Landing Battle

We are currently 100 kilometers away from Green Thorn Port. This is the closest point on the Gray Ridge coastline to Goldglint Fortress in a straight line.

As the ship slowly approached the coast, the Pansy's speed gradually decreased until it reached a very slow speed.

The terrain of this coastline is very unfavorable. Steep cliffs hang over the sea, more than ten meters high, and the shoreline is rugged and uneven.

A member of the construction team walked to the very front of the pier, facing the waves crashing against the pier, and carefully observed the height difference between the pier and the shore.

"Raise it a little higher!" he shouted into the communicator.

The winch immediately emitted a heavy hum, the taut steel cable contracted further, and the front end of the huge bone-like walkway rose slightly to level with the rugged coastline above.

As the Pansy continued its slow journey, the sturdy, bony end of the pier rammed into the dense jungle on the shore like a battering ram, instantly plowing down a patch of trees as thick as a bowl. The steel cables then loosened slightly, and the end of the pier pressed heavily onto the flattened woodland.

"Sappers advance to establish positions on the beach!" the command center ordered.

The engineers and mages, who had been waiting in the wings, immediately rose into the air. With a wave of their staffs, the undead creatures waiting on the deck surged out along the pier like a bursting dam.

Some of them carried heavy supply boxes on their backs, while others dragged thick cables, seemingly oblivious to the still slightly swaying boardwalk beneath their feet, rushing fearlessly toward the shore.

Under the wizard's control, some of the undead wrapped the ropes they carried around the protruding rocks, pulling them taut in an attempt to secure the massive Pansy; others rushed to the front of the pier where it connected to the land, wielding heavy tools to drive piles and bind the pier.

As more than a hundred cables were secured and taut, the Pansy's back-and-forth sliding between itself and the pier gradually stabilized.

Next, the necromancer commanded these tireless laborers to cut down trees and shrubs around the exit of the pier, clearing open ground for the troops to deploy.

***

A figure moved against the gray torrent of the undead! With a light touch of his toes, he stepped on the heads and shoulders of the undead soldiers like a ghost, and with a few nimble leaps, he had already crossed the pier, stepped onto the deck of the Pansy, and arrived in front of Su Ming.

The newcomer was none other than Silver Mask, who was not wearing a mask.

"The young man is quite handsome without his mask," Su Ming teased.

"I have to thank your medical contact lenses for freeing me from the mask!" Silver Mask said, then his tone turned serious as he reported on the battle situation, "Not far beyond this jungle lies the official road built by the goblins! Twenty-five kilometers southeast along this road is Goldglint Fortress!"

Su Ming nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Zijin and her group, who were fully prepared for action. "Begin the operation! We must take down the fortress with overwhelming force!"

"Mo Yuan, guard the home!" Ruixiuli patted Mo Yuan's Dragon Claw covered with hard scales, then he and Bowers leaped onto the broad back of Elder Can Xin, the Gold Dragon.

On the other side, Zijin and Jielusi also climbed onto the back of Elder Lan Lin, the Blue Dragon.

"Bone Machine First Battalion, attack!" Zijin's clear, cold voice pierced the sea breeze.

The necromancers leaped onto the backs of their respective Bone Model golems, activating the drive array. Fifty ferocious Bone Model took long strides, forming an orderly queue and maintaining a safe distance, one after another stepping onto the more than one hundred-meter-long bone walkway, quickly climbing towards the shore.

Although they weren't armored, their weapon systems were already quite heavy, and with half a load of ammunition they carried, these Bone Model didn't dare to swarm forward like the undead before them. They could only advance in an orderly line.

Soon, fifty Bone Model completed their landing. Ahead, the engineer battalion's undead had already cleared a rudimentary but passable path through the jungle. The Bone Model swarm immediately surged along the path on the edge of the dense forest, and began their rapid advance at speeds of up to seventy kilometers per hour!

Lan Lin and Can Xin simultaneously let out a deep dragon roar, spread their giant wings, and a powerful gust of air stirred up dust. Four elite dragon warriors followed closely behind, flapping their wings and taking to the sky!

Because it was carrying an excessive amount of weapons and combat units, the Pansy's carrying capacity was nearing its limit. Therefore, when it departed from Sapphire Port, it only carried six dragons, all of whom were among the most powerful individuals in the Dragon Race.

Silver Mask, who had just received his breakfast on the deck, realized he had been left behind. He quickly stuffed the buns into his pocket, leaped onto the inclined support of the walkway, and then lashed out with a grappling hook, which landed on the tail of one of the giant dragons as they swayed away into the distance.

Following the departure of the first attack group, the second attack group also began its operation, this time with the Bone Machine Second Battalion as the main force.

Thanks to the advance on the East of the Ridge battlefield and the generous supply of goblin corpses, fifty new Bone Model have been completed.

The skeleton of a humanoid creature accounts for only about 17% of its total body weight. After drying, purification, and other processes, the yield will be even lower.

The corpses of nearly 100,000 goblins ultimately yielded less than 300 tons of usable bone material. This is roughly equivalent to the daily output of the smallest blast furnace on Earth.

This unstable and extremely limited raw material supply system was undoubtedly a huge bottleneck in Su Ming's eyes, who was accustomed to the concept of industrialized assembly line production on Earth.

****

On the flight deck behind the Pansy, two Rainbow Drone painted in gray and white were pushed out of the hangar by ground crew.

The gas turbine engine roared to life, accompanied by the buzzing of the propeller cutting through the air at high speed. The two sounds blended together like chewing lumps of food, accompanied by an uneven, teeth-grinding vibration, making one wonder if the machine would fall apart at any moment.

Unfortunately, turboprop engines are known for their high-pitched and harsh sound.

When Hansite first heard it, he even showed an expression of delight, as if he had found a wonderful source of inspiration.

[Miao Xin, about five kilometers southwest of the coast, there is a goblin coastal defense force base.] Su Ming, [Send one drone to scout the situation, and another to the Goldglint Fortress area to guide the subsequent attack.]

[Received!] Miao Xin responded crisply, [Reconnaissance vanguard, arriving immediately!]

"[How old are you to still watch PAW Patrol?]" Su Ming couldn't help but complain.

"Heh, you figured it out too, didn't you?" Miao Xin retorted without any politeness.

In the short period before dawn, the fog quickly thickened, swirling and churning like a flowing, milky-white soup.

This sudden thick fog was not part of Su Ming's original plan. Although it obscured the massive landing operation and delayed the goblins' response considerably.

However, it also caused considerable trouble for our own operational coordination.

Fortunately, with the release of the Dandelion communication base station, which hovered stably above the landing point, an area of fifty kilometers in radius was instantly brought under the coverage of a modern communication and navigation network.

Even with thick fog, the crew members no longer worried about losing contact or getting lost.

"Attention all units! Dense fog severely impairs visibility. All combat units must accurately locate friendly forces to avoid friendly fire incidents!" Zijin's voice rang out in the channel. "I am now activating a dark-type ' Fog Vision '..."

The rune incantation has been pushed to everyone's devices. The incantation comes in two versions, easy and difficult; please choose the version that best suits your abilities!

"Received!" the company and battalion commanders of the First and Second Battalion Bone Machine First Battalion responded in unison.

Writing "code" on the battlefield is a unique style of the Scholar Bay Owl, Su Ming thought to himself.

Three Feather Race supply ships finally broke through the thick fog and arrived nearby. Two of them carefully moored on either side of the Pansy, while the third slowly moved closer to the stern.

The deck crew acted swiftly, setting up a wide gangway. Soon, the main decks of the three supply ships and the Pansy were securely connected.

Thus, the Pansy became like a wartime port hub, enabling all four ships to quickly connect with the land for the flow of people and goods via the narrow landing pier.

****

As the three supply ships slowly approached, several Feather Race took off from them and flew towards the Pansy. Su Ming looked up and recognized two of them as familiar faces—Archbishop Stanton and his deputy Yuya.

"This is General Feikasi," Stanton introduced the third member of the Feather Race who had accompanied him, "Please issue our combat orders."

Su Ming led them to a detailed terrain model and pointed to two gray flags on the north and west sides of Goldglint Fortress. "This is the only route the Goblin Guard Second and Third Legions can take to reinforce Goldglint Fortress. Your mission is to build a defensive line here and, at all costs, stop these two enemy forces until 10 PM tonight!"

General Feikasi frowned. Following Su Ming's orders, the Feather Race forces needed to hold out for eighteen hours despite being at a significant disadvantage. He looked troubled. "The two goblin legions combined number over forty thousand, while we only have four thousand warriors, including a thousand support personnel responsible for logistics and medical duties."

On the battlefield, not all soldiers are directly engaged in frontline combat. The fact that 25% of the Feather Race's troops are auxiliary soldiers already indicates that they are highly elite.

"Don't worry." Su Ming raised his hand, pointing to the massive 203mm MK71 naval gun in front of the flight deck. "These two battlefields assigned to you are the closest, no more than twenty kilometers apart. This cannon can provide you with powerful fire support at any time!"

General Feikasi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The giant cannon on the Pansy was already infamous. Its shells were as thick as an adult's thigh, but its rate of fire was faster than that of a musket!

Let alone pirates, even the powerful warships of the Temple of Light were easily torn apart and sunk under this devastating barrage!

Su Ming then summoned twenty necromancers and handed them over to General Feikasi, incorporating them into the Feather Race's forces. They would be responsible for navigation, battlefield communications, and guiding naval gunfire.

"Then, can you provide support in terms of logistics and transportation?" General Feikasi continued.

Large-scale frontal warfare is not something that can be accomplished simply by deploying troops. Accompanying this army is a large amount of military equipment. This is why three large-tonnage merchant ships could only barely carry four thousand Feather Race soldiers.

However, while these weapons were brought, they needed to be transported to the battlefield in time before the battle. Especially when conducting a defensive operation on goblin homeland, the attacking enemy would inevitably be heavily armed. Without sufficient military supplies as a backup, the Feather Race, already outnumbered, would be unable to withstand the goblin's overwhelming offensive.

As for supplies such as food, water, and medical supplies for personnel, they are much lighter, and the consumption for a single day's combat can be carried by the individual.

"I will arrange for a heavy battalion to fully assist you in completing the transfer of supplies," Su Ming gave a positive reply.

****

A portion of the Feather Race warriors immediately set off to the designated ambush location to construct defensive positions. The remaining warriors devoted themselves fully to unloading the mountain of combat supplies from the docked supply ships.

"Chairman, the truck is ready!" The voice from the dispatch center rang out in the communication.

"Set off immediately!" Su Ming ordered.

The heavy truck that was temporarily transported here was loaded with the much-needed replenishment of ammunition for the Bone Machine First Battalion, which had already been deployed and was a key guarantee for their sustained firepower.

"But who will operate this huge iron machine?" The dispatcher's voice was clearly troubled. "Nobody on board knows how to operate it!"

Su Ming then realized what he had overlooked. However, this was easy to solve; the Pansy had an experienced driver.

Soon, the Gospel was carried out from deep within the engine room by several crew members.

"Drive!" Su Ming pointed to the heavy truck, which lay sprawled on the deck like a steel beast. "You have to make ten trips today!"

"God says, 'You must not drive without a license!'" The Gospel voices a righteous and forceful protest.

"General MacArthur said there are no traffic laws or police in the other world!" Su Ming pressed the Gospel into the driver's seat and locked the door.

As for whether the Gospel will be opened?

This guy is a seasoned driver who can handle trains with ease; Su Ming doesn't need to worry about a mere freight car.

Soon, the truck's thick exhaust pipe suddenly spewed out a large plume of thick black smoke, accompanied by a deep, powerful engine roar. The truck shook slightly and slowly started moving. It drove precisely onto the boardwalk, its heavy wheels making the boardwalk creak, and its massive form quickly disappeared into the rolling fog ahead.

Su Ming watched the light spot representing the heavy truck drive onto the goblin road and sped off smoothly, feeling slightly relieved.

He switched to the Little Spiky Head, picked up his phone, and asked in the Earth support group, "Jisu, why is that truck emitting so much black smoke from its exhaust pipe? Is the diesel fuel here in this other world of such poor quality?"

"Don't worry, everything's normal!" Jisu's reply popped up quickly. "We've dismantled all the environmental protection-related equipment and modified all the previously restricted areas. Now, your Dongfeng truck is guaranteed to have plenty of horsepower!"

Very good----there is no such thing as national environmental protection standards in this other world, Su Ming silently put away his phone.

****

Miao Xin's drone reconnaissance footage was transmitted back in real time: the goblin coastal defense force's camp had just erupted into chaos. Soldiers rushed out of their tents like ants whose nest had been destroyed, frantically trying to assemble. One could easily imagine the noisy commands and various collisions on the scene.

Clearly, their large-scale landing operation had finally been discovered, and the goblins began to react hastily.

The thick fog obscured visibility but could not block modern reconnaissance methods. The drone quickly completed target identification and statistics: it was a full-strength goblin coastal defense legion, with a force of around ten thousand.

All units of our Bone Machine Second Battalion have successfully landed and completed their assembly. The Senbai Bone Model is lined up on the shore.

"Bone Machine Second Battalion!" Su Ming issued the order, "Immediately launch an attack on the Goblin Coastal Defense Legion under the reconnaissance guidance of 'Red Pig '! Requirements: Annihilate the entire force, and achieve a swift victory!"

"Yes, sir!"

Fifty Bone Model, with multiple strides, moved forward like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood, heading towards their target.

"Radiant Battalion, step forward!" Su Ming immediately gave the order.

Two hundred necromancers, dressed in various robes, stood out in unison on the deck.

"Follow the Bone Machine Second Battalion! After the battle, immediately engage in the transport of battlefield supplies!"

"Roger!" Two hundred necromancers immediately joined the dust raised by the Bone Machine Second Battalion, following closely behind.

"The supply battalion—what do they use for transport?" Yuya asked Stanton beside her, looking at the backs of the mages who carried nothing but staffs.

"The goblin coastal defense regiment must be equipped with many camel-drawn beasts," Stanton analyzed.

"Those few camels won't be enough," Su Ming explained. "We have ten thousand undead servants, right? We can use them to transport supplies; that'll definitely meet our needs."

Stanton and Yuya were speechless. The goblin soldiers of the coastal defense legion were still alive, but Su Ming had already skipped the process and fast-forwarded to the result.

"By the way, aren't you two going with the army?" Su Ming looked at Stanton and Yuya with a hint of doubt. The vanguard of the Feather Race had already set off, but the two of them were still on the Pansy.

"The Scholar Bay Owl asked us to stay with you," Stanton explained. "She said the bird's eyes are sharper than a longan's."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yuan, who was perched outside the porthole, glared at Stanton with his enormous black dragon eyes and exhaled a breath of hot air imbued with dark Magic Power from his dragon nostrils.

However, he certainly welcomes these little people helping him fill in any gaps in his guard duties.

"I have another question," Stanton turned to Su Ming, "Why do we need to hold out until 10 p. m. tonight? A surprise attack, even if the target is Goldglint Fortress, shouldn't take that long?"

"I only plan to take this bunker in half an hour," Su Ming explained. "However, our objective isn't to kill the goblin high command. The reason for arranging for them to hold their ground is to buy enough time for the surgery that follows."

"Surgery?" Stanton was initially confused, then something occurred to him. "You mean—to use Nirvana technology on the goblins?"

"Yes." Su Ming nodded slightly.

"Is this a case of replacing the old with the new," replacing these high-ranking goblins with new souls? Stanton pressed, his doubts only growing. "But 'Nirvana ' doesn't possess mind control capabilities, does it?"

Even if the souls of the high-ranking goblins could be replaced with other souls, whose souls should be used? And how can we guarantee that the newly replaced souls will obey?

"We only modified the connection between the soul and the body; the goblin's body and soul remain the same, not replaced by one of our own," Su Ming clarified. "Of course, we will make some minor adjustments during this process." A mysterious smile played on his lips as he rubbed his left wrist. "Specific details involve technical secrets and cannot be disclosed."

Stanton said no more and settled down to keep watch.