novelODS Chapter 408 - 94: A Special Skill to Counter the Divine Gift Ancient Giant Dragon?
Chapter 408 - 94: A Special Skill to Counter the Divine Gift Ancient Giant Dragon?
His Sky Fleet was currently scattered across the continent on garrison duty and could not assemble in an instant.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Qin Feng first had to withdraw all the Ancient Giant Dragons and Royal Dragon Cavalry from their respective defensive zones, have them assemble in the Northern Forest, and then rush to the Northern Territory at full speed. Because of this, the reinforcements would not be able to arrive right away.
Thus, the heavy burden of slowing the enemy’s advance fell upon Arthas. He had to protect the various Sub-human Indigenous People living in the Northern Forest—these unarmed subjects of the Holy Empire could not be caught in the crossfire. Time had to be bought for them to evacuate or take cover before the enemy arrived.
Fortunately, Arthas was far more proactive than expected; he was incredibly swift.
The moment Qin Feng’s command was transmitted through the Undead Contract, Arthas deployed his forces. He started by pulling a group of fierce, death-defying Extraordinary Undead Soldiers from the Undead Legion to form a temporary suicide squad. He had them stationed on the walls of the border fortress, deliberately putting on a show of being heavily defended.
For instance, there was the sharp crack of Bone Blades striking shields and the false Spells chanted by the Lich Demon Mages, all a bluff intended to slow the enemy’s pace of attack.
Meanwhile, Arthas personally led the main force of the Undead Legion, taking with them various Otherworldly Swords and Sabers and other important resources from the border fortress as they retreated at full speed toward the safe zone behind them.
Unfortunately, an enemy foreign player happened to have awakened a Talent Ability similar to "Eagle Eye." Using a faint golden Field of View, he peered straight through the fortress walls and instantly saw through the ruse.
The so-called well-prepared Undead Soldiers were nothing more than a few Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Mages moving back and forth. There wasn’t a single Skeleton Mage or Skeleton Archer to be seen behind the battlements.
"Huh?"
"Interesting!"
"When did they send scouts?"
"To think they’d use such an old trick to stall our attack and buy time for their main Undead Legion to retreat?"
Jack, the one leading the team, frowned and leaned closer, staring at a few circling Iron-beaked Crows in his Field of View. His voice was filled with surprise and suspicion.
"Could it be?"
"These small Demon Beast birds in the sky?"
He paused, the tip of his Magic Staff faintly glowing, but he didn’t attack rashly.
"Can these commonplace creatures really be subdued by Lord Players and turned into Divine Chosen Soldiers?"
As soon as he finished speaking, several other foreign players looked up at the sky, their gazes fixed on the seemingly ordinary Demon Beast birds. They had clearly also realized that these inconspicuous Extraordinary Magical Beasts were likely the enemy’s "eyes" for real-time battlefield surveillance.
Another player from the Eagle Country, clad in Dark Gold Armor and responsible for overall command, rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. His tone was steady, yet carried an undeniable authority.
"Never mind those birds."
His gaze swept over the crowd as he pointed toward the silhouette of the Northern Territory’s fortress in the distance.
"We never intended to be stealthy from the start. The whole point was to use this overwhelming show of force to pressure that player named Tingfeng."
He paused, a confident smirk playing on his lips.
"It seems to be working. The enemy is already afraid of our Eagle Country coalition, which is why they’re resorting to this empty-fort bluff to stall for time."
Finally, he abruptly drew his sword, pointing the blade toward the fortress as his voice rose sharply.
"Charge! Take this northern fortress! Rip through their defensive line! Then we’ll slowly deal with this so-called Player Kingdom!"
"Victory... belongs to the great players of the Eagle Country!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Eagle Country coalition surged toward the distant Northern Territory fortress like a tidal wave.
On the ground, Epic Level infantry in Heavy Armor formed dense phalanxes, smashing Enchanted Siege Hammers against the city gates. The tremendous BOOM of the Warhammers striking the bronze doors made the very ground tremble.
Extraordinary Shield Soldiers raised their Tower Shields to protect the formation, covering the Mages behind them as they unleashed fire and Frost Magic upon the walls, trying to blast open a breach.
In the air, the Griffin Knights directly employed the "One-Strike Evasion" tactic of the Royal Dragon Cavalry. As a Griffin swept past the wall with a beat of its wings, its Knight would lean down and throw out a barbed chain, snaring an Extraordinary Skeleton Warrior on the wall and dragging it off to plummet to the ground.
Others would raise their Riding Spears and precisely pierce the core of a skeleton’s Soul Fire.
Some Griffin Knights even dove directly, their Griffins’ sharp talons shredding any Skeleton Mages that tried to fight back.
The entire battlefield was instantly filled with battle cries, the CRACK of shattering bones, and the shrieks of Griffins. The Northern Territory fortress’s bluff was crumbling under the absolute suppression of overwhelming military power.
In just fifteen minutes, the Undead Soldiers tasked with delaying the enemy had been slaughtered to the last. The remains of Skeleton Warriors piled up on the walls, the Soul Fires of the Skeleton Mages were extinguished by the Riding Spears of the Griffin Knights, and even the hastily placed Undead traps were completely cleansed by the enemy Magic Masters’ Purification Magic.
With a final, tremendous CRASH as the gates shattered, the massive border fortress—meticulously prepared and built over several months for the "Plane War"—was finally breached by the enemy. It became the foreign players’ only spoil of war in this battle.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed player, a Knight, was also the supreme commander of this Eagle Country army.
He rested a hand on the grip of his spear, the Griffin emblem on his silver armor giving off a cold glint in the fortress’s dim light. His gaze swept over the empty, silent hall, not missing even the scattered bone fragments in the corners. Then, his voice deep and steady with the calm of a commander in complete control, he spoke.
"Jack."
"That Undead Legion hasn’t been retreating for long."
"They can’t have gotten far."
"Take the entire Holy Knight Order and pursue them. Their Power of Holy Flame is a counter to Undead Creatures. Make sure you eliminate every last one of those troublesome members of the Undead Legion."
Then, he turned to the other players and pointed toward the high ground surrounding the fortress.
"Everyone else, use this fortress as a base. Set up defensive lines and build defensive towers while you begin construction on a Teleportation Gate."
"Once the Teleportation Gate is built, we can have our alliance members from other areas teleport here to reinforce us at any time."
Hearing this, Jack gripped his Magic Staff tightly, his brows furrowing in clear impatience.
"What!"
"John!"
"Do you really have to be so cautious?"
He pointed out past the Northern Territory fortress toward the Ice Plain, his voice rising.
"Why are we building defensive lines and towers?"
"Let’s just take the main force and steamroll them! We find that guy ’Tingfeng,’ kill him, flatten his Lord’s Hall, and this war is over, isn’t it?"
John shot Jack a cold glance. Beneath the silver helmet, his eyes were as sharp as ice. His tone was utterly flat, yet it carried an authority that brooked no argument.
"There’s no harm in being cautious."
He paused, his gaze falling to Jack’s hand clenched around his Magic Staff, and his words took on a cautionary tone.
"You’re too reckless, always charging ahead just because you’re strong. One of these days, that impatience is going to be your downfall."
As soon as he said it, John changed the subject, no longer bothering to argue with him.
"Hmm."
"Forget it."
"The mission to pursue the Undead Legion."
"Someone else will go."
He stared at Jack, his tone firm and unyielding.
"You’ll just stay by my side and stop causing trouble for us by acting on your own."
Jack pouted and snorted resentfully through his nose.
"Hmph!"
"Fine, I won’t go!"
His hand tightened and relaxed on his Magic Staff, but he remained defiant, speaking as if he were giving up the task by choice rather than being reined in.
"It’s just a bunch of Undead Soldiers. I wasn’t interested in wasting my time on them anyway!"
As he spoke, his voice rose, his eyes filled with a craving for more powerful opponents.
"If we’re going to fight, let’s go straight for those Divine-Gifted Ancient Giant Dragons! A fight with them would actually be exciting!"
"You can’t stop me from destroying powerful enemies like them!"
"Do you hear me?"
"John?"
At his words, John’s tone remained flat and emotionless, but he expertly picked up on Jack’s challenge.
"Fine."
He looked up at the sky over the Northern Territory beyond the fortress, as if he could already foresee the fierce battle to come.
"I’m guessing."
"The enemy is probably gathering those Divine-Gifted Ancient Giant Dragons right now."
"They’ll send them to reinforce the Undead Legion here."
"To prevent such a powerful elite force from being completely wiped out by us."
After a slight pause, John began to issue clear, forceful tactical commands.
"Jack."
"When they arrive to reinforce."
"You’ll execute the Beheading tactic we rehearsed. First, have the sky units use Control Magic to lock down all the Ancient Giant Dragons. Then, use the Capture Net Skills of those ’special units’ to drag them down to the ground."
"Finally, organize everyone to focus fire. You must destroy the Divine-Gifted Ancient Giant Dragons immediately. Don’t give them a chance to use their Talents and skills for rapid Healing!"
"Remember!"
"Don’t get too cocky!"
"Otherwise, if you cause us to lose a significant number of our Extraordinary Level special units and Flying Units, I’m leaving you behind next time, no matter what we’re doing!"