Ashen Dragon-Chapter 423 - 346 The Castle on the Wilderness

Chapter 423: Chapter 346 The Castle on the Wilderness

Cartapa Hills.

A group of unwelcome guests arrived here.

The Imperial Vanguard led by Earl Jesse Swann, a Great Goblin general under Marshal Dolores who had made significant contributions in the Anzeta Unification War, marched south.

They passed through the narrow Anzeta Corridor, trekked across the vast Ancytica Mountains, and arrived at the Cartapa Hills.

The Thrace Kingdom kept their promise by withdrawing all their troops from Cartapa, but they also demolished the only outpost there, Glen Southern Castle.

The Imperial Vanguard now faced a desolate, monster- and beast-ridden hill.

They needed to establish a forward base in this wasteland in preparation for the future southward invasion of the Ashen Empire.

This task sounded extraordinarily difficult.

However, the Empire was already fully prepared for this, having even planned the city’s construction site long beforehand.

On the first day upon arriving in Cartapa, under Earl Jesse’s command, the vanguard reached the target location on the map.

They burned and cut down large swaths of forest, set up tents, erected wooden fences, and established a makeshift camp.

On the second day, the accompanying mages began setting beacons and drawing arrays in the camp.

From the third day to the twenty-first day, the infantry legion composed of Tieflings, Great Goblins, and Humans swept across dozens of miles, turning all beasts and monsters into mincemeat and using the obtained meat to supply the troops.

On the twenty-second day, the Imperial Magic Department finally established a permanent portal to the Cartapa region, allowing a continuous influx of manpower and supplies.

On the twenty-seventh day, Earl Jesse led the infantry legion and the Wyvern Legion in an assault on the Orc tribe to the southwest, annihilating them completely.

On the thirty-eighth day, the Imperial Engineering Department dispatched dozens of Civil Engineering Department players, led by the Bucket Runner, to assist the vanguard in constructing the new city.

Tahan City, meaning “Conquer the South” in Draconic, gradually took shape from scratch.

Now, on the seventy-third day since the vanguard arrived in Cartapa, the skeleton of Tahan City was already built. Players, Ogres, and Frost Giants from the Empire were busily transporting materials everywhere.

Large engineering machinery manufactured by the Mechanical God Cult was dismantled into parts, transported through the portal, and then reassembled.

Bucket Runner, wearing a white safety helmet, folded his arms and directed the construction teams.

“Frost Giant over there, no slacking off!”

“Everyone, get energized! Rookies over there, it’s time to chisel!”

“Ogre! How many times have I told you not to eat the concrete? What’s so tasty about it?”

After a year of construction in the City of Isdalia, these construction teams had gained rich experience, becoming veteran civil engineers.

Earl Jesse stood on the already half-built city wall, the Great Goblin gazing into the distant hills with his yellow eyes.

“Cunning Humans…”

“Do they think that destroying the original city and releasing monsters will stop the Empire’s advance? Heh, they’re too naive.”

“The South will ultimately become the Empire’s territory.”

He gripped the handgun in his hand tightly, speaking each word deliberately—the exquisite and compact weapon was the latest “handgun” released by the Ashen Armory, a convenient and portable weapon he was particularly fond of.

“Lord Earl! We have found a Hill Giant nest to the southeast.”

“There are… about one hundred and thirty Hill Giants there.”

Suddently, a Red Scale Conqueror, riding a Bipedal Wyvern, spiraled down from the sky, respectfully reporting.

It was the largest Hill Giant tribe in Cartapa, notorious for devouring almost everything around it.

Jesse immediately displayed a smile, exhaling a puff of white smoke, revealing a mouthful of yellowed sharp teeth, and the scales on his forehead slightly bulging.

“Excellent.”

He raised his handgun high, aiming at the sky.

“Let these crude creatures witness—

“Bang!”

“—the power of the Empire!”

The gunshot echoed, drawing the attention of everyone within Tahan City—except for the construction workers who were too busy to look.

Standing atop the city wall, Jesse scanned his surroundings, raised his hand high, and fired several more shots.

“For the Ashen Empire! For His Majesty Cassius!”

“For the Ashen Empire!”

“For His Majesty Cassius!”

“Conquest! Conquest! For the Empire’s grand blueprint!”

The monsters and Humans within the city raised their arms and shouted, celebrating the impending victory—except for the players who were still diligently working.

In the Empire, it was a tradition to celebrate before the battle, because they knew that under the emperor’s dragon wings, any battle would be easily won, sweeping away all resistance.

Thus, under Earl Jesse’s mobilization, Tahan City’s army set out mightily.

Meanwhile, the Hill Giant tribe still lay in slumber.

These simple-minded, muscular Giants lay idly in the wilderness, dressed in unprocessed animal hides, crudely tied with hair and tendons.

Beads of sweat from the Hill Giants dripped onto the putrid beast hides, emitting a strong odor, surrounded by leftover bones and meat scraps.

The chief of the Hill Giants, named “Bone Rod,” wielded the thigh bone of the previous chief as a weapon, being the tallest and fattest of the tribe.

“Hoo…”

Bone Rod snored heavily, kicking away a nearby Giant and rolling over in his sleep.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle sounded.

His experience told him that this was unusual in the monotonous life of the Hill Giants, where the only excitement was searching for food.

“Uh… huh?”

Bone Rod slowly opened his eyes, lying on his back and facing the sky.

“Is this edible?”

The Hill Giant thought, not dodging but instinctively opening his mouth wide.

In his view was a metallic ball growing larger.

Then came the explosion of flames.

“Boom!”

Bone Rod’s enormous and fat head exploded, brain fragments flying everywhere.

“Roar!”

“Who is it?”

The Hill Giants awoke, roaring in fury, only to find their rudimentary camp engulfed in flames.

In the sky, Red Scale Conquerors on Bipedal Wyverns flew by, dropping bombs and spewing searing flames at them.

“Tiny bugs!”

“They are in the air!”

The Hill Giants furiously hurled rocks into the sky, but they couldn’t reach the high-flying Bipedal Wyverns.

The Red Scale Conquerors had become precise in their distance control, making it nearly impossible to harm them through ordinary means.

As the Hill Giants raged helplessly, gunshots rang out again, and several Giants fell to the ground with a thud.

The Hill Giants turned their heads in surprise.

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A dull, rumbling sound.

The ground was trembling.

There was Jesse, riding a Land Dragon Beast, drawing a long sword from his waist. Behind him was the Empire’s Drake Riders, who charged like moving mountains towards the Hill Giants.

“For the Empire!”

“Kill them all!”

“This land belongs to His Majesty Cassius! No one else is allowed to claim it!”