Free Web NovelChapter 2665: Chapter 1798: The Hero Is Scheming
Through her conversation with Mary, Lisetta had to admit that she indeed thought too simply about the situation. At least for now, things were far more complex than she had imagined. She also understood the Tribunal’s course of action and purpose — though accepting it was another matter.
However, before this, Lisetta had one more question. Why did Duanmu Huai appear as if he wanted to massacre everyone in the territory, yet hadn’t immediately launched an attack?
"Because just our manpower alone isn’t enough to completely obliterate the people of that territory."
Mary provided the answer.
"To Mr. Duanmu, he needs more people to fight for the Tribunal’s ideology, and that heretic territory... just happens to be a rather good existence."
"Rather good?"
Lisetta even doubted if there was something wrong with her ears. Mary had clearly said before that the ideology of that territory was heretical and unacceptable, but now how could it be said as rather good?
"There’s an old saying, without comparison, there’s no harm."
Mary spread her hands, gesturing.
"I’ve already heard from Miss Chi Yin that although that territory follows the principle of peaceful coexistence between humans and Aliens, in other territories, the plight of humans hasn’t changed. They are still viewed as slaves and food, oppressed by the Aliens."
"............"
"Then, Miss Lisetta, put yourself in those people’s shoes, think about it. They live lives of constant insecurity, oppressed, slaughtered by the Aliens, always on edge. Yet in the neighboring territory, those humans are able to live peaceful, calm lives; if you were those populace, then what would you think?"
"I..........."
Lisetta opened her mouth, then immediately understood Mary’s meaning.
"I would hate them very much......"
"Exactly, just like that."
Mary closed her eyes, fingers interlocked.
"If everyone is suffering, then that’s one thing, but when one side is suffering while the other side is enjoying good days, that’s another matter. Jealousy breeds hatred, hatred brings massacre... they would be even more determined than the Tribunal and eager to destroy all that is good. They can’t wait to drag those enjoying peaceful lives into the mire with their own hands, to let them taste all they have experienced......"
"This, this, this........"
Upon hearing Mary’s reply, Lisetta was dumbfounded, her mouth agape, hardly able to speak.
"Doing it this way is just too......"
"Regardless of the motive, the Tribunal only looks at the outcome."
Mary stared at Lisetta.
"No matter if it’s jealousy or hatred, as long as it can drive them to help the Tribunal achieve the goal of eliminating the heretics, that’s enough."
"Uu uu--------"
At this moment, the sound of a horn blew, Mary and Hei Chuan Chi Yin stood up, the former gestured. Accompanied by a flash of magic light, the tables, chairs, and teapots arranged on the ground disappeared.
"Prepare yourself, we’re about to launch an attack."
Unlike before where the Tribunal always executed surprise raids, this time, facing the territory ahead, Duanmu Huai opted for a frontal assault. He charged forward recklessly like a raging rhino gripping the War Hammer, ignoring arrows, magical spells, and stones raining down from the fortress walls that hit him. Nonetheless, Duanmu Huai didn’t slow his pace, heading straight into the thick city gate, smashing it to pieces with his momentum.
Mary raised her staff, countless shining meteors emerged from the sky, shooting down and enveloping the entire wall like pouring rain. It thwarted further enemy advances, and taking advantage of this opportunity, the soldiers of the Death Army started advancing. They assembled formations, covering each other’s charge, charging into the city along the path Duanmu Huai created.
What followed was a chaotic battle.
Previously, Duanmu Huai wouldn’t have acted in this manner, because under the Demon King’s rule, all territories had interconnected support. If one side was attacked, the other would quickly send reinforcements. But now the Demon King was dead, the entire Demon King’s Army was leaderless, completely disrupted and chaotic. Communication and liaison between territories were severed—after all, comrades before, don’t necessarily remain as comrades now. Every Lord worried that their former colleague might stab them in the back.
Hence, even if the neighboring territory was attacked, other Lords wouldn’t send troops to aid.
Hei Chuan Chi Yin still didn’t join the battle; her task was to lead a squad to guard the outskirts of the battlefield, preventing anyone from sneaking in or rushing out. Meanwhile, Mary directed her combat units alongside Duanmu Huai, splitting into left and right flanks for a simultaneous attack.
As for Duanmu Huai, he was quite pleased with Mary’s performance.
In such a chaotic battlefield, mastering the whole situation is extremely difficult. However, with the Golden Pupil’s assistance, Mary could nearly foresee every next move of the enemy troops and intercept it ahead of time. Once the Demon King’s advancing army was obstructed by Mary, Duanmu Huai’s troops appeared in succession, like an enraged War Hammer smashing them into pieces.
In a way, this served as a rehearsal for Duanmu Huai’s future confrontation with the Chaos Legion. Though at that time, these Death Army soldiers surely wouldn’t be of much help, familiarizing himself with Mary’s combat style was still significantly beneficial.
As proven, pairing a man and a woman together makes the workload lighter.
Standing on the rooftop, Mary surveyed the city before her—this city initially belonged to humans, thus was relatively clean and tidy. However, perhaps it had suffered damage during the previous war, as many places appeared somewhat ruined. The entire battlefield was immensely chaotic, constantly giving a feeling that the enemy might pop up from anywhere at any moment.
But for Mary, this was not a problem. Her golden pupil had already seen through the entire battlefield, and had observed the advance of those orcs.
Then, Mary raised her staff and pointed forward.
"Third street corner ahead, fire in five seconds."
Upon hearing Mary’s orders, the soldiers silently raised their guns, aiming at the seemingly empty street corner. This wasn’t their first encounter with such situations; each time, Mary had already predicted the enemy’s presence and issued orders in advance, and all they had to do was follow Mary’s instructions.
"Three, two, one, fire."
Even though there was nothing apparently there, the soldiers pulled their triggers. Soon, beams of light shot from the gun barrels towards that street corner.
And almost simultaneously, as the soldiers pulled the triggers, a fully armed orc army suddenly burst out from there. They seemed to be trying to pass through quickly and move forward.
However, the orcs were caught off guard by the sudden barrage of gunfire, which struck them like a tempest, knocking out more than half of the unprepared orc soldiers. The other orcs were greatly shocked by the ambush. They hadn’t expected this concealed passage to be discovered by the enemy; were they surrounded?
Before the remaining orcs could decide whether to proceed or retreat, the wall beside them suddenly exploded, and Duanmu Huai, wielding a war hammer, emerged from it!
"Aliens! Die haha ha ha ha!!!"
Lightning and thunder erupted violently.
Mary watched the street block, now completely collapsed and engulfed by lightning, then retracted her gaze and continued forward.
"Advance to the next target..."
As Mary spoke, she tilted her head slightly. An arrow almost grazed her hair, flashing by from the side. Simultaneously, Mary raised her left hand holding a revolver and pulled the trigger.
With a "bang," the gunshot rang out, and an orc soldier holding a longbow hidden in the shadows fell from the nearby overpass, disappearing into the chaotic street debris.
"Left side, park area, cover fire in three seconds."
The battle continued.
Inside the dim dungeon, only a faint glow flickered.
The girl curled up in the prison had no expression; she was huddled in a corner, finding solace only in the cold, hard wall behind her.
But this comfort wouldn’t last long.
The girl knew her fate. Today, she would be eaten as food for the Lord. Not only her, but the others were the same. Thinking of this, the girl shifted her eyes to gaze at the others beside her. They were just as numb, expressionless. Some even had a hint of relief on their faces — indeed, from one perspective, wasn’t this liberation?
At least starting tomorrow, she wouldn’t have to work from dawn till dusk anymore, neither would she endure hunger nor suffer the orcs’ beatings. With such thoughts, she felt her once heavy heart slightly ease. She even started to impatiently await that moment’s arrival.
She wondered how her mother was.
At this moment, deep in the girl’s heart, she suddenly thought of her mother, the woman who abandoned her when she was very young. The girl couldn’t remember much; she only remembered her mother wasn’t there when she started recalling things. Other adults around said her mother escaped this place and went to other territories. Those were places where humans and orcs coexisted peacefully, leading stable lives.
The girl couldn’t imagine such a thing. Humans would not be eaten by orcs? Nor beaten by them? Not even working for them? Where could there be such a good place in the world? If such a place existed, wouldn’t it be Heaven where deities lived?
Moreover, why didn’t her mother take her there?
If she went there, why did she abandon her?
Of course, adults also said her mother must have disappeared and then died in the forest. Such occurrences were common; occasionally, humans would try to escape, but they were either captured or died. Very few could leave alive, heading to that "Heaven."
It’s said that "Heaven" is where people go after death, so if she was eaten, could she meet her mother in "Heaven"?
Thinking this, the girl closed her eyes.
However, at this moment, suddenly... a muffled explosion sounded.
"Boom!!"
The ground trembled, and the prison constantly shook. People uneasily raised their heads, looking around, clueless about what had happened.
Then, they heard heavy footsteps.
"Boom, boom, boom."
These were not the usual steps of orcs, but more heavy, cold, terrifying strides. The girl covered her mouth, widening her eyes, staring ahead.
Then, in her view—a dark Steel Demon emerged from the shadows.
