Chapter 288: 223, War Fortress! Tunnel Warfare!
“Squeak, squeak, squeak…”
“Plop!”
“Plop, plop!!”
Halfway up the mountain, swarms of Polychrome Spiders emerged from the black fog, rushing towards the home crystal embedded in the mountain’s side.
However, before they could even reach halfway, they inexplicably died, their bodies strewn across the ground and the perimeter of the mountainside.
The Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes hovering mid-air couldn’t locate their enemy either. Many launched attacks against the mountainside but suffered the same fate, abruptly and mysteriously dying.
Upon closer inspection, numerous small holes about the size of a goose’s egg appeared all around the hillside, on the ground, and on the mountainside!
Shadowy figures could be faintly seen moving inside the holes.
“Quick! Another wave of Polychrome Spiders is ascending! Kill them!”
“The newly recruited spearmen, come over! Let them taste blood!”
“Hahaha! Our leader has come up with the best strategy! These Alien Beasts can’t even touch us, but we can harm them without a scratch on ourselves!”
“Attack!”
Cries of battle were heard from the ground and within the mountainside.
Underneath the mountain’s side and inside the peak, the area had been completely hollowed out!
This formed vast tunnels wide enough for two people to walk through.
Or better said… underground passages!
Tunnel warfare!
Implementing tunnel warfare, the whole hillside had been transformed into a massive war machine.
This was Chu He’s strategy!
Sitting in the deepest chamber within the tunnel, Chu He listened to his subordinates’ reports.
“Leader! The latest wave of Polychrome Spiders has been completely wiped out!”
“Leader! All two hundred and fifty spearmen have been promoted to LV30!”
“Leader, we have cleaned up the battlefield, here are the resources we’ve gathered…”
“Leader! The Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes are still on the surface, what should we do?”
Bits of information were gathered, and Chu He quickly made his decisions.
“Let the marksman squad enter the mountainside and shoot down the Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes through the lookout holes!”
“Yes!”
“Have the spearmen light some smoky fires to block the Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes from approaching the home crystal and prevent their escape!”
“Yes!”
“Gather all the resources and upgrade the home crystal to LV4!”
“Yes, Leader!”
With each command given, every soldier within the base sprang into action.
At this moment, three figures wearing earthy yellow robes walked in.
“Leader! We have tunneled a new passage that leads directly where the black fog is located!”
The foremost figure spoke: “As you predicted, the black fog is present underground, but in very small quantities.”
“Black fog, huh…”
Chu He tapped the tabletop, speaking in a low voice: “Gather all spearmen beneath the black fog and scout for the Alien Beast’s location.”
“You, the magician squad, continue digging into the hill, try to quickly excavate all the mountain.”
“Yes, Leader!”
The three headed out to follow the order, while Chu He shook his head.
“Hero…when will I finally be able to recruit a hero?”
The reason he wants to completely tunnel through the mountainside is due to the departing figures.
They were not heroes!
They were conjured from a complex building blueprint dropped by a Giant Bloodsucking Mosquito he had previously killed!
The Apprentice Magic Tower!
Through this special building, he could educate any common soldier with an initial psychic attribute above 10 points, and cultivate them into two-star magician apprentices!
Compared with real magicians, magician apprentices were far inferior in strength, and they only knew one skill.
However, there was a bonus, as Chu He could freely choose the basic magic knowledge they would learn.
After careful consideration, Chu He chose a very common and frequently seen earth element magic: Marsh Spell.
This spell had a simple effect, transforming the soil in the target area into a marsh to trap enemies.
However, Chu He applied an unorthodox approach, instructing the magician apprentices to cast their spell on the quite common mountain stones on the mountainside.
Just as expected!
Under the Marsh spell, the mountain stones didn’t turn into a marsh but became incredibly soft and brittle, easily destroyed.
In this way, relying on the magic of this apprentice squad and his own strategic plans, he dug through the ground beneath his base and through the mountain, constructing an extensive underground world to withstand the Alien Beast’s attacks.
The result was… near perfection!
In three waves of Alien Beast attacks, his losses were minimal, effectively defending against the threats.
He also gathered enough resources to upgrade his home crystal to LV4!
If ordinary magician apprentices were this powerful, how powerful must the stronger hero units be?
“My goal is to transform this mountain peak into a complete war fortress within a month!”
Chu He said calmly: “By then, let alone three-star Polychrome Spiders and Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes, even four-star, five-star, or even six-star Flying Thunder Dragons should be stoppable!”
“I wonder if I will get to confront the unseen seven-star Alien Beasts?”
“Boom!”
“Boom, boom…!”
Right at this moment, the entire ground started to shake violently, smoke and dust were everywhere, and the surrounding soldiers were in utmost chaos, but Chu He regained his composure quickly.
“What’s happening?”
“Rep… Report!”
A marksman ran over in haste: “Leader! It’s bad!”
“The magician squad has been attacked by Alien Beasts!”
“What?”
Chu He furrowed his eyebrows. He currently had four types of troops under his command.
Swordsmen, spearmen, marksmen, and the most crucial, the magician squad.
The entire squad comprised only a little over thirty individuals, and he had assigned all of them to work underground, if…
“Report!”
A staggered magician apprentice ran in, blurting out: “Leader! It’s bad!”
“While we were digging the tunnel, a group of Tank Earth Dragons suddenly attacked us!”
“Tank Earth Dragons?”
Chu He frowned. The Tank Earth Dragons were five-star Alien Beasts.
They resembled pangolins, with a body covered in tough armor, utilizing their claws and sharp beak to dig tunnels.
He didn’t expect to encounter them so soon.
But this doesn’t make sense…
Even if Alien Beasts appeared, they should be the four-star Red Centipedes and the Triple-Headed Snakes, why would a five-star Tank Earth Dragon appear?
“Did you come into contact with the black fog?”
“No!” The subordinate quickly replied: “It was the Tank Earth Dragons that attacked us, and there were numerous ones…”
“Report…!”
Just then, another spearman ran towards them.
“Leader! The ground! A large number of Red Centipedes and Triple-Headed Snakes have appeared, they are four-star Alien Beasts!”
“Four-star Alien Beasts? Is it a beast tide?”
“But why are there Tank Earth Dragons? Could it be… a beast tide beyond previous reports?”
Chu He commanded with a furrowed brow: “Everyone, follow your training, use the tunnels to obstruct the Tank Earth Dragons!”
When he made the decision to dig tunnels, Chu He had foreseen the appearance of the Earth Dragons that could dig tunnels, and he had prepared specific training for this scenario.
He didn’t expect to encounter them so soon!
“All marksmen and magicians, return to the mountainside immediately! Swordsmen, spearmen, hold off the Tank Earth Dragons at all costs!”
Chu He immediately ordered: “Everyone, hold on until the home crystal is upgraded to LV4!”
“Yes, Leader!”