Chapter 597.5: Fighting Is All About Throwing Gold Coins
The extremely frustrated Extraordinary Elven Ranger captain hastily tore open a healing scroll, and under the help of healing magic, barely stabilized his wounded comrades before immediately planning a counterattack:
"Don't scatter. You three stay and defend. Everyone else, follow me!"
As soon as he spoke, the Extraordinary Elven Ranger captain dashed forward, followed without hesitation by thirteen Extraordinary Rangers.
They were used to setting ambushes and waiting for prey, but today, they had become the prey.
They could almost imagine the enemy showing a familiar, predatory smile when they realized they had been fooled.
What humiliation!
The proud Extraordinary Elven Rangers could not tolerate such an enemy challenging their authority.
The Extraordinary Rangers moved extremely fast, reaching the magic musket firing position in just a few breaths.
What infuriated them even more was that the attackers hadn't fled but were standing there waiting for them!
Such arrogance!
The Extraordinary Elven Ranger captain suppressed the rage surging in his chest, stared at the eight or nine tall and burly enemies, and sneered in fury:
"Good, very good!"
Tilting his head, Thorn suspiciously glanced at the sneering Ranger captain and couldn't help asking Dale next to him:
"What's wrong with him? Did he go crazy from anger?"
Thorn spoke loudly, seemingly unconcerned about the Rangers' bows, still fiddling with the half-meter-long hunting knife in his hand.
Dale shrugged nonchalantly, theatrically blowing the smoke off his magic musket and calmly replied:
"With their pathetic skills, there's no need to be so angry. They'll be lying down soon anyway."
Hearing this, the Ranger captain restrained his fury.
He did not recklessly charge into melee but instead gestured for his comrades to surround the enemies.
Dusting off his jacket, Thorn laughed heartily and charged forward.
He wanted to take the initiative!
The Ranger captain carefully observed Thorn, a trace of doubt flashing through his eyes.
The enemy wore no enchanted armor, only a gray-green open jacket.
Several short knives of varying sizes were strapped to it.
A magic musket hung on each side, with no other visible weapons.
Despite Thorn's powerful physique, in the captain's eyes, he was just a brutish fool.
He waved his hand and shouted loudly:
"Shoot!"
Facing a strong melee opponent, there was no need to engage him up close!
Over ten arrows flew toward Thorn.
Meanwhile, the captain focused on the surrounding bushes.
There were definitely more enemies; these must be bait.
Now that they had taken the bait, the enemy would surely strike!
Two Rangers, in perfect sync with the captain, immediately cast "Detect" and "Track" spells.
Even if they couldn't pinpoint the enemy's exact location, they could determine their general direction.
However, contrary to all expectations,
The imagined ambush did not occur.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
All they heard was a rapid series of metallic clashes!
The arrows they had just fired were slashed down by the supposedly doomed enemy.
Thorn, charging fastest, slashed three times in a flash and closed in on the stunned Ranger captain, grinning ferociously as he struck.
Clang!
The captain barely raised his longbow to block the heavy strike.
A deep gash appeared on the longbow, filling him with pain and fear.
If not for his quick reaction, his head might have been cleaved off.
Even so, the terrifying impact forced him to one knee.
His arms buckled under the pressure.
Just as the cold blade was about to slice through his head, his green amulet burst with dazzling light.
Boom!
A gentle but irresistible force pushed both Thorn and the captain apart.
The captain, narrowly escaping death, rolled through the dead leaves and quickly cast "Haste," fleeing without hesitation.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a horrifying sight.
The comrades who had surrounded the enemy were now being overwhelmed by a force half their size.
The rest were struggling to survive or retreating.
He realized in terror that these enemies were even more frightening than the modified Bay Territory warriors.
They moved through the forest as deftly as the Rangers.
As if they had grown up in the woods.
Moreover, their strength easily crushed the Rangers.
All the Elven Rangers' combat skills were rendered useless.
"These are monsters! Are they the true trump card of the Bay Territory?"
"Impossible! Were the enemies we fought before not even their strongest warriors?"
The fleeing Ranger captain didn't dare return the way he came.
In his mind, the few comrades and injured Rangers left behind were already dead.
Fear of death and the determination to report this critical intelligence drove him to flee.
If even the outer defenses had such terrifying foes, the inner soldiers must be even stronger.
If the Cole Elven clearing force advanced unprepared, they would suffer greatly!
Indeed, the battle-hardened Ranger captain's judgment was spot on.
The Katachan modified warriors had already eliminated the smaller groups of Extraordinary Rangers.
And the captain himself failed to escape the forest.
As he sprinted through the underbrush, a tough thorn grazed his cheek.
The poison from the Katachan demons quickly paralyzed him, causing him to collapse into a pile of dead leaves.
As he lay there, he felt someone grab his leg and drag him slowly into deadly darkness...
The intelligence from the missing scout team was finally relayed to Tigris.
Looking at the almost empty report, Tigris suppressed his rage.
He carefully questioned the battlefield situation, especially the Bay Territory's trenches, bunkers, and walls.
Finally, confirming that no reinforcements had arrived, he sighed in relief.
Even if he didn't want to admit it,
In his heart, he now harbored deep vigilance and hostility toward the seemingly insignificant Bay Territory.
Still, Tigris believed
That the elite clearing force of the Cole Elves could break through the sparse enemy defenses and push through.
Because he simply couldn't imagine what other tricks the enemy could have!
"I thought too much before, so I lost."
"Now I won't think about anything. I don't believe I can lose again!"
Tigris's ruthless glare seemed terrifying and furious to Echarne beside him.
"A commander must always stay calm, or more lives will be lost to bad orders..."
Aries, ready for battle again, said slowly.
Echarne glanced at him and shrugged:
"Don't worry. I may be ruthless,"
"But ordinary soldiers hold little value to me. I won't send them to die easily."
Councilor Kaledor, unaware of their muttering, anxiously watched the front lines, feeling an ominous premonition.
"Will we lose again?"
......
Arnold studied the Cole army's assault formation, stroking his bearded chin and muttering with anticipation:
"Tens of thousands of elites, twelve steel golems, twenty-one war puppets, mage corps, aerial scouts..."
"The Cole Elves sure think highly of us!"
"Too bad they have no idea what they're facing!"
"Old John, take out their shields first!"
Old John swung his command flag and shouted loudly:
"Target the golems and war puppets! Fire!!"
Thick smoke spewed from the firing ports atop the walls.
A salvo of spinning steel shells flew toward the advancing steel golems.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hastily repaired golems, already damaged, were pitted with crater-like dents.
Still, they showed astonishing resilience.
Amid flashes and collisions, they stubbornly charged forward.
Behind them, the elite troops pushed hastily built siege equipment, climbing under artillery fire.
Seeing heavy losses among the front ranks and hesitation among the soldiers, the Cole Elven commanders shouted:
"Charge faster! The quicker we move, the less we get shelled!"
Unfortunately, these magic cannons were different.
Unlike the slow cannons at Icewind Fortress,
These small cannons, as thick as a bowl, reloaded in three seconds.
Spewing steel and magic fire, they rained destruction upon the Cole army.
Rumble!
Though they lacked extraordinary destructive power, their rapid fire compensated for it.
The nonstop barrage blanketed the enemy with dense steel shells.
Even the tough golems and puppets faltered under the combined assault of cannons, dragon-slaying ballistae, and Katachan demon poison.
One after another, they fell.
Some heavily damaged constructs were ripped apart, scattering debris.
The Cole Elven commanders watched in anguish.
Without the constructs, their flesh-and-blood soldiers would be exposed to the merciless bombardment.
Not inflexible, the commanders quickly sought ways to suppress the Bay Territory's long-range attacks.
They planned to deploy war mages to unleash destructive magic.
The plan had a good chance of succeeding; war mages were devastating against small fortifications.
However, when their eagerly awaited area spells
Hit the Bay Territory's bunkers and walls,
Brilliant magical barriers shattered all their hopes!
Even Councilor Kaledor, usually composed, couldn't help cursing:
"Is the Bay Territory crazy? Outfitting a thousand troops with large-scale magical barriers?!"
"Where did they get the tech and resources..."
Each barrier cost millions of gold coins to build and over fifty thousand a day to maintain!
Awakened by the Bay Territory's wealth,
The last two steel golems were smashed down.
Artillery fire rained down on the wooden siege engines.
Unlike the metal constructs, these were fragile.
Siege engines were shattered one after another.
Even the soldiers behind them were blown apart.
A bowl-sized cannonball could smash steel—what chance did the elves have?
"Engineering golems, massive magical barriers, over a hundred new magic cannons, full enchanted gear..."
"This thousand-strong Bay Territory force has more resources than tens of thousands of Cole Elves!"
As the army approached the trenches, Tigris growled viciously:
"Our supplies are inferior to a tiny Bay Territory! Intolerable!"
"They dream of beating our elites with gold-piled soldiers? Laughable!"
......
As the Cole Elves approached within fifty meters of the trenches, Arnold smacked his lips regretfully:
"Their fighting spirit is admirable, but their tactics are too outdated."
"Throw!!"
Round barrels flew, landing atop the advancing elves.
Thick, dark fire-oil spilled everywhere.
Flames roared to life.
Arnold, gleeful at getting a little revenge, exclaimed:
"Fighting is all about throwing gold coins!"
"For this battle, our territory spent over fifty million gold coins. How can you compete?"
"With just courage?"
"Who gave you that courage?!"