Chapter 1088: Chapter 1075: Ceding Territory and Paying Compensation for Peace Chapter 1088: Chapter 1075: Ceding Territory and Paying Compensation for Peace On the vast prairie battlefield, the screams of clashing soldiers and the sounds of weapons colliding echoed between the sky and the earth, the air thick with the smell of blood.

The commanders of both sides were in their respective rear positions, watching a giant meat grinder slowly turn, devouring one fresh life after another, then sending waves of troops into the battle to either expand their advantage or prevent a disadvantage.

On the battlefield, the characteristics of the fighting soldiers from both sides were extremely distinct; the soldiers of Gai Nation, after felling their enemies, would sever the enemy’s head and tie it around their waist.

Thus, it was common to see exceptionally valiant soldiers on the battlefield, their waists bearing seven or eight dripping heads, appearing like devils who had climbed out of Hell, scaring ordinary soldiers to the point of breaking, utterly lacking the courage to fight them.

However, under the temptation of killing enemies for titles and substantial rewards, the bravery of the soldiers could not mask another disadvantage: the number of powerful warriors.

Due to Muria’s reform causing a mass departure of nobles and the Recruitment Order attracting strong warriors from both domestic and foreign lands, the overall power of Gai Nation had not declined much but had even slightly strengthened.

But even so, it could not hide the disadvantage of Gai Nation fighting on three fronts; even before the reforms, Gai Nation could not withstand the main attacks from three countries simultaneously.

Since the powers of the surrounding nations were similar, no country could fight multiple adversaries alone. At this time, Gai Nation, excluding Muria’s combat power, certainly couldn’t cope. However, with the addition of Muria’s combat strength, everything was different.

In this battle that had entered the decisive stage, Gai Nation’s commander was anxious about the direction of the war when the clouds in the sky began to change.

Because the constant combat on the prairie sent blood rising into the sky, the clouds had been tinted a light red. Thus, when the clouds began to change, no one noticed it at first.

Only when the clouds in the sky formed a vortex and began to turn slowly did the battling soldiers feel something was amiss, as the temperature around their bodies rapidly increased and the air became dry and hot.

At that moment, the region seemed to turn into a giant steamer, with temperatures climbing so rapidly that the trampled wild grass on the ground began to yellow and the moisture within evaporated quickly.

Ah!!!

Then, a piercing scream sounded as a soldier’s body burst into Flames from inside out, engulfing him completely. In a short time, his body was reduced to a pile of char in the flames.

This was just the beginning, for after this blaze ignited, on this prairie battlefield, soldiers began spontaneously combusting one after another.

After a moment of panic, the soldiers of Gai Nation calmed down, realizing that all those who were combusting were their enemies in battle, while none of their own side ignited.

At this time, the anomaly in the sky had escalated to its peak. In the center of the vast vortex spanning across the sky, a being with wings on its back and horns on its forehead slowly descended, surrounded by dark red flames.

The red-gold chains formed by flames floated around his body, swinging in the air and leaving visible red streaks.

As this fierce yet majestic, demon-like being descended, a powerful oppression enveloped the battlefield, covering the entire prairie.

Under this oppression, the soldiers of Gai Nation felt an urge to prostrate in worship, but this urge was not strong; they felt more in awe of this being that had suddenly appeared from the sky.

Compared to the soldiers of Gai Nation, the invading soldiers felt utterly different, as if a massive mountain had suddenly descended from the sky, crushing them.

The invading soldiers who survived the burning flames involuntarily knelt down under this oppressive force; some even lay on the ground, their bones creaking under the pressure before breaking.

Countless soldiers were crushed into cripples under this oppressive force, losing their ability to fight.

“What is this being?” With such a shocking transformation on the battlefield, most soldiers, officers, and warriors were utterly astonished.

Only the high-ranking generals of Gai Nation’s army showed ecstatic expressions, as they were aware of Muria’s true form upon awakening. Thus, with Muria’s arrival on the battlefield, they were instantly reassured, knowing that this battle was secured.

“I am Arnold, the King of Gai Nation.”

The Demon God who had descended upon the battlefield then spoke, his voice robust and filled with majesty, bearing an intimidating presence.

After finishing his declaration, he extended his hand towards the location of the enemy commander who had invaded the Gai Nation and forcefully slammed it down.

The sky, which seemed already transformed into a sea of flames, crumbled as the Demon God executed his move, sending endless fire raining down from above, hurtling towards where the enemy commander was located.

Like the Heavenly River pouring down, the flames formed a waterfall, cascading downwards, swallowing the enemy commander’s position whole.

With a mere gesture, a towering waterfall of fire was established, resembling the might of deities, thoroughly shocking the soldiers of Gai Nation and the few remaining enemy soldiers.

“Eradicate the remaining enemies!”

With just one strike, having destroyed the command hierarchy of the invading enemy army, Muria commanded in a lowered voice, then his form gradually faded and disappeared into the sky.

By his own assessment, the power of his reincarnated body could now be considered legendary even in the world of Elasia, and as a Legend amongst those below, his actions produced a crushing effect, with practically nothing that could withstand or oppose him.

Thus, Muria, in a brief span of time, traveled among three main battlefields, dealing with the upper echelons of armies from three invading nations, leaving behind only the small fries, and then directly returned to the Royal Palace. After this, he needed not act further.

This war, having involved his intervention, had already ended. He believed that those three nations would no longer dare to send troops to invade his country; instead, they would have to worry about him invading them.

The surrounding hostile nations, coveting and lurking, after this incident, also dared not act rashly. That’s the deterrent power possessed by an individual’s might.

Indeed, this war could have been concluded by him right at its onset, that is, as soon as the three nations initially dispatched their armies to invade his nation, by snuffing it out at its nascent stage.

But Muria chose not to do so; he needed to use this war to implement a Military Merit Conferment System among his troops and to change the operating method of the entire nation, transforming the Gai Nation into an entity extremely desirous of war and expansion.

…
Just as Muria had anticipated, after his fierce intervention that resolved the invading armies’ top generals and mighty warriors from those three nations, they hastily sent envoys into Gai Nation, requesting peace negotiations.

The rulers of these three nations were terrified by the combat power Muria had displayed. Such overwhelming combat power could directly annihilate their nations.

However, they were relieved that, for the moment, Muria had no such intentions, because in his eyes, Gai Nation was far from qualified to incorporate other nations; the country’s infrastructure was too underdeveloped and had too much to amend.

To expand, mere communication posed a significant challenge; in such a state, Muria harbored little desire to conquer territories beyond Gai Nation, for even if conquered, they would only nominally belong to him, and the actual control exerted would be unimaginably low.

Slow information transmission, language barriers, and cultural differences were all factors that could destabilize control. More importantly, apart from him, Gai Nation lacked significant strong figures, and both the quantity and quality of its army were grossly insufficient.

A nation is a collective entity; it’s not enough just for him alone to be strong. It requires a group of strong figures to suppress various areas. It wouldn’t do if every time a minor issue arose, he had to personally intervene to suppress it, which would be quite pitiable and lack refinement for someone “Being a King”.

Thus, limited by various factors, Muria agreed to the peace requests from these three nations, since he had achieved his objective; however, he did not easily let those three nations off the hook.

As the defeated nations, naturally, seeking peace meant having to pay a price. Muria, rightfully acting as the lion, demanded hefty concessions since he was the one who had been invaded. Thus, familiar clauses like ceding territory and compensation appeared in the treaties.

Although the envoys from these three countries wanted to negotiate lesser reparations for their nations, as the defeated parties, they inherently lacked the morale. Therefore, they could only helplessly bleed themselves to secure peace without facing Muria’s retaliation.

As the nation invaded, with the main battlefields within Gai Nation, the losses due to the war were substantial. However, with the compensations and resources received from these three nations, plus the territories reluctantly ceded by them, the gains outweighed the losses for the Gai Nation.

After securing the compensation funds and resources, as well as the ceded territories from these three nations, Muria officially declared Gai Nation entering a period of recuperation and major construction.

Muria began preparing for Gai Nation’s future expansions by establishing a massive rear area capable of providing stable logistic support, fulfilling the basic requirements of both Farming and War.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read