This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 430: City of Abundance

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: City of Abundance

Legends tell that during the distant Prosperity Epoch, the land bathed in the light of the falling leaves was once the most fertile place on this continent.

Back then, vegetation thrived, forests covered the hills, and farmlands stretched as far as the eye could see. Metallic servants toiled endlessly in the fields, allowing people to live without labor, indulge themselves in the vanity of a prosperous age, with all resources seemingly provided since birth, endlessly abundant.

Just the agricultural region of Luo Xia Province alone could have fed 90% of the planet’s population.

Today, even though the past splendor has been covered with dust, the remnants of the sunset’s glow still shine upon this land, warming the struggling remnants of people amid the ruins.

This place remains one of the happiest places in the Wasteland.

As long as one doesn’t step into the desert, there is no need to worry about those mutated creatures; each inch of tilled soil here is protected by the armies of various kingdoms and "the levee."

The plentiful and abundant food allows the children of the Spirit of the Sand Sea to live without fear of starvation.

Though feudal, it is united enough, unlike the fragmented Eastern Provinces where a gang of Looters can easily stir up a bloody mess, and children who’ve just left the cradle have to learn to walk and shoot if they want to survive.

Facts have proven that after the apocalypse, believing in something together is always better than believing in nothing at all.

But—

In the eyes of William Falcon, the prince and marshal of the Falcon Kingdom, this is still far from enough.

Although the kingdoms are united internally because of faith, there is no trust between nations.

The teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea encourage the kings that brothers should unite, and help each other out in hard times. However, in reality, the kings suspect one another, constantly vigilant against potential usurpation of titles through bloodline, reveling in the rights granted by faith, and loathing their own duties.

If only the Spirit of the Sand Sea would bestow its grace equally upon every kingdom in this desert, that might be okay.

But it has not done so, and even the disasters it sends are not meted out equally.

It was Oasis No. 1 that disappeared first, swallowed by the encroaching sands.

Followed by Oasis No. 2, and the fertile land of the Falcon Kingdom is shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye, losing more than one-fifth of its territory in just half a century.

The selfish kings refuse to help the Falcon Royal Family, and the gods remain silent to the Falcon Royal Family’s prayers. Instead, they send continuous disasters, and they have no choice but to seek help from outside forces... even from the devils to the west.

However, it is precisely because of the selfishness and cowardice of the kings, that war has been progressing more smoothly than ever before.

Facing the lightning-fast attacks of the Falcon Kingdom, the suspicious kings are utterly defenseless, unable to mount any effective resistance even now.

After dealing with the Lion Kingdom, the strongest nation, he will immediately lead his troops north and take down the Golden Lizard Kingdom. After that, the entire Luo Xia Province, apart from the Falcon, will only have the Camel Hump Kingdom left to the far south.

Unable to change the situation, they have no choice but to submit.

And by then, this land blessed by the light of Xiaguang will be united like never before.

Since he was a young child, William has held this dream in his heart—he dreams of unifying this desert one day, and with his powerful dominion, restoring the old glory of this desert.

Turning the desert into an oasis sounds somewhat far-fetched, but he believes there is always a way.

Even if it can’t be achieved now, someday, someone will surely be able to do it.

After all, the Spirit of the Sand Sea once said, this place was originally a world covered by yellow sand.

As for the second half of the phrase often uttered by the faithful—"The world will eventually be swallowed by yellow sand, returning to the embrace of the Spirit of the Sand Sea"—

That’s just the interpretation of those who have given up on themselves.

Instead, he prefers to interpret the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea as—"This place will one day return to that best of times," "An oasis is a gift from the people to the gods, not a gift from the gods to the people."

Since it was an artificial creation,

there must be a way to create it again.

Now, his task was to destroy the decaying kings with a thunderous hand!

To become the master of this desert!

"...’Thunder’ operation has been canceled, this is General Griffin’s order, and he asked me to convey it to you."

Inside the tent.

William, who was staring at the strategic map, received bad news from the Army officer who entered the tent.

He slightly opened his eyes and after a moment of silence, lowered his voice and said,

"I need a reason."

Five ten-thousand troops, more than seventy thousand soldiers of the Kingdom had already assembled on three sides of the "City of Abundance."

That place was the granary of Oasis No. 9 and a strategic stronghold in the central part of the Lion Kingdom.

Named "The Riverbank," the gigantic dam encircled a circular area of about ten kilometers in radius.

This towering dam, completely forged from an alloy, irrigated thousands of square kilometers of fertile soil inside and out. No one knew how it worked, only that it possessed inexhaustible fresh water and could restore contaminated water to purity.

Under the protection of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, ordinary weapons couldn’t harm it in the slightest.

Therefore, the Lion Kingdom deployed a large number of weapons on the circular "Riverbank" and stationed heavy troops to guard it, turning it into an impregnable fortress that echoed with the Royal City hundreds of kilometers away, forming a strategic angle.

However, conversely, if they could take this place, the Falcon Kingdom’s Army could push eastward and reach the Royal City of the Lion Kingdom unimpeded along the way!

The "Thunder" plan was devised precisely to capture this stronghold.

For this, they had already prepared for a full month, including the mobilization of troops and planning of the offensive strategy, and so on.

However...

General Griffin, who formulated this plan, just canceled it with a single word?

What a joke!

But soon, what the officer said next plunged William’s mood into an abyss.

"Camp 530 was attacked, and the tanks, rifles, bullets, shells... all the supplies that were supposed to go to the front line are now in the hands of the guerrilla team. It’s enough for them to arm a ten-thousand team and last up to two months without supply lines."

"Our planes are searching for their tracks, but they’re cunning, hiding in the hills northeast of Oasis No. 9."

Not all of the desert was an endless plain; in addition to the rolling dunes, there were desertified hills and valleys near the central part of River Valley Province.

"Camp 530?! How could... isn’t it guarded by your elites?!" William asked anxiously.

The officer nodded and succinctly replied,

"Yes, but even elites only make up a thousand team. As it appears, it was corporate people who launched a sudden attack on our camp, even using electromagnetic pulse weapons."

Corporations...

William furrowed his brows.

Though eager to capture the City of Abundance, it didn’t mean he was reckless.

In fact, it was only by making cautious decisions that he had been able to maintain a string of unbroken victories and had captured the entire territory of the Honey Badger Kingdom within a week.

If the battle plan had leaked, and there were suspected forces of companies and guerrilla teams with Army weapons active on the north side of Oasis No 9, it really wasn’t a good idea to launch a full offensive hastily.

"...I remember there is a Looter Tribe called the Bear Tribe there? Is there a way to buy them off?"

The officer shook his head.

"We’ve tried, but those people have been scared stiff by the Alliance, and the few that are left are just hiding in the mountainous areas, acting like bandits...I even doubt if they have any combat power left."

After Dylon’s death, his Centurions and Decurions had completely turned into deserters. Although some were willing to return to the Army, that few couldn’t change anything.

William’s face showed a hint of seriousness as he pondered for a moment and said,

"The war would be best ended quickly; if it drags on too long, there could be unforeseen consequences."

"Of course, that’s what Mr. Griffin is thinking too," said the officer, smiling faintly as he read the expression on the prince’s face.

"...So, we’ve prepared a second attack plan. Unlike Operation ’Thunder’, this time we’re planning to use some unconventional methods."

William’s brows furrowed, sensing an unusual implication in the officer’s tone.

"Unconventional methods?"

The officer didn’t speak but handed him a piece of paper, joking in a teasing tone,

"Burn it after reading. We can’t afford another leak this time."

William looked at him suspiciously and unfolded the piece of paper.

When he saw the words on it, William was startled at first, then his complexion changed.

He looked at the officer, staring intently into those indifferent pupils.

"I oppose this plan! We need a whole City of Abundance, not a rotten ruin!"

The officer shrugged indifferently.

"Sacrificing a ’Farm’ for the sake of the whole oasis, in our view, is absolutely worth it. If we delay for a month to formulate a new plan, redeploy our troops, we might face several times the number of enemies we do now."

"Besides, this is the opinion of the Eastern Legion Leader."

"We do not want this war to turn from a local conflict into a full-blown war between the Army and the companies; neither of us is ready for that. Crushing our enemies’ defenses and will to resist swiftly, before the companies increase their stakes here, is the least costly option."

Listening to that cold, ruthless voice, William stared at him hard.

"You have no idea what that means, destroying the miracle of the Spirit of the Sand Sea is a blasphemy against the Gods!"

But the officer just smiled faintly.

"Blasphemy? You still care about that?"

Watching the prince’s face turn ashen, the officer continued in a methodical tone,

"The weapons will take a little time to arrive; you should get ready."

As for that opposition,

He acted as if he hadn’t heard it at all.

Having said this, the officer turned and left.

Standing next to William, a general of the Kingdom swallowed hard and quietly asked,

"Your Highness... what does the Army intend to do?"

William remained silent for a long time, seemingly struggling internally,

But only for a moment.

He was not indecisive; those who achieve great things should not be bogged down in details. If they ultimately won, Falling Leaves Province would enjoy eternal peace,

No one could say he was wrong.

Besides, even if he felt it was improper, he couldn’t stop the Army’s decision.

He handed the piece of paper over to the lamp on the table. William watched as a flame climbed from the paper, consuming it bit by bit, turning it into ash, and finally falling onto the copper plate.

"They plan to release a devil from 200 years ago, defying the grace of the Gods... Heh, but he did have a point. We’ve already sold our souls to the devil for strength; do we need to care about this?"

With a faint self-mockery, William left the bewildered general behind and walked out of the tent alone.

On that expressionless face, one could not discern his thoughts at the moment.

The nuclear bomb.

A cheap and useful device.

It’s said that just by pressing the button, it can erase hundreds of thousands, even millions of people from the map, and turn fertile land into uninhabitable ruins.

The disaster of the Gods that would take half a century to accomplish, it can do in an instant.

It’s not particularly clever technology.

But it’s definitely effective.

"Mount up."

Arriving at the stable,

William patted the shoulder of a nearby Personal Body Guard, then walked towards his tall, magnificent steed and mounted it.

Not all desert dwellers are fond of camels.

The black horses that originated from the Great Desert were the beloved pets of the citizens of the Falcon Kingdom.

Like the mutants, they were fierce, could charge through gunshots and shelling in heavy armor, naturally fearless of gunfire, and even less afraid of death.

"Where are we going, Your Highness?" Keeping pace with William, the bearded Chief Guard asked, holding the reins.

William squinted, glancing eastward.

"To the front line!"

The Chief Guard’s face showed hesitation, cautiously saying, "It’s too dangerous there, Prince Wenter’s troops always bombard us from time to time; I advise against going to such a hazardous place."

William laughed loudly, kicked his horse, and picked up the pace.

"There’s no danger! Those turtles hiding in their shells only have a few good days left; we’ll soon be stepping over their corpses."

Before that beautiful castle turned into a twisted mass of steel.

He planned to mount his beloved warhorse and take another look at it.

...

At the same time, in the City of Abundance located within Oasis No. 9, towering "river embankments" inside and outside were surrounded by farms with tender yellow crops.

The harvest season was approaching.

It was unclear whether the first to harvest them would be the farmers’ sickles or the caterpillar tracks of tanks.

Above the river embankment.

Prince Wenter, holding a pair of binoculars, gazed towards the west, a trace of solemnity surfacing on his wrinkle-laden face.

The fortress at his feet served not only as the granary of the Lion Kingdom but also as the frontline of the war.

The towering "river embankment," a natural bastion completely forged from alloy, was nearly indestructible by conventional weapons.

The troops stationed here were the kingdom’s elite—"St. Beetle" Ten thousand troops!

Together with two additional Ten thousand troops composed of over 22,000 conscripted soldiers, the stationing force here had exceeded 30,000, and tens of thousands of farmers were also in training.

Over a thousand 97-mm smoothbore cannons had been positioned atop the "river embankment," and nearly a hundred 230-mm cast-iron mortars besides.

Do not underestimate these antiquities.

Despite their limited range, these cannons could still be remarkably effective when relying on their impregnable shelters.

As long as there were enough of them, combined with shells filled with high-explosive dynamite, they could pose a considerable threat to the attacking force.

Not to mention, they had prepared a large number of gas canister rockets.

Moreover, apart from these relics, the Lion Kingdom had also acquired a number of 100-mm howitzers, thirty of which were handed over to Prince Wenter.

These modern light artillery had a range of up to 20 kilometers, though they lacked ammunition, making their deterrence more symbolic than practical.

However, the garrison stationed here wasn’t worried about those troops outside, as everyone was stern and in high spirits, ready to face the challenge.

Even if the Army’s tanks were formidable, they couldn’t possibly scale the alloy-forged "river embankment."

With abundant supplies in the City of Abundance, they could hold out here until the next century!

As long as the City of Abundance stood, so did the Royal City and the Kingdom!

It would remain like a stubborn nail, hammered into the path of the Falcon Kingdom’s advancing troops, and anyone attempting to pull it out was bound to end up with blood on their hands.

Everyone was prepared to live or die with this fortress.

"...Falcon Kingdom’s troops are digging trenches within 5 kilometers of us."

Prince Wenter passed the binoculars to his aide and expressionlessly turned to the nearby messenger.

"Inform the First Artillery Squadron to prepare themselves, let’s give our enemies a taste of color!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger saluted and briskly made his way towards the nearby radiotelegraph.

After the coordinates for the bombardment were reported, a series of explosions quickly followed.

White smoke traced parabolic paths across the sky before landing on the enemy’s positions, erupting into billows of white smoke.

The range of the 230-mm cast-iron mortars was similar to light mortars, but their power was superior, quickly turning the troopers digging trenches into a chaotic mess.

However, as he watched the gravely wounded engineers, Prince Wenter’s brow furrowed in concern.

The adjutant beside him also noticed something amiss and spoke through clenched teeth with a look of shock.

"Sir... the engineers digging the trenches, they appear to be ours—"

"They are the enemy," Wenter said without expression, cutting him off without hesitation, "Continue firing!"

The aide nodded silently, picked up the binoculars again, and watched over the distant positions.

Hatred and rage flickered in his eyes.

These despicable people...

Were using prisoners as cannon fodder!

Such a vile trick was not only a desecration of ancient pacts but a betrayal of their faith!

He made a vow.

He would avenge those people!

Turning away from the frontline, Prince Wenter boarded an elevator and returned inside the fortress.

At this moment, a messenger rushed over, stopped in front of him, and stood at attention to salute.

"Report! An urgent dispatch from the Royal Palace!"

Taking the letter from the messenger’s hand, Wenter opened it and glanced over it, his deeply furrowed brow finally relaxing.

Seeing the change in his expression, the staff officer by his side couldn’t help but inquire.

"Is it good news?"

The only good news in the past month was probably that their allies finally planned to deploy troops.

Although it was said to be only the scale of half a Thousand Team...

Wenter nodded, passed the letter to the staff officer beside him, his tone unexpectedly light and pleasant.

"Our allies have successfully destroyed the Legion’s supply hub in the North, their ’Thunder’ plan has been thwarted, and our northern defenses will probably be secure for a while, allowing us to focus on the vermin outside."

One had to admit that the intelligence network of the Alliance was terrifyingly strong.

He had only just learned the codename of the entire operation, yet the Alliance, thousands of miles away, had already strangled the enormous and meticulous plan in its cradle.

Every sign pointed to the fact that the Alliance’s infiltration into the desert had reached a depth that could not be ignored.

And yet, the Lion Kingdom knew almost nothing about them.

Thinking of this, Wenter could not hide his sense of wariness and secretly made up his mind.

If the Lion Kingdom could weather this crisis successfully, he would certainly persuade His Majesty the King to increase the budget for intelligence work.

Or...

He would undertake the task himself.

"Fifty Conqueror tanks... including self-propelled guns and trucks, as well as supplies enough for arming a Ten thousand troops, such an important military base, it’s astonishing that they managed to take it down!"

The staff officer’s expression was slightly moved.

Suddenly, he thought of something and looked eagerly at Prince Wenter, then asked,

"What about those equipments?"

Prince Wenter smiled faintly.

"Eighty percent were transferred to the Army of Restoration under Marshal Yard... Stop thinking about it, they won’t give them to us."

A look of regret appeared on the face of the staff officer.

That was enough equipment to arm a ten-thousand-strong force...

"If only we had sent soldiers there at the time."

"Whom would we have sent?" Prince Wenter didn’t feel much regret, "We’re struggling just to protect ourselves right now, let alone spare forces to send to the north."

Hearing this, the staff officer fell silent for a while, then sighed and said, "You’re right... Let’s hope there’s news from Andre soon."

"I doubt it." Prince Wenter casually replied, holding no expectations whatsoever.

If the Golden Lizard Kingdom really had the intention to send troops, they should have deployed forces here when they delivered the declaration of war, not be sitting quietly on the border like they are now.

The faith in the Spirit of the Sand Sea, on this land, had never been so weakened. Those oaths sworn in front of the Spirit of the Sand Sea were like water poured into sand, they simply didn’t count.

Perhaps...

Those things were truly outdated.

No matter how this war concludes, they will enter an era of deceit and trickery...

At this moment, another messenger ran towards them from a distance.

He held in his hands an urgent letter, the second one delivered on the same day.

"Another one?"

With two urgent messages arriving at the same time, Prince Wenter couldn’t help but develop a bad premonition.

He had already seen the good news.

Logically speaking, the chances of the second letter containing good news too, were extremely slim...

But what was coming couldn’t be avoided, and he ultimately opened it.

There was only a short line in the letter, turning his face pale.

"A nuclear bomb with a yield of a million tons of TNT is being transported across the Great Desert to the Falcon Kingdom."

A million tons!

For a moment, he felt as if his heartbeat had vanished...

...

It had been a month and a half since the fireworks celebration.

In this past month, the biggest change to the north of the City of Dawn was probably the road to the north.

With the help from the Ideal Group, this concrete road, costing 16.9 million Cr and stretching for 169 kilometers from the north suburb of Qingquan City directly to Luo Xia Province, was finally completed.

Previously, getting from Qingquan City to Rug City, even with a forced march, would take a day or two.

Now, with the open highway, it took less than three hours.

As the Manager of the Alliance, Chu Guang attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the road.

Though, trucks had already been running on it before he cut the ribbon.

"This road is ultimately for emergencies, and for long-term use, we really must pay attention to road maintenance. If maintained properly, it should be fine for 10 to 20 years." Li Changkong said with pride and a sense of accomplishment as he looked at the straight concrete road before him.

Chu Guang, standing beside him, also wore a smile, shaking his hand.

"Thank you so much!"

Li Changkong smiled back.

"It’s my pleasure!"

Not far away,

the Alliance’s Chief Engineer, Spare people under the knife, was still squatting beside the road, muttering as he examined a block of concrete lying on the ground.

"How can this be..."

Quit smoking, who happened to pass by, gave him a glance, unable to hold back, said,

"Damn... you haven’t given up yet, huh? Have you figured anything out yet?"

Unexpectedly, Spare people under the knife actually nodded his head.

He stretched out his index finger, touched the side of the road, then rubbed it between his finger and thumb.

"The road isn’t just made of concrete, there’s something similar to steel rods inside... but it’s not steel."

Quit smoking paused for a second.

"What is it then?"

"Carbon... it could also be some isomer of silicon carbide," Spare people under the knife dusted off his hands, stood up from the ground, and said with a glint in his eye, "I don’t know what it is, but its tensile strength, yield strength, and various other physical properties are all higher than steel."

"Oh..." Quit smoking stroked his chin, "Interesting."

Seeing his utterly dismissive expression, Spare people under the knife couldn’t help but speak.

"Don’t you think it’s strange?"

Quit smoking gave the man a puzzled look.

"What’s strange about it? There’s a space elevator in the Great Desert... A material with higher tensile strength, isn’t that elementary?"

Spare people under the knife: "..."

He couldn’t think of a retort.

In the distance, the ribbon-cutting ceremony ended.

Just when Chu Guang was pondering about where to send the now-idle Device for further construction, he suddenly heard Xiao Qi’s voice.

"Master! Prince Kaliman wishes to see you; he says he has important matters to discuss with you. Would you like to meet him?"