Chapter 1468: Chapter 1466: Moment of Upheaval
In the blink of an eye, it was more than eleven hours since the surrender letter was delivered, and the deadline for the letter was getting closer.
In the dense night, the vanguard of the Soron army erupted with unprecedented combat power, successfully advancing to the area near Shalin Atlant City.
Six elite cavalry units, after a brief rest, began to form ranks.
After forming the ranks, they let out a roar and charged towards an inconspicuous fortress blocking their path.
In their view, capturing this fortress would eliminate an obstacle to Atlantis and give Shalin a hard slap, making them realize who should truly surrender.
"Da da da..."
The sound of hooves was like thunder as the tide-like cavalry swiftly approached the fortress walls.
Then... in the next moment, a row of pitch-black "Iron Buckets" was pushed out from the walls, aiming their ends at the charging cavalry.
"Buzz buzz!"
The "Iron Buckets" vibrated, dense Magic Runes lighting up on the shells, accompanying the "bang bang bang" sounds.
With the sounds, black Bullets as fast as blurs whistled out of the Iron Buckets, smashing into the charging cavalry ranks and exploding fiercely.
"Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!"
Explosions rang out, and the immense impact force spread, flinging countless cavalry along with their horses into the air, after which they crashed heavily to the ground, their survival unknown. Some unlucky ones were torn to pieces mid-air.
The charging cavalry formation was thrown into chaos.
But it wasn’t over yet. Immediately after, sharp "whizz whizz whizz" sounds arose, and over a thousand Flame Arrows, more than a meter long, flew from the castle. These arrows traced arcs in the sky at a steep angle, landing densely like a carpet in front of the castle, engulfing the cavalry caught among them.
Some Military Wizards attempted to block them, but the power of the Flame Arrows was much greater than expected. They failed to block many before being engulfed along with the cavalry.
Other Military Wizards, just about to take action, were struck by pea-sized Magic Rune Bullets from the walls, which pierced through three Magic Shields and hit them, blasting half of their bodies apart.
Without the protection of the Military Wizards, the cavalry became extremely vulnerable, and the castle released two more volleys of Flame Arrows.
Thus, the charging cavalry had not even reached the castle walls before they were on the brink of collapse.
At this moment, a Shalin Wizard finally appeared, standing on the castle’s crest, loudly chanting spells and releasing large spells one after another, bombarding the remaining cavalry.
"Rumble——"
Minutes later, the charging cavalry had completely disintegrated. Supposedly a first-class elite unit on the continent, at this moment, they were like headless flies, chaotically fleeing with their defeated remnants.
...
Soron’s Staff Department Command Tent.
Soron was staring at the sand table, pondering, when a staff officer hurriedly entered the tent, approached Soron, and softly reported the situation.
"General, most of our forces have progressed smoothly, occupying eighty percent of the cities in Shalin’s eastern region. Although we haven’t gathered much army provisions, by economizing, we can hold out for another day or two. However... the three forces attacking the Atlantis Region have all suffered heavy losses and are not in good shape."
"Heavy losses? Not in good shape?" Soron raised an eyebrow, "How severe is it?"
"Over ten percent lightly injured, over ten percent seriously injured, over thirty percent sacrificed..." The staff officer glanced at Soron, swallowed, and added, "Additionally, nearly forty percent are missing."
Calculating it, only one-fifth of the Soldiers survived, and every one of them was injured.
Soron listened, his eyes slightly narrowing, and asked in some surprise, "All three forces are like this? Even the army led by Pudo?"
Pudo was one of his most skilled and cautious Commanders, known for minimizing casualties in battles, someone he valued greatly. He didn’t believe Pudo’s army would have the same result.
Hearing Soron’s question, the staff officer hesitated for a moment, then replied with determination, "General Pudo’s army fared slightly better because most of the dead had their bodies found, so there were fewer missing..."
"This..." Soron’s breath caught, and after a few seconds, he looked at the staff officer and asked, "How did this happen?"
"I’ve heard that in the defensive fortresses near the Atlantis Region, Shalin suddenly showcased a series of new weapons of immense power, coordinated with Wizards, causing us significant loss." The staff officer raised his eyebrows, "Presumably, this is why Shalin believes we can’t enter the surrounding areas of Atlantis. It seems they intend to use this as leverage in negotiations. As for the surrender letter they sent us during the day, it should be a negotiating tactic - deliberately adopting a high stance to gain more benefits in negotiations."
Soron pondered upon hearing this and then shook his head vigorously, "No, no, this isn’t so simple. Shalin wouldn’t be so shallow, nor would that person be so shallow."
After pacing a few steps in the tent, Soron suddenly looked up and asked, "Where’s the surrender letter, the one Shalin sent us today? Bring it over; I want to take a look."
The staff officer in front gave Soron a strange look, and the other staff officers in the tent also glanced at Soron curiously, but ultimately no one dared refuse. Someone brought over the scroll containing the surrender letter.
Soron took it, unfolded it on a nearby table, and glanced at the written content under the lamp.
The content was extremely harsh, almost completely unacceptable demands, like unconditional surrender, self-collection of weapons for destruction, and so forth...
Even Soron felt a surge of anger after reading a few lines. Just then, his eyes blinked as he saw the text on the paper quickly fade, turning blank within seconds.
Soron was startled, then realized something and looked up, asking, "How long has it been since Shalin sent this surrender letter?"
"Nearly twelve hours, General." Someone hesitated before answering, "It seems it’s exactly the time Shalin set for us to give a reply."
"Then..."
"General, look at the surrender letter!" someone suddenly exclaimed.
When Soron looked down, he saw a faint glow flashing within the surrender letter paper, with vague Energy Waves apparent.
This is...
"Wizard Yule!" Soron shouted.
Outside the tent, Wizard Yule, dressed in a green robe, quickly entered, took one look at the surrender letter, and guessed the situation. Pressing his hand on the letter’s surface with a "sizzle", he peeled away the surface to reveal an inner layer.
The inner layer was also a piece of paper, though its texture seemed slightly special, covered with fine Magic Runes. These runes were flashing at high frequency, serving some unknown purpose.
Seeing this, Wizard Yule’s expression changed dramatically. Without consulting Soron, he grabbed the inner paper and conjured Flames to burn it in his hand.
After doing all this, Wizard Yule looked gravely at Soron and said, "General, something’s off, very off. This surrender letter wasn’t meant for surrender at all but has another purpose. Be cautious!"
"I thought of that." Soron nodded, "And I just realized, the surrender letter given to us might only be a decoy; Shalin’s real intention was for Reef Rock Castle. By giving it to us, delivering a surrender letter to Reef Rock Castle wouldn’t seem as odd, so they gave it to us instead."
"Then Reef Rock Castle is in danger; we must immediately notify the stationed personnel there," Yule urgently declared.
"I’m afraid it’s too late." Soron sighed, "Twelve hours have passed already. If the people of Shalin wanted us to uncover this secret, they probably aren’t afraid of it being discovered."
"What should we do then?" Yule stared at Soron.
"We... deploy twice the... no, triple the reconnaissance forces, and from now, be vigilant of any actions by Shalin. Additionally..." Soron paused for a few seconds, quickly deciding on actions, but for some reason, he abruptly stopped mid-sentence and cast an odd glance around the tent.
Inside the tent, apart from the staff officers around him, many people were working and communicating. Yet inexplicably, it was as if everyone reached a silent agreement to halt all sound, turning the whole tent eerily quiet.
Even outside the tent, the summer insects fell silent, making the entire world seem tranquil, so silent that one could hear every breath.
It was unsettlingly quiet, terrifyingly quiet.
People working raised their heads in confusion, staring wide-eyed at those next to them.
Soron glanced at a staff officer beside him and, sensing something, swiftly stepped out of the tent.
At that moment, he had a premonition that something significant had occurred.
Something truly significant, the kind that could change the world.
...
