Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 211: Chapter 21: Victory

Su Xiao lay in the bedroom, outside came the noisy sounds of running and horns, the Empire’s army was assembling.

This war’s outcome was decided before it even began, the Empire was certain to win.

Not to mention the leader of the Extreme North Army was already dead, Esdeath’s Imperial tool, ’Essence of the Demon’, was simply something the Extreme North Army couldn’t resist.

An Imperial tool is a very mysterious object that allows its user to control ice, water, etc., while some are purely weapons that come with special abilities like one-hit kills, extraordinary sharpness, etc.

An Imperial tool can be a ring, a knife, a sword, armor, etc.

Not everyone can use an Imperial tool, they choose masters with compatible traits, and even after a master dies, the tool’s abilities remain, waiting for the next master.

Imperial tools can generally be divided into several major categories.

The first type is the consumption-based Imperial tools like the Essence of the Demon, which can only be used once, and they’re generally very powerful.

The second type is weapons, these Imperial tools vary widely, ranging from knives, guns, swords, to halberds, with various abilities.

The third type is quite magical, the biological Imperial tools, which can be humanoid creatures, or a dog, a bear, etc.

All three types of Imperial tools have their pros and cons, but overall, the one-time Imperial tools are more powerful.

Su Xiao recalled the appearances and abilities of various Imperial tools in his mind, as he would face Imperial Tool Users in the future.

While he was contemplating the details of the Imperial tools, the horn for assembly sounded outside the fortress.

”Is it finally time to go into battle? What is the current situation in the Imperial Capital?”

Thinking about these things is premature, resting is most important. In less than five minutes, Su Xiao fell into a deep sleep. Since returning to the Imperial Capital, he had not been this at ease, he was practically deep in enemy territory.

...

Early the next morning, the cold wind howled.

Inside Dongdong Tower Fortress.

The ’Dongdong Tower Fortress’ was dramatically different from last night, large areas of ice appeared within the fortress, houses were frozen, corpses of Extreme North People could be seen everywhere, the whole fortress had become a world of ice.

An Imperial soldier ran quickly out of the fortress, his heart seized as he passed through a snowy field.

The scene on the snowy field could only be described as too tragic to witness, with a large number of war prisoners impaled on wooden stakes, erected in the snow.

As far as the eye could see, there were at least thousands of wooden stakes impaling humans, and the scene behind the stakes was even more cruel.

After the war broke out last night, the Extreme North Army collapsed instantly, without a leader to command and Esdeath’s powerful ice abilities turned the battlefield into a slaughterhouse.

The conflict began at 2:30 AM and the Extreme North Army surrendered by 5 AM.

The Dongdong Tower Fortress housed thirty thousand troops and seventy to eighty thousand civilians. Do not underestimate those civilians, in critical moments they were also soldiers.

Once all these people surrendered, Esdeath issued an order.

Kill, leave no one alive! And execute them in a brutal manner, using the blood of the Extreme North Army to intimidate other restless alien tribes around the Empire.

The massacre started at 6 AM and ended before 7 AM.

Nearly a hundred thousand people were slaughtered in less than an hour, some of their bodies were piled up, some were turned into ’snowmen’, some impaled on stakes.

The news reached the scattered other small units of the Extreme North Army around 9 AM, causing them to start fleeing to the colder depths of the Extreme North.

By 11 AM that day, there were no Extreme North People to be seen within a few kilometers of the Extreme North Fortress, those people terrified out of their wits.

The Imperial Army withdrew to the Extreme North Fortress around noon, and by 1 PM over thirty thousand sick individuals first returned to the Empire.

By around 2 PM, over a hundred thousand Imperial troops who were not sick also began to retreat, leaving fewer than fifty thousand in the Extreme North Fortress.

The urgency of this retreat was due to the vast amount of money required for waging war, with the daily consumption of food supplies for five hundred thousand troops being a terrifying figure, and these supplies had to be transported at great cost, not to mention other expenses like medical costs, medication, weapon wear, and compensation for casualties.

If fifty thousand men were to guard the fortress, with the current savings of the Imperial Treasury, the payment of military salaries would be overdue within six months, and the Empire’s economy would decline sharply within a year.

Having fifty thousand to guard the fortress was more than enough, as the Extreme North Fortress usually had only a few thousand.

Transporting supplies to the Extreme North is too difficult, and the Empire has been continuously reducing the number of Border Defense Army soldiers.

No wonder the Empire eventually perished, reducing the number of Border Defense Army soldiers was practically a suicidal action.

The Empire now is like a rotting tree with a hollow core, just waiting for someone with the courage to kick it.

...

On the way back, most of the Imperial soldiers were walking, which slowed down the overall marching speed.

Su Xiao sat on the bumpy horseback, he had never ridden a horse, nor had he thought that this four-legged mode of transportation would be so difficult to control.

But how could an Anbu not know how to ride a horse, so he had to ride even if he couldn’t.

Su Xiao managed to stay on horseback forcibly by using his waist strength and leg power, but the first horse he rode collapsed after thirty minutes of travel, foaming at the mouth and convulsing, a bitter result of being gripped tightly by Su Xiao.

The fate of the second horse was much better, showing no signs of foaming at the mouth so far.

This horse was fine, but Su Xiao was not, riding a horse with difficulty was very tiring work; his bottom was very sore, and he felt aching pain below his chest.

”General, how much longer until we return to the Imperial Capital?”

Su Xiao rarely initiated conversation with Esdeath.

”Hmm?”

Esdeath seemed quite surprised.

”About two days or so.”

Su Xiao’s expression wasn’t looking too good.

”You can’t ride a horse, can you?”

This was embarrassing for Su Xiao, confronted as such.

”No.”

”Why not?”

”I dislike these furry beasts, they make me really uncomfortable.”

Esdeath was astonished; she possibly hadn’t thought that the ’cold-faced’ Su Xiao would dislike something.

”Didn’t your previous organization teach you how to ride?”

”They did, but I killed the horse.”

This time Esdeath was unsettled.

”You killed the horse? And what happened then?”

”I was hung up and whipped two hundred times, almost died.”

Esdeath chuckled lightly, looking at Su Xiao with amazement.

”And how was the matter ultimately resolved?”

”I practiced running and eventually ran faster than a horse, with stamina not inferior to a horse.”

Esdeath laughed again, and nearby officers chuckled.

”Faster than a horse, what kind of subordinate have I taken on? If you dislike riding so much, why do it now?”

Su Xiao already knew he couldn’t avoid this question; he offered an unexpected answer.

”An assassination squad member not knowing how to ride might arouse suspicion.”

If all ten statements were lies, you’d eventually get found out, but if a few truths were mixed in, lies could also be taken as truths.

”Don’t push yourself, go sit on the supply cart at the back. Your horse is foaming at the mouth again.”

The warhorse under Su Xiao turned its head, its innocent eyes seemed to be accusing him.

”Thank you, General.”

Jumping off the warhorse, Su Xiao limped towards the supply cart, finally relieved and successfully passing off the situation.