Watching the Deep Sea Empire's army on the screen, Cheng Yu could tell from its changed bearing that the enemy was preparing another major move. He glanced at his energy balance: over forty million, almost fifty million.
Cheng Yu nodded slightly. Not bad. He could afford to take them on.
After several days of mutual harassment and small-scale clashes, the Deep Sea Empire's vanguard had already lost over a million troops. Several hundred thousand had fallen during the capture of the Far North Coast alone.
Cheng Yu's forces, meanwhile, had bodies of steel, and the enemy had lost its home-field advantage. They could no longer cast large-scale protective spells-or even if they did, they could not renew them quickly. With their terrifying advantage in firepower, Cheng Yu's forces had achieved a casualty ratio of nearly one to a hundred.
As a result, Cheng Yu had lost only tens of thousands of units. Thanks to his ability to recycle the scrapped steel, those losses had already been replaced. His only real losses were the several thousand 0-3s abandoned on the gentle slopes of the Far North Coast.
Sure enough, when Cheng Yu saw the beluga man arrive on the Far North Coast with his remaining troops, he knew a major battle was about to begin.
Donny stepped onto the beach of the Far North Coast with a grim expression. There was no helping it. Anyone would look unhappy after losing that much face in front of his subordinates.
The commander stationed on the Far North Coast, Donny's adjutant-a petite, adorable young Merfolk Mage-approached him and saluted.
"General, we have fulfilled your orders and successfully occupied the entire Far North Coast. Most of our troops are now confronting the enemy on the Northern Borderlands Plain, awaiting your next instructions."
Donny nodded slightly, then asked,
"How many have we lost?"
The young Merfolk Mage lowered her head.
"I have failed you. Our losses are over a million."
Donny frowned slightly. He had been about to rebuke her for poor command, but he remembered that he had not even managed to reach shore in the east. Besides, recalling the enemy's devastating, large-scale ranged attacks, he could hardly say much. He merely nodded, then said,
"His Majesty is expected to arrive tomorrow at noon. We need a splendid victory to welcome him. Pass down the order: let the troops rest well, then advance toward the enemy after sunset!"
"Yes, General!"
The sun slowly sank.
The Deep Sea Empire's army began charging toward the Purger Army. This time, their preparations were clearly thorough. A group of Shell Demons and enormous conch-like beasts led the way, followed by Berserk Murlocs. Behind them came a mixed charge of Giant Whale Warriors, Giant Shark Warriors, Naga Warriors, Kuo-toa, and Giant Crab Warriors.
The million Shuttle Fighters deployed in advance by the Purger Army began firing piercing rays at will. Several thousand Purger 0-4s cleared a path with a volley of solid tungsten steel rounds, then a million 0-1s slammed into the enemy vanguard.
Thus began the first large-scale clash between the Purger Army and the Deep Sea Empire's army.
Cheng Yu rose excitedly to watch the battle on the screen. Both sides had committed armies a million strong. It was his first time witnessing the visual impact of such an enormous clash, and he could not help feeling excited.
An 0-1 swung a bladed leg at a Berserk Murloc. The Berserk Murloc raised his left arm as a shield, but the blade easily pierced it before coming to a stop.
One of the 0-1's bladed legs was caught in the Berserk Murloc's left arm. The Berserk Murloc counterattacked with his spear, but its thrust left only a white spot on the 0-1's body.
But the 0-1 had more than one bladed leg. With a sweep of another, it easily sliced off the Berserk Murloc's head.
A Giant Crab Warrior clamped down on two of an 0-1's bladed legs and tore them off with brute force. But the 0-1 had eight bladed legs. Its other blades slashed at the Giant Crab Warrior, only to leave two white lines on his shell.
The 0-1 then leaped over the Giant Crab Warrior and landed on his back, driving its tail drill into his carapace.
The Giant Crab Warrior's shell failed to display its previous toughness. The instant the drill made contact, it bored straight through his carapace.
From then on, every 0-1 on the battlefield used its tail drill in various ways when facing Giant Crab Warriors.
Likewise, an enormous hermit crab roughly forty meters tall had its conch-shaped shell pierced clean through by a Purger 0-4's larger, longer drill. A slash of a curved blade severed its limbs, and another finished it off.
Once the enemy front line had been held, two hundred thousand 0-2s began attacking the enemy's rear ranks with Thermal Cannons. The enemy mages worked in pairs: one raised a barrier against the Shuttle Fighters' aerial strikes, while the other cast spells, forming stone or ice spheres to attack the 0-2 positions.
Interspersed among the 0-2s, a hundred thousand 0-3s raised their scorpion tails and fired Piercing Beams, blasting the airborne ice and stone spheres to pieces.
The Deep Sea Empire's offensive bogged down once again. Donny could plainly see that his forces were suffering excessive losses. The white orbs fired from the enemy's rear were especially devastating. He could send spellcasters into the army to erect magical barriers,
but how many volleys could those barriers withstand on land? Donny instructed the young Merfolk Mage beside him,
"Prepare the Grand Summoning Spell. Target their ranged attack positions."
The young Merfolk Mage froze, then said,
"General, casting the Grand Summoning Spell will consume an enormous amount of our mana, and we have no sacrifices."
Donny glared fiercely at her.
"Who says we have no sacrifices? Isn't the battlefield full of them?"
The young Merfolk Mage paled and said uncertainly,
"General, imperial law forbids the use of the empire's soldiers or civilians in any summoning ritual. Doing this would defy imperial law!"
Donny narrowed his eyes.
"Exceptional times call for exceptional measures. If we don't do this, even more of our troops will die."
The young Merfolk Mage fell silent. Once this precedent was set, would the same excuse be used to sacrifice soldiers and civilians in the future? Would the empire fall apart as a result? But she was only an adjutant. Whatever her commander ordered, she had to carry out.
The young Merfolk Mage pressed a hand to her chest.
"Yes, sir!"
Cheng Yu watched the slaughter on the battlefield with a smile. Losses? There were none. So long as his forces were not completely wiped out, however many units he lost today could be fully replaced once he had some downtime.
Cheng Yu was therefore in no hurry at all. In this brief stretch alone, he had already gained two million energy. He wanted to drag things out until his energy reserves were high enough.
But Cheng Yu immediately noticed something wrong. Around thirty thousand enemy spellcasters had formed a large circle and appeared to be performing some kind of ritual.
The sea folk corpses on the battlefield were also disappearing. Cheng Yu instinctively sensed something was wrong. Just then, an alarm sounded inside the Steel Main City.
"Warning, warning. Spatial fluctuations detected above our positions. Interruption recommended. Interruption recommended."
Cheng Yu froze. Spatial fluctuations? Interruption recommended? He immediately realized what was happening. This was a fucking world where summoners reigned supreme. Of course the enemy could use Summoning. But above our positions?
With no time to think further, Cheng Yu immediately asked,
"How do we interrupt it?"
The system's voice rang out inside the Steel Main City.
"Use of a Spatial Interference Device is recommended. Given the commander's authorization level, alternatively deploy Destroyer 0-6, Guardian 0-4, Defender 0-3, Infiltrator 0-5, Enabler 0-1, or Regulator 0-1. Any of these can interrupt the current spatial fluctuations."
Cheng Yu's reaction was, Fuck you! I'd need to actually have those things first! Just then, the Conductor in the Co-Link command network spoke.
"Commander, do not worry. Our calculations have produced a high-risk countermeasure. Destroying a Short-Range Space Jump Gate above the 0-2 positions may interrupt the spatial fluctuations."
Cheng Yu's eyes lit up. Right! Destroying a spatial device could indeed disrupt the enemy's spatial fluctuations. There were certainly unpredictable risks, but we didn't have a better option right now, did we?
Cheng Yu immediately ordered the Conductor,
"Permission granted."
Four metal rods were transported to the 0-2 positions. Just then, an enormous, hideously ugly fish head emerged.
Another shrill alarm sounded inside the Steel Main City.
"Warning, warning. Silver creature detected. Danger. Extreme danger."
Cheng Yu was shocked. Holy shit, a Silver creature! Already!?
But just then, two 0-3s each gripped two metal rods in their pincers and activated them. A Purger 0-4 appeared and hurled one of the 0-3s straight toward the fish head.
Under the Co-Link coordination of three Wisdom units, the airborne 0-3 snapped both metal rods in its pincers just as it was about to touch the fish head.
Space visibly rippled. Fear appeared in the fish head's eyes. The spatial fluctuations grew stronger and stronger, then vanished in an instant. An enormous fish head dropped into the 0-2 positions.
All thirty thousand mages performing the spell coughed up blood and collapsed, their faces deathly pale. A small portion of the Shuttle Fighters immediately seized the opportunity and began picking off the fallen mages. However, the Deep Sea Empire's other mages reacted and promptly raised protective barriers, so only several thousand were killed.
Most of the Shuttle Fighters concentrated their fire on the fish head, joining tens of thousands of 0-3s, dozens of Purger 0-4s in the rear, and tens of thousands of nearby 0-2s in a furious barrage.
Silver creatures were powerful beings that had begun undergoing the baptism of the laws. Most could not be killed merely by decapitation, leaving two possibilities: either the head would grow a body, or the body would grow a head. According to the RTX Destroyers' existing records, it was usually the former.
That was why the Wisdom units had to take this opportunity to destroy the fish head completely.
Donny's expression was grim as well. His objective had not been fully achieved, though at least the enemy's firepower had diminished. However, the remaining twenty-odd thousand mages had suffered a backlash and would be unable to fight again anytime soon.
All in all, this attempt had still resulted in a loss.
Night was drawing near.
At the front, both sides remained locked in a bloody stalemate. Cheng Yu's forces had finally destroyed the fish head, but looking at the more than twenty million energy he had burned through, he could no longer afford to continue large-scale ranged bombardments.
After all, this was only the enemy's vanguard. On top of that, destroying the fish head had cost him tens of thousands of 0-3s and nearly a hundred thousand 0-2s.
Cheng Yu decided to keep tying the enemy down with melee units. By a strict accounting, reforging his lost 0-1s cost less energy than the ranged bombardments.
For the first time, Cheng Yu began to yearn for Personal Might.
Just then, Yog, who had not spoken for quite a while, raised a cup of tea and said,
"Don't worry. In this world, you'll receive a reward that more than satisfies you."
Cheng Yu immediately turned toward Yog with shining eyes, inwardly crying out,
(Big Shot! My Big Shot! You really are my one true Big Shot!) °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
The system displayed a scornful message.
"Heh. Fucking bootlicker." (¬д¬.)
Before you continue