Chapter 10: The War Begins
The portal finally stabilized completely, and a dim light flickered in the dark passage.
The avatar of Bai Zhe waved his scepter and coldly issued the order to attack: "For the God of Preservation! Charge!"
Before the words were even finished, the impatient inferior war behemoths roared and surged in with frenzied power, rushing into the portal one after another.
These inferior war beasts are failed creations of the Cult of Life. They are enormous and incredibly strong, but intellectually deficient, violently aggressive, indiscriminate in their attacks, and utterly uncontrollable. In past small-scale conflicts, they have repeatedly inflicted friendly fire and even launched fierce attacks on their own forces, causing heavy casualties.
Normally, the Cult of Life would never deploy these monsters on the battlefield. However, faced with the unknown other world, Bai Zhe decided to use them as cannon fodder to deplete the enemy's manpower, since anyone who went in would be surrounded by enemies.
The first to rush through the portal were [Rampaging Boars]. These enormous boars were as big as elephants, covered in sharp spikes, and their tusks were as sharp as scimitars. Their eyes were bloodshot, and white mist spewed from their nostrils as they rampaged wildly. Several unfortunate black goats were knocked away, their screams echoing in the air.
Following closely behind are the [Corrosive Poison Frogs]. These enormous frogs, their bodies resembling miniature houses, are covered in pustules filled with corrosive venom. They spew foul-smelling poisonous mist, corroding everything in their path, spreading into a pool of black water that devours the earth and its creatures.
Next came [giant centipedes], [swarms of bloodthirsty bats], [swarms of exploding insects]... all sorts of inferior war behemoths surged in like a tide, disappearing into the dark portal.
On the other side of the portal lies the Green Forest World.
Chief Kaza of the Bloodfang tribe is leading his army, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the enemy.
His eyes were sharp, and when he saw the ferocious beast emerging from the portal, a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes, but he showed no intention of backing down.
"Warriors! Let these invaders see our might!" Kaza roared, his voice booming like thunder. "For the Green Forest! For the plants!"
"Kill them all! Eat them all!" the wood elf warriors responded fervently, their voices shaking the earth.
At Kaza's command, a group of wood elves covered in green runes emerged; they were druids from the Bloodfang tribe.
The druids began chanting ancient incantations, and the green light in their staffs began to resonate with the power of the forest.
Instantly, the ground trembled violently, and countless vines burst forth from the ground, rapidly coiling around the charging inferior war beasts like giant pythons.
Under the druid's control, the towering tree suddenly uprooted itself, its heavy steps accompanied by the swinging of its massive branches, crashing down on the enemy.
This is a defensive line made of plants; the wood elf druids and their ancient war trees form the last barrier of the Green Forest.
The battle erupted instantly, with the inferior war behemoths clashing against the Wood Elves' defensive line.
The tusks of the raging boar pierced the vines, and the giant tree collapsed with a crash; the venom spewed by the corrosive poisonous frog rapidly corroded the surrounding plants, and black water spread, devouring everything; the giant centipede brandished its sharp limbs, its limbs tearing the wood elf warriors apart like blades, and blood rained down.
However, the Wood Elves' defenses were exceptionally tenacious. Vines grew rapidly, continuing to entangle the behemoths; the Ancient Tree of War swung its massive branches, smashing the behemoths into mincemeat; the Wood Elf warriors fought fiercely and bravely, using stone axes, bone spears, and even their teeth to fight to the bitter end.
In an instant, blood and flesh flew everywhere, screams, roars, and the sounds of impact mingled together, turning the battlefield into a bloody inferno.
The battle lasted for a full day and night.
Although the inferior war behemoths were powerful, their numbers were limited and their intelligence was low. Under the combined attack of the wood elf druids and the ancient war trees, they were eventually wiped out.
However, the Wood Elf defenses also suffered heavy losses. The vines were destroyed, most of the ancient war tree fell, and the Wood Elf warriors suffered heavy casualties.
Just when the wood elves of the Bloodfang tribe thought the battle was over, there was another commotion coming from the portal.
This time, instead of frenzied charging behemoths, a perfectly orderly army appeared.
The regular army of the Holy Terra Empire has finally made its appearance!
Soldiers clad in armor, wielding spears and swords, marched out of the portal in neat formations with firm steps.
Behind the army were even more elite war behemoths: Titan mammoths, venomous dragons, earth-dwelling giant scorpions... These true war machines exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
Seeing this, Kaza's face darkened, and a chill ran through him. He realized that the real battle had only just begun.
The commander of the Holy Terra Empire, a battle-hardened general, drew his longsword and pointed it forward: "For the God of Preservation! For the Holy Terra Empire! Charge!"
With the general's command, the Imperial army began its slow advance like a receding tide. They did not rush into battle with the Wood Elves, but instead quickly established defensive positions around the portal.
The soldiers began digging trenches, building fortifications, and constructing defensive structures. Several simple mage towers also quickly rose from the ground, were activated, and began to operate.
The Holy Terra Empire did not intend to engage in mobile warfare with these primitive wood elves, but instead opted for positional warfare, planning to use its tight defenses and powerful long-range firepower to gradually erode the enemy's manpower.
The Imperial army operated like a sophisticated machine, working efficiently and systematically. Under the general's command, the soldiers quickly constructed a solid defensive line near the portal.
Trenches spread across the land like a spiderweb, deeply embedded in the soil, providing soldiers with safe cover. These trenches were wide and deep, with wooden planks at the bottom to prevent water accumulation and effectively block enemy underground attacks. At regular intervals, soldiers set up raised sections to deploy archers and catapults, creating crossfire to maximize enemy casualties.
The fortress, as solid as a rock, stood firm at a crucial juncture in the defensive line, its thick walls capable of withstanding any attack. Inside, it contained storage rooms, rest areas, and a command post, capable of accommodating a large number of soldiers and supplies. Giant crossbows and catapults were mounted on the roof to strike distant enemies.
In addition, the Holy Terra Empire deployed a large number of defensive facilities, such as barricades, traps, and barbed wire. These obstacles were cleverly placed on the front line, forming deadly traps that could both hinder the enemy's advance and greatly reduce the enemy's morale and lives.
Behind the defensive line, simple mage towers rose from the ground. Although they were not as grand as the mage towers on the Empire's mainland, their functions were in no way inferior. The mages inside the towers quickly activated various defensive magic arrays to provide protection for the soldiers on the front lines.
Streams of magical light flowed between the mage towers, eventually converging into a massive magical shield above the defensive line. This shield not only blocked enemy attacks but also isolated from external magical interference, ensuring that friendly magic could be cast normally.
Within just a few hours, the Holy Terra Empire had established a formidable bridgehead on the land of another world, a military base that could be attacked or defended at will.
After establishing a firm foothold, the empire's army began to advance steadily, gradually expanding its territory.
Centered on the portal, they slowly and steadily expanded outwards with each step. With each step forward, the Imperial army swiftly began constructing new defensive lines, ensuring that the occupied lands remained firmly in their grasp.
This tactic, though slow, was extremely effective. It maximized the Holy Terra Empire's advantages in organization, discipline, and technology, turning the war into a war of attrition and making full use of the enemy's primitive and fragmented reaction capabilities.
Faced with the imperial army's relentless advance, the wood elves of the Bloodfang tribe felt unprecedented pressure.
Although they were brave and fearless, they were, after all, just warriors from a primitive tribe, and were no match for the well-trained and well-equipped regular army of the Holy Terra Empire.
The wood elves organized several counterattacks in an attempt to drive the Imperial army back to the portal, but each counterattack was relentlessly repelled.
Under the tight defenses of the Holy Terra Empire, the Wood Elves' attacks were like waves crashing against hard rocks, unable to shake the impenetrable defensive line.
Conversely, the Wood Elves suffered heavy casualties under the long-range firepower of the Imperial army.
The massive arrows fired from the crossbows, the stones hurled by the catapults, and the destructive magic unleashed by the mages, like the scythe of death, mercilessly reaped the lives of the wood elves.
Whenever the Wood Elves attempted to break through the defenses, the Imperial soldiers reacted swiftly, their precise arrow rain and firepower suppressing the enemy, preventing them from advancing even an inch