radiothebook Chapter 410 - 95: Attack! Skaven Ratman Legion
Chapter 410 - 95: Attack! Skaven Ratman Legion
He leaned forward, his silver armor tracing an arc through the dappled light. His voice, thick with unconcealed urgency and the thrill of the chase, boomed toward Mark, the player leading the charge.
"I’ve sensed the Undead Legion’s presence!"
He raised his hand and pointed into the depths of the forest, his fingertips turning white from the force.
"The air is growing thick with the stench of death, and the fluctuations of their pale blue Soul Fires are becoming clearer. They can’t be far! They’re just up ahead!"
The player from the Eagle Country, Mark, frowned slightly upon hearing this and gave a steady nod.
He waved his hand, his silver gauntlet cutting a sharp arc through the air. His voice boomed with unquestionable authority:
"Full speed ahead!"
"Ensure every last one of these Undead Soldiers is annihilated!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, his tone shifted, becoming suddenly serious as he added a critical warning:
"Remember!"
"Do not fight them head-on!"
"Something’s off about these Undead Soldiers. Each one has over 100,000 Blood Volume. They’re nothing like ordinary Undead Creatures!"
"So don’t even think about taking them down in one hit!"
"It’s just not possible!"
His gaze swept over the Holy Knights behind him as he stressed the core of their strategy:
"Use your finest Combat Skills. Aim for flawless kills. We’re wiping this nest of Undead Creatures out completely!"
Tens of thousands of Holy Knights responded in unison, their voices thundering through the forest like a clap of thunder, causing the leaves to tremble violently:
"Yes, sir!"
"We obey Lord Mark’s command!"
The powerful reply, infused with the searing heat of the Holy Flame, cut through the forest’s chill. It mingled with the thunder of hooves and the clash of armor, a sound of resolute determination, as they charged at full speed toward the Undead Legion.
Meanwhile, Qin Feng, using the Eye of All-Seeing artifact attached to his flock of Demon Beast birds, had already ascertained the enemy’s general deployment, tactics, and some important hidden information.
The most crucial discovery was that the enemy possessed a long-range clairvoyance skill similar to Eagle Eye, allowing them to see right through the bluff at the northern fortress. This enabled their Divine Chosen Army to unhesitatingly launch a fierce assault on the small-scale Undead garrison inside the city.
And so, the battle orders Qin Feng had previously given to Arthas were now completely useless.
He had to order the entire Undead Legion to retreat, leaving only Arthas behind to perform a rearguard action.
If he stuck to the original plan of sending only a small number of Undead Soldiers to delay them, not only would it fail to achieve the tactical objective of bogging down the enemy, but those forces would also become free "experience packs" for the enemy, dying for nothing.
’If they stopped to counter-attack... It’s possible. But unnecessary.’
These pursuing Holy Knights were a natural counter to Undead Creatures. Even if the Undead Legion led by Arthas managed a difficult victory, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses and be severely weakened.
More importantly, although the enemy’s main force was still stationed at the fortress in the Northern Territory, busy reinforcing the walls and building defensive towers and various fortifications, they could dispatch highly mobile aerial units and Cavalry to provide support at any time.
At that point, the Undead Legion, caught fighting alone, would face almost certain annihilation.
Qin Feng couldn’t bear to let these useful "cannon fodder" units be sacrificed here for nothing.
By the same token, Qin Feng hadn’t sent any other Divine Chosen Teams to assist, worried that once they engaged, they wouldn’t be able to retreat and would be instantly overwhelmed by the powerful Divine Chosen Army reinforcements from the Eagle Country players.
As for Arthas... its life or death was completely irrelevant.
After all, Qin Feng could just re-summon it later with his "Great Pioneer" skill. This was unlike the Undead Legion, which had been painstakingly assembled; if they were accidentally wiped out, it would take a great deal of time and corpses to recreate them.
What’s more, with the buff from his "Divine Descent" ability, Arthas’s Blood Volume had shot past one million.
This terrifying tankiness alone was enough to tie down these Holy Knights, buying a significant amount of time for the Undead Legion’s retreat and, incidentally, for the Forest Sub-humans in the north to evacuate.
...
"Wait!"
"What’s going on?"
"What’s that Undead Race hero doing here all alone?"
"Is it covering the entire Undead Legion’s retreat?"
The pursuing Holy Knight Order quickly locked onto Arthas, who had stayed behind to cover the retreat. Before they could figure out what trick lay behind this desperate move, Qin Feng—now inhabiting Arthas’s body through the power of Divine Descent—had already launched a decisive attack against them.
This Arthas Clone, unlike a Bloodthirsty Clone, could only use Necromancer skills and special Lord Skills while under the effect of "Divine Descent".
Therefore, Qin Feng could not use Multi-shot Arrow, his best skill for fighting multiple enemies.
He had to rely on the Necromancer skills "Awakening the Dead," "Nagash’s Gaze," and "Land of Corruption," along with his brutal physical strength and attack power, to fight these Holy Knights who were a natural counter to the Undead.
’As expected of an Elite Soldier Type recruited by elite players.’
The damage these Holy Knights dealt to Undead units was simply too terrifying. The Extraordinary Level Undead Soldiers that the Qin Feng-controlled Arthas summoned could barely withstand the enemy’s holy attacks thanks to their terrifyingly high Blood Volume, but they struggled to inflict any effective damage in return.
Even when an Undead Soldier managed to land a hit, these Holy Knights, with their innate Holy Light Healing ability, would quickly return to full health, making casualties impossible.
’Just as I thought...’
’I knew it...’
’If the Undead Legion had chosen to stay and fight back...’
’...they would have been completely wiped out.’
However, while Qin Feng was marveling to himself, Mark, the commander of the Holy Knight Order, was utterly reeling from shock.
He stared intently at Arthas’s figure weaving rapidly across the battlefield, his pupils contracting, his mind filled with incredulous horror.
’This unknown Undead hero... its Blood Volume is in the hundreds of thousands?’
’Wait!’
’No!’
Mark suddenly realized, a tidal wave of shock crashing through his mind. He could barely stop himself from cursing out loud!
’This motherfucker must have over a million Blood Volume, right?’
’It’s been focused-fired so many times!’
’And it’s barely even reacting!’
’And judging by the way its health shoots back up after taking damage, this thing must have an automatic Recovery Ability too!’
’Fuck!?’
’What kind of broken bullshit is this!?’
’It’s even more ridiculous than those five Divine Gift Ancient Giant Dragons!?’
At this thought, a flash of insight struck Mark. He instantly realized the enemy’s true objective: it wasn’t to fight them head-on, but to cover the retreat of that valuable Undead Legion and prevent its annihilation.
He immediately suppressed his shock at Arthas’s terrifying Blood Volume and decisively issued a new command:
"All units, listen up!"
"Stop getting bogged down by this Undead hero!"
"Split off seventy percent of our forces! Continue pursuing the fleeing Undead Legion at full speed! You must intercept them at the edge of the forest!"
"The rest of you, stay here and tie it down!"
"Wear it down slowly!"
Receiving the order, the Holy Knight Order acted immediately. A large number of Knights quickly bypassed Arthas’s blockade and charged at full speed toward the Undead Legion, which had already retreated some distance.
Qin Feng, controlling Arthas, sneered. ’Looks like my Undead Legion will have to face these Holy Knights head-on after all.’
But luckily, the Eagle Country players occupying the northern fortress seemed extremely confident in this Holy Knight Order.
In all this time, they surprisingly hadn’t sent any reinforcements.
A cold light flashed in Qin Feng’s eyes as he came to a decision. ’Since you’re so arrogant, I’ll start by devouring this Holy Knight Order of yours whole!’
"Holy Empire Envoy 31!"
"Relay my command!"
"Have Vampire Nesiya there immediately lead the ’Skaven Ratman Legion’ here as reinforcements!"
Qin Feng’s voice entered the target’s mind directly via telepathy, filled with unquestionable authority.
And Holy Empire Envoy 31, who was in command of the Skaven Ratman Legion and was also one of Qin Feng’s Bloodthirsty Clones, received the mental command and, without a moment’s hesitation, immediately responded respectfully in his mind:
"Yes!"
"His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Skaven Ratman Legion! Commencing Teleportation! Target area: Northern Forest!"
...