Global Lords: The Undead's Mobile Fortress

The fortress hall was a maelstrom of chaos, filled with the roars of the Minotaurs, the piercing screams of the Kobolds, and the whistling sound of the Dark Skeletons as they moved. Percy’s beheading mission, entrusted to his Kobolds, had devolved into a complete farce.

...

"Have they killed the Undead City Lord?"

The battle on top of the fortress was going poorly. Benjamin had no stronger forces to commit. He could kill the Ox Demon, but only by sacrificing the lives of his Jackal Wolves. There was no telling how many Jackal Wolves would be lost, and he had no desire to suffer such heavy casualties. His only hope now rested on Percy’s Dogman Suicide Squad.

Percy glanced at the system, his face instantly turning pale. He shook his head in a panic. "No... impossible. How could this be?"

Benjamin grabbed Percy’s shoulders, forcing him to face him. With a ferocious look on his face, he snarled, "What the hell happened?!"

"They’re dead... all of them. The Kobolds I sent over are all dead," Percy said, his body going limp as he spoke dejectedly.

That Dogman Suicide Squad was his last trump card. It had cost him an immense amount of resources. He was so protective of them that on normal days, he wouldn’t even let the squad members leave the fortress. Even Benjamin hadn’t known he possessed such a unit. Today was their very first mission, and not only had it failed, but they had been completely wiped out. Not a single one survived.

"Damn it! Retreat! We have to retreat!" The moment Benjamin learned that Percy’s beheading mission had failed, the thought of retreating instantly surfaced.

The Jackal Wolves below were still holding their own against the Undead, but the Undead forces were endless. ’How long can this go on?’ The Jackal Wolves had limited stamina. As time wore on and their energy drained, it would be questionable if they could continue to hold back the Undead. Already, many of the Jackal Wolves were showing signs of fatigue. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before the Undead broke through their defenses and stormed the fortress.

The Kobolds?

Heh, they were just a bunch of opportunists. Without the Jackal Wolves to help them, they would be swallowed by the tide of Undead in minutes. Utterly useless.

If the Jackal Wolfman Long Spear Team could still perform as usual, he might have a chance to turn the tables. But judging by the battle on top, the writing was on the wall. His Wolf Guard couldn’t even handle the Ox Demon, which meant the Long Spear Team had no opportunity to deal any damage. They’d be lucky just to stay alive, let alone provide any support. That was out of the question.

While he still had the chance, it was better to just cut his losses and run.

As a saying from the military strategy of the Ancient Eastern Country goes: Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, retreat is the best policy. If they didn’t go now, they wouldn’t be able to go at all.

Benjamin made a snap decision and ordered the fortress to pull back in preparation to escape.

Percy, however, leaped up and grabbed Benjamin’s clothes, shouting, "No! We can’t just leave like this! My suicide squad can’t have died for nothing! Didn’t you say you could defeat the Undead? Where are your Jackal Wolfmen? Send them charging in!"

Benjamin slapped Percy’s hand away and punched him in the face, roaring, "Percy, snap out of it! If we don’t leave now, we’re never going to get out of here!"

The corner of his mouth bleeding from the punch, Percy came to his senses. He gritted his teeth, took two deep breaths, and said resentfully, "But... but my men are still out there. We have to at least let them back into the fortress."

Benjamin stood up, came to stand before him, and grabbed him by the hair. He whispered, "Do you want to live, or do you want to die? If we let them all on board, do you think we’ll be able to escape? With no one left to hold back the Undead, do you really think we can get away?"

Percy understood what Benjamin meant. He was going to use the Jackal Wolves and Kobolds below to hold off the Low Level Skeleton Undead and buy time for their own escape. "Then we..."

Before he could finish, Benjamin cut him off. "I know what you’re going to say. We’re running for our lives. Don’t think about anything else. As long as we survive, we can always get more resources. We can become stronger than we are now, and we can get more men. But all of that depends on one thing: we have to live!"

"Alright. I’ll do as you say." Percy gave in once again.

He knew Benjamin was right. The fortress could only exist as long as they were alive, and as long as the fortress existed, they would eventually recover. They might not be able to deal with the Undead, but surely they could handle other Native Tribes, right? Besides, there were other City Lords out there. Not all of them were as powerful as this Undead one.

Benjamin was a ruthless man indeed. Not only did he not recall the Jackal Wolves from below, but he even dispatched another 1,000 Jackal Wolves and 1,000 Wanderers to join the battle against the Undead.

The Jackal Wolfman Fortress, which had been silent ever since being impaled by the ram, suddenly shuddered. It began to slowly retreat, pulling itself off the ram bit by bit.

’They’re trying to run?’

Li Ziyu watched the movements of the Jackal Wolfman Fortress as realization dawned on him. ’Are you fucking kidding me? After all this, you’re just going to run?’

’As if I’d let you get away! Ram them!’

The Soul Fire of a Skeleton Undead beside him flickered, and a message was transmitted into his soul: there were too many Undead ahead. If he were to ram the enemy, his own fortress would crush many of his Undead. Should he still ram the enemy fortress?

Uh...

Li Ziyu slapped his forehead. Leaning against the battlements, he peered down below. ’Holy cow.’ It was a dense, packed sea of Undead. ’My own army is blocking my path.’ If he were to ram the enemy fortress now, he would just be crushing his own Undead. But if he didn’t, the enemy really would get away.

’This is what a lack of experience in fortress combat looks like,’ he thought. He’d been so focused on starting the battle that he hadn’t even considered what to do if the enemy tried to run.

The space between the two fortresses was filled with Undead and Jackal Wolfmen. The Jackal Wolfman Fortress was retreating, so it wouldn’t harm its own Warriors. But if Li Ziyu were to make a move, he would have to roll right over his own Undead.