Steel torrents pioneering a different world.

Chapter 291 An Iron Torrent of Air Cavalry! (Please Subscribe)

Next to the rows of basements, in a three-story house.

The room was filled with the rich aroma of snail rice noodles, a source of joy.

Zhong Mengyao slurped up a big mouthful of noodles, then stuffed a fried egg soaked in broth into her mouth.

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As expected of a snail rice noodle shop run by a fellow villager, it truly lives up to its reputation for authenticity.

The fried eggs were cooked to perfection, and the duck feet were incredibly tender and fell off the bone—the taste was absolutely amazing.

This guy will most likely be staying home again today.

As Zhong Mengyao was mentally recording the tasks and objectives she had organized for the day, and was about to set a timer to send them, a notification popped up on the monitor that the lights had been turned off.

"Huh, that guy's stopped training?"

Lin Li maintained a subtle tacit understanding with the pioneering team.

Most of the time, everyone keeps to themselves and lives in peace.

Often, the people on the pioneering team would even proactively help Lin Li with some tedious tasks.

After all, some things would be time-consuming and laborious to handle without them.

Lin Li is happy to enjoy some of the conveniences he has!

The battles have been very frequent these past two days. Su Mingjin from the other world tried to contact the mysterious person, but the message went unanswered and remained unread.

It is, after all, a military mission, and some things need to be done as best as possible to reduce the probability of failure.

This is a responsibility to the soldiers.

Therefore, before Su Mingjin initiated the combat mission, she synchronized the information with Li Weiguo.

Therefore, Zhong Mengyao received a new instruction: to compile and summarize Lin Li's recent personal activities and report any unusual developments.

To be honest, Lin Li hasn't made any big moves lately. Aside from continuing to run his studio as a hands-off manager and making a little money, the only other thing he did was rent a basement about two weeks ago because it was inconvenient to go to the gym, and he spent several hundred thousand yuan to convert it into a training ground.

Zhong Mengyao's colleague once sneaked in when the cleaning staff entered to confirm that there was nothing there.

Of course, at most they only connected with some very basic things in the training room.

There's nothing involving privacy, or anything like microphones.

After all, you never know what triggers a mysterious big shot might have. What if one day they come through the internet and physically exorcise him?

Therefore, we would never dare to install cameras; we only connected harmless sensing devices such as air conditioners and basement air detectors.

These things aren't sensitive; they're already in the basement, so it's not offensive.

After testing, everyone confirmed that Lin Li was just undergoing normal training, but his physical fitness was exceptionally high.

As for activity patterns and such.

Lin Li's activities are quite regular; he goes to the company three days a week just to show up.

The rest of the time, he would sleep in one day and spend the weekends each week working together with female college students to improve themselves.

Although Zhong Mengyao was unhappy and secretly felt extremely jealous, cursing certain people for lacking ambition, she was powerless to do anything about it.

After all, in these kinds of situations, it's a matter of one party being willing to give and the other being willing to receive.

Ha, when men have a little money, some of their inherent traits become unpleasant!

Zhong Mengyao quickly finished her snail rice noodles and had just wiped her mouth when she saw Lin Li, dressed in sportswear, walking out of the basement downstairs through the window.

Zhong Mengyao quickly went to tidy up the communication devices.

Then, he got into Dizi's U9, stepped on the gas, and the car disappeared quickly.

"Why did he suddenly go out!" Zhong Mengyao quickly took out her walkie-talkie and told her colleague on the other end, "He left, he just went out, he drove a Dizi U9."

"clear!"

Some time later, a colleague sent me a message.

"Same as always! Studying!"

"Learn knowledge from university students?"

"Confirmed—the atmosphere is probably quite intense."

Zhong Mengyao pouted, looking aggrieved, and replied, "Okay, I understand. I've noted it down. Make sure he's not disturbed!"

"rest assured!"

Zhong Mengyao sighed and looked at herself in the mirror.

There was still a little bit of snail rice noodle soup on his forehead.

Wipe it off quickly!

The person in the mirror is radiant with sunshine, beautiful and elegant!

"With looks like mine, I'd definitely be a virtuous empress who brought ruin to the country in ancient times, right?"

Thanks to Li Weiguo's special arrangements, she consumed many delicacies and health-enhancing treasures from another world, making her skin even more delicate than a baby's. She had a beautiful oval face that possessed both the radiance of a well-bred lady and the unique features of a typical internet celebrity.

"Sigh~"

She sighed softly and sent Lin Li's movements for the day to Li Weiguo.

Then, she opened PP and started looking at nearby beauty salons, preparing to get another treatment to thoroughly cleanse the dead skin cells caused by staying up late playing Delta for the past two days.

Ring ring~

Just as I was engrossed in reading, the phone rang suddenly.

Caller ID: Li Weiguo.

"Mr. Li!"

"Have the devices deployed there received the military client signal I sent earlier?"

"Report, no signal received!" Zhong Mengyao confirmed again. "Our automatic retrieval device has not received any signals from the sub-terminals for the past week."

"I see—he's still—studying?" Li Weiguo paused, his tone somewhat subtle.

"Yes, that's right! Are you looking for him? I'll send someone to knock on the door right away." Zhong Mengyao stood up and took the initiative to ask.

"No need. Just continue to maintain a safe and comfortable distance and provide assistance remotely."

"Oh," Zhong Mengyao said, her disappointment barely concealed, and nodded in agreement, "Okay!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhong Mengyao was in a bad mood, and then continued browsing beauty salon services.

Then, as if possessed, she got up and clicked on several photos of college students in the file.

She hugged herself, feeling wronged: "I'm only 23 this year, an age when I should be in control of people's hearts, how did I lose to a bunch of 19-year-old girls?"

"Damn it! I'm so sweet, I'm sure love will give him great expectations? They're just a bunch of nineteen-year-old brats, what do they know? Do they understand ballistics? Do they understand training information processing? Do they even understand love?!"

"All they love are apples and all kinds of handbags!!!"

"hateful----"

Although the humans told the dwarf Portlin and the other dwarves that they needed at least ten hours to prepare, in reality, the humans only used five hours.

This is just a little human cunning.

War, ever since a certain military strategist wrote a book, has started to lean towards as much intrigue and conspiracy as possible.

As noon approached, my watch vibrated.

Zhao opened his eyes from his meditative state.

I had a wonderful 20-minute nap!

Not bad, I wonder when their new equipment will arrive.

With that in mind, he glanced at the Butcher and his team near the helicopter in the distance.

The butcher has also woken up.

The two exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded in tacit agreement.

"I never expected to have to cooperate with the Butcher and his gang!"

The battle at Pangula Fortress went very smoothly, and the human forces were plentiful. These special forces soldiers who had made great contributions would get a rest after completing the most difficult missions.

The rest are all regular tasks for the pioneering troops.

Zhao's troops captured Rice and brought him back in the early morning, thus ending their mission.

Then I was taken to the back for purification and slept for more than eight hours.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will get a day or two of rest to relax their tense nerves.

Unfortunately, things are unpredictable. Because the dwarven commander of Tranquil Harbor went into a frenzy, Zhao and the others, who were supposed to be resting, were assigned new tasks again.

It not only has the mission of attacking key enemy areas, but also the mission of protecting the safety of friendly unmanned combat units.

Humans will also serve as a powerful source of firepower.

However, considering the long-range combat, the humans were not 100% prepared, so the dwarves who were kept in the dark needed to save themselves.

Therefore, the battle plan is simple: use overwhelming firepower to destroy all of the dwarves' anti-aircraft firepower first, and at the same time, take advantage of the dwarves' uncorrupted inner lines to quickly capture the key nodes of Tranquil Harbor, accelerate the rescue of innocent dwarves, and arm the dwarves to quickly gain combat capability.

Then, humanity can focus its offensive on destroying the dwarves' key arsenals, in case the corruptors like Mazast resort to desperate measures.

This operation plan involves several more steps than the one for dealing with Pangula Fortress.

It looks very dangerous, but the humans believe the operation is more likely to succeed.

Of course, humanity needs to ensure that those innocent dwarves can be successfully rescued.

The forces at Tranquil Harbor are extremely weak, and there is a high probability that the various fortresses will be captured from within.

By the way, when Portlin contacted Tranquil Harbor, he heard that Gazul had appeared and slaughtered some enemies, while they also had to deal with the attacks of the dwarves who had been rescued by Gazul.

Now that they've tricked so many people into carrying out sacrificial activities, their madness has exposed numerous flaws.

The interior of the military fortress is probably already riddled with holes.

The Pangula Fortress is completely sealed off. Once we control it, we can openly engage in all sorts of evil corruption.

Tranquil Harbor is mostly used for overseas trade, and it's home not only to the Mithril Clan of dwarves, but also to dwarves from other clans.

As time drew to a close, the transport trucks quickly came to a stop.

"Gentlemen, we've brought the latest upgraded armor, which has undergone rigorous military testing, along with some high-powered individual weapons!"

Industrial Cthulhu has been working to meet the combat needs of frontline soldiers as much as possible, taking into account the actual battlefield situation.

These upgraded equipment serve as a testament to their advanced productivity.

Zhao and the other special forces soldiers immediately got up and ran towards the car.

They wanted to see what new equipment the logistics department had upgraded for them in less than thirty hours.

The soldiers were mostly disappointed when their equipment was removed.

"Is this runic armor?"

"No, it's more like an incomplete version of the armor! The materials scientist borrowed some of the dwarven rune technology and used dwarven armor to create this finished product."

"We researched these things for a long time before, and this time we obtained a large amount of dwarven craftsmanship from Pangula Fortress, which allowed us to complete the rapid upgrade!"

"Didn't you say that powered exoskeletons have relatively weak protective capabilities? After optimization by our technicians, these quick-release and replaceable protective gear modules offer much stronger protection!"

"Only upgrade the defensive capabilities?" Zhao Weiwei asked, disappointed.

He thought he could get his hands on the dwarves' technology for repackaging canned goods and then equip them with it.

"There's no way around it, there's just not enough time! They've been manufactured for less than five hours! But don't worry, they've undergone the most rigorous testing."

"Because of the tight schedule, we have only upgraded the armor. The main materials of the exoskeleton have not been updated yet. However, our equipment will be upgraded again in a week."

"The armor's strength has doubled. Even if we encounter a dwarf's close-range fire attack, we should be able to withstand it. However, we haven't solved the shock absorption problem yet, so there's still a high probability of injury from close-range attacks!"

Upon hearing that the power had doubled, many soldiers gasped in shock.

The equipment of current exploration teams is in a rather awkward state.

The warriors' equipment has been significantly upgraded, especially their armor.

However, new technologies also bring new challenges to stability.

Military equipment is robust and durable, and simplicity and practicality are paramount. Good products are expensive to produce.

This is why, although the pioneering team mastered many good technologies, they only put some of them into use by special forces.

Special forces face demanding combat missions and extremely challenging combat environments and enemies.

They can pile up materials without any scruples to enhance the performance and stability of the equipment.

In addition to the most basic bulletproof armor, other weapons have also been added and updated.

For example, there are more magical interference bombs, various high-temperature incendiary bombs, and some are weapons like cased bombs that are made without regard to cost.

The upgraded equipment for special forces is very easy to use, and the protective capabilities, such as armor, are the same as before, so there is no need to worry about getting familiar with and adapting to the equipment again.

Everything was easily resolved.

Zhao picked up a piece of armor that could be quickly removed and found that the thickness hadn't changed much, but the weight had increased considerably.

"The armor weight only increases by 20%, and the completely new armor will reduce the duration of your exoskeleton's power by 25%."

The group received these items and then observed many of the new soldiers' tools.

In short, most of them are upgrades and optimizations based on the previous ones, and are specially customized.

While ensuring stability, performance has been enhanced.

These are all good stuff!

That is to say, they are elite special forces, the elite of the elite, otherwise many equipment would require queuing to use.

After receiving the equipment, we had a quick familiarization session before boarding the helicopter.

It's time for the main force to move out!

Buzzing—

On a multi-purpose helicopter.

With his large, protruding belly, Portlin tightened the runic armor he had just put on, glanced at the large iron bird ahead that was starting to kick up dust, swallowed hard, and followed the troops onto the path.

Behind them, Norsen, and several other respectable old dwarves, all looked the same.

They will not be the vanguard this time, but will need to cooperate with human forces to integrate the resources of Tranquil Harbor and ensure its safety and stability.

If Gazul could manifest himself and descend upon Tranquil Harbor to kill the heretics, that would be wonderful!

However, humanity did not receive a definitive answer from the other side, so they had to prepare to tackle the tough challenges without the help of mysterious people and forces.

The roar of the propellers shattered the fortress's tranquility as fifty upgraded multi-purpose helicopters, billowing dust, took off at full capacity.

The plane took off, followed by a feeling of instability and turbulence, causing everyone to grip the armrests tightly.

Portlin was riding in a human-made airplane for the first time.

It was both novel and nerve-wracking.

He could only sense how vast the difference was between dwarves and humans.

Many of the technologies used by both sides are interchangeable.

If they could learn human technology, then the dwarves would definitely become great again in the future.

Portlin was unaware that these multi-purpose aircraft had undergone yet another upgrade.

Their performance is extremely powerful, exceeding publicly available data by nearly 30%.

The older multi-purpose helicopters had a maximum payload of just over 10 tons, with an internal load of about one ton, three tons of fuel, and a weapon load of just over four tons.

However, 89,000 tons is still more than 80,000 tons, and 1.99 tons is naturally more than a ton.

After upgrades and optimizations, the helicopter's payload capacity has increased from less than 1.2 tons to 1.7 tons.

The payload capacity can be increased to 2.3 tons because the helicopter's wing material is extremely strong, and the range can be reduced by decreasing fuel consumption.

This can already hold twenty fully armed soldiers wearing exoskeletons and wielding overflowing firepower.

Because the engine power has been significantly increased from the original standard of 1800 kilowatts to 2350 kilowatts, the emergency power can easily reach 2900 kilowatts.

The speed, service ceiling, and range of helicopters have all been significantly improved.

Botlin looked around at the humans, who all appeared calm and composed, though his large belly jiggled with the vibrations of the aircraft.

He gripped the edge of the seat tightly, feeling the iron bird of humanity ascend at an incredible speed, his heart pounding in his throat.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Portlin!" A special forces soldier grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "It's perfectly stable! And perfectly safe!"

Portlin remained silent, merely nodding nonchalantly. A gust of wind blew by, causing the helicopter to sway slightly.

He gripped the handle tightly, as if afraid something might go wrong.

Zhao glanced at Portlin, smiled inwardly, and then looked out the porthole at the massive fleet of aircraft.

Fifty transport planes, thirty armed helicopters as escorts, and hundreds of unmanned transport and reconnaissance drones have formed a network that has taken to the skies in overwhelming numbers.

In some areas of the Pangolier Fortress, out of the sight of Portlin and Zhao, various suicide motorcycles and ground attack missile sites began to be activated.

Besides this, at the Time Gate base 650 kilometers away, even more weapons have begun to take to the skies.

Those aircraft have been flying for more than forty minutes and will become part of a saturation fire attack.

On Zhao's side, only about 600 soldiers served as the spearhead, capturing key nodes.

However, there are a great many drones and various machines, as well as all kinds of weapons and ammunition, which can be airdropped onto transport vehicles. All of them are used to seize key points of the dwarven military base, establish a complete position, and ensure the subsequent transport of more heavy equipment.

The reason there are so few human combatants is because there are many drone and robot units in the rear.

For example, the "Iron Torrent Assault Team" combined with manned combat troops.

These emotionless, steel torrents possess basic friend-or-foe assessment capabilities, are fearless of death, and are remotely controlled by humans. The first batch consists of 5,000 units, roughly accounting for over 1,000 tons of air transport payload in this operation.

Twenty percent of the transport capacity for the initial operations was provided by the Pangule Fortress.

Additional transport capacity will be coordinated and deployed by the Time Gate Main Base, which has already established stable communication with the Pangule Fortress.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, some extra-large transport planes have not been able to transport goods to Pangula Fortress for the time being, and they can only be transported through the Time Gate Base.

In the coming days, air transport units are likely to deliver at least another 5,000 tons of military supplies.

Air combat units are used for assault operations, focusing on high speed and rapid strikes.

The ground forces are what truly determine long-term stability and security.

As air units began to move out, the ground forces that would determine the outcome of the battle also began to move out.

The straight-line distance to the east of Pangulu Fortress is more than 60 kilometers to Ningjing Port.

However, on the ground, it would be at least 80 kilometers to get through.

This time, the human ground forces will deploy 3,000 people, including a large number of engineering troops.

Their mission was to ensure that a road was built from Tranquil Harbor to Panglu Fortress within three days.

According to the map survey and a series of 3D scans, the ground troops need to bomb flat a large number of steep roads and use steel structures to build at least fifteen roads with a minimum span of five meters and a maximum span of 15 meters.

However, these things are not difficult for the pioneering team.

The land reclamation teams, especially the troops that are always ready for combat, mobilized a large number of engineering vehicles for this battle, which can not only build a complete military transport channel, but also establish multiple emergency channels.

Well, the pioneering team inherited the characteristics of a certain silly and cute unit, planning carefully before acting.

Unless absolutely necessary, don't engage in battles you can't win!

As for those battles that I've thought about for ten days and ten nights but still couldn't figure out, I've fought them.

However, it was a very impressive victory, and the book only mentions it briefly!

The modern world, Shanghai.

Inside a certain apartment building known as the Golden Nest, knowledge is being exchanged.

"When the wind speed of a motor vehicle reaches 60 miles per hour —"

As Lin Li listened to the scholar's words, his eyes were lightly closed, his body seemingly sinking into the soft, expensive sofa, as if he were listening to knowledge.

At this moment—the torrent of knowledge seemed to transform into a tangible, warm liquid, seeping into his cerebral cortex in strands.

Every neuron trembles gently under this indoctrination, enjoying the ultimate pleasure of being filled with information and truth.

However, in reality, a part of his consciousness was separated, allowing him to observe the turbulent events of the other world from a God-like perspective that transcends spatial dimensions.

He saw multi-purpose helicopters from the Panguler Fortress taking off at full capacity, kicking up clouds of dust.

A new attack is about to begin!

As the spacetime source quality continued to increase, this ability to multitask became as natural as breathing, allowing his physical attributes and extraordinary power to improve in tandem.

He can even easily perform multi-threaded operations between the modern world and the other world without interfering with each other.

These deliberately left traces successfully obscured his true identity to some extent, plunging the pioneering team, who were constantly monitoring him, into a fog of confusion.

For example, at this moment, his true form can listen to knowledge, enjoy modern song and dance, and have a relaxed conversation with people.

In the other world, his projected clones can simultaneously perform tasks that don't require too much mental effort.

He had disguised himself as a mysterious interstellar warrior several times and deliberately let Zhong Mengyao capture his leisure activities in the modern world, such as taking photos at a popular tourist attraction.

This is an extremely effective disguise, a meticulously crafted alibi.

Their internal profiling report has determined that there is a vast and mysterious force behind Lin Li that can span the universe.

This allowed Lin Li to escape the special surveillance state of being placed under a microscope.

In addition, the extraordinary strength he occasionally displays in the gym and other places, far exceeding the limits of ordinary people, has also become a factor that forces the pioneering team to be more cautious.

After all, the immense value Lin Li has demonstrated makes it difficult for any force to easily antagonize him.

Suddenly, Lin Li from the modern world trembled slightly.

At this moment, a long-accumulated pressure was completely released.

A girl who had just finished reading came over.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and anticipation as she softly inquired, "How did your studies go today?"

Lin Li slowly opened his eyes, the depth in them instantly replaced by a gentle smile. He nodded: "Very good! By the way, I saw that the iPhone 18 was released. I'll switch to it in the next couple of days; it'll be perfect for shooting data."

A hint of surprise flashed in the girl's eyes, and she sweetly replied, "Thank you~"

Lin Li stood up and said to the other busy people in the room, "You guys clean this place up. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

The hours of continuous learning were very rewarding for him, and the knowledge he gained today brought him much-needed relief from his stress.

But in the other world, the prelude to a great war has already begun.

He, too, had to enter in person.

"I want to make that place a river of blood."

Once the thought arises, it can never be erased.

He recalled the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood he had witnessed at Pangula Fortress not long ago, and the overwhelming resentment and stench of blood seemed to linger in his nostrils once again.

A chilling killing intent surfaced from the depths of Lin Li's eyes, making the surrounding air seem to cool down a bit.

A good life ultimately needs to be protected with blood and steel.

When Lin Li first arrived in this other world, he was weak and powerless. Even those fanatical cultists could drive him to the brink of despair, and most of the time he could only choose to endure and run away.

Now, he has tasted all the flavors of life, enjoyed the ultimate in material things, and experienced indulgence.

Since the death of the projection clone is merely a slight depletion of spacetime essence, it will recover and become a hero again.

If one's own strength is already capable of influencing the course of a battle, then it's time to pursue some higher-level spiritual needs.

In another world, in the tranquil harbor, lies a mountain dwelling area inhabited by dwarven nobles.

This is a relatively easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack location on the side of the dwarven military base and Tranquil Harbor, and it is a fairly large mountain residential area.

But at this moment, this place has become a bloody slaughterhouse.

The warriors of the Corruptors were engaged in a fierce battle with the warriors of other dwarven clans!

"For the glory of our ancestors!"

Boom!

The violent explosion echoed through the hard rock tunnel, making people's eardrums ache.

An anti-tank bomb left behind by Lin Li was detonated by a fearless dwarf warrior.

The shockwave, powerful enough to overturn a heavy tank, blew away the dwarven heavy armor cans that were wreaking havoc.

The heavy-duty can was stunned by the explosion and struggled to climb out.

Immediately afterwards, another disc-shaped anti-tank mine was precisely thrown at its feet.

Another loud bang.

While the heavy canned goods were being blown to bits and their protective shields were destroyed, an elderly dwarf with a white beard and a ferocious expression rushed out carrying a can of something burning fiercely.

Without the slightest hesitation, he used all his strength to smash the scalding hot oil can onto the helmet of the heavy-duty cannery.

Whoosh!

The earthenware pot shattered, and the viscous kerosene instantly soaked his entire body.

On the vast, flat terrain, the heavily armed elite force, which could have single-handedly taken on a hundred men, instantly transformed into a massive,

A twisted candle.

"ah"

A piercing, muffled scream emanated from within the heavy armor.

The old dwarf didn't even look at him, turned around and ran back, cursing and shouting, "The fire isn't burning bright enough!"

"Maybe it won't kill us, have another can!"

He wanted to add fuel to the fire.

Several corrupted dwarf warriors who came to provide support happened to rush around the corner and witnessed this scene.

"Kill him!"

Upon seeing the arrival of enemy reinforcements, the old dwarf did not retreat. Instead, he steeled himself, roared, and the runes engraved on his body instantly lit up.

"My ancestors are with me!"

Holding the newly acquired kerosene, he charged straight at it like an enraged Gru beast.

boom!

The flammable fire pot exploded in the narrow passage, turning into a sea of ​​fire. The two warriors wearing runic armor did not have the same level of protection as the heavily armored fire pot. After being engulfed in flames, the two unfortunate men screamed incessantly.

The remaining corrupted dwarves were forced back.

Another attack by the corrupted dwarves was stopped by the old dwarves in a suicide attack.

Outside the passage, the dwarf centurion in charge of the attack looked at the still-burning oil and his beard trembled with rage.

"You heretics inside! Come out and surrender, and I, in the name of the centurion of the Mithril Clan, guarantee you a dignified death!"

"Bah! You are the heretics! You scum of the Mithril Clan, don't you dare tarnish the glory of our Copper Hammer Clan!" A powerful voice shouted from inside.

"We, the Blackrock Clan, have never been afraid of anyone! If you have the guts, then attack! As long as we hold out until reinforcements arrive, none of you traitors who have abandoned your ancestors will escape!"

The attacking centurion's face was ashen. He turned to look at the soldiers beside him: "Where's the alchemical bomb? Why hasn't it been brought here yet?"

"The centurion is gone!"

"Damn it! I'll have to ask the elders again!"

"The elder said we're almost out of bombs. Sir, how about we trap them inside first?" a soldier whispered, "We've cut off all their food supplies. These stubborn guys won't last more than a few days. We'll attack when they're too weak to eat! Our casualties will be much lower then."

Hearing his subordinate's advice, the centurion of the Mithril clan hesitated.

This is indeed the method with the fewest casualties, but for dwarves who crave the glory of beheading their enemies, defeating their own kind through hunger is somewhat dishonorable.

But he didn't have many soldiers left.

"Centurion, I have a plan!"

Just then, a dwarf who looked rather clever spoke up.