Chapter 216 - First Battle
Han Wu and Duan Meng passed through the gate and emerged in a vast space prepared for their war. They found themselves standing in the middle of a vast grassy prairie, stretching empty in every direction.
Han Wu commanded his locusts to spread out and survey the perimeter. As the Dark Cursed Bugs fanned out across the terrain, the magic map in Han Wu’s possession automatically displayed the terrain within a ten-kilometer radius.
“What is this? There’s nothing but grass for ten kilometers. No rivers, no mountains, nothing,” he muttered.
Duan Meng opened her interface and noticed a change. Back in their shelters’ region, the interface had displayed their personal data and shelter details. Here, it showed only information about their army.
Han Wu checked his own interface and confirmed it.
[Name: Han Wu]
[Army: Infantry: Skeletons. Size: 1,972,897. Lord: 1, Heroic: 221, Unique: 65,489, Elite: 908,388, Common: 999,798]
[Technician: Scorching Dwarves. Size: 70. Unique: 18, Elite: 52]
[Lancer: Half-Dragons. Size: 80. Heroic: 2, Unique: 24, Elite: 54]
[Archer: Dark Cursed Bugs. Size: 69,873. Unique: 48,902, Elite: 20,971]
[Worker: Grovekins. Size: 75. Elite: 75]
Han Wu’s Infantry numbered an immense 1.97 million skeletons, far surpassing the combined total of the other four castes.
Duan Meng’s army also consisted of five castes: Infantry Lizardmen, Physician Stony Lizardmen, Archer Blazing Lizardmen, Lancer Lizardmen, and Vanguard Centurion Treants.
They had just finished reviewing their armies’ data when the voice of the Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization echoed once more. “Outsiders, you must survive in this space for an entire month. You will receive no aid during this period, while powerful armies will attack at random intervals. Fight hard in this desperate situation.”
The voice faded. Han Wu and Duan Meng exchanged uneasy glances. Her expression tightened with disbelief. “I didn’t know we had to survive here for a whole month. Isn’t that too long?”
Han Wu remained calm. “We brought plenty of food. We should manage to last that long.”
He was right. The skeletons didn’t need to eat at all. His Dark Cursed Bugs still required food, but they weren’t picky and could survive on grass. The rest of their armies did need supplies, but thankfully, their numbers were small. Han Wu doubted their troops could consume all the provisions carried by the skeletons.
On top of that, Han Wu had his Grovekins, which produced breadfruits periodically. He felt confident they could survive the entire month.
His greater worry lay with the enemy armies likely to attack during that time. If the Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization sent them, they probably wouldn’t be weak. He hoped his skeleton army could hold out that long.
“Let’s find a place to set up camp. I have a feeling our enemies will be here soon,” he suggested.
Duan Meng knew her limits and followed his lead. The Dark Cursed Bugs spread out in a wider search pattern and eventually found a small lake. It was barely more than a pond, but there was enough water to sustain them for quite some time.
Han Wu quickly ordered his army and Duan Meng to follow him to the lake. Halfway there, they encountered their first enemy force. The leader wore heavy armor and a metal mask that concealed their face, likely to protect vulnerable spots.
Behind the leader stood three battalions, arranged in precise formation: 1,000 Lancers, 1,000 Infantry, and 1,000 Archers. The moment the leader locked eyes with Han Wu and Duan Meng, they gave the order to charge. “Die, you scum!”
Since this was their first encounter with the enemy, Han Wu and Duan Meng decided not to take any chances. The Centurion Treants encircled their combined army in a tight, protective ring while Han Wu deployed his skeletons to engage the incoming forces. The rest of their troops held their ground for the time being.
Han Wu expected his 1.97 million skeletons to overwhelm the smaller army easily. Instead, the 3,000-strong force met them with fierce resistance. Following their leader’s command, the Lancers linked their weapons to form a massive lance stretching hundreds of meters. With a single, powerful sweep, they obliterated 100,000 skeletons.
The Infantry and Archers joined the assault. The Infantry summoned a giant blade and shield, using the shield to block the skeletons’ advances while a single swing of their colossal blade wiped out 50,000 skeletons in one strike.
The Archers, however, made little impact. The skeletons showed no fear of arrows, and the Centurion Treants blocked every volley, keeping Han Wu and Duan Meng safe under their guard.
After relentless resistance, the skeletons finally clashed with the enemy in a brutal melee. Han Wu noticed that the enemy units were not only skilled as a group but also individually formidable. Each unit could hold its own against 50 to 100 Common skeletons or Iron Skeletons armed with bone weapons.
Driven by curiosity, Han Wu inspected the units’ data.
[Lancer/Sword and Shield/Archer. Unique life forms. Skills: Military Close Combat Technique, Military Weapon Combat Technique, Pierce, Shield Bash, Sharpshooter. They are unyielding and brave soldiers who have never lost.]
Han Wu frowned as he examined the data. “They are only Unique life forms, yet they wield such power. I thought I was facing an entire army of Heroic life forms.”
The Heroic skeletons grew impatient as their numbers dwindled. These skeletons possessed a degree of intelligence and knew when to strike. One of the Osteomancers leapt forward and manipulated the scattered bone fragments into the shape of a towering bone giant. The rest followed, assembling their bodies with urgent precision.
The enemies froze in shock as the enormous bone giants materialized out of nowhere. It felt as if Han Wu had unleashed hundreds of nuclear strikes simply because they had dared to kick him. They wanted to scold Han Wu for being so honorless, but it was already too late.
The Osteomancers clashed fiercely with the enemy, scattering them with powerful blows. Their formations shattered, and their morale crumbled. Many fell beneath the bone giants’ crushing feet.
After most of their forces had been slaughtered, the enemy leader realized their assault had failed. As they tried to flee, a Black Skeleton blocked their path. It had somehow slipped past their defenses unnoticed.
The Black Skeleton gathered its Undead Energy and unleashed a devastating Undead Slash, severely wounding the enemy leader before draining all of their Life Energy. In seconds, the leader’s body shriveled into a withered husk.
The Black Skeleton then stripped the armor from the corpse and eagerly presented it to Han Wu. He examined it with mild disgust but then touched it cautiously, discovering it was actually Divine equipment. The armor bore a special protective charm that deflected slashes from bladed weapons.
“Not bad,” Han Wu remarked, impressed. He offered the armor to Duan Meng, but she declined. It was heavy and unsightly, and she had no interest in wearing it.
In the end, Han Wu handed it to a Scorching Dwarf for modification. He planned to give it to the Black Skeleton as a reward for eliminating the enemy leader.
The Black Skeleton also gave him a bronze token it had taken from the corpse. One side bore the word Order, while the other side displayed the name Song. Han Wu remembered hearing of a region called the Song Kingdom on the Warring Kingdom Continent.
Was the defeated army from there? he wondered as he examined the token.
To his surprise, the token granted enough experience points to instantly upgrade one of his altars from Level 2 to Level 4. He only needed 180 more tokens to transform all his altars into Eternal Altars. A surge of motivation filled him. The thought of fighting more of them suddenly seemed far more appealing.