With the overall situation of the floating continent settled, Qianye decided to leave and return to a neutral land, leaving Song Zining to deal with the aftermath.
Song Zining also learned of Lin Shuai's fall at this time. He looked at Qianye who had regained his composure and couldn't even see anything unusual on the surface. He only sighed, and the two were relatively silent, not even talking to each other.
Words have never been as empty and useless as this moment, and there is some pain that even a touch can't bear it.
When the dark fire came, they formed a mighty and huge fleet, but when they returned, they were very empty. Most of the troop carriers were empty, and some ships even lacked crews, so no one could be found to drive them.
After discussing with Qianye, Song Zining simply sold many transport ships to the empire. After this battle, although Yong Ye suffered heavy losses, the empire also saw the benefits of large-scale airborne operations by transport ships. Although the transport ships in the neutral land are dilapidated, they are reliable and strong, easy to repair, and suitable for military use.
There are too many corpses of mercenaries and Zhao clan's private army, and it is not easy to distinguish them from the dark races. They cannot be picked and identified one by one, and some of those who died in the Hall of Valor have already been buried in the void.
According to the common practice, the empire put away all the nameplates of the soldiers that could be found, then cremated the corpses, buried the ashes, and erected a tall monument on the former site of Baicheng.
After the simple but solemn ceremony was over, Qianye took the surviving veterans of the dark fire and set off for the return voyage.
The fleet consists of battle cruisers as the flagship, frigates on guard on both wings, and a huge transport fleet in the center. Almost every ship in this fleet was wounded and was moving slowly. Qianye asked the Hall of Valor to return to Northland first to rest and repair equipment. In addition, the environment in Hokuriku is mild, which is also good for Carol's injury.
All the way was calm and the fleet sailed slowly to a neutral place. Although the movement is slow, after a few days, the neutral land is still far away.
Qianye stood at the porthole of the bridge, looking forward. At the end of the void, the neutral land is already looming. Looking from a distance, it was a mass of scattered land masses, wrapped in a circle of mist. Only by looking from a distance can we vaguely see the traces of the fall of the Xugu star back then.
The neutral land gradually approached, the captain repositioned the route, led by the battle patrol, the huge fleet quietly deflected an angle, and sailed to the neutral land.
In the eyes of outsiders, there are land masses ahead, and only Qianye can see that layer of mist. When the battlecruiser rushed into the mist, there was a subtle sizzle sound in the entire ship, many instrument pointers jumped sharply, and some instruments were even emitting sparks.
"Damn, it's like this again!" The captain cursed, then released the force, protected the cockpit, and shouted: "What are you still doing, why don't you hurry up and overhaul? Replace the broken one and see if there are any spare parts Top. By the way, look for the older models, the older the better!"
The crew quickly started to work, the captain urged a few more words, and came to Qianye's side, worriedly said: "My lord, a batch of parts have already been replaced when we came here, but it still doesn't look right now. It's just changing like this." If it goes down, it will affect the performance of the ship."
"Neutral land is like this, it doesn't matter, your opponents here are also antiques. In addition, I will find you a suitable place to stop the ship." Qianye said.
The captain looked a little better, and said: "My lord, I'm not complaining, just looking at her, I feel uncomfortable."
After finishing speaking, the captain left the bridge and inspected the entire ship.
This battlecruiser is the most cutting-edge battleship in the empire, and the favorite of every captain. Although it had been refitted once before coming to Neutral Land, it was obvious that the shipyard still underestimated the harsh environment of Neutral Land. The mist that Qianye sensed had an obvious aura of corrosion and destruction, and was mixed with the force of the void. Ordinary materials for constructing force arrays could not withstand its corrosion.
What happened on the Battle Cruise was just a small episode. The fleet passed between the two land masses, and an extra large land mass appeared in front of it, which was the East China Sea.
At this point, every mercenary can find their way back. The fleet headed straight for Nanqing City, the landmass gradually enlarged in front of my eyes, passing through a cloud, the outline of a city appeared on the horizon in the distance.
A mercenary general next to Qianye couldn't help showing joy, and said, "Finally back!"
Qianye sighed in his heart and said, "Yes, I'm back."
An officer shouted loudly: "Come back this time, Master Qianye, you really have to take us to a good fuck!"
Qianye was awakened by this sound, and looked back, the mercenaries in the bridge were very excited, and all of them had joyful expressions on their faces. All of these mercenaries exuded extraordinary aura. Apart from a few generals, there were several others who had faintly shown signs of breaking through as generals.
Qianye didn't expect him to say that. Looking at him, most of the surviving mercenaries stared at him eagerly. Those who are still with Qianye are all survivors of the Battle of Baicheng. After the catastrophe, many have shown signs of breakthrough.
Qianye originally thought that nine out of ten of the dark fire mercenaries died in this battle, and those who were still alive should have been devastated. Even if they didn't plan to quit the mercenary group completely, they should want to stay away from the battlefield. But unexpectedly, after a big battle, these people seemed to be completely ignited.
"We lost so many brothers this time, I originally thought that you would want to rest for a while before making plans." Qianye said.
A group of mercenaries looked at me and I looked at you, and finally pushed out a general in his early thirties.
This general was originally the leader of a small mercenary group, but under Ji Tianqing's threats and lures, he led the entire mercenary group into Dark Fire. In the original Darkfire General, he was not outstanding, but miraculously survived the Battle of Baicheng. Among the surviving mercenaries, he was originally the one with the highest position and the strongest combat power, so he was publicly released.
He bowed to Qianye first, and then said: "Master Qianye, we mercenaries have been living a life of licking blood, which one will have a good end? Die on the battlefield is a good ending, and the most fearful thing is to grow old. Injury, unable to go to the battlefield or do heavy work, it can be said that life is better than death. In the past, there was a mercenary group to take care of it, and it was nothing more than to keep everyone from starving to death in their later years, but it was not much better."
Qianye nodded, this is the most common ending for mercenaries in the neutral land. According to Song Zining, this is also a natural rule. In order to survive, the human race in the neutral land has greatly improved their fertility, and their individual strength has also improved faster. But the neutral land cannot support so many people, so brutal war is the way to reduce the population.
Mercenary regiments, large and small, were born to fight. Either they are hired to fight with others, or they fight with each other. In a word, they have to fight and kill people, otherwise no one can survive.
Even crueler than this is the Eternal Night Continent, which is located at the bottom of the world. The resources are even poorer. Even if you are young and strong, you can't get out of the garbage dump, you can survive like a beast.
The general paused, and continued: "In the final analysis, this bloody battle is just the fate of people like us. It's not a big deal. But this time is different from the past. Those brothers who died in battle, at least died Very dignified. At least their wives and family members don’t have to depend on others and be bullied. You and Lord Zining took us to fight this battle, and let us understand that we mercenaries can also die with dignity and without worries.”
Qianye never expected this to happen.
The mercenaries who died in the battle in Baicheng this time were paid by the empire according to the standards of the regular army, which was also one of the conditions for participating in the war. Qianye did not expect that there is a monument behind his death, which means so much to these mercenaries.
In addition, the pension standard of the empire is also of great significance to the mercenaries in the neutral land, and their families can at least live with peace of mind. In the past, mercenary regiments were often disbanded because they could not pay pensions. Once mercenaries died in battle, it would be a disaster for the family. It was not uncommon for wives and daughters to become prostitutes.
The general looked back at his companion, and said again: "Master, in fact, we have discussed it before. With you and Master Zining, we know that our mercenaries are also human beings. So we will not leave, but want to Continue to follow you and conquer the world!"
Before Qianye could speak, another elderly general said again: "Master Qianye, this time the pension is divided into three parts, and one part can be distributed, and the remaining two parts will still be kept in the dark fire. The dark fire will develop in the future. Wake up, you won't forget us."
Qianye smiled wryly, "You guys trust me so much..."
"When you were in Baicheng, you were always in the most dangerous place."
"Yes, Master Zining is the same."
"I can stand here alive because you pulled me out of that werewolf's claws!"
A group of mercenary generals chattered and talked non-stop.
The general at the head raised his hand and pressed it lightly, and when everyone was quieter, he said, "My lord, although we mercenaries are nothing, we can tell who is the real hero and who is worthy of our sincere pursuit! Don't refuse, What we need from now on, all we need is a single order! Even if it’s another battle like Baicheng’s, it’s no different!”
Looking at these mercenaries who had survived a hundred calamities, Qianye couldn't help but feel emotional.
The mercenaries live a precarious life, nothing more than money. The Empire has always given generous pensions to soldiers, and the standard is completely astronomical for mercenaries in the neutral land. These mercenaries are willing to give up more than half of their pensions, which shows their determination to follow Qianye and rebuild the dark fire.
One of the oldest mercenaries said: "Lord Qianye, that's it, the pension we left behind is much higher than other mercenary regiments. I believe that as long as you lead us for a day, you won't let those brothers who died in battle family members are wronged."
Having said this, Qianye suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. The promise of this sentence is not only responsible for the surviving mercenaries in front of you, but also responsible for the families of those mercenaries who died in battle, and there are more than 100,000 people.
The general at the head said in a deep voice: "Master Qianye, as long as you are willing, the initial reconstruction is not a problem. Many descendants of those brothers who died in battle have grown up quite a lot. In our neutral land, we are considered adults after ten years old , give them a gun, they will definitely not be bad on the battlefield!"
Qianye finally nodded, and said: "Okay! From now on, you all follow me well, and I will take you to conquer a big world!"
During the battle patrol, there was a sudden burst of cheers like a tsunami!
A seed is planted here.
The fleet sailed all the way, the wind and the sea were calm, no one who was not open-eyed wanted to come and rob. Even the most vicious pirates in outer space, after seeing that Battle Cruiser, they will put away all their irrational thoughts and retreat quietly.
A frigate sailed towards Nanqingcheng first, and circled over the city for several weeks, and only when there was nothing unusual, did it send out a signal. The huge fleet approached Nanqingcheng and landed at the takeoff and landing field one by one.
Nanqing's nominal city lord, Ji Rui, had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Qianye walking towards Zhan Xun, he immediately greeted him with a smile on his face, and shouted from a distance: "It's really gratifying to come back with a big victory!"
Qianye shook his head, and said indifferently: "My brothers are almost all killed in battle, what is there to celebrate?"
Ji Rui was taken aback, "They all died in battle? No way? There should have been... 50,000 people when you went there, right?"
"These are the ones who came back." Qianye pointed behind him.
The surviving mercenaries who came down from the battle cruiser were only a few hundred people, and they looked thin in front of the huge hull of the battle cruiser, let alone compared with the entire fleet.
Ji Rui looked carefully at the surviving mercenaries, and suddenly said, "They are all talents!"