hardly different from before the war. The only changes were the occasional Ursus soldiers patrolling the streets and the disappearance of the Commercial Union—once a key component of Kazimierz, the land of gold and knights, alongside the Pegasus and the knights themselves.

After all, everyone knows what merchants who dare meddle in politics are like, let alone a cancer like the Commercial Union that brazenly held the nation's economic lifeline in its grip.

The knights of Kazimierz's Supervisory Council couldn't handle these merchants before, but the Ursus army that had conquered Kazimierz wouldn't be so lenient.

A bunch of capitalists who only knew underhanded tricks and couldn't even be taken seriously—how dare they control the national economy? You must have eaten too many red beans and gotten lovesick.

Thus, the merchants of the Commercial Union met with utter misfortune. Those willing to obediently hand over all their wealth and submit to orders were spared and sent to prison for hard labor. As for those who refused to cooperate and dared to resist, their entire families were taken to the execution grounds and hanged.

The merchants' assets were all confiscated, and thanks to this, Ursus's national treasury had been quite well-stocked lately.

In the midst of this, at a secluded restaurant.

An Xiu sat in a reserved private room, while Jibril silently floated behind him.

To show the importance she placed on Kazimierz and to soothe the unease of the people in this newly conquered nation as quickly as possible, Talulah had recently decided to personally visit Kazimierz to inspect various issues like people's livelihoods, work, and society.

But traveling from Ursus's Holy Steed Castle to Kazimierz's capital took considerable time. After all, Talulah was now an emperor, and when she went out to inspect the people's lives—especially in a country like Kazimierz, newly occupied by Ursus—the scale of her procession naturally couldn't be small.

This further increased the time cost. Fortunately, in this situation, An Xiu suddenly proposed using the Shadow Kingdom of the Shadow Troopers to teleport Talulah directly, while the rest of the military escort, attendants, and honor guard would take the normal route to Kazimierz, creating the illusion that Talulah was still on the road.

The time freed up in between was meant as a vacation An Xiu gave Talulah—a break for the white-haired dragon girl to temporarily set aside state affairs and rest, instead of holing up in the palace like a beast of burden, dealing with paperwork day and night.

"By my estimate, Talulah should be about ready to set off by now, right?"

"Then I suppose I can start getting the food ready."