Origin Paradise!

The last expeditionary force surrendered.

The news that 400,000 troops had perished beyond the pass swept across the entire alliance. Silver City, located at the heart of the alliance, immediately dispatched its central legion directly to the second northern fortress to prevent the dark creatures from taking over. However, the ninth fortress was located in the northeast and was too far away to reach it.

On December 20, the Xidu Legion carried out a complete reorganization of the prisoners. In order to eliminate personal influence, all soldiers were dispersed to various battalions and regiments, and were completely disbanded and reorganized.

The 200,000 Spider Demon troops left behind in Xidu headed south to join them.

12 month 22 day.

The million-strong army passed through the Black and White Passes and entered the area within the pass, sweeping through major settlements along the way.

12 month 25 day.

Eight hundred thousand infantry, twenty-seven thousand werewolf cavalry, two hundred thousand spider demons, twenty thousand trolls, and nearly one million three hundred thousand troops marched south and arrived at the outskirts of the Ninth Fortress, carrying five thousand tanks, two thousand mechs, and thirteen thousand artillery pieces.

That night, the Xidu Legion launched an attack on the Ninth Fortress. The 100,000-strong garrison left behind was stretched thin, and the Ninth Fortress entered a period of martial law. Prior to this, Mr. A had been imprisoned in the Black Prison for treason.

……

Boom!

Thirteen thousand cannons opened fire simultaneously, and a barrage of shells rained down on the fortress. A steady stream of munitions was being delivered from beyond the pass, and a million-strong army had completely surrounded the Ninth Fortress.

The fortress walls, hundreds of meters high, were powerless to stop the bombing. A shell landed on the street, sending cars flying and crashing into dozens of civilians, killing them instantly.

"Run!"

"The fortress is about to fall!"

"Help! Someone, save my husband!"

Chaos reigned throughout District 16. With the loss of its elite Ninth Army, Fortress Company was struggling to defend itself.

Boom boom boom!

The skyscrapers in the business district were destroyed, a kilometer-long overpass collapsed, and rubble killed citizens who were taking refuge below. The Forgotten Life Hotel collapsed to the side, leaving the general manager heartbroken. Including the attack and the duel with a dominant superhuman, this was the third time the hotel had been renovated, yet it still could not escape destruction.

"Grab it!"

Amidst the chaos, a mid-level superhuman shouted, "The army is finished! The dark creatures are about to break in! Who's going to make a fortune with me? Let's rob a bank and live a life of luxury!"

"I come!"

"Big brother, count me in!"

Artillery fire destroyed order, and the remaining troops were holding the fortress. Mr. A was imprisoned, the Security Bureau was paralyzed, and the fortress was completely turned into a chaotic wasteland. A considerable number of citizens turned into mobs, spreading and infecting the city like cancer.

Banks in all districts were looted, and people with superpowers stormed into hotels and shopping malls, causing widespread destruction and looting.

The deafening roar of bombing and screams of agony mingled together as the number of civilian casualties rose rapidly. Many righteous superhumans intervened, and chaos and battle raged everywhere.

"We must resist!"

"The fortress is impregnable, we must support the garrison legion!"

Down with the traitor Mr. A!

"Down with the traitor Jiang Junjun!"

Amidst the sounds of gunfire and billowing smoke, a group organized by the council marched in various regions, carrying flags high; most of the members were students from the academy districts.

Mia, a popular female idol, stood on an advertising truck, holding a megaphone and reading slogans. She was dressed in a black and white nun's habit from a tranquil church, looking elegant and dignified. At that moment, in the eyes of many male students, she was the embodiment of courage and holiness.

"Restore order!" Mia shouted. This was the task assigned to her by the council. In the face of the impending fortress defense battle, there had to be a hero to give everyone hope. For this reason, her nun's habit was modified in detail, becoming exquisite and form-fitting, attracting attention.

"Restore order!" the trainees shouted in unison. The female idol, Mia Straulen, already possessed immense influence.

……

outside the city.

Tens of thousands of cannons simultaneously spewed forth bursts of fire, the ground trembled incessantly, and the sound of cannons was deafening.

The staff officers at the command post picked up their binoculars and saw 200,000 spider demons the size of bison attacking the fortress. Their limbs could pierce into the silver walls, and they were climbing upwards at great speed. As far as the eye could see, they were a dark mass, like a black curtain covering the surface of the fortress walls.

"Add another battalion to the left flank and seize the opportunity during the troop rotation."

"The garrison corps is of poor quality; it will be easy to break through in half a month."

"The number of artillery shells has doubled. The spy team has reported that the mob has killed more people than we have. We need to help them out."

The command center was bustling with activity, telegrams were constantly being transmitted, and staff officers, most of whom were vampires and humans from Xidu, were busy relaying orders.

Unlike his confident advisors, the troll leader appeared calm, but his mind was in turmoil. All transport capacity was concentrated on artillery, and the food consumption of his 1.3 million-strong army was alarming. Not to mention the spider demons and werewolves, the daily rations of the trolls alone were putting a heavy burden on the logistics.

“At most a week.” The troll leader estimated the timeframe. If they couldn’t take the fortress within a week, they would have to withdraw. A large-scale southward advance would mean losing the convenience of the ring railway. This matter could only be left to the imprisoned Mokawi.

Outside the command post.

Jiang He arrived at the concentration camp.

Apart from Red Sleeve Snakehead and others, all officers above the regimental level of the Great Expeditionary Force are here. All positions have been filled by people from the Xidu Legion. Some of Mr. A's pawns are also among them. No one has time to distinguish them in detail right now.

"Jiang He, you have really disappointed me!"

The commander-in-chief was bound to a wooden stake with iron chains, his face filled with anger.

The high-ranking officers looked at this person with burning eyes. He had abandoned his ideals for high rank and generous salary, and now he was lying on a bamboo chair, even being served by a beautiful woman.

"Commander, ah."

A charming and lovely vampire woman peeled and deseeded a grape and fed it to the commander. Vampires live by drinking blood, and the color of wine resembles blood, which is why grape cultivation is widely popular.

Jiang He chewed his food expressionlessly. The taste was so-so. He said, "I only have one question: who was it at the command post who was causing trouble for me before?"

"A petty person who has gained power!" the military staff officer cursed angrily. He had also surrendered; why shouldn't the dark creature accept him?

“We don’t know, so don’t expect to get a single truth out of me, right, Patriarch Ai?” Patriarch Yin said, glancing sideways.

Jiang He waved her hand, and the vampire beauty immediately brought up "Patriarch Ai". She had the title and strength of a baron and was nominally a maid sent by the troll leader to serve him, but both sides knew that she was definitely a spy.

"Pooh!"

"Master Ai" spat, his face full of disgust. "You ungrateful wretch! If the boss hadn't spared your life as a temporary investigator, you would have died in the park long ago. You disloyal and unjust scoundrel."

Jiang He remained expressionless. Finding it was enough; it was better to keep it out of sight. The All-Seeing Eye had seen through the Tyrannosaurus's disguise. Back then, the two sides had been like brothers.

"Then you can go down and serve your boss faithfully."

Jiang He stood up and pressed down on the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head. With just a little force, the Tyrannosaurus Rex let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the officers on the left and right all shuddered.

Click!

With its cervical spine broken, the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head was forcibly pressed into its chest cavity, resulting in its untimely death.

"Ugh!" An officer immediately vomited.

Chapter 257 Big Change

There was a lot of artillery fire.

The Ninth Fortress, the Black Prison.

Quan Dian helped the council speaker down the spiral staircase. Along the way, the prisoners in the cells, who had been restless due to the chaos outside, all fell silent, their gazes toward the elderly man filled with fear and apprehension.

At the very bottom of the dark cell, the dim yellow light flickered slightly.

Mr. A finished his meal, taking only one bite of the tender wild beast meat steak. Even in the harshest of dark prisons, he could enjoy extraordinary treatment.

The jailer respectfully collected the tableware and took it away, bowing his head as he brushed past the two Silver-ranked experts. Quan Dian glared at him coldly, and just as he was about to throw a punch, the council chairman grabbed his fist.

"Look at the big things you've accomplished." The Speaker of Parliament stood in front of the prison gate, leaning on his cane. "You spent thirty years lying low for a clean identity, working your way up from investigator to Director of Security, and you're still not satisfied. Now you don't even want to be a governor?"

Mr. A smiled gently and said, "Silver-level vampires live for five hundred years. Roughly speaking, I am still young. The Ninth Fortress is definitely not going to hold. There is no need for you and me to argue about this. You should have restricted my power when I got involved with the First Army."

The Speaker chuckled, "You've offered yourself as a hostage right under my nose, that's quite a show of sincerity, so of course you can do whatever you want."

Mr. A said seriously, "Without me, the Xidu troops would have massacred the city. Without you, those three guys wouldn't have followed my lead. Of course, the most crucial arbitrator is still me. Only I can coordinate and stabilize all parties."

With a ferocious grin, Quan Dian tore through the iron bars. To Bai Yin, the bars were just decorations. He roughly grabbed Mr. A, like a wild beast about to go berserk, and said through gritted teeth, "You think you can't live without me?"

Mr. A showed no anger and said calmly, "Of course, it has to be me. If I become the speaker, the Fortress Council will be reorganized. Any individual or organization that controls power will be able to gain a voice. The Governing Hall, the Army Group, and the Council will be completely brought under the Council. This is the final form of the old man's centralization plan and the principle of the supremacy of the Council."

The Speaker of the Council chuckled and said, "The Supreme Council of Silver City and the Royal Family are already irreconcilable enemies. As long as he abides by and upholds the principle of parliamentary supremacy, the Supreme Council will not mind recognizing his status. Even the dark creatures believe that this principle is correct, so how correct must it be?"

Quan Dian turned around incredulously, "Even if it means yielding to dark creatures, you're willing to do it?"

The Speaker of Parliament smiled helplessly, "Your position is determined by where you sit."

Mr. A freed himself from Quan Jian's grasp, straightened his collar, and said, "Since the old gentleman is willing to come, it means he has already made a decision. Let the Xidu troops move into the fortress. The chaos should end now. The citizens are innocent."

The jailer returned with a contract statement.

Under the stunned gaze of the fist-summoner, the council chairman signed the approval, and the Ninth Centralized Army was essentially wiped out, for which he needed to bear primary responsibility.

……

12 month 26 day.

The Ninth Fortress Council issued a statement to the Alliance.

Effective immediately, the fourth Speaker of Parliament has stepped down, and Viscount Malkawi has been appointed as the new Speaker. He has submitted an application to join the Alliance, expressing his willingness to uphold the principle of parliamentary supremacy.

The news shocked the league.

The Supreme Council quickly approved the application to join, and Silver City was plunged into chaos overnight. The faction advocating limited cooperation with the dark creatures gained a majority of seats in the Supreme Council, which aroused widespread dissatisfaction. Important members of the royal family secretly launched an assassination attempt, which was exposed and they were sentenced to hanging.

The Sixth Southern Fortress declared autonomy.

The Second Fortress even decided to break away from the alliance, and the Central Legion changed from providing support to launching an attack.

Amid the violent upheaval, the Xidu troops advanced into the Ninth Fortress, while the Garrison Regiment retained its structure and abandoned resistance.

The 1.3 million-strong army was reorganized into eight legions, and the sixteen districts within the fortress were reduced to eight, each becoming a military and political district, with the district leader serving as a formal councilor.

On the morning of December 31, Mr. A issued his first decree: to completely eliminate all aristocratic families with an absolutely resolute attitude and to bring all industries within the fortress under the control of the council.

……

Clang, clang!

The sound of tank tracks awakened the fortress in the early morning as the last Xidu troops moved in.

The streets were in ruins, with wrecked cars still burning, corpses piled up in corners, shopping mall windows shattered, and goods looted.

Jiang He rode a warhorse, a crow perched on his shoulder, and a small white snake peered at his neck and shoulder. The fortress had undergone a complete transformation since they left.

In the dilapidated building, its surface covered with traces of gunpowder smoke, a young man threw a Molotov cocktail at the troops below. The tank immediately adjusted its cannon, and with a loud bang, the young man was blown to pieces.

"These damned rebels." The troll leader glanced up.

The spider demon woman riding a horse not far away said with a smile, "Ever since Mokawi's order came down, these noble families have been restless and have formed their own resistance armies. Fortunately, before we came, Mokawi had already purged the previous generation of family heads through the academy rebellion, otherwise the situation would have been even more troublesome."

"The leader of the resistance is named Dawn," Councilor Black Wolf sneered. "Once I capture him, I'll wipe out this rabble of Dawn."

boom!

A bullet was fired at someone from a shadowy corner.

Jiang He reached out and gripped the bullet with a strange expression. He never expected that he would also be assassinated. Dawn Tyrannosaurus had now left the team and was secretly leading the resistance. The sniper must be a member of the resistance, but he came from a powerful family.

"Bring him here," the troll leader ordered.

Dozens of trolls stormed into the mall, defeating a small force inside. The sniper and several key members were escorted back. The former was none other than Tong Fei, the young master of the Tong family, who had made quite a name for himself in the academy's martial arts competition.

At this time, Tong Fei had lost his former brilliance. The werewolf cavalry breached the Tong family's villa, committing wanton slaughter and persecution. Tong Fei lost an eye in the battle.

"Don't kill my brother!"

The beautiful young girl, covered in dust, threw herself onto Tong Fei's back and wept bitterly. After the death of the chosen one, Tong Xue lost her status as the leading lady on the stage of destiny. Her mind-reading ability did not significantly improve her combat power, and her weak physique was more of a burden.

"Commander Jiang, what do you think we should do?" the troll leader asked. Although the other party did not have military power, his own combat strength and status as a confidant of the vampire council chairman were enough to allow him to speak to them, several silver-level powerhouses, on equal footing.

Wuhe's eyes turned dark as he whispered, "Boss, that teenage human female has mind-reading abilities. She's very useful for controlling the fortress, and I want to keep her."

Jiang He was surprised to hear this. For a ruler, in an environment full of skilled performers, it was easy to learn the thoughts of his subjects. The convenience of this was self-evident. However, to be precise, Wuhe rarely asked him for anything.

"Anyone else is welcome, but I'll keep the brother and sister."

The troll leader was fine with him, but as for the mere rebels, he, as a Silver Rank cultivator, didn't even consider them a threat.

Several trolls brutally beat the important members to death. Tong Fei struggled frantically, but was powerless to escape the trolls' suppression.

The two were brought over, and Councilor Black Wolf reminded them, "Gentlemen, don't delay. Tonight is the first meeting of all senior officials. Mokhavi said that those who are absent will not need to attend in the future."

Jiang He lowered his eyelids slightly. Now that he was back in the fortress, if his rebellion succeeded, he might be able to complete the main task of becoming the council speaker in one step when the sun rose tomorrow.