Chapter 234 The Enemy Is on the Other Side of the Sea

Under the threat and coercion of the Noxian warships, Fia and her crew's merchant ship was eventually forced to stop at the Yipu River Port.
At this time, this once prosperous port city appeared closer to Riven and the others:
The city was in ruins and in ruins.
The smoke above the city had long since dissipated, but the charred marks left by the incendiary bombs, were deeply imprinted into the city's flesh after being roasted at high temperatures, could still be seen everywhere.
The battle seemed to have ended long ago, and the bodies were collected by the Noxians.
A small number of them were the bodies of Noxians, carefully wrapped in body bags, ready to be cremated and sent to the Noxian military cemetery.
Most of the rest were Ionian corpses.
Because as a typical Ionian autonomous city-state, Ipu River Port has no professional army at all.
So these Ionians looked like civilians judging by their clothes, and it was impossible to tell how many of them were warriors who died resisting Noxus, and how many were civilians who were slaughtered by Noxus.
But there were so many of them that they almost formed a small hill.
The Noxians actually piled the bodies of the Ionians into a small hill on the banks of the Ipu River.
Then they poured the fuel from the incendiary bomb on it and started a fire.
The fire shot up into the sky, and the heat wave even caused the nearby river water to evaporate.
When Riven and others arrived by boat, they could just see the horrific mountain of corpses standing at the edge of the estuary and the banks of the Yipu River, burning like a torch.
Thick smoke spread across the entire river, and the air was filled with a strange smell of barbecue. It was impossible to avoid it, and it couldn't be dispelled.
"Ugh..." Feiya couldn't help but feel nauseous and retching because of this scene.
The sailors also clenched their fists in anger with pale faces: "Damn, these Noxian demons!"
“……” Riven lowered her head silently.
She didn't dare to watch this scene, even though she had seen similar scenes many times.
But Ionia had no concept of modern nation.
Ionia was originally just a purely geographical term and did not represent an imagined community.
But Noxus taught the Ionians a lesson with blood and fire, making them realize that there was an enemy on the other side of the sea, an enemy that all Ionians would never give up.
"All Noxians should die!" Someone has already shouted this angrily.
"Kill them all!" Faced with this sea of ​​blood and corpses, no one could retain their sanity.
Riven could only bury her head deeper.
But amidst her fear and hatred, Fia unexpectedly discovered something: "Those corpses...are they Noxians?"
She discovered that when Noxus was collecting the bodies of its own people, it would throw some of them out.
Although these corpses were also wearing imperial military uniforms, after their death, they were thrown into the fire by the Noxians just like the Ionians. After being burned clean by the fire, they were dumped into the river like kitchen waste.
"They are Noxian slave legions."
Riven only took one look and gave the answer.
The slave cannon fodder of the slave army does not deserve a body bag, let alone enter the military cemetery of Noxus.
Usually, like what we are doing now, they are burned in when the enemy's bodies are burned.
"But why are there still children?" Fia was distressed to find that among the discarded Noxian corpses, there were quite a few petite boys and girls.
These children look like the oldest is no more than 13 or 14 years old; the youngest is even less than 10 years old.
But they were all wearing Noxian military uniforms, and died in large numbers in a foreign land.
Yes, if you look closely you will find that the people who suffered the most from Noxus in this battle were children.
Those adults wearing armor were actually the minority among those killed in the battle.
"This is the Scout Troop," Riven said calmly.
She seemed to be used to this scene: "These children were forcibly conscripted from slums or rural areas. They are just like the slaves accompanying the army, basically disposable."
"This..." Feiya was shocked.
She couldn't understand: "Why are these children being recruited? Can they fight?"
"They don't need to be able to fight, they just need to serve as bait." Riven explained, "And for some enemies, their childlike appearance can have an unexpected effect."
She paused and said, "Especially you Ionians—"
"Your warriors will always hesitate in front of someone who seems innocent. For example, a child."
"Yes..." Riven didn't dare to look anyone in the eye again: "There are some very sinister generals in Noxus. They will even take your pity as a weakness and attack you."
This made Feiya completely speechless.
She never expected that Noxus could be even more unscrupulous than what she had heard in the rumors.
"But these slaves and children are also Noxians, aren't they?"
"Mostly." Riven nodded.
"Why is Noxus so cruel to its own people?" asked Fia.
"Noxus believes in the survival of the fittest." Riven sighed: "These people may be born in Noxus, but they are not considered human beings in Noxus-"
"Just like the pariahs of Ionia, only their fate is even more miserable."
Feiya: “…”
She seemed to have vaguely realized something.
Recalling the Janna theory she had learned these days, she gradually let go of her hatred.
No, to be precise, she identified the object of her hatred more specifically.
Perhaps not all Noxians deserved to die. Those slaves and children were not even considered human beings in Noxus, so why should they bear such a blood feud for the empire?
"We're about to dock." The nervous and trembling voices of the sailors suddenly interrupted Fia's thoughts.
The ship was about to dock, which meant they were finally going to come face to face with the Noxians.
No one knew how these bloody butchers who had killed a mountain of corpses in the battle would treat them when they met.
"It should be fine." Riven comforted: "I said that Noxus is bloodthirsty but not indiscriminate."
Noxus does have a history of massacres.
But except for a few psychopaths like Amystan, most Noxian generals did not carry out massacres without purpose, but had practical reasons.
For a feudal army like Noxus, massacre generally has three benefits:
1. Political benefits:
By causing massacres, strategic intimidation is achieved , indirectly undermining the remaining enemy's will to resist.
Second, short-term economic benefits:
This is the most direct one, the massacre is for the purpose of stealing money.
Moreover, if a battle fails after a long siege, allowing the troops to plunder and massacre the city after victory and letting the soldiers make a fortune on their own is also the best way to win people's hearts and restore morale.
3. Long-term economic benefits:
This situation is rare in other places, but quite common in Noxus.
Because everyone in Noxus, from generals to soldiers, hoped to be promoted by conquering the newly conquered lands, and hoped to make these lands their own territory.
Therefore, after World War I, generals and officers would often become lords of various levels in this new land, and soldiers would also be lucky enough to get a piece of the pie, becoming self-employed farmers or small landowners who owned their own land.
But the problem is... this land already has an owner, what should I do?
Of course, it is like what the colonists did to the indigenous people of the New World, they would find a way to "clear out" the original owners in advance and let them "make room" for themselves.
"Yipuhe Port is a commercial city-state, there is not much land for them to grab."
"On the contrary, the population here is the foundation of the value of this commercial city-state. If too many people are killed, then this city will be completely worthless."
"And Noxus seems to be fighting very smoothly in this battle. The morale of the soldiers is high, and there is no need to rely on looting to boost the morale ."
"So I think there's a high probability that we'll be fine."
Riven made this analysis based on her understanding of Noxus.
Feiya finally felt relieved.
"But you will probably lose a lot of money." Riven added: "And..."
She looked at the lovely Feiya and couldn't help but think of the lesson that Crete had taught her: "Feiya, you have to find a way to make yourself uglier."
"No problem." Feiya was not at all troubled by this question.
Because of her Vastaya ancestry, she was born with some interesting magical abilities.
Soon, without Riven having to worry, she used magic to temporarily change her appearance, greatly reducing her originally too superior appearance.
Fia also helped Riven make some minor changes - maybe Riven herself didn't care much, but she also looked like someone who could cause trouble.
Just like that, after making sufficient preparations, the ship docked, and Fia and others finally met the Noxian soldiers face to face.
And the development of the situation seems to be almost the same as what Riven said.
The Noxians carefully questioned their identities and after confirming that they were local merchants, they simply warned them in harsh words, "Go home and stay here quietly, and don't leave the city," and then let them go.
Although before leaving, these Noxian soldiers could not help but extort a lot of money from Fia.
But when you are in the clutches of the enemy, it is good enough to spend money to avoid disaster.
When Feiya and her group left the port and entered the city, they found the city was also peaceful.
Although the streets were full of soldiers in groups of three or five, armed with knives and knocking on doors to extort money, at least they took the money and left, and there was no bloodshed.
Compared with the scene of corpses and blood at the port, this can be considered a "friendly exchange".
"Oliana, you are right." After returning to her house, Feiya finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that we are safe now. "
"No..." Riven's expression was a hundred times more serious than before.
Although she hadn't seen any Noxian soldiers killing anyone, she was so nervous that she was sweating profusely: "I feel..."
"Noxus may be preparing a massacre this time."
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