After skirting the densely packed reefs, Donny finally caught sight of the eastern coast of the Northern Borderlands. Though cliffs lined the shore, he was not without a solution.
He had just received the latest intelligence: the northern army had successfully crossed the Far North Coast. They had paid a considerable price, but to him, making it over the gentle slopes and onto the Northern Borderlands Plain meant they were already halfway to success.
After all, their vanguard's mission was to push into the interior of the Northern Borderlands. Although the report said the two sides had entered a standoff on the small plain there, wasn't that exactly what he had expected?
Indeed, Donny knew perfectly well that the Northern Borderlands Plain was a vital defensive line for the enemy. According to their intelligence, the enemy's advantage lay in long-range attacks.
There was no way the enemy would abandon the geographical advantage of the Northern Borderlands Plain. His job, then, was to attack their forces on the plain from the east, or circle behind them and launch a surprise attack on their headquarters in the Monster Forest. He would try to break through the plain's defensive line before His Majesty the Merfolk King arrived and push farther into the interior.
That called for a brief explanation of the Northern Borderlands' geography. To the south lay the highest mountain range on the Keynes Continent, the Besthear Mountains. There was one and only one route south: the Besthear Grand Canyon. This was also where the Kurland Kingdom's Twilight Fortress stood, so it was also known as Twilight Gorge. Kadrian had built twelve defensive checkpoints within the gorge.
To the east stood Longli Mountain, a mountain with wildly uneven terrain. Beyond it lay three different regions: the Northern Borderlands Plain to the north, the Duwu Great Forest in the middle, and the Wetland Swamp to the south.
To the west lay the exceptionally arid Northern Borderlands Death Desert, so the sea folk would never launch a large-scale advance from that direction. Like Longli Mountain, the Death Desert bordered the Northern Borderlands Plain to the north, the Duwu Great Forest in the middle, and the Wild Duckweed Grasslands to the south.
At the northernmost edge was, naturally, the Far North Coast. Beyond its gently sloping highlands lay the Northern Borderlands Plain. South of the plain was the Duwu Great Forest, followed by the White Cloud Basin. Farther south, the land split into several smaller regions, running east to west: the Wetland Swamp, the Monster Forest, the Wailing Hills, and the Wild Duckweed Grasslands.
Donny therefore believed he had several options. But advancing deep into enemy territory alone was a grave mistake, so the safest course was to cross Longli Mountain and head north to join the main army. If possible, he could even catch the enemy in a pincer attack.
As for how to land, Donny chose the simplest, most forceful method. He summoned one of the giant beasts he had brought, then lifted it and hurled it up out of the sea.
Inside the Steel Main City, Cheng Yu watched the satellite feed. Off the eastern coast, a Giant Turtle Beast suddenly flew out of the deep water. More than forty meters long, it withdrew its head, tail, and all four limbs into its shell. It was easily large enough to lean against the thirty-meter-high cliff.
The stunt left Cheng Yu's scalp tingling. That fucking works too? Sure enough, once the turtle was in position, a crowd of salted fish began climbing onto its shell one after another. But how could the Wisdoms let an opportunity like this slip by?
The fifteen hundred Shuttle Fighters hovering in the sky began firing Piercing Rays to disrupt the enemy's climb onto the turtle's back. Just as Cheng Yu had expected, a thin film of water spread over its shell.
This time, however, another five hundred Shuttle Fighters aimed at the spellcasting units in the sea. This tactic had not been viable at the Far North Coast, where the deep water was quite close to land, making it difficult for the Shuttle Fighters to pinpoint the spellcasters. Even if they found them, the sea's considerable depth would greatly weaken the rays.
But there were far fewer concerns in the east. The deep water was far enough from the coast, and weren't the shallows practically a ready-made target range?
Unfortunately, Donny's force was far more elite than the army to the north, and the same held true of its spellcasters. Another Water Shield spread over their heads. Since they were underwater, maintaining it was easier than keeping the shield above the turtle in place.
Cheng Yu was not surprised. The enemy had fought him before, so it was hardly strange that they knew how he attacked.
He suddenly thought of a classic saying. The most terrifying strategy is no strategy at all. I'll just throw my whole fucking army at you and pit raw strength against yours, rendering every last one of your schemes useless.
Never mind anything else-he simply refused to believe they could withstand a simultaneous volley from three million Shuttle Fighters, like the one at the Far North Coast. But most of his Shuttle Fighters were over at the Northern Borderlands Plain, so he had to find another way.
Even if he needed another approach, the Shuttle Fighters could not stop firing. Wearing down the enemy spellcasters' mana was useful too, wasn't it?
Soldiers of the Deep Sea Empire were already beginning to reach shore, all of them Naga Warriors. They started advancing inland, but before they had taken more than a few steps, a Thermal Ray Projectile struck the leading Naga Warrior in the eye. He dropped straight to the ground, completely done for.
Countless Thermal Ray Projectiles and Thermal Cannon blasts followed. The thousands of Naga Warriors who had just landed were wiped out outright. They died without even knowing where the attacks had come from. All they knew was that fire was coming from everywhere.
Cheng Yu sneered. He had not simply deployed a linear defensive formation in the eastern reaches of Longli Mountain. Instead, he had established individual defensive positions. Together, the troops stationed at these positions numbered eight hundred thousand: four hundred thousand 0-1s, three hundred thousand 0-2s, ninety thousand 0-3s, and ten thousand 0-4s. It was a thoroughly versatile lineup.
They also held the geographical advantage, firing down from higher ground with superior firepower. The Conductor's assessment was that unless the enemy could field more than six million troops in one push, all with the same composition as their current force, they had virtually no chance of taking Longli Mountain.
Sure enough, as the Deep Sea Empire's troops continued advancing inland, they left the protection of the Water Shield. However many emerged, concentrated fire immediately greeted them.
Donny was furious. It was not that he had failed to consider having the mages extend their protective Water Shields, but what then? He had watched carefully just now. The enemy had long-range firing positions on every rise, leaving him utterly helpless.
The eastern coast of Longli Mountain consisted entirely of rolling hills. He could see hundreds of elevated positions alone. Was he supposed to assault them one by one?
Leaving casualties aside, by the time he captured these hills, His Majesty might already have fought his way into the enemy's headquarters, clashed head-on with the Undying Prince, and broken through several more defensive lines. And he would only just have crossed Longli Mountain?
Donny pondered a solution, but his deliberations were doomed to be futile. Against a stronghold committed to holding its advantageous terrain, there was no option but a frontal assault.
After several more landing attempts were repelled, Donny had no choice but to retreat to the deep waters off the eastern coast and begin searching for other landing sites. It was not that there were no suitable places to land, but the enemy drove him back from every one with the same tactics.
With no other options left, Donny's plan to land in the east and launch a pincer attack on the Northern Borderlands Plain was declared a complete failure. Helpless, he could only lead his army toward the Far North Coast.
"Useless fool."
Cheng Yu sneered, then turned his attention back to the Northern Borderlands Plain.
The two sides were locked in a standoff? Ha. If Cheng Yu knew what this army had reported to Donny, he would certainly repeat what he had just said.
A standoff meant the two sides were evenly matched, with neither able to get the better of the other.
But what Cheng Yu saw was countless salted fish charging his 0-2 formations, one wave after another. They either died on the way or perished amid the ranks of the 0-1 formations blocking their path.
Meanwhile, the forces in the sky kept firing Piercing Beams, giving the mages special attention. Some bronze melee units, such as Merfolk Knights and Dolphin Knights, also charged toward the 0-2 formations, but they were likewise priority targets for the 0-3s.
Cheng Yu had committed three million enhanced 0-1s, one million three hundred thousand 0-2s, five hundred thousand 0-3s, one hundred thousand 0-4s, and ten thousand 0-5s to the Northern Borderlands Plain. That was nearly five million troops in total, accounting for five-eighths of his entire force.
In the rear, production continued without pause. With the Metal Converter now producing three hundred tons of steel a day, fifteen hundred first-generation 0-1s were manufactured daily. It was a drop in the bucket, but at least it could bolster the other defensive lines a little.
After several assaults, the salted fish realized they could not break through the enemy's defenses like this, so they began taking turns charging. As a result, throughout the three days since Cheng Yu's first defensive line had fallen, fighting on the Northern Borderlands Plain had never stopped.
Cheng Yu was in no hurry because he needed to stockpile energy in preparation for the coming battle. Whether it was the 0-3s, the Shuttle Fighters, or the 0-2s, every shot they fired consumed his energy reserves.
Although the Omni-Type Resource Architecture Machine and the Basic Units' gathering brought Cheng Yu millions, or even tens of millions, of energy each day, he had been fighting nonstop all this time. Every Purger also consumed energy simply to remain operational.
The 0-2s and Shuttle Fighters were especially voracious energy consumers. For the first time since unlocking the Omni-Type Energy Architecture Machine, Cheng Yu faced an energy crisis.
And so the two sides settled into a strange, unspoken understanding. The enemy waited for the main force led by the Merfolk King, while Cheng Yu stockpiled energy against any eventuality. Then, on the fifth day of the standoff on the Northern Borderlands Plain, Donny and his hapless army finally arrived.
Upon learning that the enemy army and his own side's army were locked in a standoff on the Northern Borderlands Plain, Donny rushed eagerly to the front, ready to make his grand debut.
Meanwhile, somewhere neither side knew about-or perhaps Cheng Yu knew, but simply paid no attention-
A Human Summoner Squad set out from Twilight Fortress, crossed the Wild Duckweed Grasslands to the west, and entered the Duwu Great Forest. Cheng Yu could never have imagined that these few people would inexplicably set him on a path toward becoming an enemy of the world.
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