Twenty minutes later, a group of Alchemist Wizards arrived at the edge of the Magic Barrier, carrying a massive metal skeleton.
The metal skeleton was enormous, measuring a full four meters in length, with a dense array of metal structures that perfectly matched human bones. The Wizards set the skeleton down, and the leading Wizard pulled a blazing Elemental Core from his pocket, placing it in the center of the skeleton.
The Elemental Core was the heart of an Elemental Creature, and as it was added, mysterious runes began to light up across the metal skeleton.
Thirty seconds later, all the runes on the skeleton were activated. At the moment of full activation, the Wizards could distinctly feel a wave of heat wash over them.
Fire elements nearby were gathering towards the skeleton.
The leading Wizard gestured, and the other Alchemist Wizards retreated deeper into their formation, leaving him alone in place.
He leaned on his staff, quietly watching as the fire elements entwined around the skeleton.
Five minutes later, a thick layer of crimson flames finally formed above the skeleton.
The remaining Wizard waved his staff, and the skeleton stood up from the ground. No, it could no longer be called a skeleton at this moment.
The fire elements provided the skeleton with power, acting as its muscles and ligaments, and it even had a "heart."
At this moment, the skeleton had transformed into an artificial Flame Giant.
The Wizard pointed his staff forward, and the Flame Giant took a step out of the Magic Barrier.
Outside the Magic Barrier, the Elemental Storm raged fiercely.
The violent Elemental Storm struck the newly formed flesh of the Flame Giant like a bone-slicing steel knife. The Flame Giant let out a silent roar and then made an inhaling motion.
Inhale!
In the next instant, the fiery flesh of the Flame Giant surged dramatically.
Facing the all-encompassing Elemental Storm, the Flame Giant charged forward like Don Quixote against a windmill.
The intense fire elements on the battlefield were continuously absorbed by the Flame Giant, filling its body and transforming it from a gaunt figure into a magnificent giant.
Yet even so, the Flame Giant remained a Don Quixote.
The Elemental Storm was too vast; even the combined Magic Barriers of the formation could barely hold it back.
The amount of elements absorbed by one Flame Giant was merely a drop in the bucket against the storm.
In response to this issue, the battlefield command center provided their answer.
"Deploy all the Elemental Golems in stock." The old Wizard with a white beard calmly issued the order, then jokingly remarked to his colleagues, "See, I told you bringing this thing was useful. Let's see who still says I brought useless stuff."
If one isn't enough, then send out ten; if ten isn't enough, then send out a hundred!
One by one, Flame Giants were deployed, and the concentration of fire elements on the battlefield began to decrease.
As long as the elemental concentration dropped, the Elemental Storm would cease on its own.
...
"These Wizards are not simple."
At the Fire Lizard command center, the commander stood at the observation point, quietly watching the Wizards use Elemental Golems to dismantle the carefully prepared Elemental Storm.
"My lord, what should we do next?" a Fire Lizard officer stepped forward to ask. "Without the Elemental Storm to break that barrier, our attack will take a long time."
The commander glanced at his subordinate, a young Fire Lizard who had come from the rear and had not fought many battles against the Wizards.
"Why do you think that without that barrier, we could quickly capture this city made of fortresses?"
The Fire Lizard officer was momentarily speechless.
"Kid, you haven't dealt with these Wizards much, so I'll forgive your foolish words." The Fire Lizard commander said flatly, "My father fought against these Wizards for twenty years, and I was his deputy at that time. After he died, I took over his position and fought against these Wizards for another fifteen years.
Do you know what conclusion I reached after thirty-five years of war?"
The Fire Lizard officer shook his head.
The Fire Lizard commander grinned, revealing his sharp fangs.
"If you want to reduce casualties in the war against the Wizards, then use your brain. But if you want to win the war against the Wizards, then you can't care about casualties.
Our greatest advantage over the Wizards is simply that we have more people!"
As the Fire Lizard commander spoke, his eyes were as fierce as a demon; decades of war had turned him into a monster clad in Fire Lizard skin.
He called over a messenger and conveyed his orders.
"Pass it down, continue the assault on the front line as planned. The Elemental Storm is just an aid; the only thing that can tear through the defenses is the flesh and blood of our warriors!"
...
The counteroffensive line of the Fire Lizard was long, stretching from the Linksa Empire in the east to the Minal Empire in the west. Yet along this vast front, commanders from different countries, with different backgrounds and identities, made the same decision.
The blood of Fire Lizard warriors was enough to fill the capitals of the three great empires, and the piles of corpses were higher than mountains.
Yet even so, the counteroffensive continued.
The Magic Barrier gradually dimmed under the bombardment of the Dragon Breath Cannon, eventually disappearing completely. Then the Dragon Turtles began to move towards the battlefield; these Dragon Turtles were not just mobile artillery; they were also war beasts for siege.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The Dragon Turtles, resembling small mountains, approached the battlefield step by step, and the Wizards inside the fortress could even feel the tremors of the fortress.
The Alchemy Weapons let out silent roars, but it wasn't just the Dragon Turtles advancing.
A group of shield bearers wielding specially made metal shields marched alongside the Dragon Turtles, and behind them, tens of thousands of Fire Lizard warriors were ready to charge into the fortress at any moment.
The shield bearers acted as living shields, constantly blocking the powerful spells aimed at the Dragon Turtles. As for the spells of ordinary strength, they merely broke a few scales on the Dragon Turtles, causing negligible damage.
Spells fell, shields shattered, warriors died, and then new warriors entered the ranks.
The Wizards' magical power was depleting every second, while the Fire Lizard warriors were endless.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The Dragon Turtles drew closer, and the Wizards in the fortress could already see the fierce expressions of the Fire Lizard on the Dragon Turtles.
These Fire Lizards bared their teeth and licked their lips, their gazes towards the Wizards were fierce and frenzied. The Wizards could tell that if these Fire Lizards could trade one for one, or even two for one, they would not hesitate to rush to their deaths.
"Edge team, retreat. Edge team, prepare to retreat."
The command from the battlefield command center came through the communication crystal ball. Upon receiving the order, the White Wizard team immediately began to dismantle the Alchemy Weapons, preparing to retreat to the rear fortress.
The entire city had been transformed into a fortress by the White Wizards; losing the front fortress was just a loss.
But before the White Wizards could complete their retreat, these war beasts revealed their fangs.
The Dragon Turtles opened their massive mouths, unleashing terrifying Dragon Breath from within.
After all, the Dragon Turtles had the word "Dragon" in their name; how could dragons not breathe fire? But the battlefield command center at the center of the battlefield suddenly fell silent.
"It seems these natives have made quite a bit of progress." The old Wizard with a white beard maintained a calm expression. "These Dragon Turtles have been modified by them; I suspect this modification is the result of the hidden Legacy of the Fallen from the Morik Empire."
The other Wizards in the command center fell silent. The Morik Empire was the most powerful of the three great empires, and the reason for this was not only that their Fire Lizard King was slightly stronger than the other two but also that the Morik Empire preserved more of the Legacy of the Fallen than the other empires.
According to intelligence from the Black Wizard, the Morik Empire's Legacy of the Fallen included not only the Dragon Curse Warlock modifications but also a hidden heritage.
It now appeared that the hidden heritage was the modification of the Dragon Turtles before them.
"Master, the evaluation report from the front-line Wizards has come in." A Wizard suddenly stood up, the crystal ball in his hand glowing faintly.
"Read it."
"These Dragon Turtles' defenses have increased by a hundred levels compared to before, their physical constitution has reached the limit of a tier three creature, and the strength of their breath ranges from twelve hundred to eighteen hundred levels."
The old Wizard with a white beard frowned slightly as he looked at the Dragon Turtles drawing closer. He issued a command:
"Bring out the Lesser Disintegration Cannons. If we don't deal with this, our fortress will be a joke."
"Yes!"
After the order, the old White Wizard shifted his gaze back to the battlefield. Behind the Dragon Turtles, a dense mass of Fire Lizards, like a tidal wave, was entering the city through the breach.
"This battle is going to be tough."
...
The frontline battle was in full swing, while the support team in the rear was much more relaxed.
After all, the Wizards had been fighting for thirty-five years; while their various defenses were not impenetrable, it was impossible to break through in a short time.
Thus, the support convoy was temporarily without tasks.
Richard wandered among the Magic Support Vehicles, occasionally using Alchemy to check if there were any abnormalities with the vehicles.
This was the tenth time he had done so in the past seven days.
Behind him, Damir followed him like a shadow.
Richard turned around, somewhat helplessly looking at this somewhat fanatical Alchemist Wizard. Ever since Damir learned that the Magic Support Vehicle was designed by Richard, he had been like a fan meeting a celebrity, bombarding him with questions.
Some of these questions were quite odd, such as whether Richard preferred gears or levers, while others were a bit out of line, even touching on certain technologies of the Magic Support Vehicle.
Fortunately, Iyad was also in the team, and after Richard found him, he immediately reprimanded Damir.
With the pressure from this former superior, Damir had calmed down, but for some reason today, he started pestering Richard again.
"Damir, what exactly do you want?" Richard said with an unfriendly expression.
If it weren't for the Soul Contract signed by all Wizards before the war, preventing them from subjectively harming each other, Richard would have long since swung his staff to deal with this indiscreet Alchemist Wizard.
No Black Wizard liked having another Wizard behind them.
"Nothing, Master Richard, you carry on." Damir shrank his head, saying somewhat awkwardly.
Richard took out his staff, exuding the pressure of a second-ring Wizard: "You better clarify your intentions; I don't like having someone following me."
While Wizards couldn't subjectively harm each other, Sealing Art was not included in that.
"Um... I have an idea I want to discuss with you, Master..."
Before Damir could finish his sentence, the command from the command center came through the communication crystal ball.
"Position 43 has been breached; support convoys one and two, mobilize."
(End of Chapter)