Chapter 71 : Chapter 71
Chapter 71. Grinding Through the Work
It was the second day of the war.
On the front line of the Bitter Cold Valley, a scene that could only be described as surreal unfolded.
The Demi-Human Empire had deployed their pride and joy—the heavy-armored combat engineers.
The heavy armor worn by these engineers could even withstand attacks from the Fourth Realm.
Each of them was wrapped in enchantment armor as thick as a turtle’s shell, holding all kinds of strange detection and dismantling tools in their hands.
The formation looked massive and imposing.
Then they began “clearing mines.”
Their movements were outrageously slow.
A Northern Territory soldier lay behind a piece of cover, staring through a telescope for a long time until he was completely dumbfounded.
He watched as five burly men surrounded a glowing rune casually left behind by Logaris West.
They drew circles around it, scattered powder, and chanted incantations.
Finally, they used a long pole and carefully poked the rune.
The rune fizzled and went out with a “ZZZT.”
The five men immediately sighed in relief.
They patted each other on the shoulders in celebration, then sat down on the spot and rested for ten minutes.
By the end of the entire day, this engineering unit that had been entrusted with great expectations had managed to push the battle line forward…
Less than one hundred meters.
Even a turtle would offer them a cigarette after seeing that level of efficiency.
This absurd battle report was extensively written by Ulzok.
He used the most exaggerated vocabulary to describe the Northern Territory’s defenses as “bizarre,” “sinister,” and “powerful,” and sent it by express dispatch straight to the desk of the Regent, Remington.
In the report, General Ulzok expressed deep anguish.
In order to “cherish every soldier’s life,” he claimed that he had no choice but to adopt the most cautious tactics possible.
…
Northern side of the Bitter Cold Valley.
Northern Territory Joint Command Headquarters.
“What are they doing? Having a picnic?”
A young officer looked at the enemy pieces on the sand table that had barely moved and could not help complaining.
General Victor’s brows twisted into a tight knot.
He had even forgotten to smoke the cigar in his hand.
He had fought battles his entire life.
He had experienced victories with the wind at his back and desperate fights against overwhelming odds.
But he had never seen a war fought like this.
On the first day, the enemy vanguard had been shattered by a round of artillery bombardment.
On the second day, they started performing behavioral art?
“General… could it be that the commander on the other side is an idiot?” the adjutant carefully suggested.
General Victor glanced at him and immediately crossed that possibility out of his mind.
Anyone who could become a legion commander could not possibly be a fool.
If something behaved abnormally, there had to be something strange behind it.
The old general’s instincts told him that there must be a huge conspiracy behind this.
“Pass down the order!”
Victor suddenly stood up, his voice booming.
“The entire army is to maintain the highest level of alert! They may be trying to numb us while their main force attempts to cross over from another location—perhaps from the other side of the Dragon Mountain Range! Increase reconnaissance immediately!”
The general’s order instantly tightened the previously relaxed atmosphere inside the command headquarters.
The staff officers began frantically studying the map, trying to identify every possible route the enemy might use to attack.
The entire Northern Territory command had been thrown into a state of paranoia by the Demi-Human Empire’s “serious slacking.”
Meanwhile, inside the Magitech command tent in the rear, Logaris West also fell into deep thought.
On the light screen before him, the positional coordinates of the enemy forces had barely changed.
For the first time, he felt that the development of the battlefield situation had slightly deviated from his expectations.
However, he was not nervous at all.
Instead, the curiosity buried deep within him began to stir.
“Interesting.”
He took a sip of coffee and raised an eyebrow.
He truly wanted to see what kind of trick these demi-humans were hiding.
At the same time, inside the central camp of the Demi-Human Empire, the atmosphere was peaceful.
The soldiers showed none of the tension that normally preceded a major battle.
Instead, they seemed delighted by the leisure.
Some were polishing their weapons.
Others were reinforcing the tents.
Many more gathered in small groups of three or five, gambling enthusiastically with bone tiles that no one knew where they had found.
Those who lost had to perform several push-ups on the spot, which triggered bursts of laughter.
This was less like a military camp and more like a massive team-building event.
This peaceful scene was soon shattered by a piercing scream.
“Trash! Worthless fools! A pack of cowards who have desecrated the will of our Lord!”
The Cult Bishop almost crashed into the command tent.
Two black-robed guards with cold auras followed closely behind him.
He strode straight toward Ulzok and Kane and began furiously cursing while pointing at their noses.
“An entire day! How far has your army advanced? One hundred meters! Are you insulting the very word war?”
“I will report you to His Highness the Regent! I will accuse you of passive dereliction of duty!”
The bishop’s voice was so shrill that it hurt the ears.
His entire body trembled slightly with anger.
However, this time Ulzok did not explode in rage.
Instead, he put on a “wronged” and “helpless” expression.
He slammed a document onto the table with a loud smack.
“Your Excellency, please see for yourself!”
The bear demi-human spoke in a rough voice filled with grievance.
“It is not that I do not want to fight! The enemy’s traps are simply too complex! Layer upon layer, with endless variations that we have never seen before! This report only records the three types we managed to dismantle yesterday! There must be an expert behind this!”
He pointed at the messy rune analysis diagrams drawn throughout the report, his expression filled with anguish.
“I cannot just send my brothers to fill these bottomless pits with their lives! I am a general! I must be responsible for my soldiers!”
His words were righteous and emotionally charged.
The bishop was momentarily speechless.
He picked up the report and flipped through it.
Although he could not understand a single word, the complicated diagrams and the thick stack of pages made it difficult for him to find any grounds for rebuttal.
At this moment, Kane—the white wolf demi-human who had remained silent—sighed and stepped forward to mediate.
“Your Excellency, General Ulzok is also acting with the best of intentions. The Northern Territory’s defenses are as solid as an iron fortress. Our intelligence suffered serious errors, and a direct assault is indeed not the best strategy.”
As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted.
His gaze burned intensely as he looked at the bishop.
“However… I do have an idea.”
“Your Excellency possesses extraordinary abilities, and the warriors under your command are elite fighters whose faith in the gods is unwavering. The Dragon Mountain Range may be treacherous, but for someone protected by divine power like you, it should not pose much difficulty.”
Kane’s voice was filled with admiration and subtle temptation.
“If you were to personally lead an elite force across the mountains and deliver a fatal strike from the enemy’s flank, we could launch a full assault from the front at the same time. With a pincer attack from both sides, the Northern Territory’s defenses would collapse in an instant.”
“Such an unparalleled achievement would surely be recorded in the sacred scriptures of the Church and earn you supreme glory before our Lord!”
These words directly scratched the bishop’s itch.
That was right.
What great accomplishments could these muscle-brained soldiers possibly achieve?
In the end, everything would still depend on him.
On his devotion to the gods.
The bishop’s face flushed red, and his breathing became heavier.
He imagined himself descending like a divine warrior beneath the walls of Winter City, purifying all those heretics and false believers.
A wave of fanatic fervor surged within his heart.
“Hmph! A group of incompetents!”
The bishop had been persuaded.
He coldly glanced at the two legion commanders, flicked his sleeves, and turned around to leave.
“Wait for my good news! The glory of victory will ultimately belong to our Lord!”
As they watched the bishop storm away in anger, Ulzok and Kane exchanged a glance.
The look in their eyes no longer carried the previous disguise.
There was only a fleeting trace of cold understanding.
Act.
Just keep acting.
After all, neither of them was going to send their soldiers to die.