Quadruple split.

Chapter 2754 Interlude - Suffocation
Without warning, the largest clash since the start of the standoff suddenly broke out in front of the [Tonglu] fortress. When the elite Blood Barbarians stationed there finally realized that this was not a routine matter but a premeditated large-scale attack, several agile Skolk had already climbed onto the wall.

Admittedly, they soon fell to the ground as corpses, but behind these brave pioneers, many more had begun a second climb, attempting to break through the poorly constructed city wall.

Unfortunately, the Blood Barbarians, who had already come to their senses, did not intend to give Skork this chance. Almost the instant they realized that the situation had changed, Prince David from the Steelmane Tribe reacted by sending 30% of his elite personal guard to the city walls to assist in the defense.

In fact, even though the boarmen were the weakest race in terms of individual quality among the Blood Barbarians, the boarmen warriors, who were armed to the teeth and wielding enchanted spears and whose strength was uniformly at the peak of the high-level, were by no means weak. It was precisely because of this that they were able to repel Skork's three waves of attacks when the enemy had clearly gained the upper hand, until the hastily prepared troops rushed out of the city and brought the situation back to a balance.

Thus began a brutal and unpretentious battle. Skolck, who was at the forefront, clashed violently with Blood Barbarians pouring out of the fortress and began to fight each other with reckless abandon. Meanwhile, the Second Mixed Battle Group of Dombuya, disguised as Skolck, was not to be outdone. They supported their comrades, whose eyes were filled with the will to die, and surged up from both flanks to fill the gaps in the battle line.

People fall every minute, but someone else steps up every minute.

There were no elaborate or fancy tactics, no strategies to turn the impossible into the possible; the two sides were just like two groups of primitive people, selflessly using every means they could think of to kill each other.

This is war.

It is the purest form of war.

It was the most direct, bloody, and savage collision.

……

"War has never been an art."

On the second floor of Skolker Hall, Mo Tan, who seemed to be dozing, opened his eyes, placed a black alchemical chess piece on the terrain map in front of him, and gently pushed it forward a few centimeters with his index finger, making the piece coincide with the location marked 'Tonglu Core Defense Zone' / 'Eagle Claw Gorge A-level Strategic Point'. He casually lit up the outermost of the three white chess pieces in front of him, and while turning it red, he whispered: "And his essence has always been to conquer opponents with violence."

The chief astrologer sitting next to him, smoking, chuckled and said mischievously, "You can't let that 'witch' hear that, she'll be hurt."

"Will not."

Mo Tan shook his head slightly and said calmly, "Perhaps Theresa never really led a 'war' that conforms to the conventional definition, but as the most outstanding tactical genius of Danu Military Academy, she would never lack good teachers and helpful friends. Even if she were naive, she wouldn't be unable to see this kind of thing."

"So, we've already clashed with the people from [Tonglu], right?"

Elgar, the leader of Skolk, though eager to rush to the battlefield with his warriors, had to stay in the stronghold to stabilize morale. He took a deep breath and, despite his calm demeanor, asked Mo Tan with barely concealed anxiety, "How is the battle going, Priest Black Van?"

"Stalemate, anxiety."

While checking the messages from all sides in the friend channel, Mo Tan looked down at the terrain map in front of him: "Without an epic-level character making a move, the outcome of this head-on confrontation is hardly in doubt. Our advantage is that we have a stronger will and relatively stronger mental attributes, while the opponent's advantage is that they are the defenders and have a much larger number of people than us. As for the result... I have already told you."

After speaking, the young man, who had truly become the absolute core of the three parties of 'Dunbuya City, Skolke, and the Survey Legion', shut his mouth and stared intently at the terrain map in front of him. It did not have the simulation function of a 'sand table' and even seemed too thin as a medium for mental reconstruction. He seemed to be thinking about something.

The others gathered in the second-floor hall also fell silent. The reason was simple: as Hei Fan had just said, he had already told everyone the outcome before the battle even officially began tonight.

Thus, at this meeting, which brought together most of the high-ranking officials from both Dunbua City and Skolke, and which took place during a time when the fighting on the front lines was raging, the atmosphere, which should have been incredibly noisy and enthusiastic, was eerily calm.

Sharia Ain, the adjutant of the Black Vane priest and also the head of the Dunbua City [organization], even yawned and leaned back in her chair to trim her nails.

Jenny Liberle calmly sipped her cigarette, appearing serene and unperturbed.

Guardian Knight Izou Jerete stood behind her predecessor as always, her gaze gentle yet firm.

The situation was similar on Skolsk's side. Surrey Bladefeather, who was in charge of intelligence, was curled up in her chair with her knees drawn up to her chest, turning her head to look at Elgar, who was deep in thought. The master craftsman Dagran Modgud Thaurissan quietly took out the strong liquor he had secretly brought into the meeting room and was taking small sips with his head down. Dominic Botz, the human strategist who used to be a wandering unscrupulous merchant and is now the head of Elgar's think tank, was even dozing off.

However, seeing is not always believing. If we observe carefully, we will find that many people are not as calm as they appear.

Jenny Liberl would occasionally glance at Black Van beside her, but because of the hazy smoke that always covered it, almost no one noticed this detail, let alone the worry and unease in her eyes.

This girl, who had thoroughly tricked Mo Tan, not only escaped punishment but was also publicly appointed as the chief astrologer, inexplicably gaining extremely terrifying authority. Now, she even had the power to make anyone under the Black Vane priest unconditionally prioritize her orders. In fact, she was very nervous, not because of the battle that was happening simultaneously, but because the Black Vane priest had indeed followed her warning and become... somewhat indifferent?
[That's the right thing to do. A compassionate leader can't command an army. If he continues to be so sentimental, he'll eventually harm himself and others. I did the right thing!]

Looking at Mo Tan's profile, which she couldn't read any emotion from, Jenny clenched her fist after exhaling a delicate smoke ring, repeatedly telling herself that even if that scumbag priest really did become cold and ruthless, it would be a good thing.

As for whether she truly believed it, Jenny was intelligent enough to know better than anyone else.

Not only the astrologer lady, but also the gentle and quiet guardian knight lady standing behind Mo Tan seemed to have the same concern, so much so that she would often inadvertently stare at the person she needed to protect and become distracted, instead of being as observant and attentive as a truly qualified protector.

Sharia, along with Skork's Sue and Daglan, were not particularly concerned about Pastor Black Van's physical and mental health, but they were constantly worried about the escalating 'friction' at this moment.

After all, unlike the small skirmishes of the past when the opponents numbered less than a thousand, the [Tonglu] Fortress, one of the most crucial strategic points in the Blood Barbarian Region and requiring joint governance by three forces, is far too difficult to conquer. Moreover, according to the latest news, it was recently further strengthened, and even two epic-level powerhouses have moved in.

In this situation, a slight misstep could lead to total annihilation. After all, even if the enemy doesn't deploy their top forces, they are fully capable of squeezing every last drop of blood from our soldiers in a relentless, all-out battle.

It's worth noting that just recently, Pastor Black Vane himself said that in most cases, war isn't a game of rock-paper-scissors between two people, where the one who guesses correctly, reacts quickly, plays cleverly, and is cunning wins; rather...
Rock against rock! Scissors against scissors! Paper against paper, slapping each other!

Quantity advantage, quality advantage, equipment advantage, morale advantage, troop type advantage... Accumulating all these advantages to decisively crush the enemy is the most conventional way to wage war.

Now that they are outnumbered and outmatched in individual strength, it's no wonder that Elgar, Sharia, and the others are nervous. Maintaining composure and grace is the best they can do.

In contrast, Mo Tan himself appeared much calmer.

This visual composure is mainly because he keeps his attention highly focused on the message bar, making him appear somewhat 'dull'.

In the eyes of different people, this "dullness" can be interpreted in a variety of ways, such as indifference, composure, calmness, and steadiness.

But in reality, Mo Tan was simply nervous.

At this moment, he was essentially no different from his companions. The only difference was that even if he was so nervous that he had a stomachache, he had to make himself appear calm and composed.

Unlike Misha County, which was fighting for survival and had no way to retreat;

Unlike Sumir, who was hidden behind a curtain and unconditionally trusted by the elders;
Unlike the 'Battle League', which is completely stress-free, requires no burden, and is simply about winning;
As the instigator of this conflict, the spokesperson for the Dawn Cult, the guardian of the two Holy Sons, and the partner of the Wealth Saintess, Mo Tan, who also shoulders multiple responsibilities including but not limited to Dunbua City and Skolke, cannot afford to lose more than ever before. Most importantly, this time, he is fighting for himself.

Not for the common people of Misha County, not for the peace of Holy Mountain Sumir, the idle piece that was left behind in the [War League] in Academy City has reached the time to bear fruit.

He is here because of his own will, because of his own choice.

This time, no one asked Mo Tan to do anything, nor did anyone force him to make any choices.

In other words, he had no more excuses.

Intentionally, he made a name for himself in the War League, and then actively cooperated with the Dawn Cult to go to Dunbua City. With the help of the Wealth Saintess Fiari Graham, he directly lured the Just Saint Avery and the Abundant Saint Philip onto his ship, indirectly bringing the two major cults to his side. Mo Tan must now take on some responsibilities.

As for the 'side' that Mo Tan least wanted to bear responsibility for, Pastor Hei Fan was already dizzy and even suffocating several times at this moment.

Although Mo Tan realized from the moment he arrived in Dunbuya City that he would be responsible for any comrade or enemy who died in the subsequent war, and was even taught a harsh lesson by Jenny, he still felt a strong sense of discomfort rising from his stomach and quickly sweeping through his limbs when he was a long way from the front line and could clearly see that people were falling because of his will every minute.

That is the responsibility and pressure that Mo Tan, under his current personality, finds difficult to face calmly.

But even so...

Mo Tan quickly searched through the messages sent from at least fifteen liaison officers, reminiscing about Yu Ying, the adjutant who had saved him a lot of trouble, while covering his forehead, which was about to break out in a cold sweat, his gaze somewhat unfocused.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

The arrangements have already been made.

Everything is going according to plan.

Richard Lane wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal his weakness.

The standard-bearer of the Sun Cult was a pragmatic man.

The survey team was created specifically for this situation.

Philip and Avery are positioned not far away. Even if something unexpected happens... Damn it, I really should have gone to the front lines!
"Black Brahma".

Just then, Jenny suddenly blew a large smoke ring into Mo Tan's face and asked seriously, "Are you alright?"

"senior……"

At the same time, Yi Zou gently supported Mo Tan's slightly trembling shoulders, poured a gentle burst of dawn divine power into the latter's body, and whispered.

"I am fine."

Mo Tan revealed a calm smile, then took a deep breath, intending to activate [Reflection] to tough it out. However, at that moment, a figure that everyone was quite familiar with suddenly appeared on the second floor.

"Black Brahma".

Luna Lynch's eyes, which always seemed to be filled with a mist, swept over the [Pathfinding Disc] on Mo Tan's chest, and she said indifferently, "Busy?"

"Ok?"

Mo Tan paused for a moment, then replied frankly, "It's not that I'm not busy, but..."

"Give me some time."

Luna glanced around at the group of people who didn't seem very busy, and said without turning her head as she walked downstairs, "I've developed some good stuff. You come and assess their combat value."

"Uh?"

Mo Tan was taken aback again, then after a brief hesitation, he stood up and said to everyone, "Then I'll go take a look?"

The Skorks, who had a MAX level of affection for Luna, naturally had no objections.

Yizou immediately replied, "Then I'll go with you, senior..."

"Jeright".

Jenny sighed and said softly, "Stay."

"Why? I..."

"As the chief astrologer, I order you to stay."

"……it is good."

"Commander."

"what?"

“I think the good stuff Lynch developed will be very important, so I hope you will take a good look at it. It’s okay if it takes a little more time. This is also the chief astrologer’s advice.”

"Well, I see."

"Be good, go ahead."

Chapter 2745: The End