Chapter 480
Fall and Temporary Retreat
Chapter 480 Fall and Temporary Retreat
The first round of curse testing failed—resulting in the loss of a level seven wizard and over forty level six wizards in combat power.
A mistake in the struggle for the Fate Line – the loss of three level seven wizards.
Because of this negligible loss of combat power, their breakthrough speed was slightly slower when facing the traps set by the vanguard legion of the Norn Workshop.
This line of fire prompted the vanguard legion of the Norren Workshop to set up three more rounds of traps.
These three rounds of traps slowed down their advance by another 1.2 seconds.
Then came the second round, the third round, the fourth round...
"If you're slow at one step, you'll be slow at every step."
Mordigian opened his eyes, his gaze filled with bitterness.
Ultimately, they were a full four minutes and seventeen seconds late in attacking.
In those four minutes and seventeen seconds, the defenses of the Norren Workshop were transformed from "initially formed" to "impregnable".
It was those four minutes and seventeen seconds that turned what should have been a lightning-fast offensive into a brutal war of attrition.
Now, less than twenty minutes into the war of attrition, our own cannon fodder units have already lost over three billion.
Although the vast majority of them are low-level or lower grunts, the number is still alarming.
Even more fatally, on the high-level wizard battlefield, in order to suppress Clark, the level six wizards who took turns unleashing high-intensity attacks were almost running out of mental energy.
If we can hold on for another five minutes at most, a large number of level six wizards will lose their fighting ability due to the high intensity of mental energy consumption.
And what about the Norren workshop?
Their defenses became increasingly solid, and the roar of artillery fire grew more intense.
Mordigian even noticed an unusual shelling frequency at a certain location in Fortress Seven through battlefield surveillance: "They're getting more and more energetic as the battle goes on, and their mental strength is even breaking through during the fight!"
"This first battle..."
Mordigian took a deep breath, his rotting chest emitting a bellows-like wheezing sound.
"We lost."
He made this decision without any hesitation.
retreat.
Retreat now, and you can preserve most of your fighting force.
Although the high-ranking wizards were exhausted, most of them were still alive.
Although the cannon fodder legion suffered heavy losses, the core high-level cannon fodder units lost less than 10%.
Continuing to fight will only lead to greater losses and could eventually result in a crushing defeat.
"All units..."
Mordegian's voice, transmitted through the highest-level mental network, reached every wizard in the alliance of the Chaos Cult and the Tower of Annihilation:
"Execute the 'evacuation' plan."
"In high-level battles, maintain suppression and retreat in stages."
"In low-to-mid-level battlefields, cannon fodder units should cover the rear, while the wizard himself should be the first to retreat."
"Repeat, execute the evacuation plan, begin now..."
The instant the command is issued.
The wizards besieging Clark experienced a very subtle, almost imperceptible pause in their attack rhythm.
That wasn't intentional; it was a biological instinct.
Upon hearing the order to "retreat," one's tense nerves involuntarily relax slightly, the will to attack weakens a bit, and the focus of accumulating strength decreases by a fraction.
In ordinary combat, this slight pause is insignificant.
But for someone of Clark's caliber...
"Chance."
For the first time, a sharp glint flashed in Clark's calm eyes, who had been in a passive defensive posture.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
At the very moment the attack on the besieging wizards faltered...
Clark moved.
Facing the combined attack torrent unleashed simultaneously by thirty-seven level-seven wizards—an attack capable of instantly annihilating an entire plane—he took a step forward.
Boom boom boom boom!!!
The terrifying attack instantly engulfed his figure.
A tearing sound, sharp enough to make your teeth ache, came from the turbulent energy flow.
The next second, Clark emerged from the other side of the attacking torrent.
But at this moment, he was a completely different person from before.
The black wizard's robe was mostly torn, revealing a body covered with deep, bone-revealing wounds.
His left arm disappeared completely below the elbow, and his right leg was also gone below the knee. He was suspended in the air, his mutilated body swaying slightly.
On his face, there was a hideous wound that ran diagonally from his forehead to his jaw, the flesh torn open to reveal the silvery-white bones underneath.
Seriously injured.
Undoubtedly a serious injury.
But Clark's expression remained eerily calm.
He didn't even glance at the wounds on his body.
His gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield and through layers of defenses, precisely locking onto Mordigian.
At this moment, the distance between the two sides is only 1,200 meters.
This distance is no different from being face-to-face with a level seven wizard.
Where do you want to go?
Clark's voice suddenly rang in Mordigian's ears.
It was as if those words had been etched into Mordigian's soul from the very beginning, only to be "played" out at this moment.
Mordigian's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinhead.
Because the instant he heard those words, he also saw them.
The black-robed wizard had appeared before him without him noticing.
The distance was less than three meters.
That scarred face was almost pressed against his own.
Clark's only remaining right hand was slowly rising, his index finger pointing at Mordigian's forehead.
“...You!!!” Mordigian wanted to roar, wanted to retaliate, wanted to teleport away.
But to his horror, he discovered that his body... could not move.
His brain issued the command to "raise your hand," but the command vanished without a trace the moment it left his conscious mind.
His soul roared "Unleash the magic!" but every rune that made up the magic model disintegrated the moment it took shape.
His soul is wailing, his existence is trembling.
At such close range, facing someone who could instantly defeat seventeen level seven wizards in his prime, even if the opponent was already seriously injured, he still couldn't possibly fight against him.
Clark gently touched Mordigian's brow with his index finger.
The movements were very light and slow, as if touching a fragile piece of porcelain.
But the moment the fingertips touch the skin...
Mordigian's body began to "disappear".
Like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, it is instantly wiped out from the level of "existence".
Starting from the point of contact between the eyebrows, the skin, muscles, bones, internal organs... layer by layer, dissolve into nothingness.
Then come the limbs, torso, and head.
In the end, not even a lingering image of its soul remained; it was completely annihilated in the void.
The entire process was completely silent.
Ultimately, this commander of the Chaos Cult became the first level seven wizard to fall in this war!
It wasn't until Mordigian had completely disappeared that the other wizards around them realized what was happening.
"Lord Mordigian!!!"
"Kill him!!!"
The roars of anger, shock, and fear erupted like a volcano.
Nearly a hundred ferocious attacks slammed into Clark at the same time.
But Clark didn't even turn around.
He simply stared at the spot where Mordigian had disappeared, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
In his field of vision, at that location, in the void, there was a faint, extremely faint "mark" flickering.
It was a complex three-dimensional symbol made up of thirteen different colored threads, which was now slowly dissipating.
"A resurrection item..."
Clark, relying on his alchemy skills, quickly identified what it was. As he thought about it, his missing right index finger twitched slightly.
Given his current state, it's not impossible for him to completely destroy that resurrection mark.
But after a moment's thought, he lowered his fingers.
No need.
The Star Ring Federation's rules for "coordinated wars" are very clear: wizards who have "died" in an arranged battlefield—whether they have actually died or have been resurrected through resurrection items—are not allowed to re-engage in the same war.
In other words, even if Mordigian were to be resurrected, this war would have nothing to do with him anymore.
Since that's the case, there's no need to go to extremes.
After all, this war is, in essence, a "coordinated war" conducted under the supervision of the Star Ring Federation, not a war of civilization extermination that is fought to the death.
That's going too far; it's inappropriate.
Thinking this, Clark's figure was once again engulfed by the frenzied attacks unleashed by the wizards who had reacted.
This time, however, the besieging wizards were noticeably more cautious.
They dared not relax their guard any longer, maintaining a dense barrage of attacks to suppress Clark while beginning an orderly, stepped retreat.
Command of the allied forces of the Chaos Cult and the Tower of Annihilation was quickly transferred to a peak level seven wizard from the Tower of Annihilation.
The tall, thin figure, completely shrouded in a gray shroud, gave the same order as Mordigian in a dry voice:
"All troops, withdraw."
"Stay vigilant and prevent pursuit."
The command was strictly executed.
On the high-altitude battlefield, the wizards besieging Clark began to retreat while taking turns providing cover.
In low-to-mid-level battlefields, the cannon fodder legions began to shrink back, using high-level cannon fodder units to cover the retreat of the wizard's main body.
The entire process was carried out in an orderly manner, demonstrating the extremely high military prowess of the allied forces of the two major powers.
Norren Workshop, on the other hand, showed no intention of pursuing them.
Dionysius Spencer hovered above Fortress Seven, watching the enemy forces recede like a tide in the distance, and gently shook his head.
"Don't pursue a desperate enemy."
His voice echoed throughout the command network of the Norren workshop.
"Strengthen the defenses, treat the wounded, and take stock of the battle losses."
"We won this first battle. But the war... has only just begun."
Inside the fortress, Jemin slowly released his hand from the control panel.
He opened his eyes and found himself drenched in sweat, his face as pale as paper, and a sharp, stabbing pain shooting through his brain.
But a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
Won.
Although it was only the first battle, and only a victory in a positional defensive battle.
But they won.
Jemin took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
Outside the window, under the leaden sky, the smoke from the gunpowder was slowly dissipating.
On the ground lay mountains of cannon fodder unit wreckage.
In the sky, the enemy's figures slowly retreated.
Behind the steel defense line lies the still-standing fortress.
The first battle in the coordination of the war thus came to an end.
But everyone knows...
This is just the beginning.
(End of this chapter)