Chapter 178: The Horror of the Biochemical Demon
Unlike the false information seen by the great powers, the situation within the Azurevine Empire is currently excellent, with agriculture, industry, and commerce all making rapid progress.
Except for the highest echelons who are aware of the World’s true crisis, ordinary citizens and the core strength of the Empire are currently in a state of overconfidence.
It’s as if they’ve had a few extra sips of potent alcohol and feel like they own the Universe.
The magicians are leading the charge. The Empress of Eternal Night has elevated them so much that their egos have become excessively inflated, believing they can solve all problems through technological innovation.
While theoretically this could be achieved, the problem is that the Empire does not have enough time, and their enemies have too much accumulated power.
Secondly, the emerging capitalist class, led by Sophie, is looking at their exorbitant profits and feeling that no one in the World can match them.
Anyone who stands in the way of their profits will die.
With money and Equipment, these “elites” have become arrogant, and even a portion of the military is following suit.
This is why, when the Kingdom of Terra provoked them, the previously stipulated period of recuperation was disrupted, and the internal public opinion calling for war surged.
These are all problems the Empress of Eternal Night sees. She feels helpless but must address them.
Although the Eternal Night World is indeed full of weaklings, this Empire cannot contend with the terrifying enemies from beyond this World. The next stage must be one of large-scale infrastructure development and further technological accumulation.
This World will eventually belong to the Empire, but the ending cannot be a pyrrhic victory. Instead, it should be a smooth integration of existing power to fight against the Seven Gods who will come knocking.
Therefore, at Roger’s suggestion, the Empress of Eternal Night allowed Sophie to incite the emotions of the magicians and the military, launching this retaliatory battle.
All intelligence was public, and the enemy’s preparations were clearly laid out on Duncan and Sophie’s desks.
However, the people of the Empire, under the Empress of Eternal Night’s protection, have won too many victories and have long considered themselves invincible. They believe the defeated orcs will once again be easily defeated.
Committing the mistake of arrogance and underestimation, and then rashly advancing after understanding that the enemy’s strength might exceed control, is a failure that even the Empress of Eternal Night would not forcefully intervene in.
Such lack of composure indicates that the people of the Empire truly need a failure to see reality clearly.
At the same time, Roger hopes to correct the bad habit of magicians always being on the battlefield.
Magicians are intellectuals who master the most advanced production technology in this World and understand the true nature of the Universe. They are scientific research talents, engineers, and the highest-class artisans, yet they are treated as mere soldiers, which is a complete waste!
As long as the Azurevine Empire’s technology continues to advance, a single magic crystal cannon can replace the damage caused by the vast majority of magicians. How can they be sacrificed on the battlefield like ordinary soldiers?
“New Arcana” brought about the idea of job transfer, and Che Guevara is also working hard to correct the magicians’ thinking, but Roger finds these efforts to be like scratching an itch through a boot; the mages still yearn to fight themselves.
Not treating opponents as humans, they must accept a lesson.
Currently, the Empire and the orcs are already locked in fierce combat. After their direct destructive power was curbed, the magicians converted their Magic Power into beneficial magic for their allies, along with summoned creatures spread across the battlefield.
The magicians of the Arcane Society have seen their wealth increase tenfold.
The immediate combat power converted from wealth was also considerable. Even Tasika, a “priest” favored by the gods, could not bridge the gap in wealth, and the orc kingdom’s defense line began to crumble.
At this moment, the powerful individuals sent by the great powers joined the fray.
Tasika’s orders to them were not to directly attack the main force of the Imperial army, but only to counter the summoned creatures and reduce the pressure on the orc defense line.
For the allied forces, this was a low-risk order, and everyone carried it out diligently.
Time slipped away quietly. General Duncan’s intuition sensed that Tasika intended to delay. If they continued to delay as the enemy planned, even more terrifying battles might unfold.
He led his personal guards to the front lines, attempting to break through the enemy’s defenses in a decisive battle.
However, before he could engage the orcs, he heard commotion from the rear.
The special operations team from the Sneak tribe, initially arranged by Tasika, had already moved to the main camp of the Imperial magicians using “Earth-Bending Technique” that emitted no magical fluctuations.
As esteemed mages, they were afforded the utmost protection even amidst fierce battles; ordinary means could not easily reach them.
But who would have thought that the orcs would have a special unit that mastered a unique digging technique, moving “silently” beside them as if swimming through sand?
The Sneak tribe was inherently skilled at subterranean movement in sandy terrain, but their speed was limited.
It was their special armor, powered by mechanical engines and made of highly elastic special materials, that doubled their underground advancement speed, finally making them valuable for battlefield application.
Of course, this method of advance had its drawbacks: it could still be detected by sound.
But with the fierce fighting going on, the magicians’ attention was focused on the orc defense line, which they couldn’t break through for a long time. They had little energy to pay attention to what was beneath their feet.
The backpacks on the backs of the Sneak special forces team were opened, pre-arranged beneath the magicians’ positions, and instantly activated a magic-nullifying field.
This was also a new type of magical Equipment, miniaturizing and modularizing the magic-nullifying field that required pre-arrangement, allowing for mobile deployment during combat.
Thus, in an instant, the Imperial magicians’ pride and joy fell silent.
Life-saving items on the magicians were activated one after another. This Sneak special forces team was specifically trained to counter magicians, possessing extremely high magic resistance and strong willpower. They quickly closed in on the Imperial magicians and delivered ruthless assassinations.
“Damn it, these are Mage Hunters!”
Sophie recognized the class of these Sneaks. Her already grim expression, due to the stalemate in the battle, turned even uglier.
Mage Hunters were a special class of individuals targeting magicians, mostly advanced from rogues.
They possessed extremely high magic resistance and willpower, specialized in close-quarters assassination, and had some spell-countering abilities, specifically created to counter the most powerful magicians in this World.
Oh, by the way, the earliest Mage Hunters were created by some organizations’ magicians to counter other magicians.
This Sneak special forces team from the orc kingdom was clearly heavily funded. From their movement method to the magic-nullifying field and their skilled assassination techniques, they instantly inflicted severe casualties on the Imperial magicians.
This was despite each of them being wealthy. Even though they were caught off guard by the magic-nullifying field, they still possessed enough life-saving Equipment.
“Fall back to support the mages! Prepare to disengage and retreat in an orderly manner!”
General Duncan knew their offensive had failed today. The mages in the rear had been ambushed, and he had to save them.
If he didn’t teach the orc kingdom a sufficient lesson, he might remain confined to Protecting the city and see no promotion for years.
However, if he lost three thousand mages in this desert, he might end up in prison.
But he also felt a chill. The enemy deliberately adopted a defensive posture here to lure him forward, clearly intending for their reserve force to target the Imperial magicians. It was likely a sure kill.
“Hold them back; it’s time for revenge against these executioners!” Tasika’s clear voice rang out behind Duncan.
The elite First Orc Legion abandoned its defensive stance and charged out of the trenches, cooperating with the powerhouses supporting from the great powers, to prevent General Duncan’s troops from retreating.
Suddenly, this border defense fleet was attacked from both front and rear, and the situation plunged into an abyss.
Sophie’s Tail straightened behind her, her soft fur bristling.
Just now, she had shot and killed a Sneak who was targeting her with her personal handgun. The dagger that grazed her had terrified her immensely.
She took out a vial from her pocket and shattered it on the corpse of the enemy in front of her. The vial contained a strange green liquid.
Simultaneously, she muttered, “Lydia, your inventions must be reliable! I’m counting on you to save my life, not just mine, but this entire expeditionary force!!”
The green liquid seemed to have a life of its own, quickly seeping into the corpses. In less than a second, the enemies who were clearly dead began to move again.
But it didn’t take long before they realized it wasn’t simple movement; they began to swell rapidly as if being inflated, gaining hundreds of pounds.
Their skin stretched to the point of near transparency, and green worms wriggled inside, making Sophie’s scalp tingle, and she instinctively retreated.
Bang!
The swollen corpse suddenly exploded, and thousands upon thousands of green worms shot out like arrows.
They were highly intelligent; if they hit an orc, they would quickly burrow into their bodies. Then, those elite Sneak Hunters would tremble in pain and fall to the ground, losing their combat effectiveness.
If they encountered an Imperial person, after burrowing into their bodies, their flesh would rapidly melt, turning into some kind of hormone that stimulated the wound to contract and stop bleeding.
Soon, the skin of the orcs infected by the green worms turned green, sharp bone spurs grew on their hands, their limbs bent backward, and they rapidly propelled themselves towards the stunned Sneak Hunters, who had no idea what had happened.
Within a few breaths, the entire Sneak special forces team was wiped out and transformed into parasitic bodies modified by the green worms.
They crawled like spiders, rapidly advancing towards the front lines of the battle, their bodies covered in the ejected green worms.
There, more orcs awaited. They would consider the first of their own kind to absorb as an enemy and launch a new round of parasitism upon them.
Unless all the green worms and parasitic bodies were killed, or unless all enemies within their sensory range were converted into their own kind, they would absolutely not stop.
“Is this Lady Lydia’s new invention?” a magician asked Sophie, looking at the devastated battlefield.
“Yes… Fortunately, it didn’t go wrong!” Sophie stuck out her tongue. At first, she questioned the woman for being too stingy, only giving her a small vial.
Now she realized that even this small vial was incredibly powerful.
Although the scene was disgusting and sanity-eroding, they at least survived, didn’t they?
…
…
Ultimately, this battle ended hastily due to the fierce and target-seeking green worms.
A disaster akin to a bio-chemical crisis erupted among the orcs. These green worm parasites possessed extraordinary vitality, with strength and speed exceeding that of advanced warriors. A slight scratch could lead to infection and mutation.
There were also parasitic larvae that could be ejected, small and fast, making them incredibly difficult to defend against.
Fortunately, they fought purely on instinct. If they couldn’t find a new target to attack within a few minutes, their physical functions would atrophy, and they could be eliminated relatively easily.
However, it still caused considerable trouble for the orc kingdom, preventing them from pursuing the retreating Imperial army.
The three thousand magicians brought by Sophie suffered over five hundred casualties in an instant. After stabilizing their emotions, they still had the strength to fight, which was also a significant factor in Tasika’s halt to the pursuit.
The Empire could not break the orc defense line, but it was wishful thinking for the orcs to try and keep the Imperial forces trapped.
Moreover, who knew if the Empire would deploy a second wave of these terrifying weapons that had instantly annihilated the Sneak special forces team?
Lord Charles had not mentioned that the magicians possessed such counter-measures. An entire unit of a thousand people was a resource that could not be regenerated in the short term, and extraordinary resources had been invested in their training.
The half-dragon princess’s heart was bleeding.
In reality, Roger had not expected the item Sophie pulled out for self-preservation to be so potent.
It could only be said that the destructive power of an alchemy master could be estimated, but the destructive power of items created by masters of potions and bio-chemistry was beyond normal human comprehension.
He needed to investigate further!
After a symbolic pursuit, the orc army retreated and began to clean up the battlefield.
In this battle, the orc side suffered seven thousand casualties, most of whom died defending the front lines. Including the Sneak special forces team, over two thousand others died due to the destruction caused by the green worms.
The Empire’s ordinary soldiers suffered over ten thousand deaths, most occurring during the retreat when they were pursued.
What pained the Empire the most, however, was the death of five hundred magicians.
Although most of them were intermediate and advanced magicians, the temporary magic-nullifying fields could not completely lock down legendary mages, but this number was still a heavy loss that the Empire had not experienced in a long time.
However, the people of the Empire did not care about losses. Whether soldiers or magicians, they had the courage to continue fighting despite heavy casualties.
What they could not tolerate was failure. Although this retaliatory war had penetrated deep into the Kambasack Desert and killed many orcs, the production of totem bracelets continued, clearly indicating that the mục tiêu for warning and deterrence had not been achieved.
Although Duncan ultimately managed to preserve the main force and control the losses within a certain range, this could not conceal the failure.
Upon returning to the country, Duncan and Sophie were met with a barrage of criticism. Countless people in the Empire viewed them as sinners.
Before this, the Empire had an undefeated record with no losses. Now, it was broken by them. How could people not be angry?
Of course, another important reason for the broken streak was that the Empress of Eternal Night had not participated in the battle. Otherwise, even the worst situation could have been reversed, right?
But Her Majesty had always been concerned with appearances. At this moment, she was certainly also angry, and in the end, all the blame would fall on Duncan and Sophie.
The two remained silent, unable to accept the failure. Both submitted their resignations, willing to take responsibility for the defeat.
The Empress of Eternal Night rejected their resignations, punishing them with a three-month suspension of salary, pending observation in their original positions, and providing compensation for the fallen at the same standard as a victory.
“For this failure, the Empire must take responsibility, the Arcane Society must take responsibility, the military must take responsibility, and everyone in the Empire who pushed for this war should have considered the possibility of failure. I hope everyone reflects on the reasons for this failure so that we can embrace greater victories.”
The Empress of Eternal Night’s speech in the Star River Palace, published in the “Long Live the Empress Newspaper” and simultaneously uploaded to the Fearless Space, sparked a heated discussion throughout the Empire.
ps. It’s my lunar birthday today, a poor child with a birthday the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Since childhood, every birthday wish involved blowing out candles.
Shamelessly setting out my bowl, I beg for rewards and blades.
—A mentally young man who is forever eighteen.
