What the "War Correspondent" can see, Murphy can see, even more clearly than the little players.

His other pair of eyes were constantly roaming the sky to see what was happening on the land, and even when the wolf venom invaded the Crimson Keep, Refno's eyes never moved away from Murphy's territory.

In fact, Murphy noticed the Jackals of the Under Armour Hills as soon as they moved.

The Gnoll Warlord Kenpot Bitbone seems to know the art of war, and the Wolf Venom's attack happened last night, and it is certain that the Crimson Keep has suffered damage as a result, and now is a good time to launch a full-scale attack.

In a sense, Kenpot's strategy is entirely correct.

If Murphy's men were truly brave men recruited from the local area, then last night's chaos would definitely have a significant impact on the defense of the Crimson Keep at this juncture, and even directly lead to an irretrievable rout.

But luckily, Murphy's warriors have one life in three days, so the vampire lord isn't really worried about the upcoming showdown.

It will take two days and two nights for players to respawn, but to be honest, their current numbers don't play a pivotal role in a showdown of this magnitude.

At least on frontal battlefields, players struggle to build the tenacity they can rely on.

Murphy and Tracey were well aware of this, and they didn't stop their arrangements just because the player was damaged, and at this time, the adventurers' guild camp in the ruins of the inner city of Crimson Keep was where Murphy's key personnel were gathered.

In front of them lay a large diamond-shaped psionic object, carved into hundreds of facets like a crystal clear natural gemstone.

But if you look closely, you can see that every facet of the thing has intricate carved spirit patterns, and the thing suspended in the air is being put the finishing touches on the serenade scepter, driven by Trace's serenade scepter.

"Serenade Enchantment! A strategic object that has protected Cadman City for the past 400 years. ”

Miss Phimes explained to the administrators who were unfamiliar with psionic energy and the land:

"What you have in front of you is one of the seven cores of the enchantment, the main core is placed here, and the other two psionic transformation cores are placed in the outer city. These three cores have been able to reassemble the Serenade enchantment and create a wall-solid shield for our city.

You'll see it soon. ”

"About seven seconds later, to be exact."

Tracey answered faintly, and then the main core was activated as she held the Serenade Scepter and tapped it in the air.

It is like an awakened living thing, and in the shimmering light of the spirit pattern on it, it begins to absorb the free spiritual energy of the environment and resonates wonderfully with the two cores placed in the outer city.

As Miriam and Professor Malcolm watched, a stream of scarlet light penetrated the sky, and with the sky in the middle of their heads as the source point, a layer of eggshell-shaped psionic shields slowly spread out in all directions, and it took about a few minutes to envelop the entire Crimson Keep.

"We only have three cores on hand, so we can only hold up this layer of enchantment.

The complete Serenade is a composite protective force field composed of three layers of enchantments, and the current protection strength of this one is basically equivalent to an ordinary city wall, so it can only be said that it is okay, far from being outstanding and perfect. ”

Tracey patted the Serenade Protective Core with great dissatisfaction, and the bewitching Archduke of the Vulture said to the people around her:

"The remaining four cores are still buried in the sewer vaults in the inner city, considering that there are a lot of ghouls and wraiths there and we don't have enough manpower to bring them out, so let's just use them."

"I've never seen anything like this in the port of Chardo."

Miriam whispered:

"Will it be able to stop the twenty thousand gnoll vanguards that are coming towards us?"

"Do you think that 20,000 Jackal bandits, who lack siege weapons and are very poorly organized, can capture the original Cadman City?"

Philimis asked rhetorically, and Miriam shook her head, and said firmly:

"With the thickness of the walls of the original city, even if there is no enchantment, they will have to be twice as much."

"That'll do."

The eldest lady said in a brisk tone:

"Don't worry, Tris is just very high-eyed, and the current strength of the enchantment will not be worse than the defensive strength of the walls of Cadman City. But the problem is that we can't just defend.

This shield won't protect us forever either. ”

This sentence made Professor Malcolm, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, frown again, and he tasted a hint of ominousness in it, so he pushed his glasses and asked seriously:

"What do you mean?"

"Let Maxim explain this, he is the military commander here."

Murphy, who carefully observed the operating ritual stone and tried to analyze the principle of the enchantment, said without looking back:

"Mark, report to our administrators on the defenses we currently have at our disposal and the full plan we have for fighting the Gnolls.

Keep it simple. ”

"Yes, master."

The Loyal Servant, dressed in full armor, turned to look at Miriam and Professor Malcolm, and he muttered:

"At present, the training of the first 500 members of the Kadman People's Army has been completed, and the number of registered militia trainees is around 1,000, which is based on the five collective farms that are still under construction, and the inhabitants of which are already on their way to the Crimson Keep, and we cannot leave them alone.

That could only be to add food to the gnolls.

I also spoke with President Natalie, and she promised me that the Witch Hunters' warbands could muster 500 elite Rangers, and that was all the massive force we could use. ”

"That is, the real combat force is only 2000 people."

Professor Malcolm sighed, shook his head and said:

"It does sound shabby, but with the current number of people in the county, this is quite a level of recklessness, so we can't fight the gnolls in the field, can we?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to say next."

Maxim nodded, and he explained:

"Master Murphy and I have repeatedly deduced that here at the Scarlet Keep, we should rely on the defenses of the Serenade Barrier, gather our living forces, and harass and attack the 20,000 gnoll vanguards who are rushing towards us in a parade way.

But we can't fight a protracted war with them!

What we're going to do is limit this part of the barbarian vanguard to the Cadman County and draw them near the Crimson Keep, because according to Master Murphy's strategy, what follows will not be a battle of annihilation, but a battle of defeat.

Transencia is about to enter a massive build, and these gnolls can be pretty good consumables. ”

“？”

Maxim's statement immediately aroused the surprise of Lady Leenia, who was observing the Serenade enchantment, and the haughty knight of the archer said bluntly:

"Are you kidding? It's not enough for us to fill the gaps between the gnolls, you should be pragmatic and not whimsical and want to take prisoners.

That's a disparity of more than 10 times the military power!

Even the Blood Alliance Knights didn't dare to hold it on like this. ”

"This is not arrogance or ignorance, rude moon elves, you better listen carefully!"

Tracey whispered.

Maxim also ignored the doubts of the haughty knight, he often fought against Leenia privately during this time, and he knew that the arrogance of the archer knight did not come from nature.

It was just an outward manifestation of her complex personality, and there was nothing malicious about her questioning.

Maxim always respected and learned from those who were stronger than him, and Liania's loyalty and strength were the objects of his learning.

He goes on to explain:

"Lady Leenia is right, with our current military strength compared to the Gnolls, we can't win in any normal rhythm of war, so the best way to calm this decisive battle is to find another way.

And my master had a secret plan a long time ago.

I don't know if you've noticed that there is one thing that we can take advantage of in Transthea at the moment, and that is the unstable mapping between the real world and the astral plane.

I'm not a professional psyker myself, so I'm not going to explain exactly how it works, but I'm just going to make it clear that we're going to cause a small and medium-sized astral rift in a specific area in three days!

It will be deployed at the heart of the current Gnoll camp according to accurate calculations, and even if the worst damage is calculated, it can reimburse thousands of elite gnolls at once.

What's more, an astral rift of this magnitude would create a zone of psionic chaos in the Gnoll camp, which would effectively cut off the Gnoll Warlord Kempot from his army.

That's what we do next.

That is, two-front combat!

While the Crimson Keep held back and resisted the enemy forces, Master Murphy himself led his warriors in a difficult decapitation operation.

Once we have successfully executed it, the army of gnolls will disintegrate from the core.

Given the chaotic nature of the gnolls, it is impossible for them to re-elect a warlord who will lead the whole world in a short period of time, and as external pressure mounts, the gnolls, who are still in a group, collapse in a very short period of time.

I asked Professor Malcolm about it, and he told me that this was a tactic that the Civilization Alliance used to do during several Black Plagues.

It has been proven to be quite effective by history. ”

"The Blood Alliance Knights do often use this decapitation tactic against the Gnoll tribes of the Dark Mountains, and it does work, but I doubt that you will be able to accomplish this difficult decapitation."

Lady Leenia hesitated and said:

"They sent 20,000 Vanguards, but there are still an equal number of elites in the camp, and even if your astral rift can unfold smoothly, you will have a limited amount of time to act.

On top of that, the Bloodvulture Clan and the warriors of Transcia have just suffered terrible losses, do you have enough elite to complete this plan?

Why don't I come? ”

"We have! And how can such a thing bother a noble lady to put herself at risk? ”

Murphy turned around, and he waved his hand and said:

"I've sent an invitation to my warriors' tribe of mountain people, and in two days another elite will be joined in this battle.

I and Count Femis, as well as Baron Kudel, will personally lead them into battle.

We also have the advantage that all three of us have been through the whole process of Cadman City being engulfed by the astral plane, and we are familiar with fighting in the shadows of the astral plane and know how to protect ourselves from the wash of filthy psionic energy.

I don't think the gnolls can learn this without a teacher.

This battle does not require the participation of any other force other than my warriors, not to underestimate you, but because while I am taking risks, you also have to shoulder a rather dangerous duty.

Astral tears

Even small and medium-sized astral tears are not so easy to complete, and the amount of psionic energy required to break the mapping between the material world and the astral realm is astronomical.

Of all the means available at our disposal, there is only one thing that can do it in a short period of time. ”

As the others watched, Murphy patted the core ritual stone suspended above the ground beside him, and said:

"That's it! The fact that the three psionic cores hold up the enchantment that envelops the city means that they can also be used as a substitute for temporary psionic sources.

Before the action begins, we need to put all three psionic cores into a temporary overload at the same time to provide a psionic storm that can break the astral barrier.

Triss will be in charge of facilitating the ritual, so you don't have to worry about that.

But this also means that while the three psionic cores recover and re-hold their shields, the entire Crimson Keep will be safe.

I know that in that case, asking you to fight 2,000 soldiers against 20,000 gnolls would be a sure way to send you to your death, but that's the case with Translasia.

Now is also the time when you can't survive without fighting.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are once again at a crossroads of fate."

"Have you ever had a battle that could have been easily resolved?"

Baroness Miriam complained:

"I've followed you all the way, and I'm pretty sure you've settled down and built a house at the crossroads of fate, Murphy, and your bad luck has infected everyone."

This made the lord roll his eyes, but he had nothing to say, and President Natalie, who was behind Miriam, smiled, and she asked:

"So, how long do we need to hold out under the onslaught of the Jackals' vanguard?"

Murphy looked at Tracy, the Psionic Master estimated, and said:

"With a minimum of one hour and a maximum of three hours, psionic transformation cores of this level will not be damaged so easily, but it will take more time to restart them."

"And how long will your decapitation take?"

Count André, who was still recovering, turned a little pale, and he asked:

"Need the help of the Thorn Clan, who are good at assassinations?"

"No, you stay here to defend the city, you are needed here."

Murphy shook his head and said:

"I'll finish the fight as quickly as I can, but it can take hours to get any faster, and my warriors and I can't get back quickly."

"There's a way, use this!"

Tracey took something out of the psionic bag and handed it to Murphy, and the lord was surprised to take it in his hand and activate the item identification, and a label popped up:

Name: Trace's prototype "Return Scroll"

Quality: Alchemical consumables

Effect: Bind the return coordinates to the return scroll, and use the scroll within its allowable range to release a temporary portal that allows 1-3 people to pass through and send the user back to the bound coordinates.

Prompt!

The item's psionic spell is based on Lady Trace's research on the theory of psionic teleportation, which has not yet been finalized, and due to the unique instability of psionic teleportation when passing through the astral plane, there is a small chance (about 1%) that the user will enter the [Astral Lost] state when using this item.

Prompt!

The item's return coordinates can be tied to the last save point the tester has visited.

Maker: [Grand Duke of the Vulture] Tris Cavendina Ja Lorraine Lesenbra

Item Description:

[Do you know why this world has not had a mature teleportation system?] Use this scroll once and you'll know why. If you are lucky enough to be sent into the Astral Plane, then don't rush back to the physical world and see more of the rare scenery of the Astral Plane.

Oh yes, there's another name for this thing called 'Astral Day Tour' one-way tickets. 】

"emmmm, I think this thing is a bit risky."

Murphy blinked and said to Tracey:

"Why don't we do it another way?"

"I didn't let you use it!"

Tracey rolled her eyes and said:

"Let them use it, and then submit it to me for some experience and report, I'm still waiting to improve my teleportation technique. As long as they use this thing enough times, and the experience they bring me is detailed enough, then I am confident that the 'Hearthstone' you mentioned earlier can be made."

As for the risks

Don't worry about the risks!

The exploration of psionic mysteries always comes with risks, and it's rare to have a group of warriors under your command who are not afraid of death. Look, what a test piece. ”

(End of chapter)