Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 400 Interception Chips
While the fighting on the eastern and western fronts subsided or entered a new phase, in the central front, the Han Hai army was still besieging the Crack Claw Canyon.

Without a doubt, the troops personally led by Commander-in-Chief Chen Mo were the largest, best-equipped, strongest, and most morale-boosting. In addition, three battle-hardened field army brigades joined the main force there, making them the strongest of the three routes.

However, after arriving at Crackclaw Canyon, the progress of the attack was consistently unsatisfactory.

The reason is that the "Crack Claw" tribe, while not the most tenacious in its resistance, was certainly the most brutal.

They piled up large numbers of human slaves and orc laborers on the defensive line.

Didn't you want to buy back the slaves? Didn't you want to liberate the forced laborers?
Come on, kill all these bastards, and you'll win!

If the death of a hundred bastards can save even one "Cracked Claw Warrior," then that would be an honor for them!

The terrain of Cracked Claw Canyon is indeed uniquely advantageous. Unless the Vast Ocean Territory is determined to indiscriminately kill all the people, beasts, and hybrids in the valley, the only option in this battle is to surround the opponent, push forward little by little, and look for opportunities in the course of the war.

Because of the inner plains, Crackclaw Canyon has a plentiful supply of food and water, so it should be able to hold out for a year or two without any problems.

What's even more troublesome is that the "Crack Claw" tribe had long ago forcibly driven many of its small and medium-sized tribes into the Crack Claw Canyon and had also stockpiled a sufficient number of human slaves. According to the intelligence department's speculation, even though they suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield down the mountain, the combined number of orcs and humans under the control of the "Crack Claw" tribe may still be no less than 600,000.

The attacking forces were ruthless, but their artillery shells were limited, while the number of enemy meat shields was temporarily sufficient.

"Currently, the General Staff has two recommendations: one is to use large-scale incendiary bombs, and the other is to consider using special smoke bombs, such as... sulfur mustard gas..."

"From a purely military perspective, this is the fastest way to break down the enemy's resistance in the canyon and destroy their manpower. Otherwise, if we continue with the current tactics, we will be bogged down here for a long time."

Chen Yuanfeng was in charge of the report. He lowered his voice, but just enough for the officers in the command post to hear him.

Chen Yuanfeng knew that his commander-in-chief disliked this style of play, but even the worst suggestions had to be made if they could effectively solve the problem.

Moreover, Chen Yuanfeng always believed that the more the commander-in-chief disliked a suggestion, the more it needed to be initiated by someone below. If it had to be used, then that would be a good opportunity to take the blame.

The military system is too cowardly to even mention it, so let our intelligence system do it!
Chen Mo rejected the suggestion without even thinking about it.

"It's unnecessary to go to such great lengths just to kill everyone!"

"The East White Deer Plain has been basically pacified. Now, there is only a dying 'Sky-Reaching Ridge' and a half-dead 'Cracked Claw' left. There is no need to rush."

"If we really can't take it, we'll seal off the valley entrance and go back to develop and build. We'll use this place as a training ground and let the National Defense Force and the militia take turns practicing here."

Chen Yuanfeng suddenly realized...

That's right, killing them and outliving them are both forms of death, but their value is completely different, and the perception of one's own warriors is also completely different.

The former has some suspicion of massacre, while the latter is a perfectly legitimate and open conspiracy.

As the head of the intelligence system and responsible for discipline and anti-corruption efforts, Chen Yuanfeng felt that he was still quite far behind the level of a lord.

However, he soon realized that his understanding of the lord was still somewhat one-sided.

The lord's kindness is not something everyone can enjoy.

At the very least, if you encounter orcs, reduce their numbers by half.

When the Sky Eye system discovered that a unit had secretly slipped out and was fleeing north towards the Orc Wasteland, Chen Mo immediately perked up.

This was the "seed of fire" that the Crack Claw tribe had previously sent out.

Six elite Crack Claw warrior teams of a thousand men each escorted more than nine thousand underage children of the Crack Claw tribe as they stumbled and staggered their way north.

These children are real children. In the orc tribe, children as young as three or four can take long journeys, while those as young as eight or nine are already warriors who can fight with swords. Therefore, the group sent away consists of young children in the three to seven-year-old age range.

Fearing pursuit, they chose to travel by night and hide during their marches.

At first, when the orcish encirclement army was scattered and scattered in all directions, they were not particularly conspicuous. However, as they went further and further away and gradually became an isolated army, no matter how hard they tried to hide during the day, they could not escape the attention of the Vast Ocean Eye.

Chen Mo immediately realized the target of this unit.

"Stop them! Don't let a single one escape!"

The distance is indeed quite far, but for Han Hailing, who is determined to intercept them, distance has never been an insurmountable obstacle.

At Chen Mo's command, Han Hai mobilized all of its air force units.

The Hippogryph Battalion of the Silvermoon Guard, which was sent as reinforcements from the elves.

The independent flight company of the Han Hai Ling Ren Clan.

The Frostguard's mixed air force squadron is an air force unit based on the Elven Redemption Legion, carrying various aerial mounts from different races, such as griffons, hawks, hippogriffs, and orc wyverns.

The first to arrive at the front line was the unique, highly mobile reinforced airborne company of the Han Hai Territory.

This is a very special unit.

The commander of the airborne troops is named Loma Wind Chaser. He was originally a sixth-tier ranger, an elven ranger, and a great archer. Because he burned his life essence while covering Chen Mo in Fallen Feather Canyon, he suffered a serious injury, and his level has declined significantly. He can no longer draw the compound bow.

Although he received double praise from the Elf Queen and the Lord of the Vast Sea, he had no choice but to leave the Silvermoon Guard.

As a ranger, this guy had extensive experience in aerial combat, so Chen Mo invited him to the military academy to serve as an instructor for independent reconnaissance soldiers and air cavalry.

Because of his outstanding performance, when the first airborne unit in Hanhai Territory was being formed, Chen Mo overruled objections and appointed Loma Chasing Wind as its general.

"How can a wind chaser be trapped on the ground like this?"

Even with a slight decline in skill level, Loma Wind Chaser is still more than capable of commanding a company-level unit.

Seeing his seemingly bleak military career take a second turn, Elf Ranger did everything in his power, personally selecting and testing every member of the airborne troops, ultimately creating such an elite force.

To be eligible to join the airborne troops, one must be physically strong, not afraid of heights, and possess formidable individual combat skills—these are the major prerequisites for selection.

Contrary to the officers' expectations, the vast majority of the troops were orcs, carefully selected from prisoners and recruited after rigorous testing.

When faced with questions from other officers, Loma Chase responded very decisively.

"Once the orcs surrender, there is no turning back. Even if they return to the wasteland and are lucky enough to escape being killed, they will be forever despised by their own kind. On this point, they will be more determined than most humans."

"Furthermore, orcs are generally less intelligent than humans and have relatively simple minds. Therefore, they don't overthink things and are more decisive in carrying out orders. For paratroopers, who may have to directly flank the enemy, simplicity is actually a good thing."

"Finally, orcs are generally physically stronger than humans of the same level. In critical moments, they can slam into the ground without using a parachute or 'Flying Leaf Dance'. Humans can't compare to them, and neither can elves!"

Well, what else is there to say?

Thus, a bizarre reinforced airborne company was formed, consisting of 60% orcs, 20% half-orcs, 15% humans, 0.5% elves, and a few scattered dwarves and goblins.

They were in modern aircraft, the kind that can travel at speeds of over a thousand kilometers per hour. While other air force units still needed to take off and catch up, the reinforced airborne company was the first to complete the outflanking maneuver.

At a single command, a mighty army descended from the sky.

In theory, it would be impossible for just two hundred or so people to stop a force of six thousand orc elite soldiers, but this group of paratroopers is truly an exception.

These soldiers, selected from among hundreds, are each equipped with a general-purpose machine gun, and their bodies are covered with ammunition belts and grenade belts.

The watch had a compass, a communicator was clipped to the shoulder strap, and on the back was an oversized marching backpack containing a spare secondary weapon and ammunition, a folding entrenching tool, a multi-functional sleeping bag, a three-day high-energy compressed food pack, a personal water purifier, and a medical first aid kit.

There are also two alloy steel knives, one long and one short, on the side of the backpack.

In the words of these goofy orc paratroopers, any one of them would be worth more than my head.

This army, with assets worth hundreds of millions, landed and immediately assembled at Loma Wind Chaser's signal. They blocked the path of the fleeing orc army on a small hill, quickly setting up makeshift positions on both sides of the main passage with shovels, and began a defensive battle. Knowing that the Vast Ocean Territory possessed special reconnaissance methods, the fleeing army chose to march at night. In the complete darkness, they dared not even light torches, relying entirely on a few veterans familiar with the roads to lead the way.

Caught off guard by such a sudden attack, they were completely stunned and had no idea how many enemies there were. They could only retreat in panic, a retreat that covered more than ten miles.

As dawn broke and dusk fell, after mustering their courage to investigate, they found themselves blocked by a small group of fellow orcs.

"What? Only...only a few hundred? And they're all orcs?!"

"This is a shameless traitor!"

"Kill! Kill them all!!!"

Having been discovered, there was no point in hiding anymore. Taking advantage of the bright sunlight and their numerical superiority, the "Cracked Claw" guards launched an attack in a fit of rage.

As a result, he was still beaten up during the day and was completely bewildered.

The general-purpose machine guns carried by the paratroopers also have another name: light and heavy machine guns.

Although most soldiers used burst fire instead of sweeping fire to conserve ammunition, it was enough to take down the orcs, not to mention that each soldier carried as many as 25 kilograms of grenades, which was a full 15 basic loads.

After changing the delayed explosion to a touch explosion, combined with the paratroopers' powerful arms, this thing is practically a short-range mortar.

If the "Cracked Claw" orcs really attack too fiercely, they can call in drones for fire support from the air.

This three-dimensional network of firepower created a wall of death along this passage.

Of course, the number of enemies was still too great. At the most dangerous moment, a large enemy force rushed over, and eventually, a few dozen orcs crossed the fire line and rushed into the trenches of the Vast Sea Territory.

Seven or eight of the strongest paratroopers immediately dropped their machine guns, which were empty of ammunition belts, drew their alloy steel knives and entrenching tools, and roared as they followed Loma out of the cover, immediately engaging in a melee combat.

Sparks flew everywhere from the impact of the metal.

Loma personally stood at the forefront of the trench, his blade flashing like flowing water, precisely cutting into the gaps in the swings of the "Crack Claw" centurion's battle axe, leaving a deep, bone-revealing cut on the opponent's thick neck.

The orc paratroopers around him were even more ferocious, wielding entrenching tools and stabbing with alloy blades, completely willing to risk their lives, and instantly suppressing the enemy's charge.

These orcs from the Vast Ocean were more ruthless and decisive than Lomar; they needed to use this method to sever themselves from "original sin."

Just like all traitors throughout history!
Such a battle with cold weapons only took place once, and afterwards the "Crack Claw" guard team was never able to get close to the defense line of the Vast Sea again.

To ensure the annihilation of this force, the central army deployed 7,000 engineers, who within a single day constructed a field airfield on the blood-soaked battlefield in front of the Crack Claw Canyon.

[Nine Sky Drones] Take off and land like crazy, airdropping munitions, supplies, and soldiers to the interception area, and airdropping bombs when necessary.

When the paratroopers could no longer hold the line, they would retreat to where the reserves had dug another defensive line.

"We can't keep fighting like this!"

After two days of relentless attacks, the commander of the "Crack Claw" guard realized the seriousness of the situation. He decided to leave some troops to continue the feint attack and containment, while the main force would try to bypass the deadly zone from a more distant flank.

But it was too late.

In just a few days, more than two battalions of tough-skinned orc soldiers were thrown in front of this fleeing group, along with dozens of huge shipping containers.

These containers, each adorned with a giant parachute, were filled with countless skulls when opened.

To prevent the skeletons from colliding and causing damage, the engineers at Hanhai filled the skeletons with specially made polymer particles after folding them to their maximum extent.

This is a special filler, specially provided by Dongxia, made of a mixture of porous polyurethane and liquid-absorbing swelling compounds.

With just a little bit of alkali, it will expand rapidly like foam, filling every gap in a semi-solid state, ensuring that the skeletons are firmly fixed in place throughout the entire transportation and even airdrop process.

No matter how much you fall or bump into things, you'll be perfectly fine!

When the paratroopers on the front lines opened the container, they tore it open with their bare hands and found a perfectly intact skeleton soldier.

This highly efficient transportation method, in a very short time, "scattered" more than four thousand skeleton soldiers along a wide route that the enemy might detour through.

These undead warriors, with bone spears in their right hands and grenades in their left, casually set up their defensive line, maintaining a certain distance from each other. They lay prone or prone on the line, looking just like ordinary mounds of earth, stones, or abandoned skeletons by the roadside.

When a small group of enemies approaches, stab them with bone spears; when a large group of enemies approaches, charge in and bomb them.

With just a slight delay, Han Hai's troops could arrive at the scene and collect the enemy's corpses.

And so, this orcish force of several thousand men, along with nearly ten thousand children, was blocked on the plains for six days.

Of course, it wasn't that the "Cracked Claw" guards escaped on the seventh day, but rather that the flying cavalry of the Vast Ocean arrived.

Guided by the navigation lights, a dense array of black dots approached from afar. The roars of griffins, the cries of dragons, the shrieks of hippogriffs, and the shouts of the knights riding on flying mounts instantly shattered all the psychological defenses of the "Crack Claw" guard.

They launched a desperate, dying charge, and were then annihilated in this grassland only a few dozen kilometers from the orc wasteland.

The battle ended completely at noon, leaving the wilderness littered with corpses. The "Cracked Claw" children, who were being escorted, crouched on the ground in terror amidst the chaos, crying loudly, and were taken into custody by the soldiers of the Vast Sea.

We had refrained from bombing the enemy's main camp, instead focusing on capturing them alive, all for this moment.

Soon, a letter was delivered to Crackclaw Canyon.

Before reading the letter, the disheveled chieftain Gemar was still shouting loudly, trying to encourage his men.

"This despicable fellow, does he think he can make the great 'Cracked Claw' tribe surrender? Wishful thinking!"

But after opening the letter, the bear chieftain slumped down.

Chen Mo had no intention of making them surrender.

"Thunder Roar" has already reunited with its kin, and "Motianling" is about to surrender. Having a stubborn enemy as an example is not a bad thing.

Moreover, from the moment "Crack Claw" used laborers and slaves as human shields, Chen Mo had no intention of accepting their surrender.

Some rules must be clearly defined in order to avoid endless troubles in the future.

In this letter, Chen Mo only presented one condition for the deal.

The Vast Ocean Territory can release this batch of "Cracked Claw" seeds back to the wasteland alive.

One "cracked claw" cub can be exchanged for a hundred slaves or laborers.

After all, according to your "Cracked Claw" standards, a noble tribal offspring is worth a hundred lowly slaves, isn't he?
Live for live, dead for dead, it's all fine!

Chief Gemar of the "Cracked Claw" calculated for a long time with trembling hands and found that, according to this ratio, even if "Cracked Claw" sent out all the human slaves, orc laborers, and even the old, weak, women and children of small and medium-sized tribes in the entire canyon, he could only get back less than half of the children.

In despair, the chief remembered that he seemed to still have a few chips left.

He sent a reply, demanding that the Han Hai Territory release all the bear cubs. In exchange, he would hand over the mysterious "envoys" sent by the humans to help the orcs fight to the Han Hai Territory.

Upon receiving this reply, Chen Mo's face broke into a bright smile.

With such a chaotic situation, I thought those guys had already escaped, but I didn't expect to have an unexpected gain!
"make a deal!"

　Thank you to the generous donor 【书海翻翻滚滚觅】 for another generous donation.

　　thank you very much!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)