Chapter 137: Exclusion

Translator: Wuxia Dog  Editor: Wuxia Dog

The generals all supported Reg’s change of plan, and the whole army became busy. Han Jin personally interrogated some of the Minotaurs and Evil Eyes, hoping to find some useful information.

Language was not an obstacle. Since the Abyssal Race was made up of ten-odd different races, all with their own difficult to master languages, the most convenient way was to select an official language. After careful consideration, the leaders of the Abyssal Race had chosen the language of the humans.

The humans were by no means the most powerful race, but they had an undeniable advantage in population. You could find signs of human civilizations everywhere, be it deserts or seas, mountains or underground. In addition, the leaders of the Abyssal Race had never been content with being stuck underground, and still had ambitions to extend their reaches above. If they could understand the language of humans, communication would no longer be an issue no matter where they went.

Han Jin didn’t make any novice mistakes when it came to interrogation. He parted the prisoners and questioned them separately, then compared and analyzed all their verbal confessions to distinguish the credible ones from the fabricated ones. Those who deserved a reward would be rewarded, those who lied would be punished, and those that must be killed would be killed. Then the next round of interrogation was made. Telling a lie was not always easy, for fabricated facts were something that didn’t exist, and therefore easy to forget. After some time, there would always be a discrepancy between the answers.

At last, Han Jin came to the conclusion that there were only two roads leading to Black Raven City. The shortest one was rather rough and also passed through Rhine City. The other was long, and the army would have to cross a canyon of nearly ten kilometers in length. Only after that would there be flat expanses of land.

Han Jin preferred the latter. After a discussion, Reg and the generals all agreed with him. They dispatched several cavalry squads: one to inform Ronning to avoid the Titan Konjac, and the rest to conduct detailed reconnaissances of the canyon.

The troops departed at dawn in two groups. The auxiliary force made up of infantries marched toward Rhine City as they had originally planned to serve as a distraction, while the cavalry rode toward Black Raven at full speed. When the strategic pincer maneuver was near completion, the auxiliary force would then approach Black Raven City and rendezvous with the main force to launch a full scale attack.

The auxiliary force was led by Reg, while the main force was led by Guevara. Though Guevara had lost his dragon and his youth, the title ”Dragon Knight’ was enough to make even the most arrogant generals obey him .

It might be that the Riptide Regiment marched too fast, or that Black Raven City lacked any capable authorities with Zaganide’s absence, but none of his subordinates had expected for the Riptide Regiment to bypass Rhine City and directly attack their capital. The canyon, a naturally defensible position, had somehow been left unguarded. Even when the skirmishers of the Riptide Regiment approached the city, there were still many Cavemen busily working in the wheat field outside.

The commanders of Black Raven City were not very capable, but they were definitely very ruthless. When they saw the approaching Riptide Regiment, they immediately ordered for the city gates to be shut, leaving the Cavemen crying outside. Even when they saw that there were only a few skirmishers, no one dared to leave the city to rescue the Cavemen.

Considering the bloodthirsty nature of the Abyssal Race, they shouldn’t have cowarded behind their walls like this, but Zaganide had clearly given his order to the commanders in charge: hold the city and stall for time. Under no circumstances are you to meet the enemy outside of the city wall! The commanders followed that order to the T and concentrated on the defense inside of the city. They had two missions and nothing else: hold the city and stall for time.

By early afternoon, the majority of the cavalry had successively arrived at the walls of Black Raven City. By dusk, countless infantries had appeared on the horizon. Not long later, the city was heavily besieged.

Han Jin had his giant tortoise carry the four magic crystal cannons and the army, but Guevara didn’t rush to order an attack. Most of their forces were cavalrymen, thus they were waiting for the military auxiliaries led by Reg.

However, two days later, Reg was still nowhere to be found even though Ronning had arrived. Han Jin, Moxinke, and the others went to welcome him, but were all surprised when they saw him. They had only parted for seven or eight days, but Ronning seemed to have gone through a lot and looked especially depressed. He had looked better on the day he was to be executed!

After exchanging greetings, Ronning didn’t want to rest, but instead walked with Han Jin. Sensing this was something important, Han Jin led him to a secluded place and looked around to make sure there was no one else. “What happened?”

“I had a quarrel with Reg.” Ronning showed a bitter smile. “Not quarrel, to be exact, but I was scolded, and I had to defend myself.”

“About what?”

“The Cavemen.” Ronning sighed. “I ordered my men to keep the secret and planned to explain it to Reg later, but someone… Fuck!”

“This is the first time I have heard you swear.” Han Jin didn’t know what else to say. He could neither blame Reg, nor comfort Ronning. “Is the situation in Nuremberg… taken care of?”

“Yes.”

“How did you do it?”

“It’s easy. Nuremberg hasn’t been established for long, and the scale of the tunnels isn’t large. What’s more, the water level under the city is above eighty meters, whereas the tunnels dug by the Cavemen were not very deep. I first blocked all the wells in the city, and set a fire to push the Cavemen to the tunnels. Then I had the Rhine River dammed to flood the tunnel. The Cavemen may have ways to deal with the water, but they can’t find food.” Ronning paused. “But…”

“But what?”

“But Reg called me a butcher, and said I would be…” Ronning hesitated. “Am I wrong, Raphael?”

“No, you are not. Don’t forget that I was on your side!”

“Then is Reg wrong?”

“Well… this isn’t a matter of right and wrong.” Han Jin gave him a vague answer. “We all have different opinions. As for those Cavemen, Reg doesn’t agree with our way, nor does Sunier, Moxinke, or the others. But Sir Guevara will support us.”

Ronning bitterly smiled and shook his head. In truth, he would much rather have Reg’s friendship than Guevara’s support. If he could reach a compromise with Reg and restore their friendship, he would give up anyone else’s support. Reg’s trust was enough for him.

“Did the curse come to effect in your cavalry?” Han Jin changed the subject.

“No, we bypassed the Titan Konjacs after we received your message.” A sign of shame was revealed on Ronning’s face. “I should be blamed for this. I didn’t expect that the soldiers would dare to do such things.”

“It’s not your fault. Soldiers are men. Beside, the Abyssal Sirens seduced them. No man can resist that.” Han Jin laughed. “To be frank, if I had no scruples, I might have been cursed too.”

“Really?” Ronning also laughed. “I wouldn’t believe it if someone were to tell me you had fallen for those sirens! Moxinke though, on the other hand…”

Han Jin’s face suddenly changed. What Ronning had said was a real possibility! All the soldiers treated Moxinke with the utmost respect; if he really planned on doing something, none of them would have stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing this, Ronning paused. “Did he really…”

“I don’t know. I haven’t asked him.”

“I’m just kidding. He wouldn’t,” Ronning said to ease Han Jin’s anxiety.

“Let’s talk about this later.” Han Jin shifted the topic. “When will Reg’s troops arrive?”

“Tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Tomorrow? You… departed with Reg yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Han Jin stared at Ronning. He realized that Ronning must be hiding many things from him. It made no difference strategy-wise for Ronning to arrive a day early, but what made him so eager to leave Reg first?

Has Reg’s attitude toward Ronning deteriorated to such an extent?

“What’s wrong?” asked Ronning.

“Has Reg turned against you?”

Ronning’s face abruptly turned pale, but he forced a smile. “No, I just wanted to come first to see the situation in Black Raven City.”

Han Jin sunk into thought. What Reg had done was full of contradictions. Han Jin had seen him kill in cold blood many times before. Why would he become so soft-hearted in this matter, and even turn against his most trusted general?

Han Jin knew from experience that any change must have a traceable reason!

Seeing that Han Jin was pondering something, Ronning didn’t disturb him and took a step back. He had come for his help in the first place.

A man gradually appeared in Han Jin’s mind — Knight Conrad! When Reg had killed as a thief, he had represented only himself and could do anything he wanted to do without any scruple. But when he was leading an army, he would become Conrad’s shadow, and would try his best to do what Knight Conrad would have done. He would not allow anyone to destroy the reputation of the Riptide Regimen. That reputation was also his father’s, and it must not be smeared!

Many things became clear to Han Jin. He finally understood why Reg had gone mad when he saw that Conrad’s coffin was defiled. Knight Conrad was a man who cherished his honor more than his life. His personality had left a deep mark on Reg. Reg had refused to take charge of the army at first, but when he had finally accepted his role, he had assigned most of the military affairs to Ronning, and had left nearly nothing for himself. Deep in his heart, he didn’t want to be a shadow of his father, but to be himself!

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