"Give me the crystal for shouting."
Crocodile Island demanded to the Vice Admiral.
The Vice Admiral dared not delay, handed it to Zote, and slightly covered his own ears, knowing that the voice would be particularly loud at close range, enough to deafen the ears.
The other soldiers followed suit.
Separated by several miles, Crocodile Island shouted at Zote with a special circuit device that enhanced sound waves.
"Persisting in tearing face with the Royal Court, such actions, I shall report to the Military Department, and you can absolutely be charged with treason and rebellion!"
Crocodile Island originally thought letting him take away the merit of suppressing bandits was enough, but did not expect this person to be utterly unafraid of overreaching, even thinking of handling himself as well.
Several miles away, Zote raised a hand, indicating to stop the shelling for now.
Crocodile Island was fond of playing word games, so Zote would indulge him, knowing he must not go too far, like indiscriminate massacre, recognizing what’s light and what’s heavy. The rightful source is noᴠelfire.net
"Black Rock City, Salt Lake City, the main completion ceremonies of the church are all finished; the time is urgent, truly out of necessity. As long as General Crocodile Island opens the pass for us to enter, we wouldn’t need to devolve to this state. Moreover, you still haven’t dealt with many affairs regarding Mulong with me, so today counts as our first conversation."
Zote merely wanted to go through the necessary process first, making his cause righteous before proceeding unrestrained.
Although Crocodile Island’s provisions were abundant and could last for a long time, his reserve of Demon Crystals was certainly not as plentiful, catching him off guard.
It’s said that the western line was held firmly by Uborio, so no reinforcements were coming from there, meaning he had to rely entirely on himself here.
Crocodile Island felt his eyelids twitch, and a few months had already passed, yet they were still talking about handing over what?
"How could it be so fast to be built in just a few months? Furthermore, the situation in Silver Moon City is special. It’s not that I’m unwilling to open the pass, but that we are currently conducting a search for enemy spies to find the traitors in the ranks, and cannot open it. Interfering with military operations is an even more severe crime!"
Crocodile Island didn’t care about any blasphemy towards the Dragon Lord; at this point, he laid it all out, and if Zote continued with his chaos, it would mean tearing face with the Royal Court.
If it were half a month ago, Zote might indeed have hesitated, but after discovering the Dragon Calamity in Mulong, with the Pope personally commanding support, he was not afraid of being accused with serious charges.
Zote looked at Banu, a native of Mulong by his side, noting that the church was built so quickly thanks to the Mulong people’s subjective initiative and cheap labor.
Under the sugar-coated food aid of the Church Court and the system of earning Church Coins through labor, these Mulong people went from resistance to suspicion, from suspicion to belief, and from belief to belonging.
The people of Uborio had lost all hope, but Mulong and the Aran Army had many feuds, which in turn turned into their salvation.
Although somewhat shameless, nominally believers of the Dragon Lord, in reality they were Mulong Puppet Army, but with Church Coins to be earned and fighting Aran soldiers, what was inappropriate about it?
Faced with tangible benefits, even the Holy True God must remain silent.
Under Banu’s lead, Mulong’s local Judgement Court had already been established, grandiose with a thousand members, and the Church Court had ample funds, providing even puppet army with quality leather armors.
Mulong had fewer farmlands but a more developed livestock industry, excelling in horse riding. After simple training, this thousand-strong light cavalry might not be top-notch but was still above the thief army level, much stronger than pirates and bandits.
"Since that’s the case, there’s no room for negotiation, but you can rest assured, I only want to enter the city, not kill people, continue the shelling."
Zote ordered to the gunners lined up, with murderous intent filling the air.
Rebels could be killed, compliant ones could be maimed, as long as they did not interfere with his unrestrained advance later, he would take them all in one go.
Crocodile Island knew that in Black Rock City, even if Zote’s reserve of Demon Crystals was depleted, they could be replenished continuously via railway, not knowing where he got such confidence to be so arrogant.
The defense of Silver Moon City could no longer hold out, a warrior may die but must not be demeaned. If only stationed in the city and had their credit stolen by them, it would be fine as long as his rank was preserved.
But if word got to the Military Department that his troops were beaten by people of the Sect, that would be the humiliation of humiliations, certainly resulting in demotion.
Yet the opponent came fiercely, the Judgement Court had exerted high intensity, such an armed force, with Puppet Army, Heavy Priests, and Time Extension Sword, supplemented by various magic-guided weapons, would not be opponents after breaking the city.
Three Evil Dragon Judges, rarer than dragons, were only responsible for slaying dragons, unconcerned with other battles, preserving all energy to fight fierce dragons.
Magic cannons resumed fire, and Crocodile Island wanted to bring out cannons for a duel, but the reserve of Demon Crystals was simply not of the same magnitude.
He had a brainstorm, needing to think of a win-win solution that could stop this madman and also give him a way out...
A dignified Grand General, when had he ever encountered such a predicament?
The magic energy circuit intercepting the beam cannon finally ran out of reserve resources, and the hastily erected hexagonal arcane faceted light screen flickered a few times before being pierced by the main cannon.
In an instant, the already shaking and somewhat dilapidated walls were punched through with a large hole, dirt and rocks exploded, massive blocks of stones flew out, some crashing onto residences and collapsing houses, others embedding deep into municipal cobblestone streets, in the already desolate wilderness, further shrouding in rolling dust, dimming the light.
Zote was pondering Crocodile Island’s thought process, confident that he was contemplating the best resolution, and if expected, might suggest it was a personal grudge between him and himself, unrelated to the Royal Court and the Sect, proposing a duel to settle it.