Chapter 1227 - 673: Respite
Utilizing the defense line to continuously bleed them, the status of those cultists had already hit rock bottom. When they charged on flat ground, they were once again plowed by artillery. A small number with good luck managed to run up, but their state was truly miserable.
Playing scattered tactics with those cultists on flat ground is utterly foolish. The originally dispersed squads regrouped, and the military formation facing these scattered cultists was simply a massacre.
After the rifles were exhausted, they switched to pistols, first using a barrage to weaken the enemies before grabbing their weapons and charging in.
These people seldom used bayonets, opting instead to grab Shields and sailor knives, transforming into shield and sword wielders. The efficiency of slashing was even better than bayonets, though it was also more dangerous, or else they wouldn’t be carrying Shields.
By the time Lance and the others rushed down, the battle had already reached its end.
Boudica rushed the fastest, but when the gate was opened, she couldn’t find more than a few cultists still standing. It made her feel bewildered as she carried her weapon, looking like a child who had their toy taken away, continuously complaining to Lance.
"Boss, it’s no good~ there’s no more WO..."
"Then go help them; we need a good rest," Lance replied perfunctorily, then walked towards the soldiers.
He had no intention of taking over the command, but, as usual, he first went to the war hospital that had been temporarily set up to comfort the wounded soldiers, help them heal, and alleviate their stress.
Previously, Lance didn’t have many methods to deal with their psychological trauma, but now, with just a few words, he could influence their will and help them regain their faith.
When they saw the Lord appear, hope dispelled the despair and fear in their hearts; nothing could shake their resolve.
Loyalty!
These soldiers who were injured or tortured by sorcery stood up again, picked up their weapons, and continued to fight, supplementing the personnel shortage.
The war indeed wasn’t over; it only dispersed the main forces. To clean up the mess and reclaim the defense line still required a bit of time.
Boudica eagerly went up to see if there was anything else worth chopping.
Audrey didn’t know what to do, and seeing Boudica go up, she intended to follow. Unexpectedly, Amanda suddenly spoke to advise her.
"Don’t bother with Boudica; I advise you’d better take a rest. The mission isn’t over yet.
Besides, they don’t know you. If you don’t want to get shot, it’s best not to go."
Audrey didn’t know why she reminded her, but seeing Amanda not intending to go up, she stopped as well.
During the busyness, she didn’t feel it, but once she stopped, the fatigue that had been suppressed before surged forth, and her repressed emotions started to fluctuate.
She was a bit confused about what she was actually doing?
But she soon stopped thinking; she was just too tired and wanted to lie down.
Perhaps back in the day, she would have been as pretentious as those noble women, but now Audrey wasn’t that concerned and casually found a spot at the door to sit and lean against the wall.
She took out that green absinthe and had a sip; the bitter and spicy alcohol slightly soothed her nerves.
Having ventured into so many tombs, she had never killed as many people as today; it’s frigging crazy...
The Lord clearly instructed them to hold fast here, making logistics the priority. As the battle slightly stabilized, someone began to inventory the remaining ammunition.
"The ammunition consumption was way too high!" someone exclaimed upon seeing one empty box after another.
Those boxes previously had been full of bombs worth several Gold Coins.
"So you don’t know, right? The Lord said, there is a way of fighting for the rich and a way for the poor. Back in the day, when we had just a gun among a few of us, only the best shooter became the gunman; the rest had to fight with spears.
Now that we’re well-equipped, naturally we have to use it; otherwise, why make so much equipment? It costs more to train a professional soldier than to make a few bombs, and if injuries cause manpower loss affecting combat power, the cost of treatment would be even higher..."
The entire camp was orderly; Lance didn’t need to intervene, and he just wandered around as if searching for something.
Amanda had already come up to him at this point.
"The number of cultists seemed sparse; if this really is the Sect of Ascension’s stronghold, it seems a bit off."
Compared to Audrey, who just wanted to lie down, Amanda reminded Lance of what she observed.
"How long have we been fighting the Ascension Sect? Just in this year alone, at least ten thousand cultists died by our tally. To still gather so many after multiple hits from us is quite impressive."
Lance didn’t care much about this, even explaining a bit for the cultists, but his subsequent words surprised Amanda.
"The pity is that the cult leader managed to escape..."
"Hah! Escaped?" Amanda briefly recalled and frowned slightly, "No, the outside is surrounded by soldiers, and inside we’ve thoroughly cleaned."
"I don’t have concrete evidence, but there are some discoveries," Lance briefly mentioned that special room found on the fourth floor.
"If the cult leader isn’t dead, the cult can’t be eradicated," Amanda understood the importance here and reacted immediately, "So our next task is to find him?"
Amanda was ready to take action immediately, but Lance slightly shook his head, smiling as he explained:
"Cultists are just worms depending on the ritual; they aren’t important. If we destroy the ritual, then they pose no threat.