novelraw Chapter 251 17: Cousin, You Reap What You Sow
Chapter 251 17: Cousin, You Reap What You Sow
"Haha!"
"I knew it!"
"How dare some lowly Undead Creatures act so insolently before me!"
However, the words had barely left his mouth when the distant sky was suddenly filled with a dense swarm of Winged Dragon Beasts. Atop them rode Royal Dragon Cavalry, all clad in uniform red armor.
They plummeted like meteorites from beyond the heavens, instantly reaping the lives of the Northern Territory's Extraordinary Soldiers. Then, transforming into swift shadows of interweaving red and black, they shot back up hundreds of meters into the sky with a WHOOSH.
No matter how hard the Northern Territory archers tried, they could scarcely scratch the riders, who were empowered by an Evil Aura.
'Amateurs!'
'So the Land of Corruption couldn't handle you!'
'But can you deal with these invincible Extraordinary Dragon Cavalry?'
With that thought, Qin Feng ordered Arthas to retract the Land of Corruption. He now had a clear understanding of this new Undead Mage skill's specific effects. It was only suitable for sieges and defensive battles, not for ambushing enemies on the road or for random encounters.
Otherwise, the enemy could simply withdraw from the Land of Corruption's infectious range and circle back around, easily avoiding the harassment of the several thousand Extraordinary Skeletons within it.
In sieges and defensive battles, however, the enemy could neither ignore the Land of Corruption's presence nor escape the Undead Creatures that spawned from its blighted soil.
Afterward, Qin Feng summoned the Winged Dragon Beast that had previously transported Arthas.
He then mounted the Winged Dragon Beast himself.
He joined the hundred-plus Royal Dragon Cavalry on an Imperial Expedition.
This move was both to observe the enemy up close and to ensure that not a single Extraordinary Dragon Cavalry would accidentally fall in battle.
However, he himself was not adept at the Dragon Riding Skill, nor did he have the ability to maintain archery accuracy from dragonback. Thus, he did not participate in the slaughter of the Northern Territory's army, merely circling a hundred meters in the air and acting as a supervisory "observation unit."
As for the several hundred thousand soldiers of his Divine Chosen Army, Qin Feng had left them at the Great Wall. They were to assist the Divine Chosen Villagers in repairing the damaged sections and work together to modify the inner wall, turning it into an advanced fortification capable of defending from both sides.
Of course, bringing them all out to pursue this retreating Northern Territory army was not out of the question.
However, aside from the Extraordinary Soldier Types that had been converted into Heroic Units by his "War Merit Enfeoffment" Talent, the remaining ordinary soldiers would have surely suffered over a hundred thousand casualties in the pursuit, taken down by a combination of the enemy's Extraordinary Soldiers and regular troops.
As a wise and benevolent monarch who "loved his people as his own children," Qin Feng would naturally not do something so pointless and counterproductive.
In any case, he had already captured the Great Wall, the most difficult objective. Next, he just needed to slowly devour the towns and villages of the empire's Northern Territory. By relying on his "Recruit Prisoners" and "Village Management" Talents, he could continuously snowball his advantage.
Once high-tier, Extraordinary Level soldier types emerged from his Divine Chosen Army, he could then use his "Survival of the Fittest" Talent to expand the number of these Extraordinary Soldier Types into the thousands, or even tens of thousands. At that point, he would have the capital to confront the Imperial Army head-on.
For now, it was better to rely on the unique high-speed flight advantage of his Extraordinary Dragon Cavalry to slowly clear out the enemy's main forces and Extraordinary Soldiers "without taking any losses."
「Meanwhile.」
Spurred on by Xiaocao, No Money Great Treasure Sword, and others, a large number of Lord Players from the Northern Territory gathered together. They formed the Divine Chosen Alliance Army, resisting the Gulad Empire's malicious control while simultaneously rushing toward the Great Wall in the north, hoping to pledge allegiance to Lord Tingfeng, who had already captured it.
The Duke of the Northern Territory, who had been secretly amassing troops, could have suppressed the collective rebellion of these fledgling Lord Players with lightning speed. However, he was currently being routed by the Dragon Cavalry Squad personally led by Qin Feng, completely unable to fight back. Furthermore, he couldn't bring himself to abandon the Great Wall, which was right before his eyes.
Thus, this "rebel army" of Lord Players seized the opportunity. They swiftly cleared out the weak defensive forces in the empire's Northern Territory and, proclaiming themselves subjects of the Holy Empire, called on the citizens of the cities under Gulad's rule to surrender to Emperor Tingfeng.
Of course, even among players who were supposed to be Five-Star Good Citizens from modern society, it was inevitable that some would want to treat the Native Creatures like common NPCs, to be bullied at will.
However, with guidance from Reincarnated Players like Hafke AI Tank and Moonlit Observation, those clueless Lord Players quickly had a rude awakening.
The core principle of the kingdom-building playstyle was to maintain friendly relations between the player nation and the Native Powers. This was the way to motivate the Native Powers to work for them, making them willing to pledge loyalty to the player nation's emperor.
Therefore, if the players really started to burn, kill, and pillage, causing the citizens of the Gulad Empire to despise the Holy Empire, then even if Lord Tingfeng managed to forcefully incorporate these people later, it would inevitably breed scourges like rebellions and underground resistance movements.
Once they understood this key point, the number of Lord Players who had originally planned to sack cities and plunder instantly dropped by more than half.
As for the remaining "god-tier" players who continued to do as they pleased, they completely disregarded how their actions would hinder the future development of the Holy Empire and, by extension, drag down all the Lord Players who had joined it.
They were added to a purge list by Reincarnated Players like Oreo, who were preparing to join the Holy Empire.
As soon as they were discovered, they were immediately ganged up on and suppressed. If necessary, they were treated as prospective Evil God Players looking to cause trouble; their Lord's Halls would be crushed, and some were even killed outright.
The reason Oreo and the others were so decisive was also very simple.
First, if they really wanted to kill people, as Lord Players subject to the rules of Lord World, there would be plenty of tough battles to fight and endless opportunities to slay enemies in the future.