novelraw #202 - Section 202
#202 - Section 202
The bloated corpse rapidly exploded, and countless green worms, numbering perhaps in the thousands or tens of thousands, shot out like arrows.
They were incredibly intelligent. If they hit an Orc, they would quickly burrow into its body, causing the elite Snak Hunters to tremble in agony, losing their combat ability and collapsing to the ground.
If they encountered an Imperial, their bodies would rapidly melt inside, transforming into a hormone that stimulated wound contraction and stopped bleeding.
Soon, the skin of the Orcs parasitized by the green worms turned green, sharp bone spurs grew on their hands, and their limbs bent backward, allowing them to leap with astonishing speed towards the bewildered Snak Hunters who didn't understand what was happening.
Within a few breaths, this Snak special forces team was completely annihilated and transformed into parasite bodies modified by the green worms.
They crawled like spiders, rushing quickly towards the front lines of the battle, covered in newly produced green worms.
There were more Orcs there, and they would regard the first of their own kind they absorbed as an enemy, launching a new round of parasitism against it.
They would not stop until either all the green worms and parasites were killed, or all the enemies within their perception range were transformed into their own kind.
"Is this Lady Lydia's new invention?" a mage asked Sophie, looking at the chaotic battlefield.
"Yes... thankfully, it didn't go awry!" Sophie stuck out her tongue. She had initially questioned the woman's stinginess, giving her only a small supply.
Now she realized that even this small supply was incredibly powerful...
Although the scene was disgusting and sanity-draining, they at least survived, didn't they?
...
...
In the end, the battle ended hastily due to the ferocious and directionally targeted green worms.
A disaster similar to a biohazard outbreak occurred among the Orcs. These green worm parasites possessed incredible vitality, with strength and speed exceeding that of advanced warriors, and even a slight scratch could lead to infection and mutation.
There were also parasitic larvae that could be launched, small and fast, making them almost impossible to defend against.
Fortunately, they only fought on instinct. If they couldn't find a new target to attack within a few minutes, their bodily functions would deteriorate, making them relatively easy to eliminate.
However, they still caused considerable trouble for the Orc Kingdom, hindering their attempts to pursue the retreating Imperial army.
Of the three thousand mages Sophie brought, over five hundred were killed instantly. The fact that they stabilized their emotions and still had the strength to fight was also an important factor in Tassika preventing the pursuit.
The Empire couldn't break through the Orc defenses, but it was wishful thinking for the Orcs to try and keep the Imperials there.
Besides, who knew if the Imperials would throw out a second batch of that terrifying weapon that instantly wiped out the Snak special forces team?
Lord Charles didn't say that mages had such countermeasures. A whole team of a thousand special forces, that was an irreplaceable resource in the short term, trained with a lot of resources...
The half-dragon princess's heart was bleeding.
In fact, Roger didn't expect the thing Sophie pulled out to save her life to be so powerful.
It can only be said that the destructive power of alchemists can still be estimated, but the destructive power of potions and biochemical masters is completely beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
It must be understood more deeply!
After a token pursuit, the Orc legions also retreated and began to clean up the battlefield.
In this battle, the Orcs suffered seven thousand casualties, most of whom died in frontal defense, including over two thousand from the Snak special forces team and others, who died from the destruction caused by the green worms.
The Empire suffered over ten thousand ordinary soldier deaths, mostly during the retreat when they were pursued.
But what pained the Empire the most was the death of as many as five hundred mages.
Although most were mid-level and high-level mages, and the temporary anti-magic field couldn't completely lock down legendary mages, this number was still a heavy loss that the Empire hadn't suffered in a long time.
But the Imperials didn't care about losses. Whether it was soldiers or mages, they had the courage to bear huge losses and continue fighting.
What they couldn't tolerate was failure. Although this retaliatory war went deep into the Kampsack Desert and killed many Orcs, the production of totem bracelets continued, and it was clear that the goal of warning and deterrence had not been achieved.
Although Duncan ultimately preserved the main force and kept the losses within a certain range, this could not hide the failure.
After Duncan and Sophie returned home, they were met with a barrage of scolding, and countless Imperials regarded them as sinners.
Before this, the Empire had a perfect record of complete victory without a single defeat, and it was broken by them. How could they not be angry?
Of course, there was another important reason for the defeat: the Eternal Night Empress didn't participate in the war. Otherwise, even the worst situation would have a chance to be reversed.
But Her Majesty has always been concerned about her reputation, and she must be angry at this time. In the end, all the blame must be borne by Duncan and Sophie.
The two also remained silent. They couldn't accept the failure either, and they both submitted their resignations, willing to take responsibility for the failure.
The Eternal Night Empress rejected their resignations. The punishment was a three-month suspension of salary, remaining in their original positions for observation, and standard compensation for those who sacrificed in this battle, just like in a victory.
"The Empire needs to take responsibility for this failure, the Secret Law Society needs to take responsibility, the military needs to take responsibility. Everyone in the Empire should think about the possibility of failure when promoting war. I hope everyone reflects on the reasons for this failure so that we can embrace greater victories."
The Eternal Night Empress's speech in Xinghan Palace was uploaded to the Fearless Space at the same time as it was published in the "Long Live the Queen" newspaper, sparking heated discussions in the Empire.
ps. Today is my lunar birthday, a pitiful child who celebrates his birthday the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
From childhood to adulthood, every birthday wish has been made with candles, okay?
Shamelessly begging for rewards and criticism.
-- A forever eighteen-year-old spirited young man
Chapter 179: I Sell Real Estate in Another World
The Eternal Night Empress's speech caused a huge reaction throughout the Empire.
Defeat was already difficult to accept, and the huge losses and casualties also brought overwhelming grief to everyone.
Fortunately, at this time, they could still shift the blame to Duncan and Sophie to relieve the pressure, providing a violent outlet for venting.
As a result, the Eternal Night Empress, who everyone loved the most, stood up and said that the responsibility for the defeat was not only on the two scapegoats, but that everyone who promoted the war had a responsibility, and even the Empress herself had to reflect...
Suddenly, this only channel was also gone. Did everyone have to reflect on themselves?
This was even more annoying!
Even if every snowflake bravely ventures to the ends of the earth during an avalanche, it is always difficult and painful for a person to admit their mistakes.
There are many people in this world who would rather talk nonsense than say a simple "I don't know."
Fortunately, rational and calm people are few, but they always exist.
The continuous success of the Empire in various aspects for many years had indeed created a sense of inflated arrogance that spread throughout the country.
Now, stumbling at the hands of the Orc Kingdom, a defeated foe, was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, forcing everyone to rethink the meaning of war.
War is always a serious matter, the last resort to protect the people and implement the will of the state.
It is not a form of entertainment that everyone wants to see when they are bored with life.
The military department allows it, but the enemy does not!
The Empire is powerful, but war still has the possibility of failure. With previous victories all the way, everyone subconsciously had a tendency to regard war as a child's play.
When in doubt, start a war directly. This was the arrogant attitude of the Imperials before, daring to directly shout at the gods to screw their eyes.
The Eternal Night Empress was willing to agree to Roger's defeat arrangement because she saw that if such emotions continued to spread, the Empire would face more failures sooner or later.
Not all enemies are the trash fish of the Eternal Night World. Sooner or later, they will face the Seven Gods, and there will be no chance to preserve their strength for a rematch if they fail then.
Failure is embarrassing, and reflection will also cause resentment, but the Empire has no choice.
This failure is more meaningful to the Empire than victory:
First, it alleviates the high combat emotions in the country. The Imperials should calm down and re-examine themselves, think about new combat methods, recognize that other countries will also continue to progress, and value every opponent.
Second, it misleads the great powers' judgment of the Empire's strength, buying the Empire more development time.
Finally, it enhances the world status of the Terra Kingdom.
Successfully resisting the invasion of the Green Vine Empire, Tassika will become the first line of defense for the great powers to resist the Green Vine, willing to support the further development of the Orcs.
The totem bracelets can also be shipped more smoothly in the future, with the number of users rapidly increasing, quickly approaching the small goal of 100 million online in the virtual space.
...
...
After the battle at the Da Yi settlement, the Green Vine Empire maintained protests and condemnations against the Terra Kingdom, but did not continue to launch a war, instead adopting economic sanctions against the Orcs, forcibly cutting off many trade channels.
Then, they earned more excess profits through smuggling (manual dog head).
But in the eyes of the great powers who didn't know the truth, the Terra Kingdom proved itself after such a battle, and Tassika also proved herself:
The Orcs have the ability to defend the Kampsack Desert and continue trade with the great powers.
Tassika also declared to the outside world that the hatred between the Orcs and the Empire would never end, thus gaining more support from the great powers.
Everyone's thoughts were the same: if only Orcs could die to block the Green Vine Empire's expansion path, that would be great!
It just so happened that Tassika also proposed the construction of the second phase of the Dafia Canal project.
The second phase of the canal has been built to the core of the Kampsack Desert, and the shamans have also come up with new technologies, improving new plants that can more effectively prevent wind and fix sand, manage desertification, increase more arable land, and change the environmental climate of the entire region.
At the same time, Tassika also announced that they will imitate the Elysium and establish a "City of Freedom" open to all races, becoming the cultural center, entertainment center, and amusement center of the entire desert, using the geographical advantages to welcome tourists from all over the world to enjoy.
In the past, the Orc Kingdom had many tribes and constant conflicts, but now they have integrated into a new country, and everyone has found that their location is indeed good.
To the east is the Green Vine Empire, and to the west are other racial powers. The geographical location is almost exactly in the center of the main continent of the Eternal Night World.
The location chosen for the City of Freedom is not much different in distance from the core areas of the world's major countries, making it very suitable as an open and communicative city, becoming a resort for many people.
Of course, the Orc Kingdom's location is the easiest place to be attacked from both sides in case of war.
This is why the Orcs have never been able to integrate. In addition to historical reasons between the tribes, it is also because there are always powerful countries around that do not want these tribes to unite, secretly creating new conflicts between the tribes.
Letting the Orc tribes occupy a chaotic buffer zone to reduce the threat of the Green Vine Empire is a tacit understanding among many powers.
Moreover, the development value of the desert is low, which is why the Orc Kingdom was allowed to grow before.
Now that the Orc Kingdom has really been established, deviating from the expectations of the powers, Tassika has shown enough hatred for the Green Vine Empire, which is very useful to the powers.
Previously, the Green Vine Empire passively tied the powers to the chariot, but now the powers are starting to try to fool the Terra Kingdom to never forget the hatred for the Green Vine Empire.
In order to achieve this goal, the powers have the motivation to help the Terra Kingdom develop and grow stronger, in exchange for their motivation to carry out against the Empire.
The powers thought they were promoting a Marshall Plan in another world, but if the true nature of Tassika is considered, this wave is completely within Roger's calculations.
As a result, the Terra Kingdom quickly announced that the second phase of the Dafia Canal project and the desert management project would start simultaneously, and the profits from the totem bracelets would guarantee the progress of the project.
A vigorous construction began, symbolizing the ambitions of the Orc Queen, and at the same time, the planning of the City of Freedom was launched, which was also extremely tempting to the powers.
At this moment, the most prosperous and modern city in the Eternal Night World is the City of Mysteries.
But that is the capital of the Green Vine Empire. For high-ranking officials and leaders of the powers to spend money there is not tourism, but throwing themselves into the net.
Therefore, enjoying a city that is no worse than the City of Mysteries and is open enough has become a rigid demand for the wealthy and powerful.
How can they be satisfied with living in the virtual world and enjoying services with those poor people?
First of all, the price there is too cheap, which cannot highlight the status of the nobles.
Therefore, the City of Freedom in the Terra Kingdom came into being, just meeting the needs of the powers.
There are frictions and even blood feuds between everyone. The Terra Kingdom, as a new country, does not have the burden of past history...
The more the powers thought about it, the more they felt that the planning of this City of Freedom was really good. The future is full of development space. It would be too disadvantageous not to participate in it now.
So the powers began to find Tassika, expressing their willingness to invest in the City of Freedom and build Terra together.
In exchange, they hoped to have some control over the City of Freedom.
This City of Freedom and desert greening plan were originally bait for Tassika and Roger to attract investment from the powers, so how could there be a reason to refuse?
Thus, the investment and competition surrounding the shares of the City of Freedom kicked off.
Under an unprecedented publicity offensive, the Terra Kingdom once again became the focus of this world.
The only political force that has ever defeated the Green Vine Empire, with limitless construction plans and advanced technology.
At the same time, Tassika is capable enough and shows a very welcome and open attitude towards foreign capital investment.
Not only the powers, but also those large chambers of commerce with long-term investment needs have seen the "future" of the Terra Kingdom.
Thus, a scene of capital frenzy, more magical than anything the world had ever seen, unfolded:
The City of Freedom existed only as concept art; the area was still a desert, yet they were already selling real estate.
Tashica divided the tradable land of the City of Freedom into 100 portions and offered the ownership of those plots to surrounding countries and powerful merchant guilds for public subscription.
No immediate payment was required; only a 30% down payment was needed, and the rest could be paid in installments over thirty years, with interest rates lower than most loans of the era.
The great powers weren't stupid. After doing the math, they realized this was like turning one hundred coins into three hundred!
The great powers, not understanding what leverage was, immediately felt that this was a very cost-effective deal!