Chapter 497: Mountain City Subdued, Massive Gains

Chapter 497: Chapter 23: Mountain City Subdued, Massive Gains

The night passed, and the morning sky was clear. The sun dispersed a bit of the late autumn chill. Gusts of morning wind swept through Mountain City as pale gray clouds drifted slowly overhead.

The sounds of gunfire had died down at some unknown point; Fortress Mountain City was now completely under the control of the Alliance Country army.

On the stone-paved streets, squads of Alliance Country soldiers in camouflage uniforms patrolled with their rifles. Members of the Superpower Bureau, clad in black combat suits, coordinated with them, loading the corpses of warlord soldiers onto trucks to be transported to a centralized point in the city for incineration.

The shattered remains of armored vehicles, twisted pickup truck bodies, and scattered firearm parts were cleared away one by one and piled in designated areas. Amid the rustling sounds of the cleanup, the entire Mountain City seemed somewhat quiet, with barely anyone speaking.

The residents of Mountain City, hiding in stone buildings and concrete shacks, cautiously peered out through the cracks in their windows. They watched as the once-arrogant warlord leaders were bound with iron chains, their heads bowed and bodies hunched, being escorted onto vehicles. Witnessing this scene, some had flashes of satisfaction in their eyes, while others looked bewildered. However, the majority felt an indescribable, complex mix of emotions.

There was no looting, no harassment. This surprised many of the Mountain City residents.

“Are they… not going to rob us?”

A woman with disheveled long hair huddled behind the window, whispering the question to her husband beside her. They had already prepared for the worst, anticipating the typical chaos that followed every battle in Fortress Mountain City in the past.

Her stubble-faced husband shook his head, equally confused. He remembered when Lu Shan died. Warlords rose up from within the fortress, and countless people suffered from looting and arson, their families torn apart and their homes destroyed. Yet the people before them, wearing uniform military attire, seemed bound by some sort of strict discipline—they were completely different.

“The Alliance Country…” the man muttered unconsciously. His gaze passed through the window gap to watch the Alliance Country soldiers with their neat, solemn formations. The tense string in his heart quietly loosened. More and more residents began to share his sentiments.

Meanwhile, inside the command room of a concrete building.

Yue Zhenhong, Yan Zhengfeng, and the others stood on either side of a long sand table, holding the newly compiled battle reports. As the accompanying assistant, Ji Lanhua was projecting files onto a light screen, clearly displaying the corresponding data.

“Report to Special Commissioner Chen. Aside from small groups of enemies that fled under the cover of night, the entirety of Mountain City has been secured.”

Yue Zhenhong spoke first. Although his black combat suit was covered in dust and his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, he could not conceal his excitement. “The Red River Army, the White Bone Army, and the Rock Mountain Army suffered over one thousand three hundred casualties combined, and we took over twelve thousand captives.

“Among them, four Superpower Level commanders were killed in action. Another seven have surrendered and are awaiting your orders.

“The armory has been fully inventoried. We recovered a significant number of submachine guns, repeating rifles, light machine guns… and various other firearms and ammunition. There are also twenty-three armored vehicles and seven outdated tanks. Additionally, the Red River Army’s warehouse contained a batch of energy ores and Exotic Beast Materials. We are still compiling the detailed list.”

Lu Chao stood by the window in a black trench coat, his back to the crowd. Ghost Element perched on his shoulder as usual. Its ruby-like, amber beast eyes were half-open, as if it was dozing off, yet also appearing to listen intently.

“Mhm.” Waiting for him to finish, Lu Chao nodded. He then turned around and instructed, “The armory can be handed over to the army. Just complete the corresponding inventory and handover. However, it’s best to send people to take over the mines near Mountain City as soon as possible.

“As for those stragglers, deal with them according to the rules.”

“Yes, sir,” Yue Zhenhong responded in a deep voice, nodding heavily. Over the course of the night, he increasingly felt just how extraordinary the Special Commissioner before him was. Whether it was the flawless success of this operation or the immense strength that allowed him to challenge the Transcendence Level above his own tier, it all inspired genuine admiration from the bottom of his heart.

Standing to the side, Yan Zhengfeng wore a similar expression, filled with awe. Once Yue Zhenhong finished his report, Yan Zhengfeng proactively stepped forward and said, “Mountain City’s food reserves are quite sufficient. These warlords hoarded plenty of individual self-heating meals and Exotic Beast Meat jerky in their warehouses, enough to feed the soldiers of the city ring army for a while.

“However…” His tone was cautious as he looked at Lu Chao’s back. “There are over four hundred thousand residents in Mountain City. They’ve always been ruled by warlords and have no concept of the Alliance Country. How do you see us handling this moving forward…?”

He didn’t finish, but everyone in the command room understood what he meant. Four hundred thousand people was not a small number. Not to mention that many among them were desperadoes wanted by the Alliance Country, or local natives who had been disconnected from the Alliance Country for decades. They had absolutely no contact with Alliance law.

For a moment, Ji Lanhua stopped tapping on her tablet, and the Superpower Commanders of the city ring army all pricked up their ears.

“Let the Political Affairs Department take over,” Lu Chao said, sweeping his gaze across the room.

As the morning light streamed in through the window, he continued earnestly, “Starting today, this is one of the Alliance Country’s cities. They are no longer anyone’s slaves; they are citizens of the Alliance Country.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it fell clearly into everyone’s ears. “Give them work to do and food to eat. Let them know that following the Alliance Country offers a much better future than following the warlords. This way, this place will gradually become a part of the Alliance Country.”

As a Special Investigating Commissioner, he held extremely high operational authority granted by Ji Lixian. Naturally, he had the power to make these decisions. Fortress Mountain City was a key location in the northwest wilderness. In the future, many Alliance Country troops would travel north from here to participate in the campaign against the Rebel Headquarters Base.

No matter what, they had to stabilize the situation here.

“Understood.” Yan Zhengfeng looked thoughtful before finally giving a firm nod.