Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 162 A Heroic Battle Against the Magic Legion
The words spoken by the foot soldier were indeed too pragmatic. For Chen Mo, it wasn't just about considering Liu Shuang's feelings, but also the greater good of the territory's future.

In the human race of the Starry Continent, resisting the orcs is an indisputable righteous cause. Even though the major powers fight each other, none of them will abandon this righteous cause.

Although the Vast Ocean Territory is not yet well-known and the story of it tripping up the orcs has not yet spread, the territory has already undergone significant changes.

For example, the members of the [Night Blade] mercenary group who previously came to Han Hai to join Chen Mo have re-registered in Han Hai as a level zero mercenary group and renamed themselves [Desert Blade].

Yes, the Black Knight's sword of Captain Doyle will always be the absolute symbol of the mercenary group!

Although the guild leader and deputy guild leader both believed that the future was bright, most members were still a little heartbroken about losing the mercenary guild points they had worked so hard to earn.

But once the war with the orcs began, the morale of the mercenaries in the entire territory changed completely.

Their eyes gleamed, and they puffed out their chests as they went, constantly saying, "Why would we give up points to serve the lord? It's all so we can teach those greenskins a lesson under your command!"

His arrogance drew cheers from the audience, but the actual situation wasn't that important!

Even now, public quests in the territory, regardless of whether they are related to orcs, will cause a frenzy as soon as they are released.

In the words of the mercenaries, even moving one more brick for the territory is a contribution to fighting the orcs!
From a psychological perspective, although mercenaries are people who struggle for money, if they could also have the opportunity to become bards and sing legends while earning money, or have the chance to brag to their grandchildren in the future, their blood would be pumped!
Who would want to kneel down when they have the chance to earn money standing up?
For example, the fervent public opinion within the territory.

The Territory Information Office has now started printing newspapers on rough yellow paper. The ink smell is strong, and the quantity is small, one every two weeks. However, the supply is significantly insufficient, and it has become a source of spiritual nourishment that local residents are scrambling to obtain.

The latest issue's front page headline is still: "Heroic Reconnaissance Squad Sacrifices Their Lives in the Line of Duty, Elite Field Soldiers Slay a Flying Dragon!"

The accompanying image is a gruesome picture of a flying dragon's corpse.

It is said that two dragons were shot down in total. The lord sacrificed one of them to the great industrial king in the distance, and the other may be transported back to the territory soon for public display.

Actually, this is old news. It's a bi-monthly publication, so the lag effect is quite obvious.

But it doesn't matter. In this era, information is so precious. More than a week after the newspaper was published, everyone in Hanhailing, from the streets and alleys to the farmland and construction sites, was talking about this.

"Damn orcs! How dare they provoke our lord! They have no respect for their own lives!"

Even the orc leaders shouted this, pounding their chests loudly as they did so.

"What are you looking at! I am not one of those savage orcs! I am a subject of the lord!"

"Long live the lord!"

This is not hard to understand. After all, they were captured and enslaved by the orcs, and no one from their own tribe came to their rescue. They eventually made their way to the Vast Sea Territory. Although they were not rich and powerful, their lives were much more stable and comfortable than before.

Vague and abstract racial identity is no match for tangible needs like food and clothing and acts of kindness; there is no space for racial narratives.

Well, it's not really about class narratives; it's simply about how great and awesome the lord is!
More importantly, because of the presence of Old Bull, the lord's confidant, in the territory, other races dared not openly express their contempt for the orcs.

Having someone influential by the side of the lord is tantamount to having a "god under his wing" in the Vast Ocean Territory; everyone will treat such a person with respect.

Of course, some changes are happening in places unknown to most people.

Director Li of the No. 1 Reduction Workshop at Hanhai Steel Plant reads the local newspaper every day.

Xia Wen couldn't understand it. He was already dead, and seemed to have lost the motivation to learn a new language. So, the lord specially made a translated version of the newspaper and a translated video.

Li Zelin would sit deep inside that spacious factory building, just like he used to sit on the steps of the city lord's mansion in Blood Fortress, holding the same newspaper and reading it all day long.

Although the result of the battle with the two dragons was a trivial matter for a former seventh-tier Skybreaker, Li Zelin had heard countless promises from humans, but he had rarely seen such a straightforward, undisguised, and even somewhat "reckless" display.

It should be noted that the Vast Ocean Territory has bishops and temples of the Mist Moon Divine Court. Printing this in the newspaper is tantamount to the Vast Ocean Territory publicly stating its position to the outside world.

Although returning to the Bailu Plain he had longed for still seemed like a long and arduous journey, Li Zelin felt for the first time that this might be the closest he had ever been to his dream in over a hundred years!
Having completed another element manifestation, Li Zelin slowly stood up and waved to the guard at the door.

The security captain of the steel plant's reduction workshop quickly ran over: "Factory manager, what are your orders?"

Perhaps because he hadn't communicated with anyone in a long time, Li Zelin's voice was dry and strained. He pointed to two words on the newspaper in his broken Qiyue language and asked, word by word, "This...this, how...how do you...pronounce it in Xiawen?"

Upon closer inspection, the security captain realized that Li Zelin was pointing to the words "Lord".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In short, if he had some doubts about going to war with the orcs at the beginning, seeing the boiling scene in his territory, Chen Mo was even more certain that holding the banner of fighting the orcs would play a huge role in the future development of his territory.

It is clearly inappropriate to view the matter of reinforcing Tianshuang City from a purely utilitarian perspective.

However, Ma Qianzuo was right about one thing: at this stage, Chen Mo's role is to assist in defense, not to lead it.

The senior staff in Dongxia had given him a detailed analysis of this point, which was much clearer than what these young guys in front of him were saying.

A limited arsenal of weapons cannot be deployed in an endless war.

A thorough understanding of the attack methods, tactical organization, and confrontation methods of both the human and orc races under the traditional warfare model of the Han Hai region, and further detailed data analysis of Dong Xia, is crucial for proposing more targeted war strategies.

Meanwhile, in the eyes of Dongxia, not only were the orcs regarded as enemies, but even the force of Tianshuang City was regarded as a hypothetical enemy. This defensive mentality of "the whole world is an enemy" was deeply rooted in the hearts of Dongxia soldiers and could not be changed.

Tianshuang City is currently an ally, but may not always be an ally. Or rather, in the subconscious of Dongxia, the concept of an ally simply doesn't exist.

We must prepare contingency plans and take precautions against enemies of today, enemies of tomorrow, and forces that may become enemies at any time.

Therefore, under the current circumstances, Chen Mo needs to have a real battle between Tianshuang City and the orcs, fully utilize their respective methods, and carefully record and analyze them.

After all, according to Dongxia's analysis, Liushuang of Tianshuang City became a representative figure of Tianshuang City by returning to his territory to fight for his country and by his outstanding personal achievements.

But she is young and lacks practical governing experience. Is she capable enough to truly control the vast bureaucratic system of Tianshuang City? Is there a risk that she will be fooled or even sidelined by her experienced bureaucrats?

In the future, if a major and irreconcilable conflict of interest arises between Skyfrost City and Vast Ocean Territory, should interests be ceded to Skyfrost City, and how much should be ceded? What if the demands cannot be met?
In extreme cases, what if the Qiyue Dynasty, the Emerald Duchy, or other forces establish a new heir to Skyfrost City, and the people of Skyfrost City shift their stance or even turn against each other due to conflicting interests?
Dongxia only asked the question without offering a solution, indicating that she did not want to cause Chen Mo any unpleasantness regarding this matter.

However, one suggestion is clear: Liu Shuang as an individual should be distinguished from the political entity of "Tian Shuang City" and they should not be confused.

In addition, there is a reality that seems absurd but is actually not funny at all.

The issue of command.

When the reinforcements from Han Hai Territory entered Tian Shuang City, the generals of Tian Shuang City, as was customary, proposed that all garrison troops should be placed under unified command.

This is an ironclad rule on the battlefield. Without unified command, how can there be coordinated operations?
What if I lure the enemy out, but you alert them by stirring up trouble? What if my troops are locked in a fierce battle with the enemy, and your long-range support from the rear covers my forces?
Even worse, what if there's a traitor within your ranks who defectes at the last minute?
From any perspective, this is a reasonable demand.

However, can the troops in the Han Hai Territory relinquish command? Definitely not!

Conversely, even if Tianshuang City, at Liushuang's request or in its thirst for reinforcements, expressed its willingness to relinquish part or all of its command authority, Chen Mo still could not accept it.

None of his men were truly high-ranking generals, nor did they know how to defend a city with cold weapons. In a large-scale battle involving tens of thousands of people, it would be a joke to take over command without any experience.

Due to the combined effects of the above factors, although Chen Mo had sent a reinforcement force to Tianshuang City early on, and this force had maintained a state of first-level combat readiness and was stationed less than 800 meters from the city wall, it had never participated in the defense of Tianshuang.

They have freedom of movement within their stationed area, but military operations are restricted.

Even the drones that took off at night were announced to the Skyfrost City Defense Command in advance and launched in person over the city wall before being handed over to Lord Chen Mo's command center.

If this unit wants to participate in the defense of the city, there are only two possibilities.

Either Skyfrost City grants them the authority to attack freely, or the team applies to Skyfrost City, specifying the operational objectives, direction, timing, and plan, and executes the operation after approval.

Well, there's no right or wrong on the surface, but in reality... the underlying considerations aren't important; everyone has to accept this reality.

So at this moment, facing his subordinates who were eager to fight, the field army commander and deputy commander-in-chief, Kaja, now called Makaja, remained calm and observed the battlefield through the transmitted camera.

"Commander, the orcs are closing in!"

"Commander, the orcs have reached the city walls!"

"Commander..."

"You should have called out 'Report!' first!"

"Report to the commander! The orcs have climbed onto the city wall from the sixth and ninth sections on the front, and currently occupy about fifty meters of the wall."

"Should we apply to participate in the battle?"

Makaja casually adjusted his boonie hat: "Maintain Level 1 readiness, continue observation, and await orders!"

Yes, this is a round-brimmed desert camouflage military cap specially designed by Dongxia for the terrain of the vast desert. It provides sun protection and rain protection, and the brim can be adjusted up or down. Most importantly, it looks cool. The entire field army has already changed into its new uniform, and when it entered Tianshuang City, it attracted countless admiring glances.

However, everyone's attention is now focused on the city walls.

The troops defending the city walls were all carefully selected elite human soldiers.

Relying on their numerical advantage, they formed small gun emplacements of three to four men each, using long weapons. Behind the garrison at the battlements, each gun emplacement dealt with one charging orc, relentlessly thrusting and forcibly pushing the orcs off the battlements one by one.

However, despite the orcs' relentless and ferocious charge, some exceptionally fierce orc warriors managed to break through the blockade and reach the top of the city walls.

These guys are undoubtedly the elite of the elite.

In order to quickly scale the city walls, these beasts did not wear heavy plate armor, and the spears or swords of the human warriors could easily pierce their bodies.

However, the shamans' pre-applied Berserk and Bloodlust were like a continuous adrenaline injection, causing the orcs to completely disregard their physical injuries and relentlessly hurl their battle axes, hammers, or greatswords at the human warriors.

One of the orc warriors charging at the very front was already riddled with arrows during the climb. His helmet and shoulder armor were also knocked off by boulders pushed down from the city walls. At the last moment, as he leaped over the crenellations, he was slashed across the waist and abdomen by several spears, with several meters of intestines protruding from the wound.

But this guy, still with the human spear inside his body, roared and leaped forward, slashing a human spearman across the neck, sending a cloud of blood mist flying.

The sounds of fierce weapons clashing, battle cries, and wails of agony mingled together.

Soon, blood spread along the crenellations, then gathered into trickles that flowed down the bricks and stones of the city wall, leaving behind long, breathtaking red streaks.

The area covered by blood continued to expand, and the orcs' foothold on the city wall also expanded in tandem.

Once the orcs on the city walls establish a stronghold, and the subsequent climbing equipment is set up, it won't just be a few or a dozen or so orcs charging up.

Enemies will keep pouring onto the city walls until the city's defenses fall.

Charles, who was in charge of directing the frontal defense, finally issued the order: "Magic Company! Target the assault point, launch a full-scale attack!"

The order was given swiftly via flag signals and messengers to the tall watchtowers on the rear side of the city wall. The mages, who had been waiting on the central platform, immediately began chanting.

The first round consisted of fireballs and a barrage of fireballs.

Although there are over three hundred known spells available to magicians, if we further subdivide them and separate all the spell variants that have the same basic form but different spell patterns and effects, the total number of spells may exceed nine hundred.

However, on the battlefield, most mages only cast two types of magic.

Fire, and ice!

The battlefield is a place where efficiency in killing is paramount.

Fire is an elemental damage type and can also be used to burn and destroy enemy facilities;
Ice deals physical damage and can also be used for area control and battlefield division.

The mages of Skyfrost City displayed their skillful techniques, unleashing a barrage of fire upon the orcs who had established a foothold.

Violent explosions rang out one after another, and flames and thick smoke instantly engulfed the middle section of the city wall. The scorching heat even caused the human troops to take a few steps back.

The orcs, who had just been roaring wildly, were engulfed in a sea of ​​fire.

After three rounds of rapid and fierce fire bombardment, the orcs' subsequent offensive stalled.

The mage force began to relocate to avoid being subjected to retaliatory ranged attacks from the enemy.

Meanwhile, under Sharl's command, the reserve force that surged onto the city walls, led by the human general himself, gathered in a dense array of guns in a localized area. The moment the magical attacks ceased, they launched a fierce advance, pushing back the orcs that had just charged up.

The final scene shows the remaining orc warriors, after leaving behind a mess of limbs and broken bodies, being pushed to the edge of the city wall. They roared in despair, but finally, they had no choice but to jump off.

At that height, without backup, a broken leg is inevitable, and even cat and leopard warriors cannot escape it.

Subsequently, several thick ice walls and airflow disturbances were deployed at the breach in the city wall, temporarily blocking the orcs' flying spears, covering the troops on the city wall to disperse, clear the scene, and redeploy their defenses.

The human race regained full control of the city walls and rebuilt their defensive positions. The Bloodhowl general on the opposite side also obtained the basic information about the human magic group as he had hoped.

The first close-quarters battle, from start to finish, lasted less than an hour, during which the fierce attack was repelled. Charles hurriedly directed the mobilization of personnel, the replenishment of equipment, and the supply of provisions...

However, the orcs clearly had no intention of giving them a chance to catch their breath.

"Woo-wu-wu-"

The powerful orcish attack horns rang out once again, louder and more numerous than before!

The orcish army's banners began to wave, drawing the retreating orcs to scatter to both sides. Another, larger force of orcs, their bodies shimmering with red light, surged forward amidst the shamans' chanting.

Another wave of attacks has arrived.

A war of attrition! The orcs were clearly determined to use their numerical superiority to create an endless wave of attacks, completely wearing down and crushing the defenses of Skyfrost City!
Looking at the seemingly endless green tide outside the city and listening to the heavy breathing of the soldiers around him, the old general Charles's face became extremely solemn.

He quickly exchanged glances with several generals beside him who had also fought valiantly, and they all saw deep worry in each other's eyes.

On their second charge, Skyfrost City was already on the verge of a desperate fight.

Should we activate the magic circle?

How can we fight from here on out?
Charles stomped his foot, turned around, and strode towards the nearest tall watchtower behind him, climbing the creaking wooden stairs to the top floor.

There, Liu Shuang, the young leader of Tianshuang City, who had been prevented from going to the front lines under the pretext of safety, was gripping his gun handle tightly, gazing into the distance from the railing, a deep frown forming between his brows.

"My lord! The orcs' offensive is too fierce! The mage can only hold out for four or five more rounds at most."

"But the great battle has just begun. We can't use up all our magic. We have to save some for backup."

"We need to request support from the Vast Ocean Territory!"

(End of this chapter)