King

Just when the night was dark and windy, the centipede soldiers used their talents and skills to crawl forward on the ground.

Under the cover of the howling cold wind, the sound of friction with the ground became inaudible.

Closer, closer!

The dazzling light emitted by the magic lamp that swayed from time to time made the Centipede soldiers very uncomfortable.

No matter how hard you try to hide it, when the distance between the two parties closes to within a hundred meters, you can no longer hide it.

"attack!"

Realizing that he could no longer sneak in, Commander Maas gave a decisive order.

The Centipede soldiers had just stood up and were about to charge, when they were met by a hail of arrows, killing hundreds of them in an instant.

Seeing this scene, everyone knew that this wave of sneak attacks had long been exposed, and the enemy had deliberately let them pass just now.

"Bring up the crossbow and trebuchet!"

Commander Mas Army ordered again.

The failure of the frontal sneak attack was expected.

Although it was a small plot by the enemy, the impact on the entire war was still minimal.

In order to cover the two sneaking teams, the bigger the scene here, the better.

The war started, and all the Centipede soldiers who were detouring on both sides were extremely nervous.

Although the peaks on both sides are not cliffs, they are not much better and are not suitable for the passage of large armies at all.

Only one regiment of ambushes were arranged on each side. It was not that the Centipede clan had no soldiers, but that the road was too difficult.

Although the Giant Centipede has the bloodline of a Warcraft, it is not a pure Warcraft after all, and its ability to climb rocks and walk on walls has long since deteriorated.

Without paying attention, a centipede soldier fell down and rolled for more than ten meters before hugging a big tree to save his life.

Seeing this scene, Captain Kallis, who was leading the team, was frightened to death.

If they hadn't been blocked by a big tree and rolled down like this, their whereabouts would have been exposed.

There is no unexpected effect, and their small number of troops is not enough to fill the enemy's teeth.

"Send the order and tell everyone to be careful. If anyone exposes his whereabouts, the whole family will be killed directly!"

Kallis warned in a deep voice.

Deep down, he had already greeted his army commander and his family.

Such a grueling task, rather than a sneak attack on the enemy, was clearly to make him a dead soldier.

There are numerous military orders on the battlefield. If you accept a task, you must complete it no matter how difficult it is.

After one more episode, the next actions became more cautious.

For safety reasons, he decisively gave up the shortcut halfway up the mountain and chose to complete the crossing from the top of the mountain.

Kallis is not the only smart centipede. Captain Andersson, who also received the unfortunate mission, went straight to the top of the mountain from the beginning.

The seemingly inconspicuous changes actually increased the distance a lot. The feint attack below lasted for two or three hours, and the prepared ambush troops were still busy on their way.

On the battlefield below, two armies were fighting fiercely around the entrance to the camp.

The original fortifications had been reduced to pieces by the trebuchets.

The centipede soldiers who were on the offensive side did not take advantage.

Advancing against a makeshift shield, he was instantly penetrated by the enemy's crossbow arrows.

Facts have proved that the defensive method of bows and arrows can only provide psychological comfort when encountering the more powerful magic crossbow.

The sharp arrow penetrated the shield, then penetrated the body of a centipede soldier, and then the second row of soldiers holding shields were hit again.

After penetrating two layers of shields and taking away two centipede soldiers, the arrows were inserted into the third layer of shields.

The dense rain of arrows, combined with the astonishing lethality, is a perfect battlefield weapon.

Due to geographical conditions, what was supposed to be a close-quarters battlefield turned into a long-range firepower duel.

Only a few lucky ones broke through the rain of arrows and fought head-on with the human soldiers.

Unfortunately, at this point, their luck has run out. The companions behind him did not catch up in time and were quickly surrounded and killed by human soldiers.

In just a few hours of fighting, thousands of bodies of soldiers from both sides were left on the ground.

It's just that there are obviously more corpses of centipede soldiers on the attacking side than on the defending side.

"Mars, the enemy's magic crossbow is too vicious, even an eighth-level expert will be hit if he is not careful.

Ordinary shields can't stop the enemy's arrows at all.

Although our trebuchets and crossbows are powerful, their firing speed is too slow, making it difficult to suppress the enemy's crossbows.

If the fight continues like this, our two legions may all be folded in! "

The commander of the Belt Corps said worriedly.

This was the first time they encountered a dense array of magic crossbows, and they had no idea how to deal with it.

Although they had encountered the enemy the last time they fought, the battle line at that time was very long.

The soldiers spread out to attack. Most of the enemy's crossbows were used to contain the strong men of the Holy Realm. Only a small amount of crossbows were used on them, and it was not obvious.

In tonight's battle, neither of the powerful men from the Holy Domain took action, and all were fought between conventional forces.

The narrow terrain is very suitable for crossbows.

"The enemy's magic crossbow is indeed powerful, but there are ways to deal with it. As long as we quickly build a batch of shields with strong enough defense, we can block it.

The craftsmen in the clan have already tried it, but unfortunately such a shield is too bulky and not suitable for ordinary soldiers to use.

It is said that the shield made by the dwarves can suppress the weight within twenty pounds and block the attack of the magic crossbow.

The sneak attack troops have already set off. If they stop attacking at this moment, the sacrifices made in front of them will be in vain.

Slow down the intensity of the attack and reduce losses as much as possible! "

The commander of the Maas Legion sighed and replied.

The gap in civilization level cannot be bridged by a general.

The magic crossbow is an achievement of magical civilization in the surface world in the past few hundred years and has nothing to do with the inner earth world.

Conventional wooden shields have almost no effect in front of magic crossbows.

If you want to block the enemy's arrows, the shield must be made of steel, and the weight will inevitably increase.

The shield built by the giant centipede weighs hundreds of pounds.

Advancing with such a shield, the enemy's arrows can be blocked, and the soldiers' physical strength will be exhausted.

It was useless to realize the problem, the battle had already begun, and they could not immediately conjure up a bunch of shields that could protect against crossbows.

"I hope tonight's raid can achieve certain results, otherwise the two of us will be laughed at by them!"

The commander of the Belt Army nodded slightly and said.

…

In the camp of the aristocratic coalition in the southeastern province, Hudson was sitting in command of the camp chatting with Governor Pierce, but his heart flew to the battlefield outside.

If you don't go out, you are giving the people below a chance.

The successful Hudson doesn't need that little bit of military exploits, but the people below do.

If he personally commanded it, even if it was a complete victory, he would not be able to share much credit with everyone.

There are many relatives and friends in the southeastern province, and Hudson cannot stand in the way of his own people.

Compared with other uncertain battles, tonight's camp defense battle is already a simple mode.

The so-called demeanor of a famous general is purely an act.

It is impossible for a general to not care about the battlefield. The soldiers below are still fighting with their lives against the enemy. Mistakes in any link on the battlefield may cause heavy losses.

"Marshal, are the enemies outside stupid?

An attack of this intensity will definitely give us a record! "

Governor Pierce joked with a smile.

Judging the intensity of the war through the sounds of fighting on the battlefield is the basic quality a general should have.

For the two people who were used to seeing big scenes, the current fight was completely childish.

"Ha ha……

Maybe the enemy has other plans, such as ambushing a large army in the mountains and taking a detour to cut off our retreat.

Or they could set up a self-destructing magic circle to blow up the mountains on both sides and drag us to hell together. "

Hudson said half-jokingly.

The detour to cut off the back road makes sense in theory, and at least there is hope for it to be realized.

Blowing up the mountains on both sides is just a joke.

Not to mention how much energy is required to destroy such a mountain, the key is that the entrance to the center of the earth is nearby. Once a big explosion occurs, the first thing to be impacted is the tunnel leading to the inner world.

No one with normal brain circuits would commit a genocide-style suicide attack.

If you dare to lead the team here, you must have checked it on the spot. If there really was a large magic circle, it wouldn't be able to hide it from Hudson's eyes.

What's more, the Giant Centipede has just appeared in the surface world less than two months ago. Even if we have that kind of means, time does not allow it.

At the very least, it is impossible to destroy two huge mountain peaks in a short period of time using the magical means of the human world.

What the continental overlords couldn't do, Hudson didn't think a race from the center of the earth could do.

“The marshal is really good at joking.

If this group of stinky centipedes had such strength, they would have used it in the last attack on the Blood Moon defense line. Why wait until now!

Not to mention destroying the mountains on both sides, even if they were to make a detour, it would be very difficult.

Eighty years ago, the family sent people to explore this area, and this hundred-mile corridor was the only route suitable for large armies.

If you want to take a detour, you can only avoid the Blackstone Mountains. Otherwise, at most, a small force will come over! "

As soon as Governor Pierce finished speaking, shouts of kill rang out from both sides, and the enemy's detour to the rear unfortunately became a reality.

After being slapped in the face, both of them looked a little embarrassed, but they did not go out to check immediately.

If we were really in big trouble, the generals outside would have sent someone over to ask for instructions.

No one was sent over, which meant that the defenders could still hold on.

The focus of defense is on the front, which does not mean that no defense forces are deployed on the wings and rear.

Hudson, who was good at outflanking and finding the enemy's weak points, would not leave such an obvious flaw.

…

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The centipede soldiers who launched the surprise attack were shot into pieces as soon as they reached the vicinity of the camp.

Coming from afar, without any heavy weapons in hand, facing the sky full of crossbow arrows. Only hiding everywhere.

"Get down, get down quickly!"

Captain Kallis ordered hurriedly.

After a brief confrontation, one-tenth of his troops were lost, and his heart was shattered.

What puzzled him the most was: even though they were all humans, why was the army of the Alpha Kingdom so much stronger than the neighboring Hessians.

Different from Xiaobai when he first came here, after understanding some information about the ground world, he already knew the preciousness of the magic crossbow.

Logically speaking, such expensive weapons of mass destruction should not be equipped on a large scale.

After all, the Alpha Kingdom is on the Aslant continent and is notoriously poor.

Not only is the magic crossbow expensive to make, but it is also a waste of money to use. The super lethality is obtained at the cost of consuming magic crystals.

It seems that what is shot is an arrow, but in fact what is shot is gold coins.

This doubt still lingered in my mind, and the earth began to tremble.

The moment they opened their eyes and raised their heads, a group of Warcraft Cavalry had already rushed out of the camp and headed straight towards them.

Seeing this scene, the centipede soldier, who had an idea, had already stood up and turned around and ran away.

The centipede soldier, who was a step slower to react, became a dead soul under the hooves of the monster before he understood what was going on.

After fleeing all the way into the mountains and forests, Kallis just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his pursuers.

Cavalry is not suitable for fighting in mountains and forests, but this does not include Warcraft cavalry.

Compared with the giant centipedes that survive in the inner earth world, Warcraft is the master of the mountains and forests.

Although these monsters are artificially raised, their usual training bases are still in the mountains and forests.

What makes Kallis most angry is that these enemies do not respect the spirit of chivalry, and they all shoot cold arrows in the back.

They were running in front, and they were holding magic crossbows and shooting at the back.

Several arrows flew past his cheek and took away a piece of flesh, which scared Kallis and fled in a hurry.

The mission has failed. Now we can escape as much as we can. If you hesitate any longer, it will be your fate to be destroyed.

…

"Stop attacking!"

Commander Maas Corps ordered while holding back his grief.

The shouts of killing from behind the enemy camp disappeared, which was obviously a sneak attack failure.

The outcome has been decided, and it has become meaningless to continue to risk lives to contain the enemy.

The war came to an end, and the two legion commanders looked at each other with bitter expressions.

The expected battle to become famous did not make them famous. Instead, they suffered heavy losses to their troops, leaving them wondering how to explain themselves to King Centipede.

"Mas, the two regiments that went out have probably been wiped out. Even if there are lucky ones who can escape, the number will not be large.

A rough estimate shows that in tonight's battle, my legion lost nearly 3,000 troops and almost lost its combat effectiveness! "

The commander of the Belt Corps said melancholy.

In the era of cold weapons, the casualty rate of 30% was already the critical point of collapse of military morale.

The reason why we can persist until now is because one of the regiments was lost outside, and the soldiers who participated in the battle did not witness the tragic scene with their own eyes.

"Bert, our two legions are operating together. Your legion has suffered heavy losses, so how can my legion fare better?

The losses of the two legions were almost the same, and 6,000 troops were lost to us.

Now let's look at the achievements of the troops who went out to attack. Just looking at the frontal battlefield, the number of enemy soldiers killed is probably less than a thousand! "

Mas said with a solemn expression.

King Centipede asked them to teach the enemy a lesson, but now the result is that they have learned the lesson themselves.

As the attacking party suffers greater losses, it makes sense militarily, but with such a huge disparity in battle loss ratio, it is a bit excessive.

After a brief eye contact, the two reached a tacit agreement - to falsely report the results of the battle!

There were countless centipedes watching in the camp. It was difficult to falsify the results on the frontal battlefield, so the only way to make a fuss was to sneak attack the troops.

Regardless of the outcome of the sneak attack, it must be successful now. Anyway, these achievements cannot be verified.

…

The sky gradually brightens, the morning light fills the earth again, and a new day begins.

Without the cover of night, King Centipede had no intention of tossing things around, and the two sides once again started the big-eyed-little-eyes mode.

Both sides were waiting for reinforcements, but the pressure continued to be transmitted to King Centipede.

After deploying troops from the front line, the Giant Foot Centipede's offensive in the Hessian Kingdom was also forced to press the pause button.

War is never one-sided. They wanted to carry out strategic contraction, but the Hessians did not agree.

The Kingdom of Hesse has been on a decline in recent years, but it is still a big country. If a race from the center of the earth is allowed to come and go freely, how can they survive on the mainland?

The more the giant centipede tried to withdraw, the fiercer the Hessian counterattack became. It is okay to ask for help from allies, but they must do the work of regaining lost territory themselves.

It would be best if we could push all the way across, surround and exterminate the giant centipede with the Alpha Kingdom, and then separate the two families into a hundred-mile corridor.

This grand strategic concept is somewhat difficult to implement, but the Hessians' counterattack did put pressure on the Giant Foot Centipede.

Pressure is also motivation. Due to the needs of the battlefield situation, Giant Foot Centipede must now resolve a front before it can reverse its strategic passivity.

Compared to the Hessians who were hundreds of miles away, it was obvious that the coalition of nobles from the Southeast Province led by Hudson posed a greater threat to them.

For a time, all kinds of troops and generals were deployed, and it was busy non-stop. In less than half a month, an army of 300,000 was gathered, which was 2.5 times that of the aristocratic coalition of the Southeast Province. King Centipede finally felt that the force was sufficient and immediately launched a full-scale counterattack.

The deafening shouts of killing resounded through the sky. If Hudson had not been personally in charge of the camp, the morale of the defenders would have been affected long ago.

Sitting still and watching the enemy gather their forces. If this kind of negative behavior were applied to other generals, they might be held accountable by the kingdom.

But if it were Hudson, everyone thought that their marshal was holding back his ultimate move, and some smart people even thought of the magic crystal cannon.

The reason is very simple. This time not only the magic crystal cannons on the Blood Moon defense line were dismantled, but also the fixed magic crystal cannons on various castles were forcibly dismantled.

If it doesn't come in handy, there's no way to explain to the owner of such a big deal.

…

“Marshal, the magic crystal cannons have almost been assembled, and now it’s time to launch a counterattack.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a southeastern province could actually gather more than two hundred magic crystal cannons! "

Governor Pierce sighed.

Magic crystal cannons are not popular, not only because the cannons are expensive, but the large consumption of magic crystals is also an important factor.

In the past, the share of magic crystals that nobles could exchange from the kingdom was limited, and it was difficult to train magicians, let alone raise gold-eating beasts like magic crystal cannons.

A cannon alone without sufficient ammunition reserves is just a display, and it will waste a lot of subsequent maintenance costs.

This situation lasted until the magic crystal mine was discovered, which changed the shortage of magic crystal in the Southeast Province.

Although most of it was bought by Hudson, some were still retained by the nobles. It became logical for nobles with good financial resources to purchase one or two magic crystal cannons to enhance the defense of their castles.

Of course, the real big owners of magic crystal cannons are the Dalton family and the Koslow family. Nearly three-quarters of the more than two hundred cannons were contributed by these two families.

Among them, the Dalton family contributed the largest number of magic crystal cannons, accounting for almost half of the total.

The number of magic crystal cannons taken out by the Koslow family is slightly less, not because the family has few reserves, but mainly because most of the magic crystal cannons are deployed in Xueyue Territory.

Governor Pierce also fought hard for this battle. As far as Hudson knew, the magic crystal cannons had also been removed from the warships left in the port by the Dalton family.

If not, with the efficiency of the nobles of the Southeast Province, it would not have taken more than half a month to send the magic crystal cannon to the front line.

"Your Majesty the Governor, this is an epoch-making battle. After this battle, the history of mainland wars will be changed because of us.

Following the order, all magic crystal cannons were aimed at the entrance to the center of the earth, and at the same time filled with the strongest firepower, a salvo was launched an hour later! "

Hearing this answer, Governor Pierce was shocked. I originally thought that Hudson was going to bomb the enemy camp, but I didn't expect that the first target was actually the entrance to the center of the earth.

Two hundred magic crystal cannons fired in a salvo. No one had ever tried how powerful it was. But destroying a tunnel is definitely no problem.

Even if the enemy wants to stop them, even the strong ones in the holy realm will be blown to pieces by such dense artillery fire.

It doesn't even need two hundred magic crystal cannons. Twenty magic crystal cannons can hit the target in a salvo to take away a giant dragon.

The collapse of the entrance to the center of the earth, even if it is only a partial collapse, would be a fatal blow to the giant centipede family.

Blocking their connection with the inner earth world, the centipede army in front of them became rootless trees and sourceless water. It was only a matter of time before they were destroyed.

…

The Centipede soldiers, unaware of the approaching danger, were constantly charging under the command of King Centipede.

The protection of the coalition camp had long been destroyed. The current battle is entirely about using flesh and blood to block the enemy's attack.

One soldier fell, and a new one immediately took over. The battlefield is littered with corpses, and the battle for the Hundred Mile Corridor is turning into a meat grinder.

"Rumble..."

The dense sound of magic crystal artillery sounded at the same time, which could be clearly seen hundreds of miles away. The experienced artillerymen had their ears blocked early.

Countless soldiers in the battle were caught off guard and knocked unconscious on the battlefield.

The explosion was just the beginning, and the sound of tunnel collapse that followed caused the earth to tremble.

The camps at the entrances of countless tunnels were buried alive underground. The arrangement originally intended to protect the entrance to the center of the earth has now become a reminder for the centipede soldiers.

"No!"

Seeing this scene, King Centipede let out a heart-rending scream.

It is a pity that the collapse of the earth's core channel cannot be changed by personal will. No matter how strong a tunnel is, it has a load-bearing limit.

Even if the giant centipede reinforced the entrance to the center of the earth, it still cannot withstand the baptism of artillery fire.

"Rumble..."

A new round of artillery attacks came, and the covered land of more than ten square miles was turned upside down, with countless tents, soldiers, and weapons flying all over the sky.

Life is fragile in the face of heavy artillery fire. Faced with such a dense artillery attack, even those as strong as the Sanctuary could only retreat.

The Centipede soldiers, who were originally stunned by the collapse of the entrance to the center of the earth, suddenly woke up when they saw the scene in front of them.

Being cut off is something that will happen in the future. If you don't run now, your life will be lost immediately.

It's chaos, the whole camp is in chaos!

A single volley of fire created more than ten square miles of white land, which was simply not something that flesh and blood could resist.

"It's no longer safe here, please take His Majesty away quickly!"

Lord Golan immediately ordered.

…