Chapter 655.5: Work for Us!
As Lia pondered hard, the surrounding drow elf commanders were starting to get nervous.
Even though they had replenished their forces, redeployed their defenses, and received reinforcements from the Suramar army...
When facing the tide of charging slave warriors, they no longer felt as relaxed and confident as before.
An indescribable, terrifying pressure made them want to flee.
But the feeling of being watched from behind forced every drow elf commander to focus on fortifying the line.
With the presence of the supervision squads, most drow commanders obediently followed orders unless faced with a life-or-death crisis.
But when life was truly on the line, they'd do anything to survive.
As the tense drow elf scouts drew their bows to fire at the slave warriors charging up the steep slope...
Various long-range attacks and spells began to erupt.
The battle gradually grew fiercer, and the drow elves slowly forgot about the Azshara Camp they had been fixated on.
As fighting broke out here, the battle on Azshara's side was drawing to a close.
With the sixth steel golem's leg blasted apart by heavy artillery and collapsing helplessly on the slope...
It could no longer move, let alone continue attacking.
The Mind Flayer army, having completely lost hope, began ignoring the Azshara Camp.
The slave warriors preparing to charge turned and left without hesitation.
Even though slave warriors were cheap and expendable cannon fodder...
The Mind Flayers weren't willing to waste them on an impregnable fortress like Azshara Camp.
More importantly, the Mind Flayers hiding in the shadows had noticed the issue Lia had been pondering.
Their previously unstoppable "Mind Control" had failed to work at Azshara Camp.
Whether targeting the willful adventurers...
Or the familiar gray dwarves...
Or even seemingly insignificant goblins...
"Mind Control" appeared to have no effect on them.
Let alone turning them into slaves to disrupt Azshara's defense.
The Mind Flayers had no idea what method Azshara Camp used to nullify their potent ability.
But they deeply understood the importance of this war.
They had to break through Suramar City as soon as possible!
Once that objective was achieved, nearly thirty nearby drow cities would be at their mercy.
The wealthy region under drow control would finally open up to them.
Allowing them to plunder and expand at will.
Unless the greed-driven drow elves were willing to abandon their homes and flee to other drow cities to become slaves or meals for others.
Sadly, most drow elves couldn't do that.
Which is precisely why the Mind Flayer army acted so brazenly.
Over the course of thousands of years, the Mind Flayers had secretly studied the drow elves thoroughly.
They knew very well that the greedy, selfish, and disunited drow\...
Wouldn't flee or unite unless total destruction was upon them.
In fact, they might even stab their sisters in the back while others fought desperately.
Thus, a small target like Azshara Camp could be temporarily discarded.
Once their main war goals were achieved...
They could send a larger slave army to crush this stubborn, prickly fortress.
As for sparing it?
Impossible!
The Mind Flayer army was also quite "curious."
What method had Azshara used to become immune to Mind Control?
If the method could be replicated...
Then they would spare no effort to destroy it and adjust their troops accordingly.
If it couldn't be replicated...
Then they would eliminate the future threat while it was still in its infancy.
Even if this vanguard force was merely composed of failures and cannon fodder sent by the Mind Flayer Empire...
To them, this war meant everything.
They hoped to use this opportunity to stage a deadly counterattack and rise again.
Realizing the Mind Flayer army had temporarily withdrawn, the ever-calm Sera finally relaxed.
She watched them bypass Azshara Camp and waved to the cheering soldiers.
Everyone quickly quieted down and began cleaning up the battlefield under her command.
"All bodies must be burned. That's a basic rule of fighting in the underworld..."
"Why? Are you saying corpses might mutate or something?"
"Corpses themselves won't mutate, but some beings can influence and control them."
"Huh? Isn't that just like the Crimson Moon?"
"There are terrifying entities like that down here too? Why haven't I heard of them before?"
"Ah, you don't know. Remember our last fight in the underworld? We clashed directly with the drow army."
"Their command was terrible—just like now. Their defensive organization was pathetic."
"Seriously. No traps, no trenches, and they're still using bows for ranged combat."
"Even if they're all sharpshooters, how many arrows can they shoot in one battle?"
"Be thorough when looting bodies. Don't let your loot go up in flames later."
"Heh, how much do you think we'll make this time?"
"Not sure. Check your magic wristband later. All loot gets recorded and tracked."
"Is our battle over already? I wasn't done having fun!"
"Don't rush. First secure what's already ours, then we'll look for more perks..."
"..."
Triss listened to the Bay Territory adventurers joking and chatting, sensing something was off.
She carefully observed the wall guards, especially those cloaked drow hidden in the shadows.
She immediately saw these drow were taller, fiercer, and more powerful than any she'd seen.
But strangely, she saw none of the usual cruelty, greed, or distortion in them.
"Loot belongs to each individual? Isn't it supposed to go to the Matron Mother?"
"And what's with slaves owning wealth?"
"Drow indifferent to riches and battle? Am I hallucinating?"
"Slaves with wealth, without chains or cuffs—are they even slaves?"
"Where did Azshara get so much material? Don't tell me it was all teleported in—that's absurdly extravagant!"
Triss' chaotic thoughts accidentally hit the truth.
Aside from gear carried by soldiers and adventurers, everything else was transported via teleportation circle.
Just building and running the long-distance teleport circle cost...
8 million gold!
Yet despite the astronomical cost, the Bay Territory pushed forward without hesitation, increasing delivery frequency.
More fighters and resources kept flooding into the excavated underground space.
Silver-Fang busily studied a complex tunnel map, directing dragonborn kobolds with magitech diggers.
Behind them, adventurers snored away.
They had just finished a tough fight with phantoms before being teleported in.
They didn't know where they were, but rich pay and hush money kept them from asking questions.
The soldiers following them were already fortifying the dug-out tunnels at high speed.
They needed to widen it for more cargo and golem trains to pass.
At the same time, they were building defensive forts and outposts in case battles broke out here.
Golem trains and tracks were being assembled and laid. This exposed underground space would become another massive Bay Territory stronghold.
The reason for choosing this site had been carefully discussed by Sera and the Bay leaders.
Three main reasons:
First: proximity to Suramar.
Suramar was powerful and rich in magical items, rare metals, and arcane goods.
The drow here were wealthy and comparatively "gentle."
They didn't randomly kill slaves for fun.
Even the lowest kobold could survive here, though it was tough.
They might eventually die in a dark mine or become monster chow\...
But so long as they had value, they lived longer.
Though that didn't apply to certain "test subjects."
Compared to crazed drow elsewhere, the ones here were the most "reasonable."
Second reason: frequent battles.
The vast, dangerous Suramar Valley was rich in ore and magic.
The current clash between drow and Mind Flayers was just a tiny part of it.
Everyone fought for resources:
Drow vs. drow.
Drow vs. barbarian tribes.
Drow vs. magical beasts.
Bay Territory adventurers loved fighting.
It earned loot, boosted strength, and let them digest skills and experience.
Sure, it was risky—but the rewards were worth it.
Third reason: future warzone.
Soon, the Mind Flayer Empire would invade fully, and the drow would mount a fierce defense.
They'd settle who ruled the underworld through sheer force.
Funny thing was...
Despite the war's huge scale, it wasn't all that intense. It would drag on for a while.
Matthew always thought the whole drow vs. Mind Flayer war seemed suspicious and odd.
Sure, fighting over resources made sense.
But after years of grinding war, why were both sides still willing to throw in more troops?
What were they really after?
Did they have too many people?
Or was there a deeper reason?
Matthew believed the latter...
But that didn't stop him from preparing ahead using his knowledge of future events.
If Sera's plan worked and trade was established with the drow cities...
She could naturally insert herself into the coming war.
Who knows? Maybe she could do business with both sides.
Selling weapons to both the drow and Mind Flayers—now that's how you make money!
In the meantime, digging these tunnels already brought benefits.
Ka! Ka! Ka!
High-speed spinning drills tore into the rock, slowly ripping open the ground.
Tyrael poked his head out, surveyed the loot-strewn warehouse, and shouted in delight:
"Haha! We found the stash the drow and slave warriors left behind!"
Excited, Trist jumped out, cast a silence barrier, and sighed at the destroyed magical machinery:
"Sigh, we got here too late!"
Viconia giggled, grabbed a handful of gleaming gold coins while staying alert:
"Next time, we'll send you in before they flee."
Trist coughed, pretending nothing happened, then waved to the others:
"Guys, clean this place out! Don't leave behind a single plank or grain of food..."
Making money is king!
Last to climb out, Triss stared at the busy crowd, head buzzing.
"Azshara's so rich... Is this how she got all of it?"
"All that effort from the Mind Flayer army... they were just working for Azshara?"