Chapter 654: It's Our Turn!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Explosions roared from the pitch-black outpost.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky as the spreading flames slowly died down.
Soon after, swarms of slave warriors poured out, charging in the direction of the retreating Bay Territory adventurers.
Their bodies were coated in thick dust, as if they had just emerged from a sandstorm.
But before they could get far, two dazzling blasts of fire erupted from either side of the narrow path.
The flames, like wild beasts, instantly engulfed the slave warriors, tearing and devouring them.
Stones and dust scattered wildly.
The entire scene was engulfed in smoke, plunging into darkness.
Faintly, a chorus of sharp and harrowing screams echoed out!
"Nice ambush setup—definitely worth adding to the training simulation archive."
Matthew nodded in satisfaction, offering a practiced assessment as he flipped through the research institute's data.
"The stats on the mind flayer army's combat units are in."
"The weakest, the kobold slaves, have a challenge rating of 3+."
"Only four to five hundred in each outpost—not worth noting."
"There are a bit more in the camps, around 2,000, equipped with basic metal weapons."
"Gnoll slave warriors make up the bulk of the force—at least 50%—with an average challenge rating of 8+."
"They're outfitted with well-crafted metal weapons and armor, and retain a certain degree of combat technique."
"Their tracking ability has been enhanced—vision and smell have been boosted, and they've undergone multiple physical modifications."
"The stronger ogre slave warriors appear in groups of 50–200, with an average challenge rating of 13+."
"Interestingly, compared to others, ogre slaves received less modification—the mind flayers didn't do much with them."
"However, their gear is superior to that of wild ogres, making them harder to kill."
"Minotaur slave warriors are the most dangerous high-level combat unit."
"They may be absent—or number up to 300—challenge rating 14+, skilled in teamwork and mass charges."
"They've undergone extensive modification—increased intelligence, magical resistance, stamina, and endurance."
"There are 43 types of extraordinary-level special units, mostly individuals."
"Still, mass-controlled extraordinary units by mind flayers can't be ruled out..."
Alongside the stats were detailed magical visual models and footage of their combat behavior.
Their weaknesses and suggested combat strategies were also annotated.
"For minotaurs, if your unit has less than 50 and isn't at peak high-tier strength, avoid melee combat."
"Lay traps first, whittle them down with ranged attacks."
"Armor-piercing arrows combined with paralysis toxins can stop their charges."
"They have poor control on slopes—trap steep downhill paths."
"If close combat is unavoidable, exploit their weak turning radius—hit the flanks and rear."
"..."
Overall, the information made Matthew nod in satisfaction.
Bay Territory's military strategy was beginning to show its maturity.
No matter the enemy, they'd gather intel, propose solutions, and offer a tactical breakdown.
Over time, he would capture more enemy units for detailed weakness studies and combat drills.
Beyond battlefield records, Bay Territory's data analysis division had also made great strides.
Based on observed behavior and gear—
They provided a comprehensive evaluation of the mind flayer slave army.
"The mind flayer army's front-line combat power is strong, average challenge rating 7+ (elite)."
"Strengths: excellent field combat ability, fearless, relentless, can assimilate enemies and prisoners to snowball their numbers."
"Weaknesses: limited combat equipment, poor ranged ability, rigid tactics, low flexibility, overly reliant on command, and low mobility."
"Suggested strategy: heavy trap deployment and ranged suppression to thin their numbers."
"Exploit their inflexibility—encircle and cut off communication with other units."
"Sever supply lines—force them to split forces for transport and defense."
"Use pressure-based tactics to divide them—then slaughter isolated units."
"Once weakened, the mind flayer commanders and slave generals will start to retreat and conserve strength."
"That's when pursuit, ambushes, or beheading tactics become viable."
"Mind flayers possess terrifying spell power and extremely long casting range—sniping is advised. If not, high-level psychic defense skills and feats are a must..."
Beyond general suggestions, the report contained many detailed visuals and operation breakdowns.
This level of data helped Bay Territory's troops prepare tailored responses before a fight even began.
Know thyself and know thy enemy—never lose a hundred battles.
Matthew didn't expect Bay Territory to win every time, but he did want to avoid needless loss.
After all, population was Bay Territory's greatest asset.
Besides combat assessments—
The report also analyzed other aspects of the mind flayer empire.
Comparing slave unit data to racial norms, the following was concluded:
The mind flayers had mid- to high-tier metalworking tech.
Capable of producing finely crafted metal weapons and gear.
Able to independently construct large metal machines.
Possibly possessed a large slave labor force or mass-production tech to manufacture parts in bulk.
Moderate magical item crafting skills.
Could produce high-grade magical weapons and tools—but lacked mass production.
Unable to make large quantities of extraordinary-grade magical items.
High resource efficiency.
Reasonable labor allocation—about 35% of resources went to strategic investment.
Very low population growth.
Most slave warriors couldn't reproduce—selection occurred from imprisoned slave tribes.
Controlled vast food-producing regions.
Though not enough for rapid growth, they could sustain many off-duty slave warriors.
Possessed high-level biological modification technology.
Extremely proficient in targeted body modification.
...
Reviewing all this, Matthew nodded in great satisfaction.
Under his guidance, Bay Territory was rapidly advancing.
Especially in enemy analysis and preparations, it no longer needed his constant supervision.
The war in the Underdark would soon end.
Bay Territory's next "trouble" would arrive soon.
Thinking of that terrifying world, Matthew truly didn't want Bay Territory's elites dying there.
But the Catachan Plane was just too important.
It already accounted for over 70% of Bay Territory's high-quality magical plant output—and over 80% of standard magical plant yield.
And more than five new high-quality magical plants were discovered each month.
Not to mention the hidden metal veins underground.
That was one and a half entire planes' worth of resources!
More than all the resource output from Bay Territory's material-plane expansions.
The amount of plane resources determined whether Bay Territory could break free of marquis-level constraints and ascend to duchy status.
A duchy is the smallest form of a kingdom!
At least three demi-planes were needed to support a duchy's consumption.
Demi-planes were, essentially, the most strategic "material" a kingdom could have.
Which was why, in the apocalyptic wars to come, demi-plane conquest would become unimaginably brutal.
Even gods would covet fully formed demi-planes.
Occupy one, and you gain a divine kingdom on earth—fueling belief, zealots, and legendary souls endlessly!
But demi-planes were never easy to conquer.
Take the current Catachan demi-plane.
In a month, the coming "Green Tide" would slam into Bay Territory's holdings with devastating force.
If they couldn't hold the line, everything built in the past year—cities, magical farms—would be destroyed.
More importantly, other Catachan warriors' habitable zones would shrink further, and their numbers would drop.
Once their population declined too much, recovery would be near impossible.
Matthew had long foreseen how terrifying this Green Tide would be, and had prepared for over a year.
Even now, he wasn't confident of victory.
Against a quasi-apocalyptic force, Bay Territory was still too weak.
Still, Matthew and Bay Territory wouldn't retreat. They would confront the challenge head-on.
Which was why they'd seize every chance to fight.
They had to strengthen Bay Territory's combat forces at all costs.
As Matthew reviewed the Thunder Warriors' performance—spotting 342 improvement suggestions—he turned to Sera and said with anticipation:
"This time, show them what you're capable of."
Sera heard the weight in her lord's voice. Though the pressure was immense, she didn't flinch and nodded firmly:
"Bay Territory will prevail!"
With that, she strode out.
The noise of battle hit her ears at once.
Adventurers on the wall loosed arrow after arrow.
Bay Territory soldiers, already prepared, steadily climbed the wall.
Towering war golems had been activated—loading in battle skills and feats suited to this field.
Panting gnoll warriors were eager for blood.
Sera double-checked supplies and ascended the wall with Catachan guards.
The entire Suramar Valley ahead was nearly overrun by slave warriors.
The drow outposts and camps once guarding the edge had either been destroyed or retreated.
Only a few large drow camps remained, holding out under their commanders.
But most were already surrounded, breached at the walls.
Their fall was only a matter of time.
The drow defenses fell so fast—
Because the mind flayer main army had arrived!
And their terrifying casters, hidden behind waves of slaves, could launch spells from over a kilometer away.
They didn't aim for destructive spells, but instead used their specialty: Mind Control.
That's right—from over a thousand meters—
The strongest mind flayers could warp minds and enslave enemies on the spot.
Each spell left gaping holes in drow defenses—and incited traitorous rebellions mid-battle.
Two or three such assaults would break any defense line.
You never knew when an ally would turn on you.
You might even lose control of your own body.
Just thinking about such foes bred despair.
Sera looked out beyond her camp—slave corpses lay everywhere.
Seeing the last two drow camps start withdrawing, she locked eyes with the observers at the rear of the canyon.
The time had come!
"You're all done? Then it's our turn!"
Her Thunder Armor gleamed. As soldiers and adventurers watched, she shouted to the charging slaves:
"Crush them!"
The tired adventurers stepped aside, still tense.
Watching the Bay Territory soldiers march by, their eyes showed envy.
Triss rubbed her aching arms, jaw dropping as massive boulders were hoisted onto the wall by mechanical arms and rolled down.
Rumble!
The rushing slaves were instantly turned to paste.
The shocking visual made Triss murmur:
"I always thought those were just for building houses..."
Excited, Trist drew his staff, preparing a spell as he exclaimed:
"Ha! Bay Territory's civil engineers are one of the strongest combat units."
"You'll find them on every dangerous battlefield!"
Ashes shrugged, watching the giant engineering golems trudge forward, and said enviously:
"Construction's just their side gig. Killing is how they really "make bank."
"If you pick a fight, never mess with a civil engineer!"