Chapter 364: Chapter 364 - 356: Enchanting Soup
The military strength of Owl City’s army crushed small towns like Wolf Fang Village and the Southern Border without much effort, sweeping across them effortlessly.
Yunshan City didn’t hold out for long before it was breached, and the defending troops could only retreat to the rear city of Greenfield City.
Originally, Greenfield City was a poor and remote place with nothing much to offer, and the army from Owl City didn’t take it seriously, thinking they could capture it easily.
But to their surprise, the walls of this broken place were ridiculously hard. Whether using manpower or artillery, they couldn’t breach it; it was as solid as a fortress!
The army of Owl City had no choice but to retreat outside the city and surround it, hoping to starve them into surrender.
What they didn’t know was that Greenfield City had no shortage of food — the city’s granaries were packed full, enough to feed the entire city for half a year!
Trying to starve them out in a siege might just result in the troops outside starving first!
During the siege, the people of Greenfield City actually lived like gods.
No need to work or hunt, they just ate and slept at home every day, as if they were on a long holiday.
The city’s residents were all rosy-faced, idle enough to grow mushrooms out of boredom.
In contrast, the troops besieging the city were in worsening condition.
In the dead of winter, the rebel troops from Owl City were starving and gaunt, shivering in the cold wind, with morale dropping day by day.
Owl City was a good two to three hundred kilometers away from Greenfield City, and transporting supplies back and forth was slow and arduous. If this dragged on, it seemed likely that they would collapse before starving out the city’s residents.
The well-fed and bored citizens of the city took steaming hot meals up to the city walls, savoring them as they shouted down to the besiegers,
"Hey! Are you guys outside hungry? Want to come in for a bite?"
"We’ve got soy sauce fried rice, meat pies, dumplings, noodles, smells great! Can you smell it?"
"In this cold weather, why not warm your body with a drink of hot booze? Home-brewed malt beer really packs a punch!"
"Hahaha, look at them shivering like quails, really pathetic!"
"Hey, how long do you think they can keep it up? It’s a good thing Shen Tang had the foresight to have us start building the walls early and stockpiled so much food, otherwise, we’d really be in trouble."
"A bunch of fools standing there, staring enviously, can’t even get a bite. Ah, I almost feel sorry for them!"
Every word shot to the heart as it drifted outside the city, angering the soldiers until their faces turned livid, but there was nothing they could do.
Damn, it’s infuriating!
But it was all true, and they couldn’t even argue back.
...
Things were even worse for Wolf Fang Village.
It was just an emerging bandit lair, and even though they had recruited some fierce fighters, they were no match for Owl City’s army.
In just three days, the cavalries trampled the village flat, even blowing down the walls.
The head chieftain was beheaded on the spot by the warlord leader.
The remaining bandits were either killed or fled, those who survived became like stray dogs.
In the dead of winter, with nothing to eat or drink, they could only endure in the snow, shivering as if they were grandsons.
Only then did they regret — had they known today’s outcome, they might as well have accepted the Imperial City’s offer of amnesty back then, at least they would have had a prosperous life, not this, struggling to save their own lives!
...
Although Greenfield City’s walls were sturdy, Owl City’s army’s advance was unstoppable, relying solely on defense wasn’t a solution.
More troublesome was that Greenfield City and surrounding towns were the Empire’s main grain-producing areas, now they were besieged tightly, and grain couldn’t be transported out at all.
The Imperial City received the news and immediately dispatched reinforcements heavily armed.
Military factories were operating at full capacity, and a large batch of new weapons had just been rolled out, directly equipped onto a newly formed elite corps. This unit, with explosive combat power, conducted a forced march and reached Greenfield City within three days.
The leader, Luo Fei, was a tough character with a Ninth Rank strength, leading the troops to push through, causing Owl City’s army to retreat step by step.
Hu Yun also coordinated with Greenfield City’s garrison to pursue and take back lost territory.
He had now advanced to the Seventh Rank, greatly increasing his strength, but besides fighting, he had an extra task — to keep a close eye on Luo Fei’s band of bandits to prevent them from turning rogue.
Previously, Shen Tang had these bandits work in construction, which left them fuming. Now sending them to the battlefield was actually a test of their loyalty.
Luo Fei felt uncomfortable being watched all over, "Hu Yun, can you stop being like surveillance? I can’t run away! If you’re really bored, why not consider settling down? We’ve got several pretty females in our village, my cousin even said she likes your type and wants to chat with you sometime!"
Hu Yun remained expressionless, "Don’t try to be friendly, Your Majesty said to keep an eye on you all. If you dare to run with troops, prepare to die."
"Run my ass!" Luo Fei cursed, "That damned emperor installed a slave chip in me, serving them for three years, where can I run?"
He sat down heavily under a tree to rest, giving Hu Yun a sidelong glance and said carelessly, "What about you, did some female feed you some Enchanting Soup? Is that why you’re so devoted?"
"Her Majesty is the noblest and most beautiful female in the world." Hu Yun’s face flushed slightly, "Serving her is my honor."
Luo Fei was instantly intrigued, "Oh, you’re blushing? Don’t tell me you have a crush on that damned emperor?"
"Shut up!" Hu Yun snapped, turning to leave in anger.
Luo Fei, with a grass stalk in his mouth, shook his head, "So young and already whipped by a female, truly hopeless."
Thinking of Shen Tang, he spat, "Just a piece of trash who rose to power by relying on Beast Husband, if it weren’t for her few powerful Beast Husbands, would she even be in that position?"
"Huh, dreaming of making me submit, they wish!"
...
Xingyun City.
Most of the walls were damaged, gleaming with a bloody hue in the sunset.
The walls were filled with Owl City’s black flags, with bodies hanging at the city gate, some carrion birds circling above, emitting piercing cries.
Heavy machine guns were mounted on the high walls, snipers on the watchtowers coldly scanning below.
In the square.
Civilians were herded at gunpoint by the militants, crouching on the ground, trembling.
The leader of Owl City’s forces stood atop an armored vehicle, grinning and lifting a loudspeaker,
"From today forth, this place is under Owl City’s rule! Anyone who resists will be shot on the spot!"
He raised his hand, shooting the head of a young man attempting to flee.
Blood splattered on the concrete, and stifled sobs emerged from the crowd.
Suddenly —
Boom!!!
The entire fortress trembled violently, and the east wall collapsed with a roar!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The rebels shouted in panic, turning their guns, but before they could open fire—
The ground suddenly erupted with countless sharp rock spikes, piercing through several rebels in an instant!
In the swirling dust, a tall and sharp figure strolled forward, leading a mass of reinforcements behind her.
She wore a black tactical suit, draped with a military coat with platinum patterns, her black hair tied high, her face striking and her onyx eyes as sharp as blades.
A silver-haired man of striking looks followed behind her, his violet eyes captivating, exuding an intimidating aura of killing intent.
The ones leading the reinforcements were Shen Tang and Xue Yinzhou.
"It’s Her Majesty! His Majesty the Emperor is here!" someone exclaimed.
Desperation turned to hope in the eyes of the townspeople.
No one expected the Emperor would personally lead the troops into battle!