Third Age 1699, the Year of the Bloody Front

The war on the Western Continent has entered a new stage, and it is also a stage more cruel than before.

The Battle of Green Hill, the Tisilan Ambush, the Battle of the Thirteenth Falcon County, and the Battle of Nebel Mountain, the fierce battlefields were like meat grinders, ruthlessly devouring lives.

Countless soldiers were blown away by artillery fire, pierced by spears, and had their throats slit by swords on the battlefield. Every day, thousands of soldiers received news of their death in battle. Countless names were scratched out with red pens on the page, and then passed to those who were there.

Distant hometown.

The messengers dressed in black and carrying sturdy military satchels delivered the unknown white envelope to the dazed parents, who were greeted with tears of sadness rolling down their faces.

Tears fell drop by drop on the unfolded letter paper, moistening the ink-printed formula text. Only the name column was written hastily with a hand pen, carelessly, and maybe not used for a second, but this represents a young man.

life passed away.

Perhaps not long ago, before leaving, this young man smiled at the people around him and said that he was waiting for news of his return after victory. But in the end, what he waited for was just a letter and the medal of sacrifice that could never be retrieved.

"I know you are sad, but please allow me to offer your child the highest respect." The messenger in black took off his hat and held it on his chest.

"He sacrificed for this country and fought for the future of all of us. The country and people will not forget this."

"The revenge of cruelty must be paid with blood."

————

Seabuckthorn City, formerly a border city on the west wind, is now occupied by the imperial army.

In the barracks in the city, thousands of soldiers were repairing here, many of them were wounded, and the sounds of pain and wailing could often be heard in the camp.

The large tent housing the wounded was opened, and an imperial soldier walked out. Judging from his face, he was probably in his early twenties.

Compared with the complacency, enthusiasm and excitement on his face at the beginning of the war, at this moment, his face only had a numb and dull expression.

Arriving at a corner of the camp, he prepared to wash his stained hands under the water, which were caused when he just cleaned the patient's body. The smell was mixed with blood and stink, which was unbearable.

But when he walked to the well, a wooden sign with the word "Next" written on it stood beside it.

'The well has been poisoned!'

The bright red writing on the white wooden board is shocking.

"Damn it!" he spat, and then thought about the past few days.

This is not the first wellhead to be poisoned. The local residents always try their best to find opportunities to cause trouble for them.

Poisoning, arson, attacks, all kinds of things happened.

The noble officers in the camp were very angry and massacred many suspected local residents. Thousands of corpses were even piled up outside the city.

"If they dare to rebel again, then we will keep killing until the other party is afraid."

"To deal with such die-hards, we should kill more and make the other party tremble. In this way, even if a few of them want to cause trouble, they will be exposed immediately by the people around them." The officer recounted the experience left by his ancestors.

.

It has never been easy to conquer a country or nation, but killing is indeed the simplest and most brutal method.

There will always be people who are afraid of death, right?

After the invasion of Crancia, many noble officers adopted such methods. In their minds, there was not much difference between the civilians of these enemy countries and livestock.

"Stupid, stupid, and unwilling to surrender properly!"

It is difficult for the people above to understand such a situation, because such a situation has never occurred in previous conquests. As long as the opponent's large army is defeated, many small towns and villages are surrendered, and some people can be randomly sent to receive them.

But now the expedition seems to have entered a quagmire. No matter what you do, you will feel a kind of resistance, and this resistance comes from the people on this land.

He once met a local peasant woman during a field march. This woman with tanned skin was wearing coarse linen clothes and holding a child in her arms.

When seeing Imperial soldiers passing by, the woman would whisper in the child's ear.

'This is our enemy, the person we must kill in the future.'

Unlike other soldiers, he was exceptionally talented in hearing, and it was also because of this that he knew what the woman was talking about.

But that day he did not report the matter to his superiors, nor did he pick up a spear and pierce the ungrateful peasant woman like other colleagues.

'I understand this is wrong. War only brings out the worst in our humanity.'

He said this to himself in his heart, but he also knew that such words were useless.

Now that the war has progressed to this point, both sides have accumulated numerous blood feuds and can no longer stop.

Sometimes he would even dream that the slain Clansians came to his bedside and demanded their lives, just like the Mercury Dynasty recorded in history.

What a disgusting feeling.

Sitting on the edge of the open space in the camp, the imperial soldier looked at the gray sky, then stood up.

"What's wrong, Li Ge, are you looking for the water? Come here."

A slightly taller and stronger soldier came forward. He was wearing scale armor covering his chest and back, with a gray and black broken cloak behind him, and he was holding a steel halberd in his hand.

"Well, it's Tulong." The soldier named Lige raised his head and looked at Tulong, his acquaintance and comrade from fellow Jiang.

Following Tulon's tall body, Lige came to another part of the camp, where there was the only safe well. Many people were queuing up to get water, some for drinking and some for washing things.

Seeing that there were quite a few people in front of them, the two of them waited aside for a while and started chatting.

"There seems to be bad news coming from the front. The entire legion led by a certain viscount was wiped out on the battlefield."

"Oh, it seems that some of the wounded will be sent back, and then many of us will have to go to the front line."

"Maybe you won't be able to see me next time." Lige lowered his head and knocked the dust on the soles of his feet, mocking the increasingly uncomfortable situation.

"What, you want to escape?"

Turon joked that in the Canghong Empire, being a deserter on the battlefield was the most shameful reputation. Such people could even laugh at and insult beggars on the street. If the other party still wanted to resist, they would be attacked in various ways.

The empire was founded on military merit, and its cultural tradition also despised deserters and cowards. In various dramas, these deserters often played the role of buffoons, or the final footnote of the villain.

Praising bravery, glory, and justice is an enduring content in the empire. Boys yearn for the heroic knights in the stories and legends, and girls also dream of the dashing knight riding a white horse and saying hello to her.

This is also the reason why, even now, many people still insist on reluctantly. If they say that they are afraid and afraid of war, they will be laughed at and bullied.

This is especially true for nobles who pay attention to reputation and glory. After years of propaganda and generations of teachings, many nobles also naturally believe that the battlefield is glorious. Even if they fail to win, they cannot be a deserter who will be despised.

Relying on this firm tradition, the empire's army moved westward and continued to engage in cruel battlefields.

If, if there were no Crancia, the Seven Snow Kingdoms would still be the same as before, this expedition would probably have been a success. And they would also be praised by future generations as heroic and glorious beings.

Unfortunately, the current Starlight Alliance, dominated by Clancia, is not the Snow Flower Seven Kingdoms of the past.

If they cannot defeat them, they will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history and ridiculed mercilessly.

At this stage, although more and more people are aware of the difficulty and elusiveness of victory, the empire still reluctantly maintains the idea of ​​​​main war.

Even if you can't win, you still have to cripple the opponent.

With this idea in mind, the emperor started a new round of conscription after discussing with many great nobles.

Perhaps they themselves did not realize it, but they were already panicking about defeat.

Experiencing the blood-stained process of the blade made many nobles and imperial soldiers on the front line gradually realize what kind of terrifying opponents they were.

They seem to have almost fanatical beliefs. They are not afraid of death, have strict discipline, and will never retreat until they fight. They stand on the ground like steel pillars. Every step forward, they will encounter obstacles at all levels.

Looking back at the countless bodies that fell in this war, if they failed here, the outcome might not just be as simple as returning to the borderline between the two sides in the past.

The more fear there is, the more unified the empire becomes. More and more conscription teams are patrolling the provinces. Some conservative noble families have to use their best efforts to think about how to survive this protracted war.

.

With the organizational ability and fighting will that Crancia has shown in the past two years, it does not seem to be difficult for him to lead the army into the internal battle of the empire. If such a thing happens, the land, wealth, resources, etc. of many nobles will disappear.

Some people with far-sightedness began to appeal, suggesting that they should slow down the offensive, stop as soon as possible, and make peace with Crancia. But such voices were quickly drowned out.

Although many people died in the war, it was impossible for these nobles to give up the interests and land they had obtained. Then wouldn't they have done it in vain and become a joke?

So in the end, neither side had any room to make concessions.

"When will it end? I kind of want to go back to my hometown. It's probably the season when dandelions are in full bloom. Yuna from the neighboring village often comes to our village with her mother to pick wild vegetables at this time." Lige slightly blocked the sky with his arm.

sun.

"Keep your voice down. People around you will report you if you say this." Turon put a hand on Li Ge's shoulder to tell him not to show his intention to become a deserter.

"Oh, what's there to be afraid of? I guess everyone thinks so."

"Relax, man, maybe the future won't be so bad, maybe we will win one day." Turon said comfortingly.

"Have you heard that the pure iron warrior has now led the army to victory on the flanks? The emperor even sent an envoy to commend him."

"Are you talking about Darcy? This is indeed the idol of many people, but such a genius is too far away from a little person like me, and it cannot inspire me at all."

Under the dark sky, the two of them chatted casually until they got water and took care of things, then slowly returned to the tent.

After the imperial army fought successively in Crancia, many people, like this soldier, gradually lost their initial enthusiasm and became silent. The blood they saw every day, the fallen companions one after another

, all irritating the anxious nerves.

It is wonderful to obtain wealth and land after victory, but the cruelty of life and death on the battlefield is also terrifying. They are only here for profit, and naturally they do not have the firm will to fight like the Cranthian soldiers.

After suffering successive major blows and torture, the empire's offensive has become slower and slower. More and more frontline nobles have begun to protect themselves wisely and fight passively. They are more inclined to occupy territory and defend rather than attack quickly.
To be continued...