Chapter 210 - 210: Reasons for War, Commencement of Battle (2)
Chapter 210: Reasons for War, Commencement of Battle (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It seems that the enemy’s patience has been almost exhausted.
At that moment, he raised his hand, signaling his army to start deploying and adjusting the weapon angles, all aimed at the enemies on the stone bridge.
Any enemy trying to cross the stone bridge would suffer the first wave of attacks.
At the same time, squads of lizardmen soldiers also occupied one end of the stone bridge, forming defensive lines.
Of course, his half-orc army and recruitment camp troops remained in the rear, staying put.
The first wave of defense, with the most severe casualties, naturally fell on our fellow lizardmen.
If one were to measure Ji Chen’s wickedness, it would begin with his treatment of lizardmen as if they were not even fellow beings, almost treating them as war criminals.
Wuwuwu
The horn sound grew more urgent, gradually resonating throughout the entire cave.
The enemy’s wave of lizardmen soldiers began to charge up the stone bridge towards Ji Chen’s forces.
At the same time, a swarm of black crossbow bolts shot up from the enemy ranks, cutting through menacing arcs and falling among our lizardmen.
Ahh-
As expected, cries of agony erupted.
The lizardmen soldiers in the front rows were shot like sieves, and the scene was as tragic as the historical story of Zhuge Liang borrowing arrows with thatched boats.
The thick bolts, as thick as a baby’s arm, shot from the bed crossbows, efficiently impaling two or three lizardmen soldiers and pinning them to the ground.
Ji Chen’s lizardmen also began to counterattack, shooting crossbow bolts in return, but their formation was much smaller than the enemy’s.
With three thousand lizardmen against eleven thousand, even if they clashed head-on, they wouldn’t stand a chance!
After enduring several waves of crossbow bolts, they finally trampled over the bodies of their fallen comrades and reached the middle of the stone bridge, engaging in close combat.
The stone bridge wasn’t very wide, only about thirty meters, so only dozens of lizardmen soldiers from each side could engage in close combat.
The enemy couldn’t fully exploit their numerical advantage on the stone bridge. In this situation, Dork Kingdom’s superior armor technology, with its more effective armor defense, gave them the upper hand.
As the saying goes, thicker armor can withstand more lethal blows.
A lizardman soldier from Dork Kingdom, with armor covering him from head to toe, could withstand the attacks of two or three enemy lizardmen soldiers while still managing to kill two of them before dying.
For a moment, the front line was pushed forward considerably.
However, this situation changed when the enemy deployed a large number of bows and crossbows.
Among the four lizardmen kingdoms, the most powerful one, much like the mighty state of Qin in the Warring States period, excelled in utilizing powerful bows and sturdy crossbows to unleash a torrent of arrows upon the enemy, causing both casualties and intimidation.
In the heat of the battle, hundreds of lizardmen armed with iron crossbows emerged from the enemy ranks. They formed disciplined formations, loading specially crafted armor-piercing bolts and shooting them towards Ji Chen’s lizardmen soldiers.
Swish…
Puchi-
The armor that could withstand arrows and sword strikes was pierced straight through by these armor-piercing bolts.
With a swift whoosh, wave after wave of crossbow bolts ruthlessly harvested lives.
Seeing their comrades fall like cut wheat, Ji Chen’s lizardmen soldiers became hesitant to advance.
Seeing this scene, Ji Chen showed an unsurprised expression.
He had already anticipated this situation and prepared countermeasures in advance.
Let the Ruins Guardians take the frontline and cover the lizardmen soldiers’ attack!”
Several towering Ruins Guardians appeared at the frontline, surprising the enemy.
What were these things?
When did such things appear in the lizardmen kingdom?
Despite their surprise, the enemy didn’t stop attacking.
However, when the crossbow bolts hit these giants, although the arrowheads were completely embedded in their bodies, it had no effect on them whatsoever.
These giants continued to charge forward, carrying tremendous momentum like war chariots.
On the narrow stone bridge, ten Ruins Guardians formed a line, leaving the enemy with no place to hide, forcing them to bear the brunt.
Bang!
Countless enemy lizardmen soldiers were sent flying, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, either falling to the ground or plunging into the magma.
Row after row of Ruins Guardians, like spring plows on cultivated land, cut through flesh and harvested lives.
Following behind them, the lizardmen soldiers surged forward and gained control of the stone bridge, driving the enemy off.
Seeing this, Ji Chen’s lizardmen soldiers erupted in cheers.
But Ji Chen remained composed; he knew the real battle was just beginning.
Without the restriction of the stone bridge, enemies ten times their number rushed from all directions, surrounding them.
However, Ji Chen’s forces were unable to quickly deploy reinforcements due to the limitations of the stone bridge.
Originally, Ji Chen’s forces were making great progress, but now their offensive suddenly stalled.
On the other hand, the enemy surged like a tide, attempting to retake the stone bridge.
At this moment, the situation of attack and defense had reversed.
This was the crucial point in the terrain.
Those who wanted to pass through the stone bridge would inevitably face tremendous pressure at the point where the bridge met the land.
If they couldn’t withstand this pressure and break through the encirclement, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
“Allow me to take the field, my lord.”
Alice stepped forward as she witnessed the situation.
Without hesitation or delay, Ji Chen nodded quickly.
Escorted by a team of Naga Berserkers, Alice arrived at the frontline.
She slowly released her mana and activated her skills.
When her song covered the battlefield and swept over the vicinity of the stone bridge, the enemy lizardmen soldiers were instantly controlled.
Their eyes turned blood-red as they began attacking their own allies, causing chaos.
Ji Chen’s lizardmen soldiers, influenced by the Song of War, saw their combat prowess greatly enhanced and unleashed a devastating assault on the enemy, causing them to cry out in terror.
The tide of battle had once again turned.
Such was the power of a mighty hero—to have the ability to reverse the course of a battle.
With Alice’s assistance, Ji Chen’s forces successfully held their ground, and wave after wave of lizardmen soldiers charged forward, establishing defensive lines at the bridgehead, along with the Ruins Guardians.
At this point, the enemy, currently at a disadvantage, temporarily retreated under the command of their officers.
They regrouped in the distance, preparing for a more powerful attack.
The rain of arrows from the enemy never ceased, falling relentlessly like they were dispensable.
Through the gaps in the Ruins Guardians’ bodies, the specially crafted armor-piercing bolts caused severe damage to the lizardmen soldiers behind them.
Many Ruins Guardians were hit by the dense arrow rain, and their iron plates on their chests were penetrated, causing critical damage to their cores.
The most dangerous threat to the Ruins Guardians was the oversized bed-crossbows, which fired baby-arm-thick bolts that could shatter their limbs not protected by iron plates.
About half of the fallen Ruins Guardians were left immobile with shattered legs.
“We need to destroy those bed-sized crossbows…”
Ji Chen thought to himself and made a decision.
Forty Sky Guardians took off into the air, flying across the magma river to the opposite bank.
At this moment, the enemy lizardmen were truly stunned.
In their understanding, all creatures stood on the ground, and they couldn’t fathom the concept of flight.
Seeing these things appear in the sky shattered their worldview.
However, the Sky Guardians paid no attention to their confusion. Receiving their orders, they swiftly and agilely flew towards the enemy’s bed-sized crossbow positions.
Seeing the Sky Guardians approaching, the enemy realized that they were about to attack their crossbows, and immediately started to retaliate.
The soldiers on the enemy’s side tried shooting their crossbows, but the nimble Sky Guardians skillfully evaded the bolts. Instead, the crossbow bolts hit their own allies, resulting in a comical scene of friendly fire.
Whoosh-
The Sky Guardians swooped down, and their sharp claws cut through the bed-sized crossbows like they were slicing paper. Along the way, they tore several lizardmen soldiers controlling the crossbows into pieces.
After a few dives, the bed-sized crossbows were mostly destroyed.
Having accomplished this, the Sky Guardians didn’t rest. They continued their swift attacks, creating a storm of blood and flesh within the enemy ranks. Countless lizardmen soldiers became casualties under their claws.
Seeing this, Ji Chen nodded in satisfaction.
The air force’s strength was in its formidable power, relying on unconventional weapons that left the enemy unable to effectively counterattack, allowing the air force to inflict damage without hindrance.
At the front, they faced the crushing force of the Ruins Guardians, while in the rear, they were incessantly attacked by the Sky Guardians.
The coalition forces were now at their wits’ end, with no viable solution in sight.
They could only send wave after wave of soldiers, praying that they could hold their ground.
However, this hope quickly turned into mere illusion when a formidable army of half-orcs joined the battle..