Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1341 - 1334: War and Peace

Chapter 1341: Chapter 1334: War and Peace

"This is..." Upon hearing those heartrending cries, even Cheng Ziang struggled to maintain his composure, falling into a state of deep shock.

"Wow, momma, that’s damn scary." Hu Daoke was trembling with fright.

Baiyue, while shedding tears, chanted Spells, ensuring the speed of the magic convergence stayed within a stable range. As the magic steadily converged, they heard everything that had occurred back then.

Right where they stood, piercing screams and wails suddenly filled the air—men and women, old people’s desperate pleas, children’s shrill cries, intertwined with men’s harsh reprimands in a language they could not understand.

Although they could not understand, they knew clearly that these men issuing harsh sounds must have been soldiers of the Kyushu Empire back then, and their speech was certainly in the Kyushu language.

Since they understood the Demon Clan language, they could hear the bitter wails of the Demon Clan members before they were slaughtered. While the inflections differed slightly from today, the overall meaning remained unchanged.

The massacre at that time was not limited to the Laurel Family; other members of the Demon Clan were also involved, because Ziye Ning was then a city with a mixed Demon Clan population. After the city fell, many Demon Clan individuals were brought here for execution before being thrown into the canyon.

For some reason, the Valley of Regret recorded the tragic scene from that time. Thus, every time the magic in the valley began to flow, the agony from those days would replay continuously. Although it was only a recording, everyone could still feel the spine-chilling horror of that scene.

Shortly thereafter, Baiyue stopped her chanting, and the flow of magic ceased immediately, halting the screams and wails. It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear to listen any longer, but her sobbing had disrupted her Spell chanting, breaking the magic.

"I’m sorry..." Baiyue said, her voice choked with sobs as she hung her head.

Being of mixed heritage from the Laurel Family, she naturally empathized deeply with the tragic fate of her kin, making it hard for her to settle her emotions.

"Geez, just cry if you want to cry, we’re all family here, no need to hide," Hu Daoke shrugged his shoulders, offering comfort.

Hearing his words seemed to relieve Baiyue, who immediately squatted down, her hands covering her face as she let out the cries she had long suppressed.

Watching her, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke exchanged glances. Both men, faced with this harrowing situation, were at a loss, but it was Feng who took the initiative to squat down and comfort her, and she immediately embraced him.

The two men sighed and, as if by agreement, turned their backs to face the Valley of Regret. Cheng Ziang glanced at Hu Daoke and then asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Hu Daoke swallowed and then remarked thoughtfully, "there’s a saying that goes, you should steer clear of those who know nothing yet preach magnanimity to you, because when the lightning strikes, it might affect you too."

"True," Cheng Ziang nodded in agreement, then continued, "We can’t possibly ask the Demon Clan to let go of their past hatred and treat the soldiers of the Dongsheng Empire with a normal heart. All we can do is pray that they are willing to let go of their past grudges and choose to forgive these former enemies."

After taking Ziye Ning, the Demon Clan army did not stop their counterattack but continued their pursuit of victory.

Twenty days later, they took Rive Bell Town; a month later, they captured Qu Creek City. They then continued their offensive and, within two months, successively took Butterfly Fragrance and Twonect among other cities, pressing close to the major city in the southwest of West Outer Heaven, also the present command base of the Dongsheng military in Big South East Peace.

Thus, in half a year’s time, the Demon Clan army completed the first phase of their counterattack, reclaiming one-third of the territory of the southwest of West Outer Heaven—a tremendous strategic victory.

However, the smoother their progress, the more uneasy Cheng Ziang and the others felt, always suspecting that the Dongsheng military was intentionally holding back.

Due to the continuous development of the war situation, the Demon Clan’s army had won many battles, but they had not been able to eliminate the enemy’s living forces.

Each city’s garrison was not large, and the resistance was very weak. Even if reinforcements arrived, they were small units that would turn tail and run after being defeated, impossible to catch up with.

Over the half-year of warfare, apart from the initial few battles that were somewhat challenging, later fights almost seemed like jokes. The Dongsheng troops would collapse at the slightest touch, completely lacking their former powerful combat strength when they invaded.

Moreover, lethal overconfidence began to emerge within the Demon Clan’s army as they continued to win. They believed that as long as the army kept advancing, the path would keep extending, and all enemies were merely futile attempts, not worth mentioning.

Such an attitude was deadly. It must be known that later on, the Demon Clan’s army hardly fought any tough battles, and the fearsome Dongsheng cavalry was nowhere to be seen.

All signs indicated that Dongsheng troops were intentionally preserving their strength. Should the Demon Clan’s army grow complacent and underestimate the enemy, they were very likely to face a major defeat.

After capturing Twonect City, the Dongsheng army sent messengers hoping that the Demon Clan’s army would recognize Butterfly Fragrance City and Twonect City as the boundary and not advance further south into Big South East Peace.

This was almost the first time the Dongsheng army had initiated contact with the Demon Clan, causing a huge stir among them. Everyone believed that Dongsheng had caved and that they should continue pressing south.

The Demon Clan’s leader dared not make a decision alone, hence sent the letter to the rear for their leaders to decide. This time, the opinions of the Demon Clan leaders were unanimous; they believed that Dongsheng could no longer continue fighting, which is why they sought peace. They advocated continuing the attack until the Dongsheng army completely retreated from West Outer Heaven.

Only Luo’er and other outsiders thought they should give the Dongsheng a break, halt the military operations for now, digest the conquered territories completely, and then consider moving further south.

Not only did Luo’er at the rear think this way, but Ziang and others at the front shared the same view. In their eyes, although the Dongsheng troops seemed to be in total disarray, it was merely a strategic contraction; their overall strength hadn’t been devastatingly hit, and they still had the capability to battle the Demon Clan’s army.

At present, Abisien seemed to be in a favorable situation, but in reality, it was running out of steam. The vast lands they had conquered urgently needed to be digested and developed into productive forces to sustain the continuation of the war. Moreover, the previously stored supplies were becoming increasingly insufficient due to a growing population, particularly of prisoners.

Thus, halting military operations was the best choice. The Demon Clan already controlled one-third of the southern West Outer Heaven and was strategically on the offensive.

It wouldn’t be easy for Dongsheng troops to make a comeback, but in contrast, it would be easy for the Demon Clan to counterattack once they had regained strength. Therefore, at such a critical moment, it was better for both sides to temporarily ensure non-aggression and focus on developing production.

Regrettably, everyone in Abisien, from top to bottom, was no longer receptive to advice, having only one idea in mind— counterattack, counterattack, until West Outer Heaven was recovered.

Under such circumstances, the Demon Clan’s army resolutely continued to deploy troops and officially advance into Big South East Peace.

In this military operation, the Demon Clan’s army mainly deployed line infantry as the main force, assembling a force of over twenty thousand elite troops to attack Big South East Peace. Based on previous battles, they believed that just twenty thousand could capture Big South East Peace.

This expedition smelled heavily of impending disaster, so Ziang didn’t dare let his teammates all come along. After some discussions, they decided to let Ziang join the expedition, with Feng and Fulajie’er responsible for protecting him. Baiyue and Hu Daoke, however, stayed behind to retreat timely if the situation turned unfavorable.

In Ziang’s view, twenty thousand assaulting a large city was highly fantastical. Although Dongsheng troops had shown weak combat strength, it wasn’t a reason for the Demon Clan’s army to underestimate the enemy.

Twenty thousand might sound substantial, but they mainly surrounded line infantry in coordination. This included spearmen, shield bearers, artillery, and a small number of light cavalry. The main force was still considered by the Demon Clan