“Damn it! Where did those Tara wastes get such fierce weapons?”
A Victoria officer, hiding behind cover, complained to his soldiers. Above his head, explosive rounds flew by now and then.
“I don’t know, sir,” said a slightly higher-ranking soldier. “It looks like a crude imitation of some kind of explosive crossbow, but their rate of fire is too fast.”
No sooner had he spoken than his comrade, sharing the same cover, noticed the Tara side’s firepower suddenly ceased.
“Sir, they’re out of ammo,” the soldier said, picking up a Victoria military crossbow. As soon as he peered out from cover, he saw a young Tara man, wearing heavy but crude armor on his upper body, aiming a large, square firearm at him.
The Victoria soldier and the Tara youth both pulled their triggers. The Terra crossbow bolt pierced the armor but did not penetrate the flesh; the explosive round hit the steel helmet but did not detonate.
Before his hand could reach for his quiver, a second explosive round followed. The not-so-violent explosion successfully blew off half of the Victoria soldier’s head.
However, the soldier, missing half his head, did not fall. In the darkness, the Victoria soldier witnessed the most terrifying scene of his life—the soldier with only half a head skillfully reloaded his crossbow and then shot it at his comrade’s head.
“It is the Red Dragon who manipulates death, the legendary King of Tara, who has come to help us.”
Xing Chen’s voice came from the town’s loudspeakers. The rebellious crowd instantly became excited, and the already disadvantaged Victoria garrison’s morale collapsed.
“Quick, to the communications station! Call the Lieutenant for reinforcements!” the sergeant shouted to his guards. These were the only forces he could still control… Hearing footsteps, Theresa severed the threads manipulating the corpse and drew her long knife.
The Victoria soldier pushed open the door to the communications station, only to see several bodies of communication spellcasters and a Sarkaz clad in white.
How could a few ordinary Feline soldiers be a match for a Sarkaz Demon King? With a swift movement of her blade, the last of Victoria’s armed forces in the town were completely annihilated.
“Xing Chen, what do we do next?” Theresa took out the walkie-talkie Xing Chen had prepared in his world.
“I need to preside over the execution of that officer. These Tara people’s anger is stronger than I imagined. I think I won’t need much effort to gather enough people.” The walkie-talkie’s voice was intermittent. “You go to the communication base station now and tell the outside garrison that all three directions of the town have been occupied. Tell them to rush over for support before dawn.”
“Okay, but how do we eliminate them?” Theresa asked.
“I have a way. I’ve named it Guzheng…”
After Theresa sent the communication, she and William headed to the ambush location Xing Chen had designated.
As it had just rained, the outdoor ground was muddy.
Theresa and several team members hid in the bushes beside the hardened road, quietly waiting for their prey.
After a long wait, the sound of Victoria Originium internal combustion engines came from afar.
Having drunk a lot the night before, the Lieutenant delayed his departure from dawn until almost noon. However, he had his own reasoning.
“You see, by noon, the fog has dispersed, and it’s not convenient for those Tara people to ambush us,” the Lieutenant proudly told his adjutant. “Tell the people up front to speed up and get through this forest belt as quickly as possible. As long as we’re fast enough, those bastards with their trash won’t be able to hurt us.”
William, in the bushes, looked at Victoria’s new armored personnel carriers. He knew that the crude weapons in his hands could not penetrate their armor.
“Lady Theresa, should we attack the infantry sandwiched between the armored vehicles?” William was not afraid of death; if he could take down a few more Victoria soldiers before he died, he would be very happy.
“No,” Theresa said, observing the enemy’s formation. When both ends of the convoy reached roughly the same position, she immediately activated her Originium Arts, and several invisible threads stretched across the center of the road.
The Lieutenant was still mocking the Tara people for not even having the courage to ambush them when, suddenly, he saw the armored vehicle ahead, like butter cut by a hot knife, break into several pieces scattered on the road.
“Stop quickly—uh,” the Lieutenant tried to give an order to the driver, but as soon as his body swayed, he saw the severed section of his neck.
The Victoria army fell into chaos. The infantry who hadn’t boarded the vehicles luckily survived and, under the command of the remaining squad leaders, quickly reformed their ranks and began searching for the spellcaster who had unleashed the Originium Arts.
Theresa and William’s group had already left, but they did not choose to return to the town. Instead, they headed towards the military camp outside the town.
Some time later, guided by local hunters, they arrived at a high ground. The sentries here had already been moved, and the assault team was taking a brief rest and familiarizing themselves with the attack sequence.
“…Don’t worry…the remaining troops…we can handle them…they have already entered the encirclement…”
“I know,” Theresa was very worried about the situation in the town. Although she had eliminated Victoria’s armored forces, most of their infantry and Originium cannons were still intact. “What if they don’t attack but choose indiscriminate shelling instead?”
“Don’t worry, Theresa, the remaining officers don’t have high ranks; they can’t bear that responsibility… Oh, they’ve already entered the ambush circle. I can’t talk anymore; I need to take people to raid their artillery positions.”
Xing Chen hung up the communication, and Theresa’s team also prepared for the assault.
According to Xing Chen’s arrangements, the weapon warehouse, Originium warehouse, and military communication station had to be taken first.
Furthermore, since explosive rounds had a slower projectile speed and primarily relied on explosive damage, their actual attack range was considerably farther than anticipated.
Theresa arranged for several skilled marksmen to provide fire support from the high ground.
The assault team reached the wall. As the support personnel killed the sentries with a few bursts of fire, the operation officially began.
Theresa summoned motes of dust, creating a large hole in the wall. As a patrolling Victoria garrison soldier was still stringing his crossbow, she raised her gun, and an explosive round blew him into pieces.
Soon, the Victoria soldiers reacted and began to counterattack with crossbows.
Xing Chen’s equipment for everyone included an explosive rifle and a composite armor for the upper body made of exotic iron, cloth, and gel. Thus, the Victoria soldiers focused their targets on their legs.
William’s leg was hit by an arrow, and the intense pain made him kneel, but this did not prevent him from pulling the trigger and unleashing his anger on the Victoria soldiers.
In contrast, for the Victoria army, once injured, the difficulty of using their manually strung bows and crossbows increased sharply, and the attack intervals greatly widened.
“Get up!” Theresa ran to William, directly pulled out the arrowhead, and used Originium Arts to stitch his wound.
Theresa simultaneously healed and dealt damage. Under her leadership, the assault team of several people defeated the remaining Victoria regular army and officially took control of the town and its surrounding areas.