Unexpected Discovery

Beyond the city walls of Bell City:

This was a battlefield engulfed in thick smoke and covered in blood, with bodies scattered everywhere, filling all the surrounding land.

"Huff... huff..."

Hornby knelt on one knee, his right hand leaning on a large knife, while his left hand hung weakly by his side. He gasped heavily for breath, surrounded by less than three hundred soldiers from the Hall Kingdom, supporting each other.

In the end, Hornby emerged victorious!

Meanwhile, Dukeford lay not far from him, his head completely separated from his body. His steel shield lay silently beside his corpse, now covered in knife marks.

Although Dukeford's suicide attack caused heavy losses to the Hall Kingdom's army, the ragtag army couldn't match a disciplined force, even in a five-to-one ratio.

If it weren't for the Hall soldiers running out of ammunition, forcing them to resort to hand-to-hand combat, they would have lost even more soldiers.

However, even though they won, Hornby had no feelings of joy. He knew the real challenge was yet to come. Despite being prepared, uncertainty still plagued his mind.

"Wisp, oh Wisp, now that the war is over, shouldn't your foxy tail be revealed? What's your purpose? Shouldn't you show up now?" Hornby murmured.

However, before he could receive any word from Wisp, another piece of bad news arrived.

"Report!"

A soldier rushed over with an anxious expression on his face.

This sudden report startled Hornby, and he had a sense that it might not be good news. Could it be that Wisp's foxy tail had been revealed?

"Speak!" Hornby urged hastily.

"General, it's bad news. The St. Martin Kingdom is attacking. They have already captured Western Duz Port and are advancing towards the capital!" The soldier said in a hurry.

"What!?" Hornby exclaimed. It wasn't Wisp's message, but this news seemed even more severe than anything Wisp could bring.

Wait!

The pieces of information about Wisp and the significant quantities of weapons from the St. Martin Kingdom connected in his mind.

In that moment, he realized that Wisp was just one piece of the puzzle, and the true mastermind behind all this was the St. Martin Kingdom!

"Heh heh!" Hornby slumped to the ground, wearing a bitter smile on his face. "St. Martin, St. Martin, what a formidable foe you are!"

If it were Wisp, he was confident that his preparations would be effective, and he would at least take a bite out of Wisp. But with St. Martin, he had no confidence at all!

After sitting on the ground for a while, Hornby's emotions finally settled, and he stood up abruptly, saying, "Let's go back to Hall City!"

"General, what about Bell City?" a reluctant officer asked.

The officer understood the importance of Hall City, but they had already defeated all of Bell Kingdom's forces. Now, all that remained was to reap the fruits of victory. It was tough to make a decision in such a situation!

"I said, we're going back!" Hornby stared at the officer, his tone heavy.

"Yes!" The officer replied helplessly.

In no time, the dwindled force of less than three hundred soldiers regrouped and headed back towards Hall City.

Meanwhile, on the walls of Bell City, the ministers and the king of Bell Kingdom witnessed the scene, feeling puzzled at first, but then secretly relieved. They lost the war, yet their opponents withdrew. What a stroke of luck!

However, their relief was short-lived.

"Report!"

A soldier came running hurriedly.

A while later, after receiving the news, the ministers and the king slumped to the ground, realizing why Hornby retreated after his victory. After all, what use was capturing Bell City when the entire kingdom was already lost?

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At the Port.

It went beyond Leslie' expectations.

Conquering two kingdoms was easier than he had imagined. From landing on the shore to capturing the port, the entire process took less than ten minutes, during which they faced no resistance at all.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Groups of soldiers from the St. Martin Kingdom marched from the streets, heading to strategic locations in the port.

Leslie strolled along the streets of the port, observing the scene. Initially, he should have been happy, but now he couldn't find any joy in it; instead, he felt an eerie sense of strangeness.

Because they encountered no resistance!

Even more bizarrely, the people in the entire port seemed to be oblivious to their presence, going about their business as if nothing happened. Even when the army ran past, there was no reaction from the locals.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Leslie wore a smile and stopped a middle-aged woman holding a basin, apparently about to do laundry, and asked.

"What do you want?" The woman paused and sized up Leslie, then asked.

"Ma'am, we are soldiers from the St. Martin Kingdom, and we are here to occupy your kingdom. Aren't you angry?" Leslie curiously inquired.

"Angry? Why should I be angry? You are not like those bastards from Bell Kingdom. If you want to occupy us, then do it. It doesn't matter!" The woman said somewhat resignedly.

"Why?" Leslie asked, surprised.

"My husband, my son, both sacrificed themselves for the kingdom. But the kingdom didn't even offer them any comfort. What use is such a kingdom?" Tears welled up in the woman's eyes as she spoke.

Her crying made Leslie uncomfortable. He had no problem with killing people, but comforting them was a challenging task for him.

Helpless, Leslie could only pat the woman's back, silently consoling her.

After a while, the woman stopped crying.

"By the way, you're from the St. Martin Kingdom, right? I heard that the workers there live quite well." The woman fixed her gaze on Leslie, hesitating for a moment before asking.

Leslie's mind was immediately set in motion, and he got an idea!

"Not bad. Our kingdom has been recruiting workers, and as long as they become workers of our kingdom, they get free food and accommodation, plus a monthly salary. If they work hard, they can live a comfortable life!"

"As for food, workers in our kingdom generally have meat in all three meals. As for clothing, our kingdom supplies most of the cloth in the West Sea at very cheap prices. Our citizens can buy cloth at an even lower price. So, workers don't have to worry about clothes; they only need to decide what to wear every day!"

"And also..."

Leslie enumerated the benefits of the St. Martin Kingdom, and the woman seemed intrigued.

"Can I take my daughter-in-law and granddaughter to your kingdom to work as well?" The woman hesitated for a moment and finally asked. "Don't worry, I'm a diligent worker!"

"No problem!" Leslie assured her and then asked, "But, ma'am, you have to tell me why."

"Well..." The woman hesitated for a moment and finally said, "I don't want to stay in this kingdom anymore. Apart from being able to eat, there's nothing else here. We're always at war. I've had enough, had enough of everything here. I just want to find a place where there's no war and where my granddaughter can have some decent clothes by working hard!"

Hearing the woman's words, Leslie realized keenly that perhaps the months of war had made the people of these two kingdoms on the island not only hate the other kingdom but also become disillusioned with their own country?

If that was the case, it presented an excellent opportunity to win hearts and minds!

As a result, Leslie spoke to a few more people, using the enticement of working in the St. Martin Kingdom, and successfully got similar answers as the woman.

"Sisters, if our kingdom occupies this place and sets up factories and farms, would you be willing to work here?" Leslie asked.

"Free food and accommodation, meat in all three meals, a salary, and cheap cloth, right?" The woman frowned.

"No problem, all those promises are guaranteed!" Leslie patted his chest and assured them.

"Well then, as long as you can guarantee that there won't be any wars here, count us in!" The woman said with a smile.

"Okay, you can go and tell others who have the same idea as you. Once we occupy this place, we'll set up factories, farms, and other facilities, and you can all become workers inside!"

"Plus, you'll get free food and accommodation, meat in all three meals, a salary, and the kingdom can also sell you cloth at a low price. Once you receive your salary, you can easily buy these things!" Leslie smiled.

"Really!?" The woman couldn't believe it.

"Really! I am Leslie, one of the leaders of the St. Martin Kingdom's Navy. If we fail to keep our promises, you can come find me!" Leslie assured, patting his chest.

Soon, the woman went back with a joyful expression to inform others.

Leslie also made calls to everyone and slightly changed the strategy of the attack, using a combination of propaganda and attack to target these two kingdoms.

Before the war, letting these people who had been impoverished for many years see the benefits of joining the St. Martin Kingdom could reduce their resistance. Moreover, as long as the St. Martin Kingdom fulfilled its promises, it could win the hearts of these people.