Free Web NovelChapter 148: Chapter 140: A Wall Has Grown on the Ground
Robson’s Mage Corps hadn’t rested all night. Whenever a Mage’s Magic Power ran out, Robson immediately used Magic Essence to replenish their Magic Energy.
The situation was critical. The enemy’s Magic could be completed at any moment, and Robson couldn’t afford any delays.
The results were remarkable. Not only were the Magic Crystal Cannon Platforms completed on time, but even the wall meant to block the bridge was finished on schedule.
If his Mage Corps weren’t so small, Robson would have wanted to erect a city on the spot and give these Beastmen a little taste of human shock and awe.
But there were no "ifs." Even though the Mages under Robson’s command had undergone special training from Falan that greatly increased their speed, building a perimeter around the enemy’s bridge was still a massive undertaking.
According to Master Kosen’s magical detection, the surface of the enemy’s bridge was at least a hundred meters wide.
Of course, Robson had put the main body of the Mage Corps to work building the wall. As for the remaining few, he had them construct Arrow Towers, watchtowers, and the like.
...
Robson might have been enjoying his massive construction project, but it caused a huge uproar on the Beastmen’s side.
For the first time in days, General Dor was getting a decent night’s sleep. He never expected to be woken up at the crack of dawn.
"Aurora! I’m warning you! This ’matter’ of yours had better be as serious as you’re making it out to be!" General Dor grumbled.
"I... I can’t really explain it. In short, you have to see it for yourself, quickly," Aurora said with a frown, looking genuinely anxious.
Led by Aurora, General Dor immediately returned to yesterday’s hilltop and looked toward the opposite riverbank.
"Hm?"
The moment he saw the opposite bank, General Dor suddenly understood why his younger brother had been so frantic.
The south bank of the Somme River, completely empty just yesterday, now sported two massive walls. Behind them, ten-meter-high Arrow Towers loomed.
The walls were currently only seven meters high, which wasn’t particularly remarkable on the Western Front.
’But this is a river! What’s going on? None of this was here yesterday!’
"What is this?" General Dor’s mind went blank for a second.
His first thought was that the enemy had sent Mages as well.
’But on second thought, that’s impossible! The only reason I, Dor, can build a massive bridge with Mages is because I have several hundred of them!’
’The power of Mages doesn’t scale linearly. The efficiency of a hundred Mages compared to fifty isn’t just double—it’s an exponential increase!’
’Surely the enemy didn’t send all of their Mages over, did they?!’
’That’s not realistic. Are they abandoning their other fronts? What if I spared no expense and launched a full-scale assault with my flying cavalry? They’d suffer a devastating loss, wouldn’t they?’
"What should we do? What’s our plan now?" Aurora asked anxiously.
These walls might only seem to be seven meters high, but their strategic significance was immense. ’You can’t expect a Gray Dwarf in full heavy armor to climb a ladder, can you?’
Now their only option was to rush to build siege engines, but those weren’t easy to construct. And looking at the enemy’s walls, they were probably several meters thick.
"What else can we do? Tell the Mage Corps to hurry it up!
The enemy’s earthen walls haven’t closed the gap yet. Go assemble your infantry legion! Get them to the designated location, ready to attack at a moment’s notice!
And send a few Thunderhawks over there to get a clear picture of the situation!" General Dor commanded.
The enemy’s efficiency was frightening, but their work still required time. The bridge Dor was building spanned a full hundred meters, designed to transport a large number of low-rank troops. It was unrealistic for the humans to completely wall it off in such a short period.
He could only hope to finish the Magic Bridge before the enemy completed their encirclement. Otherwise, General Dor would have no choice but to rely on his lower-ranked races to slowly grind the enemy down.
Victory would still be possible that way, but the cost would be far too high. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"But... is there still time?" Aurora asked doubtfully.
As if in answer to Aurora’s question, another section of wall instantly materialized on the opposite riverbank.
"Just go!" General Dor roared.
...
Spurred on by General Dor, the efficiency of the Beastman Mage Corps noticeably increased.
Perhaps it was also a matter of professional pride. The lordly Mages, their egos pricked, began a silent competition with the humans on the opposite bank. The Gray Dwarf Mage Corps was now trying to outperform them.
The result of this comparison was self-evident.
General Dor remained on the mountain all day, watching as another section of wall would suddenly appear on the opposite bank, followed by an Arrow Tower sprouting from the ground.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t anxious.
In fact, General Dor was more anxious than anyone else.
Once those walls were complete, his plan to swiftly crush the enemy would likely become impossible.
To achieve a swift victory, he would have to rely on his Extraordinary Soldiers. The Gray Dwarves’ Extraordinary units were classic heavy Armored Warriors. ’Have heavy Armored Warriors climb siege ladders?’
Gray Dwarves might be small, but don’t let their short stature fool you; their compact bodies are pure, concentrated strength. Add in armor weighing several hundred pounds, and a single warrior with his gear could easily weigh five or six hundred pounds in total.
The total weight of a Gray Dwarf in his armor was a burden that a siege ladder was never meant to, and absolutely could not, bear.
Meanwhile, progress at Devil City was accelerating. He’d heard that nearly a hundred Priests had been dispatched to specifically support Prince Kase’s operation.
Dor didn’t know what these Priests were for; their mission was so secret that not even his father had any information.
Of course, with an army of his size, Dor had a considerable number of Extraordinary Soldiers. However, in his grand strategy, these very soldiers were the key to his future capture of Thermopylae.
Races with some Extraordinary abilities, like the Wolf Race and the Grassland Wanderers, were troops Dor was counting on for his future assault on Thermopylae.
If he threw them into a meat grinder now, who would be left to follow him later? These were all factors he had to consider. freewebnøvel.com
...
The battlefield was always a race against the clock. Seeing General Dor’s forces pick up the pace, Robson felt the pressure mount, but there was little more he could do.
Robson was already pushing his lordly Mages to their absolute limits. Even Viscount Di Man, after witnessing Robson’s methods, was so amazed that he dispatched his own family’s Mages to assist.
Viscount Di Man’s original plan had simply been to use the elite forces of Sirich City to probe the Beastman Army before it had fully assembled.
After all, the battle would be confined to the two bridges. Between Robson and Viscount Di Man, they had over three hundred Extraordinary Soldiers, not to mention Valentino’s reinforcements waiting in the rear.
They only needed to hold the line for a short time, just long enough to show the common soldiers that the Beastmen weren’t as terrifying as they imagined.
Now, Robson’s actions had given him a new glimmer of hope. Perhaps they really could hold this position for some time.
