North of Golden Gallen Harbor.
On a barren red land, a large army was marching towards the Golden Gallen Port carrying billowing dust.
Among them were trucks, motorcycles, and three bungalows, all in uniform desert paint, clustered in the center of rows of soldiers.
In addition, there were several open-top off-road vehicles pulled by the wasteland wind, as well as towed artillery behind the trucks.
Objectively speaking, their firepower and mobility are much stronger than the city defense army with only a few 100mm cannons, and the soldiers also appear to be more well-trained.
But compared with the "Tooth" clan of the bone-chewing tribe that was once beaten up by the Alliance, they are probably on the same level, and even have fewer tanks than the latter.
However, there is actually no need for tanks here.
Although there are mostly plains in Borneo, there are no decent roads, especially near the Golden Gallen Port, which is an alluvial plain with frequent floods.
It's already quite difficult to move these light vehicles alone. If the tank were to be driven here, I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to drive very far before it would break down.
Survivors who were surrounded by backpacks and earthen baskets on their arms stepped out of the way and cast awe-inspiring glances at the floating double-knife flag and gray wolf flag.
"It's the Gray Wolf Army!"
"Your Majesty finally took action."
"I don't know how good they are compared to Iron Man."
Some poor people from the wolf tribe were lying on the ground praying, looking up at the pride of the tribe and chanting in powerful and hoarse voices.
"...the invincible gray wolves in the wilderness, they come in groups, like the sweeping wind and sand, bringing death to the enemy."
There are also people with a greedy green light in their eyes.
As long as there is a war, people will die.
When the time comes to pick up a pair of pants and go back, a few more people can go out to scavenge, or go to the Governor's plantation to skim sugar cane.
At this moment, General Alaya, who is a master of military skills, is sitting on an open-top off-road vehicle, squinting his eyes and looking in the direction of Golden Gallen Port.
As early as the beginning of General Abinan's defeat, he had noticed the situation in Golden Gallen Port, but he did not dare to act rashly without His Majesty's order.
What if putting the alliance ashore was His Majesty’s order?
Or what if His Majesty intends to solve the problem through other means?
These are hard to say, let alone guess.
Alaya has never been to the Alliance, but he has lived in the land of Borneo for more than thirty years, and he is very clear about the nature of Lord Wu Tuo. What the Lord is most taboo about is not that his subordinates mess up things or are not enough.
Smart, but people who shouldn't have brains have brains, and people who shouldn't have eyes have eyes.
It was precisely for this reason that he chose to wait. While keeping his troops stationary, he sent several scouts disguised as civilians into the city. While collecting information about those "iron men", he also inquired about the whereabouts of Governor Nihak, while waiting for orders from Tiandu.
Now that the telegram from Tiandu was finally delivered, Alaya immediately issued an order without saying a word, instructing the Gray Wolf Army, which had already completed their march preparations, to advance towards the front line.
Although he and his men are still nearly 70 or 80 kilometers away from Golden Gallen Port, he basically already knows the situation there well.
Sitting next to him, Staff Officer Gopal spread out the map on his knees, pointed at the two marked lines, and said in a relaxed tone.
"...The current alliance's defense line in Golden Gallen Harbor is based on the Governor's Palace and Camp Rowell. As long as we can find a way to remove one of them, it will be much more beneficial to us."
After a pause, he pointed his index finger on the map.
"I personally think that Camp Rowell is a good breakthrough point. The people stationed there are just a group of mobs who have just gotten their hands on guns, and there are at most dozens of alliance instructors. As long as we capture this place, we can in turn mobilize those who have been captured."
The slaves the Alliance instigated rebellion are at our disposal."
The adjutant sitting in the passenger seat turned around and asked.
"Why are they being used by us? I think it's good enough that they don't cause any trouble."
Gopal smiled lightly and said lightly.
"It's very simple. We can give them something that the Alliance cannot give. In addition to restoring their status as free citizens, we can also allow them to burn, kill and loot in specific urban areas as a reward for them."
Except for Tulip Street, which was surrounded by knights, they really couldn't touch the big shots there, but in other urban areas or streets controlled by the alliance, they could always pick out a few that were a bit oily.
It doesn't matter if you can't squeeze out the oil or water, the person itself can also be used as a trophy.
When the war is over, just slap on any hat, beat those survivors who helped the alliance into criminals, and then hand them over to those wild dogs.
They don't have to spend a penny for it.
You can even take a cut of the legally looted loot.
Alaya narrowed his eyes slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he pointed out the problems in the plan.
"But most of them are Yue people, and I'm afraid less than 30% are from other ethnic groups."
The segregation of the Yue people is His Majesty's decision, and they have no right to arbitrarily advocate for the restoration of those people's status as free citizens.
This is a matter of principle.
As if he guessed that the general would ask this question, Gopal smiled lightly and said.
"I'm just using this statement to stabilize them. I didn't say that we must honor it, or we can apply to His Majesty for a special pardon for them, re-register them as rat tribe members or snake tribe members, or even give them a new one.
A surname and a new faith, that's not that difficult."
If His Majesty doesn't agree, it doesn't matter, just get rid of those who have used it up.
While the people in the car were chatting and laughing, the large troops had already arrived at the northern suburbs of Golden Gallen Port, and the combat formations quickly moved to the predetermined combat positions to station themselves.
Fully five 10,000-man troops deployed on a front less than 20 kilometers wide, completely surrounding the settlement, as if dark clouds were threatening to overwhelm the city.
Five teams of 10,000 people is indeed not a small number, and when taken to the eastern provinces, it can even be considered a large-scale settlement.
But Alaya is still cautious.
Even though the intelligence showed that the enemy army was less than a thousand people and had just been consumed by the city defense army, he still did not let his soldiers rush in. Instead, he ordered his adjutant to take people to capture some coolies nearby and dig up the army on the outskirts of the city.
Bomb holes, trenches and foxholes.
At the same time, on the outskirts of Golden Gallen Port, on the roof of a three-story house, four players wearing exoskeletons were holding telescopes and looking at the position one kilometer away.
"Okay, these people are quite understanding." Looking at the well-drilled anti-gun holes, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Not only the fortifications, but also some camouflage nets that blocked the view of the drones, which looked like they were imported from the Legion.
The half-year-old boy looked a little solemn, while the family member standing next to him had an eager expression on his face and was talking excitedly.
"Finally we can have a tough battle!"
The private soldiers in the Governor's Mansion couldn't help but beat him up. They looked at the group of guys who looked like dogs, but they didn't even scratch off a piece of paint on his exoskeleton breastplate.
According to the locals, this gray wolf army is the elite of the Imperial Army, and it is the land warfare ace directly belonging to the Emperor of the Xilan Empire!
For a fun-loving person like him, naturally the stronger the enemy, the more excited he becomes.
After all, there is no sense of accomplishment even if you win against a novice like that who will collapse at the drop of a hat. No one will support you even if you go to the forum to show off your skills.
From the current point of view, the performance of this unit is quite satisfactory. It is difficult to find obvious flaws in both the speed of deployment and the steady and steady fighting posture.
Those survivors who were taken to the battlefield faced the loess and turned their backs to the sky, waving shovels and digging holes from morning until dark.
As if they thought these underfed guys were digging too slowly, dozens of supervisors with whips quickly appeared on the position. After a few whips were struck, the survivors were able to work much faster.
, a few skinny young men even fell to the ground from exhaustion.
The officer leading the overseer was very satisfied with the situation in front of him.
The physical strength of these survivors is like toothpaste. If you squeeze it hard, you can still squeeze something out.
The players hiding in the distance ate dry food in their backpacks, watched the survivors working, and stayed on the roof until dark.
As the sun went down, the group of soldiers did not leave the survivors to eat. They took back the tools given to them and drove them out of the position.
A group of survivors in ragged clothes limped towards the settlement. Everyone had a sense of resentment on their faces, but they dared not speak out.
Seeing that a group of survivors was walking towards the city near them, the four players thought for a while and immediately threw down a hundred-yuan bill and evacuated the house, finding an opportunity to block one of the groups.
"Hey, hey! Folks in front of you, don't leave! We have something to do with you!" Unexpectedly, he unhooked the eyepiece of his helmet and waved forward with a smile on his face.
Seeing these four iron men wearing exoskeletons, the faces of the dozen or so ragged survivors had visibly horrified expressions.
They had just been whipped by the empire, and they didn't want to be whipped by these iron men again.
But no one escaped.
Looking at the rifle hanging on their chests, their legs felt like lead, even though the gun was neither safe nor loaded.
Just when everyone was panicking, a man wearing an exoskeleton walked up to them and suddenly took out a cigarette box.
"Let's calm down with a cigarette. You don't need me to teach you how to smoke." He said in non-standard couplets, and the family members gave everyone a cigarette with a playful smile.
Cigarettes are considered hard currency in the wasteland, second only to bullets and alcohol, and even slightly higher than bread. The most important thing is that they are easy to carry.
Although he doesn't smoke much himself, he always brings a few bags with him every time he goes on a mission. It is more useful than money to dispel the wariness of the locals.
Although these locals are so poor that they have to eat dirt every now and then, tobacco leaves and pepper are not uncommon here. Some people will also get some tobacco leaves, crush them and smoke them, or sell them to make money to support their families.
Several people put the cigarette under their noses and took a puff. They immediately understood what this thing was, and then they all had surprised expressions on their faces.
They had never seen such expensive cigarettes in their lives, so much so that they could not bear to smoke them.
No family member was so considerate as to take out a lighter and light it for them all, so that they didn't have to hesitate whether to smoke or not.
I walked into an alley with a dozen people and puffed away for a while. No one in my family asked with a smile.
"Look at how hard you work, how much money do those wolf killers give you?"
Upon hearing this, the dozen or so survivors all looked unhappy, and one of them had a straight temper and started to curse directly.
"Money? Those stingy people won't give you money!"
Soon several more people echoed.
"that is!"
"Forget about giving money, it's good if they don't steal our things!"
"Damn it, take away all the baskets I used to collect dirt..."
While talking, several people kept staring at the lighter in the hand of the iron man in front of them, their eyes full of envy and greed.
No one in the family showed any surprise.
"If you don't give me money? Then you will help them dig it out?"
The straight-tempered man said angrily.
"Not only are we not given money! We also have to bring our own dry food!"
No family members continue to go to the fire road.
"Isn't it okay if you don't go?"
Everyone shook their heads when they heard this.
"No, they have occupied that piece of red land. If we don't go, there will be no soil to eat."
"They don't have enough people, so they will come here to arrest them. We all live here, and we will have to go there when the time comes."
"It's hard to say what will happen when they come to your door."
"My three daughters are all grown up."
"These damn things!"
"Hope they're buried in the red soil!"
Several survivors began to complain, getting angrier and angrier.
No one in the family heard it, but he rolled his eyes and suddenly smiled and said.
"Let's do this, if they don't give you money, I will give it to you!"
Everyone in the alley was stunned and looked at him in confusion.
"You...give it to us?"
"Yes," no family member nodded and said with a smile, "but you have to remember, we have added money, you have to work harder! Starting tomorrow, you will dig hard for me, they
If they ask you to dig a pit of 1.5 meters, dig 2 meters. If they ask you to dig a pit of 2 meters, dig 2.5 meters! Give them an extra 50 centimeters!"
Several survivors were stunned.
The straight-headed guy looked at the iron man in front of him suspiciously and asked in disbelief.
"You really give us money?"
No family member said with a smile.
"Then we must give it! Not only do we give it, but we pay it every day! Each person... we give him twenty Xilan coins!"
Twenty Xilan coins!
Everyone's eyes widened when they heard this.
They instinctively didn't believe in such a good thing, but the cigarette butts in their mouths made them subconsciously believe it.
Maybe these iron men are really not short of money?
A young rat tribe member swallowed his saliva.
"Yes...do you all have a share?"
No family member smiled.
"That's necessary! We treat everyone equally!"
Then someone asked again.
"Can we bring a few more family members?"
No family member said readily.
"No problem! We count the money per person... Ah, forget about children. We won't count children under the age of twelve. At dawn tomorrow, we will count the heads here. As long as you do what we say, you can get money!"
Rolling his eyes, he added another sentence.
"You can help me attract people. For every additional person you bring over, we will give you an extra five yuan! But this matter must be kept secret. Don't let those outside know about it. Otherwise, don't say that the money is gone. You might be in trouble.
My life will be lost."
Everyone had expressions of surprise on their faces when they heard this, and no one was afraid of his last words.
No family members made an appointment with them on the map to share the money at a time and place, and then sent these people away.
The next day, when the sky was still bright, more than a thousand people gathered on the northern outskirts of Golden Gallen Harbor and walked towards the Gray Wolf Army's position.
When they saw the dark figure, the soldiers standing guard on the front line were startled. They thought it was the Alliance people coming. It was not until they all walked in that they discovered that it was a group of residents of the settlement.
"What are you doing here!" the soldier shouted.
The first few survivors shouted back confidently.
"We're here to work!"
"Your commander called us here!"
"He asked us to come again tomorrow and said he would catch us in the settlement if we dare not come."
"Let us get to work!"
Hearing the shouting one after another, several soldiers on duty were stunned and looked at these guys in confusion. They didn't know what to do for a while, so they quickly sent someone back to ask for instructions from their superiors.
At this moment, their superior was snoring in the shell-proof hole just dug yesterday. He looked confused when he was woken up and hurriedly put on the hat hanging on the bedside.
"The Alliance is coming?!"
"No," the soldier said quickly as he looked at the commander who quickly put on his military boots, "A group of residents from Golden Gallen Port came to the position. They said you asked them to come here to dig earth..."
The officer who was putting on his shoes was stunned for two seconds, stopped tying his shoes, and nodded.
"What's going on?"
The soldier was also stunned for a moment and didn't know what to do.
"That……"
"I gave them shovels and shovels and told them where to dig and how to dig. Do you still want me to teach you? Grandma Te, this is such a big fuss. The Alliance came calling and called me!"
The officer cursed and threw away the shoes he had just dug into his feet, threw his hat on the bedside, turned over and lay back down.
He didn't go to bed until after three o'clock last night, and he was sleeping on his head. It was so foolish to wake him up for such a trivial matter!
After being scolded all over the face, the soldier also looked aggrieved, but saw that his commander was already snoring, so he could only trot to find the person in charge of the logistics of the front line position, and handed out the tools for digging earth to the survivors.
.
The survivors who received the tools immediately arrived at the position and started working sweating profusely. Their hard work was completely different from yesterday.
When the sun rose three o'clock in the morning, the overseer carrying a whip walked to the battlefield and was surprised to find that the whip in his hand was no longer useful.
"Weird thing."
"When did these animals become so diligent?"
Several supervisors gathered together and looked curiously at the guys with their heads buried in the trenches sweating profusely. One of them couldn't help being curious and walked up to ask.
"It's strange. Why are you so diligent today?"
The survivors who were immersed in their work did not raise their heads and shouted behind the overseer carrying the whip.
"Master, if you are lazy, you will be whipped, but you will have to do it in the end."
"Yes, Master, we are afraid of pain."
"Get the work done early, and you won't have to endure hardship when the war is over."
These words were taught to them by the people who made them money.
Of course they didn't dare to raise their heads, especially not to look at the overseer's face, for fear that their secret would be revealed.
The supervisor nodded, not doubting what they said, but he couldn't help but sneered coldly.
"You have realized this a long time ago. If you work harder on weekdays, you will not be so poor that you are neither a human nor a ghost."
Not to mention becoming a soldier like him, just doing a small business, or learning a trade, your life would not be worse than that of an animal, tied here to dig in the soil.
After all, I'm still too lazy.
The supervisor looked down at them for a while, and seeing that they were working just as hard without the whip, he was too lazy to use the whip, and turned around to enjoy the shade under the camouflage net.
On the other side, Alaya, who had completed the combat deployment, was inspecting the position.
He first inspected the most important artillery positions, anti-aircraft gun positions and various machine gun fire points, and then moved to the front line to take a look.
Then he was surprised to find that the coolies who had been working hard were working enthusiastically one by one.
It's like there's a gold mine buried underground.
Strange.
When did these lazy idiots become so diligent?!
Putting down the telescope in his hand, Alaya looked at the adjutant beside him.
"How much did you pay them?"
The adjutant said with a proud look on his face.
"Report sir! No money spent!"
"No money?!" Alaya looked at him dumbly, suspecting that he heard wrongly.
The adjutant smiled and said as if to show off.
"I heard from people below that the local residents are looking forward to our victory as soon as possible so that their lives can return to normal as soon as possible, so they dragged their families over early in the morning to help."
Having said this, he paused again and continued.
"In the final analysis, your Majesty is still in line with what the people want. The general is well-known and has a good reputation. The right time, place and people are on our side. It is difficult to lose this battle."
Although he was suspicious in his heart, Alaya could not refute the first half of his sentence. He just nodded and let go of this insignificant matter.
He didn't need the coolies to dig the trenches to a standard, as long as they could provide his soldiers with a bunker to resist the line.
The real battlefield is in the city, and these trenches and fortifications are only needed when delivering troops and ammunition to the front line.
"It is better to give some benefits to the local residents. After the work is done, each person will be given a piece of bread, which is considered as compensation for delaying their other work."
Of course, the bread he was talking about didn't mean the soft, white kind smeared with butter and jam that he had eaten in the morning, but the black bread mixed with a lot of bran or even stones and sawdust.
This kind of bread is the staple food of most of the lower-class citizens and middle- and lower-class farmers in the empire. A few Xilan coins can weigh half a catty. The exact price depends on the quality of the bread.
This kind of bread has not been fermented and is harder to chew than biscuits. It can even be used as a weapon to beat people. Generally, it is broken into pieces and thrown into water to soak and drink.
But no matter what, this is much better than eating dirt and beans that cause flatulence.
The adjutant nodded respectfully.
"My lord said, I will make arrangements later."
Alaya nodded and then asked again.
"By the way, is there any new news from Rajesh?"
Rajesh is his right-hand man. Not only is he an awakener, he is also an excellent marksman and is especially good at disguise and intelligence gathering.
Long before the army set out, he sent him and two other scouts to the Port of Golden Gallen to collect intelligence on the alliance's activities there.
It's been two days since the last contact.
He needs the latest intelligence before formulating the next battle plan.
The adjutant hesitated slightly and shook his head.
"No new information has been sent yet... The alliance's troop deployment must have changed a lot recently. I guess Sergeant Rajesh wants to wait until it stabilizes before reporting."
Alaya frowned slightly.
"...It seems we have to give him a little more time."
He always had a bad feeling, but it seemed too early to judge now.
Alaya did not dare to go too close to the front line. He was sure that the alliance soldiers hiding in the settlement must also be staring at this position, so he just glanced at it from a distance and retreated behind the bunkers and shelters.
.
The sun gradually sets below the mountain.
The officer in charge of the construction of the frontline position walked to the position, took a look, nodded with satisfaction, and then got back into the anti-gun hole.
This depth is quite enough!
If this trend continues, they will be able to complete the construction of the outer positions of Golden Gallon Port in at most three days. The group of alliance soldiers probably never dreamed that their construction speed would be so fast.
At the same time, at the edge of the Golden Gallen Harbor settlement, a group of hot and sweaty survivors were lining up in front of the alley with anxious faces.
This street is their own home, and several entrances to the block are monitored, so there is no need to worry about outsiders seeing it.
However, after all, they were receiving money from the iron men, so most people were a little worried. They were afraid that the iron men would regret it, and they were also afraid of being discovered by the soldiers of the empire after receiving the money.
But when a brand-new 20-denomination note was stuffed into his hand, almost all the anxious expressions turned into attentive smiles.
"Thank you, sir!" A man with a bed sheet tied around his waist clasped his hands in thanks. His so moved expression made him want to kneel down on the spot.
The person in charge of distributing money, Yi Dengtian, was extremely happy, but he still acted like a civilized person and criticized.
"Don't call me master, I can't bear it. We pay and you contribute. This is called a transaction. Do you understand? We are not rewarding you."
The man obviously didn't understand, he nodded and bowed and said with a smile.
"Okay, sir!"
"...Damn it, what I said was in vain, hurry up and leave." Yi Dengtian was too lazy to talk nonsense, and waved his hand to drive the person away.
Not far from the alley, two players wearing exoskeletons gathered together.
Looking at the guys queuing up to collect money, Shanhe Ruimeng couldn't help but sigh.
"You guys are too stubborn."
Today he received the task of transporting several boxes of Xilan currency notes from the bank on Tulip Street to his teammates on the front line.
At first he was curious about what so much money was used for, until he saw the scene in front of him.
Looking at the shocked friendly troops, Yin Xiu laughed and said.
"The guy in our team is indeed a talent, and his brain is smarter than mine. He should be the captain instead."
Shanhe Rumeng looked at him with envy. He was truly envious.
Other teams are full of talents, but in contrast to their team, the four of them are freshmen, and they can avoid problems even if they take shelter from the rain.
He was really tired of leading this team.
"By the way, have you seen any clues in the past two days? What are those guys' plans?" Shanhe Ruimeng asked casually.
He said with a smile.
"I don't know, but judging from their posture, they should be planning to advance steadily. You guys at Camp Lowell have to be careful."
Shanhe Ruimeng glanced at it in surprise.
"Do you think they will use Camp Lowell as their main direction of attack?"
Try to analyze it by mistake.
"Eighty percent yes, but I can't say for sure. I just feel that the strategic significance of Camp Lowell is slightly greater than that of the Governor's Palace, and the location of the Governor's Palace is higher than that of the northern city. It would cost a lot for them to take it down.
We have no strength, and it is not easy to hold on. But if we capture Rowell Camp, we can force us to retreat to Tulip Street and return our front to the state at the beginning of the second phase of the offensive."
Once the alliance's front shrinks to the vicinity of the port, it will be unable to bribe local survivors and slaves to serve as a temporary source of troops.
But on the contrary, taking back the Governor's Palace meant nothing to them except moving the battlefield of street fighting from the slums to Tulip Street near the port in advance.
Moreover, supply lines may be cut off by the Alliance or local militias trained by the Alliance.
Shanhe entered the dream and thought about it for a while, and felt that it made sense.
At this moment, a shirtless local man came over and said, looking at the strange situation.
"Sir, someone is looking for you outside. He is a young man from the rat tribe. He said his name is Asin and he is your servant."
When Shanhe heard this in his dream, he glanced at Yinqiyangmao in surprise.
"servant?"
"Hey, that's not the case, it's just a misunderstanding," Yin Xiang Cuo chuckled and spoke in Mandarin, then looked at the NPC and continued in human couplet, "Let him in."
The shirtless local nodded.
"OK."
After all, they are doing something shady, and any strange face appearing here will arouse their vigilance.
But if it's the servants of these iron men, then it doesn't matter.
That's one of our own.
Accompanied by two locals, the child named Asin was brought here.
He looked a little panicked, his hands were in his pockets, his clothes were stained with mud, and there were scratches and bruises on his face and arms, as if they were left not long ago.
Seeing a familiar face, the panic on his face disappeared immediately, and he immediately walked forward in surprise.
"tuning fork!"
Yin and Yang looked at him in surprise.
"Yo, Asin...what's wrong with you?"
"It's a small injury, don't worry about it..." After swallowing, Asin continued nervously, "I'll take you to see one... no, three people."
I guess this kid wanted to ask me for help to scare people, so he accidentally glanced at the late morning sky, then looked at the young man and said with a smile.
"Wait for a while. We will go back to the Governor's Mansion after we finish handling the matters here. Then we will go back with you. If anyone bothers you without looking at you, we will come to greet you -"
"No, you misunderstood," Asin took a deep breath, calmed down and said, "No one is bothering me. I won't trouble you for such a trivial matter. I just want to... give you a gift.
.”
Before the iron man could ask, he continued speaking quickly.
"They are General Alaya's men!"
This chapter has been completed!