Several of the Soul Returner turned to look at Alfonso, then turned back, their expressions clearly showing disdain, as if they were contempt for his cowardice as commander.
But seemingly sensing something, Alfonso, as the commander, quickly offered an explanation:
The young viscount believed that their attack was a surprise raid and that they did not need to stay in the sandcastle for an extended period.
Moreover, regardless of how much extra damage garrisoning the sandcastle could inflict on the enemy, the sheer difficulty in resupplying them was enough to drive them to the brink of madness.
Upon hearing the keyword "supplies," the players pondered for a moment and ultimately agreed to withdraw, but before retreating, they planned to launch one last attack on the enemy cavalry.
Their scouts could clearly see that the leader of the cavalry from Sandcastle Number Fourteen was a half-dragon.
That's right, after a week of trekking, [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] has finally returned to the battlefield.
With the recommendation of [ Gill's Cuisine ] and [ Ginseng Rooster ], he joined Colin's ranks effortlessly this time by simply showing his face, and thanks to their guarantees and his own strength, he immediately became a cavalry captain.
This was his first time accepting a mission, and if he fought well, Colin would certainly reward him handsomely.
[ The Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] himself is actually very familiar with the truth of the battle.
They already had a real match a week ago; now it's time for a fixed match.
Colin needs new sandcastles to extend his power, while Alfonso Lange needs to accumulate military merits.
Attacking wild sandcastles is clearly a way to kill two birds with one stone, and [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] knows this very well.
Meanwhile, on the Imperial Army's side, Alfonso, who had given the order to retreat, looked at the Knight Saili beside him and felt a surge of security.
Just now, a scene appeared in Alfonso's mind:
That was the scene of him and his four hundred men being surrounded by an enemy several times their size in Sandcastle Number Thirteen, until they ran out of ammunition and food, and they resorted to cannibalism, exchanging arms and legs.
He had no doubt that the demon servants were capable of such a thing.
As for myself, I am still a completely human being, and my level of madness is nowhere near that of these demonic servants.
At that point, it's hard to say who will be the first to be eaten.
After a moment's thought, Alfonso abandoned the possibility of his own death and instead ordered a retreat.
The Viscount's order reached the sandcastle, and although the centurions in charge of the attack wanted to continue fighting, the reason for the Viscount's order was quickly sent from the other side.
After careful consideration, the players finally agreed with the viscount's assessment—supplies were indeed extremely important!
In fact, players can survive without food and water because their bodies, created by Ed, come with a certain amount of Plant Compatibility attribute points that cannot be washed away.
This allows them to slowly Drain water and nutrients from the outside when they run out of ammunition and food. Although it's not as good as eating, it can at least keep them alive.
This basic safety net allows players to survive even in barren places like the Graycast Corridor, but there's one place where that's impossible: the Skeleton Alliance.
Because this is pure desert.
High temperatures, dryness, and endless sand define this place. Even if you threw Ed himself here, he would hardly amount to anything if he were weak, let alone players who are just "youthful versions of Ed ".
Naturally, without an external energy supply, the previous practice of chopping off hands and feet to cook a pot of mountain delicacies soup could not be continued, and even fuel was hard to find.
The players' initial actions were merely a clever use of [ Nutrient-Rich Resin ], and the performance art element outweighed its actual value.
Having confirmed their next move, the players quickly scattered like a swarm of attackers, carrying loads of loot and frantically revving their engines, racing towards the border between the two countries.
Witnessing all this, the half-dragon [ with Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] immediately ordered a pursuit, only to be met head-on by [ the Elderly and Children Fly First ] who were covering their retreat and preparing for revenge. The two sides clashed head-on, and both felt like they had eaten shit.
One side wanted to quickly "reclaim lost territory," while the other was eager to return and share the credit. After realizing that the other side was a tough opponent, the two cavalry units quickly went their separate ways, bypassing each other and acting independently.
After all, this is also part of the "fixed match," something that was already pre-arranged in the script of the " Ginseng Rooster."
Later that day, Alfonso Lange returned to the camp with his elite troops. While reporting the results to his father, he immediately threw a bonfire party. Meanwhile, the Skeleton Alliance was in a state of gloom.
Good news! The Soul Returner mercenaries, paid for their service, fought bravely and fiercely, and swiftly secured a decisive victory in the battle against the Imperials.
The bad news is that this is a war to reclaim lost territory, territory that the enemy didn't want.
Not only that, when Colin arrived at Sandcastle Number Thirteen with the second wave of reinforcements, what came into view was a four-sided pyramid tower made up of more than three hundred skeleton soldiers' heads.
The top layer has one skull, the second layer has four, the third layer has nine, the fourth layer has sixteen... and so on. With each layer stacked up, the skeletons in Sandcastle Number Thirteen were made into a ten-story skull tower!
Although the bottom layer was raised with some clumps of sand and gravel because there weren't enough skulls, the skeletons clearly didn't want this thing to consume any more skulls.
Upon noticing this, the fortress knight Colin immediately realized that the scene before him was enough to demonstrate just how effortlessly the other party had crafted this thing.
If it were a random assembly, then one could simply pile the skulls together haphazardly, without padding underneath to ensure the top layer of skulls was just right, and without using triangular spikes to uniformly deform the skulls.
Now, these heads are not only neatly arranged, but Faulkner's skull, belonging to the fortress guard, is on top, with an iron triangular spike stuck in the back of his head, as if to intimidate someone.
Upon seeing this, the skeleton soldiers who came to their aid were completely speechless, their legs trembling and clattering, and even their faces turned pale with fright.
Clearly, the sudden appearance of these things, known as "Jingguan" in another world, caused a slight psychological blow to the "simple" skeleton soldiers of the Skeleton Alliance.