Chapter 526: Chapter 21: Hardship

Is it going to happen?

To be honest, Lynch hadn’t mentally prepared himself yet. After all, the territory of the Dark Moon Church had only been absorbed for a few years, and his focus now was on the second advancement of adventurers. He wasn’t eager to stir up additional troubles.

The Pure White Tower has deep roots in the Jade Land, with complex forces intertwined. Truly, pulling one string affects the whole, and once war breaks out with them, it would inevitably trigger a series of chain reactions, resulting in considerable losses regardless of victory or defeat.

With the current power and resources Lynch possesses, he’s not yet capable of crushing the Pure White Tower. A true battle would be quite uncertain in terms of outcome.

But the problem now is not whether he wants it or not, but rather that they’ve already come knocking, leaving him no choice.

“Whatever, let’s take it one step at a time!”

After some thought, Lynch decided not to worry about it further, allowing the situation to unfold on its own.

In the Wizard World, everything is governed by rules. This time is unlike his previous war with the Dark Moon Church, where he caught them off guard with no preparation, coupled with overwhelming strength, resulting in what amounted to a blitzkrieg.

This time, his opponent is evidently well-prepared and has formally delivered a declaration of war, so this war must proceed according to the rules of warfare in the Wizard World.

First comes the Human World, then the Extraordinary Power, starting with the collision of smaller forces, followed by the competition of larger powers, and finally, it’s their turn to engage at the top level. This text is hosted at novel fire.net

It would take several years, or even a decade, for it to reach a point where he needs to step in.

Before then, there is no need for him to worry, as he should focus on staying in the Tower, working hard to research the second phase of Rune Power.

Extraordinary Endowment of Mystical Power!

With such power, wouldn’t this war be a piece of cake to handle?

…

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, three years have passed.

Wizard Calendar Year 10141, Winter.

The war persisted for three years, raging between Karina’s Orendale and Charlie’s Orendale.

Both sides poured immense military power into the conflict, with the battlefront stretching from the Baloda River Basin all the way to the foot of the Eastern Border Mountains.

Karina’s Orendale had a stronger military force. Every member of the Blood Knight Order possessed Knight Level strength and had undergone Extraordinary Endowment, almost belonging to a knight order transformed by extraordinary power.

However, Charlie’s Orendale was not weak either. Almost all of the hundreds of nobles from the four realms within the Kingdom were mobilized, and the number of knights deployed reached tens of thousands, several times more than the Blood Knight Order.

Additionally, a vast army composed of ordinary subjects was recruited, numbering uncountable.

With a strong numerical advantage, Charlie’s Orendale was able to extend the battlefront significantly, causing Karina’s Orendale with fewer troops to be at a loss, even allowing the enemy to penetrate their borders and occupy a medium-sized town with a population of hundreds of thousands.

However, this situation began to improve as the second wave of combat forces from Fiery Flame City was deployed—

Adventurers.

Early in the war, the Fiery Flame City Council began enlisting some adventurers and conducting centralized military training.

Every one of these adventurers had grown up fighting in the Underground City, possessing high combat expertise, and could be transformed into powerful military forces with a bit of training.

Especially since most of them already had power equal to Knight Level, with some mastering transcendent Rune Power.

The Council retained their tradition of four-member teams, focusing on special operations training before deploying them to the battlefield.

Stealthy assassins silently infiltrated the enemy’s camp, decapitating enemy generals; berserkers charged down the slope with double-edged axes, devastating the enemy’s supply convoys along the mountain road.

Skilled archers shot down enemies from a thousand meters away; agile swordsmen harvested enemy heads like phantoms…

By now, both sides have nearly exhausted their secular powers. If the war scale continues to escalate, they would have no choice but to bring in powerful extraordinary forces—mysterious Wizard Levels…

…

Ramding Kingdom, Gray Stone Town.

Heavy snow falling, the wind howling.

A group of women had no choice but to carry baskets to the forest to chop wood in this freezing weather.

This task was originally meant for men, but due to the war, the entire Gray Stone Town was left with only boys who were not taller than a wheel and elderly men over seventy, along with the women who stayed home.

Messiah walked with the women on the rugged mountain road, the basket filled with thorns weighing heavily on her back, making it hard for her to straighten up.

With each step, her feet sank deeply into the snow, causing piercing pain like needles.

Past times were warm and comfortable, like sunlight radiating warmly on one’s body, but now these times are cold and cruel, making people distinctly uncomfortable.

In this new era, Messiah has come to understand a new word—

Hardship.

“Mom, Mom, it’s so hard!”

A little girl with braided pigtails clung to the clothing of the woman ahead. Her tender voice sounded very sorrowful; she too carried a basket almost as big as herself, filled with wood.

“Hang in there a bit longer, my Lily, without this firewood we won’t make it through this winter.” The woman ahead looked back, speaking with sadness and a touch of resignation.

This scenario was common in the group.

The war took away the men, leaving the women to support the household alone, causing the burden of life to multiply.

Previously, Messiah could still get some sewing work in town to exchange for food, but in recent years, even the women had to work the fields themselves, producing very little grain, with food becoming far more scarce than before.

Compared to before, almost no one in town had much to smile about now; one could hardly see anything other than troubled expressions and frequently hear sighs.

This period also helped Messiah realize that the people in this world are not always as warm and peaceful as before; sometimes, they can become as cold and cruel as they are now.

In such cruel times, life had become something very difficult yet painful, but people still strive to find grains, gather firewood, and do everything possible to sustain themselves.

Even though it’s painful, they still work hard to live—could this also be a characteristic of humanity?

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