CHAPTER 716: CHAPTER 20: WAR BEGINS

"Move! Move!"

In response to the Company Commander’s shout, squads of soldiers rushed out from the barracks.

These soldiers were fully armed, with Enchanted Alchemy Armor that even included basic exoskeletons.

The Goblin soldiers carried huge boxes on their backs, and their multifunctional belts were equipped with Alchemy Sabers called "Melted Iron" and five Annihilation Hand Grenades at their waists.

Meanwhile, the Werewolf soldiers had an additional multifunctional Alchemy Shield and more armor auxiliary attachments.

The two types of soldiers mixed together, forming the smallest combat units centered around Wizards. Within these units, a few Heroic Spirit soldiers, whose eyes faintly glowed with Holy Light despite their ordinary appearance, were included as fuses for each combat unit.

Once the legion was fully assembled, the Legion Commander stepped to the front to give a brief speech.

After the speech, this truly Mixed Species Army boarded the War Airship and flew out from the camp.

Under their feet, the massive fortress group built by Wizards continually "revived."

Countless Alien servant armies shuttled between the fortresses, activating facilities that had been idle for two years.

The war was about to begin.

...

"Elte, the command has finally come to its senses."

Aboard the War Airship, Lael held a command order from the head, wearing a surprised smile.

"Hmm? What does the General Command say?"

Elte curiously took the order, and after looking through it, his face also showed a shocked expression.

"It only contains the target, time, and strategic intent, without specific tactical details. Are we being given the freedom to strategize?"

Lael chuckled at the words: "The bigwigs up there have finally wised up, the last action in the Northern battlefield was probably just an experiment.

Our brothers in the Northern battlefield, relying on independent strategy, were surrounded for three months without significant losses, and it seems the top considers this approach feasible."

Elte scrutinized the command several times before finally returning it to Lael.

"Maybe, but handing this over to us isn’t entirely a good thing. Previously, problems could be shifted to the higher-ups, now if we fail, the responsibility rests entirely on us."

Elte’s words did not dampen Lael’s excitement.

He replied: "True, but think about it carefully. In the past, if you failed, would you still be alive to return? Now, never mind anything else, even if we fail, we would return to face censure, even if thrown to the front line as redemption soldiers, it’s better than dying outright."

Elte glanced at him and said blandly: "You’ve used your soul box only once, right? Redemption soldiers truly redeem until death, no matter how many times you die in between."

"Hey, that’s not fun. Don’t you find this arrangement excellent?"

Elte shook his head, a glimmer of insight flashing in his eyes.

"This arrangement is indeed good, no matter how meticulous those old men at the General Staff may be, they can never match Wizards like us who are directly on the battlefield.

If we are lucky, after this war, we may retreat to rest for decades in the rear."

Other than the mad, no one wants to stay on the battlefield front. Even someone veteran like Elte, battered by years of warfare, couldn’t escape exhaustion mentally and physically.

Now, finally, the chance for respite has arrived.

Regarding Richard’s new tactics, most of the Legion Commanders participating in this operation were quite pleased.

To become a Legion Commander in these times, who among them wasn’t someone experienced in countless battles? These individuals haven’t entered the General Staff, not because of insufficient strategic perspective alone, but because the legion requires Legion Commanders, whereas the General Staff does not need so many staff officers.

When it comes to specific tactical operations, the staff of the General Staff may not be as formidable as these frontline Legion Commanders.

However, the Goblins and Werewolves were somewhat uneasy about Richard’s tactics.

For them, it was their first time entering a civilized warfare battlefield, and they hadn’t yet witnessed civilized warfare. Allowing them to make self-decisions in such a situation truly imposes substantial pressure on them.

Fortunately, each legion mostly included a Wizard Legion Commander, preventing the Commanders from being completely inexperienced in decision-making.

As the War Airship gradually flew out of the range of the Alchemy Gun Tower, all the warriors’ hearts were filled with both tension and valor.

The war began.

...

At the Earth Vein Node, the massive Nest had Galaxy Mayflies constantly coming and going.

On the periphery of the Nest, hundreds of hive-like crystal structures floated in the air, each containing a Galaxy Mayfly, looking much like insects in a lake.

These crystals, seemingly unrelated, if observed through Energy Vision, revealed connections via energy pathways.

Upon seeing these things, a few experienced old Wizards had an expression of solemnity on their faces.

"These insects are really cautious," a Wizard Legion Commander muttered to himself.

"What are these things?"

Beside the Wizard Legion Commander, the Goblin Army asked nervously.

"It’s nothing, just an Energy Shield. Last time, our surprise attack of fifty thousand troops annihilated a million-level Nest. These insects seem to have been hurt and specially installed such shields around the Nest."

"Will it have any impact on our surprise attack?" asked the Goblin Legion Commander.

"Yes." The old Wizard nodded, "This layer of Shield prevents our first round of Magic Concentrated Fire from being effective, which in turn increases our losses."

The Goblin Legion Commander’s expression became serious, as if he had made some decision.

"Do you have a way to solve it? If not, the soldiers of my lord are not afraid to sacrifice."

The old Wizard waved his hand, signaling him not to be so agitated.

"Don’t rush, let me think. It’s been a long time since I used my brain, it’s gone rusty."

Having been a puppet on the front lines for hundreds of years, now suddenly having to independently decide tactics, the Wizard Army Commander felt his brain wasn’t working well.

However, these old Wizards at least were educated in traditional Wizardry. Their knowledge accumulation, compared to new Wizards, is like a vast ocean.

After searching in this vast ocean for a while, the Wizard Army Commander’s face suddenly lit up with joy.

"There’s a way. Fortunately, I studied energy resonance back in the day. Wait for my signal, make sure to do Magic Concentrated Fire as soon as I give the signal.

By then, this Energy Shield should be paralyzed by me. Of course, if it’s not paralyzed, then the front line switches with the rear, rear becomes the vanguard, and directly retreat."

"Retreat?"

The Goblin Legion Commander was somewhat dumbfounded, he didn’t understand why they should retreat if they couldn’t paralyze it. Even with the assistance of Wizards, can’t they defeat these Galaxy Mayflies?

"Yes, just retreat." The old Wizard explained briefly, "These bugs are tricky. Without a surprise attack, facing them head-on will cause heavy losses for us."

"The legion isn’t afraid of sacrifice..."

"Shut up, you battlefield rookie." The old Wizard interrupted unceremoniously, "Tone down your sacrifice frenzy. The Great Wizard has prepared so many things for you and wasted so many resources on you.

If you die like some grunt, do you really live up to the Great Wizard’s cultivation?

The battlefield needs results, not sacrifices."

The Goblin Legion Commander was shamed.

"You’re right, I... I was shirking responsibility."

The old Wizard nodded slightly, "No need to blame yourself, rookies all act foolishly. Just command well and wait for my signal."

Having said that, the old Wizard’s body silently turned into a shadow, swiftly approaching the distant Mayfly Nest.

Ten minutes later, the Goblin Legion Commander’s Crystal Ball suddenly vibrated slightly.

The next instant, two thousand Goblin soldiers of the Mixed Species Army simultaneously activated Runes, and two thousand eerie blue Fireballs almost simultaneously burst from the barrel of the Alchemy Gun Tower, like a meteor shower falling towards the Mayfly Nest.

Meanwhile, the Shield Crystals floating in the sky near the Nest suddenly flickered for dozens of them.

Subsequently, these flickering Crystals fell from the sky as if losing power.

Although these Crystals had not yet hit the ground, they began to re-ascend. But as a defensive shield, they had lost their function.

The destructive rain of fire descended from the sky, shaking the Nest to almost shattering, while also shattering these Shield Crystals mid-air.

This battle was essentially over.

...

"Chief Commander, your command is truly as vast as the sea in knowledge."

Abel handed over the summary of the war reports to Richard with respect.

"After changing the command mode, the efficiency of the frontline war has significantly increased. Up to now, two hundred legions have engaged with the Mayflies. Destroyed 76 micro Node Mothers, 12 small Node Mothers, 3 medium Node Mothers, and close to 35 million enemies killed."

If previously, Abel still had doubts about Richard’s new command style, now, he had become a loyal supporter of Richard.

Those tactics he couldn’t understand were merely due to his lack of intelligence.

"Hmm, this result is quite good."

Richard nodded slightly, feeling personally satisfied with this result.

"But make sure to tell the frontline legions, the following actions must be cautious. The window for surprise attacks has passed, and now the Galaxy Mayflies will definitely start to counterattack."

"Yes, Chief Commander."

After responding, Abel was about to leave, but was suddenly called back by Richard.

"Abel, do you have the latest front line war reports? Bring me a copy."

"Frontline war reports?" Abel looked at Richard with some confusion, "You mean the grand frontline war reports, right."

Richard nodded, "Yes, that’s it."

As the Chief Commander of a world, Richard needed to be concerned not just with his own battlefield, but also with the neighboring battles and even reports of the entire warline.

With the five-year grand offensive imminent, he must start preparing early.

"No problem, sir, I will immediately prepare it for you."

...

In the Expedition Nest, the pitch-black King of Mayfly looked at the war reports delivered through the soul network, with two antennae slightly raised.

"After more than two years, they finally couldn’t hold back any longer?"