The human race in the Flowing Light Domain invests tens of millions of warriors every year, going to the battlefield one after another.
The further they advance toward the entrance of Guiyuan, the greater the tension in the battle lines. The post cities in the five directions of the human race are like isolated islands in the sea, falling into siege by netherworld creatures.
A post city is built on one wall.
Thousands of human soldiers and ghost creatures are fighting bloody battles.
Huge steam cannons, giant steel crossbows, and torque trebuchets were running all the time.
A warlock released a fireball to kill a ghost creature flying in the sky, and asked the general who was fighting not far away: "General Li, haven't our reinforcements arrived yet? Three days have passed, and we are about to lose our defense." Well, if the city is destroyed, the city will be fine, but many of the city's defense equipment will be gone. Now, there are fewer and fewer city defense equipment in the rear."
"Master Li Xian, ten batches of people have been sent to ask for help, but there is no news. You have also used magic to convey the message, but there is also no reply. The reinforcements may not arrive in a short time," General Li said after disemboweling a netherworld creature. .
Warlock Lu Dang glanced at the tens of thousands of netherworld creatures outside the city and smiled bitterly, "General Li, we have been fighting side by side for seven years. I didn't expect that we would die together today."
"Haha, think about the day we met, we didn't know each other. I don't think it has been seven years in a flash." General Li didn't care.
"By the way, imperial law stipulates that soldiers who have served on the battlefield for five years can apply to return to the rear. General Li, why have you been staying on the front line?"
Lu Dang chanted the magic formula, but only released a fireball the size of a fist. He immediately knew that the magic power was exhausted, and without hesitation, he pulled out the sword from his waist and continued to fight.
"There are five brothers in my family. I have been fiercely competitive since I was a child. I have some talent for cultivation. After joining the army, I quickly went to the front line to fight with the netherworld creatures. Now, I have become accustomed to a life of iron and blood. When I return to the rear, On the contrary, I don’t adapt to it. My parents also have brothers at home to support me. I don’t have any worries, so I won’t go back to the rear." General Li showed a slight smile on his face covered with blood, and then asked Lu Dang, "But Master Lu, I heard that you Immortal masters of Tongtian Immortal Sect can also apply for rest, so why are you always on the front line?"
After killing a few netherworld creatures, Lu Dang replied: "It's nothing, just for the future. My talent is not good. I will probably not reach the late warlock stage after practicing in the Tongtian Mountains for a lifetime. Now, the sect's subsidies for war are very large. Big, only by risking your life can you get more resources."
"I see, it seems we all have our own reasons." General Li didn't care. Among his troops, some people didn't want to fight, some went to the battlefield for fame and fortune, and some were passionate about the empire.
Regardless of the reason, those who are called up must go to the front line.
In the past seven years, General Li has experienced a lot of joys and sorrows, and no reason Lu Dang could give him would surprise him.
"Huh? General Li, look, the reinforcements from Mantong City are here."
Suddenly, Lu Dang's surprised voice came.
General Li followed Lu Dang's finger and saw a black line appearing in the sky. It was the human steel army.
"Haha, it seems that our death day is not today." General Li also showed a cheerful smile, and suddenly felt that the strength in his hands was much stronger.
…
The human soldiers relied on the sophisticated iron equipment manufactured by steam technology and various large-scale city defense equipment. Even when facing the vast and immeasurable netherworld creatures, they still had a slight upper hand.
As soon as a vicious beast from the underworld emerges in any place, it will immediately be attacked by the void realm or the mage.
In this difficult predicament, the human race is advancing step by step.
Time passed year after year, and the vanguard of the human race had crossed far across the Tianhuan Mountains and was about to approach the entrance of Guiyuan.
After going deep into the area where netherworld creatures are rampant, it is difficult to find a trace of green on the earth.
On a dry mountain.
Zhang Changkong met with the green seedlings that had been sent all the way from the Tongtian Mountains.
"Didn't I ask you to be in charge of logistics? Now, do you come here to fight on the front line?"
Zhang Changkong drank a cup of tea and asked comfortably.
A hundred years have passed since the war with the netherworld creatures. At first, he was often worried about the hauntings of the ancient netherworld beasts. But now, he is relieved. The human race is about to open the way to the ghost abyss. From now on, on these five roads, you can It is only a matter of time before a steady stream of troops are sent to the entrance of Guiyuan to seal off Guiyuan. Even if the ancient Netherworld beast comes out now, it will not be able to change the world.
No matter how powerful the Ancient Nether Beast is, can it still pull up hundreds of thousands of post cities from the Northern Territory to here?
Hearing this, Qingmiao glanced at Zhang Changkong and said with some embarrassment: "Master Taishang, I didn't come here to fight the vicious beasts of the underworld, but I encountered trouble. You asked me to be responsible for the logistics coordination of the cultivators. I He has been working diligently and did not dare to slack off at all. However, now, the sect's materials are insufficient. The number of immortal plants transported to the sect from various places is decreasing day by day. The more than ten vitality stone veins controlled by the sect have long been supplied. In addition to various expenditures, there are still three vitality stone veins that have dried up. Every year, the amount of vitality stones paid to various Kongming realms and mages is astronomical, not to mention the increasing number of warlocks in the sect. Spending it like running water, only four vitality stone veins have been discovered in the Flowing Light Domain in the past hundred years. The sect's inventory is almost empty, and it may be almost unsustainable."
"Huh? I gave most of the output of the vitality stone veins in my hands to the Tongtian Immortal Sect. How much does the Tongtian Immortal Sect spend so much?"
Zhang Changkong immediately put down his teacup. In his impression, the Flowing Light Realm had countless resources. The White Lotus Empire occupied the Flowing Light Realm, so the resources would never be used up. Now, are the vitality stones not enough? What's going on? Zhang Changkong thought about the problem of corruption for a moment, but think about it, even if a few mages are corrupt, can they wipe out the Tongtian Immortal Sect's family fortune? Aren't they afraid of Zhang Changkong cleaning up the house?
"Please tell me in detail." Zhang Changkong became serious. He did not expect that he had penetrated the area of the netherworld creature and even his own pocket.
"Currently, there are still twenty-eight mages in the sect, and eleven mages have died in the battle over the years. The White Lotus Empire currently has one hundred and seventy-six people in the Kongming Realm on the front line, and sixty-seven have died in the battle. Every one of them has died in the war. The mage on the front line, in the Kongming Realm, pays 50,000 mid-grade vitality stones every year. The regular annual expenditure in this regard is tens of millions of mid-grade vitality stones. In addition, killing a ghost beast will reward him with 100,000 mid-grade vitality stones. If he dies in battle, The Kong Ming Realm and the Mage also need to pay a large amount of pensions based on their personal merits. For the Mage and the Kong Ming Realm, the annual expenditure is close to 20 million. A small vein of vitality stone can only dig out thousands of middle-grade vitality stones. About ten thousand to one hundred million, medium-sized vitality stone veins are usually dug out in the hundreds of millions. Our sect only has three medium-sized vitality stone veins. The total number of vitality stone veins belonging to the White Lotus Empire in the five regions is less than twenty. , plus the several veins of vitality stones you gave me and the sect's accumulation over the years, so that I can persist, as well as the warlocks and the monks who have innate air control. They are divided into early, middle and late stages, and the low-grade vitality stones they give each year are five thousand and one. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, the combined number of innates and warlocks on the front line is close to two million..."
Master Qingmiao said slowly, "Now, it is very rare to be able to maintain the realm formation."
Zhang Changkong couldn't help but remain silent after hearing this. He didn't expect that launching a war would cost so much. Qingmiao was responsible for the logistics of the cultivators. The cultivators were only a very small number of people in this war. The majority were ordinary mortals. Even cultivators It is difficult to support the logistics of the latter. It is conceivable that the White Lotus Empire can support it until this point, which is considered to be Su Muyan's employment of people properly.
"The war cannot be stopped. Now, it has reached the last moment. If there are not enough vitality stones, then we must collect them. The White Lotus Empire stipulates that all vitality stone veins cannot be nationalized. In the past, some people mined them privately. The White Lotus Empire did not pay too much attention to it. Now , those who secretly mine the vitality stone veins, except for the families who have contributed to this war, can be dealt with as appropriate, the rest will be confiscated and exterminated. I don’t care whether their ancestors were heroes of the Flowing Light Region or they made great contributions to the establishment of the White Lotus Empire. If they don’t contribute in this war, they are guilty.”
Zhang Changkong thought that in the past, the White Lotus Empire did not take action due to various reasons, allowing some vitality stone veins to be occupied by some forces. The Flowing Light Domain is so large, there is absolutely no way that there are so few vitality stone veins that have been discovered.
In the past, Zhang Changkong himself would not be short of vitality stones for a while, so he ignored it for the time being. Now, the war that has lasted for more than a hundred years is about to come to an end. With insufficient materials, Zhang Changkong no longer cares about benevolence, justice and morality.
Qingmiao was stunned, "But this may lead to instability in the empire. Now, the war has long been far away from the Northern Territory, and countless people are thrown into the bottomless pit of war every year. According to some news I learned, the White Lotus Empire has allocated too many forces to the front line. , now various places are struggling to maintain it.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Changkong thought for a while, although he was confident enough that even if the Flowing Light Territory was in chaos a hundred times, he could suppress it again a hundred times.
However, now that the White Lotus Empire is in chaos, it is a bit difficult to deal with it.
You can't let others sacrifice their lives and fight for you, Zhang Changkong, while the White Lotus Empire slaughters all the family and friends of the soldiers because of local unrest.
It's morally unjustifiable.
"Then what should I do?"
Zhang Changkong asked Qingmiao.
"To solve the problem, there is no need to use two methods: cutting expenditures and increasing revenue." Qingmiao was obviously prepared. "To reduce expenditures, it means to reduce the annual salary of practitioners or even to keep it in arrears in the form of accounting, and then repay it after the war."
Zhang Changkong shook his head, "This aspect cannot be reduced. Most cultivators risk their lives because they get a lot of resources from the war. If it is reduced, there will probably be many more lawless people living in seclusion in the mountains and old forests in the Liuguang Domain in the future. "Cultivators, the laws of the Flowing Light Realm do not impose great restrictions on cultivators, and keeping accounts is even less advisable. Fighting with netherworld creatures, such as warlocks and innates, it is hard to say whether there will be a tomorrow. It is unrealistic to talk about it in the future."
"In this case, it is open source." Seeing this, Master Qingmiao continued: "There are countless dangerous places, dangerous places, and desperate places in our Flowing Light Domain. I found that these places are rich in resources. First, no intelligent race has set foot in them all year round. Beasts generally don't care about substances like vitality stones. Secondly, strange environments often appear in dangerous areas, which can breed special resources."
"How to deal with it with human hands? Exploring dangerous places may be more dangerous than fighting against netherworld creatures," Zhang Changkong asked.
"Most of the cultivators who fight against the netherworld creatures are from our White Lotus Empire. However, there are many cultivators in the Flowing Light Domain who are disobedient and dominate some small places. We can use the essence of heaven and earth as bait. In the name of trials, let those cultivators in the wild explore dangerous places for us. Some of them are dead and it is of no importance to us. Secondly, without them, the White Lotus Empire will be more stable. The essence of heaven and earth is necessary to advance to the realm of the sky and the underworld. , only our White Lotus Empire controls it, and I think it can attract many desperadoes to work for us."
Zhang Changkong thought that Tongtian Immortal Sect had indeed accumulated a lot of earth essence and ocean essence, so he nodded in agreement.
Qingmiao also talked about the reward standards after passing the trial, from material rewards to joining the Tongtian Immortal Sect, becoming an official of the White Lotus Empire, etc. Zhang Changkong felt that it was irrelevant, so he gave Qingmiao full authority to handle it.
"Remember, it will take ten years at the earliest for the war to enter a stable stage. In these ten years, no matter what, we must survive," Zhang Changkong finally said.
Master Qingmiao nodded and retreated.
Zhang Changkong looked at this desolate land and thought about how to recoup his losses from the netherworld creatures. This war was a huge loss.
