Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 344 The Art of Compromise: Beauty's Curse, Water Margin, Messy Battle
Does Chen Mo want to fight Green Pine? Of course he does, the feud between the two families has already become so deep!
Will Chen Mo go and attack Green Pine?

No! At least not for now!
The reasons are somewhat complicated, but broadly speaking, they mainly include the following:

First of all, it was a veritable "battleground on all sides".

If Han Hai Ling were to advance westward and painstakingly reclaim the former territory of Yunwu, what kind of situation would it face?

To the north lies the Emerald Duchy, supported by the Qiyue Dynasty. Although it has been repeatedly defeated and lost territory, it still has a population of six million and a military force of over one hundred thousand. The Qiyue Dynasty behind it is one of the three strongest powers in the world!

To the south lies Green Pine, supported by the Mist Moon Divine Court—a confirmed hostile force! To the west are the Mirror Lake Kingdom and the Froststorm Duchy, whose stances are unclear. As for the east, the pressure from the orcs' spring and autumn hunts, once or even twice a year, weighs heavily on this land.

Further south are the elves and the Summer Moon Federation, which seem like they could be relied upon for assistance, but what if...?
With such a huge population and so many complex forces, how can one simply wave a hand to make them completely submissive and devoted?
The Summer Moon Alliance had just been established, and countless spies, agents, lobbyists, and secret envoys from various factions were shuttling back and forth day and night between the two banks of the northern foothills, stirring up trouble.

Therefore, this region is equivalent to the great graveyard of empires on Earth, a powder keg of Eurasia, a veritable enemy coming from all directions.

It might be able to barely survive in peacetime, but once war breaks out, it could easily turn into a meat grinder.

Even with the strength of Cloud Mist Territory and the shrewdness of Earl Flowing Cloud, they couldn't last two rounds. Given the current size of Chen Mo's military force, there's really no need to rush in and practice their resilience.

Secondly, Chen Mo's fight against the orcs and capture of the white deer demonstrates his commitment to the greater good of humanity. Countless passionate young men are eagerly lining up, ready to bring their own provisions and serve as his vanguard!

Among them are many scions of prominent families from Green Pine and Mirror Lake, who have been mercenaries for generations.

The sense of honor in fighting against the orcs and reclaiming the human race's homeland is an important asset for Chen Mo in attracting talent.

If we were to turn back and start a civil war among humans, it would be abandoning the greater good for personal revenge, falling from the moral high ground to the foot of the mountain, which would be a loss that outweighs the gain.

Finally, there is another reason that no one can guess.

Chen Mo's core objective in this world is not to conquer cities and expand his territory, but to deliver as many valuable resources as possible to Dongxia on Blue Star while controlling consumption.

A land ravaged by war held no greater allure for him than a special magical technique.

So here's the question: given so many reasons, why is Chen Mo acting so resolutely right now, as if he won't give up until he crushes Green Pine?

That's naturally due to the attitude of the Divine Court.

Upon hearing that the lord intended to mobilize troops, High Priest Farrell almost pleaded with Chen Mo not to send troops out of anger.

Chen Mo's attitude immediately changed.

You value pine so much? No way! The Pine Kingdom is our mortal enemy, I'm going to fight them to the death!

Why aren't you coming over to stop me?
Rainbow City must stop them!

After exchanging a few words with the high priest beside him, Archbishop Ryan Moon Chantress waved his hand to disperse most of his priests, leaving only a few core members. He was about to say something that outsiders should not hear.

Just as the Eastern Xia leadership predicted, although on the surface Rainbow Holy City's interests lie in the East, in the White Deer Plain, while their rival Azure Sky Holy City is in charge of southern affairs, the Mist Moon Divine Court ultimately has a comprehensive strategic consideration that transcends factional disputes.

Using the Green Pine Kingdom as a sharp knife, they continuously bleed the Qiyue Dynasty and its agent, the Emerald Duchy. Damaging, and ultimately crippling, their greatest rival, the Qiyue Dynasty is far more important than earning gold coins through trade.

If, at this moment, the Vast Ocean Territory, "invested" in by Rainbow Holy City, suddenly jumps out and cripples the Green Pine Kingdom, a crucial strategic tool of the Divine Court, and the Vast Ocean Territory cannot immediately replace the Green Pine Kingdom's ecological niche as a new weapon to strike at the Emerald Duchy, then Rainbow Holy City, which has been befriending and supporting the Vast Ocean Territory, will inevitably be reprimanded and punished by the Divine Court.

Could the Vast Ocean Territory become a weapon in the hands of the Misty Moon?
Almost impossible. Archbishop Ryan Tsukuyomi understood this perfectly well. Look at what he'd done before; he was a born chess player, not a pawn.

After organizing his thoughts, Archbishop Ryan Moonsong began his earnest admonition.

"Lord Chen Mo, thank you very much for your candor!"

"I'll be frank with you: the dispute between turquoise and jade is actually a great power game between our Mist Moon Divine Court and the Qiyue Dynasty."

"Although the Vast Ocean Territory is quite powerful, getting involved in this great power rivalry may not be a good thing!"

Chen Mo chuckled: "I feel great about beating Green Pine, isn't that a good thing?"

Ryan Tsukuyomi was momentarily speechless, when the Crown Bishop Nashel interjected from beside him.

"Lord Chen Mo, we have had the pleasure of meeting once. I can tell that you are an ambitious person!"

"For you, isn't the competition and stalemate between major powers the best possible outcome?"

“Mist Moon supports Green Pine, and Dwelling Moon supports Emerald. The longer they fight each other, the greater the consumption, which is the more advantageous the situation is for other countries.”

"If there were no more conflicts between the major powers, then the lives of the smaller countries and territories would probably be much more difficult!"

Chen Mo paused for a moment, then nodded: "What you said makes some sense!"

Before the people from the Divine Court could even get excited, Chen Mo changed the subject: "However, they hunted down Liu Shuang, attacked Han Hai, and attempted to assassinate my lord. I can't forget about that!"

"What? They're allowed to hit me, but I'm not allowed to fight back?"

Bishop Nash quickly shook his head: "Absolutely not, it's just that the timing is wrong!"

"The timing isn't right?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, readily agreeing, "That's simple, I'll wait a few days until the timing is right before we fight!"

"..."

An awkward silence fell over the meeting room. The bishops exchanged bewildered glances, feeling at a loss for what to do.

Regardless of the bishops' advice, Chen Mo insisted that he had been wronged and that he had to get revenge, leading to an awkward stalemate.

The meeting ended in such an awkward atmosphere. Afterwards, Bishop Ryan Moonsong, along with several high-ranking priests, had another private conversation with High Priest Farrell, who was stationed in the Vast Ocean Territory.

"Farrell, you have spent the most time with this Lord of the Vast Sea and know him best. Do you have any ideas?"

Farrell sighed helplessly.

"If even the archbishops can't handle this, what can I possibly do?"

He carefully considered his words and said cautiously, "I can only offer some insignificant suggestions based on my daily observations for your reference."

"The Lord of the Vast Ocean is a man who values ​​both profit and loyalty!"

"If you're after high profits, then you'll have to come up with some exchange terms that will satisfy the Lord of the Vast Ocean. Just verbal persuasion will probably never be effective!"

"Greed is paramount. Within the Vast Ocean Territory, only Prince Liushuang can sway the lord's opinion. The Holy City will likely need to find a solution in this regard..."

Bishop Nash threw his hand away angrily.

"I knew it! Beautiful women are a source of trouble! Beautiful women are a source of trouble!"

"Do you think that the trouble in the Xiyue Federation was because the elves obtained support from the Hanhai through this girl's connections?"

"That Xiasha Port is also this girl's hometown!"

"On the orc side, because of this girl's bloodline connection with the cat race, Han Hai wants to fight the wild boar orcs, causing trouble in the White Deer Plains!" "The same goes for Green Pine; back then, when they besieged this girl, the corpse of Marquis Monroe of Zircon Territory was reduced to ashes!"

"If it weren't for this girl, how could the Han Hai Territory be setting fires everywhere like this?"

"To go and plead with this girl now is just... just too absurd!"

Farrell's face darkened.

"Nash, please watch your words! Be careful what you say!"

"Although the neighbors are all priests from the temple, I can't guarantee that no one will report to Lord Hanhai."

"If this gets out, the Seven-Eyed Temple in Hanhai might be shut down tomorrow!"

"..."

Although the process was a bit difficult, on the advice of Farrell, the "Han Hai Tong" (a pseudonym), Rainbow Holy City still chose to actively make contact, hoping to persuade Chen Mo to give up the idea of ​​going to war with Green Pine through a trade-off of benefits.

After Farrell's repeated mediation, and after gritting her teeth and promising a dozen unicorns and six silver pegasus, Princess Liushuang "reluctantly" went to blow on Chen Mo's back, and Chen Mo finally relented.

“Not hitting the green pine is not impossible. But I have to find a place to vent my anger.”

"I want to conquer the orcs' ancestral homeland. How many troops can the Divine Court send to aid me?"

Farrell, who was in charge of the face-to-face negotiations, was almost in tears.

Brother! Uncle! Grandpa!

If we could conquer the Orcs' ancestral homeland, we would have done so long ago. Why would we have waited until today?
You can't ask for such an exorbitant amount...

"Then, I'll compromise and take the White Deer Plain!"

"My lord, the White Deer Plains do not belong to my divine court. It's not something I can just give to you. The orcs on the plains have fought us many battles!"

"This won't work, and that won't do! So what conditions are you going to negotiate with me?"

"Yes! We can't provide military support, but we can provide other forms of support!"

"Please teach the orcs a lesson and stop them from heading west, okay?"

In short, after a fierce negotiation, an agreement was finally reached.

In the subsequent official history of the Han Hai, this agreement was regarded as one of the many "humiliating agreements" that the lord had to sign in the early days for the development of his territory!

Under repeated "coercion" and "coercion" from Rainbow City, the young Lord of the Vast Ocean had to temporarily give up the opportunity to seek revenge in the west in order to consider the overall situation. As a result, he was forced to devote all his energy and troops to the harsh environment and the surrounding powerful enemies of the northern White Deer Plain.

According to the agreement, Rainbow City pledged to provide comprehensive and thorough intelligence support for the military operations of the Vast Ocean Territory, leveraging its vast intelligence network cultivated over a century in the White Deer Plains and surrounding areas.

The content includes, but is not limited to, detailed maps of mountains and rivers, the characteristics and weaknesses of major orc tribes, population distribution and migration trends, the configuration of standing forces and elite armed forces, the belief foundations and supporters behind each tribe, and the complex and sensitive inter-tribal relationships, etc.

Meanwhile, the "Seven Luminaries Garland" merchant guild will provide long-term supplies of scarce war materials to the Han Hai Territory, especially food shortages that will occur once the territory is occupied and the population expands, ensuring the stability of the northern controlled areas of the Han Hai Territory.

Of course, as compensation, the Vast Ocean Territory promised to open the entire occupied territory to the caravans of the Seven Luminaries Garland.

In addition, there are some private transactions concerning the Divine Grace System that cannot be put on paper.

Chen Mo finally "reluctantly" signed his name on the agreement.

Before the ink was even dry, the war machine of the Vast Ocean Territory began to accelerate at full speed.

Prior to this, the First Brigade of the Vast Ocean had been attacking the Black Mouth Tribe for several days.

However, the progress of the strategy is not ideal.

The terrain is terrible.

These boar-orcs seem to have a particular fondness for burrowing into swamps. The previous "Rotten Swamp" tribe did this, and now the "Blackmouth" tribe does as well, with their camps simply nestled deep within the swamp.

This place not only has a large expanse of water, but also dense jungles growing in the water. The wild boar-orcs, who are excellent swimmers, hide under these natural shelters, ready to launch attacks on any passing Xuan Shui City troops.

With a few exceptions, the vast majority of the cat-like scouts showed obvious signs of maladaptation to water.

The Starry Sky 59 and the heavy artillery units couldn't get up there.

Aerial reconnaissance makes it difficult to see clearly scenes in jungles and water.

Even the thermal imaging equipment of elite special forces is severely limited in water.

In the first few days of the battle, the cat warriors of the "Shadowclaw" reconnaissance battalion took on the important task of going forward to scout and gather intelligence on the enemy. However, their agility was greatly diminished in the rocking boats or waist-deep mud.

The warriors of the boar-orcs, these natural swamp dwellers, use reeds to burrow through the water and even bury themselves entirely in the mud, blending almost perfectly into their environment.

When the Shadowclaw scouts passed by, these beast-like creatures suddenly sprang up from the murky water, launching attacks with poisoned blowguns and javelins, followed by close-quarters combat. The boar-men's ferocious strength and tough skin gave them an absolute advantage against the cat-men, and the scouts suffered heavy losses in several encounters.

The troops of Xuanshui City were forced to shrink their reconnaissance range.

While the main force of the Vast Ocean Territory was well-trained and disciplined, most of them were new recruits selected from slaves, which was significantly different from the old orc soldiers who had been raiding everywhere for years.

Let them line up and fire from their positions, but forcing an advance in this environment would likely result in a disastrous battle.

After consulting with the lord, Macaja quickly adjusted his tactics, adopting the grid-like tactics used in the desertification control efforts, and began to advance inch by inch and meter by meter.

The troops established forward bases on relatively solid land areas, while engineering units erected simple pontoon bridges over small streams, and elite troops were organized to clear large bodies of water piece by piece, like a comb.

The soldiers, aboard small, flat-bottomed boats equipped with armor and shields, carefully searched the waterways, cutting away suspicious bushes and vegetation, removing decaying leaves from the water's surface, cleaning up any suspicious corners, and only moving on to the next body of water after confirming it was safe.

The reconnaissance troops operate in platoons, with the front and rear squads maintaining appropriate distances to ensure that reinforcements can be received immediately if any node is attacked.

At the same time, the Han Hai Territory also used some "asymmetric" methods, taking advantage of the greedy and irritable nature of the wild boar orcs, deliberately sending out small groups of troops as bait to operate on the edge of the swamp, pretending to transport supplies or be negligent in reconnaissance, in order to lure the enemy into attacking.

This tactic, though slow, is extremely effective. The boar-orcs' usual ambush tactics are almost completely ineffective against well-prepared squads; once they reveal their positions, they are met with overwhelming firepower.

However, the progress is extremely slow, only a few hundred meters per day.

During this long period of "training the team," Makaja received the latest instructions from Hanhai.

Block off the "Black Mouth" swamp and turn to the "Long Tooth" tribe.

Someone is leading the way!

(End of this chapter)