Chapter 351: Post-War
While the Imperial border was ablaze with conflict, Owen was busy gathering refugees, registering minor nobles, and establishing the Northern Glory Alliance, working tirelessly.
Besides Owen, the Northern Glory Noble Alliance was comprised entirely of minor nobles who were there to make up the numbers. They were numerous, but their strength was negligible. After all, they had been ravaged by the southbound barbarians, and it was fortunate that they had even survived. Therefore, the so-called alliance was just an empty shell.
However, regardless of whether it would be useful in the future, it was important to establish it first. Moreover, those minor nobles who had pledged their allegiance were, to some extent, talented individuals. They could fill the vacancies in the territory and serve as a disguise to the outside world, as the abnormalities within the territory still needed to be concealed.
The Northland Noble Alliance, which had just been formed and was busy fleeing, wasted no time in requesting support from the forces backing them. They needed manpower, financial resources, and everything in between. At the same time, they were busy building cities in areas that avoided the major battles, equally occupied.
Although the Northland was plagued by disasters, they had no choice. They could either return to the Empire to be good-for-nothing wastrels or stay in the Northland and become lords, albeit with risks.
In fact, the choice was easy. Every war eventually comes to an end, and no force can wage war forever. Once the war was over, the Northland would still be their domain. Therefore, despite the considerable risks, most Northland nobles were willing to stay and persevere.
In reality, the war had already entered its final stages. The Barbarian Kingdom’s army would have collapsed long ago if it hadn’t relied on plundering along the way. After all, their foundation was weak, and with the long journey, relying solely on domestic support was simply unsustainable. Similarly, the border army wouldn’t have lasted long without the backing of the Empire.
However, overall, despite the border army constantly being on the defensive and having suffered nearly 100,000 casualties, with countless civilian losses, the final victory ultimately belonged to the Empire.
Not long ago, the Empire dispatched two legendary mages, along with a legendary knight and two legendary warriors from the border army, to carry out a decapitation strike. Although they failed to achieve their objective, they still inflicted significant losses on the high command of the Barbarian Kingdom’s army, even nearly crippling the commanding general.
The Barbarian Kingdom’s army retaliated with a fierce offensive, but these losses were insignificant to the Empire.
As time passed, the heavily depleted border army had been replenished, and the reserve army being reorganized in the rear alone numbered over 100,000, not including those who were arriving in succession.
It was conservatively estimated that within three months, the total strength of the Imperial border army could reach 500,000. Regardless of how many of these soldiers could be considered elite, at least before these men were all dead, the Empire could still mobilize even more soldiers. This was the Empire’s confidence.
Owen had once estimated the Empire’s war potential. If they spared no expense, the total mobilized force could exceed 20 million. Any more than that, and the logistics would completely collapse before the war even began.
Of course, this was just in theory. First, it required the entire nation, including both traditional nobles and the Imperial Family, to obey the Emperor’s orders, which was obviously impossible. Even if the world was ending, the possibility of it happening was slim to none, because human nature was quite messed up.
In any case, with its incredibly strong war potential, the Empire’s victory was only a matter of time. Even the commanding general of the Barbarian Kingdom’s army was well aware of this, so he had already begun to transport supplies and slaves to the rear.
There was no point in sacrificing slaves for blood rituals anymore, as several legendary figures were nearby. Previously, without legendary mages, the legendary knight and warriors were afraid of going there and not returning, so they chose to turn a blind eye. Now, with legendary mages, they couldn’t say they could come and go freely, but as long as they paid a small price, disrupting the blood rituals was not a problem.
Moreover, it was no longer a question of expanding the war gains and burning the war into the Empire, but a question of how much they could gain after paying such a high price.
Fortunately, the Imperial border army was unexpectedly wealthy. The vast number of war preparation warehouses stunned the Barbarian Kingdom’s army, who lacked such experience, and filled them with regret. Due to lack of maintenance, a large amount of equipment had rusted, mountains of grain had spoiled, and a vast quantity of supplies had rotted.
These man-made losses alone exceeded the Barbarian Kingdom’s output for decades, which showed how wealthy the Imperial border army was and how heartbroken the barbarians were when they saw this scene. Therefore, they wasted no time in transporting the goods to the rear.
Not only did the Barbarian Kingdom’s army gain a lot, but the Demon’s Head and the Flesh and Blood Church, who had joined midway, also had their fill. However, as the final revelry approached, the members of these two evil organizations suddenly disappeared.
The commanding general of the Barbarian Kingdom’s army felt a sense of foreboding. Compared to the people he had brought from the Northland, he had never trusted these Southern Barbarians who had joined halfway. Therefore, he immediately ordered the army to be on alert and commanded the rearguard, responsible for escorting the supplies, to depart immediately.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The magic array that enveloped most of the military camp made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cellar.
With three legendary mages as the core, a mage corps composed of over a hundred grand mages and high-level mages jointly cast a forbidden spell that surpassed the legendary level. Countless heavenly fires descended from the sky, the earth cracked, poisonous gas spread wantonly, and tens of thousands of barbarian troops were buried in an instant.
If the commanding general of the Barbarian Kingdom’s army hadn’t acted decisively, using 100,000 skeleton soldiers as a rearguard, and all survivors had abandoned their supplies and retreated immediately, their losses would have been even greater.
Although they had gained a lot of supplies this time, they had lost over 100,000 barbarians, leaving only 50,000 to 60,000. The commanding general of the Barbarian Kingdom’s army didn’t know whether this was a gain or a loss, but he knew this was just the beginning. When a new batch of soldiers grew up, it would be time for them to head south again.
Owen did not pay constant attention to this battle, especially after discovering the presence of legendary figures. He directly recalled the One-Eyed Giant Eagle and relied solely on the previously established intelligence network to obtain information.
Although it had various shortcomings, it was better than being discovered. With the perception and intuition of legendary figures, the One-Eyed Giant Eagle could not escape their notice.
The barbarians were defeated and returned home. The Imperial border army had no time to celebrate and was busy rebuilding the border defenses. Many mages also stayed behind, attempting to construct a magic barrier at the border to serve as an early warning system against future southbound barbarian armies, but this was obviously not an easy task.
The Northland Noble Alliance also received supplies and population support from the Empire. This was not for poverty alleviation, but to build a barrier between the barbarians and the Imperial border. When necessary, at the Empire’s command, these Northland nobles would have to contribute troops and provisions to assist the Imperial border army in battle. The Empire’s generosity was not so easily obtained.
North City also caught the Empire’s attention. Having beheaded thousands of enemies in a single battle and resisted tens of thousands of southbound barbarians, it was the only bright spot among the Northland nobles in this war. Naturally, it was regarded as a model, and various benefits were bestowed upon it.
Of course, along with the benefits came various suspicions and suppression. After all, many forces within the Empire had invested heavily in the Northland. The presence of a powerful force like Hydra was not conducive to their plans. However, after seeing the casualty report, these worries vanished.
Almost all regular army units had been crippled, and the temporarily conscripted militia had suffered heavy casualties. It could be said that the losses were severe. Even with enough population and resources, it would take at least three to five years to recover, as soldiers couldn’t simply be conjured by clicking and spending gold coins.
Another reason was the high proportion of firearms in their equipment.
Everyone knew that firearms were effective, but there was a reason why they were once again phased out after being widely adopted.
The concern about them falling into the wrong hands and causing significant harm was only one factor. The biggest problem was the existence of extraordinary professionals.
Firearms were simply too easy to counter, so while they were good, they were not suitable for large-scale deployment.
