Mosna became a Forge General just for fun. If you really want to see things get made, you've got to hand it to us halflings!

The Maginot Line had been fighting since the afternoon. After the high-intensity combat died down, wave after wave of low-intensity probing attacks followed. The fighting continued on and off until midnight, when the battlefield finally fell quiet.

It wasn't that the bugs had been scared off. They had simply lost all the cannon fodder they'd used in this stage of the attack.

But had the Transian defenders won?

Not at all.

"A tactical victory can't hide the fact that we're on the back foot strategically!"

In a bunker on the front line of the Maginot Line, Lord Qin tossed a report from the Avalon Church onto the table and said:

"Number One Hive in the Filthy Swamp kept expanding while the battle raged on the front line! According to the Witch Hunter's reconnaissance, as of an hour ago, that hive had grown to the size of a town. More importantly, that damned place is connected underground to the tunnel system we left behind during the last Black Calamity.

"The armed kobolds under Ambassador Nash carried out a reconnaissance sweep of the tunnels, and the results were disappointing.

"Judging by the kobold casualties, we can basically conclude that while the swarm's cannon fodder was being wiped out, it had already begun breeding its second wave of troops! No more cannon-fodder worker bugs, but more soldier bugs, more fliers, and more elite bugs!

"Based on the hive's current size, once it finishes breeding, the pressure on the Maginot Line will be at least three times greater than during this battle."

"But it's still within our ability to handle."

Maxim shook his head.

"With the soldiers from Cadman City joining our ranks and more and more outsiders arriving, holding the line won't be a problem. The real trouble is that the fliers can