Chapter 1271: The Fiery Sky
Jodel was observing the Tusk City through a peephole of a deserted house in the Tusk Castle. Due to the difference in elevation, he could only spy a small area outside the city gate. This would be the first stronghold they had to seize after the battle broke out.
In this operation, Mojins would advance first.
This did not mean, however, that Brian thought Mojins were disposable. In fact, they had earned this opportunity.
The general rule in the Southernmost Region was to prove oneself through power and strength, and attain resources through victories.
Jodel was from a small clan in the oasis. As the Silver Stream Oasis gradually shrank, his clan was on the brink of extinction. That was the reason that he had risked himself dealing with northerners in the first place. But now, all the clansmen had relocated to the Port of Clearwater, the permanent oasis that they had dreamed about. It was a reward from the chief for the victory of the battle against the Wildwave and Cut Bone clans.
Jodel requested to join this battle simply because he wanted to kill as many enemies as possible in exchange for greater rewards. He did not really care about who the enemies were. Fighting demons was actually better than living in fear of hunger, thirst, and uncertainty of the future.
Jodel believed that most Sand Nationals had the same feeling.
"Did you find anything?" someone asked him from behind.
"No, except that the Red Mist gets thicker. I can"t see anything," Jodel said as he blocked the peephole quietly and turned around.
The one who put a question was Farry, the youngest soldier in the unit. Even his gun was taller than him. A deep scar ran the length of his face from his forehead all the way to the corner of his mouth, making his young face look a little grotesque. Jodel remembered his outstanding performance during the training, despite his young age. Even some of the most experienced warriors found it hard to beat him.
Jodel was surprised that Farry had yet to make a name for himself in the small oasis. He had actually never heard of him before.
"We"ve been waiting for two weeks, right?" Farry complained. "It"s so boring getting stuck here with hundreds of people."
"Didn"t Sir Brian say that the demons have flying Devilbeasts? In order not to attract the demons" attention, we have to wait," Jodel answered. "Haven"t you hunted before? It"s common for us to wait for half a month to ambush a sandworm. Be patient."
According to the operation plan, Iron Axe had sent around 2,000 people to the northern part of the Broken Tooth Castle where these soldiers dispersed and hid themselves. Another 1,000 soldiers were sent to the inner city in the south as a reserve unit. Their hiding spot looked no different than a ruin from outside, but the inside was pretty s.p.a.cious. Its upper level was used for scouting while the lower level served as a temporary residence. Soldiers were supplied with water and food. Bedrooms and washrooms were separated. Although there was, inevitably, some odor, it was much more sanitary than where they had lived during the hunting event.
Jodel did not quite understand why Farry suddenly started to complain.
"You don"t understand," Farry returned hesitantly as he glared at Jodel and slumped against the wall. "What do you think these iron barrels are used for? The demons have come, but they haven"t done anything but digging and burying."
"I have no idea... but it"s the chief"s invention. I"m not surprised."
He had seen too many marvelous tools and weapons in the past one year.
"I hope this isn"t a new Pill of Madness," Farry muttered.
Jodel had heard of the Pill of Madness before. He was about to ask Farry for more details when someone poked his head out from below and said, "We"ve got a message from the rear. We"re going to launch an attack soon. Get yourselves prepared."
Farry let out a deep sigh and said, "Finally we can do something. I"ll go right away."
Jodel was more cautious. He asked, "What"s the signal? Is it what we"ve planned?"
"That"s right," the same person replied to him. "When you hear the explosion, advance."
"It"s about the time," Iron Axe said as he put down the telescope and turned around. "Now, connect it to the power."
"Yes, sir!" two soldiers from the explosion unit shouted and immediately began to operate the hand crank generator. The third soldier put his hand on the lever.
It was finally the time to test out what they had been preparing and planning for such a long time. The Red Mist had already spread throughout the entire king"s city of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. If the First Army continued to retreat, the demons would soon seize the Broken Tooth Castle eventually. Like the king"s city of Graycastle and Silver City, the king"s city of the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Broken Tooth Castle were also adjacent to each other. The Broken Tooth Castle formed a natural barrier for the Tusk City. It was said that the king"s city would remain intact as long as the Broken Tooth Castle did not fell. However, at the moment, they had to use the Broken Tooth Castle to give the demons who had occupied the Tusk City a heavy blow.
Iron Axe had noticed that all the demons were equipped with a breathing device, which was quite a burden for them. Except for the Mad Demons that were pursuing the refugees, the other demons pretty much confined their activities to the area permeated with the Red Mist.
This gave the First Army a great opportunity to launch a counterattack.
"Sir, the explosion unit is ready!"
Iron Axe ordered heavily, "Ignite the explosives!"
As the soldier pressed the lever, a jet of dazzling red flash suddenly rose into the air above the northern part of the Broken Tooth Castle. More than 500 iron barrels were ignited at the same time. Golden flames lit the sky and the king"s city.
Everyone heard the ringing explosion.
However, this was just the beginning.
The barrels actually contained the slimes of the rubber worms created by Kyle, mixed with inflammable oil and accelerants such as powdered aluminum and magnesium. The mixture itself was not hazardous when it was solid, but when they were sent into the air and spread out like a mist, the slimes would become fatal. As the slimes were immediately burned off, the reaction resembled an explosion. In a split second, the air around the explosives was heated up to nearly 1,000 degrees, and the expanded air currents further inflamed the fire.
Just at that moment, the chain reaction occurred.
The explosives should have showered down at the ground. However, as the temperature exceeded the absolute threshold, the explosives continued to spread out like red orangey lightning and formed a giant net above the city. The flames, amazingly, started to move onwards!
Iron Axe was also shocked by this incredible scene. Then he suddenly came to the realization that the fiery rain had ignited the Red Mist. In an instant, the rapidly spreading red "lightning" infiltrated the air, and the giant net had now transformed into a ma.s.sive shade!
After that, there was a more intense explosion.
The fiery shade suddenly broke as a gigantic fireball soared into the sky like a hatched fiery bird.
The sound produced by the fireball was much louder than the previous blast created by the iron barrels.
Iron Axe even saw that the air around the king"s city distort.
The earth began to quaver!