Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 354: Reconnaissance (2)

The small town of Tulsi was not big. There were only a few dozen families in the town, and the townsfolk numbered about five hundred. Most of the townspeople lived by hunting, and most of the hunters lived by hunting. The town belonged to Baron Maud, whose tax revenues were just above the subsistence level. After paying the taxes, there was still a certain amount of money left. It was not abundant, but it could be said that there was no need to worry about life. The baron ignored the town near the edge of the territory. Apart from the tax officer's father appearing in the town every spring, it was very rare to see the lord of Storm City.

But this year seems to be an exception.

Not long ago, a group of soldiers entered the small town and brought the baron's conscription order. People panicked when they heard that healthy men in towns above 15 and below 50 had to join the army unconditionally. Storm City had conscriptions all year round, but most of them were voluntary. This was the first time that the mayor had mobilized dozens of people in the town to be drafted into the army.

He had to train in an open space outside the town every day until sunset before returning home. And next month, they must follow the army to Storm City. At that time, they were already true soldiers.

People began to inquire about the reason for Storm City's sudden recruitment. Soon after, they knew that the compulsory recruitment was not only in Tulsi Town. The same situation occurred in several other towns under Storm City's jurisdiction. Men were recruited, sent out weapons and trained. Some people even said that they would soon be on the battlefield.

War!

Storm City had not heard such words in the past ten years. This place was located at the border of the empire. Even though Storm City was already in the middle and upper echelons of the few Knights nearby, it was still a barren land for the empire's rich aristocratic families. No great nobles were interested in sending troops to the border, let alone war.

As for Sur City, not far away, or another knight territory in the Blood Rock Wilderness, they didn't have enough strength to compete with Storm City. Over the years, they had been suppressed by Storm City, which made the people on the territory somewhat proud.

But now, the war had actually come to this land, and there was no more terrifying news than this.

In the evening, many women gathered outside the mayor's house. The old town sighed and opened the door to let them in. When the women arrived at the house, they asked the mayor to intercede with the adults of Storm City and ask the army to at least let their son come back. The reason was very simple. All the middle-aged men in the family had been forcibly recruited by the army, and their families were almost unable to maintain themselves.

Men are the most important labor force in a family. Now there are no men in the family, no one cultivates the land, and no one goes hunting in the mountains. Sir Mord did not pay any allowance for it, which made it difficult for every family to make ends meet.

Facing the angry women, the mayor could only guarantee that he would go to Storm City to take a look at the situation in the next few days and wait for him to return. Only then did the women let go of the poor old mayor. Seeing them return, the mayor sighed heavily. How could he be willing to do this? His favorite grandson was also being trained outside the town. Thinking of this, the mayor's heart ached.

The training outside the town had just ended, and after a hard day of training, the recruits' mental strength had almost been squeezed clean. This made their instructor very satisfied. All the men in Tulsi Town had good physical fitness. As long as they trained and learned the necessary knowledge, they could barely enter the battlefield. However, when he thought of the army that had returned from Sur City, the officer's expression turned pale.

He had never thought that the two main forces of Storm City, Rage Thunder and Tornado, would be defeated, and even Captain Mogu would be captured.

This was definitely a great humiliation!

No soldier wanted to see his army lose, so the officer was assigned to Tulsi to train the new recruits. He did his part, hoping that the soldiers who walked out from under him would shine brightly on the battlefield. He was strict, even harsh. If a recruit did not do well, not only would he be punished, he would also be beaten up.

The officer believed that it was only then that they could remember their mistakes and not repeat them.

Before disbanding, he counted the number of recruits and suddenly found that there was one missing. Wook, the 16-year-old grandson of the old mayor. The slippery boy always failed to complete the amount of training he had set up. The officer was so impressed with the boy that he noticed that the boy was not in the crowd when he counted the people.

"Who saw Wook?" He said sternly, and fixed his gaze on the few half-grown boys who were always with Wooke.

The gazes of the boys flickered and the officer pointed, "Five lashes for each of you. This is the punishment you deserve for not reporting the truth. If you don't say anything else, beat me to death. No deserters are allowed under my command."

The wolf-like soldiers rushed into the crowd and dragged the boys out. A few men in the crowd, who were their fathers, rushed out angrily. He also subdued the soldiers and gave them a few lashes. Before he could finish his five lashes, one of the youngest boys cried out, "I said, I said. Wook ran away, and he said he couldn't take this kind of training."

"Damn it!" The officer roared, "Find him and bring him back. If he refuses, bring him to justice!"

A moment later, a few soldiers pulled a dog with its fangs out of its lips and left the camp. The dog barked in the forest, and not long after, the soldier found Wook in a bush. The innocent boy still hoped that he could escape the calamity by hiding in the forest, but unfortunately, he was still found by the dog's sensitive nose.

"Follow us back!" The soldier pointed his gun at him and said expressionlessly.

Wook shouted, "No, you will torture me to death. Even if I can't die, what about the future? I still want to go to the battlefield. No, I don't want to go to the battlefield. I don't want to die."

"Sir said that if you don't go back, I will execute you now."

"Really? In that case, it would be better for you to die!" Wook pulled out a dagger and charged forward crazily. Looking at him, a soldier's eyes flashed with regret. He let go of the rope holding the evil dog. The wicked dog immediately pounced on Wook and started a fight. Another soldier beside him raised his rifle calmly and shot Wook in the back when he turned over.

The gunshots fired three times in a row.

Wook fell to the ground, his neck bitten by the dog. He only felt his body gradually turn cold. The boy missed the old days so much. Unfortunately, nothing could return. When the soldier indifferently pulled his leg down the hill, Wook suddenly saw a youth of his age appear among the trees in front of him. The silver hair of the youth flowed with a faint luster under the moonlight through the leaves.

Behind him, a giant snake appeared from the shadows, stopping behind the youth and watching all of this quietly.

Afterwards, darkness assaulted him heavily.

After Wook and the soldiers disappeared, Alan patted Bai's head and said, "Let's go to another town."

Bai lowered his head and let Alan sit on it. Then, he used his gentle movements to swim through the rolling ground of the forest. In Allen's hand was a map of the terrain, showing the town of Tulsi, as well as key information such as population and garrison. That night, Bai pushed sixty to seventy kilometers through Mo De's territory, passing through three small towns. The information about these small towns was recorded on Allen's sketch.

Another day passed.

When night fell, Alan opened his eyes and drilled out of a tree hole. Since the afternoon, Alan had been practicing his Origin Energy Hammer. Continuously allocating a portion of the generated Origin Energy to the heart to strengthen this vital organ, hoping to increase the chances of success in advancing to Awakened ones. As a result, after a long period of Origin Energy training, the amount of Origin Energy he could increase was very limited.

However, during this process, Allen's Origin Energy had gained a trace of a dignified aura.

He called Bai, and King Snake brought him on his way. An hour later, Alan saw the lights in Storm City.

Storm City was located at the foot of a stretch of mountain ranges. The rocks of this mountain range contained very strange minerals, which would emit a faint blue fluorescent light that reflected the moonlight in the night. Hence, this mountain range was called the Deepblue Mountain Territory. On the other side of the Deepblue Mountain Territory, it was adjacent to the coast. The sea breeze that blew for many years passed through the mountain territory and was sent into Storm City. As a result, the people blowing in the city were blown away by the winds all year round.

This was also the origin of Storm City's name.

From a distance, Storm City was about twice the size of Sur City. Behind the city was the Deepblue Mountain Range, and on the other side was a towering defensive wall that protected the entire city. There was an arrow tower with a steeple on the wall, and the two pitch-black turrets attracted Alan's attention.

High walls, heavy artillery, and a certain army. It would definitely be costly to take down such a defenseless city from the front. Alan silently recorded all of this and added, "It's a pity that we can't enter the city. Otherwise, we'll have a chance to figure out their troop arrangements and the number of troops they have."

The speaker is unintentional, the listener is intentional. Bai, who had his head crouched beside him, rolled his eyes and raised his head to arch Allen. Ellen looked at it in surprise, "You have a way?"

She tilted her head and rolled her eyes upwards, as if blaming Alan for underestimating it.

Alan was both angry and funny. He patted his head and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Bai nodded and swam into the forest.

At this moment, in Storm City's City Lord's Mansion, Mo Gu was walking back and forth in his office with his hands behind his back, looking extremely irritated. At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and before he could agree, his son, Qiao Yi, strode in. "Father, I have news of Mr. Roger," he said solemnly.

"How is it? Has Roger's Slave Corps set off yet?" Roger asked.

Joey sighed, "Mr. Roger's reply is that we are a step behind. His slave-hunters had already set out before we received the news, so they were unable to support us."

"What?" Maud punched the table.

Joey probed, "Why don't we call Dick over?"