chsdbacks Chapter 483 The Cruel Battlefield
Chapter 483 The Cruel Battlefield
Chapter 483 The Cruel Battlefield
"so……"
Saladin withdrew his finger. "They can only gamble, gamble that the defenses can hold, gamble that we won't find their hiding place so quickly."
He surveyed the entire scene, and a cold, stern smile seemed to curve around the corner of his mouth beneath the shroud:
"So, how should we respond to this 'expectation'?"
After a brief silence, a level seven wizard from the Chaos Cult spoke with a hint of excitement:
"Take the initiative, find their hiding place, and destroy them before they unleash their trump card!"
"Correct, but not entirely." Saladin slowly shook his head. "Finding hidden locations is necessary, but sending a large army to launch a direct assault is too risky... Who knows how many traps and defenses those old foxes have laid in their hiding places?"
"If we get bogged down in a tough fight there, and the main force of the Norren Workshop defense line takes the opportunity to break out, we'll be caught in a two-front war."
He paused, then revealed the real plan:
My suggestion is to operate on two fronts.
"First, arrange for a group of level six wizards to lead mid-to-low-level combat forces to conduct daily 'harassment attacks' on the Norren Workshop defense line. The objectives are threefold: first, to attract the enemy's attention and make them think that we are still focused on a frontal breakthrough; second, to prevent them from having too much peace and quiet and to continuously deplete their energy and resources; and third, to constantly observe changes within the defense line to prevent the enemy from secretly transferring troops or playing other tricks."
"Secondly, and most importantly: select elite level five and six wizards to form reconnaissance teams, and conduct a radial search outwards from our current location."
Saladin's fingers traced sectors on the battlefield map:
"Each sector will be assigned three to five reconnaissance squads, each led by an experienced level six wizard and accompanied by four to six level five wizards skilled in stealth, tracking, and survival."
"Their mission is to find the location where Norren Workshop has hidden its trump card. But at the same time, they themselves... are also 'bait'."
"A decoy?" a wizard muttered, immediately understanding his idea.
"Yes, bait." Saladin's voice grew even colder.
The wizards present basically all realized what was happening.
What would Norren Workshop do if they discovered that the Allied Forces were looking for their hideout?
Without a doubt, they will try their best to intercept and eliminate the reconnaissance teams on the outer perimeter.
This gave the Allied forces information—by analyzing the 'mortality rate' and 'loss of contact rate' of reconnaissance teams in each sector, they could deduce in reverse which directions the interception forces of the Norn Works were mainly concentrated in.
The direction in which the reconnaissance team suffered the most heavy losses, and the direction in which communication was lost the fastest, indicates which direction Norren Works deployed the most interception forces.
Why deploy heavy forces to intercept in that direction?
Of course, it's because... that direction is close to their real hiding place.
The wizards present were all intrigued when they figured out the plan.
Simple, but effective.
"Of course, the price for doing this is..." Saladin's voice was flat, "Even with us seventh-level wizards stationed in the rear, ready to provide support at any time, the mortality rate of those fifth-level wizards used as 'bait' will probably soar to an outrageous level."
He paused, then added:
"Conservatively speaking, the survival rate of the level 5 wizards who participated in the reconnaissance mission may not exceed 10%."
%.
This number caused some wizards of the Chaos Cult to frown.
This mortality rate is approaching that of newcomers participating in their first interdimensional war.
The problem is that in this way, the ones who die are not the newcomers who come out in large numbers every few years, but the genuine elites who have survived multiple rounds of selection.
But Saladin's next words made their furrowed brows relax:
"However, looking at it from another angle—a level 5 wizard who can survive such a high-intensity reconnaissance battle absolutely possesses the strength, mental fortitude, and luck to advance to level 6. This is equivalent to... using the enemy's power to help us screen out potential seeds."
"Those who survive will be the true elite. As for the dead... consider them necessary sacrifices for the war."
Cold-blooded, but rational.
This is the wizard's way of thinking.
After a brief silence, the level seven wizards present nodded one after another.
"agree."
"It can be executed."
I agree.
The high-ranking wizards quickly reached a consensus, and the orders were swiftly compiled and issued.
three days later.
Norren Workshop Defense Line, Fortress No. 7.
After 72 hours of continuous construction, the entire steel defense line has been completely "brought to life".
The energy circuits between hundreds of fortresses are fully connected, and the integrity of the super-giant composite defense array has reached 97%.
The pale gold shield had changed from its original semi-transparent state to a solid amber color, its thickness had increased fivefold, and the number of runes flowing on its surface had increased twentyfold since the start of the war.
From the air, this defensive line looks like a golden Great Wall stretching across the gray-white wasteland, radiating a chilling energy.
Inside the fortress, Clark stood in the newly expanded control room, looking at the 3D projection sand table that was five times larger than before, his brows furrowed slightly.
On the sand table, the golden area representing our own defense line is as solid as a mountain.
However, outside the defensive line, especially in the ring-shaped area 100 to 500 kilometers away, countless red dots appeared and disappeared like locusts.
Those were "harassment troops" sent by the Chaos Cult and the Tower of Annihilation.
The quantities are not large, ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions each time, with the majority being level three or four, and a small number mixed with level five.
Their tactics were disgusting—instead of a direct assault, they would disperse into dozens of small squads, approach the defensive line from different directions, and when they reached the edge of the turret's firing range, they would quickly unleash several rounds of ranged magic before immediately retreating.
By the time the fortress's turrets were charged and aimed, they had already moved out of optimal firing range.
If pursuers are sent, they will fight and retreat, leading the pursuing units into a pre-set trap zone.
Previously, even a level six wizard perished because of this.
Norren Workshop did intend to provide support, but just as they were preparing to send reinforcements, the enemy's high-level wizards also made their move.
After all, the seventh-tier wizards on both sides... as well as a certain sixth-tier wizard who was somewhat overpowered, were being monitored by the other side's seventh-tier wizards. It could be said that a change in one aspect would affect the whole situation.
While Norren Workshop has Clark as a powerful combatant, its overall combat strength is still at a disadvantage.
If we break out of our defensive lines to fight, our chances of winning are slim.
Moreover, the wizards in the workshop were ordered to delay as much as possible, and starting the final battle ahead of schedule would not be a wise choice.
Therefore, the level seven wizards had no choice but to remain inactive.
If the low-level wizards of the allied forces are ignored, they will harass the wizards on the front line like flies, 24 hours a day, giving them no peace.
"A typical tactic of attrition warfare."
In the center of the control room, Dionysius Spencer hovered in mid-air, staring at the red dot on the sand table, his voice devoid of emotion:
"Knowing that a direct assault wouldn't work, they resorted to this kind of exhausting harassment. On one hand, it prevented us from focusing on construction, and on the other hand... it was also a test of our defensive line's reaction speed, looking for possible weaknesses."
Clark nodded, but his gaze drifted to the outermost area of the sand table.
There, the blue dot representing the Norren Workshop reconnaissance team was constantly coming into contact, exchanging fire, and disappearing with the crimson dot representing the enemy reconnaissance unit.
The intensity of those battles... was frighteningly high.
"The reconnaissance battle on the perimeter has been going on for two days now," Clark said in a low voice. "According to statistics, the frequency of encounters between our reconnaissance teams and enemy reconnaissance teams has increased by 300% in the past 24 hours. Moreover... the casualty ratio is far from ideal."
Dionysius was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke:
"The other side is looking for our 'hiding place'."
Clark felt a chill run down his spine.
As one of the core operators of the fortress defense system, he certainly knew that some of the level seven wizards and five hundred level six wizards from the Norren Workshop were not on the defensive line.
Where they went is a top secret; even most level six wizards don't have the authority to know.
But everyone could guess that those missing high-ranking wizards must have been making some kind of crucial "trump card deployment".
The enemy clearly noticed this as well and began a frantic search.
"We are short-staffed, and the number of troops we can disperse is limited. If this continues, even if we manage to stop the enemy, they can still deduce the general direction based on the casualties," Clark said in a deep voice.
"So the reconnaissance teams we sent out had two missions," Dionysius said calmly. "First, to find any possible 'hideouts' the enemy might have. Second... to intercept and eliminate the enemy's search forces as comprehensively as possible, and to do everything in our power to delay them from finding our hideout."
"However, this will cause the intensity of the fighting in this area to increase rapidly."
As if to prove his words...
At the edge of the sand table, a blue dot representing our reconnaissance team flickered violently a few times after being attacked by three crimson dots, and then...
It's gone out.
That means an elite level 5 wizard... has fallen.
Dionysius Spencer turned to his junior brother, whose expression was overly calm: "If I remember correctly, your two students also volunteered to join the battle, right? Aren't you worried about them?"
"These two kids are both quite talented; it would be such a shame to lose them."
Clark nodded expressionlessly: "It's alright, they all have resurrection items."
Dionysius Spencer, who had originally intended to comfort his junior brother, choked up upon hearing this.
He hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself, organizing his thoughts...
Finally, he clicked his tongue and left with a sour taste in his mouth.
On the sand table, another blue dot of light, surrounded by deep red dots, went out.
But then, new blue lights flew out from the defensive line and resolutely flew towards the outer area stained with blood.
(End of this chapter)