Chapter 1440: Chapter 1440: Encounter

Everyone looked at Li Yao with puzzlement. What more could there be in it for them?

Li Yao chuckled and produced a small flag signifying the Dark Camp, saying, “Do I need to spell it out? This map is called a city, but it’s actually a dungeon. It’s like a main city radiating out into a dungeon area, with the real city at the center. Having control over the main city is basically useless; what everyone desires is the top-secret technology within the Titan’s Relics, and most of those technologies are outdated and require further research. The ultimate goal is to deal with the threat from the Ancient Gods.”

“But you all must realize, the area within this radiating circle, the surface location on this map, is barren and desolate, and not due to the corrosion from ancient god wars, nor due to climatic effects. Plus, considering the colossal size of underground relics like this dungeon city, it’s different from the natural formation of the underground world; this one is man-made.”

Li’s sister’s eyes brightened, and she suddenly said, “I understand now, it’s the endless mineral resources. This map must have super vein deposits, and the passages are actually ancient mining veins that were then expanded. Are you saying that the reason the factions have set these rules is to compete for these resources?”

Li Yao nodded affirmatively and said, “It’s inevitable, there must be incredible veins here, and not just a single one. On one hand, the factions don’t want to exhaust their own military forces, and on the other hand, they don’t want other factions to get the veins. Now is not the best time to wage war, so they’ve adopted this random allocation model of passage contestation. In the end, the strength of the new recruits from each faction will determine resource distribution. If enough resources are contested, naturally, the faction will not be stingy in offering better rewards to the teams.”

“No wonder they would issue such a flag, saying to claim a stronghold by planting the flag and declaring occupation. So, that’s the root of it.” The others also had realizations.

“Indeed, this is the first kill in the mainline dungeon, and no team is going to hold back. The NPCs are too cunning, actually coming up with such a method, using all the top players as their pawns, and the players feel like they’ve gotten a bargain, gratefully weeping. Truly sly.” The newcomer Mu Zi sighed.

“So, you guys should also be more careful when you take on missions in the future. Don’t get played by the NPCs. The Ancient God World is very different from other games, and as your levels increase, the complexity will deepen further. Eventually, you’ll realize that it’s not just the top NPCs, any NPC in the Ancient God World has intelligence no less than an ordinary person, with some so brilliantly scheming that it’s daunting.” Li Yao reminded everyone.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, their thoughts also turning to Ros and the Lion Scorpion Goddess–so beguiling.

“Reporting to the Legion Commander, the stronghold ahead has been notified of our arrival and has sealed the stronghold, hoping to resist us by defense. They’ve even abandoned the minerals in more than a dozen large vehicles outside the city,” called out the Ranger Scout loudly.

Li Yao nodded: “How many soldiers are in the stronghold?”

The Scout replied without hesitation: “According to preliminary scouting, the enemy totals around two hundred fifty thousand, the main force being Caveman Warriors, about a hundred thousand of them. There are thirty thousand Caveman Throwers, among which there are also thirty thousand Ancient Goblin Mages; the rest include various mixed Legions specializing in defense, with quite a few unique monsters, and some Faceless Ones as well.”

Li Yao’s brows raised slightly and asked, “Did you find any of the enemy’s air forces?”

The Scout said, “No air forces were discovered, but it seems that the enemy has hidden some troops, the details of which are still unclear. Do you need a thorough investigation, Commander?”

Li Yao shook his head: “Too dangerous, the main force will be there soon enough. Relay my orders, just have the Scout troops disperse and keep watch. Whether they have hidden troops or not, I will know once my Divine Eye has seen the place.”

“Understood.”

The Scout squad soared off again, and Starfire’s main forces quickened their pace.

But before Starfire’s main force had even left the passage, the Scout returned: “Legion Commander, over one hundred fifty thousand of the defending forces have abandoned the stronghold and instead ambushed in the disordered rocks at the stronghold’s exit.”

Li Yao smiled: “These underground rats have even taken to ambush; interesting. It looks like I’ll need to be serious.”

“This formation isn’t suitable for passage battles; we need to adjust before we can proceed,” the Enchantress said.

Li Yao nodded: “You adjust, I’ll use the Divine Eye. We can’t give them a chance to pincer us.”

Li’s sister’s expression changed: “You mean there are other passages that lead to our rear?”

“It’s hard to say, but these guys have given up the stronghold and opted for an offensive assault, clearly the commander isn’t a simple figure. Better to be cautious; otherwise, if we suffer too much loss of troops here, it won’t be easy to handle,” Li Yao spoke while pouring spiritual power into his eyes, and with the light flashing, Li Yao thankfully did not see any hidden passages within the tunnel rock layers.

Although the passage was wide, for an army of two hundred thousand to pass through, they must form an elongated formation; it can’t be like a normal military formation or maintain ordinary formation.

Now, discovering that the enemy was defending and ambushing near the mouth of the passage, it was feared they would suffer a huge loss if they continued in this formation.

Moreover, even if the formation was adjusted, because of the passageway, it was impossible for all of Starfire’s long-range attackers to attack at once; their output was limited.

So, the upcoming battle depended on whether Starfire could break through the opponent’s blockade.

After all, the opponent had ample space outside the passage to easily adjust their formation, and once they had formed a solid defense line, the enemy’s long-range attackers could concentrate firepower from all around.

This would put tremendous pressure on Starfire’s front line; their ability to charge and break the formation would be severely tested.

Moreover, the enemy’s vanguard could use a small number of troops to block the exit, while the rest could enhance their front line defenses, overall, the enemy already had the terrain advantage.

Hence, the Enchantress needed to readjust the formation, to facilitate a charge and break the enemy’s defense, and after breaking through, to quickly form their own military formation with the utmost speed.

When Starfire’s main force approached the mouth of the passage, they found the enemy’s troops had already blocked the passage.

They had intended to ambush, but upon discovering Starfire’s Scout, they no longer hid and instead blatantly blocked the passage.

Even audaciously, several of their leaders mounted their steeds and stood at the forefront of their troops, staring contemptuously at Starfire’s team.

The two sides stood in confrontation from a distance of a thousand yards, with a Dwarf driving a Battle Puppet–kneeling and wielding a large hammer–at the front of the enemy.

“Damned outsiders, how dare you invade the territory of the great Ancient Gods. Now if you turn back, I’ll pretend we never saw you, and the great Ancient Gods will forgive your ignorant trespassing.”

Li Yao’s Hell Battle Scorpion also moved to the front of the troops, with Li Yao standing on the head of the Battle Scorpion, and said, “So you indeed betrayed the Titans.”…