Mother of All Bombs Warning

In a map room, only Hong San and Kang De were present.

The language of the Cathayan contains a dangerous undertone of blood and fire.

Even though the city defense was successful the day before, and the elves' powerful tactics were dismantled one by one, forcing them to retreat, the threat posed by the elves has not diminished. In fact, it could be said that they have not been significantly weakened or thwarted.

"Elves have extremely strong pride. After this setback, they will surely come back stronger and fight even more fiercely."

Hong San said in a deep voice, "During the recent defense of the city, although the elves suffered heavy losses, the humans lost even more, and these were the backbone of the city. Only the strongest and most resilient soldiers could fight the elite elven troops head-on, which weakened the city's military strength."

"Mayor Nick wouldn't tell me the exact number of casualties, but from my observation, the exchange ratio was quite poor. Although the elves also suffered losses, their overall combat skills were extremely high. The next wave of siege soldiers will not be weakened at all; on the contrary, they will be even stronger because they are eager to avenge their defeat."

Kang De nodded slowly.

A single victory does not equate to a complete victory, especially a Pyrrhic one.

Even with the addition of the Greenskins and Iron Son, their numbers are still too small to be considered significant in a battle involving tens of thousands of enemies... Danger still exists.

Or rather, it's even more dangerous.

Kang De said, "You say the elves will attack the city at all costs?"

"Yes."

Hong San replied, "Because they haven't made a move since last night, it means the opposing commander has given up all tactics and schemes."

"The previous two sieges, one a cavalry raid and the other a wooden golem assault on the wall, were both surprise attacks, employing cunning tactics. If successful, they could have quickly captured the city with minimal casualties. This reflects the mindset of the opposing commander—he craves quick success to gain his superiors' appreciation and reward, but he also wants to minimize casualties and preserve his strength as much as possible. Typical Elven thinking, overthinking and calculating."

"But he failed, and failed twice in a row, wasting time, consuming resources, and suffering considerable casualties. More importantly, the reasons for his defeats were strikingly similar in both instances: the earthen ramparts constructed by the mages vanished instantly, preventing the cavalry from quickly charging up the city walls; of the wooden golems he had awakened at great cost, two were destroyed by artillery fire, and three simply disintegrated out of thin air. If the enemy wasn't stupid, they would definitely have figured something out."

Kang De thought for a moment and said, "You said that in continental wars, magic comes first, but Valentan, relying on its city walls, and the Goth Mage Corps, are more than capable of protecting themselves. The elves only have one path to take."

Hong San replied, "Yes, since ancient times, the core of attacking and defending a city has always been the city walls. We can use magic to break down the gates, dig underground to break into the city, or use trickery to lure them in. If none of these three methods work, then there are only two options."

"Firstly, we could surround and besiege them, but given the Dusk Warband's urgency in attacking the city, they must have received orders and wouldn't waste time like that. So, the only option left is to swarm them..."

As he said this, a look of helplessness appeared on his face. Facing a strong opponent is the tragedy of all defenders. The opponent's tactics are ever-changing, while one's own side can only respond passively, which is extremely frustrating.

"I had a suspicion last night, and the elves have remained completely silent since then. They must have given up all hope and are intensifying their preparations, waiting for everything to be perfect before launching a full-scale attack, no matter the cost."

This means the intensity of the battle will escalate rapidly, and the fighting will be even more brutal than that day. Neither the attacking nor the defending side will like such a battle, but war is war.

Hong San said solemnly, "Master, if it really comes to that, I have no other choice. The elves, after summarizing the reasons for the defeat the other day, will definitely prevent a similar situation from happening again. Since your skills can easily dismantle siege climbing equipment, there is only one way to deal with it... that is to overwhelm you with sheer numbers."

"They're still holed up in camp, not showing themselves; they're definitely preparing for this."

After he finished speaking, the Cathayan stared at Kang De with anticipation in their eyes.

The simplest and most direct methods are often the most terrifying. The elves are the dominant world powers, with unparalleled magical skills and a mastery of warfare. So when the elves discard their ingenious tactics and powerful combat systems and launch an attack using the most primitive, direct, and violent methods, Hong San has no choice but to comply.

Therefore, he could only hope that Kang De would use his invincible art of explosion to find a solution.

Kang De thought for a moment and asked, "Even if they keep at it for a long time, they won't be able to make any more wooden puppets, will they?"

"Of course not," Hong San replied. "Making five ladders in one night has already drained many mages' mana. If they continue like this, they won't even have enough spellcasters. Besides, they don't need mages' help. The engineering corps can build ladder trucks, and if the elven commander is even more ruthless, they might even mass-produce simpler, heavy ladders..."

Kang De frowned.

If hundreds of siege ladders and heavy ladders were deployed together, and the elven troops charged forward, even if he possessed the Extraction ability capable of disintegrating everything, it would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

But...

"If it's just this kind of trick, it's not that difficult."

He patted Hong San on the shoulder and looked out the window.

The air above the neighboring green-skinned military factory echoed with a spirited green folk song, "We're here, singing and roaring, the Big Mek has everything, we eat, we don't need to sleep, even pooping isn't tiring at all..."

Hong San opened his mouth. "This..."

Kang De smiled meaningfully, "It seems our poop-producing officials are very enthusiastic about their work."

It has to be said that these green-skinned people are incredibly fun, and they even have extremely high musical talent. After listening to heavy metal for half the night, they have now learned by analogy and started to create impromptu pieces.

Green-skinned rap, it's fucking fantastical.

But this is clearly not a problem.

Although it was very noisy, and the noise lasted all night until dawn, the volume was extremely loud and disturbed the peace. On Earth, one would have to bury their mother on the same day and then fly away again. But this was another world, and there was a war going on. Even if the noise disturbed the neighbors, they could only ask them to bear with it. Being unable to sleep because of the noise, they were still alive.

It's better than the city falling and being cut down by the elves.

There is a causal relationship between the two. The more enthusiastically the Greenskins sing, the more intense their physiological activities become, the faster they digest, produce, and work. This results in the production of more gunpowder, which, although unreliable, is very powerful. This gunpowder will eventually become powerful weapons to defend against the elves.

So despite the argument, Kang De held back, out of respect for the fact that although the orcs were singing enthusiastically, they hadn't neglected their work at all... Otherwise, he would have certainly shown these orcs how human capitalists from hundreds of years ago suppressed workers.

"If it's just a considerable number of siege ladders, dealing with them shouldn't be too difficult. It's just a pity we don't know the specific parameters or how sturdy their siege engines are... but really, it's not a big deal."

Last night I was discussing with my Iron Son how to further process the green-skinned gunpowder we produced into powerful weapons, but given the current situation, there aren't many options.

If the elves produce a large number of siege engines like ladder trucks in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers, then the greenskins' weapons can only be used specifically against them.

After all, the number of greenskins is limited. Even if they were raised like pigs, they wouldn't be able to produce much gunpowder. The weapons they make can only be used to destroy siege ladders and relieve the pressure on the mage corps.

He said to Hong San, "If this is all we have, it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. The longer the elves drag this out, the more advantageous it will be for us. If we hold out for a few more days, the Gladiolus Legion will arrive."

A hint of worry flashed in Hong San's eyes. Due to his nature, he always considered the worst-case scenario when thinking about problems... But he didn't voice his concerns; what good would it do to?

Besides this, he had other issues that concerned him even more.

"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask a question..."

As he spoke, his face turned a little green, and his stomach began to churn.

Last night's experience was truly shocking.

Well, he deeply admired and revered the great physician who discovered that substances like Night-Shining Sand, Moon-Gazing Sand, White Lilac, and Five-Tongue Floss could be used in medicine. That's why he was considered a medical sage; Hong San, on the other hand, was just a lowly weed, incapable of possessing such noble sentiments, especially since he was a green-skinned...

Luckily, I only smelled it last night and didn't lick it...

But as expected, I still care a lot.

He tentatively asked, "Sir, you're keeping those green sardines there, feeding them well, are you going to collect their... things to make that... thing called gunpowder?"

Kang De frowned and said, "What do you mean by 'circle'? They have freedom, they can listen to music, and they get paid. Even if they work all night, it's voluntary. They're happy, they're lucky in their past lives, they're working hard for the company. What are you saying? It's as if they're pigs I'm raising. Your thinking is dangerous."

Hong San thought he had offended Kang De and was about to kneel down to apologize, but upon hearing these words, he could only nod repeatedly in agreement. He secretly glanced at Kang De's expression and saw no displeasure or murderous intent, so he was secretly relieved.

After pointing out the inconsistency in the other person's words, Kang De continued, "Yes, it's just a temporary measure. I also find this approach rather disgusting and psychologically unacceptable, but with the besieged city and the urgent situation, we can't worry about that now... Anyway, I can't use it, and I'm not the one who's going to blow it up."

To everyone's surprise, Hong San replied seriously, "What are you saying, sir? War isn't about romance; it's bloody, filled with the stench of rotten blood and limbs. When you cut open someone's stomach, intestines and undigested food spill out—doesn't it stink? Yes, it does. But when you're fighting for your life, who cares about that?"

"War is the most terrible and filthy thing in the world. In the heat, corpses attract mosquitoes and flies within half a day, and rotting flesh breeds maggots. In the urgency of war, rotting corpses are left uncollected, oozing green sap, softening and decaying—how disgusting! But you get used to it. A qualified soldier doesn't care about this; he often looks at it without batting an eye. In the end, that's what war is like: no glory, no elegance, only hysteria and ruthlessness."

Hong San sneered, "I'm afraid you don't know, sir. In ancient times, when elves fought against other races, they would insert arrows into excrement, causing the wounds of those hit to fester and never heal, leaving them only to wail and die. This method was adopted by other races and has been passed down to this day. It was all the elves who started this bad practice."

"As for why the elves later abandoned it, it wasn't because they found it dirty and crude, but because magic had advanced. Druids cultivated more effective poisonous plants and obtained large amounts of venom to provide standardized poisoned arrows, making the power of poisoned arrows more standardized and stable, so that soldiers wouldn't have to waste time searching for dung heaps."

"As for now, they don't even use poisoned arrowheads anymore. On the surface, the elves claim to uphold honor and justice by not poisoning their weapons, but in reality, it's due to advancements in their forging technology and structural mechanics that they've redesigned their combat arrowheads. One arrow is enough to render the enemy incapable of fighting, even if they don't die. This makes them wail as they consume rations and demoralize, which is more efficient than quickly poisoning them and allows them to occupy the moral high ground."

"So, sir, it's quite normal. We used to pour molten gold on people back home too. We don't use it here, not because they find it disgusting, but because we have mages. It would be terrible if the pot for boiling the molten gold were blown up by magic. And if the poured-in molten gold were manipulated by water-based mages to flow back, that would be equally disastrous... so we dare not use it."

Kang De's expression grew increasingly subtle.

First came the thought, "Wow, people from other worlds do this too. It seems the essence of intelligent beings is the same." Then came an extremely strange feeling. "... Why are you telling me this?"

Hong San said sincerely, "I think you're still holding back, sir. War is dangerous and requires any means necessary. Leading the enemy into a trap and stabbing them to death is no different from leading them into a cesspool and drowning them. My master also said that battles should be adapted to the situation, not bound by formalities, but only for the result..."

Kang De, upon hearing this, retorted angrily, "What do you mean? What do you mean by 'not letting go'? I've killed, hacked, and blown up countless elves these past few days; I've been so ruthless and decisive. How could I not be letting go? I didn't expect you, Hong San, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be looking forward to such disgusting things. Do you want me to bring a fire truck over, fill it with excrement and urine, and then spray it out of the city with a high-pressure hose?"

Hong San barely grasped Kang De's meaning, and the thought of that scene sent a chill down his spine.

Then he quickly denied it, saying, "Of course not! The elves won't run away from the stench. They've fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; they've smelled everything. This method will only enrage them. Besides, they have a mage corps, and they might even retaliate in kind. What should we do? Don't forget, besides their large number of soldiers, they also raise a huge herd of livestock and can even control animals. What if the two sides start fighting like this..."

Kang De shuddered. "... Then why are you asking this?"

Hong San gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and said, "I would like to ask, is it permissible to use the grains and other substances that humans consume in their natural cycles?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he knelt down with a thud—mainly because this matter was too taboo. Hong San spoke very quickly, "Don't worry, sir. You know what kind of person I am. Even if I knew this big secret, I wouldn't spread it anywhere. I just..."

Kang De frowned and said, "Get up."

Hong San immediately got up.

"Humans can't use it, I've asked around," Kang De said. "It's strange that even the greenskins can use it; perhaps it's due to their racial characteristics, or some other reason..."

Hong San nodded repeatedly, sweat already beading on his skin. After much hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Sir, if I may be so bold as to say it again, we absolutely must get our hands on those green-skinned creatures, and even these green-skinned creatures must be absolutely reliable. Otherwise, it would be better to..."

"Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking. Thank you for your concern, but don't worry."

Kang De said, "For now, let's not think about anything else. Defending the city is the most important thing. Your task is to continue thinking and deducing what other methods the elves might use against us. As for me..."

Just then, he touched his stomach, frowned, and said, "I need to go to the restroom."

Humans have three urgent needs.

Master Kang's toilet was naturally a luxury reserved for Vidal, the outhouse of important figures. Although not as convenient as in modern society, it was still quite clean and tidy, even with windows for ventilation. It is said that this was a fashion trend that came from the elves. From this point of view, the elves did a good thing.

After finishing, Kang De pushed open the door and went out. These things were naturally taken care of by someone else. What a decadent feudal life... He sighed as he left. If there was no war today, then he would have to continue processing weapons.

What Kang De didn't know was that after he left, a large head peeked out from the wall of the distant munitions factory, looking towards the Vidal Chamber of Commerce.

The workshop director and chief excrement producer of the munitions factory, the gunsmith, accomplished a feat worthy of being recorded in history last night: after some processing, he mixed the orc excrement with other materials and turned it into powerful green-skinned gunpowder. It can be said that he ushered in the era of firearms.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the toilet's ventilation window, on that small room—the place where the sacred and great prophetic son of the orc race had fought. If green-skinned excrement could be processed into such a powerful and formidable weapon, then...

Bang Bang, the gunsmith muttered, "I was thinking..."

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PS1: I must rise up! Two chapters tomorrow!