Chapter 683.5: Boomshot!
Cannons on the city walls kept pounding the distant tide in rhythmic salvos.
The incredible barrage shattered the bulk of the horde.
Only a handful of large twisted monsters remained upright by the time they neared the walls.
Those survivors dashed forward like rabid beasts, intent on breaking through.
Bay Territory soldiers didn't just rely on the city walls for defense.
They dug trenches outside the walls, built several bridges, and stationed heavy troops to guard them.
After clearing out the charging large twisted monsters—
Bay Territory soldiers would recover their corpses.
Only a very small number of large twisted monsters could break through the ranged firepower and reach the front of the bridges.
Then, they'd run straight into upgraded flamethrowers.
With nowhere to escape, the large twisted monsters were roasted alive.
"Collecting the corpses of these large twisted monsters basically covers the cost of artillery fire."
"Keep close track of artillery damage and consumption. Replace and resupply in time."
"Watch out for underground threats. Dragon Warrior squads patrol and stay alert for Catachan demon ambushes."
Jifan gave detailed instructions to the commanders, warning them not to underestimate the twisted monsters.
A commander flipped through the data on various new weapons and asked curiously in a soft voice:
"When will the flame troopers and heavy shotguns be fully deployed?"
Jifan glanced at the nearby Dragon Warriors and replied calmly and confidently:
"In about two days. Once we gather enough data, we can finalize the design."
Hearing this, the commander nodded thoughtfully and asked no further.
Instead, he directed Bay Territory soldiers to rotate and rest in time.
Holding the city was the top priority right now.
Ironbone Tribe.
Chieftain Robert gazed at the oncoming wave of twisted monsters and patted the calibrated magic cannon.
"Compared to a bow that kills one or two enemies at a time, this thing is way more useful."
Hearing this, Big Fat couldn't help but smile, calculating the haul from the past few days' deals. Excited, he continued:
"In five or six days tops, the warriors will know how to operate and repair the cannons."
"When facing large-scale enemies, cannons definitely give us the upper hand."
"But when it comes to clearing large twisted monsters, they're not as good as the tribe's elite archers."
"The Lord once said: walking on one leg makes you fall easily—having more legs keeps you stable."
More legs to walk on?
Robert obviously understood Big Fat's meaning. He nodded calmly without giving a direct answer.
He turned his head toward the motionless Dragon Warriors, eyeing their exaggerated heavy shotguns with a hint of anticipation.
He was ready. All he needed now was the right excuse and timing.
As long as the heavy shotguns performed to his satisfaction, he'd proceed with deeper cooperation with Bay Territory.
It was simple: Catachan warriors couldn't improve nearly as fast as Bay Territory weapons evolved.
Especially after Robert, Gatel, and Thorne had interacted with the Bay Territory-linked Catachan warriors, they realized a key truth.
The Catachan tribes in the Catachan demi-plane were now just barely clinging to life.
Even if Robert didn't want to admit it, he understood it deep down.
The Catachan tribes guarding the demi-plane had no future.
Their only path forward was to gradually integrate with Bay Territory.
That way, their descendants might get a chance to leave this dangerous world—or at least hang on.
The potential and strength Bay Territory displayed made Robert willing to gamble everything.
As Robert pondered, several dazzling red beams shot into the sky.
Boom!
The loud warning sounds immediately made all Catachan soldiers tense up.
They quickly realized—the enemy had launched an attack.
An endless wave of roars surrounded them as hideous twisted monsters surged in.
"Open fire!"
Robert gave the attack order without hesitation.
The magical cannons roared, launching spinning shells toward the distance.
The powerful shockwaves blasted away a huge wave of twisted monsters with ease.
Broken flesh and limbs flew everywhere—thousands of monsters erased from the map like by an invisible hand.
The scene was stunning.
Other cannons soon joined the chorus of destruction.
They struck even heavier blows on the charging twisted monsters.
Seeing the barrage working so well, Robert smiled with relief.
But it wasn't time to relax yet.
He was still wary of the most dangerous foes—the large twisted monsters.
These terrifying creatures were the main cause of Catachan casualties.
Ironically, the more lethal Catachan demons caused fewer deaths and weren't the main threat.
Sure enough, the large twisted monsters charged in waves.
After paying a price, they forced their way through the artillery fire zone.
Robert resisted the urge to change cannon targets and nodded at the elite Catachan warriors who had been waiting.
The elite warriors leapt from the small fort, stepping onto the scorched earth.
They raised their Bay Territory-supplied enchanted bows and crossbows, aiming at the monsters' weak points mid-stride.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Deadly arrows flew out, spinning into the monsters' vital spots.
The powerful enchanted arrows instantly dealt heavy blows to the large twisted monsters.
Over one-fifth of them collapsed, screaming.
Before they could rise again, more arrows pierced their heads and hearts.
These well-placed arrows exploded violently inside them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, internal blasts killed them from within.
Even though they'd run tests before, the devastating power still thrilled the elite warriors.
They picked new targets and continued shooting.
Sensing danger, some monsters tried shielding their weak points with their claws.
Normally at this point—
Catachan warriors would need to reposition or set traps to force an opening.
But this time was different!
The warriors kept firing!
The spinning arrows shot straight through raised claws into the monsters' weak spots.
Some monsters trusted their defense too much—
So even more of them dropped this time.
Excited Catachan warriors cheered and kept shooting.
In just a minute or two, the monsters that once threatened their walls lay dead.
The swift warriors eagerly recovered the corpses.
Realizing how powerful their weapons were, they now understood the value of loot and gold.
With better Bay Territory weapons, killing enemies became easier.
And the cycle of loot-for-strength kept turning.
This time, joining the assault—
Were over twenty elite Catachan squads.
Thanks to their excellent gear, they suffered no casualties while clearing the breached monsters.
After killing three waves of them—
Even these tough warriors were feeling the fatigue.
Robert noticed and ordered them back to the small fortress.
Having learned Bay Territory's advanced combat doctrines—
Robert now valued his warriors' lives more than ever.
This attack order was just to build weapon familiarity and morale.
What's next?
Leave the rest of the monster cleanup to the incoming Dragon Warriors.
Robert also wanted to see the Dragon Warriors' full power.
And gauge how far the elite Catachan warriors still had to go compared to Bay Territory's strongest.
At the same time, Robert hoped the rest of the tribe understood—
"Joining Bay Territory" was the only way to survive the coming disaster.
He wanted to end all doubts and foolish dreams.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dragon Warrior elites in Thunder Magic Armor stepped forward.
They calmly engaged the charging large twisted monsters.
Their helmet HUDs assigned each soldier a target and clearly marked weaknesses and weapon choices.
"24–27, target Twisted Spider No. 2. Use 2× heavy armor-piercing crossbows, 2× explosive AP arrows."
"28–31, target Savage Bull No. 4. Use 3× heavy AP crossbows, 1× explosive AP arrow."
"32–35, target…"
"…"
The Ironbone Catachan watching from behind saw all Dragon Warriors attack at once.
Distant deadly twisted monsters dropped, screaming.
Each strike wounded or outright killed its target.
What shocked the Catachan warriors most—
Was the flawless coordination and precise targeting.
Every shot counted.
Every arrow hurt like hell.
Same weapons—but Dragon Warriors wielded them better!
Even Robert couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
He immediately saw it—their power was amplified by their perfect teamwork.
In barely 90 seconds, they cleared another wave.
With fewer troops, they had much higher kill efficiency.
Elite Catachan warriors felt frustration and helplessness in their eyes.
Outclassed—no excuses.
With bows and crossbows, Dragon Warriors killed five waves.
While the field was cleared, they compiled and analyzed data.
They also evaluated performance and noted improvement suggestions.
Then, they raised their glowing heavy shotguns.
Now it was time to test their performance in real combat.
The next wave was massive wild bulls.
Thick-skinned, dangerous, and fast—perfect test targets.
The Dragon Warriors stood their ground and took aim.
Catachan soldiers on the fort watched, surprised.
"No ranged attacks to deal with them?"
"Don't those new weapons deal ranged damage?"
"Let's wait and see—Bay Territory always pulls out new tricks."
"Hope they work well. We might get to use them too."
"…"
The bulls charged, kicking up clouds of dust.
Eyes wide, panting, they roared and charged with unstoppable force.
"Fire!"
The crisp order rang in every Dragon Warrior's ears.
With the bulls within 50 meters, they pulled the triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A metal storm of pellets slammed into the bulls.
Fist-sized wounds tore open their hides.
But despite the carnage and screams, they didn't slow down.
The first shotgun volley had underwhelming results!
The bulls were now just 20 meters away!
"Fire!"
The Dragon Warriors obeyed and fired again.
Flaming shells shot from the huge barrels.
They hit the bulls' heads, burying deep.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted inside them.
The crazed monsters staggered and collapsed.
Seeing this, the Dragon Warrior commander ordered:
"Switch to explosive rounds. Blast-shot mode!"
"FIRE!!"
The high-caliber blast-guns roared with murderous flame!