The Fourth Calamity: Starting with Dungeon Slimes

After the battle in Chapter 185

The commander was also filled with worry. The situation had spiraled out of control. Although they had retreated, he felt that if the enemy's attack intensified, they wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. The only saving grace was that the enemy didn't seem to intend to continue their offensive. Instead, they began constructing new fortifications near their defense company, clearly preparing for a protracted war.

Of course, he reported the situation here immediately, and the reinforcements will arrive soon.

By then, even if we don't expect to fight our way back, we'll at least be able to hold onto what we have now.

If we were to fight back, we definitely would; the only question is how.

Although this commander is very strong, the problem is, what's the use of being strong? When the battle started, he didn't play much of a role at all. It wasn't that he didn't want to play a role, but that once the fighting started, he only dared to hide in the crowd.

Given this situation, he didn't dare to show his face at all; it's no exaggeration to say that if he did, he would be knocked down.

The enemy's firepower is too intense. Under such circumstances, if he is targeted by concentrated fire, the consequences will be very serious, and even he will not be able to withstand it.

And that's the problem. So, in the current situation, all he can do is follow the crowd and throw out some skills. Although it does take care of a lot of slimes, it's useless because there are just too many of them. Taking out a few doesn't really make much difference.

That's why he felt rather frustrated during the battle.

"The biggest reason for this situation is that we lack manpower. If we had more manpower, this problem wouldn't have occurred. On the surface, there are only about 1000 slimes. But the problem is that you have to consider another factor."

"The other party came wearing those special props, which means that their numbers are two times greater than what they appear to be."

"Because after you knock off their shell, their main body can still continue to fight. So knocking off the shell only eliminates half of their fighting power. The other half is their reckless main body."

Recalling what those slimes had done, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. It wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather that those slimes were simply too insane.

If they can't beat you in a one-on-one fight, they'll gang up on you. If there's no chance to gang up on you, they'll just choose to self-destruct and take you down with them.

After such a series of maneuvers, who could withstand it? The worst outcome is that the opponent trades one for one with you. If you don't execute well, it might not be a one-for-one trade, but rather a one-for-several trade. In such a situation, your side simply has no way to deal damage to the opponent.

Of course, if we're really talking about fighting, it's possible, but there's a prerequisite: that our people, like those slimes, aren't afraid to die. They might even go so far as to take them all down with them. If they could do that, everything would be fine. But reality is harsh. If his people could do that, the battle wouldn't have turned out this way.

He also knew very well that it was practically impossible for his men to do it.

This isn't as simple as just shouting slogans. It's about risking your life. There are definitely people who are willing to die, but their numbers are absolutely impossible to find this many.

What's outrageous is that group of slimes. Basically, every single one of them is like that. They're all completely reckless. If they can't beat you head-on, they'll just fight you to the death.

He still vividly remembered the entire battle. The situation was roughly like this: a certain slime couldn't defeat the opponent, so it took out a magic crystal and wanted to take them both down with it.

The people on their side were the type who already had a stress response; as soon as they saw the slime pull out a magic crystal, they immediately turned and ran.

They didn't care about formations or teamwork anymore.

At this point, worrying about these things shows a complete disregard for their own lives. Let's put it this way: if the slime dares to pull it out, they'll probably already be figuring out where to explode it to create as many as possible. That's roughly the situation.

In this situation, if you don't run, you'll just be blown up by the enemy. But if you do run, another problem arises.

The lineup is completely disrupted, and it's easy for others to pick it off one by one; that's roughly the situation.

So, as the battle progressed, the entire formation became a complete mess, with everyone acting independently.

If they hadn't gathered a group of people beforehand, the battle would have been even more brutal. But clearly, it was pointless for them to do so, because they had failed miserably. The higher-ups only cared about the result, not the process, and that was the most troublesome thing.

In short, he can't escape the blame for this war. As for what the consequences will be, he's not sure, but he knows that his performance will determine how he'll be treated when he returns.

Therefore, he must ensure that his side can win the next battle smoothly. Having learned from the previous lesson, he will naturally not be as foolish as before.

First, he needs to gather a group of capable and courageous fighters, especially those who will fight to the death in crucial moments. Once he has this group, it's time for that person to step in if a slime shows signs of self-destruction. However, finding such people is extremely difficult.

After all, even within his own group, such people are in the minority.

Even if there were such a person, he would definitely be no match for those slimes. He wouldn't even be able to out-trade them one-for-one, which is the most troublesome thing.

That's roughly what close-quarters combat is like. Of course, he had also considered that since close-quarters combat wasn't feasible, then long-range combat would be an option. In long-range combat, those strange weapons from the slimes would come in handy.

However, this is the most awkward part.

At close range, they might risk a one-for-one trade with the enemy; at long range, they simply can't outgun the enemy's long-range firepower.

This gave him a headache. The only reliable option at the moment was to rely on this defensive facility to wear down the enemy in a prolonged battle. This was the only slightly feasible plan.

This situation is simply a battle of resource reserves between the two sides. Whoever can't hold out first will lose. Even so, he still has the backing of a major race, and he doesn't believe he can't out-recover the resources of the other side.

However, he may not have much initiative in how to conduct this battle, because someone from above will definitely be sent down to take over his command position and let the next person take command, while he will mainly play a supporting role.

This is the usual routine: if the commander is no good, then replace him, and then settle scores later. It's just that everything is done in the immediate battle first. That's roughly the pattern.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"In short, we just need to guard this place well. As for what happens after that, other commanders will take charge. This makes things easier for me, because we'll only know how evil those slimes are after we've fought them."

"Let the later commanders worry about how to fight them and how to win. As long as enough people fail, the higher-ups will naturally realize that these guys are not easy to deal with. At that point, they will most likely send out their elite troops."

Things will be much easier when that time comes.

However, it's hard to say whether he'll be able to wait until then; he might be arrested and punished along the way.

While he was still thinking of a solution, at this moment, on Old Six's team...

After all the teasing, the Sixth Brothers team had to face another problem: what should they do in the upcoming battle?

They already suffered losses in the previous battle, and future losses will only be greater.

When fighting, both sides are in a state where they basically have no time to distinguish who is the enemy and who is their own.

Anyone who gets too close is considered an enemy, and they will attack without hesitation. After all, in such a chaotic situation, if you still have the mind to analyze whether someone is an enemy, by the time you finish analyzing, you'll probably be dead by then. So, Old Six's team has no choice but to face the issue of being accidentally injured, and what they need to do most now is to ensure that they are injured as little as possible.

It is quite difficult to achieve this.

At this moment, they were discussing what to do.

Most importantly, they currently have no way to communicate with the other side, so they have to rely on themselves. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty of the whole situation by several levels.

They discussed this matter for a long time, but still couldn't find a suitable solution.

Of course, this was expected by them. If it were so easy for them to find a solution, they wouldn't have been stuck here for so long.

"In short, the only way to avoid being accidentally hurt without exposing ourselves is to stay as far away from those slimes as possible. But if we deliberately stay away, some people will definitely find out, and then we'll be in trouble."

"Therefore, we must ensure our safety by maintaining a certain distance."

It is certainly difficult to do this, but they have to consider it.

Unlike their situation, the players don't think about these things as much. Their mentality is simple: do whatever makes them happy, and do whatever is most useful.

Some of the players who returned to base have already started sorting out their loot from this battle. The loot this time was quite plentiful, including all sorts of equipment and items.

It can be said that it has everything.

"Brothers, this harvest is pretty good. I roughly calculated that the materials I've collected so far are enough to make at least two mechs. That means I can keep one for myself and sell the other to buy mech parts. That's just right."

"Why are you collecting all sorts of junk? Dude, that's not the right approach. Bringing junk into battle is a waste of time. You should be picking up valuable items. For example, I mainly collect things that are extremely valuable, enough to build a medium-quality or higher mech. Then I spend some money to buy mech parts. That way, I'm completely safe."

"Dude, are you rich? Are you really going to get the high-spec mech? I personally don't recommend it. Although the high-spec mech looks pretty good on paper, you have to consider that this game has combat damage."

"I suggest we just make something of slightly lower quality, something that's just right. Making it too good will be a huge loss, because as you've seen in these wars, the attrition rate isn't exactly high, but it's definitely not low either. If this thing goes badly, basically half of the investment is gone."

Of course, this statement is not entirely accurate. It's not that a large portion of the investment is wasted. It depends on the quality of the mech. The lower the quality, the less the loss, and the higher the quality, the greater the loss. There's a reason for this, which is ultimately due to the premium.

High-quality materials are inherently expensive, and that's just one aspect.

Secondly, this item is a symbol of wealth and status, so it's obvious that its price will increase further, far exceeding the cost and profit margin. This premium is something that cannot be controlled.

Therefore, the higher the quality of the mech, the more its premium price will disappear once it is reduced to its original form.

Because of this factor, apart from the truly wealthy, most players would not buy this item; they would also consider the cost-effectiveness.

Seeing that a player actually wanted to do this, and after confirming that he wasn't a whale (a person who spends a lot of money), many players expressed their opinions. However, this player already had almost enough assets; adding a little more would allow him to equip a fully upgraded set. A fully upgraded set would not only have improved stats compared to a regular set, but also significantly boost his prestige. The temptation to spend a little more money for a more prestigious look was something he found hard to resist.

"Everyone, I think it's alright. Although you keep talking about how cost-effective this thing is, and so on, its attributes are genuinely much higher. As long as you operate it well, there won't be any problems. And in this battle, did you notice that the high-quality mechs actually suffered the least losses?"

"So this thing has a higher survival rate than ordinary mechs. As long as it is operated properly, there is no problem. After a few battles, the cost will be recovered. On the surface, my investment seems high, but considering my survival rate and other factors, I think that after careful calculation, a high-quality mech is still very good."

Clearly, this player has started to convince himself.