Counterattack Phase
Two hours after the seal on the Scarab Wall was broken, the allied forces' forward positions were breached. For over ten minutes, the entire rear and front lines unleashed a barrage of fire: over a thousand muskets, over two thousand hardwood bows, plus one hundred and one tanks, and over three hundred Shaman. Not counting the five Incendiary Bomb, this nearly wiped out no fewer than fifty thousand insectoids.
Within a radius of several miles in the desert, the corpses of the insectoids had formed a solid layer. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the insectoids did not retreat. They continued to charge the allied positions, using their bodies to exhaust the allied forces' arrows and bullets.
As the battle intensified, the desert sun began to sag, the Goblins had already used up seven or eight tenths of their bullets, and the tanks' firepower was dwindling. Zul'ra ordered an emergency transport of bullets and shells from the rear, and fortunately, he had stored a considerable amount of ammunition there.
Besides the wear and tear on the tanks and the consumption of bullets, the arms and wrists of the Kaldorei archers were also under pressure, while the insectoids never stopped. Seeing this situation, Zul'ra could only slowly reduce the supply of firepower and then let the infantry and spellcasters in the back take over.
With the ranged firepower subsiding, the infantry, aided by Priest, Shaman, witch doctors, and Witch Doctor Druid, engaged in melee combat. However, their firepower was far less effective than concentrated fire, merely holding the insectoids back outside the battle line. Some musketeers and archers were able to rest, and a few tanks took the opportunity to cool down and replace parts.
"Tell the dragon to lay out ten Incendiary Bomb in a line on the ground 1,500 meters away and throw them at the targets that stand out." Zul'ra ordered the dragon to be summoned again while the infantry were holding off the swarm of insects.
Six red, two green, one yellow, and one blue dragons responded to Zul'ra's call and flew down from the sky again. Soon, flames splashing from the sea of insects inside and outside formed a wall of fire, and flames also swept in from the sky, forming a swirling vortex of fire that strangled countless wasps in the sky.
The Incendiary Bomb and fire whirlwinds drove the swarm into a frenzy once more, and Zul'ra gave the order to break up the battle lines and engage in skirmish warfare.
Across the entire desert, human infantry and insectoids were locked in a fierce battle. The lethality of the infantry began to rise sharply. With their enhanced abilities, human infantry could easily take down a single Stinger. However, the battlefield was never a one-man show, and the number of infantry casualties began to increase dramatically.
The close-quarters combat lasted for more than half an hour. The infantrymen, at the cost of more than a thousand deaths and more than six thousand injuries, also killed about thirty to forty thousand insectoids. Of course, this was after the large gladiators, Anubisath, male tail scorpions, and healers were instantly killed by tanks and Druid. In the distance, Incendiary Bomb and fire walls blocked the surging insect horde.
After a rest of more than half an hour, with the help of Incendiary Bomb and infantry blocking their way in the distance, the archers and musketeers regained some strength and replenished their ammunition. They began to kill the insect swarm again at the front line, while the infantry took the opportunity to retreat and re-form their ranks, and the tanks took turns going into battle.
Zul'ra flew into the sky again, looking at the seemingly endless Scarab Wall in the distance, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. Just as he was having this headache, three red fireworks lit up in the western sky. This was Bolvar's signal to launch an attack, and he was about to coordinate.
"We need to prepare for a general offensive. Call upon the dragons. Ten Incendiary Bomb: five three thousand meters ahead, and five in the densely populated swarm area inside the Scarab Wall. Keep the bombs aimed at the target area. Do not bomb roads. And send me another dragon messenger." Zul'ra calculated the time, looked at the reorganized infantry formation behind him, and gave the order to the messenger. Bolvar was determined to attack, and he couldn't stop him; he could only cooperate.
In no time, eleven giant dragons of four colors—red, yellow, green, and blue—flew overhead. The conspicuous blue dragon flew down alone, landed beside Zul'ra, and transformed into human form; it was Tarecgosa.
"Twice." Zul'ra looked at Tarecgosa in human form and held up two fingers. The Blue Dragonflight girl grinned as she flew over Zul'ra's head twice with a bomb in her hand.
"I'll settle the score with you later. Fly up into the sky, watch the flames rise from behind the Scarab Wall in the distance, and let out a dragon's roar to tell me." Zul'ra made Tarecgosa transform back into a dragon and take to the air, helping him keep an eye on the bombing behind the Scarab Wall in the distance.
"Roar!" About four minutes later, Tarecgosa let out a dragon's roar. Zul'ra personally sent a green signal into the sky and then shouted to the messenger.
"With tanks as the vanguard, advance across the board and launch a counterattack. Watch out for the sand beneath your feet, and beware of those dead bugs. Victory is ours!"
"With tanks as the vanguard, advance along the entire front and launch a counterattack. Watch out for the sand beneath your feet, and beware of those dead insects. Victory is ours!" The messenger repeated Zul'ra's orders over and over, and the entire formation began to roll forward.
"For Kalimdor!" Amidst the Kaldorei's excited shouts, the Dwarves' tanks, now cooled and restored, assembled into formation, spitting out shells with a thud, primarily targeting the obsidian Constructs Anubisath, before accelerating forward. Musketeers and archers, using the tanks as cover, followed behind, shooting Charge the charging insectoids.
Although the Dwarves tanks didn't look like they were made of very poor materials, they were powerful enough to deal with the insectoid swarms. After clearing out the insectoid gladiators and the Constructs Anubisath, they simply crushed the Stinger. One hundred and one tanks carved out roads through the insectoid sea.
Archers and musketeers followed behind the tanks, relentlessly shooting down any Stinger. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves, but they soon discovered that this thrill came and went quickly.
First, there were the Goblins musketeers, because their legs were too short to keep up with the tanks. Second were the Kaldorei archers, who could keep up with the tanks, but the problem was that the Dwarves tanks weren't very reliable and couldn't keep up with them.
Although the Dwarves tanks were quite powerful, rampaging through the enemy lines after the threat of gladiators and Anubisath was removed, the terrain still limited their capabilities. By the time they had broken through half the battle line, more than half of the hundred-plus tanks had broken down, and the remaining half broke down on two-thirds of the way. In the end, none of them were able to break through the battle line, but this was still considered a good result.
Downed tanks are practically useless; archers can no longer use them as cover and have to protect them instead. And when trapped in enemy lines, surrounded by hordes of insectoid creatures, they struggle to protect not only the tanks but also themselves.
Fortunately, the Incendiary Bomb destroyed the insectoids' command system, and the infantry behind them rushed over to protect them at Zul'ra's command. In addition, the Scarab Wall had been cut off by the cavalry from both flanks. Otherwise, these insectoids would have been able to devour everyone and the tanks without leaving a trace.