Chapter 710.1: No Battle Today

The eastern outskirts of the City of a Thousand Pillars.

Winding trenches twisted across the battlefield like gigantic centipedes, forcefully splitting the land in two.

Soldiers in helmets stood nervously inside the trenches, gripping their rifles tightly with both hands, leaning forward as narrowed eyes stared into the wilderness ahead.

Although it was a rare clear day during the rainy season, an invisible dark cloud seemed to press down upon everyone’s heads. Whether soldiers in the trenches or fish in the Everflowing River, all struggled to breathe beneath the suffocating pressure.

Inside the frontline observation post, General Alyang stood with tightly furrowed brows, staring at the distant dirt slopes.

Deep wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes. Dark bags hung swollen beneath them, and his cloudy pupils resembled the murky waters of the Everflowing River. Strands of silver hid among his temples. His haggard appearance made him seem as though he had aged more than a decade overnight, completely unlike the spirited man he had been a week ago.

Gopal standing beside him looked much the same, his face carrying the expression of someone who had not slept properly for days. Normally the most resourceful among them, he was unusually quiet.

An entire division had been captured...

Such a thing had never happened since the first dynasty was established in the Poro Province!

It was not merely a humiliation for a few officers, it was a disgrace to the entire Gray Wolf Army, to all Wolffolk!

Even more worrying were the more than 10,000 Wolffolk soldiers who had been captured.

Their captors were the most vicious thugs in Port Gallon, slaves twisted both physically and mentally by years of torment. Heaven knew what kinds of degradation awaited those proud Wolffolk warriors in their hands.

Yet despite their concern for those young men, they currently lacked the ability to spare any attention for them.

At almost the same moment news of the frontline defeat reached the capital city, the emperor in the Heavenly City had urgently dispatched a telegram ordering them to retreat 100 kilometers and establish defensive lines around the City of a Thousand Pillars, while ceasing all offensive operations against the New Alliance.

The City of a Thousand Pillars was the holy city of the Xilande Empire, as well as the sacred land in the hearts of all survivors in the Poro Province. The iron chains wrapped around its towering totem pillars symbolized blessings upon the land, and countless believers traveled there every year to pray for peace and tranquility.

If the New Alliance captured the city, not only would the royal family of the empire lose all prestige, but the stability of the entire province would suffer a severe blow.

Bandits claiming the name of the apocalypse would sweep across all of Poro Province. No matter what, the settlement absolutely could not fall into the New Alliance’s hands!

General Alyang had already prepared himself for a battle to the death.

At that moment, his adjutant came running from the rear trenches, panting heavily as he saluted. “Report! All buildings within the combat zone have been cleared out! There isn’t a single bunker or field left along the entire frontline! I guarantee you, aside from our men, forget survivors, even a rat can’t be seen!”

Alyang nodded without asking where those inconvenient survivors had been sent. He simply continued raising the binoculars in his hand toward the east.

The area was completely silent. Aside from a few abandoned shacks, not a trace of human activity could be seen. Only then did the staff officer beside him, Gopal, finally speak. “The New Alliance honored the ceasefire agreement. It seems they still don’t want to blow this into a full-scale war.”

His voice carried a trace of relief. Yet almost the instant his words fell, a faint cloud of dust appeared upon the distant plains.

The moment they saw it, every officer inside the observation post froze. Alyang was the first to recover, roaring loudly, “Prepare for battle!”

The moment his roar sounded, shrill alarms blared across trenches stretching dozens of kilometers wide.

Machine gunners crouched behind firing positions hurriedly loaded ammunition belts into their guns. Artillery crews frantically cranked winches so violently that sparks nearly flew from the mechanisms.

Soldiers carrying rifles poured out from blast shelters, pressing their chests against the trench edges as fearful eyes and trembling rifles pointed outward together.

Bayonets glinted dazzlingly beneath the blazing sun.

Everyone stared nervously at the growing dust cloud, waiting for the order to fire, and silently praying in their hearts that the order would never come.

Most of the men had survived the great rout along the Everflowing River. More than 10,000 soldiers had been chased by barely 200 men, with some even jumping into the river to escape.

That memory of terror was carved deeply into the hearts of every Wolffolk soldier. No one wanted to experience that fear again...

Alyang’s face remained expressionless, saying nothing as though deep in thought. Beside him, however, Gopal was drenched in sweat, his hands trembling around the binoculars.

They were on the very frontlines.

Gulping nervously, he said, “General, if the New Alliance brazenly tears up the ceasefire agreement, this will become the first battlefield. At the very least we should withdraw a little farther back...”

In truth, of they ran all the way over, they already had torn the damn agreement up. Before the formal ceasefire agreement was signed, New Alliance soldiers were not supposed to leave Port Gallon. The only uncertainty remaining was whether the approaching figure belonged to the New Alliance itself or those puppet troops made up of rebels and bandits.

“Wait a little longer.” Alyang cut him off, eyes fixed firmly ahead.

The dust cloud finally drew near.

A desert-camouflaged armored off-road vehicle entered the officers’ sight, stopping roughly one kilometer from the trenches.

Some sharp-eyed soldiers closer to the front could even make it out with the naked eye, their sweaty palms tightening around their rifles.

Just as everyone held their breath in anticipation, the vehicle door swung open and a soldier clad in exoskeleton jumped out.

Resting on his shoulder was a flagpole that stood nearly three men tall once unfurled. The blue flag bore a golden emblem made up of thick, distinct stripes, while the New Alliance insignia sat in the upper-left corner.

The officers stared in confusion, unsure what he intended to do. But the soldiers in the trenches felt their hearts sink as despair threatened to spill out.

There was no mistaking it, that exoskeleton belonged to the New Alliance! They had not even bothered changing into civilian clothes...

The wind blowing from the Everflowing River caused the flag to flap loudly. Zero Rush lifted his visor and goggles for some fresh air, only to nearly pass out from the stench.

Awkwardly grinning toward the utterly silent trenches in the distance, he lowered the visor once more before violently driving the three-man-tall flagpole into the soil beneath his feet.

Powered by the exoskeleton, the pole pierced over a man’s height deep into the earth. It did not merely stab into the banks of the Everflowing River, it stabbed directly into the hearts of the Wolffolk soldiers.

The soldiers and officers in the trenches could only watch helplessly. Not a single shot was fired as they silently swallowed the humiliation.

One soldier gritted his teeth and tried to aim his rifle, only for the squad leader beside him to grab the barrel and shake his head in warning.

Back in the observation post, Gopal swallowed again and forced out an awkward smile. “At least they’re showing some restraint...”

Alyang said nothing. Neither did the adjutant behind him. Feeling awkward, Gopal chuckled dryly a couple more times before raising his binoculars again.

After planting the flag, the soldier climbed back into the vehicle. A chain was then tossed from the rear, attached to something resembling a plow.

The off-road vehicle restarted, turned in place, and sped off parallel to the trenches with its back facing the Everflowing River.

Massive tires threw up rolling clouds of dust while the taut chain clattered loudly, carving a shallow trench across the ground.

At that moment, the officers in the observation post finally understood the meaning behind the act, and fury spread across every face.

The flagpole marked the ceasefire line itself!

Facing 300,000 troops of the Xilande Empire, they had sent nothing but a single squad to plant a fucking flag!

That was naked provocation, a challenge directed at the Gray Wolf Army and the Xilande Empire!

“Those bastards!” the adjutant behind Alyang cursed furiously, itching to fire a shot into the vehicle’s rear. Turning toward Alyang, he said earnestly, “General, give the order! They violated the agreement first!”

Alyang remained silent, but Gopal beside him visibly paled and hurriedly tried to stop him. “The ceasefire agreement hasn’t been signed yet. Ordering those bandits to remain inside the settlement was only His Majesty’s unilateral demand. They are technically under no obligation to obey an unsigned agreement. Calling it a breach would be inaccurate.”

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