Book 4: Chapter 197: The Unresolved Offensive and Defensive War On The Selma River
Book 4: Chapter 197: The Unresolved Offensive and Defensive War On The Selma River
The calm on both sides of the Sacred River Selma lasted for a short three days. The large-scale battle resumed on the fourth day of Bella’s return to the defense line on the northern bank. She roughly understood the reason why the Dark Humans and the Old Demon Kings had instigated the Beastmen to attack the Humans through her inquiry with the four Beastman Princesses.
The purpose of the Demon Kings and the Dark Humans was to create more corpses at the Human border to lay the foundation for further invasion into their territory. The bodies could provide them with the necessary materials to form a demon army. Corpses and Departed Spirits were the original materials for creating a demon army.
This was a miscalculation on the part of the old Demon Kings. In Sarnia Duchy, in the southern border region of Gabriel Empire, there was a team similar to that. In Bella’s Darkness Sacred Region, they needed both corpses and Departed Spirits when creating demons. With the interference of the Darkness Sacred Region, the source of corpses and recruitment of Departed Spirits of the old Demon Kings had been snatched away.
Therefore, it was only a matter of time before there was a war between the two sides. It had nothing to do with their beliefs. Belonging to the same kind, the two factions were competing for special resources. The Human Empire was still unaware that the so-called Departed Spirits disaster that broke out in the Beastman continent was machinations of two different dark forces.
Duke Brandon, the former Duke of Norlander Duchy, was fighting a civil war with hundreds of thousands of duchy’s allied troops against the soldiers of the southern border of Gabriel Empire. The humans liked to fight amongst themselves, and it was a miracle that the Imperial Alliance survived for so many years.
Continuous firing of canons came from both sides of the Sacred River Selma. The Demon King allied forces had built a long defensive zone on the northern bank of the river in just three days with the help of the robots engineered by the Mechanical Creator Andrea.
The scale of the Demon King Coalition’s defense position was equal to that of the Dark Coalition on the southern bank. The number of cannons and catapults on both sides was also pretty even. As soon as they started firing, the entire Selma River fell into the vicious struggle of the dark forces.
The Demon King allied forces occupying the northern bank bombarded the Dark Coalition’s position on the southern bank with cannons and catapults. The Dark Coalition forces on the southern bank were not to be outdone so easily. They fought back with magic cannons and catapults, attacking the Demon King Coalition headquarters on the northern bank.
Explosions and booms continued on both sides of the Sacred River Selma. The sky was full of boulders hurled by the catapult forces from the participants. On the surface of the river, which was more than a hundred meters wide, both sides sent their landing forces to try to force their way onto the opposite shore.
These wooden boats carrying skeleton soldiers were undoubtedly cannon fodder. The cannons and the magic-guided cannons first took care of these landing forces. With only a few rounds, the small wooden boats were accurately hit. Before the skeleton soldiers on board could respond, they were blown to pieces and scattered into the wind.
The skeleton soldiers wouldn’t feel anything and weren’t afraid of death. Hence, there were a large number of them on the docks on both sides continuously boarding wooden boats to fight the battle on the river. Before long, countless wooden boat fragments and human bones were floating on the surface of the Sacred River Selma. It was a tragic sight, to say the least.
The battle between the demons didn’t stop either. All sorts of black magic attacks hit each other’s positions in turns. The only difference between the two sides after the magic attacks was that the Demon King Coalition had many light magic defenses on their defense line on the northern bank where their troops were located. They were created by the church priests who had followed Bella’s army.
President Maria and the four Holy Maidens of the Radiant Church had subtle expressions on their faces. They were participating in the battle of the demon army and were using light magic to help the Demon King Coalition create a defense barrier. If this sort of thing were made known to the Radiant Church, God knows if they would be expelled as traitors.
Holy Swordsman Cynthia took it better than President Maria and the others. If everyone fell to corruption, the Radiant Church probably wouldn’t dare to expel the Pope’s successor and the four Holy Maidens at the same time. The Holy Swordswoman in charge of supervising them had fallen to corruption herself, so the Pope had little chance of knowing the truth.
Currently, Bella was holding a meeting with her close friends at the base camp to discuss countermeasures. Looking at the map of the Beastman continent spread out on the table, she felt somewhat helpless. The Sacred River Selma divided Priestly Continent into two parts, with basically no other place to travel across.
Flying demons couldn’t be deployed at present. When both sides had cannons and units facing the sky, sending flying demons to attack the other party was equivalent to sending them their heads. Moreover, flying demons couldn’t transport others at present. If they flew over, there would be no returning.
The cost of a Bone Dragon Knight required the raw materials of at least tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers. By comparison, it was better to send skeleton soldier landing forces to try out their luck! Since the two sides had sufficient military resources, if there wasn’t a key breakthrough point, the Selma River war might last several years. What’s more, Dark Humans were immortal and wouldn’t starve to death without food.
In the absence of food supply problems, the Dark Coalition could still survive for a long time, similar to Bella’s Demon King coalition. The same was true for the demon troops of both sides. Thus, the demons fired at the other side crazily as if it didn’t cost anything at all.
In the conference room, White Wolf Princess Tania, White Cat Princess Savannah, Silver Fox Princess Vanessa, and Snow Bunny Princess Trini were all present. They were dressed in black maid outfits and were serving as temporary maids for the meeting. A special black silk scarf was wrapped around their necks to hide the black collar around their necks that signified their pet status.
Looking at the bosses of the dark forces in the conference room, Tania didn’t know what to say. Who would’ve thought that the heads of the army of nearly ten million demons were all beautiful girls, some of whom still had the title of Demon King?
The temperature in this big tent was hot. None of the girls who came to the meeting wore heavy armor and were dressed very casually. Only the map on the table was a reminder to outsiders that this was a prestigious council of war, not a party full of beauties.
Bella sat in the commanding general’s position with a serious expression, her hands supporting her chin. Upon seeing her so solemn, Tania and the other Beastmen princesses wished they could expose the fake mask the Demon King wore in public.
Although Bella was very solemn now, Death God Maureen, Duke Brandon’s daughter, Miss Emily, and a group of beautiful girls were locked up naked in a private lounge behind the tent, waiting for her to go back and play with them.
Unfortunately, Bella, this demoness, had already gotten Tania and the other Beastmen princesses to take specific medicine in advance, so they couldn’t speak now. Besides, the black maid attire they were wearing was also made of very erotic materials. As long as it was exposed to sunshine, it would become transparent immediately. Therefore, they could only quietly stay where they were and didn’t dare to behave abnormally.
“Bella, we can’t go on fighting like this. Right now, no one can obtain an advantage. Even if peace talks were to be held, we would only reach a dead end. After all, no side can take advantage of the other, and it won’t be easy for anyone to back down.”
“Honorable Bella, I have gained a lot of information on the northern front through some of old Demon Race acquaintances. Would you like to hear it?”
“Don’t worry about it, Cornice. You also don’t have to be so nervous. Now that you have joined my side, I won’t doubt you. Although you and Dolores are from the Demon Race, it doesn’t matter to me.”
According to the intelligence obtained by the former Demon Princess Cornice, at the northern defense line of the Human Empire, the army of the Octavia Empire was fighting an arduous war. This time, the demon invasion seemed to be backed by mysterious forces.
It was the continuation of the eight demon invasion war. After the successful landing of the Demon Race allied troops and the capturing of several northern port cities in succession, Octavia Empire fell into a passive position.
Fortunately, they had two Saviors—God Chosen Knight Scott and God Chosen Mage Adelaide. Under the leadership of the Saviors, the Octavia Empire recaptured several cities and regained the initiative, but it had also paid a terrible price.
The unfavorable war situation in the north wasn’t good for the human’s Imperial Alliance. Furthermore, Bella was still wandering in the Beastman Continent. She could only express her helplessness for the state of affairs in the north. For now, Princess Irene and the others were alright. Bella had also arranged a special demon team to protect them secretly. As long as they were fine, she had no plans to intervene in the northern war situation for the time being.
Compared with the miserable outcome in the northern battlefield, the eastern battle of the Human Empire went smoothly. Although the invasion of the Oceanic Race was sudden, their landing operations didn’t meet favorable conditions. Moreover, it was very hot in Aldridge Empire now. The invading troops of the Oceanic Race who landed weren’t used to the heatwave and soon lost due to the weather.
There was no need to mention the southern battlefield on Bella’s side. The four Beastman Clans had surrendered, and the humans were bored to the point of fighting amongst themselves. The great crisis encountered by the various empires of the Imperial Alliance in the Human Continent had been overcome. Besides, Bella’s Darkness Sacred Region and Sarnia Duchy had inadvertently helped the Human Continent hold onto the southern defense line, interrupting the Dark Coalition forces that posed the greatest threat to the Human Imperial Alliance.
Bella found the mouth of the Sacred River Selma on the map of the Beastman Continent. There was a vast plain near the river mouth, which was suitable for a large-scale landing operation. It was called the Isaiah Plains. The Dark Coalition forces had built Port City Brent here to safeguard it. The Dark Human allied forces sailed from the Darkness Continent and landed on the Beastman Continent here.
According to the latest intelligence from New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea and Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth, Ocean Demon King Victoria’s Black Fleet had set sail. If there weren’t any unforeseen circumstances, their destination should be Port City Brent.
Ocean Demon King Victoria’s purpose was to support the Dark Coalition forces’ defense line on the southern bank of the Sacred Selma River while keeping others in the dark. Bella didn’t intend to let her succeed, so Victoria’s fleet couldn’t land in Port City Brent.
The artillery attack on the Sacred River Selma continued as Bella announced her decision at the battle conference. She handed over the command to Sky Demon King Dolores, Blood Demon King Eleanor, and Underworld Demon King Cornice. After that, Bella planned to go out to sea to block Ocean Demon King Victoria’s Black Fleet.
The Demon King Coalition’s navy was currently under the command of Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth and New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea. Although they were powerful, they were still slightly inferior to Ocean Demon King Victoria. Bella was afraid that they would suffer losses in the naval battle and decided to support them in person.
Bella was rather confident that she could compete with Ocean Demon King Victoria. Her confidence soared after she narrowly defeated Dark Night Demon King Aggy. If all went well, Bella also planned to take the “contract necklace” from Ocean Demon King Victoria.
Bella was only taking Holy Swordsman Cynthia with her. As the titular chief commanders of all the demon armies, it was bad for Lisha and the others to leave the frontlines at this time, perhaps even causing a leak of information.
A large underground cave appeared in the rear of the defense line on the northern bank of the Sacred River Selma. Bella and Cynthia walked along a passage to the depths of the crypt. Cynthia had changed back to her original appearance, her silvery hair fluttering in the wind. Looking from the back, Holy Swordsman Cynthia could surely pose as Kriss or Ariel; they were all beauties with silver hair.
“Bella, this place is too… Just go in by yourself. Why drag me along?!”
“Cynthia, please. You’re the Holy Swordsman of the Radiant Church, so what terrible place haven’t you been to? It’s not like there isn’t any light in here! Since I’m not panicking, what are you fretting about?”
“It’s… Never mind. As I’m already with you, I’ll just let it go this time. If you come to a place like this again, can you take more people with you, please?”
Although there was enough light in this cave, Cynthia still felt a freezing chill in her heart. If she had to describe it, the environment here was similar to the lair of some demons of the old world.
This was the lair created by the Creator of Darkness Mystica in partnership with the Mechanical Creator Andrea. The lair was a horrible birthing place for all sorts of demons, and here, there were all kinds of terrifying scenes too difficult to put in words. Cynthia almost vomited when looking at the different corpse remains embedded in the black culture.
At present, this lair was mainly used to cultivate various insect type demons, comparable to the Zerg base in a game Bella played in her previous life. From time to time, there would be many alien demons that would break through the shells of these special eggs. What’s more, there were many mechanical behemoths on patrol in the passage, responsible for defending against variants. If any of the aliens mutated, they must be killed immediately.
If it weren’t for Cynthia’s magic swordsman clothing, Bella would’ve had the illusion that she had traveled through time. It was more like a horror scene from a science fiction movie than a magical world.
“Bella, you’re here. How rare! The little sister doesn’t have to be so nervous. This lair is designed by Mistica and me, and don’t worry, it’s not anything erotic.”
In the depths of the lair, Bella and Cynthia met Mechanical Creator Andrea, one of the lair’s owners. This loli with long silver hair was sitting on a mechanical throne suspended in the air. When speaking to Bella, she floated over with her throne.
As she drew closer, Bella discovered that there were some pure girls love romance books beside Andrea’s mechanical throne. She was busying about while reading a book to relieve the boredom. What a comfortable life!
“It’s been hard work for you, Andrea. I need some new mechanical demon hybrids, and you should have some here! I need them for the sea and the sky. The war has been rather difficult.”
“Yes, we sure do! Come here, let me show you my latest achievements. Bella, in fact, you can directly use my nuclear weapon…”
“Andrea, let’s talk about this next time. Didn’t you say that you have new results? Can you show us?”
Bella reached out and touched Andrea’s head gently, stopping the crazy ideas of the silver-haired girl. If she really used a nuclear bomb, Bella was afraid that the land wouldn’t be able to bear it. Andrea’s futuristic technology shouldn’t be overused. If it weren’t for the fact that the war couldn’t be resolved, Bella wouldn’t have disturbed Andrea.
“Mmm, remember to bring me more gifts next time! By the way, there is one thing you should pay attention to. There may be a bigger lair on the other side of the Sacred River Selma, that is, deep in the southern bank, probably in the vicinity of Ancient Todd City. I think that’s the fundamental reason why the Dark Human Coalition has been able to send troops continuously.”
“Mmm, I got it. When we cross the river, I will pay attention for sure!”
Lairs were divided into different grades, with the experimental lair created by Andrea and Mystica being at most primary grade. According to her statement, the full version of a lair was larger than their current one. The lair on the other side of the Saint River Selma had been detected to be at least intermediate-grade or above by a small reconnaissance machine sent by Andrea.
There were also many kinds of lairs. Bella’s lair looked horrifying, but in fact, it was already considered “clean” in the world of lairs. The raw materials used by her were all dead bodies.
Most of the lairs applied living raw materials. What’s more, they used young girls… Fortunately, Andrea didn’t set any tentacles here because she was a girl.
Of course, conscience came at a price. A lair that didn’t use tentacles developed very slowly. It was only through the management of the two Creation Gods that it was upgraded to the primary level. If they had taken the normal route of development, the lair would already be an advanced one since it had two Creation Gods taking care of it every day.
Behind the battle of the Sacred River Selma was a dark war between the two lairs. This period of history was too horrible and disastrous to be recorded in the history books of the Human Empires after the conflict. For today’s average human, the existence of lairs had always been the nightmare deep in their hearts.