The operation plan, codenamed "Victory Hammer," was extremely simple, almost slapdash.
But it proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
The new players were afraid the dev team would hotfix the "stat bug" they had just discovered, so they were extremely eager. They could hardly wait to fly from Shadowvale to the gnoll encampment that very night and start slaughtering everything in sight.
The veteran players weren't concerned with honor points or equipment. They were already focused on the defenses at Blackflame Pass and the progress of the war.
The Gnoll Cleaving Claw Clan was undoubtedly mobilizing its forces, and the number of gnolls around their encampment grew every day. The veteran players weren't the sort to sit around and wait for death. They needed a clean, decisive victory to deal a heavy blow to the gnolls' morale and gain an advantage before the real war broke out.
As for the NPCs...
They were indeed a little flustered by this sudden operation plan. But because Maxim had kept the People's Army constantly drilling in Shadowvale, its organization remained excellent, so the monster general was able to mobilize the troops with great efficiency.
The only problem was that, as expected, the Brass Dwarf artillery at Blackflame Pass refused to take part.
They believed the Transians' reckless operation had less than a one-in-ten chance of success. But that didn't matter much. The Goldenbough Vanguard made up for the lack of firepower, and Lord Heather had indeed prepared sixty dwarf field guns for them.
These small-caliber cannons were mounted on mobile gun carriages. Pulled by los beasts, they could be moved quickly. Combined with the Transians' special "Iron Tube Boys" unit, this meant that Commander Qin finally had his first organized firepower group, just three hours before the operation began.
That was excellent news.
But commanders always