Chapter 31: The Fortress Caught in the Crossfire
After four more deathmatches, Su Xiao's overall combat power remained stuck at B. As for enhancing his monster, that would have to wait until after the deathmatches concluded.
Putting his monster into hibernation mode, Su Xiao shut down the deathmatch terminal. This game was quite good—it helped pass the time and allowed him to gain some benefits on the side. He had already won five consecutive matches, and whatever rewards he would receive would be sent to him after he returned to Reincarnation Paradise.
Before logging out, Su Xiao saw a system message: after accumulating 100 wins, he would qualify to participate in the Deathmatch Tournament.
When the Deathmatch Tournament would be held depended on the situation. It was a knockout competition; as long as one reached the top 50, a new mode would be unlocked.
One of these modes was called Deathmatch Chariot, where monsters drove vehicles. It was a somewhat silly entertainment mode, very popular among viewers, and offered higher profits.
In a way, the early deathmatch arenas were for screening and training, honing players' abilities to control their monsters, so they could perform better in subsequent modes.
Or, to put it another way, the deathmatch game company didn't want to share the profits with players who had no skill.
The early stages were bloody and brutal, the middle gradually became more cheerful, and the later stages even started to get a bit silly. This was the interesting part of deathmatch—how you played was entirely up to you. If you wanted brutal arena deathmatches in the later stages, there were plenty to choose from.
To gain benefits through deathmatch, being able to fight was one thing, but more importantly, it was about points. The number of points depended on the number of viewers.
Putting away the deathmatch terminal, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed, deep in thought. The deathmatch game was fun, but he couldn't let it delay his main tasks. Dealing with the Elf race was the priority now.
The reason Su Xiao was attacking fortresses one by one wasn't just for battle merits and titles, but also to avoid having a large enemy force attacking him from the rear when he assaulted the Elr Forest.
After capturing a fortress, he couldn't hold it, but he could have the War Treefolk dismantle them. For example, the "Blazing Valley Fortress" had already been leveled by the War Treefolk. Capturing a fortress was difficult, and dismantling it from the inside was no easy task either—it was hard labor.
After Su Xiao left Moonlight Fortress, this fortress would also be demolished. This way, when he attacked the Elr Forest, he would have no worries about his rear.
The next fortress was the Elf race's "Ancient Tree Fortress." According to Baha's reconnaissance last night, the Elf race had already mobilized a large number of troops and was marching toward the Ancient Tree Fortress.
In a way, after capturing the "Ancient Tree Fortress," Su Xiao would have the qualification to attack the Elr Forest. As for the "Crescent Fortress" behind the Ancient Tree Fortress, it was just a decoration. A fortress without spell formations was just a supply depot.
After breakfast, Su Xiao, along with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, walked out of the two-story building. Rain fell, wetting his black feathered cloak. The cool air filled his nostrils, fresh and crisp.
The army had already assembled inside the fortress. Su Xiao stepped onto the back of the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos. With a dragon roar, the fortress gates opened, and 510,000 Wolf Cavalrymen surged out of Moonlight Fortress, splattering mud everywhere.
Inside the fortress, 1,200 War Treefolk had transformed from war giants into a demolition crew, specializing in dismantling fortresses.
Just as Su Xiao left the fortress, dozens of kilometers away, signal flares shot into the sky, spreading outward in a relay.
Between Moonlight Fortress and Ancient Tree Fortress, there were at least 30,000 reconnaissance troops, constantly monitoring the movements of Moonlight Fortress.
Eighty kilometers away, a fortress made of trees stood. The entire fortress was about 90 meters high, its walls completely formed from interwoven trees.
Originally, the Ancient Tree Fortress, like many others, was made of stone. But for some unknown reason, the spell formations on the walls had changed, and the fortress had come to life.
At first, several Elf warriors mysteriously disappeared, catching the attention of an Elf elder. Through investigation, he discovered that the fortress itself was the problem.
If this had been any other faction, they would have demolished and rebuilt the fortress. But the Elf race, who lived in the forest and were skilled at coexisting with trees, didn't dismantle it. Instead, they fed the fortress a large number of life-attributed gems.
Over time, the Ancient Tree Fortress became more and more alive. Eventually, it developed a vague consciousness and chose to coexist with the Elf race, helping them defend against enemies.
The weather wasn't good today. It was still raining, and the wasteland was a muddy mess.
Standing on the walls of the Ancient Tree Fortress, Elf Elder Ruth gazed into the distance. His spirits were high. Today, he couldn't see how they could lose.
Having learned from the previous lesson, all civilians in the Ancient Tree Fortress had been evacuated. This wasn't out of fear, but a precaution.
Inside the Ancient Tree Fortress were 300,000 Elf warriors, who had prepared a large number of arrows. On the left and right sides outside the fortress were 100,000 Elf warriors each, all elite melee fighters.
Inside, left, and right—that was 500,000 troops. And that wasn't all. In front were 100,000 Dawn Guard Elf warriors. As the Elf race's most elite troops, they would have no problem holding off the Wolf Cavalry's charge.
300,000 archers + 200,000 elite warriors + 100,000 Dawn Guard—this lineup was practically unbeatable. What was even more reassuring was that the Ancient Tree Fortress itself was a super-massive war weapon. Wolf Cavalry climbing the walls? No problem. As many as came, as many would die.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Ruth's face. The rain in the sky began to lighten, and a ray of sunlight broke through.
The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and Elf Elder Ruth stood tall again.
"Warriors, today will be a memorable day!"
"Roar!"
The Elf warriors roared in unison. After two consecutive fortresses had been breached, they had a fire burning in their hearts.
A black tide rapidly approached from the distance. Seeing this, horns sounded from within the Ancient Tree Fortress.
"Ha!"
The 100,000 Dawn Guard warriors shouted in unison, each holding a brown wooden shield and a slashing sword in the other hand, each sword 1.2 meters long, prepared for cavalry.
As for having the Elf race use spears or pikes—don't even think about it. The Elf race looked down on such "crude" fighting methods.
"Prepare to meet the charge!"
Ruth shouted, his hand trembling imperceptibly. The day to avenge their shame had arrived!
Just as the 100,000 Dawn Guard warriors prepared to meet the Wolf Cavalry's charge, all 510,000 Wolf Cavalrymen changed direction, bypassing the Ancient Tree Fortress ten kilometers to the right, and charged toward its rear.
Seeing this, Ruth and the Elf prince beside him both changed expression.
"Crescent..."
"Crescent Fortress is in danger."
The Elf prince beside Ruth was about to give an order when Ruth stopped him. Pursuing at this point would be unwise. The Wolf Cavalry's marching speed was unprecedented in the history of the Canglong Continent.
An hour later, Ruth received a battle report: Crescent Fortress was under attack, besieged by hundreds of thousands of Wolf Cavalry. The situation was critical. A black dragon was rampaging, burning the fortress. Without spell formations, the walls were almost being melted into lava.
Upon receiving this report, Ruth steadied himself. He decided to hold his position.
Half an hour later, Ruth received another report: 100,000 reinforcements sent by other units had been ambushed on the way. A total of 150,000 Wolf Cavalry had launched a charge-style surprise attack on the reinforcements on the plain.
The result of encountering cavalry on the plain was predictable. That reinforcement unit was routed, with 70% casualties.
The subsequent six reinforcement units were all beaten to a pulp without exception. While besieging Crescent Fortress, the enemy was also ambushing nearby reinforcements.
Now, any unit that went to reinforce Crescent Fortress would be in trouble. In plain warfare, the Wolf Cavalry were unbeatable, defying all logic.
An hour later, Ruth received another report: Crescent Fortress... had been breached.
Seeing this report, Ruth's head spun. Everyone had thought it would be a decisive battle between the Ancient Tree Fortress and the Wolf Cavalry Legion. But they hadn't fought, and the rear's Crescent Fortress was gone. The Wolf Cavalry's mobility left the Elf race helpless.
Soon, another report made Elf Elder Ruth's blood pressure spike: the enemy's Wolf Cavalry Legion was heading straight for the Elr Forest, seemingly ignoring the Ancient Tree Fortress.
At this moment, two others felt the same as Ruth: Grey Gentleman and Moon Apostle. The reason was the change in the battle merit rankings.
[Reputation Ranking has been refreshed. Current ranking is as follows:]
First Place: White Night (Reincarnation Paradise), 1,030,000 battle merits (due to excessive battle merit acquisition, statistics will be in ten-thousands).
Second Place: Moon Apostle (Apocalypse Paradise), 294,700 battle merits.
Third Place: Grey Gentleman (Reincarnation Paradise), 285,000 battle merits.
Fourth Place: Gulu (Reincarnation Paradise), 21,500 battle merits.
Fifth Place: Flame Master (Sanctuary Paradise), 19,215 battle merits.
Sixth Place: Wood Owl (Holy Light Paradise), 8,190 battle merits.
Seventh Place: Wasteland Sea (Watchful Paradise), 998 battle merits.
...