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Chapter 515: "Mighty" Reinforcements
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Precision arrows claimed the lives of one gnoll warrior after another.
These gnoll warriors howled fiercely, yet they could not break through the ogre army's defensive line to attack the drow archers hiding behind.
Meanwhile, other slaves, including gray dwarves, blocked the gnoll warriors' paths.
These battle-hardened slave warriors, survivors of countless battles, were elite combatants with exceptional strength.
Even the most ruthless and demanding drow would not waste their lives carelessly.
After all, they were too valuable.
Under drow control, most slave warriors, except for a few elites, were only given weapons, not armor.
The reasoning was simple: maximize their lethality while ensuring their swift deaths.
The deaths of slave warriors were no cause for concern; the drow could always capture more. What they feared most was the danger of raising a tiger only to be bitten by it.
Thus, the drow's method of controlling slave warriors was rapid elimination of the majority while retaining only a select few.
Despite the gnoll soldiers' large numbers and fierce efforts, they still could not breach the defensive line, and their morale began to wane.
As casualties among the gnoll soldiers mounted, the gnoll warlord howled the order to retreat.
The drow did not pursue.
The enemy was already exhausted. If they had a contingent of lizard-mounted cavalry to launch a charge,
they could at least exploit the momentum to slaughter more and potentially rout the enemy.
But for the cautious drow, killing more gnoll soldiers was far less important than preserving their own lives.
While both sides were weak, the poorly equipped gnoll army was even more vulnerable.
Thus, the drow had won—and would likely continue to win in the future.
However, the complete annihilation of the supply convoys, after dragging on for two more days, finally drew the attention of the drow army.
They soon discovered that communications with the drow camp had been severed, and the teleportation array was no longer functional.
The drow camp was in danger!
Drow commander Leah swept her cold gaze over the wounded scout who had returned. His sparse intelligence had barely saved his life.
Images of the Bay Territory soldiers surfaced in Leah's mind, and she immediately concluded that the drow camp was already lost.
Yet even she could not abandon nearly 20,000 soldiers so easily.
Moreover, Leah wasn't about to pass up the opportunity the Bay Territory had intentionally delivered to her doorstep.
"Who is willing to reinforce the camp and defeat our enemies in the process?"
The other drow commanders in the tent immediately turned to look at her.
There was clearly some kind of trap!
Leah chuckled softly, her deep purple pupils gleaming faintly as she spoke leisurely:
"Whoever volunteers will receive command of 60,000 gnoll slaves."
Now there was an incentive!
This piqued their interest.
Who wouldn't want more slaves under their command?
With control of this gnoll army, the experienced drow commanders had plenty of means to tame the gnoll slaves or use them to capture even more.
Even though they suspected the enemy might be extremely dangerous, they couldn't resist stepping into the trap.
Half a day later,
news of the drow army sending reinforcements reached Matthew.
Glancing at the assembled trebuchets and the mountain of stone ammunition, Matthew waved toward the eerily silent drow camp:
"Begin the operation."
Angela, who had been waiting, immediately started issuing orders.
The Bay Territory soldiers, who had been standing by for days, sprang into action at top speed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The long mechanical arms rumbled loudly.
At Angela's command, massive round boulders began hurling toward the camp.
The rolling boulders thundered as they smashed into the camp.
The stone houses built by the spellcasters were instantly shattered into fragments by the massive stones.
Caught off guard, the drow had nowhere to run, crushed into pieces along with their shelters.
The previously silent camp erupted into chaos.
All eyes filled with terror as they watched the incoming boulders.
A deep sense of helplessness swept over every drow.
The boulders didn't shatter upon impact. Instead, they continued rolling recklessly, crushing anything in their path.
The drow commander, who had planned to defend the camp, stared blankly at the boulders crashing through and felt an overwhelming despair.
It was as if the enemy had anticipated their every move, crushing all their strategies.
Boom!
The seemingly indestructible walls collapsed, opening a wide gap that reduced the gnoll slaves behind it to pulp.
These newly transferred gnoll slaves, already broken in spirit and stripped of any will to fight,
now faced an overwhelming attack they couldn't resist, plunging them into chaos.
Their first reaction was to flee through the breach.
But they only collided with more incoming boulders.
The barrage of boulders was relentless.
The once-sturdy walls now bore gaping holes one after another.
Through the cracks in the walls, the drow commander saw Bay Territory's soldiers, lined up in formation, waiting for the bombardment to end.
They were about to attack!
Seeing the chaotic gnoll slaves, the drow commander finally understood.
From the moment she failed to order an immediate breakout days ago, she had already lost the chance to win.
Her pale purple eyes glinted with ferocity as she growled softly:
"Die with me!"
As the boulders stopped, a dark red light spread out in all directions.
The previously scattered gnolls let out terrifying roars, their faces twisted with madness.
Summoning the last of her mental strength, the drow commander pointed at Bay Territory's soldiers from afar and roared:
"Kill!!"
But in that moment, despair washed over her as she noticed something.
The Bay Territory soldiers, neatly aligned, suddenly halted their advance.
Instead, they began an orderly retreat.
They fell back to the breaches, using crossbows to hold their ground.
Even this was part of a lure.
The frenzied gnolls surged forward, slamming into the Bay Territory soldiers' defensive line.
A brutal melee ensued.
Relaxing slightly, Angela kept a watchful eye on the berserk gnoll slaves, making mental notes:
"In large-scale battles, we must always be wary of the drow's tricks."
Despite her caution, Angela was well aware that the battle in the camp was effectively over.
The next step was to deal with the drow reinforcements, who remained unaware of the camp's fall.
Meanwhile,
at the entrance to the wide second passage,
tens of thousands of gnoll slaves marched noisily into the dark corridor.
Their movements were caught by countless faintly glowing eyes.
Covering the mouth of a gray dwarf, an ogre grinned and said:
"The ones courting death have arrived!"