Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 350 Marching Forward: A Decision, A Mad Plan, A Lord's Arrangement
Heavy artillery shells, accompanied by piercing whistles, left trails of dust on the plains within the Liao Pass, revealing several shocking craters as the smoke gradually dissipated.

In less than forty minutes of intense firepower, the "century-old pass" that guarded the throat leading to the heart of Heizongling was breached by the Hanhai Defense Army.

The roar of artillery fire from the Vast Ocean Territory, in the most brutal and direct way, blasted down the Liao Pass head-on, shattering the wild boar orcs' supposedly impregnable defenses, and the road leading to the heart of Blackmane Ridge was now completely open!

The orcish defenders, retreating from the walls, scattered and fled across the battlefield, which reeked of gunpowder and blood. Their once fierce courage and strength seemed to have turned to dust along with the crumbling walls.

Then, they were finished off by their "friendly forces" from behind.

The left wing of the servants, originally ordered to flank and block the Han Hai Territory forces, under the leadership of Commander Hamon, not only directly defeated the right wing of the servants, which was originally deployed to block the pursuing troops, but also stopped the orc soldiers who were trying to retreat from Liao Pass.

With the exception of a few survivors, the Han Hai Territory basically annihilated the orcs' first and second line of troops.

However, after the two sides met, Galen, as the vanguard of the Han Hai, did not give the other side a friendly look at all.

In Galen's heart, the orcs were the mortal enemies and eternal foe of the human race! Pointing his blade at the orcs at the Flag Mountain Pass was the most triumphant commanding moment of Galen's life, without exception.

We must stand firm on this position!
Because of his deep-seated hatred for these humans who had "submitted to the enemy," Galen already held them in contempt. Moreover, the defection of these human traitors had significantly diminished the defense forces' gains!

According to the strategy of the frontline command, this battle was a sure victory regardless of whether these surrendered men were present or not.

The reason why they spared no expense in expending a large amount of ammunition reserves and fought a fierce and imposing battle was to make these human traitors realize the situation and stop them from having any more wicked thoughts.

This isn't about killing the chicken to scare the monkey; it's about killing the monkey to scare the chicken!

And just as the command center predicted, the enemy suffered a tremendous shock in this battle. The result? The effect was fantastic! The chicken finished off the monkey!
Upon careful consideration, the first half of the battle was fought by artillery, while the second half was fought by surrendered troops... Their own defensive forces had rushed over and gained very little.

So what are we here for? To train for long-distance running?
As for the "Longtooth" orc headquarters on the third line, they have already run away. Not to mention whether our city defense force can catch up with them, even if we do, can we achieve any results?

Galen's face was ashen. He greeted Hamon, who was forcing a smile, and nodded weakly. Then he turned to his adjutant and roared, "What are you all standing there for? Get the men in and clean up the battlefield! Maintain discipline, or we'll all laugh at us!"

Hamon's smile froze, as if it were frozen on his face.

He straightened his bent back, watching Galen's departing figure, a barely perceptible shadow flashing deep in his eyes. But he quickly suppressed this emotion, his face once again displaying that impeccable, humble smile as he greeted Han Hai's generals.

Circumstances dictate his actions; what else can he do at this moment but humble himself and act subserviently?

However, in the evening, Brin, a skilled intelligence operative, brought him accurate information.

"General, I've found out. These humans are also surrendered soldiers, they just surrendered to the Vast Ocean Territory a little earlier than us!"

"What?" Hamon turned his head sharply to look at Brin, his face full of questions.

Judging from their equipment, discipline, and morale, the opposing team did not seem like a group that had recently surrendered.

"Absolutely true!"

Brin thumped his chest loudly and added in detail to Hamon and the generals in the tent: "I also heard that these guys overestimated themselves and went to attack that lord of the Hanhai. They couldn't win and surrendered. What a disgrace!"

"I think this is different from us. We assessed the situation and took the initiative to submit to Lord Han Hai!"

"It's hard to say who is more loyal when it comes to comparing them!"

The generals in the arena echoed his sentiments, and Hamon nodded slightly, letting out a heavy snort.

No one expected that this near miss between the two generals, Galen and Hamon, would lead to the division of the human forces in the Vast Sea Territory into the "Southern Army" and the "Northern Army"!
Lords may appear united to your face, but behind your backs they may scheme and fight each other!

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.

With the stronghold of Liao Pass easily breached and the familiar allied forces leading the way, it seems that the battle to wipe out the remaining forces of the boar-orcs is only a matter of time.

However, the atmosphere in the temporary command center located at the rear was far less "relaxed" than on the front lines.

The young lord Chen Mo stood before the huge map, his brows furrowed.

Intelligence from all fronts was continuously gathered and reported to the Supreme Command, who then presented it to the Lord.

"According to information transmitted through the special channels of the 'Seven Luminaries Garland' Chamber of Commerce, the three major orc tribes north of the Illusion Flame River—'Crack Claw', 'Blood Howl', and 'Earth Hammer'—have begun to assemble their troops."

"The leading orc roared wildly, vowing never to tolerate our arrogant human force taking root in the White Deer Plain. They wanted to tear us... to shreds and use us as fertilizer for the plain."

"Although they haven't launched a large-scale operation yet, it's mainly because they believe that the boar orcs can handle this 'trouble' on their own."

Indeed, thanks to the deliberate cover-up by the Vast Ocean Territory, intelligence from the orcs arrives a little slower.

With Sky Eye and drones, plus Elf Rangers, most enemy intelligence communications can be blocked.

But it is obvious that once the battle at Blackmane Ridge ends, the orcs' counterattack will come without mercy.

In the south, the situation is even more complicated!

"Commander-in-Chief, judging from the current troop movements, the orcs' autumn hunt army is already regrouping and is very likely to return ahead of schedule."

On the one hand, the news of the turmoil in the White Deer Plains affected the emotions of some orcs. Given the instability in their rear, it was perfectly understandable that the orcs were eager to return.

On the other hand, the human nations cooperated well.

The Green Pine Kingdom abandoned most of the territory of "Kerty Territory" and retreated into a few important cities such as "Kerty City". Without fighting a single battle, they allowed the orcs to plunder freely in the vast Crystal Plains, allowing the orcs to complete their raiding goals ahead of schedule.

The intelligence officer opened a notice sent from the Misty Moon Divine Court: "The official reason given by the Green Pine Kingdom is that the Zircon Territory's army that attacked the Vast Sea was almost completely wiped out. The kingdom suffered heavy losses and was severely weakened, and is temporarily unable to resist the orcs' advance in the wild."

The reason was flawless, but Chen Mo knew in his heart that it was ultimately just a reason.

While the Green Pine Kingdom was indulging the orcs on the northern front, it was also using the fall of the Stream Moon Federation and the unrest on the border as a pretext to amass as many as three legions of troops on the southern front, pressing them against the edge of the Silver Moon Forest.

The Green Pine Kingdom is just trying to ruin itself!

They desperately wanted the orcish autumn hunt army to return faster and more completely, so they could cut off their retreat.

Incidentally, put some pressure on the elves and the Thirteen Tribes of Xiyue, and try to draw away any potential reinforcements you might have.

On the surface, however, there seems to be nothing wrong with it. The established human nations on the mainland are not much less adept at utilizing the rules than the Vast Ocean Territory!

Faced with the new war situation, the General Staff Headquarters of Hanhai, after repeated discussions, submitted what they considered to be the optimal combat plan.

The core of the plan is simple: concentrate resources and achieve a swift victory!

According to the General Staff's strategy, after defeating the wild boar orcs, the Han Hai Territory would immediately retreat completely. Using Xuan Shui City and Hailuokou as its two core strongholds, it would abandon all surrounding controlled areas and strongholds, focusing on withstanding this wave of attacks.

Xuanshui City has been established for a long time and is well-equipped. Although Hailuokou's defenses are slightly weaker, with the support of naval gunboats, it should not be a big problem.

The General Staff's calculations show that holding these two core strongholds is like driving two nails into the Bailu Plain. The ideal option would be to wait for the Han Hai Territory to develop further and then launch a counterattack when the time is right.

However, throughout the entire presentation of the plan, the lord's tightly furrowed brows remained unchanged.

After the plan was presented, the lord remained silent for a long time before finally reaching out and drawing a large circle on the map.

"These human slaves and orc laborers in the controlled areas... what are your plans to do with them?"

Yes, a stronghold is not just a stronghold itself; it also represents the farmland within a range of tens or even hundreds of square kilometers controlled by that stronghold, the serfs who depend on that farmland, and the large number of lower-class people held captive by the stronghold.

Small tribes like the Stonehoof tribe, which had previously submitted, transferred all their warriors to Conch Mouth, numbering only a few hundred. Including the warriors' families and relatives, the total was just over two thousand. However, if you include the beastmen laborers under Stonehoof's command and the human slaves in the various human settlements around the stronghold, the total number is close to thirty thousand.

Leaving aside whether all of them can be successfully relocated to Hailuokou, and whether there will be risks of rebellion and riots after the relocation, just the fact that the orcs are not in a hurry to attack and instead besiege the area for a long time means that the population that cannot go out to farm will become a huge burden on the Han Hai Territory.

The number of servants controlled by large tribes like the Boar-Beastmen was even more exaggerated. Although there were no accurate statistics, according to the Seven Luminaries Garland's rough estimate based on the amount of resources used, there were at least 10,000 servant soldiers, tens of thousands of servant soldiers' families, and more than 200,000 laborers and serfs!

If left unattended, these people, having lost the protection of their main race of boar-boar orcs, are highly likely to be torn apart by other orc raiders of all sizes.

If they are brought into the controlled area of ​​the Vast Ocean Territory, the supply crisis will immediately deplete our own material reserves.

The "Seven Luminaries Garland" Merchant Guild has made it clear that with the orcs' full-scale martial law, food transportation has become increasingly difficult. Once the orcish autumn hunt army returns, no matter how capable the dwarves are, they will no longer be able to send food to Xuan Shui City in the war zone.

Therefore, from the very beginning, the General Staff's plan "rationally" or rather "coldly" did not take these hundreds of thousands of "burdens" into consideration.

Clearly, the lord was unhappy.

After a brief silence, an orc officer stood up. "My lord, they... they were orc slaves before, and even after our retreat, they will still be orc slaves. There's really no difference!"

"The orcs still rely on them for farming, so... so it shouldn't be..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant.

They probably won't all be killed!
On the White Deer Plain, after defeating an enemy tribe, the slaves from the other side are plundered, the old, weak, and wounded are killed, and the young and strong men and women are left behind. This is the norm for fighting among orc tribes.

Chen Mo listened quietly with a blank expression until the orc officer sat down somewhat awkwardly, at which point he let out a soft sigh.

"If that's the case, then what's the point of our trip here from the Vast Ocean Territory?"

"Is it to seize a piece of territory? Or to prove that we are better fighters than boar-beastmen?"

"Didn't we say we were going to rescue the humans here when we sent our troops?"

"My opinion is, if we can protect it, we should try our best to protect it!"

The lord has spoken, so the whole plan has to be scrapped and started all over again.

For the next two hours, the conference room transformed into a battlefield of heated debate and frantic calculations. Staff officers, military officers, and government officials began working at high speed towards a goal that should not have existed and was considered "nearly impossible to achieve."

Ultimately, after calculations, the General Staff arrived at a conclusion that sent chills down everyone's spines.

If all the slaves in the areas controlled by "Black Mouth" and "Long Teeth" were brought into Xuan Shui City, not only would Xuan Shui City be overwhelmed, but the huge food shortage would also bring an unimaginable burden to the Han Hai Territory.

When under siege or besieged by orcs, people cannot go out to farm, there are no land trade routes, and all food must be transported by air.

This is not the previous Xiyue Federation, where there were food reserves seized from Baishi and Qingze City, as well as war supplies accumulated by the elves over many years, which allowed them to forcibly sustain the lives of hundreds of thousands of refugees.

On the orc side, any extra food was to be supplied to the wasteland. There was never any such thing as large-scale food reserves. Every day, the Vast Ocean Territory had to continuously purchase food from all over the continent in order to keep these slaves alive.

The key point is that food is something that money can't necessarily buy.

Once there is a shortage of food on the market, prices can skyrocket at any time!

The officers began to speak one after another, adding to the battle plan that "resolutely carried out the lord's" will from various angles.

"Commander-in-Chief, if we rely solely on economic means, we might have to deploy over a hundred transport planes daily during the next farming season, delivering over eight hundred tons of supplies, just to support the survival of Xuan Shui City's population and the operations of our troops!"

This was a long-range airlift across Qishan! The logistics and air force commanders gasped in shock.

"Commander-in-Chief, I think we should change our strategy. Instead of relying solely on stronghold defenses, we should expand our defensive perimeter and take proactive measures to ensure that farmers within our controlled areas can go out to cultivate the land, thus achieving partial food self-sufficiency..."

An advisor skilled in strategic planning offered a new idea, but as he calculated, his voice grew softer and softer.

"If... if the orcs maintain their current known troop strength and do not reinforce them, we will need to send an additional 220,000 to 250,000 combat troops to the north in order to establish an effective defensive perimeter covering the main cultivated areas and achieve a preliminary dynamic balance of food."

What does this dynamic equilibrium mean? It means that originally, in order to support 100,000 people, you would need to cultivate 100,000 acres of land.

In order to protect these 100,000 mu of land from enemy attacks and ensure smooth cultivation, an additional 50,000 soldiers are needed to defend it.

The 50,000 soldiers consumed more food than ordinary farmers, so an additional 80,000 mu of cultivated land was needed to support them.

The additional 80,000 mu of arable land, because it expands the area that needs to be defended, requires the addition of more soldiers to protect it.

In short, they kept adding and adding until they reached a number that the Vast Ocean Territory could not bear.

Moreover, such a dispersed defense is undoubtedly vulnerable to concentrated enemy attacks, resulting in significant casualties.

"We don't have that many troops in the Han Hai region!"

"Then let's borrow troops!" someone shouted. "Let's borrow troops from the Summer Moon Alliance! The elves and the Thirteen Tribes of Stream Moon should be able to spare a considerable number of troops!"

"How will they be transported? Will they be transported by boat and landed at Hailuokou?"

"Sea transport capacity is insufficient, so we must supplement it with land transport capacity and drive directly from Qishan Pass into Bailu Plain!"

Another military academy student quickly interjected: "There's not enough time!"

"If we gather our forces in Xia Yue, we'll have to cross the desert, travel through the Gobi Desert, and enter Razorfen Downs. There won't be enough time. We need to arrange an ambush."

"Send out the Second Brigade of Skyfrost City to intercept the orcish autumn hunt army on their return journey! Buy time for reinforcements to pass through Flag Mountain Pass!"

Just as everyone was calculating the costs, a centaur commander added another variable.

"Is it possible that such a large-scale troop movement could trigger an even larger-scale orcish rally?"

"Yes, very likely. This means we're heading towards total war!"

"The air force should launch a preemptive bombing raid, destroying all the major bridges across the Huanyan River. Deploying defenses along the riverbank will reduce the pressure on the north!"

"No, no, with the battle lines stretched this far, our own supply lines are too long, we can't handle it!"

"We still need to use point-based defense, scanning the opponent's movements with our 'sky eyes,' and using offense as a form of defense!"

“I have an idea. We can hold key points, with the defense forces organized by regiments and the main combat brigades organized by battalions. We can use reconnaissance to hold these strategic locations and build up the defense line.”

"If any orc troops appear nearby, launch a coordinated attack from several points and drive them back!"

"Great idea! Sand table! Bring the sand table up here, let's push it around and see where the orcs might advance!"

The temperature in the entire conference room continued to rise, and the atmosphere gradually became more and more exciting!

Lillian Light Song and Angus, who were attending a military conference for the first time, looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes.

Because of this young lord's words, everyone racked their brains, desperately trying to find a way to achieve this military plan that should not exist in the first place and was almost impossible to realize, from all aspects such as military, logistics, diplomacy and economy.

The key point is that they showed no signs of being forced whatsoever; they were clearly a group of fanatical warmongers.

Is this the majesty of the Lord of the Vast Ocean?

Compared to this lord, our Elf Queen and Chief Elder are practically crippled...

The discussion lasted for more than two hours, covering everything from the overall mobilization of the Summer Moon Alliance to the northern defense of Silver Moon Forest; from the fortress setup of White Deer Plain to the meticulous plan for bombing the enemy; from the coordinated use of sea and air transport to the comprehensive integration of territorial resources; from the military deterrence of superweapons to the all-or-nothing gamble of the final battle...

A new framework for a massive, complex, and interconnected solution, which appears feasible but is extremely difficult to implement, was gradually built up.

Chen Mo stood up and nodded in satisfaction.

"It's excellent that everyone is pooling their wisdom and efforts!"

"Unity at critical moments is the fundamental magic weapon that makes our Han Hai Ling invincible!"

"This version of the plan is very detailed and well-considered. It's excellent!"

"But we don't need to work that hard just yet!"

The officers' eyes lit up instantly.

Smiling at the somewhat bewildered officers, the young lord issued his orders.

"The mission at the front remains unchanged: to resolutely fight the current battle and completely eliminate the remaining resistance of the boar-men. At the same time, we must pay attention to maintaining and controlling order in the newly occupied areas to prevent riots and looting."

"The administrative office and the frontline command can work together to begin planning and organizing the relocation of personnel, prioritizing the transfer of the elderly, weak, women and children with limited mobility to safe areas."

"As for the orcs' counterattack..."

"I'm going to Hailuokou to meet a guest!"

"Once I finish talking, the southeastern half of Bailu Plain should be able to settle down!"

(End of this chapter)