Global Lords: My Territory Heart Is a World Tree

Overcome by intense panic, the remaining Heavy Armor Warriors’ morale shattered. They fled frantically back to their territory.

It was clear they would take no further part in this battle. Even after it was over, they would need time to recover from the psychological trauma.

Another small contingent of Heavy Armor Warriors, surrounded by Al’s army, simply gave up the fight. Even though they were stronger than the soldiers encircling them, they had lost all will to battle.

In any case, Brelli’s cousin’s main force had suffered devastating losses from the elves’ attack, rendering them combat ineffective.

After a brief moment of sorrow, Brelli’s cousin descended into a sort of madness. His eyes were bloodshot, his expression twisted and savage.

"You bastard, Al! You despicable rat! You screwed me over again! This army was everything I had! I’ll make you wish you were never born!"

"Everyone, attack! They can’t keep using that trick, or they wouldn’t have bothered luring us down here in the first place!"

At his command, the morale of his own army, as well as the reinforcements from the other lords, surged once more, and they renewed their assault.

This time, however, they didn’t advance in a dense formation. They kept a slight distance from one another, clearly afraid that Al’s army would use that "trick" again and wipe them all out at once.

After they adjusted their formation, the "trick" indeed did not reappear. They gradually shed their caution and fought with increasing ferocity, slowly encircling Al’s army.

Just as they were about to launch an all-out assault to finish Al’s army, and just as the elves at the heart of the encirclement prepared to cast spells to save them...

...the unexpected happened once again. A portion of the soldiers in the great army surrounding Al suddenly dropped their weapons and fled.

"What’s going on? What happened?"

Brelli’s cousin was stunned. He couldn’t understand. Their army clearly had the upper hand, so how could the morale of the besieging soldiers suddenly collapse?

’Did those cloaked figures use another one of their ’tricks’?’

Before he could make sense of it, even more soldiers threw down their weapons and scattered.

This time, he got a clear look. The fleeing soldiers were all reinforcements sent by other lords. His own troops could only stare in bewilderment at their fleeing comrades.

’A ’trick’ couldn’t possibly distinguish between my own men and the reinforcements. That means there’s only one other possibility.’

’Something has happened to the territories of those supporting lords. Either the lords themselves are dead, or their lands have fallen.’

’Either way, it means their territories are under attack.’

"You... you have other allies?"

"Of course. It’s not like I’m the only one who can call for aid. You can, too. I was careless. I thought that once everyone saw your ambition, they would refuse to help you, even if they wouldn’t help me."

Brelli’s cousin felt he had found the answer. It had to be other Titan Race lords helping Al.

"You think I need anyone else’s help?"

From within the encirclement, Al heard Brelli’s cousin’s words and laughed with contempt.

"Is that not it? You have a hundred thousand troops here facing me. You mean to tell me you have another army to attack other lords?"

"Even if they sent some of their forces here, their remaining armies aren’t made of clay! You can’t just conquer them by sending a handful of elite soldiers!"

Brelli’s cousin refused to believe Al.

"You’re right," Al agreed. "A handful of elites certainly can’t conquer a well-defended territory."

"But what makes you think I only have a handful?"

"I have tens of thousands more of those elites that fought you the other day. And I have hundreds of thousands of regular soldiers I didn’t bring with me. Right now, they’re all busy attacking the lords who came to support you."

"Impossible! Unless you’ve turned every single citizen in your territory into a soldier. But if you did that, what would you eat? What resources would you have left?"

Al’s words made Brelli’s cousin question his own reality. Even with many barracks, it’s impossible to recruit soldiers indefinitely. They need supplies.

But facts speak louder than words. As more and more soldiers’ morale collapsed, Brelli’s cousin halted the offensive. He had to prevent the chaos that would ensue if the reinforcing troops suddenly broke rank and fled mid-battle.

The two armies faced off again, while Al and Brelli’s cousin engaged in a war of words.

During their few minutes of verbal sparring, the armies of all four lords who had come to support Brelli’s cousin completely fell apart.

All that remained on the field were Brelli’s cousin’s own one hundred thousand-plus troops and Al’s seventy thousand.

"So it really was your army?"

By now, Brelli’s cousin had learned through the chat channel that the lords supporting him had all come under attack by Al.

From the accounts of the fleeing soldiers, he didn’t even need to guess. The four lords were likely either dead or in dire straits. Even if they survived, without their territories, they would be nothing more than wandering lords, forced to seek a new master to serve.

As for avenging themselves and taking back their lands? Knowing those lords, he was certain they didn’t have the courage.

"How could you possibly conquer their territories? How do you have so many soldiers? Are your soldiers really that strong?"

The brutal reality was a crushing blow to Brelli’s cousin. He refused to accept it.

’Because this meant that even if he gained the upper hand here and repelled Al’s attack, his own territory would be defenseless once Al’s other armies arrived.’

"That’s it! Al, I can’t let you leave!"

"You’re surrounded by my army right now. If I kill you, your entire domain will collapse on its own!"