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Chapter 519: Perfect Coordination
The brutal and intense battle brought massive casualties.
In just one day.
20,000 gnoll slaves had been killed or injured.
The ground was covered with corpses, exuding a strong stench of blood and decay.
Blood gathered into red streams flowing across the battlefield.
Even though they were mentally prepared, the drow elves who issued the attack orders still felt uneasy.
The combat prowess of the Bay Territory soldiers was astonishing. Not only did they withstand the assault, but their resilience was incredible, seemingly unbreakable.
The drow elves, temporarily choosing to retreat, noticed the fear in the gnoll slaves' eyes and began discussing among themselves.
How could they break through the enemy's defenses now?
"Clear the corpses. Keep only the harvested parts; burn the rest."
"Conduct thorough patrols to prevent the drow from bypassing us."
After organizing the battlefield, Arnold rubbed his face, let out a long sigh, and looked at the resting soldiers.
Confirming that their morale was still strong, he turned to Beelzebub and said:
"The battle on the main front has been resolved. We've held off their attack and will achieve victory soon."
Beelzebub, itching for action, silently watched the modified warriors recording their physical conditions and said expectantly:
"The combat abilities of these modified warriors are outstanding. When will this program be rolled out across the entire army?"
Arnold, shaking his head regretfully, pointed to a severely injured soldier nearby and said:
"If their strength isn't sufficient or their physical potential isn't developed enough, the success rate for creating modified warriors is only about 40%."
"Moreover, every successful modified warrior costs more than 100,000 gold coins to produce."
"That's a huge amount of money!"
100,000 gold coins?
Beelzebub, slightly stunned, revealed an understanding expression.
Based on what he knew of the costs in barbarian tribes,
Training a Professional with decent talent (base attributes at 14 points) from entry-level to high-level usually cost around 20,000 gold coins.
It generally took 10 to 15 years.
Here, the time was shortened by nearly tenfold, but the cost increased fivefold.
As the lord had said: "I'll use my money to buy your time!"
News from the frontlines reached Matthew.
Turning to look at the ruins of the drow elf camp, he clicked his tongue and said:
"It seems like every evil god uses this trick to some extent, huh?"
Matthew recalled the situation when he fought the major evil god, Loshanda, sensing something similarly eerie.
Stroking his chin, he eyed the burning corpses of the gnoll slaves and muttered:
"Are there really so many fanatics?"
Yaya, rolling her eyes, yawned and chuckled, saying:
"Once they mess up, they're easier to deal with, aren't they?"
Yaya's words reminded Matthew.
Giving her a thumbs up in admiration, Matthew relaxed and said:
"Exactly. As long as we're strong enough, these tricks won't work on us."
Although he said this, Matthew didn't underestimate such tactics.
While their destructive power on the battlefield was moderate, they could be devastating for civilians without significant strength.
Perhaps it was time to prepare early.
"Clean up the battlefield. Burn all the corpses."
"Call the priests for a purification ceremony."
"Notify the Goddess' Church. We'll need a batch of high-purity holy water."
Angela focused intently on the smoldering heaps of ruins, disposing of them in a special manner.
In the future, they would face even more dangerous and terrifying enemies, yet the soldiers of the Bay Territory remained fearless.
Over the next two days.
The drow elf reinforcements ultimately failed to break through the Bay Territory's defenses, suffering heavy losses instead.
Over 50,000 gnolls were killed, and the stench of burned corpses lingered for more than ten days.
The cunning drow elves, after another minor attempt, abandoned their offensive.
Once enough gnoll slaves had perished, they decisively chose to retreat.
Matthew refrained from a reckless pursuit, instead assigning adventurers to gather intelligence and clear dangerous monsters in the underground.
While eradicating all these monsters might not be possible, at least their locations could be identified.
When the time came, combat units could be dispatched to eliminate them, creating a safer internal environment.
Soon, more information and discoveries reached Matthew.
"We've found two small iron mines. Though the reserves are limited, they're easy to extract and of high quality."
"Each vein is valued at around 30 million gold coins."
Matthew decided not to touch these two mines for now, as the current returns wouldn't be high. Once the next wave of magical energy surged, these veins might yield new surprises.
"We've discovered two high-value rare magical plants in significant quantities, suitable for establishing cultivation bases."
"Some specimens have already been collected and sent to the druid greenhouse for cultivation."
The Bay Territory's hunger for more magical plants was insatiable.
Although light was scarce in the underground, its biodiversity and resources were extraordinarily abundant.
As time passed and their occupied territory expanded, the Bay Territory would naturally gather more resources.
What intrigued Matthew the most was this:
After dealing with the large drow elf reinforcements,
The Bay Territory did not encounter further attacks from the drow elf forces.
Intelligence indicated:
The drow elves, after decimating a large gnoll horde, had retreated with nearly 200,000 gnoll slaves back through their original passage.
Now, before the Bay Territory.
Lay a moderately sized passage leading directly to the gnoll territory.
Matthew pondered the drow elves' hidden motives, and an absurd idea popped into his mind.
"Are the drow elves inviting the Bay Territory to split the Gnoll Kingdom with them?"
"They're not that kind-heartedā¦"
After carefully analyzing the situation and confirming through intelligence that the drow elf forces had chosen a more distant route for their next offensive, Matthew began to deliberate.
"The drow elves really are clever!"
"They're trying to bait me with 'favors' and lure me into making the first move!"
After all, the ones taking the hits were the gnolls; the drow elves weren't suffering any losses.
They could also expose more of the Bay Territory's strength.
Additionally, this could distract the gnolls and reduce pressure on the drow elves.
It was a multi-pronged strategy!
For such "generous" behavior by the drow elves,
Matthew, adhering to the principle of "only a fool doesn't take advantage," decisively sent out more adventurers.
After about three days.
Once the Bay Territory had thoroughly investigated the situation regarding the drow elves and the Gnoll Kingdom,
They decisively chose to deploy their forces!
After all, they were already here!