Volume 2: Politicians' Farce Chapter 21: The Battle of Onsen Valley (Part 2)

  Twenty-one, Battle of Onsen Valley (Part 2)

  Thick smoke rises, and gunshots fall sporadically.

  Because no one had thought that the enemy would launch another attack in such a short time, the already very limited defense force in the hot spring valley was simply unable to withstand a single blow under the unguarded situation. The vast majority of people abandoned the fight after making symbolic resistance and fled into the mountains and forests. The extremely small number of brave men who remained were turned into sieves by the rebels' bullets and bayonets, falling among the broken walls and broken walls.

  Charlotte made a desperate effort to rally her troops, but they were demoralized and lacked ammunition and equipment. At the first shot from the rebels, they turned and ran, without even thinking about the danger of turning their backs on the enemy. After more than a dozen men had been killed, Charlotte could no longer command any of her soldiers. She was forced to drag herself away, her leg wounded by a bullet, and flee for her life.

  However, the enemies who entered the valley also had a very strange pattern of action. After experiencing a battle and finally breaking into the hot spring valley, they seemed to have no idea what to do next. Some stayed in place doing nothing, some built field fortifications in the valley, and others simply lost all discipline and started looting and pillaging the remaining residents of the hot spring valley. In this scenic spot that had suffered many hardships, numerous hotels, bars, and houses burned one after another, with cries of despair rising and falling, punctuated by the shrill screams of women being violated.

  "They seem to have no plan at all, just barging in and that's it." Renny said with a puzzled expression as she observed the rebels below through her binoculars. The combat force before her eyes, which was quite strong, didn't look like they were launching a coup that could overthrow the entire New Zealand at all, but rather like savage beastmen who had entered human territory and were doing whatever they pleased. There were no officers restraining the soldiers' behavior, nor anyone pursuing the fleeing survivors deep into the mountains. Even the valuable Mithril Core floating above their heads didn't seem to have caught anyone's attention. They looked more like bandits and robbers after a successful heist, but not at all like coup plotters or special agents.

  "The situation is strange. If they were trying to defect to the Elf Kingdom, they would have brought the Mithril Core as a gift and left quickly, rather than ignoring it like this. And if they were planning a coup, they should be chasing after the escaped officials, not wasting time in the valley. What are these guys up to?" The female pastor furrowed her brow, finding that no rational thinking could explain the bizarre situation before her eyes, which was completely different from the meticulously planned and strictly executed wars described in the Strategic Goddess Church's teachings. Suddenly, she felt a bit dizzy, her mind unable to keep up."

  Fili had been in the Giant Bear Army for so long that he was used to anything unexpected happening, and it was absolutely impossible to strictly follow orders. He pondered for a moment, and then came up with his own conclusion, "Maybe it's just like you said, they really are done once they break in."

  "What?"

  Their raid was probably just a whim, neither planned nor with any purpose. Otherwise, why didn't they act last night when the situation was so good? If there were so many people at that time, Mor Solerton would have taken over Gray Castle long ago." Phil thought for a moment and said.

  "What are they doing here? There's no need to come all the way here to loot, there are plenty of defenseless towns and villages outside the mountain, why bother climbing such a long mountain road?"

  "Well, there's no way to guess then." Fili shrugged his shoulders. "Many times the truth is just so simple that it's unbelievable, making people unable to understand or explain it. Anyway, they seem unlikely to search the mountain now, let's find a place to hide for a while and see if any reinforcements will come."

  When you need reinforcements, they always fail to arrive. By the time everything is almost over, they come strolling in.

  When Phil Sheridan saw the ragged, unkempt and armed mob of militiamen appear in his view, rushing helter-skelter into the already thoroughly ruined Warm Springs Valley, he could only shake his head in dismay.

  At this time, the houses that could be burned had already been burned to a crisp, leaving only the blackened and cracked stone walls and pillars. If it hadn't snowed last night, the trees would have been dry and easy to catch fire, and probably a forest fire would have started by now. However, because of this, as long as they could escape into the mountains with their lives, most of the politicians and soldiers who survived the attack could escape alive, rather than being burned to death.

  The rebels, after burning and killing for a while, exhausting their energy, retreated in twos and threes from different roads, just like when they came. Nobody could understand what they wanted to do or what they had done. The rebels seemed to have caused great harm to the ruling politicians, but none of the valuable targets were reached.

  When the militiamen arrived in the valley at dusk, the last few rebel soldiers who were still stupidly staying in the field fortifications also seemed to have exhausted all their courage in the battle a few hours ago, and they jumped out of the fortifications without firing a shot and escaped. The scene was like a reversal of what happened during the day. This battle started inexplicably and ended even more inexplicably. Only the wisps of smoke in the valley and the pungent smell of gunpowder in the air reminded people of the disaster that had occurred here.

  It was not until long after everything had ended that Fili pieced together the events leading up to and following the battle from scattered reports. After Mor'Soleiton's failed attempt to take Grayskull, the surviving elven spies and Soleiton family informants immediately sent out word. However, due to the chaotic nature of events, these messages were also conflicting. Meanwhile, near the Hot Springs Valley, there just so happened to be a regular army under the command of a member of the Soleiton family.

  The commander did not participate in Mole's conspiracy, but first received vague intelligence from the family's eyes and then encountered a spy who was originally under Colonel Mole's command. As a result, he easily believed the spy's words that "the conspirator Saorn Nom killed the old patriarch and Colonel Mole, and is plotting against the family" and immediately led his army to attack Wenspring Valley in the name of quelling the rebellion.

  To be on the safe side, he even mobilized the family guard who was training nearby and handed it over to the spy who claimed to have escaped from the trap, directly attacking the "conspirators' gathering place", which is the small villa where politicians gathered. Under this sudden attack, Warm Springs Valley was quickly captured.

  But after the battle was over, the soldiers gradually discovered what they had done, and when they truly understood the extreme significance of what was happening before their eyes, it was already too late to think about how to make amends, so this troop that had lost all hope for its future collapsed all at once.

  The hapless commander was beaten to death by his enraged subordinates, while the elven spy escaped before the plot was exposed. Afterwards, the soldiers who believed they had committed a heinous crime naturally took to a life of crime that endangered society, using frantic behavior to cover up their fear and panic.

  It wasn't until the sun was about to set that these unwitting turncoats gradually calmed down and began to think of their own escape routes, eventually dispersing in a hurry before the people who had surrounded them arrived, with a considerable number becoming real robbers and horse thieves, causing the security situation in the surrounding areas to rapidly deteriorate to an unbearable level.

  But all that is in the future, and for now, the immediate trouble was enough to make Norm's narrow escape a moot point. The sudden attack had left over 180 state legislative seats vacant, necessitating new elections in every state legislature due to lack of quorum. Moreover, the untimely demise of many prominent figures from New Tirael, especially his most important ally, Governor Rykhard of New Shamash, had thoroughly dashed his plans for establishing a war zone administration this year.

  Next, he will have to lead a new Nacirema with all political functions temporarily suspended, and face off against the powerful Spirit Invaders in less than a month, which undoubtedly makes the already low chances of winning even slimmer.

  Mole? Solerton's carefully planned and heavily manned covert operation had not caused New Elysium much damage. But a hastily fabricated lie by a spy who had managed to escape could have almost caught the leaders of the thirteen states off guard. To Phil, this was probably what they meant by "the only constant is change".

  But at this moment, he is more worried about whether he can survive the terrifying "Blood New Year" in his memory.