Chapter 176 Negotiation
Lieutenant Wagner Pitt and Captain Kane, two eyewitnesses who have personally experienced the power of the Scourge, know very well that it is only a matter of time before the Undead Army wins.
No matter how powerful the Sun Knight is, and how he can defeat a hundred enemies alone, he has a limit to his physical strength. When he is exhausted to a certain extent by the endless replenishment of the Undead, he has no choice but to abandon the camp and admit defeat.
But this result is not enough.
Yang needs prisoners, and the undead need all the weapons and equipment on the prisoners. No matter which side is dissatisfied, Wagner and Kane will have a headache...
In order to achieve better results and satisfy Yang and his undead, the two commanders Wagner and Kane had to contribute.
First, the undead were given the task of cutting off the retreat of the Cult of the Blazing Sun:
Lizard horses can adapt to most road surfaces, climb mountains and wade through water, and have strong endurance and sprint burst capabilities. Their only drawback is that they are relatively bulky and not flexible enough in turning. The undead spread handfuls of special 30-centimeter-long triangular nails outside the camp of the Fiery Sun Cult, so that the Fiery Sun Knights will not be able to escape on horseback when they want to abandon their positions.
Secondly, the Undead were given various "battlefield missions" that would continuously harass the other party and prevent the Sun Knights from resting in peace:
For example, sneaking into the enemy camp to drop flares, sneaking into the enemy camp to destroy their food and grass tents, sneaking into the enemy camp to steal horses... and so on.
Not all players love to fight head-on. Some players also enjoy doing battlefield missions. When Wagner and Kenn released battlefield missions, some players who felt bored and started to slack off after a few rounds ran towards them happily...
Thanks to the "military training" foundation of the monster battlefield, the players have a very correct attitude and firm determination in carrying out their tasks.
The Sun Knights and the spectators on the flat-topped mountain who were forced to retreat to the camp watched the undead infiltration that was both weird and funny, but definitely not funny. In broad daylight, with thousands of people watching, the undead in groups of a dozen or more rushed into other people's nests in a dignified manner.
Not to mention the Innadri spectators who were watching from afar with telescopes, even the Fiery Sun Knights who retreated to the camp were dumbfounded.
What's even more ridiculous is that this group of undead rushed into someone else's territory in front of others, not caring about the "master's" feelings at all. They either threw flares around, or drew weapons to destroy the "master's" supplies, and even openly tied up the horses tied to the horse posts...
After killing this wave of crazy undead, the Sun Knights didn't even understand what was happening.
Not long after, another group of undeads rushed into the camp with strange screams. The resting Sun Knights were going crazy and had to chase these guys all over the camp...
There is no such thing as being exposed or not. As long as you are not driven away or killed in time, for the undead, it is a successful infiltration.
At the same time, the Undead harassment on the front battlefield did not stop. They piled up corpses one after another to consume the enemy's physical strength, and launched a prisoner-dragging operation every few minutes, dragging away a few unlucky guys every time...
Wagner, who was diligently carrying out the mission of "task delivery tool", looked at the captives that the undead happily carried back, and then looked down at the flares in the supply box (actually a kind of customized cheap fireworks), and his mood was very subtle.
On the one hand, he knew that the group of Fiery Sun Knights on the other side would definitely not last until dark. On the other hand, seeing the strongest army on the continent (a knight group in it) being ravaged by the undead made Wagner doubt what he had been working so hard to get ahead in the Bartles family's army for so many years...
At this time, several undead who had been hung up came out of the tent cursing.
"Why is the horse-stealing mission so difficult? I failed three times and still can't complete it!"
"Who told you to be greedy and take this most difficult mission? There are so many monsters in it, it would be strange if you could lead the horse away smoothly."
"Forget it, it's not a loss. I didn't get the horse, but at least I completed the flare mission. I got dozens of territory reputation and battlefield honors for my death, so it's still a profit."
"Go take on another flare mission, and also take on the destruction of supplies. If you find an opportunity to chop down a few tents, you'll also complete it."
This group of undead ran to Wagner to hand over their mission, received new flares, and then ran towards the enemy camp in high spirits.
"No wonder the bosses love this kind of combat mission related to the game plot. Compared with the monster battlefield, these monsters are too weak. The bosses in the weekend activity book are more powerful than these monsters."
"There's a difference between monsters that can only be fought once and monsters that can be fought repeatedly. Since the game was launched, there have only been a few plot-related combat missions released. Old players have only fought them three times."
"Hey, I seem to have heard someone say that monsters in story-related combat missions will become friendly NPCs after you defeat them?"
"Are you from Mars, sir? The battlefield quartermaster was captured by the old players!"
"I don't hang out on forums much..."
In the back, two battlefield quartermasters standing in the camp: "..."
Wagner pressed hard on his temples to push down the blue veins on his forehead.
Okay... For the undead who use the Demon King's army on the battlefield of the Demon Realm as a reference, the Knights of the Fiery Sun Church are indeed nothing.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye it was already past five in the afternoon.
On the flat-topped mountain, the audience in Innadili, who had watched an extremely funny, weird and incredible battle firsthand, were extremely calm.
An hour ago, even the middle-class women in the audience who knew nothing about war had anticipated the outcome of the battle - in Westham's camp, the captives, tied up like pigs, were lined up in the open space outside.
Half an hour ago, the "battle casualty" rate of the Fiery Solari Cult had visibly reached over 40%. All of their members made a desperate attempt to break through the encirclement of the Undead blocking the main gate. However, they failed to break through the encirclement, and instead lost more than a hundred Lizard Horses. The Undead who had received the mission of taking military horses joyfully rushed into the camp to grab the horses when the Fiery Solari Cult launched the general attack. Their joy was felt even by the Innadri spectators who were watching the battle.
In the end, after only three hours of fierce fighting, the Cult of the Fiery Sun, which was harassed by undead that outnumbered them by several times, was exhausted and had no choice but to raise the white flag...
Mr. Gould, the loyal butler of the Bartles family, tremblingly picked up the handkerchief in his hand and wiped the sweat on his forehead, temples and chin with trembling hands.
The Cult of the Fiery Sun, whose hard power was definitely greater than that of the Bartles family's city defense forces, only lasted three hours in the face of the endless, invincible, and always energetic undead army!
Butler Gould only felt a black flash before his eyes.
He understood war, and when he was young, he had personally fought for the Bartles family and participated in several territorial wars.
The overall performance of the Undead Army was completely devoid of any technical skills. It was just continuous harassment, capturing people, and constantly attacking the camp without giving the enemy a chance to breathe, until the enemy's physical strength, energy, and fighting spirit were exhausted.
It’s such a simple and crude way of fighting...but due to the terrifying characteristic of the Undead Army that can replenish its numbers infinitely (big mistake), it is almost invincible!
Anyway, Butler Gould had no idea how the city defense army could win when facing such an enemy!
"We must inform the Third Generation of this matter immediately."
Butler Gould struggled to stand up and told the butler to pack up. He even forgot to say goodbye to Baron Darcy's butler who was watching the battle nearby, and hurriedly left the top of the mountain.
Butler Gould left, and the other nobles who were watching the battle also set off.
Whether they had old grudges against the Bartles family or were close friends, their expressions were not very good when they left...
After all, during the months when Charlie Rex occupied Westham, these Innadri nobles did not look down on that guy's illegitimate background; coupled with the rumors that Rex had an affair with a black magician and the undead openly appeared in Westham, no matter how capable the nobles were, they would not be willing to have a relationship with this illegitimate child.
But now, Charlie Rex showed his fists and demonstrated the power of his undead army supported by black magicians. No matter how disgusted and disgusted these nobles were, they had to reconsider their way of interacting with this illegitimate child.
Mrs. Gerry rented a car and was too embarrassed to hitch a ride on the Baroness's carriage. When she said goodbye to the Baroness, she found that her face was very solemn, and she didn't look happy at all to see Baron Marcus in such a state of disarray.
After getting down the mountain with the help of the housekeeper, Ms. Will, and getting into the rented carriage, Mrs. Gerry, who had been involved in the social world of Innaderi before, suddenly reacted.
"...Innadeli, things are going to change." The middle-class housewife, whose husband has a high annual salary and therefore can make some noble ladies willing to accept her flattery, muttered to herself.
"Madam?" Ms. Will, who had just entered the carriage and had not yet sat down, did not hear clearly what the hostess was whispering.
"Nothing." Mrs. Gerry tried her best to remain calm, but her pale face showed that she was not at peace.
Her husband worked in the Commerce Department of the City Hall. Now that the lord of Innadri had changed, she didn't know if her husband would be affected. It was a good position with an annual salary of fifty gold coins. If he lost his job, their family would not be able to live in the Granser district, nor could they afford to support a housekeeper and a maid!
"Innadri, which has been run by the Bartles family for so many years, shouldn't be snatched away so easily... Adela III knows many nobles in the royal city, and those adults will definitely not sit idly by." The housewife of this middle-class family could only comfort herself in this way.
The audience on Pingdingshan Mountain dispersed, and on the wasteland, the undead were still cleaning up the battlefield...
To be precise, the spoils are concentrated - the prisoners belong to the NPCs, and the equipment on the prisoners belongs to them.
This is already a customary rule in Tarantino, and no one can stop it...
With more than 900 sets of equipment being shared by more than 3,000 players, it goes without saying that the scene was extremely lively. The entire wasteland was as lively as a free market - if players were not allowed to touch the horses and they were grouped together as NPC trophies in the name of quest props, it would have to be described as a mule and horse market.
The mercenaries of "Sea Lion" expressed a little sympathy for the Knights of the Fiery Sun who followed in their footsteps, and quickly gathered the captives who had even taken off their linings and put them under unified custody - they were very good at this kind of thing.
"Next, we just need to take the people back." Captain Kane said numbly to his old friend Wagner, "This kind of battle is really unprecedented."
"Not having to grieve for our fallen comrades after the war is the greatest benefit." Wagner glanced at the undead who had died at least twenty times on average, and said with a complicated expression.
Captain Ken couldn't help but nod in agreement... If he let his mercenaries fight against a tough group like the Fiery Sun Cult, the result would definitely be very tragic.
These Tarantan undead do have shortcomings such as being difficult to control, unruly, willful, rude and reckless, but their advantages are also obvious, such as being fearless, able to complete short-term tasks with clear purposes, knowing how to use simple, crude, direct and effective tactics, and being very persistent in victory.
"With such a fantastic army at hand, is there anything Yang can't do?" Captain Ken said with difficulty, "Even the Cult of the Fiery Sun was completely defeated by them like this. I can't think of anyone else who can deal with them."
This time, it was Wagner who nodded silently.
If there is one shortcoming of these immortal undead that cannot be ignored, it is probably the tent that allows the fallen undead to be quickly resurrected and return to the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the enemy has no chance to attack this weakness.
Wagner himself, Captain Ken and his mercenaries, and Brother Lowell, who was brought to the battlefield by Yang's soft and hard tactics, are the last line of defense of the resurrection tent.
Especially Brother Lowell. Even if the Cult of the Blazing Sun can really break through the lines of the undead, they still have to face the threshold of Brother Lowell...
As a high-ranking priest, the Ascetic monk would not be willing to help Yang fight the enemy, but it was difficult for Brother Lowell to refuse such a small request to protect the tent... and the Ascetic monk was the most suitable person for this job.
Even if Brother Lowell couldn't be invited, Yang could still go on the field himself - the black magician who was better at attacking was not as good as the ascetic monk in defending a position, but not everyone could easily break through.
But... for Wagner, realizing Yang's strength does not make him feel uneasy.
He saw with his own eyes how the small town of Westram prospered under the governance of Charlie Rex , the undead mayor Ji Tang and the undead Ms. Zhao from the Chamber of Commerce. In his heart, he had no doubt that Innadeli would be better off under Yang's hands than under the rule of the Bartles family.
"The problem is... the environment in Innadri City is not as simple as Westram."
Wagner turned his head and looked towards the northeast sky, which was the direction of Innadri City.
After losing its business on the trade route, Westham gradually declined. The nobles who originally lived in the town of Westham moved to the city of Innadli. Yang put all the merchants in the red-light district into the detention center, which solved the problem of non-cooperation of local forces.
However, the city of Innaderi is different because more than 70% of the nobles in the territory of Innaderi live in the city.
Governing the city of Innadli is by no means a matter of driving away the former lords, the Bartles family, and being able to solve all problems - even the Bartles family has had a lot of headaches dealing with the local .
"What would Rex do... No, more like, what would Yang do?"
When Wagner tried to guess Yang Qiu's thoughts, Yang Qiu, who had confirmed through the branding matrix that the undead had achieved great results, calmly came out of the Westram Town Hall, summoned the undead horse, left the town, and headed straight to Innadri.
Before it got completely dark, Yang Qiu entered the Innadri city gate openly and summoned the three Hal brothers who were stranded in the city through the matrix link.
The three brothers Hal, who had just made a huge fortune, were very wary of Yang Qiu, fearing that this guy would find an excuse to take three cents from them...
Yang Qiu didn't bother to care about their little thoughts. He gave them three new tasks in person, asked them to complete them within the limited time, and then waved his hand and told them to go away.
After letting the three Hal brothers go, Yang Qiu turned around... and went to visit the Night Watch organization of the Gold Coin Church.
Yang Qiu, who introduced himself as soon as he arrived, almost scared the officials of the Night Watch to death... Of course, the effect was also very good. In less than twenty minutes, Bishop Lee Gene, the head of the local branch of the Gold Coin Church, and Captain Lynch Clark of the Night Watch appeared in the reception room where Yang Qiu was waiting as if they were facing a great enemy.
Yang Qiu nodded to Bishop Li Gene in a friendly manner, and then smiled at the captain of the Night Watch: "Good night, Clark, my man von Alphonse, I have never expressed my gratitude for your care before."
Night Watch Captain Lynch Clark: "..."
Clark looked stiffly at the Bishop.
It was all because Nadali knew that von Alphonse had done something for the Night Watch and was "killed" in public by him, the captain of the Night Watch - the Nightmare Butcher wanted to make a fuss about this, and he had no ability to fight back at all!
Bishop Li Gene gave Captain Clark a soothing look, calmly sat down in front of Yang Qiu, and said with a straight face: "There are many exorcists who help the Night Watch. We will not pay special attention to any one of them. Please tell us your purpose, black magician."
"Please don't misunderstand, respected bishop. I very much agree with the teachings of the Gold Coin Church. If I hadn't become a spellcaster, I think I would have longed to become a devout follower of Lady Gold Coin." Yang Qiu said with a smile.
The Nightmare Butcher, who had just torn off the face of the Fiery Sun Church and trampled on it a few hours ago, said such words. Even if it was just a casual compliment, it sounded quite pleasing to the ears of Li Jinn, the bishop of the Gold Coin Church... The bishop's expression eased a little, but his attitude of rejection was still very obvious. He said in a deep voice: "Unfortunately, there is no if."
Yang Qiu's smile deepened.
How should I put it... A young man who has lived for sixty or seventy years at most, acting in front of him who is over three hundred years old, is still a little lacking in quality.
The Church of Gold Coins worships the Lady of Gold Coins. What is the Lady of Gold Coins's ministry? It's about money and transactions.
As long as you pay, everything can be traded.
Even the Church of the Fiery Sun paid money to build churches everywhere in your lair. Now you are showing me a stubborn attitude and refuse to negotiate. Do you want to humiliate me by saying that my wallet is not thick enough, or are you planning to raise the price?
Sorry, I reject both possibilities.
Yang Qiu smiled unchanged and said, "Even so, it does not hinder my admiration for the Lady of Gold Coin... My followers are always willing to maintain a good relationship with the Church of Gold Coin, such as von Alphonse."
Captain Lynch Clark was so angry that he wanted to slam his head on the ground. How could he not mention this?
Yang Qiu smiled slightly and added: "My other follower, Charlie Rex, is very good at managing the territory. If he can get more support and have more room to play, then he will be able to better express my respect to Ms. Gold Coin on my behalf."
Captain Clark's eyes widened, and Bishop Gene's mouth twitched...
The style of the Gold Coin Church is already considered "indifferent", but I didn't expect that you, a nightmare butcher, are even less particular than us - can't you be more subtle!
Yang Qiu's meaning was very simple: my people will pay the tithe according to the rules because they have obtained the Innadeli Church. My people are better at management and making money, so the church's share of the "regular money" will not decrease, but only increase.
There is no such thing as giving extra money to religion on top of the tithe. Don't even think about it!
Before the outcome of the battle of honor between Charlie Rex and the Order of the Fiery Sun came out, Yang Qiu's words had little weight.
That's right, black magicians are good at offensive area magic and the terrifying curse-type black magic, but a single black magician is not enough to threaten a city - killing too many people will only make you out of control, and if you don't kill, you can't expect others to listen to you.
But just today, a few hours ago, without showing up in person, Yang only sent out his undead army to demonstrate to hundreds of Innadri spectators who were present at the scene how to defeat a powerful knight order thoroughly, comprehensively and without any doubt. This made it impossible for Bishop Gene to ignore Yang's request... no, demand.
The Gold Coin Church refused to negotiate, and Yang still insisted on letting his illegitimate follower bring the undead army to attack the city of Innadli. They had no choice - if they took action, they would have to confront Yang head-on, and if they did not take action, they could only sit back and watch the lord of Innadli be replaced.
No one would have thought that the city defense forces raised by the Bartles family could withstand the attack of the undead army... The Knights of the Inquisition of the Church of the Fiery Sun only lasted for three hours!
The bigger reason was that Bishop Gene was really reluctant to break off relations with the Nightmare Butcher. If this madman also attacked the holy land of the Gold Coin Church, he would become a sinner of the church.
After a long silence, Bishop Gene said vaguely: "...Charlie Rex, after all, is too low-ranking."
The Earldom of Innader was indeed only a marginal territory and frontier land of the Rhine Kingdom, but at least it had a land area and population size close to that of an earldom. Charles Rex was not even a formal noble, but only the illegitimate son of a viscount. Bishop Jean really could not bring himself to support such a lord.
Yang Qiu smiled confidently and happily started to talk nonsense: "Please don't worry about Rex's identity. Not long ago, Charlie met Parker Chapman Odysseus, the third son of Count Odysseus and a friend of his father, Viscount Rex. Master Parker was very surprised to be reunited with his childhood friend and brought Charlie good news... Charlie's father, Viscount Rex, has been looking for him all these years, hoping to restore the father-son relationship with him, and this is what Count Odysseus is happy to see."
Captain Clark & Bishop Gene: "... (° △° (° △° )"
"Master Parker promised Charlie that when he comes to Innader again, he will bring with him Viscount Rex's strong love as a father and the support of the Odysseus family for Charlie." Yang Qiu said with a smile, "Because of the grudge with the Bartles family, Master Parker bypassed Innader the last time he came. Next time he comes, I think he will be very happy to appreciate the night view of this city."
The premise for the Odysseus family to show goodwill to Charlie Rex is that this illegitimate child of humble origin can get the support of the Gold Coin Church; and if he can get the support of the Gold Coin Church, Charlie Rex can naturally get the friendship of the Odysseus family... The logic is closed, perfect!
