Spellcasting Gods

"Really? I get the feeling you were enjoying what you just saw?" Valindra asked with a half-smile.

“I truly enjoy it! Don’t you find it incredibly pleasurable to witness a bright and holy soul fall into darkness? Moreover, Erebeth is the symbol of this city; her fall will plunge all those in Neverwinter who still hold hope for the future into despair. Remember, my dear, while power and tyranny may subdue the weak, they cannot shatter the hope and perseverance in their hearts.” Zhang Cheng spoke meaningfully of his understanding of conquest and domination.

Indeed, the gathered masses are an incredibly powerful force, enough to instill fear and dread in over 99 percent of the rulers.

The problem is that this force needs a smart enough leader to truly unleash its full potential; otherwise, it will just be a disorganized mess.

Just like in the Dark Ages of Europe, the lower classes lived worse than dogs, yet dared not resist the brutal rule of the nobles.

Because almost all knowledge and military power were in the hands of the nobility, while the spiritual world was in the hands of the church, the two combined meant that even if some peasants who could not survive launched an uprising, it would be quickly suppressed due to a lack of strategic vision.

A populace lacking intellectual leadership is simply not a reliable force. This is why, despite so many peasant uprisings throughout history, it was often the aristocracy and intellectual class that ultimately established new dynasties.

The fate of those rebels from humble backgrounds was even more ironic: they either transformed themselves into members of these people or were used and discarded like toilet paper.

Valindra nodded thoughtfully: "I understand! As long as the heroes in the hearts of good people are destroyed, the flame of hope in their hearts will be extinguished. In this respect, no physical punishment is as effective as a spiritual shock. In the years you were away, Luscan often publicly executed spies of the Harpists' Alliance and traitors who helped them, and over time there was no longer any fertile ground for these guys to live in."

"That's right! Habit is a terrible thing! No matter how brutal the rule, as long as the lower classes get used to it, they will gradually accept it. The most important thing is not to give them hope. Without hope, they will be content with the status quo, because change means uncertainty. No one knows whether things will get better or worse. In addition, if you want to turn Luskan into a real country, you need to unite some forces, whether they are merchants or slave owners who run plantations. In short, you need to make them feel that they can participate in politics. Only in this way will national consciousness and state consciousness be formed."

Zhang Cheng clearly knew Valindra's ambitions and openly pointed out Luskan's weakness.

After all, without the people's sense of national and ethnic consciousness, even if a country is currently strong, it may lead to division, or even direct disintegration and extinction, once problems arise.

But if you have these two things, even if you are defeated and decline one day, you will have the possibility of making a comeback.

"After this battle, I will do as you said and gather the merchants and slave owners to form a grand council. But before that, we need to defeat Waterdeep. Entreri recently sent us intelligence that the lords of Waterdeep have begun to call for allies to form a coalition. Currently, more than sixty nobles have responded to the call, and the number of troops has increased from eight thousand to twenty-five thousand."

"Twenty-five thousand people? Fantastic! The souls of these dead can definitely be used to forge a powerful divine office for me. War, what a wonderful word. I really hope to see the scene of corpses strewn across the battlefield soon..."

Chapter 0928 Raid

With Neverwinter Fortress completely annihilated, the last thorn in Neverwinter's side was finally removed, and Waterdeep was completely cut off from its access to information.

Since they were unaware of what had happened in Neverwinter, and even less aware that the entire city of Neverwinter was under Zhang Cheng's control and had completely sided with Luskan, preparing to launch a fatal blow at a crucial moment.

In fact, not only Waterdeep was unaware of this, but even the nobles and merchants in Neverwinter were unaware that they were now allies of Luscan, and remained highly vigilant against the army stationed ten kilometers away.

Only those shapeshifting officers, whose eyes gleamed with an eerie silver light, knew what was about to happen.

In order to better control the army, Valindra brought eighty shapeshifters from Luscan, who could perfectly transform into anyone and silently take their place.

Currently, all those of higher rank in the Neverwinter army have been replaced with shapeshifters. At a single command, the soldiers will immediately turn against their former allies and deliver a righteous betrayal.

The poor lords of Waterdeep have no idea that Zhang Cheng has woven a huge trap in Neverwinter, and once they step into it, they will surely die.

As the reinforcements from the Northern Lords Alliance amassed an unprecedented 50,000, they began their grand advance northward, intending to wage a decisive battle on the outskirts of Neverwinter Forest and utterly thwart Luskan's expansionist ambitions.

Since all the ships in the harbor had been destroyed, the allied forces had no choice but to advance by land. Transporting supplies was extremely difficult. From the air, one could clearly see a large number of oxcarts, horse-drawn carts, and mule carts lined up one after another, slowly making their way along the muddy dirt road. Their speed was outrageously slow.

"Damn it! Why did we stop again up ahead?" a middle-aged man in gleaming silver armor cursed loudly.

It wasn't that he had a bad temper, but rather that similar situations would occur on average every one or two hours along the way, making the march an absolute disaster.

"Excuse me, General Rams, another carriage has overturned up ahead. The craftsmen are working on it and it should be fixed in a few minutes," a scout hurriedly reported.

The man known as General Rams sighed helplessly: "Sigh, tell them to hurry up, or else..."

Before he could finish speaking, fifty or sixty orcs riding dire wolves suddenly rushed out of the nearby forest and, without saying a word, charged into the unprepared group, slaughtering and destroying everything in their path.

"Aww! Loo hoo hoo hoo hoo!"

The leader shouted a barbarian howl typical of Icewind Valley and swung his scimitar, cleaving an unfortunate man in two.

His dire wolf was not to be outdone, biting another human soldier to death, and then opening its blood-red maw to intimidate the timid horses, cattle, mules and other livestock.

In the blink of an eye, the team was thrown into complete chaos.

In addition, the soldiers were exhausted from traveling for days, so the wolf riders slaughtered more than two hundred people before leaving triumphantly.

It should be noted that the attack was not carried out by just a few dozen wolf riders, but by a group of them every two or three hundred meters, totaling more than a thousand people.

They didn't linger in battle; after a successful strike, they immediately turned and retreated, hiding in the dense forests on either side, giving their opponents no chance to retaliate or pursue.

Undoubtedly, this is a standard raiding tactic, designed to keep the enemy constantly on the move, preventing them from getting proper rest and marching.

On a direct battlefield, these mere thousand-odd wolf riders could at best fight to a draw with an equal number of human knights.

Once dispersed, they are like ghosts hiding in the darkness, ready to burst out at any moment and cause incalculable damage.

In that single charge, at least two thousand soldiers died and hundreds were injured. There were also countless traffic disruptions and rollovers caused by livestock being startled.

Seeing the heavy losses suffered by his troops, General Rams trembled with rage and cursed, "Damn it! These Luskan scum are so afraid that they dare not fight us head-on! They only know how to use these underhanded and despicable tricks! Immediately gather all the knights here. If they dare to do it a second time, I will show them what the iron fist of justice is."

"As you wish, Your Excellency General!" The scout quickly bowed and rode off at full speed to deliver the order.

In less than twenty minutes, a knightly order composed entirely of elites gathered together, watching the dense forests on both sides of the road warily.

Just as General Rams had predicted, once the knights had gathered, the wolf riders vanished without a trace and did not reappear for an entire day.

However, the problem is that both knights and warhorses need to eat and rest.

As evening fell and they took off their armor and sat down to eat something, the orc wolf riders appeared once again.

Just like last time, they deliberately avoided the elite soldiers who seemed difficult to deal with, and instead targeted ordinary citizens and farmers who were temporarily recruited. They even drove them to attack the veterans' formation. If they could break through, they would follow and kill them; if they couldn't, they would retreat directly.

At this moment, even the most idiotic person could see that these orcs riding dire wolves were not there to fight, but to demoralize the allied forces by launching surprise attacks, leaving ordinary soldiers in a state of constant fear.

If the conspiracy succeeds, even if they manage to reach Neverwinter, they probably won't be able to defeat the well-rested Luskan.

"Magic! We need magic now! Immediately have the accompanying mages monitor the forests on both sides of the border 24 hours a day. If any signs of the enemy approaching are detected, sound the alarm immediately. Also, divide the army into two halves; while one half rests, the other half will be on guard." General Rams pondered for a moment before issuing the new orders.

He knew that doing so would increase the soldiers' fatigue and severely slow down the march, but there was no better solution at the moment.

After all, harassment tactics like raids are still very effective, not only in the relatively primitive and backward continent of Faerûn, but also in modern warfare. Even if the raid fails, it can greatly increase the psychological pressure on the enemy soldiers.

Especially when the enemy is lurking in the shadows, ready to launch a deadly attack at any moment, that feeling is absolutely unpleasant.

"Heh heh! These guys have fallen for it! You! You can send a message to Lord Gar, saying that the master's plan has succeeded. Before long, these weaklings will become our prey." The orc, who was hiding in the woods and secretly spying on the Waterdeep City coalition, grinned and ordered his companions behind him.

Chapter 0929 Forming an Alliance with the Enemy

Those who have never experienced constant harassment by raids will never understand the feeling of being on tenterhooks at all times, nor will they understand how terrible the dual torment of body and mind is in such a state.

In particular, the road from Waterdeep to Neverwinter passes through a long, narrow area called the Sword Mountains and the Dead Swamp, which is filled with negative energy, providing natural cover for a surprise attack.

Furthermore, the orc werewolf riders were not of the lawful good alignment. In order to disrupt the mages who were monitoring the surrounding area with magic, they even plundered dozens of villages and gathered the villagers together to drive them toward the allied forces.

If the opponent is vigilant and reacts promptly, they will choose to abandon the attack and retreat to wait for the next opportunity.

But if the enemy does not react in time, they will use these innocent peasants to break up the ranks and launch a fierce attack on the Allied soldiers, setting the wagons full of provisions and supplies on fire with hot glue.

As a result, what should have been a march of less than five days took half a month, and every soldier was exhausted, with morale plummeting to rock bottom.

The cunning and treacherous Luskan only lost a little over four hundred orc wolf riders, yet he still managed to make the enemy suffer greatly before the battle even officially began. Meanwhile, the accompanying mages were unable to get enough sleep because they needed to monitor their surroundings with magic 24 hours a day.

Looking at these pathetic creatures who had set up camp five kilometers outside Neverwinter, Zhang Cheng stood on the city wall, pursed his lips, and said in a playful tone, "Unbelievable! Should I admire the courage of the Waterdeep Allied Forces, or should I laugh at their stupidity and ignorance? In their current state, they probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a single fierce attack before collapsing on their own."

“No, my lord, you underestimate the resilience of these self-proclaimed righteous and kind people. Low morale is nothing to worry about; with enough priests, mages, and bards, cowards can be turned into warriors in a matter of minutes. Besides, it is said that the mage corps of Waterdeep has also been mobilized; they are the real threat.” Valindra gently stroked his beloved staff, his eyes flashing with intense apprehension.

As the two places with the highest concentration of high-ranking mages in the entire Northlands, Waterdeep and Silvermoon City have always been the greatest enemies of the former Arcane Brotherhood.

It was precisely because of their strong suppression that Luskan's expansion plans failed time and time again.

However, today, the Arcane Light, rebuilt from the corpses of the Arcane Brotherhood, has the opportunity to severely damage the mages of Waterdeep and let the whole world know that the Arcane Light is the most powerful spellcasting organization in the North.

"Don't rush, my dear, be patient. Before the main show begins, we have an appetizer: to personally go to the enemy camp to forge an alliance."

As he said this, Zhang Cheng turned around and winked at Irebeth and the shapeshifting officers standing not far away.

To deceive the enemy, this woman, who exudes an astonishingly evil aura, has donned brand-new silver-white armor, which, infused with divine energy, gives off a sense of holiness and sanctity.

Unless someone suddenly uses magic or divine spells like Detect Faction, no one would ever associate it with evil.

But Eribes clearly disliked these sacred energies that disgusted her. She frowned subconsciously and asked in a hesitant tone, "Are you sure you want me to lead the army to join forces with the Waterdeep coalition and then forge an alliance?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and nodded: "Of course! Why not? Think about it, when those poor guys fight with all their might, thinking they're about to win, only to have their closest allies suddenly turn against them and launch a fatal attack from behind, the psychological blow is absolutely incomparable to any frontal suppression. I need to bring down Waterdeep, to instill genuine fear in those soldiers. Only then will their souls in the afterlife be filled with unbearable pain and despair. Go, go and finish this for me, and then all the citizens of Neverwinter will be yours, whether you want to massacre the city or make them pay for their actions."

“I understand! It’s a deal, isn’t it?” Eribes raised her chin slightly, her eyes still filled with anger and hatred.

“Yes, it’s a deal,” Zhang Cheng replied without hesitation.

"Deal! I will do as you command."

Without a word, Eribes turned around and led 2,500 Neverwinter soldiers controlled by shapeshifters, opening the city gates and marching in a grand procession toward the Waterdeep Allied camp.

Looking at the delighted expressions on the faces of the completely unaware soldiers, Valindra suddenly spoke up: "Are you sure those soldiers will obey orders and attack from behind their longtime close ally?"

"Whether they obey orders or not is irrelevant! As long as Eribes and the shapeshifting officer launch an attack, the allied soldiers will believe it. At that point, whether ordinary soldiers like it or not, they will become targets, desperately attacking their allies just to avoid being killed. On the battlefield, soldiers' emotions are often prone to excessive excitement, and any distrust will be amplified infinitely, ultimately creating a herd mentality. And most importantly, don't you think it's interesting to ally with your enemy?"

As always, Zhang Cheng's plan was both dark and wicked, constantly pushing the boundaries of humanity and attempting to expose the hypocrisy of those kind-hearted people.

No reason!

No reason!

There was no purpose whatsoever!

He did this because he felt the world should be this way, instead of shouting ridiculous slogans like equality, freedom, justice, and democracy while secretly applying double standards.

How can there possibly be true equality in a race that is divided into different classes based on genetic differences in intellectual development and physical fitness from birth?

Even without the intervention of environmental factors, people are born unequal.

Although it sounds ironic, it is the harsh reality.

What many people perceive as social progress is actually humanity's use of its own wisdom to resist the natural law of survival of the fittest, thereby proving itself to be the most intelligent of all beings and a special existence superior to most animals.

But they failed to notice that while humanity appeared to be rebelling against the laws of nature, it was actually reaping the bitter fruits of that rebellion.

For example, after a comprehensive welfare system is established, people with higher education are often less willing to have children because they know how much time, money, and energy it takes to raise an outstanding offspring. Conversely, those with little to no education often have children, needlessly consuming vast amounts of social resources and creating a terrible phenomenon of Gresham's Law (bad money drives out good)...

Chapter 0930 Bloodthirsty Goblins

Although Erebeth's joining the Waterdeep coalition in the name of Neverwinter somewhat boosted morale, General Ramsay insisted on resting in place for five days before sending an envoy to the Luscan camp to deliver a declaration of war.

The two sides agreed on an auspicious day and set up their forces about ten kilometers from the Neverwinter Forest, intending to use a major battle to determine who would dominate the North for the next few decades.

The main reason for not fighting near Neverwinter was that the terrible plague within the city had not yet subsided. If the citizens inside rushed out, the plague could easily spread among the army, or even spread throughout the entire North after the war.

Neither Waterdeep nor the nobles of the Lords' Alliance wanted this terrible disaster to happen.

Therefore, they preferred to abandon the cover of Neverwinter's high walls and cross the Neverwinter River to fight a fair battle with the enemy in open field.