High Above

Frodo, Borough of Frodo, Fangorn Gap.

A decisive battle is about to break out, and the mountain people's rebellion that has lasted for less than half a year is about to come to an end.

The mountain people who wanted to be independent, and those who were unwilling to rebel, respectively, with the support of the Flying Flame Land and the Empire, used the flesh, blood and lives of their people to fight a war in which both sides would lose regardless of victory or defeat.

Behind the mouth of Fangong Gorge, there is the independent mountain people command post.

There were noisy sounds, as if they were arguing about something.

Theoretically, this shouldn't be the case.

Even though Kod Jiamu, as the commander-in-chief, suddenly left due to the changes in the Steel Dragon's Nest, in addition to Kod Jiamu, there were many tribal chiefs, many of whom were highly respected and could convince all the tribes.

Among other things, the chief of Rong Gang's tribe, Ole Rong Gang, is such a character.

As the chief of the large tribe second only to the Jiamu tribe, and also the opponent's long-time deputy, Ole Ronggang took over the command of the independent mountain people after Cord left.

But what is uncharacteristically is that this mountain man, who used to be quite loyal and reliable and gave people a sense of security, did not give any command orders after Cord left, but allowed the independent mountain people to move freely.

The Independent Mountain People's Alliance was originally an alliance composed of several large tribes and dozens of small and medium-sized tribes. In the past, its actions were very loose. It was not until the third level was appointed as the leader that actions could be regarded as prohibitive and the habit of fighting was developed. , can barely be regarded as a local militia force.

But on the eve of the decisive battle, this army lost its command, and many tribes' troops became loose again.

In addition, for some reason, the news that was supposed to be hidden, that leader Cod left the Steel Dragon's Lair due to a sudden change, suddenly spread, causing panic among the entire independent mountain camp.

"Ole! The war must begin immediately. Those imperial lackeys are gathering troops now and have exposed a big flaw!"

"Don't wait for Cord any longer. The Steel Winged Dragons from the Flying Flame Land will come to help us hold Manya down - if we don't attack, we will delay the fight and our own hearts will be scattered!"

Facing other tribal chiefs who demanded an immediate war, all Aure did was frown and said in a calm tone: "Wait a moment."

"The Steel Winged Dragon hasn't arrived yet, and Leader Cod hasn't come back yet. If we start a war rashly now, we can only lose."

This is indeed true.

There is still no news about the Steel Winged Dragon hunting team that was supposed to come to support the independent mountain people immediately after the raid on Xiahui Territory. And without Coder coming back, all of them together may only be able to fight Manya alone. A tie.

Everyone else said they were okay with it.

But after a while, similar questions and answers appeared again and again.

"Those imperial lackeys have already begun to prepare for the attack - Ole, if we can't wait any longer, we will retreat to other levels first! They can only defend the Frodo Autonomous Region. If we are not all together, we will continue the siege. There is no need to rush to a decisive battle!"

"Wait a minute!" Ole replied solemnly: "Corder just communicated with me, and he said he would be back soon!"

Obviously, he is not able to communicate with the dead. This is a 100% lie.

But the others didn't know this. They wanted to believe Aure, so they patiently stayed at the mouth of Fagon Gap and waited for a while.

But this patience was quickly exhausted in the face of the enemy who had begun to fire artillery, bombard the independent mountain camp, and prepare to attack the position.

This time, almost all the chiefs and priests rushed to the tent of temporary commander Aure. They were extremely angry and demanded that the other party must give an answer immediately.

"Fight or leave!"

The crowd roared angrily, and what they responded to was Ole's even louder roar: "Hit!"

"Steel Winged Dragon and Chief Cord will be back soon, of course we will fight!"

With clear instructions, although the positions were still chaotic, all independent mountain tribes began to adjust to the battlefield conditions.

It seems that they are fighting independently, but with the help of a large number of heavy weapons supported by Feiyandi, as long as the enemy's third level does not appear, it is impossible for ordinary troops to break through their positions in a short time.

After Ole Rong Gang gave the instructions that were all lies, he sat quietly in his seat.

He knew very well that since Feiyandi fully supported the mountain people with heavy weapons, many things could not be changed.

Even if the Independent Mountain People's Alliance fails and ceases to exist, the mountain people have mastered a large number of advanced weapon manufacturing technologies and related usage skills. The originally peaceful Nanling will become chaotic and become a place where wars are endless.

Among other things, the mountain bandits in the past used bows and arrows and some firearms. Since then, even bandits can probably set up a few small cannons to force the surrounding caravans to pay tolls.

"Feiyandi just wants to use our flesh and blood to bring some 'governance' troubles to the empire... Hey, but this war is not a bad thing. At least the empire can no longer ignore the existence of the mountain people and target them. The policy of the mountain people definitely needs to be greatly changed. This is probably what Marquis Barton said, 'If you want to be recruited, you must do big things first.'"

This spy from Nauman City has now become the temporary boss of the Independent Mountain People's Alliance - it is really strange to say that as soon as Coder left, it was his turn as a spy to speak. I am afraid that Marquis Barton never imagined that such a thing would happen again. things happen.

And what he will do next...

"Notify everyone."

Calling the messenger, Olei ordered: "Let's close our formation, open the back door of the camp, retreat in an orderly manner, and go to the side of the Fagon Gap."

"Ah? Chief, aren't we sitting in the middle of the army..."

The messenger was stunned for a moment. Although he should not refute the chief's order, he was afraid that such an order would not be accepted by other soldiers, and he would have to run a few more times.

"We are a strike force."

Aure looked at his messenger. Except for the priest, no one in the tribe knew that he was actually a spy from Nauman City.

In fact, everyone in the tribe thought that they were fighting for the great revival of the mountain people.

Thinking of this, the upright and plain-faced chief sighed: "Act first, ask questions later. The Jiamu Department's troops are in charge of the Chinese army. What we need is to strike at the enemy's vulnerable areas at critical moments."

The messenger left with what could only be described as barely passable instructions, while the chief stared at the backs of his subordinates with a complicated expression.

Regardless of victory or defeat, Rong Gangbu's reputation was ruined.

Whether they are rebel mountain people or other pro-imperial mountain people, in their eyes, Rong Gangbu is an 'untrustworthy' object, and the blood of other mountain people stained on Rong Gangbu's hands will never be forgotten.

For the mountain people, this is not something that can be dismissed simply by saying, "I am an undercover agent."

Moreover, the people of their own tribe will also doubt which side they are from.

The unwavering belief in their hearts was actually just a lie deliberately used by the chief to betray? This kind of thing is so ironic that no one can accept this ending.

Outside the camp, a heavy rain had fallen, washing away the dust on the ground and turning it into mud.

Inside the camp, Ole has already foreseen the chaos in the future. But he had no choice.

Who said Rong Gangbu was too far away from the empire and too close to Jiamubu?

However, these are insignificant things.

After all, only the winning side deserves to talk about the future.

Order after order was conveyed in chaos, but when the forward troops of the rebel mountain people gathered together and launched a blocker bombing against the imperial mountain people with the support of their own artillery, an accident happened.

Most of the artillery of the rebel mountain people misfired, and many of the ammunition could not be used at all, and even exploded.

A captain of the forward force missed the enemy in the first salvo, but his left arm was shattered by the explosion of the alchemical firearm in his hand. He was still an ascendant. If he were an ordinary person, he would have only one pair of legs left. .

In fact, the captain could have prevented it, but he never expected that the Feiyan equipment, which had been very reliable in the past, would have such a low-end accident.

In a short period of time, they certainly didn't think that there was someone behind the scenes, and they just lamented their bad luck.

The battle lasted less than half an hour. The forwards of the Imperial Mountain Men broke through the first line of defense. However, the rebel reserves that were supposed to be on top did not receive the order until ten minutes later due to confusion in command and Ole's deliberate interference with communications.

But at this time, it was useless to do anything.

Many of the rebel mountain chiefs were so angry that they wanted to curse when they saw this scene. They didn't know why the battle suddenly became so difficult.

You know, they were the ones who had been suppressing the mountain people of the Empire! In a short period of time, almost all the autonomous regions and colonies in the mountains were captured, and now only the Frodo region is left, which is still surviving with the support of the South Sea Fleet.

"Where are Rong Gang's troops?!"

After fighting for a while, some mountain chiefs realized that something was wrong and looked for the main force of their own camp: "They are the main force, right? Where are their artillery? There is also the Feiyan Firearms Team! They have the same weapons as Jiamube. They are all the best equipment, right?”

"They're gone... No! They've retreated to the left side of Fagon Gap?!"

Several sharp-eyed priests were horrified when they saw this scene - the mouth of the gorge is neither big nor small. Rong Gangbu can retreat to the other end of the gorge within an hour, which is almost equivalent to a group of people. We originally arranged to have a group fight at the crossroads, but as we were fighting, we saw someone running to the other end of the crossroads, almost running to the corner.

"Why are you just watching, Rong Gangbu!"

Even though some chiefs were angry and wanted to scold their mother, they desperately called the communication equipment of Rong Gang Department, but how could Ole pick up?

He led the anxious troops to the safe area agreed with Elder Manya and stood aside to watch.

"Chief, are we really just watching?"

Many mountain soldiers in the army were very confused. They were originally prepared to fight to the last drop of blood for the independence and future of the mountain people, but it turned out that others were fighting and bleeding while they watched.

"certainly."

Aure told the truth calmly: "Because I am an undercover agent. In fact, we are from the empire's side."

He even looked around at his many stunned cronies and asked humorously: "Are you surprised, are you surprised?"

What a surprise, what a surprise - if Rong Gang's troops had not always believed in the chief, and in Terra, the combat effectiveness of the second-level chiefs exceeded that of the troops they command, a mutiny would have been inevitable.

But because the Ascended ones are so powerful, and because they are far away from the battlefield, Olei easily suppressed the chaos in his troops: "Don't be too shocked... The people over at Feiyandi are just using us, so be smart about this." Everyone can see it, and the empire cannot give us direct support in a short period of time due to various reasons. In addition, Jiamubu is by our side, so this matter must be hidden from everyone."

"Young men, can't you see it? The Jiamu tribe has swallowed up Zhenzhou and Tiechen tribe. If I hadn't been secretly contacting the empire to prevent our tribe from suffering losses and maintain its full strength, we would have followed. Those two stupid tribes were eliminated together."

This is indeed true.

Recently, the Jiamu tribe has been expanding rapidly because it has a third-level chief. The Tiechen tribe and the Zhenzhou tribe are just the two most famous tribes it has eaten. There are also many small tribes quietly It disappeared silently and became part of it.

Due to the power of Kod and Feiyandi, there was not much reaction within the Independent Mountain People's Alliance in a short period of time. After all, a third energy level should indeed have a corresponding 'sphere of influence'.

This is something that everyone acquiesces to and is prepared for. No matter how big the appetite of Jiamube is, the most it can do is swallow up the Midela Autonomous Region. They can't go to other regions to forcefully occupy territory, right?

But the Rong Gang tribe couldn't leave. Their future was indeed worrying. Their chief reminded them of this, and the soldiers who were stunned by the nationalism of the mountain people calmed down and somewhat understood what their chief had done.

But they remained silent and at a loss.

When Olei saw this reaction, he knew he couldn't be impatient. Although he didn't care about the support rate, if he couldn't make his people understand him, then even if a new era were to usher in, Rong Gang's department wouldn't be able to keep up.

And just when he was planning to strike while the iron was hot, say a few more words to strengthen the impression.

Suddenly, on the other side of the sky, an extremely conspicuous arc of meteor light lit up.

Aure raised his head and looked in the direction of the red-silver light stream. His expression was a little confused at first, but soon he showed an expression of surprise and laughed.

"look!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the sky relaxedly: "Corder has left, the Steel Winged Dragon is not here, and the cliff of Avod is right in front of our formation - as of now, the third energy level who is the first to arrive on the battlefield, They are not the reinforcements from Feiyandi, but the descendants of the Mountain King!"

"We have been abandoned by Feiyandi and Jiamubu from the beginning. They regard us as nothing more than worthless people. Why should we be responsible for them?"

It wasn't just Rong Gang who was shocked.

The entire rebel mountain army was panicked by the arrival of the strange dragon shadow.

Yes, basically none of them have seen the true appearance of the Mountain King's child, but most of the chiefs know that the Mountain King has a frail heir. Although he rarely appears, his aura is similar to that of the Mountain King. There isn't much difference.

But now, the real dragon armed with steel prosthetics descends on the battlefield. He is not a steel winged dragon or a Cord. The enemy has added a third level.

This incident in itself is enough to destroy everyone's morale.

Some smart people have even thought about whether the disappearance of the Steel Winged Dragon and Chief Cod is related to the descendants of the Mountain King...

"Could it be said that the reason why Chief Cord and the Steel Winged Dragon have been delayed in coming is that they were intercepted and defeated by the children of the Mountain King?!"

A commander of the rebel mountain people exclaimed.

--right. Not quite right either.

If Ian could know the wild thoughts of these mountain people, he would definitely agree loudly and even spare their lives, just so that he could continue to spread such rumors.

Yes, everyone was killed by Xiou. What does it have to do with him, Ian? At most, he just assisted on the side and made hundreds of millions of small contributions with potions and weapons!

But now, he rode Xiou to the sky above the battlefield, vibrating the air with source matter, and issued a thunderous announcement.

[I am Ian Yinfeng, the lord of Xiahui Territory, the messenger of the Dragon God - Kede Jiamu, the chief of the Jiamu tribe, is dead, and his head is in my hands! 】

[If the rebellious mountain people do not want to be punished by Lei Ji, they should surrender immediately and stop making meaningless resistance and destroying themselves! 】

Along with this announcement, the clouds in the sky also erupted into bursts of thunder, and lightning bolts crisscrossed the top of the sky and even fell to the ground, responding to the words of the thunder prophet.

Of course, it's actually a lightning potion. But there was a lot of thunder building up in the rain clouds, and Ian just channeled it.

Listening to the announcement, looking up at the dragon shadow above their heads, looking around at the artillery fire beside them and the firearms in their hands that suddenly malfunctioned frequently, many soldiers of the mountain people were momentarily dazed and then subconsciously stopped attacking.

At this moment, a figure descended vertically from the sky.

Without any anti-impact posture or any additional defense, the figure descended from an altitude of more than a kilometer in the most standard stance and landed in the center of the battlefield, causing water mist and mud to fill the sky.

In an instant, whether they were nervous or confused, fearful or happy, both sides of the battle focused their attention here.

And the young white people walked out of the rain and fog.

The waist-length white hair, light cyan pupils, and the white-on-blue-striped cloak swayed in the wind, fluttering in the rain and mud, but not stained by any dirt.

Like a god walking on earth.

Shocked by the opponent's appearance, strength and posture, the entire battlefield seemed to be silent for a moment, but soon, everyone who was interested saw what the young man was holding tightly in his hands.

In his hand he held up the head of Kede Jiamu with his eyes slightly open.

"Armistice. Or death."

Ian stood on the ground. He looked around at everyone present. Even if he was targeted by hundreds of firearms and more than a dozen alchemical cannons, he turned a blind eye, as if he was not being targeted, but those nervous mountains. Civilian warrior: "The power of choice lies in your own hands."

"ah!"

On the side of the rebel mountain people, among the Jiamu tribe's troops, a soldier who had always admired Cord suddenly let out a wild scream. He raised the gun in his hand, pointed it at Ian and pulled the trigger.

But Ian didn't care about this. He turned his head slightly and looked at the direction where the bullet was fired from the corner of his eye.

Then, an extremely fine ice blade condensed, sliced ​​open the warhead, and disappeared into the rain.

The soldier who fired the bullet suddenly screamed and fell to the ground. Starting from his head, the dense ice layer was spreading.

In an instant, it turned into an ice sculpture.

Ian didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters. He walked in the center of the battlefield, with his back to the direction of the imperial mountain people and towards the direction of the rebel mountain people.

Wherever he passed, the rain, cement, snow and water accumulated on the battlefield all solidified automatically, forming a smooth and clean road under his feet, an ice road on the side of the South China Sea.

"All rebellious mountain people, lay down their weapons."

"surrender."

Stepping on the ice-made road so that everyone could see the head in his hand, Ian calmly made a second declaration: "Or death."

"It's him……"

"The prophet who brings down thunder...the one with dragon blood..."

"The madman who claims to be the Dragon God's messenger..."

Exclamations and discussions among the rebel mountain people were endless, but facing the white-haired boy standing in front of them, they did not dare to make any attack or resistance.

There were only a few people, and the faces of the Feiyandi warriors and instructors hiding in the mountain troops were changing. They looked at Ian solemnly, holding weapons tightly in their hands. They didn't know whether they should take action or not, and attacked this seemingly A very important imperial lord.

Ian had discovered these special guys a long time ago, but he didn't care. The boy walked step by step towards the center of the rebel mountain people's formation. The Jiamu tribe's troops were located there, and most of the alchemy artillery were also located in this direction.

As long as this position is suppressed, victory can be declared.

"Charge! We can't let him break the fighting spirit of these mountain people like this!"

"For independence! For the glory of the Dragon God!"

The instructors of the Flying Flame Land finally made a decision. They made a decisive call, charged forward, and fired artillery shells, intending to awaken the fighting spirit of the rebellious mountain people - even if they could not, they must leave seeds in their hearts, and they could not let Ian rely on The power of the true dragon and Cod's head directly suppressed the core power of these rebellious mountain people.

But they themselves, including all the bullets and shells, could not get closer than ten meters to Ian's side.

Ian just walked forward, and the rain on the left side of the air condensed into a shield, while the rain on the right side expanded into steam. The frozen shield blocked the attack of the alchemy cannon.

Although the ice shield shattered and flew, it did not harm the boy at all.

The ultra-high-heat steam on the right enveloped the Flying Flame warriors who were trying to rush into Ian's side. The weakest among them seemed to melt in an instant, and their exposed flesh and blood seemed to be under the flames. The candle dissolved quickly, and the bones and armor fell from the wax water. Finally, even the bones began to soften and turned into a puddle of mud.

Corrosive agents and high-heat steam are a perfect match. Ian doesn't feel cruel, and people who die under such attacks don't even notice the pain.

Most of the stronger ones are sublimates. They can resist the erosion of corrosive agents, but what greets them is Ian's gaze.

The light cyan eyes left lightning-like burn marks in their vision, and the extremely bright spiritual light penetrated all of their hearts and souls in an instant.

Then, what followed was the absolutely unstoppable ice blade.

Their heads were cut off by sword blades that came out of thin air, and their blood had no time to flow out. Then their bodies solidified into ice sculptures and their heads rolled into the mud.

All the mountain people watched helplessly as these people who dared to resist melted before their eyes, or turned into ice sculptures with their heads missing.

"If you don't resist, you won't die. Why don't you understand?"

Ian sighed softly, and he finally arrived at the alchemy artillery position.

Here, all the mountain artillerymen looked at each other and then retreated.

They completely gave up all resistance.

Ian dismantled the strongest armed forces of the mountain people.

Behind him, a road of ice ran through half of the battlefield.

Both sides of the road were covered with flesh, mud, or sculptures made of ice. All those who dared to resist Ian died on the spot.

boom. Xio descended behind Ian. He crushed the camps of the rebel mountain people tribe, and seemed to crush the backbone of all the rebel mountain people who dared to resist.

The real dragon raised his claws, lifted the boy in his palm, and held him high in the air.

And the white-haired lord stood like this on the palm of the real dragon, overlooking everyone from a high position.

"I am the successor of the Dragon God, the prophet who brings down thunder, and the lord of the mountain people who are destined by fate."

Ian looked around the entire battlefield, and the roaring thunder harmonized for him: "Bow down to me, and I will bring you peace and tranquility."

The rebel mountain people stared blankly at the 'Dragon God Messenger' who had arrived at the center of their position.

They are unwilling, they are afraid, and they feel incredible.

They couldn't understand why things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

But this is Terra, and this is the law of the world.

When no Ascendant can resist the enemy's Ascended One, defeat is a fact no matter how unwilling to admit it.

so……

They bowed.

Bow to Ian.

Then.

The war is over.