Chapter 105: Chapter 104: Fierce Battle
"Sir! Sir! An order from the Commander-in-Chief!"
"Sir! The Commander-in-Chief orders us to deploy our troops at once!"
A Gnoll sprinted toward his legion’s formation.
The entire Gnoll formation was positioned behind the Foxman Shooter formation.
They were originally supposed to be the reserves and shouldn’t have needed to be deployed. But that was no longer an option. If the Foxman formation continued to take losses at this rate, it wouldn’t just be Marin who couldn’t bear it—Prince Kase would be furious as well.
No one would have batted an eye no matter how many Kobolds died, but the Snow Mountain Fox Clan was a precious asset. Their birth rate was astonishingly low.
Flaun took the written order, read it through once, and tucked it into his robes.
These documents were important. If things went south, he could pull this out to absolve himself of ninety percent of the blame.
"Relay my command! The entire army is to don their armor and ready their blades! Move! You have ten minutes!" Flaun ordered the men behind him.
If the Magic Crystal Cannons could hit the Foxman Race’s position, they could naturally hit his Gnoll encampment as well.
Besides, Marin was the Commander-in-Chief personally appointed by Prince Kase. At a critical juncture like this, there was no benefit in opposing him.
As a Gnoll chosen by Prince Kase for this mission, he naturally had his strengths.
Flaun’s entire tribe consisted of a full two thousand Bloodthirsty Jackal Wolfmen—an uncommonly large force.
The Bloodthirsty Jackal Wolfman race possessed a unique racial talent.
When they gathered, the cloud of murderous aura they formed could not only amplify their own bloodthirsty traits but also suppress the enemy’s morale.
This fact destined the Bloodthirsty Jackal Wolfmen to be a race that relied on numbers to achieve victory.
"Yes, sir!"
Following Flaun’s command, the entire Jackal Wolfman Legion began to mobilize. To the Gnolls, the darkness of night was mere camouflage; it did not hinder their assembly in the slightest.
...
Meanwhile, on the gunnery platform, Robson was struggling to aim the Magic Crystal Cannon. Using this thing to hit targets at close range was a real pain, which explained why many fortresses weren’t equipped with them.
Most fortresses simply had no use for them.
Fortunately, Robson was exceptionally skilled, and the other Magic Crystal Cannon Teams were using a different model of the cannon.
Robson had already fired five shots, while the other Magic Crystal Cannon Teams couldn’t keep up with his pace and had fallen one shot behind.
But in total, that was nearly twenty shots. Robson had basically given every densely packed enemy area a thorough going-over, yet they still showed no signs of collapse.
Huh?
Robson stared into the distance at the commotion in the enemy camp. The Gnolls, who had been waiting in the rear, were actually taking the field!
’What are they planning?’
’Are they really trying to settle this in one go?’
As he thought this, Robson’s heart began to race with excitement.
’Not running? Excellent! After that last barrage, I’m only 900 experience points away from Gold. I’m just a stone’s throw away.’
’Could tonight be the night?’
"Relay my command! Have the first regiment of soldiers assemble at my position! Go tell Emil Knight and Viscount Leo to get on the walls and prepare for battle!" Robson ordered.
Since the enemy wanted to play for high stakes, Lord Robson was more than happy to oblige. It would save him the trouble of hunting them down one by one.
Besides, one look at the Gnolls’ equipment told him they were high-tier soldiers. Perhaps tonight he could achieve a double milestone: Tier Six Soldiers and Gold!
"Yes, my lord!"
...
After giving the order, Robson ignored the Gnolls and kept his sights fixed on the distant Foxman Race encampment. ’If attacking this spot makes the enemy anxious, it means I’ve hit them where it hurts!’
’Just keep up the bombardment.’
The four Magic Crystal Cannons of Qimo Fortress thundered relentlessly. A continuous stream of Energy Balls rained down, smashing viciously into the most densely packed areas of the Foxman Shooters.
While Robson was happily raking in experience points, Marin was on the verge of exploding with rage.
In truth, Robson was simply taking advantage of Marin’s lack of proper battlefield experience, this being his first time on the front lines.
In the Beastman Empire, warfare had always been a matter of conflict between tribes. Aside from the Beastman Imperial Capital and the central cities of a few major clans, who would be idle enough to build a fortress wall?
Without walls, there was naturally no need to deploy Magic Crystal Cannons.
If it were a general from the Southern Kingdom, one familiar with Magic Crystal Cannon tactics, they would certainly know that the best course of action right now was to have the Fox Race shooters advance into the cannon’s blind spot.
Of course, even if Marin knew this, it would be pointless.
Robson had already remodeled the entire Qimo Fortress into a star fort-like structure; so-called blind spots simply didn’t exist.
Not unless Marin was willing to throw his Snow Mountain Fox Clan shooters into a meat grinder.
It wasn’t that Archers were necessarily bad in a meat grinder; the main issue was that they were lightly equipped. Their armor and gear couldn’t hold up in that kind of close-quarters slaughter, and their final contribution would likely be less than if they just kept sniping from a distance.
Listening to the continuous roar of the Magic Crystal Cannons around him, Marin was grinding his teeth in fury.
So many had died. Unquestionably, regardless of whether he could conquer this Human Race fortress tonight, Prince Kase’s punishment would be severe.
But if he failed to take it, it probably wouldn’t be as simple as just a punishment.
"Aren’t they ready yet? Those Gnolls—"
WHOOSH—
Marin was just about to urge them on when a Magic Crystal Cannon shot hurtled toward him. The massive disturbance it created as it flew through the air drowned out his voice.
"General!"
Seeing the danger, Marin’s trusted subordinate immediately ignited his battle aura and tackled his general to the ground.
"Get off! Move!" Though he knew his subordinate was protecting him, Marin still kicked him away before scrambling to get clear himself.
The exploding Energy Ball from the Magic Crystal Cannon would release immense power, shaking the very ground.
Marin was no Warrior; if he took the full force of that blast, his internal organs would be turned to mush.
Even so, after diving away, Marin couldn’t escape the aftershock.
Marin managed to deploy a Water Shield just in time, but it failed to protect his leg. One of his legs was caught in the energy wave and instantly crippled.
"AHH—!" Marin started to scream, but then he remembered this was his own encampment, and the officers and soldiers of the entire legion were likely watching him.
He had no choice but to take a long breath and forcefully suppress the pain.
Unfortunately, before he could do anything else, three more Magic Crystal Cannon shots arrived.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three blasts headed straight for Marin’s position.
"General!"
"Damn it! Protect the General!"
At this moment, the trusted followers Marin had brought from his tribe proved their worth.
Fortunately, this time, one of them knew what to do. He chose to lift Marin, and then several Extraordinaries formed a circle around him.
It was too late to carry Marin out of the blast radius; they could only watch as the men braced themselves to block the incoming attack with their bodies.
