Chapter 440 The Arrow is on the String
Petra Fortress.
Escorted by two light pickup trucks, Earl Ruskin, who was riding a motorcycle with his servant, drove out of the city with a sullen face.
With his arm on the window, the captain of the personal guard sitting in the co-pilot seat of the pickup truck waved his hand, signaling the driver to speed up and approach, and said to Earl Ruskin outside the window with a smile.
"If you need help, remember to shout louder, we are not so stingy and will come to help you."
"No need for your help! Thank God you stay away from me!"
Glancing at the machine gun on the back of the pickup truck, Ruskin's eyebrows twitched, turned his face to the side and roared in the wind, "Can you put that thing away! We are not going to fight... Do you want to kill me?"
What if those friends who came from afar misunderstand?
The captain of the personal guard and the driver exchanged glances with strange expressions. They didn't quite understand what he meant, but finally accepted this strange request.
He reached out his hand from the window and patted the roof.
"Put away the machine gun first."
"Yes!" Hearing the captain's order, the machine gunner standing behind the pickup truck skillfully removed the 10mm heavy machine gun stuck on the bracket.
The same thing happened to the other pickup truck.
At the same time, the two pickup trucks slowed down and kept a distance from Earl Ruskin who was riding a motorcycle in front.
Looking at the pickup trucks that were pulling away, Ruskin finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.
Although he had some complaints about the order of the Lord of Sean, and although he knew that the group of jackals were all cannibals, he still had a little fantasy in his heart.
What if there was a misunderstanding between the two sides?
If he could resolve the misunderstanding beautifully and turn the cannon into bread, he would undoubtedly become a hero of Petra Fortress, or even a hero who saved the kingdom.
The nobles of Petra Fortress have always had a dream, that is, to be able to obtain the power of republican autonomy like Silver Moon City in the south and get rid of the shackles of feudal contracts.
The Petra family, who are loyal to the royal family, is the biggest obstacle.
If a friendly agreement can be reached with the Legion, perhaps his family's long-cherished wish will be realized!
This is of course full of risks.
But it is also an opportunity.
"Drive faster!" Earl Ruskin, who regained his courage, regained his spirited expression, looked at the dashboard of the motorcycle, and urged the servant riding the motorcycle, "Did you not eat? Or did you not fill the motorcycle with gas? Why is it only 40 miles!"
"My lord... the road conditions here can only drive to 40 miles. If we go faster, we will fly." The servant said with a smile.
"Useless thing."
Ruskin cursed, knowing that it was useless to urge, so he stopped talking.
The convoy of two pickup trucks and a motorcycle soon approached the area near the Lost Valley.
Crossing the layers of sand dunes, looking at the valley looming in the yellow sand in the distance, Ruskin felt his heartbeat accelerating.
"In front! Right in front!"
He shouted at the top of his voice.
The two pickup trucks behind him came closer, and the captain of the guards stuck his head out of the window and shouted at him.
"Do you want us to follow?"
"No! You wait here for me! I'll be back soon!"
Ruskin, who threw down this sentence, urged the servant to speed up and continue to move forward.
Although the servant's shoulders trembled when he thought that there was a legion camp in front, he did not dare to disobey the order of the earl, so he could only twist the accelerator with his head held high.
The dust raised by the tires quickly attracted the attention of the opposite side.
After a while, two three-wheeled motorcycles drove over from a distance.
Seeing the flag of the legion, Ruskin's face lit up. Just as he was about to wave and shout, two gunshots came from the opposite side.
The bullets whizzed and landed on the sand beside him, frightening the servant driving the motorcycle and turning a corner and fleeing in the direction they came from.
Ruskin was also startled. He didn't expect the other side to shoot without saying hello, so he shouted loudly behind him.
"Don't shoot! I am Count Ruskin of Petra Fortress! There may be some misunderstanding between us! Why don't we sit down and talk-"
However-
The only response to him was the sound of gunfire.
Those people didn't say a word of hello, they opened fire when they saw people, and when they approached a distance of about 100 meters, the machine gunner sitting in the co-pilot seat of the three-wheeled motorcycle pulled the trigger and fired.
"Tu Tu Tu--!"
The thick and long flames sprayed, and the bullets whizzed around on the sand dunes. Although they were not very accurate, they could not withstand too many numbers.
The severe pain from his leg made Ruskin tremble all over, and he almost fainted, and he fell on the servant's back.
"My lord? Are you okay--"
Looking at his left leg that was bleeding profusely, Ruskin uttered a half sentence in a trembling voice.
"Hurry... run!"
The off-road performance of the three-wheeled motorcycle was still a little worse than that of the two-wheeled motorcycle, and it did not catch up with him. The captain of the guard who came with him heard the gunshots and brought people to support him in time.
The machine gun was put back on the fixed bracket.
The two pickup trucks stopped on the nearest sand dune, and the machine gunner pulled the bolt to load the gun skillfully, and released the firepower of the heavy machine gun towards the three-wheeled motorcycle crossing the sand dune.
A string of dust splashed on the desert, and the three-wheeled motorcycle in front was instantly shot into a sieve.
The driver died on the spot, and the two crew members jumped off the motorcycle, using the motorcycle as a cover and firing rifles at the pickup truck on the sand dune, but they could not withstand the fierce firepower of the heavy machine gun and soon followed the footsteps of the driver in front.
The other three-wheeled motorcycle was lucky enough to escape back to the reverse slope of the sand dune behind.
While the pursuers were suppressed by firepower, Count Ruskin's servant rode a motorcycle and took his master to the direction of the two pickup trucks as if he was desperate.
The master lying on his back had no sound.
Just now...
His master seemed to have been shot in the back again.
A signal flare rose on the reverse slope of the desert, and the captain of the personal guard sitting in the co-pilot seat of the pickup truck frowned, stretched his right fist out of the window and waved it back.
"Retreat!"
...
The camp not far away.
Looking at the flares rising into the sky and listening to the gunshots in the distance, General McLen, standing on the runway, frowned, picked up the telescope and looked to the west, but could not see anything.
It was too far away.
He asked the officer standing beside him.
"What's the situation over there?"
The officer obviously didn't know the situation, but he reacted quickly and answered immediately.
"That's the defense area in charge of Centurion Wester. It should be his people patrolling that area today."
General McLen put down the telescope.
"Call him over."
"Yes!"
The officer turned and left.
Not long after, a strong man came over, stood up and saluted.
"Report! There are two pickup trucks and a motorcycle in the west, probably a caravan from the nearby oasis. They killed three of our followers... I have sent people to chase them."
Hearing that only a few followers were killed, General McLen stopped asking. In the past two days, there have been some ignorant merchants walking this way.
"Don't worry about the merchants. Tell your people not to chase too far. Pay attention to the patrols in the defense zone. The plane will be here soon."
"Yes!" West stood at attention and saluted, then turned and trotted away.
Watching his back as he left, General McLennan frowned slightly.
I don't know why...
A strong sense of uneasiness always creeps into his heart from time to time.
However, this unexplained emotion soon disappeared with the emergence of a silver shadow in the distance.
The temporary tower next to the runway received a landing request.
After approaching the runway, the silver plane with a length of more than ten meters and a wingspan of tens of meters quickly lowered its landing gear and landed on the runway with rolling sand and dust.
The plane stopped steadily on the side of the runway, the gangway was lowered, and the ground crew quickly drove the forklift and the refueling truck to surround it.
Of course, this precious jet could not be given to the escort army to drive, and the pilots were all noble Willant people.
Two pilots came down the gangway, walked to General McLen and saluted, one of them raised his head and chest and said.
"Captain of the 11th Army Aviation Squadron of the 10,000th Squadron and H-55 main pilot Colen reports to you!"
General McLen raised his hand to return the salute, looked at the plane next to him, and couldn't help but smile.
H-55 "Hurricane" bomber!
Twin jet engines, the fuselage is made of special alloy steel, and the maximum speed can reach Mach 2!
Although the Army Command positioned it as a tactical bomber to support front-line troops, due to its high-strength fuselage armor and durability, as well as the powerful breakthrough performance brought by the high-power engine, it can also perform strategic bombing missions.
It is called a tank flying in the sky!
Or a butcher's scalpel!
Following the Hurricane bomber, a wingman responsible for escort or attracting firepower landed - the H-44 Sabre fighter.
Compared with the Hurricane, it is undoubtedly much smaller in size. Not only does it have a single jet engine, but the fuselage is also made of lighter titanium alloy.
Although the positioning of this fighter is to fight for air supremacy and solve high-threat targets that propeller aircraft cannot deal with, since this equipment is designed by a research institute under the Army Command, its ground support capability is also not weak.
The 20mm cannon mounted on the nose has an astonishing 500 rounds of spare ammunition, and two expensive TV bombs are mounted under the wings.
As for why there is no air-to-air bomb?
Because Luoxia Province does not even have propeller aircraft.
If it was known in advance that there was an alliance in the Valley Province, if it was known in advance that the Pioneer was going to the Great Desert to find Shelter No. 0, the Legion might have prepared some and sent them from the west.
Unfortunately, there is no if.
General McClane stretched out his right hand, shook hands with the two tall and strong pilots, and said with joy.
"The stage is ready for you! Let those bugs see what hell on earth is!"
Carlane grinned and shook the right hand of the unfortunate general.
"That's what I'm here to do."
Although Griffin did not tell McClane the full content of the plan in advance, he was a colleague who had worked together for so many years. McClane knew what the cunning skunk was going to say when he looked at his butt.
The bomb installed on the "Hurricane" bomber was undoubtedly a nuclear bomb -
The three-phase bomb with an equivalent of one million tons!
At this time, there were a few sporadic gunshots in the distance. Carlane, who was shaking hands with General McClane, subconsciously turned his head and looked towards the west.
"What's the situation?"
General McClane said with a smile.
"They are probably the wastelanders nearby. This place is close to Oasis No. 4. Don't worry about them... Those cowards dare not meddle with our business. By the way, before I came here, I got a few bottles of red wine from that stinky... old guy Griffin. Do you want to try it?"
Keren waved his hand and declined with a smile.
"No... I have a mission tonight. Let's wait until we come back to drink the wine of victory!"
It is the best time for the Iron Heart to leave the Valley Province.
However, this does not mean that the mission is risk-free.
There is also an old survivor force in the south of the Valley Province, named Boulder City, which is said to be part of the alliance.
There are many equipment left by the post-war reconstruction committee deployed there. The combat effectiveness is a question mark. It is hard to say whether it will pose a threat to the "Hurricane" bomber.
There is only one nuclear bomb transported from tens of thousands of kilometers away. In order to ensure that everything is foolproof, they plan to wait until dark and carry out the bombing mission under the cover of night.
Unlike tactical bombing, nuclear strikes do not require precise coordinates and visual observation of the ground. It is enough to fly to the approximate location, press the switch, and then step on the accelerator.
Hearing that the mission was to be carried out at night, McLen was delighted and laughed with understanding.
"Then wait for your good news!"
Hearing that the bugs that climbed onto his airship would soon be burned to ashes under the shock wave of the nuclear explosion, he couldn't help but feel happy.
What a pity.
I can't see their trembling faces before the end of the world.
...
On the other side.
Petra Fortress, the heavily guarded prison gate.
Accompanied by several guards, a muscular, dusty man passed through the tall stone gate and was released.
"Remember to watch your mouth, you won't be so lucky next time."
Giving the big guy a warning look, the bearded guard captain waved his hand and left with his men.
The door slammed shut.
When the footsteps could no longer be heard, the man spat on the ground and turned around cursing.
As he turned around, he saw two people and a bear standing at the intersection not far away, and his expression suddenly became awkward.
After a moment of hesitation.
After touching the back of his head, he finally stepped forward and greeted the employers, mumbling in a muffled voice.
"Sorry, boss, the job went wrong..."
"It's okay."
Looking at his dusty face, Sisi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked at the prison behind him, "Did they beat you up?"
The man said embarrassedly.
"Uh... this happened before."
Sisi looked slightly disappointed.
It's a pity that the bruises were not caused during the detention, otherwise he could have cheated the city lord of compensation.
However, it doesn't matter if there are no bruises.
People who are content live longer.
Nodding to show understanding, Sisi continued.
"What are your plans for the future?"
The man said with a wry smile.
"I plan to try my luck in Silver Moon City in the south... I probably can't stay here anymore."
After he was sent in, several brothers in the mercenary group quickly revealed his identity as the main culprit, and this brotherhood was definitely over.
In fact, they were not brothers at first.
Everyone just joined together to make money together. There were only six or seven people in the mercenary group in Hukou. It was easy to get together, but it was easy to disperse.
Sisi nodded, not surprised by this, and continued.
"If you have nowhere to go, just follow old Bulma. The White Bear Knights need security guards... Well, if you are interested, go there and be the security captain."
The Lord of Petra plans to allocate a station for the White Bear Knights to help them more conveniently implement the good deeds of helping refugees.
To be honest, there is a lot of misunderstanding in this, for example, she actually wants to take advantage of this rare opportunity to help everyone make a fortune.
But once the words are spoken, it is too late to take them back.
"They came here to help those poor people under the guidance of the gods" - she said this herself.
The moment he heard this, the man was stunned, looking at the lady in front of him with an incredible face, and even broke his voice with excitement.
"You... do you still want me?"
Looking at the man who took a step forward, Sisi took a step back with disdain and glanced at this guy.
"Don't say such strange things, or I'll change my mind."
"No, no, I don't mean to disrespect you!"
The job opportunity was almost lost because of a slip of the tongue, and the mercenary leader hurriedly explained, his voice became incoherent.
"I just... don't quite understand, I clearly messed up what you asked me to do--"
"Everyone has a first time, and everyone goes from unskilled to skilled," Sis interrupted him, looking at the grateful guy and continued, "Of course, you have already used up one chance. If you mess up again next time--"
"Just shoot me! No, you don't have to do it, I will bury myself in front of you!"
The mercenary leader looked loyal, and said sincerely and respectfully, "You may not remember my name, my name is Qiaodi! It's an honor to continue to serve you."
Whether that loyal expression was pretended or from the heart, Sis nodded with satisfaction.
The White Bear Knights' regional reputation will probably reach its peak after this war. In fact, they have already gained the trust of the local city lord.
However, they cannot stay here to manage the fixed assets that cannot be taken away. They have agreed to travel to more distant places.
Therefore, the best choice is to find a reliable local to help manage.
For example, Old Bulma is a good choice. She is honest, capable, devout, and owes them a favor.
But even so, she is still unwilling to test human nature with interests and put everything in the hands of one person.
It is better to divide the money and guns into two different people.
Later, she will hire an NPC from the Merchants Guild of Dawn City to take charge of the accounts, so that she can keep abreast of the situation here at any time.
Since this game is said to be 100% real, she naturally has to do her best to make it foolproof.
Hearing the name of the mercenary, Tail suddenly spoke.
"Oh! Jody! Have you considered changing your name?"
The mercenary said immediately.
"Please give me a name, young lady!"
Just waiting for this sentence, Wei Ba raised his thumb with shining eyes.
"You will be called Qiao Qiao from now on!"
The mercenary looked confused, but still nodded.
"Okay, young lady... I will be called Qiao Qiao from now on."
Rou Rou: "..."
Si Si said with a subtle expression.
"Awei's naming skills are comparable to those of the manager."
Wei Ba looked at Si Si in surprise.
"Eh?! Am I so good at naming?"
Si Si raised his hand.
"Oh! Super good!"
Rou Rou urged with a smile.
"Anyway, the matter has been done, let's go back quickly, it's too pitiful for Zhima Lake to stay there alone."
No matter whether the city lord and those nobles completely believed Si Si's nonsense, at least the old man in the white robe had been fooled.
I heard that he also planned to write a letter to the capital to tell the respected high priest and His Majesty the King.
The Silver Moon Goddess has sent down a miracle to protect her people!
Is there anything more exciting than this?
This is indeed an exciting thing for the believers of the Silver Moon Sect, but not necessarily for them.
She always has a bad premonition.
Trouble is still to come...
...
At the same time, Earl Roskin, who was on a mission to the Lost Valley, was carried back by the captain of the personal guard of Lord Sean.
Roskin, who was shot in the leg and back, was dying on the stretcher, and his face became even paler due to excessive blood loss.
The Lord's Palace.
The nobles gathered here were silent, and even the one with the loudest voice on weekdays was stunned by this unbearable sight.
Sitting on the stone chair, Sean admired the expressions on the faces of these cowards with satisfaction, and a cold smile rose at the corner of his mouth.
Look.
This is the fate of a coward.
Ruskin's lips trembled, and he squeezed out a voice of fear and anger.
"The Legion... They don't intend to talk to us at all! Those barbarians! No, they are beasts! There is no way to communicate with them using civilized language!"
Get up from the stone chair.
Walking to the bottom of the steps, Sean glanced at Ruskin lying on the stretcher and said indifferently.
"You have to thank that lady for giving you a chance to come back alive."
If he was riding a horse.
He had no chance to escape.
Ruskin's face was full of humiliation. He turned his head to look at the woman standing in the corner of the crowd, and almost squeezed out the words from his teeth.
"Thank you..."
Sis shrugged and didn't speak. There was no change in her expression.
She just didn't want to waste time on such an insignificant NPC. His life or death would obviously have no effect on the next game plot.
But if he rode there, it would take a long time, and it would probably take two or three days for Petra Fortress to find his body.
"What did you see there?" Sean looked at his captain of the guard.
The reason why he sent this man out of the city with Earl Ruskin was not to monitor whether the idiot was doing his job properly, but to find out the situation in the Lost Valley.
As early as when Ruskin left the city, he had already ordered the troops in the fortress to prepare.
The captain of the guard saluted.
"The garrison scale is about 10,000 troops. The construction in the north of the camp has been suspended and is probably completed. Before leaving there, I noticed a plane flying from the northwest, and it seemed to have landed there."
"Plane?" Sean frowned.
There was a commotion among the people around.
Every face was filled with panic and anger, and even those who had previously doubted the prophecy showed surprised expressions at this moment.
"Plane...are they building an airstrip there?"
"Those people are really planning to attack Petra Fortress!"
"Has the Lion Kingdom fallen?"
"Spirit of the Sand Sea...those greedy barbarians are really insatiable!"
"We shouldn't have waited so long! We should have started long ago!"
Listening to the indignant conversations of the people around them, the faces of the White Bear Knights also showed surprised expressions.
Pulling Rourou next to him, Tail asked in a low voice.
"Did the official website say that they were building an airport?"
She was busy posting.
She didn't look at the posts carefully.
Rourou was actually posting seriously, but after a while of careful recollection, she didn't have any impression and shook her furry head.
"It seems...not."
Tail was shocked.
"Giao! Could it be...the treasure has been found by them?"
Rourou said with a smile.
"How did you come to this conclusion?"
Tail gestured with his hands with a serious face.
"Think about it, the armor of the God of the Sky... must be very big! It's so big, it can't be transported by truck, right? Maybe they built the airport to transport the treasure away..."
Listening to this random analysis, Rourou's face gradually showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and her expression became serious.
"Hiss... maybe it's really possible!"
Zhimahu, who was standing aside, said with a smile.
"I think if it is really the armor of the God of the Sky, let alone an airplane, even a train can't drag it away..."
Not hearing the whispers of her teammates, Sisi frowned slightly.
Although she didn't see any discussion about the airport on the forum, she always felt that the airport was not that simple.
Oasis No. 9 has not fallen yet.
In addition, the administrator brought the Iron Heart and the Storm Corps to the Lion Kingdom for reinforcements in the past two days. Although the Legion and the Falcon Kingdom are strong, they will not take the initiative to fight on two fronts.
Unless...
A glimmer of enlightenment appeared in her eyes, as if she had thought of something.
"That 'scepter'... maybe they really found it."
A pair of eyes looked at her.
Sisi looked at Lord Sean and said seriously.
"The scepter that fell from the sky sealed the evil god and destroyed the oasis. The evil ritual may have reached the last step... We don't have time to hesitate, you must make a decision immediately!"
Sean showed a kind smile on his face.
"It seems that we have the same idea."
After saying that, he looked at the ministers in the palace, and suddenly stopped joking and looked solemn.
"I heard the call from the yellow sand. The great will is calling us. Our kingdom is facing the most severe test in history. Whether our enemy is the Legion or the ancient demon, Petra will be the kingdom's strongest shield!"
As he said this, he drew the saber from his waist and looked at the captain of the guard and the officers beside him who also looked solemn.
"Gather your men--"
"Prepare for battle!"