Lord of Hyranza

In the past, when fighting ghost-striped red ants, everyone relied on the north city wall to block them and take advantage of this location.

Now Andrew and his cavalry can deal with these ghost-striped red ants in the wilderness.

But ordinary soldiers still couldn't stop the impact of the ghost pattern red ants.

Armed Thunder Rhino also brought the bed crossbows and catapults that they ordered this time. Aung San’s younger brother Tu La is now the captain of the ordnance maintenance team. He didn't do it, and directly led his men to start assembling the bed crossbow.

Under this bed crossbow is the chassis of the four-wheeled carriage. This four-wheeled base with magic axles has an extra-strengthened structure and looks very bulky.

If there were no horses to pull it, it would take at least six people to push it away, and the road should not be too bad.

The bed crossbows that had just been assembled were all pushed to the top of the earth slope, pointing at the stone bridge by the lake hundreds of meters away.

……

Suldak's dinner was very rich. In addition to toasted wheat cakes and broth, there were also half-grilled millipedes. The meat of this barbecue was indeed very, very tender, but the poor appearance made Suldak have no appetite. .

A magic circle lighted up inside the marching tent, and Aphrodite walked out from the void gate.

"You came just in time, I just happened to have something to show you..." Suldak sat on a chair and wiped his mouth, then took Aphrodite out of the tent.

The two went directly to the slope, where a group of bed crossbow maintenance workers led by Latu were assembling these bed crossbows overnight.

Suldak pointed to the stone bridge hidden under the night in the distance, and asked Aphrodite, "Do you know what those are? They can't really be some natural stone arch bridges, right?"

Aphrodite turned her head to look at Suldak with a speechless face, but then she observed carefully.

The great lake under the starry sky is like a bright mirror, and it is also like a huge gemstone. The shimmer reflected from the lake surface just makes these stone arch bridges fully exposed.

A phantom of transparent insect wings appeared behind Aphrodite, and her body also floated into the air.

Suldak thought she would fly over to check it out, but she landed on the spot after waiting for a while, thought for a while before saying to Suldak:

"I read similar records in the goblin city library on the Maca plane. The goblins think that these stone bridges are likely to be exposed to the surface after the world tree died. After countless years of weathering, it becomes stone. ...Dark, do you think that the mountain in front of you was originally a world tree?"

"Look at the broken marks on the top of this mountain..."

She pointed to the pillar-like mountain in the northern night sky, which was just a black shadow in the night.

"If you think of it as the stumps left by a dead tree, these stone bridges are likely to be its rhizomes exposed to the surface. Over countless years, its body and roots have gradually petrified."

"You said that mountain is a dead World Tree stump? The Dark Worm Valley is on the root of the World Tree..."

"If this is the case, these ghost-striped red ants really occupy a treasure land of geomantic omen. Even if it is a dead World Tree, I am afraid that it is full of treasures... But... After so many years, there is probably nothing left. Already!"

"If a city can be built inside this world tree stump, at least the moat will not have to be dug."

"I guess this mountain must be hollow. Such a high mountain wall can be used as a city wall. The disadvantage is that the city is built inside, and the lighting must be very bad. I heard that the elves like to build cities on the top of the world tree."

Aphrodite squinted her eyes, not afraid of the cold wind blowing from the north, sitting on the soil slope, looking at the distant mountain peaks and starting a series of daydreams.

Suldak continued to express his distress: "Now our army is going to pass through the stone bridge, but there are ghost-striped red ants all over it. If we want to cross this stone bridge, we may have to fight hard. Fighting on the stone bridge, the ghost pattern red ants have too much advantage."

"Then what are you going to do?" Aphrodite asked.

Suldak pointed to the bed crossbow and catapult being assembled not far away, and said to Aphrodite, "I'm going to use the catapult and bed crossbow to bombard me all the way..."

Chapter 922 The Bursting Arrow That Breaks the Game

I heard from Aphrodite that the mountain is likely to be a dead world tree.

Surdak even wanted to cross these arch bridges and take a look at the other side of the lake.

It was originally planned to set up crossbows and catapults on the stone bridge, and then just bombard them all the way.

After a night of rest, Suldak's army gathered under the stone bridge, and thousands of ghost-striped red ants gathered on the stone bridge. These red ants crowded on the stone bridge and kept hissing towards the army under the bridge. , Countless red ants opened their pincers to demonstrate against the army.

Suldak waved his hand, and pushed the thirty bed crossbows that had been assembled overnight to the front, and the eighteen armed Thunder Rhinos were also lined up at this moment, and all the bed crossbows were aimed at the ghost-patterned red ants on the bridge.

Seeing the bed crossbows set up by the army, the ghost-striped red ants backed away one after another.

Although they were crowded on the bridge, they retreated very quickly, and they retreated a thousand meters away in the blink of an eye.

Such a long distance already exceeded the maximum range of the bed crossbow. Even if the giant crossbow could fly there, it would not be able to break through the hard armor of the ghost pattern red ant.

Suldak ordered the cavalry to move forward.

……

The ghost pattern soldier ants stood outside the range of the bed crossbow. When they saw the cavalry stepping on the stone bridge, they rushed towards the entrance of the stone bridge and strangled with Andrew and dozens of dismounted cavalry.

The bridge here is not wide, and almost all the cavalry dismounted, wearing heavy armor and fighting on foot with the ghost pattern soldiers.

Although Andrew and Gullitem were at the front, the ghost-striped red ants could crawl freely under the stone bridge and attack the cavalry from the left and right sides of the stone bridge, causing the cavalry on the flanks to panic.

The cavalry who lost their horses completely gave up their speed advantage. They were actually forced to retreat steadily under the sour venom sprayed by the soldier ants.

Cavalry caught in foot combat won't fare much better than hoplites.

Fortunately, they are strong with their armor and their bodies have been strengthened by magic patterns. They are not inferior to ghost pattern soldiers and ants in terms of strength. Each of the cavalrymen has a handy magic weapon in their hands, and they don't look embarrassed even if they retreat.

The cavalry kept retreating, luring the ghost pattern soldiers into the range of the bed crossbow.

The bed crossbows surrounding the bridge fired at the same time, and a large number of ghost pattern soldier ants were hit by the arrows, and many red ants fell directly from the bridge into the lake.

What followed was a tug-of-war on the stone arch bridge deck.

It was all due to the limited terrain of the ghost-striped red ants, which could not take advantage of their numbers to suppress the cavalry. The cavalry abandoned their horses and fought on foot, which also gave up their greatest advantage. Pulling back and forth, basically let the crossbowmen take advantage of it.

The archers also gathered by the lake one after another, shooting arrows at the ghost pattern soldiers.

Even Suldak didn't expect that just in the battle at the bridgehead, a steady stream of ghost-striped soldiers and ants rushed out, causing the army to fight here for more than half a month, with cavalry and indigenous warriors taking turns to fight.

Materials and supplies were continuously sent from behind. Surdak’s marching tent was set up on the top of the slope at the head of the bridge. He even built a few rafts by the lake to catch ghost patterns that fell into the lake. soldier ants.

However, as the weather gradually became colder, the ice on the lake became thicker and thicker, and the ice had to be broken before the rafts could be rowed onto the lake.

But it would be impossible without these rafts. The three-centimeter-thick ice layer could not support people at all.

Since the ghost pattern soldier ants blocked the stone bridge to death, Suldak could only slowly consume the vitality of the ghost pattern red ants in this way.

During this period, the coalition of the adventure group and the mercenary group harvested a batch of magic herbs near the lake, and some adventure groups specifically excavated those thousand-legged poisonous insects on the poisonous swamp. Both the adventure group and the mercenary group made money.

As this batch of magical herbs entered the trading market in Dodan Town, the entire Bailin Plane knew about the Northern Expedition.

As soon as the beast tide subsided, Suldak, the new Lord of the Bailin Plane, summoned an army of [-] to go to the Dark Worm Valley, which shocked the jaws of many Wilkes people.

The beast hordes haven't fought enough, and they actually went to fight in other people's lair...

What's even more irritating is that after breaking through the poisonous swamp, the natural barrier of the Dark Worm Valley, a large number of magic herbs were harvested, and almost all the adventure groups and mercenary groups who followed them benefited.

Now the rest of the adventure group and mercenary group in Wilkes City can't sit still. Of course, they also want to walk by the lake to pick up precious magic herbs, and they also want to dig in the swamp. Poisonous insects that can gain a dead state.

Even many small lords in Wilkes City have gone to the military headquarters to inquire about these news these days, wondering if Lord Suldak has any plans to recruit troops in the near future, and they have some well-trained soldiers in their hands. army.

The response given by the military department was that this Northern Expedition was entirely the personal act of Viscount Surdak, and all the military supplies and troops were borne by him personally. If you know if Viscount Suldak has a conscription plan, you have to go to the northern front line of Invercargill Forest and ask Viscount Suldak personally.

Both the adventure group and the mercenary group were more flexible, they left as soon as they said they wanted to, and many adventure groups left Wilkes City that day.

There are also some businessmen in Wilkes City who are going to collect some supplies and go to Dodan Town to reap benefits.

However, the smart businessman did not go to Dodan Town at this time, but ran to Malacombe and proposed to do business with him. Those who are well-informed know that Malacombe is the only material of Viscount Suldak supplier.

……

The battle at the southern end of the stone bridge lasted for more than half a month. Although a lot of supplies were consumed, a large number of ghost-striped red ants were also hunted down.

The daily expenses are not small, but the harvest is also enough.

For Surdak, at least, the balance of payments is still there.

But he has also realized that in such a stalemate at the bridgehead, once this winter passes, he may not be able to withdraw his troops even if he does not want to.

At first, I wanted to use bed crossbows and catapults to bombard them all the way, but since then, cavalry and tribal warriors have been taking turns to fight. Obviously, this way cannot capture the stone bridge.

So in the third week, Samira, who was already extremely irritated by the boring tug-of-war at the top of the city every day, pushed three ballistas onto the stone bridge, and the crossbow arrows she brought to the stone bridge this time were all Explosive crossbow bolts strapped with dynamite.

Behind the bed crossbow is a group of infantry preparing to fight, followed by two catapults.

Just as the ghost-pattern soldier ants on the opposite side charged, Samira shot three giant exploding crossbow bolts towards the opposite side very unscrupulously.

The giant crossbow exploded on the arched bridge deck, and at the same time, the desire for victory of the ghost-patterned soldiers was also shattered.

As the catapult behind threw explosives and exploded on the stone bridge one after another, the ghost pattern soldiers ants fell from the bridge into the icy lake one after another.

The stalemate in the battle was broken by these bursting arrows.

Chapter 923 The Counterattack of the Ants

The exploding arrows from the bed crossbow and the flint from the catapult made these ghost-striped soldiers miserable and retreated steadily.

They were forced to give up the stone bridge, and Andrew and Samira quickly occupied the stone bridge with a span of three kilometers. As expected, the bridge deck was wider as they got to Tianzhu Mountain. The diameter of the part of the stone bridge deep into the soil is almost 200 meters.

There are actually some other stone bridges beside it, but none of those other stone bridges are as big as this one.

Suldak led the army quickly across the stone arch bridge, and finally came to the other side of the lake.

At the foot of Shizhu Peak, I discovered that this place is the dynasty of the ghost-striped red ants. The entire mountain wall has been dug by the ghost-striped red ants. Looking around, there are ant nests dug by the ghost-striped red ants everywhere. I don't know which hole is the real entrance to the ant nest.

There are some busy ghost pattern worker ants everywhere. These ghost pattern soldier ants, which are about the size of a calf, are lined up in a neat line, with all kinds of food on their contact pincers. They gather together from all directions and get into the cave. .

The lines arranged by these worker ants look like exquisite runes from a distance.

Tens of thousands of ghost-striped soldier ants are blocked under the stone bridge. These ant colonies are mixed with a large number of giant soldier ants. At this moment, the tribal warriors at the front are holding their shields to block the attack of the ghost-striped soldier ants. The flints and explosive arrows shot from the crossbow continued to explode in the ant colony, and more soldier ants rushed up almost frantically.

There are a large number of giant soldier ants in the middle of the ant colony. Samira must deal with these giant soldier ants first, otherwise once they are allowed to rush over, it will cause huge pressure on the army formation.

Following several rounds of counterattacks by the ghost pattern soldier ants, most of the northern bridgeheads that had already been occupied were reoccupied by the ghost pattern red ants.

Moreover, the army has been fighting on the bridge, and it is difficult to recover many giant crossbow arrows after they are fired.

Until now, the giant crossbow bolts worth [-] gold coins purchased by Suldak from the merchant Malakom have almost been exhausted, and the supply in the rear has shown that it is not sufficient, so Suldak can only give up the stone bridge again. , retreating to the south exit of the stone bridge, waiting for the giant bed crossbow mobilized by merchant Malakom from Wilkes City.

Every day, a large number of ghost pattern soldiers rushed out, and the battle on the stone bridge became more intense.

Among them, there are also some giant soldier ants with black hard armor mixed in the soldier ants camp. These giant soldier ants are not afraid of ordinary crossbow bolts at all. Every time they emerge from the ant colony, Samira will entertain them with magic giant crossbow bolts. .

……

Entering November, there were two consecutive heavy snowfalls during this period.

The icy lake under the stone bridge can already support pedestrians, and there is no problem with horse racing in the edge area, but Lei Tingxi can't walk on it yet.

The fighting power of ghost-striped soldiers ants was greatly reduced in the snowstorm. When Andrew led the cavalry back from the stone bridge, there was a howl of crying and screaming from the lake in the distance. A huge monster was on the yellow grass by the lake On the road, chasing the adventure group and mercenary group that collected magic herbs overnight.

A group of ghost pattern soldier ants emerged from the cave behind it. They raised their tall tentacles and caught up with those who fell behind. Immediately, blood and limbs exploded in the crowd.

Although the adventure group by the lake organized a few counterattacks, they were quickly dispersed by the rampant behemoth.

The members of the adventure group and the mercenary group quickly approached the Suldak army formation, and the ghost pattern soldiers chased after them.

At this moment, Andrew led the cavalry battalion and rushed towards the huge monster along the lake.

That huge monster was twice as thick as the ten-meter-long ghost-striped male ant, and its armor was almost dyed black. The outriggers support the body, maybe the sand by the lake is too soft for it, six outriggers are stuck in it, and each time it has to be pulled out from the sand to take a step forward.

The huge and fat belly dragged the sand by the lake out of a deep ravine. It had a pair of extremely long tentacles, like two spears, on which were already hung the corpses of six or seven members of the adventure group, waving When touching the limbs, the completely fragmented corpses were hanging on it and swinging back and forth. Not only the two limbs were stained red with blood, even its upper body was also stained red with sticky blood.

Samira stood on the high platform of the armed Thunder Rhinoceros, and she asked her assistants to install a giant 'armor-piercing' crossbow bolt on the bed crossbow.

It's a pity that this place is a little far away from the battlefield, and I can only watch these adventure group members fleeing desperately to this side.

At this moment, Andrew's five hundred cavalry had already rushed forward quickly.

But when he saw a swordsman who summoned the phantom of the sword master was pierced through the chest by that huge monster, he knew that all the cavalry behind him could not be the opponent of that huge monster.

All the cavalry tried their best to distance themselves from the behemoth, and there were several powerful swordsmen in the adventure group, who desperately wanted to hold the behemoth and create time for their teammates to escape.

They all knew how sharp and powerful the two tentacles of this behemoth were, and they could easily pierce through even an excellent tower shield.

Fortunately, it is extremely inconvenient to move when it is stuck in the sand. It is like a huge farming machine. Every time it takes a step forward, sand and soil are flying on both sides of its body.

Andrew didn't even think about the consequences of rushing up, so he rushed up single-handedly on his horse.

The [-] cavalry behind them dispersed to intercept and kill other ghost pattern soldiers and ants who were chasing and killing the adventure group.

The two-headed ogre had just walked out of the barracks, and happened to see the giant monster by the lake, and shouted to Surdak, "Dark, there is a male ant popping up over there, Andrew may not be able to beat it, let's go help... ..."

This is the first time for Suldak to hear that the ogre is going to gather its companions to fight the opponent in groups, and the ogre seldom speaks like this.

But since Gullitum said so, he quickly got out of the tent, mounted his horse and chased after Gullitum.

Seeing Suldak and Gulitum chasing after Andrew, Samira also let the armed Thunder Rhino approach the huge monster along the grass by the lake.

Before Suldak got close to the giant monster, he felt the rumbling sound of the ground under his feet. Afterwards, the continuous huge earthquakes made it almost impossible to stand on the ground. Then he saw a large lump suddenly bulging on the ground by the lake. Then, a gigantic creature protruded from the permafrost, stretched out two three-meter-long pincers, and stopped Gulitum and Suldak in front of them.