Ordered to Build a 'Local Force'

"That mission... sounds pretty interesting." Feng Xiao didn't give his opinion, but Wang Hao said excitedly,

[Military Mission: Lead the military's regular fleet in helping the humans of K180 defend the Eastern Front. The mission will be considered complete once the defenses have been stabilized.

Note: Use the name 'Alchemy Alliance' and pose as a hidden local human force to complete the mission.

Reward: 10 military merits (can be exchanged for high-quality Star Weapons or rare resources)]

A war commission!

Never mind how rare the mission was. The thrill it promised was enough to stir the adventurous spirit inside Feng Xiao.

An adventurer...

They pursued endless mystery and the thrilling rush of burning hormones.

"I'll take it!" Feng Xiao replied at once.

His voice brimmed with anticipation.

He quickly got into the role and began studying the layout of the Eastern Front. Before long, he was frowning.

Wasn't the disparity between the two sides a little too great?

K180—in other words, the Autses Continent—was vast, yet all the races combined occupied only about one percent of its land.

The rest was endless forest and wasteland ruled by magical beasts, full of danger.

Within the lands inhabited by intelligent races, the human race's territory wasn't as extensive as one might imagine. The Eastern Front was only a thousand kilometers long...

More precisely, the area where large armies armed with conventional weapons could maneuver and fight was only about a thousand kilometers wide.

Everywhere else was either a range of sheer mountains, a bottomless canyon, or a terrifying wasteland filled with endless swamps and poisonous creatures.

In short, forget fighting in those other regions. Before the two armies could even meet, each would likely lose nearly half its forces.

With ancient technology, even a severe cold could kill a pile of people, unless they were lucky enough to find one of the few potion masters or alchemists.

Yet it was precisely this advantageous terrain that allowed humanity to defend the resource-rich Central Plains at relatively little cost.

Across the thousand-kilometer stretch of Gobi Desert along the Eastern Front, dozens of enchanted fortification walls and strongholds of varying lengths crisscrossed the landscape.

They sealed off the entire desert, leaving no gaps.

There were even more than twenty fortified frontier cities built specifically for the defense line!

War fortresses were scattered across the front like stars, and every one of them was equipped with powerful magic-energy weapons and alchemical creations!

The garrison stationed there year-round numbered a full ten million!

But now, the Eastern Front—the strongest shield protecting humanity, which had held back the Orc Empire for centuries—was facing its greatest crisis yet!

The twelve great Orc super-tribes had united with countless large and medium-sized tribes. Their vast armies of Orcs rode countless giant war beasts and poured in without end from the boundless grasslands.

Among them were countless super-giants, each as massive as a mountain—the Behemoth War Beasts!

Hundreds of millions of Orc soldiers!

Even the lowest-ranking troops were Gnolls, while the armies of Tiger-Lion Men, the Orcs' elite warriors, and Elephant Men and Rhino Men numbered in the millions.

There were countless kinds of Orcs, strange and varied, yet all formidable.

The Eagle Men and Bat Men packed the skies like dark clouds, blotting out the sun over vast stretches of land.

Boundless life energy mingled together as a dense, murderous aura surged into the heavens!

Humanity's defenses were just as formidable. Soldiers in fine armor stood atop the walls, their bright silver sheen stretching for hundreds of kilometers!

Hundreds of knight orders, each clad in different armor and radiating a powerful aura, patrolled the area, killing every creature that wasn't human.

In addition, tens of thousands of linked cannons stood at various positions, while thousands of floating warships hovered proudly in the sky. Five hundred thousand Griffin Knights circled around the alchemical and magical warships.

Along with the countless walls towering a hundred meters high, the sealed fortresses thousands of meters in diameter, and the millions of archers and greatsword-wielding soldiers stationed throughout the front, the defenses were formidable.

The army of professionals was also ready for battle, their energy fluctuations blanketing the surrounding area.

Humanity's morale was in no way inferior to the Orcs'!

But only those involved knew the truth. Humanity's overall army was stronger than the Orcs', but its professionals and elite forces were far weaker.

If humanity's professionals were defeated before its armies won the battle, they would then have to face the Orc professional legions, whose numbers would have reached a critical mass.

The armies would be powerless to resist!

Humanity's calculations put the odds of this happening at over seventy percent. The professionals were all but certain to lose!

The Orcs had five times as many professionals, and their elites were, on average, three minor realms stronger...

Humanity had no choice but to prepare for the worst.

"Commander Atel, one hundred and seventy thousand professionals have assembled. Of those, ten thousand mages have been assigned to the various fortresses as ranged support.

"There are roughly thirty thousand assassins, priests, and support specialists. Thirteen thousand can fight on the front lines. I have to say, we're vastly outnumbered by the Orcs..."

At the top of a massive fortress near the front line, a middle-aged general in white-and-gold armor nodded.

"I understand. The Eastern Front has now gathered eighty percent of the elite troops from the three empires, sixty percent of the mid- and high-level professionals, and every knight order!

"Even against the Orcs, who have every citizen in arms, we have nothing to fear!"

The Saint-rank mage who had just delivered the report nodded repeatedly. Feng Xiao and the others could tell that his individual strength was at level 30–40.

He knew the commander had said this mainly to bolster the morale of the thousand officers standing behind him.

The commander understood the real situation better than he did.

"The battle will begin soon. All officers, report to your posts immediately. This war will probably last several years. Prepare your wills in advance."

The commander didn't turn around as he spoke. It was hard to tell whether the last sentence was meant for the officers or himself.

"Besides the imperial armies and the many kingdoms sending reinforcements, quite a few hidden groups of professionals have also come to support us. They're still gathering.

"But they'll probably add no more than five thousand professionals at most. After all, anyone qualified to take part in a war between professionals must be at least sixth rank!" The mage thought of the many independent professionals who had recently joined them and offered the reminder.

"Good of them to come help..." Commander Atel was just about to continue when...

A brilliant light shone down from the sky. An overwhelmingly powerful energy erupted without restraint, and its immense pressure blanketed the surrounding area, making nearly every professional's face change drastically.

An energy fluctuation far beyond Saint rank!

"Alert! Alert!"

"Anti-aircraft towers, stay ready! The energy fluctuation is coming from the sky!"

"..."

Dozens of nearby strongholds and countless fortresses swiftly went on high alert. Even farther away, human armies began to stir.

One after another, alchemical cannons and massive magic-energy cannons raised their thick barrels and aimed at the sky.

Everyone was seized by panic. Even the commander, whose strength far surpassed Saint rank, couldn't help tightening his grip on his sword.

More than two hundred enormous steel constructs, each at least two thousand meters long, descended slowly. Their sleek, gleaming hulls radiated boundless energy.

Some were five or six thousand meters long, or even ten to twenty thousand meters, terrifying creations like mountain ranges!

They blotted out the sky!

The commander could sense that every one of those terrifying constructs posed a deadly threat to him.

Some even made him feel utterly powerless.

"Just what race could possibly have so many alchemy masters, or even alchemy grandmasters..."

The Saint-rank mage spoke with difficulty.

But in the next instant, a golden streak of light, brilliant as the sun, shot out at incredible speed from the most distinctive of the constructs and hovered above the massive fortress.

The intense golden light gradually faded, revealing Feng Xiao. With his Divine Sense amplifying him, he looked like a god.

His gaze was indifferent, divinity filling the skies!

"I am the current Executor of the Alchemy Alliance. I have come to crush the Orcs!"