Chapter 148: A Decisive Victory

Variables?

Roman Pavlyuchenko paused for a moment, then quickly understood.

Yes, ‘variables’.

Besides that word, Pavlyuchenko could find no other term to describe everything he saw in the battle just now. When King Alexander of Champoo first appeared on the battlefield with women and children, he did not expect those delicate women to be Magic Archers like the spokespeople of the God of Death. He did not expect Shampoo City to have over fifty Zhebie-level sharpshooters. He did not expect the giant Big Black Dog to possess such insane abilities and strength. He did not expect the Great Axe phalanx and the twenty-two armored giants of Shampoo City to harbor such terrifying power within them. He did not expect the renowned Flame God Iron Hooves to be completely wiped out after just one charge, without killing a single enemy. He also did not expect King Alexander of Champoo’s personal strength to have broken through once again…

None of these had he anticipated.

These were the variables.

King Alexander of Champoo turned every unimaginable thing into reality.

Such variables were the most frightening. Even the wisest commander would be defeated by the endless stream of ‘unexpected events’ when facing such an enemy. You simply could not predict what would happen the next second, or what move your opponent would make. By the time you realized it, you were already utterly defeated!

It was terrifying!

“Roman, remember everything you saw today. Perhaps one day in the future, you will face it all yourself…” The Princess Royal’s words felt a bit abrupt to the Grand Knight-Captain, but he nodded in response anyway.

Under the command of His Highness Arshavin in the Great Hall, there were countless loyal generals. Pavlyuchenko was not the strongest among them, but he had a calm and studious heart. He was one of the rare intelligent generals in the Crown Prince’s camp, possessing the talent of a commander. That was why the Princess Royal, the Female Literary Sage, made an exception to keep this Knight by her side, allowing him exposure to things an ordinary general would never encounter in his lifetime. The intention behind this was obvious. Pavlyuchenko himself was well aware of this, so he kept learning quietly. Today’s small-scale battle had given him many shocks, and he needed time to digest them slowly.

…

“Your Majesty, how should we deal with them?”

Paul Pierce, the Capricorn Golden Knight, asked. He had already led the Urban Management team to tie up the nine Kings and throw them in front of Black Whirlwind. The Big Black Dog’s roar terrified these Kings, who were used to a life of luxury. A few cowardly ones had already scrambled to their knees, crying and begging for their lives.

“Clean up the battlefield. Collect all weapons and armor into the city, temporarily sort and store them. Shackle the surviving prisoners with heavy chains and lock them in the Black Room. Have Oleg keep a strict watch over them. Execute all the seriously wounded and pile them up with the other corpses in the small square at the Back Mountain…” Sun Fei, riding on the Big Black Dog, scanned the blood-soaked battlefield. “Take all the warhorses and Blaze Beasts, regardless of their injuries, and temporarily confine them in the royal stables. Send people to take good care of them—these are Shampoo City’s future treasures, ahahaha!”

“You can’t do this! These are the properties of the Redwater Kingdom. You have no right to take them for yourself,” the King of Redwater Kingdom said angrily as he watched the Shampoo City soldiers lead away the Blaze Beasts one by one.

Slap! Slap!

Pierce laughed darkly and delivered two hard slaps. His terrifying strength felt like hammers striking the King’s face. The King’s teeth flew everywhere, and in the next second, his face was bruised and swollen. He could no longer speak clearly, his eyes swollen into slits, and his nose bridge cracked.

“Shut up! A prisoner should know their place. These are the spoils of His Majesty King Alexander of Champoo, and so are you!” Pierce showed no respect to these noble prisoners. Among the other Kings, some cowards had already fainted from the brutal scene. Those who remained sober saw this and no longer dared to resist. They obediently watched as Shampoo City’s Urban Management team cleaned the battlefield, taking away their possessions one by one.

The sunset was as red as blood.

Scavenger birds circled in the sky. These large black birds with sharp beaks had once again caught the scent of death and decaying corpses. They flew in flocks from the distant mountains behind Shampoo City, cawing noisily and bringing with them an oppressive gloom.

“Make them sign the state documents. Double the war reparations from before and deliver them to Shampoo City within a month. If they can’t gather the amount in time, they can use minerals and other resources as compensation. Heh, the Princes’ words couldn’t be trusted, but surely the Kings’ words count for something, right? Deliver my message exactly as it is to each country. If any kingdom dares to resist, once the deadline passes, I will personally pay them a visit with their King’s head in hand!” After this great victory, Sun Fei’s tone became more forceful.

In truth, he had already anticipated that detaining the Princes of various countries would cause backlash. After all, Princes were not Kings, and their words couldn’t be fully trusted. So he had expected it would take some effort to truly obtain the ‘reparations.’ However, he hadn’t expected the joint retaliation from several countries to come so quickly. Sun Fei sensed something unusual in this.

“Have Prison Warden Oleg give these esteemed Kings a proper ‘welcome.’ Make them confess every detail of their journey here. I need to know every little detail of how these nine countries colluded!” Sun Fei patted the Big Black Dog and started heading back toward Shampoo City.

This battle had been an easy win.

In fact, given Shampoo City’s current strength, it shouldn’t have been so complicated. They could have simply charged out from the city in a straightforward, brutal assault to resolve the matter. But Sun Fei wanted to use this unchallenging battle to temper Shampoo City’s warriors. He wanted them to get used to the details of warfare—setting up formations, coordinating, charging, obeying orders—and to experience close-quarters combat, death, and bloodshed firsthand. It must be understood that an army with only great strength but lacking the courage and willpower to match that strength would never succeed. Sun Fei could use the Hulk Potion and other items from the World of Diablo to enhance his soldiers’ Might, but he couldn’t make them accustomed to the bloody and cruel scenes of the battlefield. He couldn’t give them the will and courage to match their Might. These things could only be learned on a real battlefield. Shampoo City was a small border town that hadn’t seen real war in many years. The previous battle with the Black Armored Army counted as one, but that time they were forced to fight back, unlike this time when they took the initiative.

That was why Sun Fei today, despite having a one hundred percent chance of victory, stretched a battle that could have ended in ten minutes to a full two hours.

Sun Fei slowly walked toward the city gate, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers’ faces.

The results showed that Sun Fei’s efforts today were not in vain. In the soldiers’ eyes, aside from a little fear, he saw more determination and bravery… They were starting to adapt to such battles.

Blood and fire were the quickest ways to make people grow.

This battle was a decisive victory.