Chapter 406 - 18: Madman Al
Therefore, all the farms in the Als Territory were demolished, with all food being supplied by the main territory.
Other civilian and resource-gathering buildings were also mostly demolished, with the sole exception of the Heavy Rock Quarry.
This was because the main territory took care of providing those resources as well.
Although the sub-territory didn’t share the main territory’s unique bonuses, people from the main territory could still visit.
So, Lin Yu sent over a good number of sprites. Now, a sprite was wrapped around every one of the great trees unique to the Titan Race.
Using their abilities, the sprites extracted the wood from these trees, which had incredibly hard trunks from growing in three-times-normal gravity. This wood was then condensed into lumber and taken to the warehouse. While not as efficient as a lumber mill, the sheer number of sprites more than made up for it.
The one exception was the Heavy Rock Quarry. Since there were no specialized buildings for extracting heavy rock, the sprites couldn’t handle the task. Al had to organize his people to mine it himself.
However, this freed up a great deal of manpower in the Als Territory. Now, aside from the few people working in the Heavy Rock Quarry, Al had converted the rest of the populace to combat classes. Countless Recruitment Offices were built across the territory, and he recruited every type of soldier available to him.
(The bodies of the Titan Clan People, who lived under three-times gravity, were incredibly strong. None of them were of Common-grade; they could all be converted to combat classes without any issue.)
Finally, on the first day of the third month, the Als Territory had assembled a 200,000-strong army of the Titan Race.
However, despite its imposing size, it contained only Excellent-grade soldiers and Fine-grade siege units.
Of course, Al didn’t expect these soldiers to accomplish much. Their primary purpose was to act as a screen, concealing the existence of the main territory’s 40,000-strong Heroic Corps and confounding the reconnaissance of other lords.
After all, he was embarking on a campaign of conquest starting today. If his army seemed too small yet was still able to capture territory after territory, it would surely arouse suspicion.
Outside the city walls of the Als Territory, Al gazed upon the imposing, neatly arrayed army before him and the 40,000-strong Heroic Corps at his back. He shouted in excitement.
"Men! From this day forward, we officially go to war with the other lords!"
"And remember, at all times, watch your mouths! No careless talk. Your families back in the territory are watching you."
(Some of the soldiers had been converted from the general populace, and many of them had already started families within the territory.)
Then, at Al’s command, the 200,000-strong army split into several columns and marched off in different directions.
The largest contingent, about 100,000 strong, marched under Al’s direct command toward the territory of Brelli’s cousin.
Following them was a detachment of 3,000 heroes.
These heroes were not like the armored, close-combat ones who had previously dueled the heavily armored Titan Race soldiers.
They wore light coats and cowled hoods, their faces obscured by veils, completely hiding their features and figures.
However, their height, which far surpassed that of the Titan Clan People, clearly distinguished them from the average member of the race.
...
A few hours later, the army arrived before the city walls of Brelli’s cousin.
"So, Al, you actually came!"
Atop the city walls, behind tightly shut gates, a contingent of Titan Clan People stood ready. The voice of Brelli’s cousin drifted down from above.
"I, Al, am a man of my word. I said I’d take your city, and take it I will. I’ve already let you live freely for many days. Are you prepared to face my great army?"
Al spread his arms wide and shouted up at the walls.
"Hahaha! You’re a man of your word, and so am I. Take a look at this!"
Several large banners were raised atop the wall. Al focused his gaze and saw they bore the sigils of other lords.
With the appearance of the banners, countless more soldiers materialized on the walls.
"Hahaha! See that? These are the reinforcements I’ve gathered! The other lords heard of your ambition and all sent aid. Against our combined forces, you’d best curb that ambition of yours."
"With just these men?" Al’s tone was full of disdain.
"Not enough? With them here, it’s not even a question of whether you can take my city. This should show you the stance of all the surrounding lords."
"You brought so many men... I bet you’ve emptied your entire territory. How many soldiers do you have left defending it?"
"Right now, the armies of the other lords have probably surrounded your city!"
"Besides, now that you’ve left your territory, its defensive ’turtle’ trait is useless. What have you got left to fight me with?"
"Even with those powerful soldiers you had before, it’s useless. As long as I can hold off your assault, your territory will be overrun in no time."
"Once your territory is gone, your soldiers’ morale will shatter. Then, you’ll be the fish and I’ll be the carving knife—completely at my mercy!"
"So, what’s it going to be? Are you still going to attack?"
Brelli’s cousin asked loudly, his voice brimming with confidence.
To his surprise, Al showed no signs of panic after hearing him out.
"Attack! Of course we’ll attack!!!"
"I came all this way. How could I face the men who followed me if we don’t even put up a fight?!"
"Charge!"
Al’s soldiers immediately launched an all-out assault. Aside from a small contingent held in reserve, the rest of the army charged forward, carrying all manner of siege equipment.
"Fuck! He’s really a madman! He actually wants to trade territories? Fine, bring it on! Let’s see whose territory falls first—yours or mine!"
After a moment’s thought, Brelli’s cousin believed he understood Al’s plan and quickly commanded his soldiers to engage the enemy.
In reality, Al wasn’t the least bit worried about his own territory being conquered.
For one, the current Als Territory wasn’t even his main territory, but merely a sub-territory. Even if it fell, his soldiers wouldn’t suffer a drop in morale.
More importantly, the rest of his army and heroes, led by several Legendary Heroes from the main territory, had already set out for the lands of those other lords.
Before marching on the territory of Brelli’s cousin, the main territory’s Beetle Demon scouts had already identified which lords sent reinforcements. They had also gathered intelligence on the home territories of those very same lords.
With such an intelligence advantage, those lords couldn’t even dream of attacking the Als Territory. In fact, their own cities were likely on the verge of being breached.