Close Combat Mage

Chapter 247 – Shocking Change Pt. 1

For the following period of time, the enemy didn’t dare to attack, nor did they dare to approach. However….the Dawn Army wasn’t just resting. After the battle…only 80,000 out of the 100,000 slave soldiers remained. It had been a cruel battle that had forced everyone to work hard. The slave soldiers had all realized that if they wanted to keep their lives, they’d have to make their defense installations sturdier. A single slip-up would lead to a vain death.

Everyone had strived to make Dawn City’s walls as Suo Jia had designed them to be, building them every day. The efforts of 80,000 men could complete any project, no matter how vast. However…in order to make sure the city walls would become a defense line that would never fall, the slave soldiers were never satisfied. Using Suo Jia’s requests as the foundation, they utilized their intelligence to make the city walls even more solid and sturdy.

At the same time, over countless of battles, Suo Jia had realized that the putting 1000 magic machines outside the front wasn’t just ‘extravagant’, it was a complete waste. In reality, 100 magic machines were enough to defend that 100 meter stretch of walls. 900 was way too much.

However, to secure their motive, Suo Jia had left 300 magic machines in the front walls, with 200 of them being Violent Fireballs type magic machines, while the other 100 were those speed-type magic machines.

Among the remaining 700, 100 of them were arranged on both sides of the city gates. Once the doors closed, an opening mechanism would cause the 100 magic machines to instantly turn the area in front of the gates into Hell. Any life forms that entered would be ruthlessly killed.

The other 600 had been evenly split spread out along the top of the city walls 20 meters away from each other. They were used as sentinels. Nobody could even think of trying to climb over the walls at night. As soon as anyone approached the city walls, the magic machines would automatically sense them, and automatically open fire.

The construction of the city walls weren’t something that could just be completed in one or two days. However…with General Jason and General Harvey, there was absolutely no problem at all. The enemy didn’t dare to attack in the short term, and with General Jason and Harvey defending and attacking, Dawn City would be protected so that it was as stable as Mt. Tai.

The end of the year was just about to arrive, and Suo Jia was almost 14 years old now. Having left Holy Light for so long, Suo Jia honestly somewhat missed home. Before, Dawn hadn’t yet been set on the right track, and the battles had been hard-pressed. This made it impossible for him to leave. However, it was different now. Since he’d been gone for so long, it was about time for him to go back.

Suo Jia passed down orders to continue holding fast without stopping, putting all their efforts into constructing the walls. At the same time, they were to use the excavated stones to build new houses. As for what to construct them into, Suo Jia didn’t go into detail. Either way, these houses were for them to live in, so it was fine to let them build them however they wanted. Suo Jia’s only request was for them to leave a wide street with all the buildings neatly lined up along it. The positions of the buildings had been decided ages ago. There would be a total of 4 residential districts, and the buildings could only be constructed in those areas.

After arranging everything, Suo Jia rushed over to the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes’ training area, and pushed the room’s door open. All the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes were quietly cultivating their battle qi. When they saw Suo Jia come in, they all flocked around him, since they knew that Suo Jia would be training if nothing was going on. If he came here, it meant that he had something to instruct them to do.

As expected, Suo Jia said in a low voice, “During the past year, we’ve been fighting the whole time. Or well..we’ve been attacked by the enemy. But everyone has already seen the current situation; we have won.”

The girls couldn’t help but happily smile at these words. Suo Jia looked at everyone’s bright expression, and abruptly turned extremely serious as he stressed, “But, although we have won, that absolutely doesn’t mean we can just let it go like that. Dawn isn’t a place that fights them only when they want to fight, and is willing to let them go when they want to run. If we don’t properly reciprocate them, people would all come to Dawn to behave atrociously then run.”

“Mhm….” Duo Mei nodded in agreement and said, “That’s right, we aren’t pushovers that they can just hit a few times then leave when they feel like it. If they dare to move a finger, then we’ll break an arm. That way, we can warn them that those kinds of attempts don’t benefit them in any way.

Duo Mei looked at Suo Jia respectfully and said, “Young Master, just tell us what we should do. We’ll listen to you….”

“Hehe…” Suo Jia chuckled darkly and said through gritted teeth, “Since they came to attack us, then there’s no need to hold back. It is impolite to not reciprocate. The Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes are to all go out and destroy all the thief groups near Dawn City. None are to be spared. Remember…even without my orders, any thieves that invade us are to be completely slaughtered.”

Hearing Suo Jia’s bloodthirsty words, the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes all clenched their hands into fists with piercing gazes flashing in their eyes. Suo Jia then continued, “Also, eliminate any groups you encounter that are related to Oz City. Any people shipping merchandise from or to Oz City are our targets to rob from. We’ll do anything that’ll harm Oz City.”

“Understood.” Duo Mei clapped her hands together and said, “No need to speak any further, Young Master. I understand what you’re saying. Just watch us, we’ll definitely meet your satisfaction.”

“Mm…” Suo Jia nodded and smiled, “I’m going to leave for a while and return to Holy Light City to see my mother. I’ll hand everything here to Duo Mei. If you need to, the 80,000 slave soldiers, 5000 pike users, and 5000 Velociraptor Knights are all under your command. Don’t be afraid of getting into trouble; there’s nobody in Holy Light Empire that falls under our consideration. Even if you stir up an enormous disaster, I will definitely resolve it.”

At this, Duo Mei’s eyes grew brighter. Although she very much wanted to return to Holy Light with Suo Jia, she knew that Holy Light City was Suo Jia’s home. If he was leaving, he needed someone close to him to look after the place, and she was the person Suo Jia trusted the most.

A few days later, Suo Jia, Aimi, and Aila left with Dragon Knights hired by Holy Light City to head back. On the same day, the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes also left to begin their expected operations.

They headed out at dawnbreak, and the journey was without incident. By afternoon, Suo Jia’s group had returned to Holy Light City. After seeing the familiar streets of Holy Light, Suo Jia momentarily let the past that seemed ages ago flash through his mind.

After leaving the government post, Suo Jia directly returned to the White Villa. After hearing that their Young Master had returned, Lan Ruo lead the group of maids to wait at the entrance ahead of time. For a while, the people passing by couldn’t help but look over. Exactly what kind of bigshot would summon so many of White Villa’s people? Could it be His Majesty, the Emperor?

Everyone watched as a golden and jade chariot drove down the street and entered the great gates of the White Willa. At the same time, a large number of honor guards respectfully greeted it, welcoming the carriage in.

After coming down from the carriage, Suo Jia hugged Lan Ruo with a smile, he didn’t pay mind to anything else, and directly rushed over to the wooden house his mother lived in. After being away from home for so long, the one he missed the most was still his mother…

Suo Jia pushed open the door and looked at his mother with tear-filled eyes. She was sitting on a wooden chair with a warm smile on her face as she silently looked back at Suo Jia. After standing there stunned for a long time, Suo Jia was finally unable to hold back, and bounded forwards to charge straight into his mother’s embrace. The two of them remained there in a tight hug.

Although she was almost 40 years old now, his mother’s face definitely wasn’t any inferior to a teen’s after experiencing Suo Jia’s miraculous treatment. She had the kind of mature beauty that young girls couldn’t compare to; there were many things that were passed down by the years that even Suo Jia couldn’t recreate.

Suo Jia stayed at home for a few days, and stayed by his mother’s side every day. They’d window shop along the streets, and go out to watch the sunrise and sunset together. A week later, Suo Jia finally accepted Wen Ya’s invitation to meet with her and her husband, the Fourth Prince, at Duke Wen Sha’s mansion.

Inside the living room of Wen Sha’s mansion, Suo Jia was sitting on the sofa with a smile on his face. Wen Ya and the Fourth Prince sat across from him with solemn expressions on their faces that clearly indicated that they wanted to say something. But Suo Jia waited for a long time, yet the two of them didn’t say a single word.

Finally, Suo Jia helplessly sighed and said, “Ai… Wen Ya, we’re so close already. If there’y anything you need to say, you can just say it directly. Can you please stop making it so awkward?”

Wen Ya exchanged glances with the Fourth Prince, then nodded and said with difficulty, “Suo Jia, recently…the Emperor’s actions seem to be a bit strange. He abolished the First Prince’s and the Third Prince’s right of inheritance. What’s going on here?”