"Are the results out yet?"
Cusle said in a low voice. His mental state was even worse than Ancelotti's. His hair was a mess, and the exquisite armor on his body was damaged in many places. The biggest wound was caused by the Plum Sect Master's sword. If it wasn't for the fact that his armor was sturdy enough and his Battle Energy was strong enough, that sword would have cut him into two.
"It's out. Marshal. "
The clerk's voice was trembling.
"Say it. I can hold on. "
Cusle's voice was completely hoarse. After many days of battle, the constant fatigue and pressure caused the old marshal's life force to weaken.
"During the five days of battle, our army attacked Sforte City non-stop for almost 120 hours. Although the enemy suffered a lot of losses, we suffered even more. A total of 14 corps' designations disappeared. The Magician Corps was completely wiped out. The Scarlet Guard had less than 700 people left. Of the ten dragonriders, four died and three were seriously injured. Only three still have the ability to fight. "
Every number was so shocking. With every sentence the clerk said, Cusle's hand would tremble.
"Give me the detailed number of casualties."
"Yes. Including the magicians, our army had a total of 450,000 soldiers. 178,000 died, 14,000 were seriously injured, and 96,000 were lightly injured. More than 100,000 mounts were lost as food. The Magician Corps was completely wiped out. Less than half of the blood magicians were left. Less than half of the original combat power was left. The number of siege weapons was uncountable. "
The clerk gritted his teeth as he said this. Five days, just five days, and such a huge loss had occurred. It was clear how shocking this battle was.
In a desperate situation, the Flor's people did not retreat. They launched wave after wave of attacks. But, until now, they still could not attack the top of the city wall.
The Flo's Army's chief of staff, Ortega, said emotionally, "Marshal, what should we do now? We can't go on like this. Our army has no supplies. There is not enough food. Although the soldiers can eat mounts, the dragons and the rest of the heavy cavalry cannot fight without enough food. Furthermore … In addition to the dead, there were also many wounded in our army. And we have no medicine. If this continued, in less than two days, non-combat casualties would appear on a large scale. Lord Marshal, you must make a decision soon. "
Kassler suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed it forward. "There are provisions in Sforte City.
Medicine. There were also some in Sforte City. By this time, our army had suffered such heavy casualties. If they still could not break through the city, then it would be a complete strategic defeat, and they would no longer be able to pose a threat to Milan on the eastern front. I think every general in this room knows that. Once Milan withstands Landias's attack, what does it mean for our Flor? For Landias. We're just tools to be used. He was far less of an ally than Bopang. When that happens, no one will come to our rescue. For Flor's future. We cannot retreat from this battle.
The blood of the soldiers had already dyed the ground red. Let us launch a final assault, and fail.
Or die trying. "
Cusle's voice became impassioned again. But … After five days of war, none of his subordinates could maintain the same strong fighting spirit as him. Flo's Army. The Flo's Army, which had less than 200,000 combat power left, finally launched their last charge.
Ancelotti's back was ramrod straight. He was very tired, but his spirit was extremely excited.
Even he did not expect it. Leading such a weak army, he was actually able to persist until now.
Five days had passed. He watched Milan soldiers fall around him one after another, but in front of them, there were more enemies who fell. Flor's losses were great. How could Milan Oriente's losses be small? Now, at least half of the defenders on the city wall were the logistical supply troops brought by Golden.
Milan Oriente's regular army had more than 80,000 casualties, and the rest were almost all injured. The 100,000 logistical supply troops had also been divided into several batches and thrown into the battlefield. As a rotation.
Sforte City's biggest advantage was in terms of supplies. They had sufficient supplies.
Whether it was provisions or medicine, not to mention five days. Even five months was enough to support them.
The dead soldiers left forever, but Ancelotti knew that after this battle, as long as the injured soldiers stood up again, then they would be veterans with enough combat experience. The Legion of the East was no longer a weak army.
"Brother Ancelotti, the first batch of my logistical supply troops has come up again. After half a day of rest, they are in good condition now. Seeing that we are about to successfully defend, the morale of the soldiers is very high. "
Golden came to Ancelotti's side with some excitement. After this battle where they hovered on the edge of life and death, the relationship between everyone became a lot closer.
Ancelotti nodded with a smile, "That's great. Brother Golden, how much longer do you think the Flor can hold on?"
Golden smiled coldly, "Although I don't know much about military affairs, from the number of cavalry, I can see that their logistical supply is at its last moment. Without supplies, I believe they can only hold on for another three days at most. I really don't know how Yinzhu did it, to be able to completely cut off the Flo's Army's logistical supply line. "
Ancelotti was shocked, "What? Brother Golden, are you saying that the Flor's logistical supply line was really cut off by Marshal Ye? "
Golden sighed softly, "Although I don't know how many people from Qin City came this time, as you can see, anyone from Qin City is an expert that can fight against a hundred. You should ask your Marshal Ye about the details later, I can't say much. Look, the Flor's people are coming up again. It seems like they still haven't given up! "
That's right, just as Golden said, the Flo's Army launched another assault, which was also the last large-scale assault under the leadership of Commander Flor Cusle.
Who knew how many of the Flo's Army's siege weapons had been destroyed, and a large amount of broken trash was piled up in front of Sforte City. The Flo's Army charged forward, and first, two legions were sent to clean up the trash. Following closely behind, the blood mages began to cast their bloodthirsty magic. After five days of fierce battle, the condition of these blood mages had clearly declined a lot, and the blood mist they released was not as thick as it was at the beginning.
Cusle and the remaining three dragon riders flew in mid-air with their dragon spears in hand. The Wind Dragon beneath them let out continuous roars as it threw wind magic at the top of the city wall.
The Milan soldiers were already used to the attacks of the Flor's people. Seeing the enemy attack again, the Milan soldiers on top of the city wall immediately took action. Archers, spearmen, catapults, and all defensive weapons were thrown into battle at the first instance. With sufficient logistical supplies and a rotating rest system, the mental state of the Milan soldiers on top of the city wall was much better than that of the Flor's soldiers.
Two hundred angry roars sounded at the same time. Almost at the same time, the roars of two hundred Druids Of The Claw had already dyed the entire Milan soldiers fighting on top of the city wall.
Flying arrows and catapults rained down like rain. The biggest advantage of Sforte City was the abundance of logistical supplies. Although five days had passed, there were still enough arrows and catapults in Sforte City. This couldn't be separated from Golden's 100,000 logistical supply troops. Most of the weapons and equipment transported from the Flor's logistical supply center were sent to Zither City, while the rest were brought here by Golden.
Therefore, the entire Sforte City's weapons and supplies were extremely complete. Coupled with the ample rations, the soldiers were able to maintain a high morale.
Battles were always changing. With each passing day, the morale of the Flo's Army would drop a little, while the confidence of the Milan soldiers who successfully defended the city would increase a little. After five days, the morale of both sides had long been reversed.
At this moment, who among the Milan soldiers still remembered that they were new recruits? What about the Flor's elite army? In their eyes, they were no longer that terrifying. At least, after five days, they still didn't have the ability to break the city.
While the battle was going on on top of the city wall, below the city wall, under the protection of twenty East Dragon Empire soldiers, two tall figures were sitting in a room less than twenty meters away from the city wall, training. They were Ming and Purple.
On the first day of the battle, Ming relied on his incomparably valiant demigod rank strength to destroy a large number of enemies, but it also caused a large amount of his energy to be consumed.
Purple's situation was similar to his. Unleashing the Whirlwind Laser Slash had drained all of his strength. Hence, in the past five days of battle, they did not become a part of the battle. Instead, they just quietly rested.
Although Ming's energy consumption was great, it was still better than Purple's. After five days, the energy in his body had finally returned to normal. Ming slowly opened his eyes, spread his arms, and stretched his body. The bones in his body let out a burst of firecracker-like sounds.
He could clearly hear the battle cries outside. After reaching the demigod rank, his senses were much stronger than those of ordinary people. Without hesitation, Ming stood up and glanced at Purple, who was still in a state of training. He slowly walked out of the room and headed in the direction of the city wall.
In the air, Cusle looked coldly at the situation of the battle below. The Milan soldiers were much stronger than before. Although the Flo's army launched wave after wave of attacks, the low-level magic, arrows, and stones that flew out from the city wall caused a large number of casualties to the Flo's army. Corpses kept appearing, and lives were gradually being lost. These were all Flor's men. Witnessing this scene with his own eyes, Cusle felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. However, what could he do? If they couldn't win this battle, it would only be a greater blow to the Flor army.
"Get ready. Let's let the Milan soldiers have a taste of the Wind Forbidden Spell. I don't believe that the Milan Magicians have the ability to stop it. "
It wasn't the first time that the Forbidden Spell had appeared on the battlefield. For example, when Ming lifted the ground, Purple's Whirlwind Laser Slash, and Ye Yinzhu's Invisible Sound Blade were all Forbidden Spell level damage.
On the Kingdom of Flor's side, the only one who could cast the Forbidden Spell was the Purple Star Dragon Knight, the Flor Marshal, Cusle. Of course, the one who cast the Forbidden Spell was not him, but the elder of the Wind Dragon City who was under him.
After many days of battle, the Wind Dragons had undoubtedly exhausted a lot of energy. Therefore, the strength of a single dragon that Cusle was riding on was not enough to cast a Forbidden Spell. After all, the Wind Dragon was not a superior Dragon. Even if it was an elder, it couldn't be as easy as a Silver Dragon like Li Sha to cast a Forbidden Spell. However, there were three other Wind Dragons here. Their addition made the difficulty a reality.
A deep dragon language sounded in the air. This place was a place where the Sforte City's Magicians and Archers could not attack.
The four Wind Dragons chanted at the same time, causing the wind elements in the air to condense. The condensation of the wind elements was different from other magical elements. They appeared continuously in a hovering state. Be it the Magicians or the Giant Dragons, they were the core of the hovering wind elements. As they hovered, they borrowed the power of the wind elements. Using their own energy as a guide, they could cast a powerful spell.
The wind in the air became more and more violent. The spell that Cusle wanted to cast was one of the most domineering large-scale Forbidden Spells among the Wind Magic Spells. He wanted to use the power of the four Wind Dragons at the same time. At this moment, they could completely complete this terrifying spell. When the time came. Nine giant tornadoes would appear above the city walls of Sforte. The tornadoes that were strong enough to sweep away all the fortifications would bring a devastating disaster to the people of Milan.
This wasn't the first time Cussler had used a forbidden spell, and it was precisely because of this forbidden spell that Cussler had used. It was because of the Forbidden Spell that the Magicians of the Legion of the East suffered heavy losses. After the first battle, there were only about two hundred Magicians left in the city. However, without the help of the three powerful Magicians, Ye Yinzhu and Zi Heming, every time Cusle cast a Forbidden Spell, they could only rely on the Magicians to cast a defensive magic shield. Although they successfully blocked the power of the Forbidden Spell several times, their magic power was depleted in the face of the terrifying power of the Forbidden Spell. The exhausted Magicians left the world one by one.
However, they also used their own power to reduce the power of the Forbidden Spell to the minimum. Otherwise, if the Forbidden Spell really fell on Sforte City. That would mean tens of thousands of casualties. The most important thing was. The Forbidden Spell could possibly destroy the city walls. By that time, the Legion of the East would really have no power to resist the Flo's Army.
The last time Cusle cast a Forbidden Spell was two days ago. After two days of rest. His mount had accumulated a certain amount of magic power. At this time, with the help of the other three Wind Dragons, it immediately increased the magic power to the limit. This caused the power of the large-scale Forbidden Spell to reach its peak.
The Milan generals on top of the city walls naturally saw the hurricane in the sky that was getting stronger. Ancelotti's expression changed drastically. Of course, he knew what kind of state his Magicians were in. As one of the biggest attackers in this battle, the remaining eighty Magicians were all in a deep state of exhaustion. What else could they do to stop the Forbidden Spell? Once again, they cast a defensive magic shield. Regardless of whether they could block the Forbidden Spell or not, the remaining eighty Magicians would definitely not be spared.
"It seems a little far."
Just as Ancelotti was struggling internally and thinking urgently about whether to let the mages launch their last defense, a low voice sounded in his ear.
When Ancelotti turned to look, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the three-meter-tall giant had arrived at the top of the city walls. Although five days had passed, the scene of the Mountain Giant Ming defeating the enemy with the strength of his arms five days ago had been deeply imprinted in the hearts of the Milan soldiers. Seeing his appearance, there was a sudden cheer on top of the city walls.
In their eyes, Ming was almost a god-like existence.
Ancelotti noticed the hurricane in the sky that was getting stronger. Ming, who had just recovered, naturally saw it too. With his strength as a divine beast, he could naturally see that this Magician had cast a large-scale Wind Forbidden Spell. When he said that it was a little far, he was referring to his own lightning attack.
In order to control the overall situation and get out of the attack range of all Milan's means of attack, Cusle and his Dragon Riders were currently thousands of meters in the sky. Ming's Solitary Eye Lightning was powerful, but a thousand meters was still a little far.
"Mister Ming, have you recovered?"
Although Ancelotti knew that Ming was Ye Yinzhu's subordinate, he didn't dare to neglect him. He hurried to Ming's side and asked respectfully.
Ming smiled honestly and nodded, "My body is fine now. Is the Marshal worried about those reptiles in the sky? Don't worry. Leave it to me. "
As he spoke, the light in Ming's eye suddenly became stronger, and the two eyes gradually fused into one, returning to his single eye. Then, he raised his hand and gently rubbed it, and an item suddenly appeared in his hand.
It was a pointed hammer. It didn't seem to be anything special, but there was a faint layer of lightning circulating on it. The explosive energy fluctuations seemed to be suppressed by some kind of power.
To Ming's huge hands, this short warhammer was like a toy in his hands. He lightly weighed it in his hands, then raised his head to look at the Wind Element Forbidden Spell that was continuously condensing in the distance. He laughed coldly, "It's been a long time since I've let this fellow attack. I'll let you reptiles have the first strike. "
"Hah!"
Ming roared fiercely, and the surrounding Milan soldiers were shaken to the point of temporarily losing their hearing. Immediately after, they clearly saw Ming's body turn bluish-purple in an instant. The massive power of lightning gathered towards his right hand at an unparalleled speed.
When he raised his head, Ming's single eye had turned completely blue. It wasn't the blue of water ripples, but a blue formed from the power of lightning.
"Wind — Storm — Hammer —"
With every word that came out of his mouth, the lightning on Ming's warhammer grew stronger. When the last word was uttered, he suddenly raised his hand. The warhammer carried a distorted light and an incomparably tremendous power of lightning. It turned into a shadow that shot towards the sky.
How could a weapon that a divine beast like Ming use be ordinary? That was the so-called most powerful divine weapon, Mjolnir's Hammer. Although it was only half of the original Mjolnir's Hammer, one could imagine how tyrannical it was just by thinking about the Mjolnir Fortress's powerful defense.
Although it was the same Mjolnir's Hammer, the one in Ming's hand wasn't too different from the one owned by the Orc Tribe's Raijin Tribe in terms of power. However, the Mjolnir Fortress relied on a special magical formation that used Mjolnir's Hammer as the core to create a magic sealing domain. Although Ming didn't have the support of a magical formation, the sharp-headed Mjolnir's Hammer was constantly nourished in his single eye.
The Mountain Giant was known as the Son of the Mjolnir. The lightning element in his single eye was extremely beneficial to the Mjolnir's Hammer.
Hence, Ming's Mjolnir's Hammer's special attack, the Tempest Hammer, was definitely not weaker than the Tempest Hammer of the Raijin Tribe's Mjolnir's Mjolnir.
Cussler felt the wind around him getting stronger and stronger, and he felt a little more pleased with himself. His judgment of the Milan Magician was right. He firmly believed that it was almost impossible for the Milan Magicians to resist the full-force attack of the Forbidden Spell.
As long as they could break into the city and open the city gates … Then, this war would be over.
Although the Flo's Army had suffered heavy losses, as long as they had the upper hand in terms of strategy, there was still room for redemption.
At this moment, Cusle suddenly had a strange feeling. He realized that the entire space seemed to be distorted, and a unique aura surged from below. When he looked down, he saw a dazzling ball of lightning on the city walls of Sforte City.
Naturally, Cusle didn't know that it was the lightning energy of the Mountain Giant. However, with the strength and eyesight of a Purple Star Dragon Rider, Cusle could tell how powerful it was at a glance.
"Oh no, stop the incantation."
In his shock, he immediately sent a message to his magical beast companions. Unfortunately, how could the forbidden spell be stopped so easily after it had started? This was especially true for a draconic spell like this.
The four wind element giant dragons didn't have a chance to stop their incantation. In the next moment, a ball of surging lightning energy surged up.
After revealing his single eye, even the elves couldn't compare to his eyesight. Naturally, he could tell who the core of the forbidden spell was. Therefore, the poor wind element elder naturally became the target of the Stormy Hammer.
Boom — — The sound of the explosion wasn't very loud, but in an instant, the majestic wind element elder, a Ninth-level giant dragon, was charred black.
The draconic spell was forcefully interrupted. Under the full power of the Raijin Tribe's totem, the Mountain Giant, the power that erupted from the intense vibration and lightning energy was close to that of a supreme artifact. Without any suspense, the body of the Ninth-level giant dragon was turned into ashes with just a simple strike from the hammer.
Cusle's reaction was fast. He suddenly felt a strong sense of danger and immediately jumped off the back of his dragon mount. However, he was still a beat too slow. A strong sense of numbness spread throughout his body, followed by a wave of dizziness. Then, he lost consciousness.
After all, the strength of a purple level expert was not bad. Most of the power of the Stormy Hammer was blocked by the Ninth-level Wind Dragon elder. What Cusle suffered was only the aftermath. Even so, the shockwave still knocked him out. How could the power of the strongest artifact be ordinary?
At the same time, the other three wind element giant dragons were also affected. As Eighth-level giant dragons, the strong aftermath of the lightning engulfed them and the Dragon Riders on their backs. Almost like Cusle, they fell into a coma at the same time.
The dizziness effect of the Mjolnir's Hammer was much stronger than the delay caused by the Tree Demon Druil's spear throwing. Not to mention a direct attack, even the aftermath of the explosion could cause so many experts to suffer at the same time. It was clear how powerful it was.
The three giant dragons, along with their Dragon Riders and Cusle, fell to the ground at the same time. However, the pointed Mjolnir's Hammer seemed to be pulled by a special string. It returned to Ming Di's hands.
However. Cusle and the others could be considered lucky. After all, the magic resistance of the Dragons was much stronger than that of humans. And what they suffered was the aftermath of the Stormy Hammer. Therefore. When the three giant dragons' bodies fell halfway to the ground, they had already woken up. Feeling the strong gravity, the three Wind Dragons immediately turned pale with fright. They hurriedly raised their wind element energy to the limit. Spreading their wings.
Doing their best to counteract the momentum of the fall.
However, the weight of the Dragons was really a bit too much. Adding on the fully armed Dragon Riders. It was easier said than done to slow down such a huge momentum. Especially when Cusle's falling body accidentally smashed into the body of a wind element dragon.
The sound of bones breaking could clearly be heard from the roots of the wings of the three wind element dragons. When the three wind element dragons forcefully endured the pain and landed on the ground with a total of four Dragon Riders, their dragon wings had already been broken from the roots. This kind of injury was extremely serious even for the Dragons. Behind the injured dragonrider from the front. Flor's people finally lost all their strong Dragon Riders.
When Cusle slowly woke up. He suddenly realized that it was so beautiful to be alive. Although he did not fall to the ground and was caught by the giant dragons, the shock his body received and the aftermath of Mjolnir's Hammer. All put a great burden on his already extremely tired body.
The battle on the side of Sforte City was still fierce. But at this moment. He didn't know why. The Marshal of Flor could no longer raise a trace of fighting spirit in his heart.
He knew. In this war, Flor had no chance. The moment the last forbidden spell was interrupted. It was already doomed that Flor had lost the last opportunity to enter Milan.
There was no news of the logistics supplies until now. Not to mention the supplies, there was not even a bit of information. Even the fifty thousand troops he sent to support. There was also no news. Five hundred thousand troops. When he brought out, it was a whole five hundred thousand troops. But now? How much was left?
Facing Milan Oriente, such a weak army. But what did he do?
Failure, failure, and failure. Even Cusle himself did not understand. Why did the battle turn out like this.
At the beginning. He received his appointment in the capital of Flor, Flor Florence. When he became the Marshal of the army, he was in high spirits. The Scarlet Guards, Blood Magicians, Heavy Cavalry, and the Battle Magicians of the whole country. Plus the steel torrent formed by the whole army of five hundred thousand troops. This army built with the strength of the whole country did not bring the slightest benefit to Flor.
Cusle's heart was already a little dead. He blankly looked at the Flor soldiers who were still constantly launching attacks. He could not even feel angry.
Ming left the training room. Only Purple was left in the room. Although Purple's consumption was not necessarily more than Ming's, his own strength was after all a level lower than Ming's. After all, the sub-god level and the purple level were not on the same level. Therefore, he naturally needed more time to rest.
At this moment, suddenly, a dazzling light burst from Purple's body. He suddenly opened his eyes, and they were filled with shock. Purple mageweaths kept appearing all over his body. Without his own activation, his humanoid body had already turned into a transparent purple crystal. Layers of Purple Crystal Demonic Mist kept seeping out of his body. With every rhythmic movement of the huge energy waves, Purple could clearly feel the return of his strength.
What was going on? Originally, there was still a long time before Purple could return to his peak state. However, at this moment, he could clearly feel the energy coming from the depths of his bloodline and soul. Almost instantly, the energy that he had lost was completely restored. It was difficult for him to understand what was going on. However, the energy in his body continued to rise.
The awakening of the Purple Crystal Bloodline would bring him greater power with each awakening. As the tremendous power appeared, Zi's muscles and meridians continued to swell. Ball after ball of dazzling purple light kept erupting from his body. Zi, who had already reached the peak of level 9, finally launched a ferocious attack towards his final goal with the support of this tremendous power.
Suddenly, Purple understood. He understood why there was such a huge amount of power. He thought of his partner, his brother.
That's right, it's Yinzhu. It must be Yinzhu. Only when his power suddenly rose to another level will he be able to bring me such a huge benefit through the life contract.
Yinzhu, what did you do? How could you give me such a huge amount of power?
When I first signed the contract with you, I always thought of using my energy to help you while I improved myself. However, what you gave me was much, much more than what I gave you.
Yes, Purple's guess was right. The source of his power now was Ye Yinzhu. At the same time, he was not the only one who received this huge amount of power. Lightning and Ray, who were hidden in Ye Yinzhu's body, also received it.
The large dark red cocoon, which had been dyed with the warmth of spring, finally stopped flickering. Everything merged into one in silence. The cocoon had become a layer of solidified substance. It looked as soft as silk. Accompanied by the sound of even breathing coming from inside, the large dark red cocoon moved rhythmically like a beating heart.
The gongs sounded on the battlefield. The Flor had finally sounded the prelude to the retreat of the troops. The Flo's Army, which had attacked like a tidal wave, retreated as quickly as they had charged. What was left behind were corpses that covered the entire battlefield.
Cusle had no other choice. When his deep and hoarse voice announced the retreat, the entire Flor's military operation was considered to have come to an end. The massive losses made it extremely difficult for the Flor's army to attack again.
Cusle's choice was undoubtedly the best. If they did not retreat now, when the meat of their mounts was exhausted, the Flor's army would not have the strength to retreat even if they wanted to.
Leaving behind 200,000 corpses, the Flor's army left. What was left behind was only the thick smell of blood and a large number of corpses.
Ancelotti naturally did not pursue. When the scouts reported back and announced that the Flor's army had truly retreated, Sforte City suddenly became a joyous Hai Yang. Victory. Milan had won. The Legion of the East had won. The Flor's army had finally retreated. The biggest threat to Milan had finally left the battlefield. This kind of joy was almost indescribable with words. Although the soldiers were physically exhausted, at this moment, their spirits had reached the peak of excitement.
Long live Milan. Long live the Legion of the East. Long live Marshal Ye. Countless cheers rang out continuously in the city.
This offensive and defensive war, this tragic battle, was not as simple as the relationship between the two countries, Milan and the Flor. At the same time, it also destroyed the originally one-sided war situation, causing the scales of victory to tilt and become balanced. The Milanese Empire, under an extremely disadvantageous situation, finally regained some initiative.
Ancelotti immediately issued an order to send out a large number of mounted scouts to follow the Flo's Army. They were to pay attention to their movements at all times to prevent the Flor's army from making a sudden counterattack. At the same time, almost all the effective forces in the city were sent out to bury the corpses outside the city. Fortunately, it was winter. Otherwise, once so many corpses decomposed, it was very likely to bring a plague to Sforte City.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.