Chapter 180 - 123: The Whole Army Moves Out (2)
The other members of the territory were green with envy. Now, a new opportunity lay before them, and everyone ran toward the plaza beneath the World Tree without a moment’s hesitation.
In the plaza, facing nearly one hundred thousand soldiers and more than five thousand heroes from the entire territory, Mei Ying hurriedly summoned the officers from the army and the Hero Squads. He had them assemble the troops and get everyone into formation according to their usual training.
At eleven o’clock sharp, Lin Yu waved his hand, and the territory’s legions marched into the Teleportation Gate in an orderly fashion.
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[World Chat Channel (788211)]
Passerby A: "Did anyone else’s Teleportation Gate open up to a United Tribes?"
Zhao Zhaonan: "You should describe their composition. Many of the randomly assigned defenders this time are United Tribes. If you don’t specify the races, how will anyone know which one you’re talking about? Besides, even if you do, it might be the same one as someone else’s..."
Mi Qisheng: "It seems we might have run into a highly developed Beastman World this time. The fact that most of the enemy forces are United Tribes implies their superior tribes must be incredibly strong. However, judging from the info shared in the chat so far, it looks like we’ve only been randomly assigned to fight these subordinate beastmen."
Passerby A: "The United Tribes is made up of five races—the Snake-man Race, Wolfman Race, Catman Race, Centaur Race, and Minotaur Race. They’re located on a plain. Is anyone else facing this same United Tribes?"
Passerby B: "I am!"
Passerby C: "Me too!"
Passerby D: "And me!"
Passerby A: "Just the four of us?"
Zhao Zhaonan: "That’s pretty good. Some people are facing a united encampment all by themselves. The four of you are lucky!"
Passerby A: "How about we attack together?"
Passerby B: "I’m okay with that, but how do we divide things up?"
Passerby C: "How do we split the enemy forces? And how do we split the loot?"
Passerby A: "We haven’t even started fighting and you’re already thinking about dividing the spoils?"
Passerby D: "It’s better to sort out the unpleasant details beforehand. That way, we can avoid any arguments after the fighting is over."
Passerby A: "All right, I’ll create a private group so we can talk in there!"
Mi Qisheng: "Aw, come on! Let us watch the show!"
[Temporary Strategy Group]
Passerby A: "Is everyone in? Let’s talk here."
Passerby B: "Let’s state our force compositions first. It’ll be easier to decide the split that way."
Passerby B: "I’ll start. I’m planning to send 4,000 elite-grade heavy Cavalry and 500 standard Catapults..."
...
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On the other side of the Teleportation Gate, Mei Ying and a group of heroes stepped out into a vast grassland.
Before the Teleportation Gate, a massive, densely packed army stood in neat formations, awaiting his command.
"Lord Mei Ying, what do we do next?"
"What do we do?" Mei Ying gazed at the legions before him, the corners of his mouth twitching upward into an irrepressible grin.
"If we were only a ten-thousand-man corps, or a grand brigade of a thousand heroes, I might have to stop and consider tactics."
"But now? We have the elites of our entire territory here, save for one ten-thousand-man corps out on a mercenary contract and the personnel on guard duty. What need is there for tactics?"
"We’ll just steamroll them, of course! Hahahaha!"
Laughing, Mei Ying used his Spiritual Energy to bellow the order: "All Elemental Druids, hear my command! Combine your magic to encircle the United Tribes! Tanks, move in first and draw their fire! Healing Druids, focus on keeping them alive!"
"As for the rest of you... attack at will!!!"
At Mei Ying’s command.
The Elemental Druids immediately adjusted their formation, and an enormous reverse-barrier of Spiritual Energy materialized, trapping the United Tribes within.
This United Tribes was not small, by any means. Their territory spanned nearly seventy square kilometers, and the central encampments of the five tribes alone covered about twelve square kilometers.
At that moment, the people of the five tribes were in their respective camps, on high alert.
"Report!"
"Intruders spotted!"
"How many troops?"
"They’re still teleporting in, but I’d estimate ten thousand have already come through."
"Keep watching!"
...
"Report!"
"The... en-en... enemy forces have finished teleporting!" The scout’s stammering sent a shiver down the commander’s spine.
"What’s the situation?"
"Over one hundred thousand troops, with... with a large number of high-tier units!!!"
"All units, fall back from the traps at the front! Full defensive positions!" the commander’s roar echoed across all five tribal encampments.
"Tell the five chieftains to fall back to the main tribe’s encampment! The enemy is too strong—we can’t hold them!!!"
Even as he gave the order, the commander was already sending a runner to notify the chieftains.
"Never mind... It’s no use!"
A massive barrier had materialized, enclosing all five encampments. The commander knew without even needing to test it—the barrier was there to prevent their escape.
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Meanwhile, after the Elemental Druids had cast the barrier, a flock of birds from within the army took to the sky.
Some of these birds were Fierce Raptor Druids who had transformed, while others were demons from the Demon Race whose original forms were avian.
They flew swiftly toward the distant Beastman encampment.
"Brothers, don’t let them beat us to it! We’re turning into birds, too!" a hero within the legion cried out.
A number of heroes in the legion, eager to distinguish themselves, also transformed into birds and flew off in pursuit of the first flock.
The requirements to change class at the Jade Sanctuary were very low; any hero who hadn’t yet specialized could do so. Since the Jade Sanctuary was currently the only class-change building in the territory, all the heroes had become Druids.
The knowledge magically instilled upon changing class included the Transformation Technique, so turning into a bird was a skill every hero possessed. Boosted by their own stats, they could fly incredibly fast.
Seeing the two flocks of birds speeding toward the target, the common soldiers on the ground also picked up their pace. Some heroes from the Demon Race who disliked transforming into birds revealed their true forms instead, leading the charge with thunderous momentum.
The Elemental Druids even cast a "Quick Step" spell on everyone to help them run faster.
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The sound of chirping birds carried from the horizon as a massive flock flew in from the direction of the enemy army. They passed straight through the barrier and made a beeline for the main encampment.
"Centaur Archers, aim for the flock ahead! Fire!"
The Beastman commander knew these birds meant trouble and immediately ordered his troops to attack.
The Centaur Archers drew their bows, and a volley of arrows flew toward the flock.
VMMM—
A protective shield materialized around the flock. The joint spellcasting technique the Fierce Raptor Druids had spent months practicing in their transformed state was finally put to use.
The arrows struck the shield, snapped, and fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Keep firing!!!"
Another volley of arrows flew at the flock.
...
After several volleys, the flock reached the center of the encampment.
They split into two groups. One group maintained the shield while launching ranged attacks like Wind Blades and Fireballs down below.
The other group dove straight for the ground, weathering the arrow fire. Any arrows that hit them simply bounced off. The birds were incredibly fast, closing in on the ground in the blink of an eye.
"Get clear! The birds are going to crash!"
"Are they trying to kill themselves?"
"At that speed, they’re going to be embedded in the ground."
The Beastmen on the ground scrambled to get away, staring at the diving birds as if they were watching a farce.
Just as they were about to hit the ground, the flock began to flap their wings, decelerating.
"They’re slowing down! Quick, attack now!"
At the commander’s order, the surrounding Snake Clan People immediately spat venom at the decelerating birds. The Werewolves and Catmen also swarmed in, ready to snatch them from the air.
"Hahaha, the enemy is so stupid! How reckless!"
"If you had all just stayed in the sky, pinning us down with ranged attacks until your melee troops arrived, we might not have been able to put up a fight. But coming down here now? Isn’t this just a suicide run?"
"Hahaha, I’m dying! A flock of birds is coming down to the ground to fight us in melee!"
The Beastmen preparing to surround them all laughed. Catching birds? Who couldn’t do that? It was a common pastime.
The diving flock’s speed was decreasing, but it seemed they had miscalculated. Most of the birds failed to pull out of their dive and slammed straight into the ground. They didn’t even perform a standard pull-up maneuver, much to the disappointment of the Beastmen who had been preparing for a fight.
It was like in a game of chess when you’ve predicted your opponent’s next few moves, only for them to make a terrible, suicidal blunder instead. The feeling was one of utter disappointment.
The flock smashed into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust that obscured the situation.
This didn’t stop the Beastmen from attacking, however. They all drew their ranged weapons (shortbows, slingshots, javelins, rocks picked up off the ground...) and fired into the birds’ landing site.
Amidst the dust, dark silhouettes began to rise from the ground.
A series of CLANGS and CLANKS, the sound of metal striking metal, echoed from within the dust cloud.