After thousands of years, the furnace in the main temple of Valaya was lit up again. The dwarven craftsmen began to work, and a rhythmic melody sounded above the flame and the anvil.
The spacious and deep underground network was carefully checked. There were several paths in this underground network. They led to Calac Draz (Blackrock Castle) in the north, Calac Eight Peaks Mountain in the east, Calac Iron Peak Castle in the south, and Calac Dragon Cliff Castle in the south. Calac Dragon Cliff Castle had fallen many years ago, and it was ruled by the famous Robbing Tooth tribe.
Blackrock Castle was destroyed, and Dragon Cliff Castle was under the control of the green dwarfs. The only important southern fortress of the dwarves that was still under the control of the dwarves was Calac Iron Peak Castle. Bellegar hesitated for a long time, but he still gave up on sending a messenger to Iron Peak Castle to ask for help. He decided to let the rune master of Iron Peak Castle, Sorek Ironbrow, come at a fixed time instead of in advance. Bellegar was always worried about the passage of the underground network. The messenger might die on the way, or the underground network might be damaged and couldn't reach Iron Peak Castle. There was also a chance that the messenger might be intercepted by the green dwarfs or the rat men.
The location of the main temple of Valaya was very hidden. Bellegar didn't want to be discovered by the enemy, and the army needed time to rest and recover.
The knights were very tired. They rested for two full days before they could catch their breath. Many humans were uncomfortable living in a place where they couldn't see the sun and the sky, but unlike the elves, humans were very adaptable. It wasn't easy to find a safe place to rest, so most of them were satisfied.
On the second floor of the main temple of Valaya, Laing, Bellegar, and the others were discussing the next steps. Among the people in the meeting were Kalad, Veronica, and the new rune master of the dwarves, Stroud.
"After a rough calculation, we only have two months' worth of food left after the loss of manpower." Laing said to Bellegar, "My idea was to open up the logistics channel after attacking Valaya's Heartbreak, but now …"
The current situation made everyone frown. The underground network in the direction of Wallaya had collapsed, and the logistics were cut off. Not only was the logistics cut off, but even the news couldn't be sent out.
Originally, Veronica could use magic to transmit her voice across a thousand miles. However, the power of the Valaya Main Shrine was too strong, so she couldn't send any messages. The rune gate to Eight Peaks Mountain couldn't be opened easily, and the road to Blackrock Fortress and Dragoncliff Fortress couldn't be used. Dragoncliff Fortress was still in the hands of the Green Dwarfs, and although Blackrock Fortress was destroyed, there were still many dark creatures living underground.
To put it simply, they were now truly alone.
"There's another problem. Whether it's you or us, we don't have any ammunition." Bellegar said in a muffled voice, "The arrows are easy to produce. We can also try to send some small teams to cut down some wood outside. But the bullets and cannonballs … we really can't do that."
"All the bullets and cannonballs we had before were used up in the battle of Valaya's Gate." Laing wasn't very worried about the communication problem. His psionic power wasn't affected by the divine power of Wallaya. He had used too much psionic power before, so he just needed some time to recover. The Lake Fairy and Angran could withstand his psionic communication. If they really couldn't, Suria and Morgiana could also make do. Instead, he was worried about the bullets and cannonballs.
No matter how advanced and ancient Valaya's ancestral dwarven forges were, the invention of gunpowder weapons was two thousand years after the city was built. At that time, the Eternity Peak was attacked by a large army of Green Dwarfs. Originally, the dwarves were blocked in the Eternity Peak and couldn't get out. But at this critical moment, the dwarven engineers discovered the secret of gunpowder. With the help of the new weapons, the dwarves finally defeated the Green Dwarfs.
Therefore, the forges in Valaya could produce arrows, crossbows, catapults, and ballistae, but they certainly couldn't produce bullets and cannonballs. They lacked both raw materials and production lines.
The expeditionary army's bullets and cannonballs had all been used up in the previous battle. Even the magic crystal cannons only had three cannonballs left.
Everyone was silent for a while. There was really no way to deal with it, so they could only skip the topic for now.
"How long will it take to repair and replace the equipment?" Laing threw the question back to the dwarves.
"A year, if everything is perfect," said Stroud Honest, very seriously.
"… Then we'll all starve to death here," Laing complained. "I said the shortest time."
"Then it will take at least three weeks," Stroud said honestly. Stroud, the Honest One, was indeed very honest. "The mustaches really aren't skilled enough. I definitely won't accept a forging task that's less than three weeks' time. You know very well, Brother Ryan. We dwarves definitely won't produce substandard goods."
"Then three weeks it is," Laing agreed without hesitation. "We'll stay here for three weeks."
"Three weeks … Brother Laing, dwarves don't have a problem. But for humans, staying in a cave for such a long time, won't it be a little uncomfortable?" Belega asked with concern. "Do you need any dwarves to provide you with some help?"
"That's not necessary," Laing shook his head and smiled bitterly. "What I care about is, where are the cannonballs and bullets? Brother Belega, can we ask the Iron Peak to provide some? "
"Haha," Belega said helplessly. Belega said helplessly, "The king of Steel Peak is Cazador, Ryan's brother. Cazador Dragonhammer, you've seen his nephew, the king of Haimen Pass, right?"
"Yes." Laing felt a little strange.
"I've always felt that Cazador is more open-minded and more willing to accept new things," Belega said. "To this day, Ironpeak's army only has a squad of Thunder Gunners and a squad of cannons. It took Cazador 500 years to accept these two new things, and all the gunpowder equipment was imported from Eternity Peak or Rapids Pass. In fact, if it wasn't for that incident (referring to Brother Liquor's surprise attack on Ironpeak Castle), it might have taken him a thousand years." Beleg continued to complain.
"Understood." Laing knew that this path wouldn't work.
After chatting about some meaningless topics, the two sides agreed to depart from the city of Valaya in three weeks and directly reach the Titan's Gate of Eight Peaks Mountain through the underground network. Directly opposite the Titan's Gate of Eight Peaks Mountain, there was an ancient dwarven outpost called the Creek Outpost. The expeditionary army would launch a surprise attack there and directly seize the entire outpost before preparing to attack Eight Peaks Mountain.
Although Laing had some doubts about Belega's plan, Skarnik and Headhunter Quirk had no reason not to know the importance of the Creek Outpost. However, Belega said that the underground network hadn't been discovered yet. Laing also knew that Belega was an expert in siege, and he was also very familiar with Skarnik. According to Belega's judgment, Skarnik would definitely try to withdraw his forces and concentrate on defending the Titan Gate while looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
The cunning Eight Peaks wouldn't give the expeditionary army another chance to fight in the field.
After a few more words, the two sides adjourned the meeting. Belega personally led a team of dwarven rangers to investigate the nearby exits of the underground network to ensure that the hidden temple wouldn't be discovered. The human army's mission was to rest and recuperate.
Coming out of the main temple, Laing walked in front with Veronica following behind. Today, Magus Garland was wearing an ebony silk pleated dress, a pair of beautiful long legs wrapped in black patterned silk stockings, and bright red heels. Her sweet face couldn't hide the excitement, and she took the initiative to hold Laing's arm. "My dear, the harvest this time is not small."
"Well, it is not small." Laing heard her and smiled a little reluctantly. He looked at the dense water pipes on the walls of the dwarven fortress. Even after thousands of years, the water supply and water purifiers here were still working. "This is really an engineering miracle."
"Don't change the subject!" Veronica reached out her little hand wrapped in a black lace glove and tapped Laing's forehead. "I know, my dear. Are you still sad about the losses in this war?"
"There is no victory without sacrifice." Laing glanced at Veronica and sighed again. "I know these are all necessary sacrifices, but there are still some … some of them have followed me for more than a decade, and now they are dead in battle. All I can do is to sign the notice of death and provide a pension."
"Without such an intense war, how could so many people have ascended to the Legendary tier, and how could you and your army get the real training? You know very well that whether it is you or me, we have ascended through countless battles and killings. " Veronica comforted Laing in another way. "For the knights and nobles, it is their duty to fight for the lady, to protect and destroy evil. For the serfs, the most terrible thing is not dying in battle, but being a serf for the rest of their lives. My dear, you did not send them to die. Even you went to the frontline to fight. What else can they complain about?"
"That's nonsense." Laing finally laughed. He lifted Garland up in his arms and kissed her hard on the lips. "But it does make some sense. But I want to ask my First Lady, why did you and your witches not suffer any casualties in the battle at the Gate of Valaya?"
"Oh, my dear, don't do that. Let me down. Let's talk." Veronica might be open-minded in private, but she still cared about her reputation in front of others. She blushed when she heard the envy of the apprentices and the gossips of the serfs. Leon's kiss made Veronica's body go limp. She had no choice but to beg and struggle softly. "Not here, please."
Laing put Veronica down. Garland's high heels landed on the ground. She reached out her little fist and punched Laing's chest. "Shame on you!"
Just as Laing had said, the battle at the Gate of Valaya was fierce, but not every part of the battlefield was particularly tragic. Some people were lying on the ground for the entire battle.
Yes, Laing was talking about Veronica's witches and the unicorn guard sent by François. This new elite infantry was assigned by Laing to protect the witches. However, because all the enemy's attention was focused on a few key points in the Gate of Valaya, the witches and unicorn guard guarding a corner did not encounter any strong enemies. Other than a dozen soldiers who were slightly injured, they did not encounter any serious challenges.
As for the most tragic front line, why were the serf infantry casualties so high, but the knights and the Old Guard's casualties were barely acceptable?
Brother, the knights and the Old Guard were all heavily armored! The goblins, the rat slaves, and the skeletons of the undead at the back all lacked the ability to break through armor. They could force the elite soldiers to retreat, but they could not do any effective damage.
The real large-scale casualties came from the attacks of the giant beasts, the green-skinned big bosses, the Storm Rats, the Lemia Barren Grave Guards, and the Lemia Vampires.
However, the serf infantry were different. Most of the serf infantry were wearing leather armor, and the most they had was a breastplate. This kind of light infantry cannon fodder was really easy to kill.
"The undead won't come again, right?" Thinking of this, Veronica still had a lingering fear. She held Laing's arm and touched Laing's bandaged shoulder worriedly. "I'm very worried …"
"They won't." Speaking of this, Laing's expression became slightly better.
If there was a force that suffered the most in this war, it was undoubtedly Nefrata and her Silver Peak Army. In the end, Nefrata only led a dozen vampires from the Lemia Sisterhood to retreat. Tens of thousands of elites that she had accumulated over thousands of years were all buried in this battle. Gur was also defeated by Laing. Laing did not know how many undead troops there were in the Silver Peak Army, but it was definitely not a lot. For a long time to come, this Bloody Queen would not be able to participate in the disputes of the old world.
Laing thought that Nefrata was indeed not good at commanding battles. She only wanted to be the oriole that took advantage of the situation. Therefore, her army did not arrange for any reserves and went all out in one go. It was not surprising that they were almost wiped out when they were attacked by Khaleda's army from two sides.
After chatting for a while, Laing and Veronica returned to the king's tent in the fort. Olica had already ordered the squires to settle everything down and boil water.
"Master, please allow me to serve you in your bath." Olica's face was slightly pale as she had overused her magic. She had changed back into her black and white maid costume. Her smooth and beautiful legs were wrapped in white silk panty hose and black pointed heels. The dark elf licked her lips gently and looked at her master with anticipation.
"Okay." Laing pulled Veronica. "My dear, do you want to join us?"
"Hmph!" Veronica quickly slapped Laing's hand away and ran away in fear. "I've already bathed today! If you want to do that, we'll talk about it tonight! "
"Okay then."
… I'm the dividing line of the bath …
After resting for another two days, the king's psionic power gradually recovered.
Laing began to try to contact the Goddess of the Lake. In such a powerful anti-magic domain in the Valaya Shrine, only Laing's psionic power could be transmitted without being affected.
"My lady … My lady, I need your help!" The psionic echo transmitted to the subspace and to the Goddess of the Lake's divine kingdom.
"I'm with you all the time." The goddess's reply was swift. Just a minute after Laing sent the message, the Goddess of the Lake's soft whisper was transmitted to Laing's mind. "What do you need me to help you with? My champion? "
"I need you …"
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