Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 198 The Beast Army Surrounds Skyfrost Bloodroar Again: Unparalleled Loyalty

In the autumn of 1428, after a brief period of reorganization and rest, the orc army split into three routes—front, middle, and rear—and marched out of the Flag Mountain Pass, heading straight for the human territory.

The vanguard general Sargeras Bloodhowl, with 20,000 orc warriors under his command, mainly composed of heavy infantry, supplemented by light cavalry and ranged troops, along with 24,000 miscellaneous soldiers and laborers, pushed more than 70 siege machines of various sizes out of the Razorfen Downs and once again besieged Skyfrost City.

The central army, personally led by Golden Mane Ig, consisted of over 50,000 soldiers and auxiliary troops, plus laborers, bringing the total to over 80,000. They were outwardly claimed to number 300,000. They marched along the main road of the Old East Pass Plain toward the mountain pass of Yuheng Mountain and East Pass Territory.

The rear guard, led by the young Rex Ironarm, sent out scouts in all directions, with wyverns circling overhead, spreading out along the entire Razorfen Downs, firmly connecting the orcs' southern camp at Flag Mountain with their main force.

The overall layout emphasizes a conventional and straightforward approach.

The full-scale mobilization of the orcish army has put the entire southern front on edge.

The one who was most on edge was undoubtedly Lord Chen, since the front lines on both the east and west sides were essentially his own hands.

This autumn hunt, thanks to Sargeras's thorough preparations, saw the orcs move much faster than before. Based on past experience, it would normally take at least two weeks for the orc army to prepare from entering the plains to marching south.

This time, however, the orc vanguard had already been dispatched just one day after the Golden Mane leader arrived at the Qishan camp, forcing the Han Hai Territory, which was still conducting various reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, to make an emergency mobilization.

A portion of the core elite troops traveled east from Xuanshui City to Hailuokou, then south by sea, and finally set up a new forward command post westward from Hanhai Territory, ready to reinforce Tianshuang City at any time.

Tianshuang City had already entered a state of high alert.

In the past few months, Skyfrost City has been busy for a moment.

Having survived the fierce battle of the spring hunt, the soldiers and civilians, with an almost pious attitude, continued to build up the original city foundation with rough rocks collected from various places, and then firmly glued them together with mortar mixed with slime juice.

The new Skyfrost City must be built even higher; the scene where orcs could climb to the top of the city walls simply by charging with their bloodlust must never be repeated.

The new city will be wider, with the depth of the city walls more than doubled. Some large defensive siege weapons can also be mounted on the city walls. At the same time, a protective wall will be set up every hundred meters to block the enemy's long-range penetration, making it easier to place more reserve troops on the city walls.

Following Chen Mo's suggestion, the construction of the new city became more complex. Numerous pits were dug at the base of the city walls, and beneath the topsoil layer were sharp barbs. These barbs were not only rusty but also sprayed with various toxins.

The outer city wall was built with a slight reverse slope, and protruding bastions, extended bastions, and numerous loopholes were added to the top of the city wall. Inside the city wall, there were garrison posts and hidden troop caves, as well as mage shooting platforms with multiple layers of protection.

The continuous financial resources of the Vast Ocean Territory, the unreserved manpower of Skyfrost City, and the full commitment of the earth and wood mage team with the support of magic crystals, have created this seemingly extravagant heavy fortress.

The vanguard sent by General Golden Mane only glanced at the city's layout from afar atop the flying dragon before reporting without hesitation: "This is already a fortified city of at least level two. If our Autumn Hunt forces were to launch a direct assault, I'm afraid... it would take far too long!"

"It seems that Sagris is quite loyal!"

Goldenmane Ig gave Sargeris a reward with satisfaction, then led his army westward without looking back.

Of course, what the orcs could see was only the city's exterior; inside Skyfrost City, the resistance was several times stronger than before.

The echoes of the last war still resonate, spreading the formidable reputation of Tianshuang City throughout the entire Dongguanling region.

For the vast majority of civilians who were barely surviving on this land, they did not know the specifics of the battle or the number of casualties. All they saw was that the orcs came, besieged the city for a long time, and then left.

That was enough. In the ruins of Dongguan, there was a city that could hold off the orc army. This news spread to every hill and fortress in Dongguan in a very short time.

Because the planting season was delayed, many fortified villages were already struggling, and some small-scale raids even broke out between them. There were also more bandits on the mountains and roads.

In this situation, the recruitment notices from Tianshuang City became a way of life for the refugees from Dongguan.

Migrants from various fortified villages and towns in Dongguan, with their families, carrying their last remaining food and leading their few livestock, arrived one after another in this isolated city that was once considered a dead end, with some hesitant, some determined, and some helpless.

Especially with the orc autumn hunt approaching, the influx of refugees from all over the country nearly doubled the population of Skyfrost City.

The wounds of continuous war have not yet fully healed, but a vibrant vitality is growing in the city.

Then, Skyfrost City was met with the return of Sargeris Gorehowl.

Dozens of kilometers outside the city, the orcish military camps stretched out in a semi-circular shape, slightly encircling Skyfrost City at the center.

Unlike the large military camp last time, the orcs this time adopted a split, multi-point scattered small camp, with the camps separated by hundreds of meters, like sesame seeds scattered on a pancake, scattered like stars.

Clearly, the strategist had fully learned from the experience of the last war. With this deployment method, even if the human race used their ultra-long-range attack methods, they could only affect one or two small camps at most. The other outer camps would be blocked and blocked, and they wouldn't even be able to cause a camp riot.

Of course, this method of deployment also has many drawbacks, the most obvious being that it takes a particularly long time to mobilize the entire team.

But it doesn't matter, Sargeris didn't really intend to fight Skyfrost City head-on.

In the eyes of Skyfrost City and the Vast Ocean Territory, the orcs' siege of Skyfrost City was like a large-scale stage play.

At dawn, a long, drawn-out bugle call sounded, struggling to shake the slightly chilly autumn air over the Dongguan land, followed by a second bugle call, and a third bugle call...

As the horns of all the camps sounded and the sound echoed over the endless orc camps, Sargeras Gorehowl's army slowly awoke from its slumber.

This "safe" layout, at this moment, perfectly demonstrates its most prominent characteristic—inefficiency.

On the vast assembly ground facing Skyfrost City, the ground was trampled to pieces. At first, only a few hundred of the earliest orc guards from the two nearby camps arrived, received some dry rations, and replenished their "pre-battle" strength with cold drinking water.

Next, troops from camps a little further away arrived in batches.

They carried spears and shields, some of the orcs still had overnight secretions stuck to the corners of their eyes, their mouths wide open, revealing mouthfuls of unkempt fangs, yawning loudly.

The yawns seemed to be highly contagious, and soon echoed throughout the orc ranks.

After the horn signal had faded for quite some time, in the scattered smaller camps further away, more orc warriors slowly lifted the covers, like bears just waking from hibernation. To put it simply, if there was no need to clock in, the further away from the main camp, the lazier these guys would become. After all, no matter how eagerly you got up, you couldn't possibly arrive before those in the inner camp. Since the leader was certain he couldn't see your efforts, what was the point?

Especially after several days of late arrivals went unpunished, the orc army's assembly became completely unrestrained.

One by one, sleepy-eyed orc warriors with crooked armor stretched lazily, slowly put on their armor, and swayed as they made their way forward.

By the time they arrived, the orcs who had lined up the earliest were already lying on the ground, having finished another nap.

When the last few teams from the most remote camps slowly strolled into the assembly area, trudging through the mud and filth, the sun was already high in the sky.

Looking at the time, it's time for lunch.

Let's eat first then.

So, the operation, which started in the early hours of the morning, was finally able to begin in the afternoon.

The orc army, having completed its reorganization, marched menacingly towards Skyfrost City in somewhat disorganized formations. Then, at a safe distance outside the city, they arrayed themselves again and deployed their meticulously crafted catapults.

After returning from the spring hunt, Sagris began to gather resources and recruit craftsmen to build a batch of war machines of varying quality. Among them, the catapult was of paramount importance, and more than thirty were prepared.

When Chen Mo first discovered this thing, he had some concerns. The military of Han Hai Territory had prepared more than a dozen different strike plans, with the goal of taking down these big guys as soon as possible.

However, Sargeris took the conservative approach to the extreme. The position of the orc catapults was so well-defined that even from the highest watchtower in Skyfrost City, it was impossible to see clearly without a telescope.

Without a doubt, at this distance, even if the catapults of the Starry Continent had various materials, elemental and spiritual energy enhancements, and their range was more than twice that of the same model on Blue Star, they would absolutely not pose any threat to Skyfrost City.

Let alone reaching the defensive clusters atop the city walls, even touching the very base of Skyfrost City's walls would be a miracle. Simply cratering the area between the orc camp and Skyfrost City would be considered a "firepower attack."

After several days of attacks, only one stone was particularly lucky. It landed on hard rock and shattered into a round projectile. It rolled forward without getting stuck or trapped, eventually hitting the pit at the bottom of Skyfrost City.

The catapult crew that launched the stone projectile even received a special commendation from General Sargeris.

Such slinging attacks often lasted for several hours until all the prepared stones were used up, at which point the operation would end.

After collecting their dinners for the day, the orc warriors returned to their camps, ready to repeat the same routine tomorrow.

On the third day, an orc general angrily protested.

This is a general of the boar tribe. He was recently recruited and has not experienced the last siege of Skyfrost City. In the eyes of these orcs, not to mention that humans are no match for humans, at least one orc can take on ten. Tens of thousands of orcs are here. Are you going to play house with us?

In front of all the generals, the boar chieftain roared, "I've had enough of this stupid game! If you're too scared to fight, hand over the command flag and don't bring shame to the great orcs!"

The orc generals inside the tent exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty. Sargeras, however, remained unhurried, finishing the last piece of meat from the bone in his hand, licking his plate with lingering satisfaction, before finally raising his head to give the orc general a reply.

"Since you think I played poorly and that you can play well, I can give you a chance!"

Sargeris's voice was calm and composed: "You lead your orcs into battle, and I will give you twenty catapults, ten siege engines, and a small squad of wyverns for scouting. If you can take Frost City, I will personally report your achievement to General Goldenmane!"

"Alright!" The boar leader flung open the tent flap and couldn't wait to get the troops together.

Of course, the result was obvious. Tianshuang City didn't even use any firearms and easily suppressed the invading forces, leaving behind a mess of corpses.

The tough-skinned boar leader, covered in wounds, fled back in a sorry state. As he knelt in the main tent to confess his sins, Sagris sighed softly.

"Plead guilty? Can you afford to admit it?"

"Thousands of brave soldiers and more than a dozen siege weapons that cost a lot of money and time to build, were just casually destroyed by your one sentence, 'You were wrong'?"

"If I don't deal with you today, and another person comes along tomorrow saying I'm stupid, and another the day after saying I'm cowardly, then these tens of thousands of brothers might all be buried here by you?"

General Bloodhowl waved his hand: "Drag him away, behead him, and send his head to each camp."

He surveyed the generals in the tent, his voice suddenly rising: "Gentlemen, do you think I don't want to take down Tianshuang City in one fell swoop and avenge the brothers who died under this city?"

"Do you think I don't want to raise my banner, record my achievements, and report my victory to Lord Golden Mane and His Majesty the Beast King for rewards?"

"But not!"

Sagris slammed his fist on the table: "Even if everyone laughs at us, we mustn't act impulsively!"

"Our most important task now is to hold them off here and use continuous attacks, while minimizing our own losses, to warn the enemies of Skyfrost City not to come out and interfere with Lord Golden Mane's conquest of the west."

"Once Lord Golden Mane returns, there will be plenty of ways to deal with these poor humans!"

"Our most important task is to ensure that the main force is not attacked and that Lord Goldenmane's rear is safe. Other things, such as face and glory, are not important. Do you understand?"

"From now on, anyone who dares to interfere in military affairs will be executed without mercy!"

Orc generals of all ranks knelt down in a clatter, the entire hall filled with awe. The old shaman Karl, sitting beside the main tent, remained silent, his gaze unfocused.

Of course, this scene reached the main force of the orcs' autumn hunt, which greatly moved Goldenmane Ig.

Among orc generals, there are very few who would abandon personal honor and disgrace to safeguard the overall situation!

With his back to Sargeras, General Goldenmane felt utterly at ease!
(End of this chapter)