183: Chapter 183 The War Is On

The arrival of the tribal reinforcements and Lister's team brought significant changes to Black Stone Fortress.

Although the atmosphere in the tent was not relaxed, it was no longer as oppressive and heavy as it had been in the past.

Accompanied by the howling wind and snow outside, Scott, sitting at the head on the left, swept his gaze across everyone's faces one by one.

"Chief, Lord Howard, and everyone, today is your first day at Black Stone Fortress."

"To ensure you quickly familiarize yourselves with the battlefield, please stay in the rear and observe after dawn when Prince Asa launches his attack."

"Once you have seen Prince Asa's army's combat style for yourselves, you can proceed to attack your respective targets according to the results of our discussion last night."

Everyone nodded slightly. The warmth radiating from the stove caused a thin layer of sweat to bead on everyone's foreheads.

According to last night's tactical discussion, the White Cat-Ear Tribe's army was responsible for the head-on battlefield confrontation.

Lister's Knight Squad was responsible for finding opportunities to ambush and kill the high-end combatants within Prince Asa's army.

This plan was formulated because, firstly, the White Cat-Ear Tribe's army had the most people, and they had to hold the front line.

Secondly, because Lister's team were external supporters, there was no reason for them to have to fight in every battle.

This plan also received unanimous agreement from Chief Lin Mu and the White Cat-Ear Tribe's generals.

Greed was not their style!

Naturally, Lister had no reason to refuse, and he hadn't intended to go all out anyway.

Of course, even so, the White Cat-Ear Tribe still gained a great advantage, as the risk involved in hunting down high-end combatants was higher.

The lingering night faded amidst the discussions, and the light from the sun shining through the thick clouds spilled in through the leather tent.

Woo—!

A high-pitched, sonorous horn blast suddenly resounded across the sky, quickly spreading throughout the entire Black Stone Fortress.

Bathed in the radiance, Prince Asa's army, led by various Totem Warriors, launched an attack on the sturdy, wide ramparts of Black Stone Fortress.

The garrison, already prepared on the ramparts, acted almost in unison, quickly nocking arrows, one eye closed, aiming.

Swish, swish, swish—!

Sharp arrows flew out, crossing the sky like chilling glimmers, resembling flying magical beasts filled with killing intent.

In an instant, the wails of those struck by arrows and the sound of metal clashing as they were successfully blocked rang out one after another among the attacking army.

But the sight of their companions being struck did not make the Soldiers pause for even a second; they continued to charge toward the gates and ramparts of Black Stone Fortress, holding swords in one hand and shields in the other.

Seeing this, just as the garrison on the ramparts prepared to fire the next volley of arrows, a deafening roar suddenly came from the air.

Massive, pitch-black boulders came smashing rapidly toward the garrison on the ramparts.

Just as they were about to hit the wall, a dull humming sound rang out quietly, and at the same time, a transparent, solid-like wide mental shield instantly formed in the path of the boulders.

No sound was made; the boulders that hit the mental shield were blocked in mid-air as if stuck in a quagmire of air, unable to move forward at all.

Prince Asa's army, maintaining their charging posture, slightly slowed their running pace, looking up from time to time at the giant stones hanging in the sky.

They knew that if they weren't careful and kept charging forward blindly, then the boulders above their heads would become the lethal weapons that buried them here; they didn't want to experience that pain again.

They had already tried several times and failed several times, yet the commander in the rear still liked to try.

This made them suspicious of whether the commander wanted to break through Black Stone Fortress or use the attempt to break through to get them killed.

Of course, there was another thought buried at the bottom of their hearts—

Could the commander be an idiot?

The battle between the two sides proceeded in an orderly fashion, as if it had been rehearsed hundreds of times.

The agile dodging steps and the pre-aimed arrows were operated with a skill that was heart-wrenching.

Lister's team, who had followed Scott to the ramparts to observe, had a hint of novelty in their calm eyes.

Like Red, this was their first time seeing the combat style of mental power warriors.

Especially that mental shield just now—no, it should be said it wasn't just mental power; there was another force mixed in.

This force was similar to magic power, but under Lister's perception, they were fundamentally different.

"I can ask Chief Lin Mu when I have time about what this energy actually is."

He had always been curious about extraordinary energy, not just the battle qi and magic power he had encountered, but others he hadn't come into contact with as well.

He didn't seek to master all extraordinary energies, but rather to learn them all, even if just at an introductory level.

Since he had come to this fantasy world, he was prepared to try everything new.

This was the same as his nature in his previous life—liking exploration and novel things; the bigger the world, the more he wanted to explore.

The shouts and wails continued, and Prince Asa's army was still making unremitting attempts at ranged attacks.

Stupid?

No, this was just following Prince Asa's order: all Soldiers must spare no casualties to break through the walls of Black Stone Fortress.

Although Prince Asa had a tyrannical personality, he was a competent leader. Through the previous multiple attacks, he had already discerned the loophole in the mental shield.

That was that the user's mental power was not infinite, and the shield was not airtight.

It was like a giant fishing net; massive boulders could not pass through, but long, thin, sharp arrows could easily pass through.

The previous boulders were just consumables to exhaust the mental power warriors; the hundreds of sharp arrows were the real protagonists.

Swish, swish, swish!

The sharp arrows streaked across the sky. Apart from a small number that were "unlucky" and blocked by the mental shield, the rest went through unimpeded, heading straight for the garrison on the walls.

"Not good!"

The expressions of the mental power warriors hiding on the walls changed. They never expected that Prince Asa's army would discover the loophole in the shield so quickly.

But the speed of the arrows was too fast, so fast that just as they reacted, the arrows appeared before the eyes of the garrison Soldiers.

Piercing wails rang out one after another, and garrison Soldiers fell to the ground one by one, blood spraying everywhere on the stone walls.

The army's ranged attack finally worked. The Soldiers of Prince Asa's army, who were still maintaining their charge, could not help but show excitement and bloodthirst.

After being beaten for so many days, today it was finally their turn to suppress the enemy again.

"Ooh-ho-ho~"

Wolf-like, excited howls rang out incessantly. Prince Asa's Soldiers, as if they had taken stimulants, charged madly toward the walls.

The walls themselves were not high, and the gates were not that sturdy. As long as they could reach the vicinity of the walls, Prince Asa's Soldiers could use their climbing ability to quickly scale the top of the walls, or attack and destroy the gates to engage in close-quarters combat with the garrison.

This was not a situation the garrison inside Black Stone Fortress wanted to see. Scott immediately ordered the gates of the stone fort to be opened.

Led by mental power warriors, a large group of Soldiers rushed out of the gates to meet the charging Prince Asa's army in a counter-charge.

The blizzard roared like a beast.

Clang, clang, clang~ Clash, clash, clash~

The harsh sound of metal colliding rang out suddenly, continuing endlessly and rising one after another among the fighting crowds.

Lister's team and Chief Lin Mu and the others on the walls watched the battlefield with focused attention.

Especially Lister's team; except for Red, everyone else was participating in such a large-scale war between people for the first time.

The difference in psychological feeling would have a great impact on their own combat later.

Of course, under Red's long-term coaching and training, they had long overcome the negative emotions that might appear during combat.

Now they just needed a trigger, and the war before them was that trigger.

It could not only let them adapt to the feeling of large-scale war but also let them verify the combat knowledge they needed.

Of course, calling it a large-scale war was actually just a war of less than a thousand people.

The real large-scale wars were in the Pioneer Territory in the northwest, and the Sunset Fortress in the north of the Pedan Kingdom; what was before them was just an appetizer.

As far as the eye could see, the intensity of the battlefield was increasing. The Black Wolf Tribe's fighting style was similar to the Black Snake Tribe members that Lister and the others had seen before.

They all relied on worshipping powerful magical beasts to obtain powerful Totem Power, thereby enhancing their own strength in all aspects.

And the White Cat-Ear Tribe's fighting style attracted more of Lister's team's attention.

On the battlefield, they controlled various weapons and surrounding objects out of thin air to grapple with the Totem Warriors who attacked them.

This method, similar to telekinetic control, made it difficult for Totem Warriors to easily get close to them; as long as they were not careful, they would be hit by objects and weapons flying from all directions.

Those ordinary Prince Asa's army Soldiers were affected by the pure white light released by the mental power warriors, either falling into a brief stupor, their actions becoming sluggish.

Or, as if they had lost their minds, they would madly attack those around them indiscriminately, unable to distinguish friend from foe.

Such bizarre operations made Lister frown slightly, but he soon relaxed.

Although this attack method was very strange, in the end, it was caused by powerful mental power. For extraordinary beings of the same level, it was almost difficult to have any influence.

And according to his observation, every time those mental power warriors released this move, their faces would become a fraction paler; obviously, the consumed energy was not small.

If the opponent did not have Totem Warriors interfering, then releasing this move could definitely cause a huge impact on those ordinary Soldiers.

But under the fierce attacks of the Totem Warriors, it was difficult for mental power warriors to be distracted to do this; just as they wanted to release this move, they would be interrupted by the Totem Warriors.

The sounds of slaughter echoed in the wind and snow, and the balance of the battlefield situation gradually tilted toward Prince Asa's army, which had more extraordinary beings and ordinary Soldiers.

Seeing this, Scott, standing on the ramparts, turned to look at Chief Lin Mu and said: "Chief, the situation is already unfavorable for us. We must send the tribal reinforcements to attack now."

"It seems we must." Chief Lin Mu nodded, immediately turned to look at the various commanders and guards of the tribe, and quickly issued a series of combat orders.

After receiving the orders, the commanders and guards summoned their respective troops at a very fast speed, leaped out from the gates of Black Stone Fortress, and launched a fierce charge against Prince Asa's army Soldiers.

The arrival of a large number of reinforcements tilted the scales of the battlefield situation in the opposite direction.

The advantage brought by numbers and sufficient rest made the reinforcements brought by Chief Lin Mu very fierce, like ferocious magical beasts and wild beasts.

"Damn it! How did that guy Chief Lin Mu's reinforcements arrive so quickly!"

In the center of Prince Asa's army.

Looking at the army Soldiers suffering the impact in front, Prince Asa, who was sitting on horseback, wearing black magical beast leather armor, with a burly figure, shouted and vented with a face full of anger.

A commanding guard nearby suggested: "Prince Prince Asa, our army has already fallen into a disadvantage. Why not order a retreat to avoid the sharpness of the White Cat-Ear Tribe for now."

"No, we cannot retreat."

A middle-aged man with a powerful aura, who was also riding on horseback beside Prince Asa, said in a deep voice: "Prince Prince Asa, the morale of the army is very important. Rashly retreating will definitely hurt our army's morale and sharpness in attacking."

"Our army is only slightly at a disadvantage now. Even if we are to retreat, we must deal a heavy blow to the White Cat-Ear Tribe's army first."

Hearing this, Prince Asa's expression returned to calm. He did not immediately respond to the two, but thought seriously, weighing the pros and cons of the two suggestions.

Time passed second by second, and suddenly, his eyes turned fierce, and he said: "Boris is right. The morale of the army is very important."

"Our goal is to break through Black Stone Fortress, not to be a coward and only retreat."

"Pass on my order, let Carey and Morton lead ten junior Totem Warriors to continue to increase the number of people attacking."

"Yes, Prince Prince Asa." The messenger responded respectfully, then spurred his horse and galloped in two directions.

Ten minutes later, the deafening humming sound of the horn sounded again in Prince Asa's army.

The ten junior Totem Warriors who stayed behind in the central army and nearly half of the Soldiers, led by two burly men wearing brown magical beast leather armor, launched a charge toward the White Cat-Ear Tribe's reinforcements.

Amidst the raging blizzard, the situation of the battlefield changed again. Although the White Cat-Ear Tribe had the advantage in the number of ordinary Soldiers, in terms of the number of extraordinary beings.

The White Cat-Ear Tribe's side was much worse than Prince Asa's army's side. The mental power warriors, who had originally fought relatively easily, seemed to have been pressed by giant stones, and the pressure increased several times.

Seeing that the situation was becoming more and more critical, Chief Lin Mu and Scott on the ramparts could no longer sit still and immediately led other tribal extraordinary beings to rush to the battlefield to support.

Before leaving, Chief Lin Mu looked at Lister and the others and entrusted them solemnly: "Lord Howard, after I and Scott and the others go to support, please help us cover."

"There are still quite a few extraordinary beings waiting on Prince Asa's side; they will definitely take action against our support."

"Chief Lin Mu, rest assured, they will not cause any impact on you. Just fight with peace of mind." Lister's expression was calm, but his tone was full of confidence.

Chief Lin Mu felt relieved immediately. After thanking him, he took Scott and the others and quickly left the ramparts.

A moment later, their figures appeared on the battlefield, and everyone's strikes were merciless, quickly engaging with the extraordinary beings on Prince Asa's side.

Seeing the target appear, Prince Asa immediately showed a bloodthirsty smile.

"Boris, it's your turn to appear."