Chapter 24 Chatter and Laughter Vanishing in a Puff of Smoke <TOC> Chapter 26 Steam-Powered Motorcycle
Translator: SumTLMan
The major difference between this gang of rabble and the imperial army lay in their “discipline on the battlefield”.
In terms of individual strength, many veteran bandits who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses were no weaker than the imperial soldiers. However, the bandits’ disorganised and undisciplined nature made it impossible for them to gather and muster any fighting force.
This was an inherent attribute of the bandits: “Follow the headwind, run from the downwind”.
If they had the advantage, they’d swarm in on the enemy. Whoever was fastest would be able to grab more. If they’re at a disadvantage, they will die on the road, and whoever had the longest legs would survive.
At this very moment, after the bandits witnessed their partners and companions being harvested like wheat. With the vast majority of their mechanical cities lying on the roadside and those guys who had just been swearing about capturing Great Prince Quentin alive immediately changed their faces.
Without the steam-powered mechanical city, everyone knew that if they stayed any longer, none of them would be able to escape the complete encirclement when the Omagh Imperial Army eventually closed in on them.
Therefore, the bandits, who had just been brothers and sisters in arms one moment, flew apart and left their fate in their own hands in the next.
Like birds in a dense forest, the tens of thousands of bandits scattered in a flurry.
However, in the blink of an eye, [White Wolf] Barzel was left surrounded by no one else but a few of his close confidants.
The Omagh Royal Family’s side, who had been besieged earlier by these bandits, was instantly relieved of the pressure and looked at the silver werewolf with a wistful expression of malicious intent.
With the general situation now settled, Grand Prince Quentin couldn’t help but feel excited as he began teasing: “Mr Barzel, it seems that your companions aren’t so eager to accompany you on your journey to hell…”
Today, this werewolf must die no matter what!
…….
The war continued.
Although they were surrounded, the bandit gangs didn’t all choose to hold their hands up and surrender.
Primarily those criminals who know that they’ve committed crimes so heinous that they wouldn’t escape the fate of the gallows even if they had surrendered. These were the ones who were, even more, intent on desperately fighting for their lives.
Those remaining were still a very terrifying force. Most of them were the major bandit gangs’ leaders and elites, including many [Demon Hunter Blades] and [Great Demon Hunters] who had broken through the third and fourth-order genetic locks.
Artillery fire can be very deadly to lower-ranked transcendents but not a significant threat to those who have reached the pinnacle of human reaction speed.
As long as they escape from the encirclement, they would survive another day.
The steam-powered mechanical cities belonging to the bandits were like Legos. These cities weren’t welded units, but a “stitched-together monster” with many chambers and compartments for various purposes, assembled together with rivets and suspension systems.
“Unload the compartments and throw away all the buildings you can except for those boiler furnaces!”
“Cut the compartments and reduce the weight to the minimum!”
“Pressurise the boilers, load to overload operation mode…”
“…”
The vast majority of the bandit gang’s mechanical cities had been modified in the Black Market Fair’s mechanical modification factory, so many were installed with quick dismantling devices for easy escape in times of great crises.
These mechanical cities, which burns countless lire to own and operate, were the most important assets belonging to the bandit gangs and the “lifeblood” the leaders prided themselves in!
But at this moment, in order to stay alive, the decisive bandit leaders had to throw away their years of hard-fought accumulated possessions and flee lightly.
……
“Here comes a free ride!”
With his legs alone, Rayne knew he would never get far.
After observing for a long time at the edge of the battlefield, he didn’t dare follow the larger bandit gangs that were Omagh Empire’s primary focus. Instead, he took his chances climbing into a miniature mechanical city that had been dismantled with almost nothing left but the skeleton.
The only way for the strong to survive is to have the courage to “break their own wrists”. Unlike some of the fools who had dreams of trying to rush out with their mechanical city intact…
The southwest is the only weak point in this encirclement, and only the most observant bandit gangs who could see this gap at this moment will have the chance of escaping.
……
On the other side, somewhere on the battlefield.
An elegant middle-aged man wearing a form-fitting tuxedo, a black-faced cloak with a red underside and a top hat was quietly sipping his drink while exuding the elegance of a higher aristocrat with every movement he made.
Even though the battle was raging on not far away with deafening artillery fire, his face remained calm with no expression.
“I’ve missed the mark this time.”
The middle-aged man’s slightly green pupils glowed with a demonic lustre as he muttered to himself: “No wonder so many of the Royal Court Loyalists have come. Those Omagh men have even included this Prince in their plot. What a good layout…”
At the edge of a round table, an old gentleman dressed as a butler refilled the middle-aged man’s glass with a bright red liquid coming from a crystal jug while asking: “What shall we do now, my Prince?”
If there had been an outsider present, they would’ve recognised the tuxedoed middle-aged man as William Dracula, [Vampire Prince] of the Sidhe Empire!
“What else can we do?”
Prince William sighed slightly and looked rather helpless as he said: “After all, the contract has been signed, Omagh’s people haven’t broken the agreement, so we must abide by it.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The butler nodded and added: “What a pity, my Lord… I’m afraid the bandit gangs that you’ve sponsored in the southern region of Omagh will all be wiped out this time.”
“Yes… Done in by a good strategy of killing many birds with one stone!”
Prince William rubbed his brow as he looked away from the artillery barrage roaring on the battlefield.
After a moment’s silence, he added: “Leverage [White Wolf] Barzel’s hand to strike a blow at the Grand Princess, and then we’ll lend a helping hand to finish her. Then our greatest threat to the throne will be eliminated…”
After another pause, he continued: “The Omagh Royal Family will have no direct involvement in the assassination process and will be completely free of any trouble. Since there was no involvement, there should be no troubles left at all. Then he’ll have no fears from the Ymir-supporting members of the Royal Parliament… This is a very clever way of ‘killing with swapped blades’.”
Speaking of this, the Prince was unable to conceal his admiration for this stratagem as he added: “Originally, it was impossible to completely eradicate the bandits in the southern region, but I didn’t expect those guys to pen this ‘deadly firework’ masterstroke. With the banditry now settled in the region, Grand Prince Quentin’s prestige will be at its peak, and he will be first in line for ascending the throne…”
Additionally, some of the bandit gangs that the Sidhe Empire had supported in the southern region of Omagh had been wiped out this time, causing them to suffer such an unutterably heavy loss that they couldn’t even find consolation for.
Prince William felt a tinge of regret in his heart at this thought.
His eyes shone brightly before he added with a heavy sigh: “The man who came up with this plan… Is a genius!”
The butler right next to him lightly asked: “My Lord, do you wish for me to look into this man?”
“Yes. See if you can rope him in…”
Prince William nodded as he lazily said: “However, a man of such tact and vision is probably not an easy one to rope in.”
Then, as if thinking of something, he asked: “By the way, have the possessions belonging to Baron Maureen’s Treasure been found yet?”
“No whereabouts as of yet.”
The butler added: “However, Quinn of the ‘Demon Weasel Bandits’ has sent word that he has made some progress and found that a recruit is the prime suspect. I’ve alerted the spies in Omagh to try and find this man alive, but I’m afraid that this recruit will die before we even have a chance to interrogate him…”
Prince William grimaced and grumbled: “Damn it! If it hadn’t been for this war, things wouldn’t have gotten so messy. If we get that thing, Omagh’s technological advantage over us will be gone…”
He didn’t get the chance to ponder further about this issue as he suddenly sensed something and said: “Well, here comes the target, get ready to begin.”
In the far distance reflected in his eyes, a wounded Grand Princess Ymir of Omagh was slowly approaching under her guards’ protection.
In this instant, the Prince bared his sharp vampire fangs.
……
And on another side.
[White Wolf] Barzel, who had been so aggressive earlier, vowing to kill Omagh’s entire party, was in a state of complete disarray.
His brothers had died and fled, and he alone was surrounded by several Royal Court Royalists.
At this moment, the tall silver werewolf was no longer as fierce as he once was, with his whole body covered in fresh wounds. Archmage [King of Hell] Heme’s black magic burned his fur like crawling maggots on a bone. The malevolent black magic fire was beyond the reach of even a werewolf’s super-healing ability.
If he had only been fighting such an enemy alone, Barzel would’ve been able to rely on his werewolf’s strong physique to fight back.
Even if he couldn’t beat him, he could still escape.
But now… Not only Heme but also several Omagh Royal Loyalist had surrounded him!
He couldn’t fight and could no longer escape either.
Barzel’s pale face was very ugly while looking at the grim situation.
……
In contrast to the strong tensions on the battlefield, Grand Prince Quentin, who looked relaxed while watching the battle not far away, was in a good mood.
“Hahaha… [White Wolf] Barzel won’t be able to escape this time. His fate is sealed.”
He couldn’t contain his excitement as he watched the battle unfold before him.
This is one of the “Ten Legendary Demon Hunters” and the top of the bandit gangs. Barzel is a man that even his father, the emperor, had many troubles dealing with. This also includes all the prominent army leaders who had lost many times against this man.
Today, this man was going to die before him.
This was an unprecedented feat of glory!
Quentin looked at his black-robed aide close by and said without any princely airs while keeping no secrets of his heartfelt gratitude: “Mr Metternich, with your layout, we have eradicated the bandits. I owe winning this battle entirely to you! If I were to ascend the throne in the future, I’d offer you a king title!”
The tone of the black-robed aide remained calm and unassuming: “Your Highness is too kind… This humble aide has only done what should be done.”
“You are too modest, my good sir!”
Quentin’s heart was pounding as he looked at the great battle ahead.
These were his military achievements, and they would go down in history in the future.
After today, what Third Prince or Fourth Prince… In terms of merit or prestige alone, no one will ever be able to compare with him!
But suddenly, Quentin looked at the small gang of bandits fleeing towards the southwest and wondered: “Mr Metternich, why didn’t the mechanical legion completely encircle the southwest as well… Wouldn’t there be many bandits able to escape?”
“There are a lot of masters in the bandit gangs, and although we could win a head-on collision, the losses to the Royal Legion would be too much to bear. Surrounding three and leaving one behind will keep those dogs from feeling cornered…”
The black-robed aide explained: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. There is still the mechanical cavalry from the First Legion waiting for them. There may be a few fish or shrimp that escape the net, but the bigger fish like the ‘White Wolf Gang’ can’t escape. Fighting bandits with such few losses is what will make Your Highness’s achievements shine even more impressively in the Imperial Court…”
Chapter 24 Chatter and Laughter Vanishing in a Puff of Smoke <TOC> Chapter 26 Steam-Powered Motorcycle