Chapter 547.5: The Bay Territory that Fights Stronger and Stronger
Half an hour later.
Leon glanced at the pile of corpses being burned, then double-checked the stockpile of bolts.
Confirming that more than 300,000 bolts remained, he immediately relaxed.
Against humanoid creatures, bolts were the most "suitable" weapon.
The easy success of the first wave's attack boosted the soldiers' confidence significantly.
During their rest break, they discussed the next wave of enemies.
Soon, the patrolling cavalry signaled from afar.
The soldiers quickly took their positions, bracing for the upcoming battle.
Brassbeard stood on the wall, peering into the distance.
A large group of visibly transformed gnolls howled as they charged forward.
They had abandoned their upright stance, reverting to a beast-like posture on all fours.
Their bodies had swelled to nearly twice their size, faintly covered in grayish-brown scales.
Their heads became more monstrous, their jaws stretched longer, sprouting terrifying, twisted fangs.
Their claws had also undergone a clear mutation, growing larger and more deformed.
The sharp claws easily tore through the soil, digging large holes with ease.
"What in the world, so many dragon-blooded gnolls…"
Instinctively swallowing hard, Brassbeard recalled the scene of the Bay Territory sending all the gnolls and kobolds to the Catacanch half-plane and said with relief:
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, the lord is truly foresighted!"
Leon, long accustomed to the sight of these imposing dragonized gnolls, continued without hesitation:
"No need to overthink it, keep firing the cannon. Let's see its maximum killing power."
Snapping out of it, Brassbeard immediately got busy.
With a burst of blazing fire, the spinning cannonball flew out, colliding with a charging dragonized gnoll.
Crack!
Even the significantly transformed gnoll couldn't withstand the impact of steel.
Its body twisted and deformed, sent flying, and died on the spot.
The cannonball, still in motion, bounced unpredictably, hitting several more unfortunate gnolls.
"Six dragonized gnolls taken down. The results are so-so. With further upgrades, it should perform better."
Brassbeard carefully recorded his observations, considering how to improve the cannon while also noting the dragonized gnolls' defensive capabilities.
Aside from testing the cannon's power, he was also tasked with evaluating the enemy's defenses.
"Compared to lizardmen, dragonized gnolls are much tougher."
"Unfortunately, they've completely lost their minds, reduced to beasts driven by slaughter."
Leon, quick-witted as ever, was already thinking about how to make use of the obedient dragonized gnolls.
However, these more formidable creatures didn't significantly increase the pressure on the stronghold's defenses.
Their strength was undeniable, but they struggled to climb the walls and launch attacks.
Yet, unlike the single-minded lizardmen, dragonized gnolls seemed to have a different kind of offensive intelligence.
They paid the price of over a thousand gnolls killed, reaching the walls' base.
Unable to scale the walls, they didn't stand still and take hits like the lizardmen. Instead, they attempted to flank the walls and attack from the rear.
A clever strategy, but reality was harsh.
The powerful enchanted crossbows, within a range of 300 meters, could bring them down in just two or three shots.
Observing this from a distance, the adventurers couldn't help but marvel:
"The Bay Territory is just rolling in wealth. Even a small stronghold is built with walls so tall and sturdy."
"Most other lords' walls, apart from the lord's castle, barely reach five or six meters. Nothing like the Bay Territory…"
"And it's paying off now, isn't it? I thought the battle would be intense, but these dragon-blooded creatures are just dying in droves…"
"This is practically a small fortress. Attacking a fortress is basically a death sentence."
"You're right. But they'll be dead soon, so it should be our turn soon, right?"
"No, these dragon-blooded monsters look a bit smarter. They're retreating. Get ready for battle!"
"Quick, get into position. Stop gawking!"
"Why are you still standing there? Get moving!"
"..."
The quick-thinking adventurers shouted excitedly.
As they scrambled into action, the soldiers on the walls ceased firing at the fleeing dragonized gnolls.
Since no more supplies were arriving for now, they needed to conserve their bolts.
With their disciplined training and strict orders, the Bay Territory soldiers could perfectly follow commands.
Only seven or eight hundred dragonized gnolls managed to escape.
Meanwhile, the ambushing adventurers numbered over a thousand, more than enough to take them down.
Just as Leon ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up.
A message spell interrupted his arrangements.
"What? An extraordinary-level land dragon is coming, leading other dragon beasts?"
This sudden news caught Leon off guard.
However, he quickly calmed down. After confirming that the other two strongholds were under control, he relaxed and said:
"Just let it come. We'll hand out some bonuses!"
If they could take down an extraordinary dragon.
Not only would they earn the Bay Territory's bounty reward, but the dragon's inherent value—worth over hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
Would be enough to give every soldier in the brigade a generous bonus.
As if summoned by Leon's command, a massive horde of dragon beasts of various forms surged toward the stronghold.
Leading the pack was a particularly large land dragon.
It resembled a swamp crocodile but had sturdier, more powerful, and agile legs.
Its pale yellow, thick scales glistened with a dazzling shine.
The Mad Dragon Lock was not only incredibly dangerous, but it also carried terrifying side effects.
All dragon-blooded creatures affected by it would enter their most aggressive combat state.
Normally docile land dragons now resembled enraged lions, roaring and spewing pale yellow breath nonstop.
From a distance, seeing its bloodshot red eyes, Leon, who was well-versed in handling dragon-blooded creatures, immediately began giving orders:
"Ready the dragon-hunting ballista. Aim for the head—one shot, one kill!"
The dragon-hunting ballista, having undergone multiple enhancements, now lived up to its name with its destructive power.
At a range of 500 meters, it could pierce dragon scales with a defense value below 10, posing a significant threat to most extraordinary dragons.
Of course, the firing speed of the dragon-hunting ballista was very limited, typically allowing only one or two shots.
It was mainly effective against bulky, slow-moving dragons.
Expecting the ballista to hunt down flying dragons darting through the air would be pure fantasy.
Nevertheless, the dragon-hunting ballista was more than adequate for defensive purposes.
Even though its aiming speed couldn't match a flying dragon's mid-air maneuvers, it was effective because the dragons willingly flew into its bolts!
To be precise.
Only those dragons affected by the Mad Dragon Lock were so easily struck by the ballista…
"Roar…!"
The earth-shaking roars failed to intimidate the defending soldiers.
Watching the swarm of dragon beasts approach, Leon calmly issued the command to open fire.
These dragon beasts were stronger, larger, and more powerful.
But they couldn't shake the five-meter-thick walls.
Moreover, when the walls were built, they were reinforced with anti-magic materials to resist spell effects.
Destroying them would require overwhelming physical force!
Leon kept a close eye on the advancing land dragon, holding off on the command to fire.
He needed to seize the opportunity for a killing blow.
"Roar…!"
With nothing in its mind but slaughter and hunting, the land dragon roared madly. Suddenly, its body radiated a brilliant yellow light.
Driven by that yellow light.
Chunks of earth rose from the ground around the dragon's limbs, gradually encasing its entire body.
Then, the earth hardened, faintly glowing with elemental patterns.
A suit of armor made of yellow earth formed over its entire body.
This was the land dragon's unique bloodline ability—Earth Element Armor!
It not only provided the dragon with 120 additional hit points but also reduced physical damage by over 20%.
However, there was a price to pay.
The dragon's already slow speed became even slower.
On an open battlefield, encountering such a resilient foe could spell disaster for the entire defensive line.
But with this slowly advancing land dragon, Leon exercised great patience, suppressing the urge to attack, silently waiting for it to come closer.
Meanwhile, Brassbeard continued his firing experiments, lighting the cannon repeatedly.
The black metal cannonballs whistled through the air, crashing heavily into the dragon-blooded creatures.
In this process, Leon discovered a key advantage of the cannon.
Against heavily armored dragon beasts, the cannon's projectiles proved more damaging than crossbow bolts.
After all, most dragon beasts had thick hides and tough flesh.
Even if slender crossbow bolts pierced their armor.
They couldn't penetrate the creatures' dense muscle and sturdy bones.
But cannonballs were different.
The destructive power of cannonballs relied on their own impact force.
As long as they hit a dragon beast, the immense force could break through some scales and muscle armor.
Of course, when it came to dragons that could manipulate metal, the damage was far less impressive.
With dragon beasts averaging a challenge level of 11+,
Copperbeard's first-generation cannons couldn't entirely contain them.
Even so, Leon remained highly optimistic about the cannons' potential.
He couldn't wait to issue new research bounties at the lab.
Brassbeard enthusiastically promised:
"No problem. Cannons aren't hard to make."
"As long as we use better metal for the barrels, higher-quality alchemical powder for fuel, and more powerful projectiles, their power can increase significantly…"
Leon, however, was skeptical of Brassbeard's words, instead adhering to the Bay Territory's principle:
"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."
No matter how good it sounded, actions would speak louder.
Facing the approaching dragon beasts, Leon issued another command to prevent them from causing excessive damage to the walls:
"Fire the wildfire oil."
Walls, crossbows, wildfire oil.
The Bay Territory's three-pronged approach to combat.
Simple, but undeniably effective.
When a wall of fire rose from the trench.
Even the dragon-like beasts, reduced to animalistic states, hesitated and stopped advancing.
While they had lost their intelligence, they couldn't ignore their survival instincts.
The land dragon, however, was not pleased with its peers' hesitation.
Its lingering thoughts, rather than making it as pure as a beast, made it more inclined to follow the whispers in its mind.
Succumbing to the murmurs, the land dragon charged into the blazing flames, reaching the walls.
Standing 3.5 meters tall and 10 meters long, the land dragon was seemingly unimpeded by the eight-meter-high walls.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several ballista shots echoed across the walls.
The once-majestic land dragon now lay on the ground, struggling and howling.
Arm-thick ballista bolts were deeply embedded in the land dragon's body.
The blood grooves continuously drained blood.
The previously impressive earth elemental armor was now battered and barely holding together.
Leon showed no pity for the suffering creature. He ordered continued fire to kill it outright.
Another two volleys of bolts flew out. The bloodied, mangled land dragon's head finally delivered a satisfying result.
This extraordinary land dragon, which had not launched a single attack, died silently.
It died so naturally.
As if it had delivered itself to their door.
With the greatest threat eliminated, the remaining dragon beasts hesitated to move forward. Leon decisively ordered an encirclement and annihilation.
By eliminating these valuable dragon beasts, the stronghold's crisis would be largely resolved.
Having recently dispatched hundreds of dragonized gnolls, the still-unsated adventurers.
Eagerly agreed to join forces after hearing this news.
In their eyes, this was an invitation to feast with the stronghold's defenders.
Though there was some risk, not one adventurer was foolish enough to decline.
Meanwhile, to ensure that they could fully capitalize on this opportunity.
Leon ordered nearly a third of the wildfire oil reserves to be launched from the trebuchets without hesitation.
As the fire ignited, nearly all the dragon beasts were trapped within the ring of flames.
Five dragon-hunting ballistae took turns firing, prioritizing the large beasts trying to break through the fiery walls.
Others switched to enchanted crossbows, carefully aiming at the dragon-blooded creatures' heads for precise shots.
Brassbeard, too, fought with enthusiasm, gathering invaluable firsthand data.
An hour later.
The battlefield quieted down again.
The bodies of all the dragon-blooded creatures were transported through the activated teleportation arrays to the Bay Territory's processing plants.
After purification, every part of these creatures would be put to use.
Crafted into various dragon-blood weapons and equipment, or dragon-blood potions, they would serve as valuable resources for the Bay Territory's adventurers.
On the other side of the teleportation array, newly enhanced weapons, equipment, and supplies were delivered promptly.
Adventurers and soldiers who upgraded their gear were now ready to take the fight to the dragon-blooded creatures.
Having completed their power-ups, they prepared to leave the stronghold and meet the oncoming creatures head-on!