Chapter 1796: Chapter 1796: Military Might
This barrier is one-way, allowing people to exit but not enter. Hence, the main forces did not dispatch air units while the barrier was intact, as it would be futile; even the ground troops did not launch an assault.
From within, however, the gates swung open, and a large number of ogres wielding enormous fist weapons rushed out; each of them was tall.
Yet their bodies remained massive, their muscles tightly knit, sporting only simple armor, with an aura of ferocity surging forth.
The ogre units were not in a hurry to attack but formed impact formations within the barrier, each phalanx comprising ten thousand, each targeting a stone-thrower position.
The first battle between the two sides finally commenced, with the ogres showing exceptional ferocity.
Facing the summoned troops of the players, they displayed no fear whatsoever, charging into their range despite heavy ranged attacks.
The ogre assault units were incredibly formidable, directly breaching the player formations.
Many guild formations, particularly those at the forefront, grossly underestimated the ogres’ impact capabilities.
The ogres’ gigantic stature and sturdy physiques, akin to humanoid tanks, showed no fear of death; upon contact, some teams’ defenses were instantly breached.
In the blink of an eye, it descended into the bloodiest slaughter, more accurately described as a massacre at the hands of the ogres.
Despite the ogres’ simple armor, their survivability and resistance to damage were staggering.
Many players, disappointed and not on the mission, gasped in shock; such a powerful army being torn apart so easily.
Having breached the formation meant the rear-line ranged and healing units were brutally exposed to the enemy’s massacre.
Even the players who received the mission grew frantic; they took it for the military merit, and failing this task would lower their evaluation with the quartermaster, barring them from rewards and better missions.
Thus, players in the innermost circle continued feverishly summoning troops to replenish their losses.
Out of thirty battlefields, eighteen had their defenses directly breached, fighting for dear life, while only twelve guild formations still fiercely resisted; not because their forces were strong, but because they had more strategies and trump cards, even resorting to using scrolls.
The mission they received was to hold the line at all costs, as it was crucial to breaking the barrier.
Only then did the players realize the true prowess of the main city army; even the elite troops outmatched those of ordinary places, beyond what current players could counter.
Viewing Li Yao’s warship casually slaughter the Lizardmen’s ace airforce while relentlessly bombing their ground troops made the main city army seem trivial—until now, that is.
If even the elites were this formidable, the aces would be unimaginable.
"Sky warships, provide support," Li Yao sighed, realizing using player armies to attack the main city was too ambitious. This was merely the opponent’s elite assault force, numbering only around 300,000.
The ogres attacking each formation were merely ten thousand, while the defenders numbered at least fifty thousand, yet they were relentlessly overrun.
Two warships began deploying smaller, controllable artillery shells, attempting to inflict damage on some ogres.
But it was extremely difficult, with a high risk of friendly fire, thus, the support and deterrence remained limited.
Only at spots where the line was held could artillery easily land, but the battle was still brutal.
"Hahaha, this is the main attacking force on the main city? Are you sure this isn’t a joke? We haven’t even deployed our main forces, and they’re already faltering," the ogre commander scoffed.
The others joined in laughter, as did the ogres, for if the enemy was like this, they feared nothing even without the barrier.
Many ogres held disdain for the Lizardmen, having been thrown into chaos by such pathetic enemies.
"Do not underestimate them; Prairie Fire is no easy opponent, it’s definitely not that simple," cautioned the Ogre Sorcerer, having witnessed Li Yao display his might firsthand.
However, others, unaware of Li Yao’s prowess, paid lip service to the Sorcerer’s words but remained skeptical internally.
"Send another assault unit," ordered the Sorcerer cautiously.
"Yes," the ogre commander redeployed a force of 100,000 ogres into two units of 50,000 each, aiming to crush the fiercely resisting teams.
"Issue the sniping mission," Li Yao commanded.
This mission could be taken up through guild collaboration, as everyone now recognized the ogres’ formidable combat prowess.
Players had to summon powerful forces to counter them, with only two viable approaches currently.
One was deploying swift units like centaurs for outmaneuvering, while the other involved mightier units capable of matching ogres’ stature and strength, such as Cyclops, Mountain Giants, or elemental legions.
Even if players possessed such legions now, their numbers were small, lacking organization, necessitating cooperation.
Properly addressing this allowed them to withstand the ogre assault, at least achieving a stand-off. Notably, the centaur units many guilds assembled achieved dazzling results, charging across the battlefield with minimal casualties, repeatedly whittling down the ogre assault troops with arrow rain.
Ogres were indeed formidable, not killed by one or two arrows, but if one arrow didn’t suffice, then two, and if not two, ten.
Centaurs ran like the wind, while ogres’ speed didn’t even match that of minotaurs. It’s no wonder centaurs once nearly wiped out the minotaurs with kiting tactics.
The centaurs assembled amounted to just over 10,000, with mixed quality, many merely elites. Yet they achieved spectacular results, with ogres consistently collapsing under a barrage of arrows.
Five thousand ogres were effectively driven to frustration, powerless. They couldn’t catch up, dumbfoundedly watching the front-line ogres fall one by one, like porcupines.
Making the ogres immensely frustrated highlighted the rock-paper-scissors nature of unit types, prompting players to brainstorm other ways to counter ogres.
The sniper legion successfully intercepted 100,000 ogres, achieving commendable results, slightly gaining an upper hand.
However, some defending legions couldn’t hold out; additional support was futile, as they risked being scattered by retreating forces.
An hour later, the first legion completely crumbled, the ogres overwhelmed them, destroying the stone throwers and sealing pillars, followed by the second, then third.
Sealing pillars and stone-thrower positions continuously fell apart, stone throwers were incinerated, and stone columns smashed.
Each smashed sealing pillar incited thunderous cheers among the ogres, while the players on the main forces side turned grim, struggling to accept how fragile their troops were.
Li Yao stood on a high slope, arms crossed, expressionless. Despite that, twelve stone-thrower positions remained operational, relentlessly bombarding the barrier...