Chapter 52: Changing Defense

Braga: "Are the legion casualty statistics out?"

Uglu: "Statistics are out. The spear team has 【number】 dead, 【number】 disabled, 1524 people lost combat ability. Excluding the dead and those who lost combat ability, after simple treatment by the healing priests, there are still 【number】 people who can continue to participate in combat.

The heavy cavalry had 【number】 dead on the spot, 5138 people lost combat ability, the rest were all disabled to varying degrees, and 3548 people can still fight, but they can no longer complete large-scale combat.

The light cavalry and aerial reconnaissance troops had 1241 and 2317 dead respectively. Because it was difficult to survive after being injured, 123 and 54 people completely lost combat ability respectively. Archers and warlocks had a total of 1133 dead, and 4215 lost combat ability.

A total of 【number】 people completely lost combat effectiveness, and the rest were all injured. Only the 20,000 reserves left in the camp can continue to fight."

Braga: "I see. Are there statistics on how many demons were killed in total?"

Wu Gu Lu: "The count has been completed: Dretches, 3,142 Succubi, 1,371 Vrocks, 630 Hezrous, 570 Babau, 460 Succubi, 437 Pestilence Toads, 412 Minotaurs, 350 Chasmes, 304 Abyssal Giant Armored Demons, 206 Macrophage Worms, 113 Earth Giants, 106 Bloodletters, 8 Glabrezu; additionally, there are thirty tons of Insect Demons and twenty tons of Dretch-kin."

This is just what was left on the battlefield. If we had ordered a pursuit at that time, the harvest would have been even greater. You know, demon bodies are hot commodities, and all kinds of magic materials and weapons are inseparable from this kind of thing."

Braga: "You have to understand, we are here for training, not to fight to the death with anyone, let alone to make money. We don't know if there is a more powerful existence above this demon lord, and no one can predict in advance whether we will encounter other demon lords on the way.

Our legion has lost its combat effectiveness. What we need to do now is to guard the camp well and wait for the teleportation gate to reopen in a month. Alright, now go and count the personnel who have improved this time and those who need to be rewarded. This is what Grand Duke Sakavi is most concerned about."

Uglu: "It has been counted. Sha Lu Te and Gisk have been promoted to Master Rank this time, more than 50 people have been promoted to High-Level, and more than 120 people have been promoted to Mid-Level. I have to say, these two young men who graduated from Agrik Academy are much better than us old guys.

There are many who need to be rewarded. Except for the three Battle Banner Chiefs and fifteen Camp Commanders who died on the spot, other high-level commanders have merits of various sizes. Among them, Orwell, the Battle Banner Chief, was exceptionally outstanding in command. The potential of Ogres from the academy is truly amazing. The rest have been written into detailed reports, and the combat experience summary requested by the Grand Duke has also been written by them."

Braga: "Brother, I heard that you were very resistant to the Grand Duke's management plan at the beginning, and you were unwilling to go to the academy to study, preferring to come here to train Ogres rather than participate in territory construction. Is that true?"

Uglu: "Hahaha! That was because I was young and ignorant. At that time, I just felt that the Grand Duke was deliberately bullying people. How could a lifestyle inherited for tens of thousands of years be changed just because an evil five-colored dragon came? In the ten years I spent in the legion, I watched this group of sticks who couldn't even walk straight step by step become a well-trained, battle-hardened elite troop.

When I saw the graduated Ogre students replace the Drow Elves as commanders, I already understood that the Grand Duke's wisdom is not something we can imagine."

…………

Within a month, the camp had become a steel rivet on the Abyssal territory that was difficult to shake. Facing various harassment and strong attacks day and night, it always stood tall. The bloodstains on the city wall had been cleaned, the damaged parts had been repaired or even reinforced, and the murderous aura remained, but it had a bit more of the stability belonging to the order world.

"Wry-Mouth, how bored do you think our Grand Duke is? Sending us to this kind of place, doing nothing but standing guard and hacking people all day. It's not that we are afraid of those grandsons, it's just that we don't understand why we ran so far!"

"I said Big-Tooth, why are you so troublesome? We eat the Grand Duke's food and take the Grand Duke's money. Even if we are asked to cut off our own heads, we have to do it, right? How the Grand Duke likes to toss is his business. Hey, it's just a pity for our captain. He was dragged off the city wall by those demon dogs the night before last. It was miserable. You weren't on duty at the time. I guarantee that if you heard that sound, you wouldn't even dare to go up the city wall. I watched him being dismembered."

"Forget it! I'm not bragging to you. Last time I was on the city wall, I fought a Minotaur one-on-one. My intestines were flowing all over the ground, and I didn't even look at it. I just stuffed them back and continued to fight that guy. Later, the flag officer praised me for being powerful. A few demon dogs scared you like this."

"I think the flag officer was probably saying you were a stick! Hahahaha."

"Ruk, look at that!" Hearing the sound from the watchtower, the two hurriedly looked in the direction pointed by Gem. They saw a majestic silver light suddenly light up in the center of the square. It was not dazzling, but carried a purity that was out of place with the Abyss.

In the light, countless mysterious runes flowed and rotated as if they had life, weaving into a huge and perfect circle. In the center of the circle, space rippled like water, revealing a clear blue sky they had almost forgotten.

"Arcane... that is the power of Arcane!" Wry-Mouth was instantly refreshed, his eyes wide as copper bells, "It's reinforcements! Fresh troops are finally coming! The Grand Duke finally remembered us, hahaha, great."

Hearing that fresh troops were coming, Big-Tooth's heart beat violently, and a long-lost heat flowed through his whole body. He thought of the tragic bloody battle a month ago, thought of the countless comrades who fell, thought of the various demons that had harassed them every moment for this month, and finally they could make those demons pay the price they deserved.

He gripped the spear shaft in his hand tightly, his waist and back, which were hunched due to fatigue, instantly straightened. He said to Wry-Mouth beside him, his voice hoarse with excitement: "I saw it, I saw it, brother! It's the teleportation gate! Our reinforcements have arrived! Once this batch of fresh troops arrives, we will follow Master Braga and kill them out, and completely sweep away those damn demon cubs outside! Avenge our dead brothers!"

He seemed to have seen countless brand-new armor and weapons pouring out of the gate, merging with the veterans in the fortress, turning into an unstoppable steel torrent, crushing all demons in sight. Heroic feelings surged in his chest, and even the blood-colored sky in front of him seemed to brighten a bit.

Just then, they saw teams of well-dressed, shiny-armored soldiers walking out of the teleportation gate in formation. Immediately after, the assembly horn sounded in their camp. Big-Tooth knew that the moment for counterattack had arrived, and the Black Dragon Grand Duke's army was finally going to completely crush this group of hateful demons.

"All assemble! Prepare to hand over defense!" The rough roar of the Battalion Commander echoed in the camp.

"Hand over?" Big-Tooth and Wry-Mouth looked at each other, their heroic feelings frozen on their faces, replaced by huge confusion. Soon, the news spread like wildfire in the team, accurately drilling into their ears:

"We... are we going home?"

"Change defense! It's changing defense! The new legion is taking over for us, we can go back!"

"Return to the main material plane! Return... home!"

"Home..."

"No, I'm not going back, I want to stay here and kill all these demons, I'm not going anywhere!" Suddenly, a roar full of anger resounded through the entire Ogre camp. I saw an Ogre who had lost a tusk and was missing a leg, taking off his leather armor and throwing it on the ground, revealing his sturdy chest, and roaring at the Battalion Commander.

"If you have any anger, vent it on me, don't make things difficult for your Battalion Commander, he is also executing my orders."

A voice that was not loud but extremely penetrating sounded, and the entire camp instantly quieted down, looking toward the roof one after another. I saw a huge lizard like a skeleton, watching the people below. The seemingly simple black scales flowed with a dull luster like polished obsidian under the dark red sky light of the Abyss.

A pair of molten gold vertical pupils calmly scanned the people below, the gaze seeming to penetrate the soul, seeing through the passion and fatigue in the heart of every warrior. On his head, a pair of black dragon horns winding backward were not savagely knotted, but like a crown carved from black jade, containing ancient power and wisdom.

A pair of huge black dragon wings folded behind his back, the edges flashing with metallic cold light, even in the folded state, cast a reassuring shadow. A long, muscular dragon tail swayed gently behind him unconsciously, the tip of the tail cutting through the air, carrying a kind of predator-like elegance and power.

He did not emit the murderous aura of slaughter, only a kind of depth and calmness that had witnessed countless lives and deaths over a long period of time. This calmness itself was an unusually powerful declaration of power. For the Black Dragon, the warriors present were all his juniors.

"Grand... Grand Duke?"

In an instant, all dissatisfaction, anger, and restlessness turned into pure excitement and loyalty. Whether it was Ogres, Minotaurs, or Harpies, all warriors, regardless of their branch, subconsciously paid tribute to the figure on the roof with the highest etiquette of their race. The sound of fists hitting chest armor, the sound of weapons hitting the ground, and the sound of wings folding and standing at attention merged into one, neat and uniform, like the most pious pilgrimage.

The fire burning in their eyes was no longer the fire of revenge, but the fanaticism and trust of finding a backbone. The Ogre warrior who stood out first and shouted the loudest was now tightly pursing his lips, his huge palm pressed against his chest, his eyes full of worship for the Black Dragon.

The Black Dragon Grand Duke spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every warrior, low and magnetic, with the unique resonance of the dragon race, as if it were the whisper of the earth itself: "I have heard your unyielding spirit and courage."

He paused, a hint of almost kind light flashing in his molten gold pupils. "But now, I am going to take my children home."

Many warriors who were just furious finally completely let go of their burdens and let the joy of the mood surge again. But this time, it was not because they were about to return to their hometown, but because their deepest desire was personally recognized by the Black Dragon Grand Duke they respected the most.

The soldiers of the Iron Fist Legion had already lined up, with the sharpness of just arriving on the battlefield and a hint of imperceptible excitement. However, when they saw the Tusk Legion silently gathering from barracks, sentry posts, and city walls, that bit of excitement instantly froze and shattered into invisible chill.

What they saw was an army that crawled out of hell. The broken shields were covered with claw marks and corrosion marks, the curled-edge weapons seemed to tell of countless collisions with bones and shells, and the dried black bloodstains on the armor had become its new coating. Their faces were full of indelible fatigue, and deep in their eyes was the murderous intent that had not completely dissipated, as well as something deeper... numbness.

More importantly, their numbers. The soldiers of the Iron Fist subconsciously scanned the ranks, silently calculating the huge, shocking vacancies. The "tragic" heard when they came now turned into these empty positions in front of them, turned into those oak boxes containing ashes. The horror of the Abyss was no longer a vocabulary, but living evidence carved on every survivor and printed in their eyes. Their original high-spiritedness seemed so pale and shallow at this moment.

The entire handover process took place in this dead silence. Flags, defense maps, fortress keys... everything was passed on in silence. The remnants of the Tusk Legion began to move. They lined up in sparse but still neat ranks, walking with heavy steps toward the teleportation gate leading to their hometown. Their footsteps stepped on the stone slabs of the square, not making the light echo of returning home, but the dull sound like funeral drumbeats.

The soldiers of the Iron Fist Legion automatically separated to both sides, standing at attention, watching them off. Their eyes were complex, full of awe. They were not cheering for heroes, but more like watching a piece of living history, a preview of the cruel future they were about to experience personally.

"Master, Uglu, Black Feather, and Ryan have applied to stay, intending to break through to Master Rank before returning. I think their request is very reasonable, can it be approved?"

"No problem, you are the Grand Manager here, I won't interfere with the legion's affairs. I plan to form a fifth legion, with Sha Lu Te as the Legion Commander. What do you think?"

"Our strength does need to be strengthened, but the price of Abyss training is too great. I think the Rapid Response Division of our Security Force and the Garrison troops should also be trained. How about we clean up the Underworld next?"

"You decide this matter. I want to concentrate on developing new Necromancy, and I don't have extra energy to deal with these things for the time being. You must go back this time, and let Gisk sit here. We must give young people full opportunities to exercise." ===== CHAPTER 53 =====