Chapter 404
"Aini, don't shake your head . If one-hundred of your most trusted subordinates were killed, what would you do?" Saleen rebutted when he saw Aini looking indignant .
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"This is a battlefield, deaths are bound to happen . "
Without any change in expression, Saleen said, "Even though the age of cavaliers has passed, I am willing to pay the ransom if they have imprisoned those swordsmen . They have massacred my men, every single one of them . Am I still supposed to do a cost and benefit analysis? They have to pay the price, no one shall even think of staying alive . "
Saleen went to look at the bodies personally . Many of these swordsmen did not resist . They had obviously surrendered, yet they still got killed . This was something which Saleen could not tolerate .
Saleen had given an order to these swordsmen in the past . "If the enemy is too strong, and there is no chance for escape, then lay down your weapons . " In Qin, no one would kill their prisoners of war, because the prisoners of war were akin to their first pot of gold . Before the end of a war, these prisoners could act as free labor . Even after the war ended, it was not guaranteed that the prisoners would be freed . There was a high chance that they would be absorbed into a new family, where they would become the subordinates of a new noble .
As for the swordsmen who were skillful, they would be sent into the army to execute dangerous assignments . It was precisely because of Saleen's order that the swordsmen did not put up a fight . They were killed by the enemy, because of that, Saleen's rage could not be appeased .
Slaughtering a person who did not put up any resistance was a practice despised by the Qin people . Even the people of Tanggulasi would not do such a thing . At most, they would send the prisoners to the Holy See, so that the Holy See could reform the prisoners . As for the method of reform, it was very malleable .
Ever since Saleen picked up magic, he had killed a number of enemies . He did not like doing so . If it was not out of desperation, he would not have taken other people's lives . Even though a mage enjoyed prestige, they were also commoners to begin with . Even a death mage would not kill others just for pleasure's sake .
Saleen's own subordinates were slaughtered just like animals .
Saleen's impression of the people from the island states of the eastern sea was very negative at the moment . Since the prisoners who were captured by Kredian had died, he did not have the chance to ask more questions . How did these people arrive at his city? If they said that Saleen's city was their ambition, then it would be totally implausible . Saleen's city was located very far north and the current season was unsuitable for staging an invasion . That being said, the enemy's armed merchant ships were filled with infantrymen . They were definitely not out for vacation, they had a destination in mind .
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Were they going to attack Lianyun City? It seemed that this fleet was slightly weak . Even though Lianyun City was unlike Alchemy City, it was also a massive harbor city in the north of the empire . Alchemy City had dominated ninety percent of commerce from the Cloudflow people, while the other ten percent was taken by the Lianyun City . This ten percent represented a colossal wealth, it would be sufficient for the owner of Lianyun City to support an elite army .
Saleen's calculations were right . This twenty boat fleet would not be able to conquer Lianyun City . He would never imagine that the twenty kingdoms in the eastern sea had gathered many other smaller states to form such a massive fleet in order to conquer the Myers mainland . To achieve this agenda, the island states in the eastern sea had been planning for the longest time ever . Fredrick, who was killed by Saleen, was in fact gathering intelligence from the Myers mainland .
At that point in time, Saleen was still inexperienced, so he did not try to understand what Fredrick's intentions were . He would otherwise have learned of this matter long ago . Lex had thought of this issue before . The island states in the eastern sea were simply too far from the Myers mainland, so she did not think that a war would occur between them .
"Sir Saleen, the enemy has sent an envoy . "
"I don't want to meet him . "
"That man won't budge . "
"Then kill him," Saleen replied decisively .
"Okay . " The swordsman who was the messenger turned and left . Before long, screams could be heard from the square outside . This swordsman was also filled with hatred . When Saleen allowed him to kill the envoy, he chopped off the limbs first, followed by slicing the head off .
This swordsman had come from the Sregl Island, and Sregl Island was not a huge place . Of those swordsmen who had died on the island, some of them were his good friends .
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"Why won't you hear what they have to say?" Irene, who was standing by his side, was perplexed .
"The enemies are in my hands now, there's no need to discuss . They have lost the warships . Without any resupply of food and weapons, they have zero chance of reversing the situation . They are either trying to surrender, or to assassinate me . No matter what it is, I am not going to accept it . "
"Sir, we have found this!" The swordsman who was in charge of the execution delivered an item over . Saleen received it, this item was a magic canister . A grade-7 magic nucleus was mosaicked into one end of the magic canister . Cautiously, Saleen removed the magic nucleus and gave it to Aini .
Aini inspected it, and in an astounded manner, he called out, "It was really for an assassination! This item can release a level-7 spell!"
The magic canister was a suicidal magic equipment, and there were no grade requirements for it . After usage, it would explode . There were dozens of magic nuclei concealed inside, and when they were stimulated, the power unleashed was equivalent to that of level-7 spell . It was not easy to fool Saleen and Aini . Even if the envoy was allowed entry into the temple, this thing would have also been discovered .
Such magic canisters were extremely unstable, they could not even be stored . Besides being naturally stimulated, this thing was a ticking time bomb, no one knew when it would explode on its own . No mages dared carry such things with them .
Saleen glanced at Irene, then said flatly, "See that, sometimes you don't have to show compassion to the enemy . "
Irene remained silent . Even though she had encountered a number of conspiracies in the past, she had never seen such insanity before . Even if the invaders managed to kill Saleen, they would not be rewarded with victory . Instead, they would face a more vigorous backlash . Now that this incident was exposed, Saleen would definitely reject their surrender .
An hour passed very quickly . The mages on the ice layer began shrouding the magic array with snow . At the same time, Daniel's spirit army had set off towards the edge of the ice layer . There were a three-thousand strong spirit army, over twenty barbarians, and Daniel a grand mage .
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Daniel stood atop one of the pikoosi's heads . As long as the enemy did not have a sorcerer, not even a warhorse could outrun his death creature on this ice layer .
At the periphery of the ice layer, a gray-robed mage looked worried as he told his general, "Sir, the assassin I sent has failed . "
The general seemed to have predicted this outcome, as he simply nodded and replied, "Failed? Then we can only fight to our last breath . Disseminate my order, all the mages shall bless the army with magic . We shall advance . "
"Mage Youxi Maso is not back yet," the gray-robed mage reminded his general .
"He should not be returning anymore . To think that I have been carefree for the past thirty years or so and have conquered multiple lands, yet I am going to die here today," the general sighed .
"Sir, you shouldn't say such demoralizing words!" a mage consoled . The general was considered a ferocious general in the eastern sea states . He was not boasting at all . He had conquered multiple lands, but these countries never had a population of more than fifty-thousand . On the Myers mainland, places with a population of less than fifty-thousand could not be considered cities, they could only be referred to as citadels . The mage was groaning in his heart, "If you have already lost all hope, then what would the soldiers rely on for the battle?"
"Don't bother persuading me . At this point in time, the only way out is death . " The general's ride had sunk with the warships, and now, he was mustering all his effort to stand up . He then briefed the people around him, "If anyone of you survives and manages to see His Majesty, please help me tell him that I didn't surrender, but that I had died on the battlefield . Please ask His Majesty to treat my children kindly . "
Finishing his sentence, the general wielded his sword and walked west without any expression on his face .
The general's trusted soldiers could only follow suit . Such was the practice in the eastern sea states . Usually, a general would have to take the lead, placing his personal safety into the hands of his trusted men . With arrows flying about in chaos, a general would also die no matter how skillful he was . These soldiers might be carrying metal shields, but there were less than twenty metal shields .
From afar, a thunderous tremor came from the ice layer . The general halted and looked towards the ice layer . It was a blanket of white hue, as thousands of skeletons suddenly went berserk and began sprinting towards the general's battle formation .
These skeletons were only low grade spirits . Spirits which were forcefully conscripted by the three kings to be coolies and were really weak . The Eastern Sea Allied Army had lost all confidence . Two rounds of assault from Saleen had made them realize that their expedition was an imminent failure .
To make things even worse, death mages were almost non-existent in the eastern sea states, so a normal soldier did not understand skeletons at all . Now that there were so many skeletons in front of them, with red flames flickering in their orbitals, the allied soldiers were in a state of panic . No matter how much their commanders berated them, they could not get into formation .
Those generals were fearless, they were not afraid of the skeletons . It was too late for them to inform the soldiers of the weakness of the skeletons, however . The soldiers were not close to the generals, which was something that never occurred in Qin . In the Qin Empire, the commonest of nobles would also enjoy an intimate relationship with their soldiers . They would not sting on money, they would help procure equipment for the soldiers and educate them .
"Hmm?" Daniel, who was standing on the pikoosi's head, noticed the enemy's leader . The leader was clad in colored armor, he seemed like a flippant person . Even though his armor was impractical, Daniel felt that he was perilous .
Currently, Daniel was already a grade-5 mage . In order for someone to make him feel in danger, that person had to at least be a beginner grand swordmaster . Daniel was unlike Saleen . If he did not have the protection of the skeletons, he would not even dare get close to the enemy's team . At the very least, Saleen could fly and escape out of the range of a crossbow .
The originally high-spirited Daniel now slowed down, as he recalled Saleen's warning . "Since there are so many enemies, there is definitely the presence of grand swordmasters . Don't get too close to the enemy's formation . Allow the skeletons to die, so as to toy with enemy's morale . When it's almost time, then get the barbarians to escort you back . By then, I will kill all of them in a single swoop . "
Saleen's plan was very simple . The skeletons would kill the normal enemy soldiers, even if it meant exchanging the skeletons' lives . Once Daniel began retreating, the enemy would definitely give chase in order to bolster morale . The enemy did not have much time to waste on the ice layer . It was also very likely that they would ride on this momentum to invade the city .
As long as the enemy's general's brain was still functioning, then he would know that this was the only opportunity .
Saleen had already prepared a large magic array at the port . As long as the enemy pursued Daniel, they would fall into Saleen's trap . Even if the enemy did not give chase, Saleen would not suffer much loss either . With this wave of assault, the enemy would sustain another batch of casualties . By then, they would not even be able to last through the night anymore .