?Sorry for the delay. The PW bonuses will be released tomorrow.
“My God, really? That makes me want to go to the Ashen Base too. If Lord Ashen notices me, could I also reach the Danger Rank or even the Disaster Rank?”
“Hmph, dream on. You don’t even dare to leave the base walls, always cooped up inside. The Ashen Base only takes in those who truly want to fight the Tainted Miasma. People like us, who are greedy for life and afraid of death, merely scraping by, they wouldn’t want us at all!”
“So, what exactly does this Ashen want to do? They’re not just fighting the Tainted Miasma. In the past six months, they’ve even annexed three nearby bases.”
“Who knows? Just as long as they don’t come to our base, that’s fine by me. I heard that the bases under Ashen’s control have very few entertainment facilities, all militarized management. Even the lives of those high-ups are no better than the common people, maybe even worse. I can’t suffer through that, nor do I want to be dragged off to fight to the death with Tainted Miasma monsters!”
“Exactly, We work so hard to become Eclipses, just to protect ourselves and enjoy better treatment. We need to understand what’s more important.”
“The Ashen Army better not come to this place.”
In the phantoms of the past, several elite Eclipses from the Azure Base were fervently praying.
Unfortunately, since they appeared in Zero’s memory fragments, it proved what was coming next.
Indeed, the next moment, a series of explosions occurred in the base city, and the sounds of battle continuously erupted within the Azure Base. A force from the Ashen Army, lurking within the city, struck directly at the heart, taking advantage of the chaos within the city to make their way towards the location of the base’s upper echelons.
This strategy was Renji’s forte at the time: he would first sneak his elite Eclipses into the target base in batches. After gathering sufficient intelligence, they would suddenly rise up and directly assassinate the high-ranking officials of the base, thus seizing power without expending too much military force.
“Damn it! It’s the Ashen Army!”
“They don’t have many people; we have so much more, don’t be afraid!”
“Commander, we can’t hold on! That dragoness alone has broken through our three squads!”
“What is that robot? Her firepower alone is equivalent to an entire battalion of ours, we need support, we need it fast!”
“How are they so strong!!?”
….
In less than half a day, the Azure Base was completely integrated into Ashen’s territory, even though the defensive force here was dozens of times larger than that of the Ashen Army.
However, the members under Renji, not to mention their top combat strength, even the ordinary soldiers were battle-hardened, having undergone numerous battles in the tainted lands against the Tainted Miasma monsters. Compared to the many base defenders who were merely scraping by, hiding within walls, there was no comparison in terms of mental will or combat experience.
However, the good times did not last long. Renji remembered that the Azure Base should be the last base he had cunningly conquered through such “decapitation strikes.”
Leaders of subsequent bases were not fools; they began to strictly control who could enter their bases, making it no longer so easy for Renji’s Eclipses to infiltrate. They also greatly strengthened internal defenses, with various barriers against Eclipses, almost completely eliminating the possibility of breaking in from the inside. .
This meant Renji had to resort to siege warfare if he wanted to capture a base, but the consumption of resources would be immense. Moreover, powerful combatants like Nova and Zero would lose their advantage in siege warfare, facing the thick, heavy armored city walls with no way to break through.
After weighing the pros and cons and calculating the gains, Renji had no choice but to give up on continuing to seize bases.
After all, without a good way to break through “iron clumps,” such warfare was more like injuring the enemy at the cost of severe damage to oneself. Renji aimed to capture bases for their population and resources, which seemed to be a loss-making deal.
By this time, the game had reached the mid-stage. Stuck at a bottleneck, it was impossible for Renji to remain idle, so he turned to side quests, shifting his focus from human bases to other races.
Steel bases were unique to humans; other races, like demi-humans, still existed in tribal forms.
Having a dragonkin like Nova as an ally made Renji’s task of winning over the demi-humans much easier. Most of the demi-humans did not put up any resistance; they actually greeted the Ashen Army with open arms.
The demi-humans were fiercely independent and would never accept being enslaved. However, they were willing to join the Ashen Army, especially if it meant receiving food and shelter in return.
In this process, many characters truly familiar to Renji began to appear in the fragments of the old era.
While Nova was assisting in forming the Ashen Alliance by visiting one demi-human tribe after another, they encountered a catkin youth who seemed to have been banished from his tribe, looking very pitiful and alone.
The youth was almost killed by a Tainted Miasma monster but was rescued by them.
There was also a strong werewolf , who, deeply attracted by Nova’s powerful stature, clamored to join the Ashen Army to become a strong warrior like Nova.
The werewolf, only wanted to become stronger, a bit simple-
minded, but the catkin youth, after joining the Ashen base, was initially very cautious. It was clear he was a very meticulous and careful person, and his first impression of the Ashen base wasn’t good.
Given Ashen’s reputation in the area, which was definitely considered a superpower, the civilians within the base should be living well, in theory. However, the catkin youth discovered that this was not the case.
Even some civilians were going hungry.
“Mommy, I’m so hungry. Can we…”
While Nova and the two demi-human youths were returning to the base, passing through the streets, a little boy was tugging at his mother’s skirt, eagerly looking at the bag in his mother’s hand, filled with food resembling potatoes.
The mother glanced at the boy, then, with a bit of helplessness, squatted down, caressed the boy’s head seriously, and explained: “This food is for the great people of the Ashen Army.”
“But but”
“Bao, you must remember, the great people of The Ashen Army are fighting bloody battles outside, killing those damned monsters, so that little Bao and Mommy can live safely here. Our Lord Ashen, will one day save the world. Then, Bao can eat as much as he wants, and we won’t have to worry about food anymore. So, for that day, can my little boy bear it for now?”
“Yes, I can! Mommy, I get it! I’m no longer hungry. Give this meal to our comrades who are fighting on the front lines! Give them the fortitude to slay the monsters!”
“What a sensible boy!”
“Hehe! Mommy, I’ve decided, when I grow up, I also want to join the Ashen Army and fight the Tainted Miasma!”
“My little Bao is amazing! Mommy will supports you!”
“Eh? Mommy, look, isn’t that the Big sister you always tell me about!”
It was the little boy who first noticed Nova. When the boy’s mother turned around and saw Nova leading the two demi-
human youths, she was immediately startled and respectfully said:
“Lady Nova!”
“Hmm.” Nova nodded slightly, not out of pride, but that was just her character.
The mother showed Nova the bag of food she was going to give to the Ashen Army with excitement, obviously not at all offended.
Throughout, Nova didn’t say much, just quietly listening and nodding. However, the catkin youth beside her couldn’t help but speak up.
“Auntie, do you really believe that these donated foods will reach the hands of the Army?”
After young Karl asked this, he was met with a puzzled expression from the mother.
“Young man, you must be new here. If it were any other base, of course I wouldn’t believe it, but our leader is Lord Ashen. Lord Ashen’s fairness and integrity are visible to all of us!”
“Anyone could be corrupt and deceive us, but Lord Ashen never would! So, we feel reassured! We’re willing to take some of the burden off our Lord, willing to contribute our insignificant strength to resist the Tainted Miasma!”
“Yes! Mom is right! You can’t speak ill of the Ashen Army and Lord Ashen!”
Although the young Karl found it unbelievable, he quickly apologized. Later, when Nova took Karl to meet Ashen, Karl truly understood why the people had such faith.
The simplest reason Karl found was that he saw no one of great wealth or status, even the high-level officials of the base dressed simply. Everyone looked weary and busy, let alone living in big houses, having servants, or enjoying luxuries. 𝑖𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ𝘮
It seemed like everyone in the base was braced for something big, eager to overturn the Tainted Miasma and reclaim the world.
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