"Damn, they just surrendered?!"
This was too cowardly!
Escaping Mole, holding his binoculars, watched the marauders approaching with their hands on their heads and couldn't help but grumble.
"After all, NPCs only have one life. There's no shame in surrendering." Holding a wooden lunchbox in his hand, Irene chewed slowly and said leisurely.
Seeing his companion enjoying his food so much, Elf Wang couldn't help but swallow and glanced at his lunchbox.
"What is this?" He asked curiously.
A dark and shell-like object, with a few leaves that appeared to be spices floating on top.
His preliminary judgment was that it was at least cooked.
"Bulletshell Prawn, I caught them by the lake. Want one?" Irene generously offered him a toothpick.
Although hesitant, hearing that it was prawn, Elf Wang relaxed his guard slightly and picked up a prawn ball about the thickness of his thumb with a toothpick.
The shape of the Bulletshell Prawn was quite unique. He examined it for a while and didn't see the head or pincers. After some hesitation, he finally put it in his mouth.
The taste is unexpectedly okay.
Just a bit fishy, with a hint of river flavor.
Watching his good friend chew with gusto, Irene, who was standing nearby, reminded him, "Remember to spit out the shell; you can't chew on that, it's too hard."
"Too hard? Why did it crumble as soon as I bit it?" Elf Wang, who was chewing, froze.
Irene also froze, his expression suddenly somewhat awkward. "Uh... Are you sure you're eating a prawn?"
Elf Wang was dumbfounded and he quickly stopped chewing. "What the hell?! Is there something else in your bowl?"
Irene looked around suspiciously. "... No worries, maybe a few snails got mixed in. It's not a big deal."
Before he finished speaking Elf Wang, holding onto the car door, started to retch.
Escaping Mole, who had put down his binoculars, glanced at his friend. "... Snatching food from Irene's bowl, you're quite bold."
Irene, who was holding his lunchbox, immediately frowned and started to protest, "Screw you! The way you say it makes it sound like I'm eating non-human food."
Escaping Mole raised an eyebrow. "... What normal human would grill horsehair worms?!"
"Horsehair worms? These are mantis legs! And not all mantises have horsehair worms!"
While they argued, the marauders, who were holding their heads, had already reached New Alliance's positions.
Liu Ding, wearing his exoskeleton armor and leading a fully armed company, approached and took over prisoners in batches.
Except for marauders of the rank of Company Leader or higher, who were held separately, everyone else was led to the same area.
The rest of the prisoners were placed in front of the trenches, huddled with their heads down, waiting to be transported to the newly constructed prisoner camp in Bluestone County.
At the same time, in the New Alliance's temporary command post.
Chu Guang, watching the VM screen, finally stretched a smile on his stiff face. "It's finally over."
Vanus looked at him, surprised. "The headquarters has been taken down?"
Chu Guang nodded. "Mhm, although there were some deviations from the plan. We couldn't capture Gold Fang alive, but recovering his body is just as good."
The reason why Fang Clan was able to maintain a military force of tens of thousands through tribal rule was largely due to the personal prestige of the leader and the brutal authoritarian rule.
Once Gold Fang himself died, whether in battle, of old age, or from illness, the entire tribe would quickly fall apart... Unless a new strong figure emerged to take charge of the situation.
But in their current situation, the possibility of that was almost zero.
And with the downfall of the Fang Clan, the Bonechewer Clan, which swept across the entire River Valley Province, would also come to a complete end...
"In less than 2 months, you've annihilated a marauder stronghold of nearly 30,000... you've created a miracle." Vanus couldn't help but marvel.
Chu Guang smiled and replied modestly, "It's not me who created a miracle; it's the people of the New Alliance."
Vanus looked at him in surprise and nodded thoughtfully after a while.
If that was the case...
Victory was well within reason.
Sporadic skirmishes continued throughout the night.
As the news of Gold Fang's death spread, marauders who had heard the broadcast emerged from their hiding places, raising their hands and surrendering in an organized manner.
The sky began to lighten.
The skirmishes in the main urban areas gradually ceased, and West Continent City finally welcomed the dawn of peace.
Looking at the distant twilight, Chu Guang, wearing an exoframe, squinted his eyes and looked at Liu Ding standing beside him.
"How about naming the new settlement Daybreak City? Or do you have a better idea?"
Liu Ding thought for a long time but, due to his limited education, could only muster up one sentence.
"That's a good name!"
Chu Guang chuckled and waved his right hand forward. "Forward!"
The First Corps remained in place.
The Second Corps, along with the Death and Jungle Corps, began to advance.
The resistance in the city area had basically ended, but not everyone surrendered willingly.
Even though a series of failures and brutal attacks had pushed the majority of the Fang Clan's members to the brink of endurance, there were still stubborn die-hards willing to fight for the clan to the bitter end.
"Those shameful cowards! They have betrayed their own flag and promises!"
"Surrender? Hahaha, in your dreams!" With an angry roar directed at Rock Fang's subordinates, Fox Fang led the remaining soldiers in a chaotic retreat, withdrawing into an abandoned commercial center.
Due to the surrender of the defending forces in the southern city area, he immediately found himself in a difficult situation as he advanced to reinforce the southern defense line.
Faced with isolation, there were constant desertions and escapes among his subordinates along the way.
By now, he couldn't even assemble 3 full companies.
Fortunately, the underground garage of this abandoned commercial center concealed an ammunition depot.
Inside, there were supplies for the southern front, which could sustain them for a long time. In addition, the sturdy foundations and surface buildings could withstand bombing and artillery fire.
To capture the ammunition depot, Chu Guang would have to send troops inside.
Just as Chu Guang was contemplating which Corps to assign this mission to, a captive who had been brought along as a guide suddenly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Supreme administrator, if you are willing to trust me, please entrust this stubborn troublemaker to me! I am willing to lead my subordinates into the underground garage and capture the ammunition depot for you!"
As he spoke, Ape Fang's eyes were filled with flattery and eagerness.
If there was a choice, he didn't want to become a laborer in the mines.
In the wasteland, even being cannon fodder was better than being a laborer.
The former at least had a chance to enjoy the spoils of war and a chance to turn things around, while the latter was pure drudgery, with the only outcome being working in the mines until their death.
Chu Guang initially didn't want to assign such an important task to him, but then he suddenly had a different idea; perhaps this could be a good opportunity.
The war had ended, and he didn't really need cannon fodder anymore, but he did need people to manage the prisoners of war.
Currently, the only useful ones he had seemed to be Rock Fang and his subordinates.
These people had all pledged allegiance, aiming their guns at their once comrades, so it was impossible for them to collude with other prisoners of war.
However, they still belonged to the same faction, so it wouldn't be appropriate for them to take on the role of overseer.
To prevent the middle layer of the prisoner of war camp from becoming too united, it was necessary to support a second in command to balance out Rock Fang’s authority.
Reaching a decision, Chu Guang looked at Liu Ding, who was standing nearby. "Is that brigade that surrendered last night still in position?"
Liu Ding nodded and replied, "Yes, it's currently under the supervision of the First Corps."
Chu Guang then turned his gaze to Rock Fang. "I will dispatch a corps to help you. I hope to see results before nightfall."
Rock Fang was ecstatic. "Thank you for your trust! I promise to bring Fox Fang's head to you!"
"Try to capture them alive if possible," Chu Guang reminded, then waved his hand to dismiss him.
Ape Fang's subordinates had already gathered at the entrance of the underground garage. The 100 men team assigned as the vanguard had already been equipped with captured PU 9 submachine guns, with each person receiving 2 magazines issued by the logistics personnel.
Eager to prove themselves, Ape Fang's group volunteered to take the lead.