I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 554 Heavy losses
Within the Crystal Song Forest, the battle situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

The arrival of the new demonic forces completely halted the players' offensive momentum, even pushing them back. The battle lines became fragmented, and the players were forced to form small circles, relying on thick, decaying trees, mounds of earth, and the corpses of their comrades, to defend against the demons surging in from all directions.

"We can't hold on any longer, Boss Thief! It looks like we're about to collapse!"

A fast-running player scrambled to the side of the Shanghai Pirate King. He had just tried to flank the enemy, but caught a glimpse of something unusual in the sky behind the enemy lines, as well as the faint sound of gunfire.

The Shanghai Pirate King was also in a bad situation. He had just narrowly parried the giant axe of a berserker demon when he heard this. His heart sank. He kicked the demon away half a step and took the opportunity to roll backward several times. Only after the players on the left and right rushed over and held his position did he have a chance to look up at the direction of the beachhead.

Although his view was mostly obscured by the dense, twisted trees, he could still see the lingering arcane glow and the still-lingering smoke in that area of ​​air.

More importantly, the gunfire and explosions that had previously seemed like background noise from the rear positions now appeared to be more intense and chaotic, even mixed with a sharp, piercing scream that didn't belong to the players.

"Damn it, my hometown got robbed!?"

A terrifying thought flashed through the mind of the Pirate King. They were fighting the demon to the death here, but they forgot that the demon could fly. If the respawn point was destroyed, their force, which had ventured deep into the forest, would become rootless and would eventually be worn down and die here.

Without radio, without magical communication, and without even a reliable messenger to send out... in this chaotic battlefield, acting alone is almost tantamount to suicide.

A decision must be made!
However, looking around, all he saw were players who were bloodthirsty and entangled with demons.

They shouted various slogans, some fought to the death for experience and equipment, some simply enjoyed the thrill of killing, and others seemed completely unaware of the potential dangers behind them.

In this battlefield without instant communication, the idea of ​​orderly notifying everyone and escaping unscathed under the onslaught of demons is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Offline communication could indeed reach the captains and squad leaders of each player immediately, but doing so was pointless.

Because the harsh reality is right in front of us, someone has to cover the rear, otherwise no one can escape.

A ruthless but practical plan instantly took shape in the mind of the Shanghai Pirate King.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, and quickly scanned the battlefield, locking onto several groups of players who were usually more obedient to commands.

He grabbed the player who had just delivered the message and roared at the nearby player captains who still seemed somewhat calm, his voice drowning out the noise of the battlefield.

"Listen, something might have happened in the rear. We definitely can't lose the respawn point. I'll take a group of people and retreat to stabilize the situation."

"You guys, notify everyone you can, take turns providing cover, and retreat behind me. Be quick!"

He didn't explain much, nor did he have time to explain.

The player captains who received the instructions were taken aback at first, but when they saw the extremely serious look in the eyes of the Shanghai Pirate King, they immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded heavily.

"understand!"

"Let's cut off the queen!"

"Come on!"

Without further hesitation, the Shanghai Pirate King swung his sword sharply.

"Tin Can, Battlefield Six, take your men and come with me back to reinforce the position!"

He specifically named the leaders of those relatively organized player groups.

After hearing what the Shanghai Pirate King said, although they didn't understand, they still started calling out to their companions because they trusted him.

"The bandit king has ordered a retreat!"

"Let's go, let's go back to our hometown!"

"Brothers, hurry up!"

These players began to consciously disengage, firing back to slow down pursuers while retreating back the way they came.

Their actions caused some chaos, but fortunately the demons' offensive remained fierce, and a large-scale rout did not occur for the time being.

However, many players remained engrossed in the bloody battle. They may not have heard the orders, or they may have heard them but were too caught up in the fight to pay attention, or they may have simply thought that retreating was an act of cowardice.

"Why are you running, you bunch of idiots!"

"Don't run away, experience pack! Take my big dick!"

"Kill them all for Chris!"

These players continued to fight feverishly, and because some of their companions had retreated, they were under even more pressure and fought even more frantically.

They actually used their bodies and lives to hold back the pursuing demons, buying precious time and space for the retreating players.

……

The Shanghai Pirate King, leading a group of players who reacted quickly, or rather, who weren't so caught up in the fighting, struggled to break away from the stalemate and retreated towards the beachhead.

The corrupted terrain of the woodland now hindered their retreat, but it also slowed down the demons' pursuit to some extent.

When they finally broke out of the suffocating Crystal Forest and their view opened up again, they were met with a scene of utter devastation on the beachhead.

The defensive wall was covered with charred marks and damage, sandbags were blown open, and wood fragments were scattered all over the ground.

Inside the position, several supply depots were still burning, emitting thick black smoke.

The players' corpses lay scattered on the ground, many of them clearly having just rushed out of the respawn point and fallen again.

Although the number of winged demons in the air has been greatly reduced, a few still hovered unwillingly, occasionally swooping down to try to attack the exposed players.

The anti-aircraft fire on the position continued, but the intensity was far less than before, and the players who stayed behind had obviously paid a heavy price.

"Thankfully... the respawn point is still there."

The man in the tin can immediately spotted the ecclesiastical church, which, despite some charred and damaged exterior walls, was structurally intact and still hummed with mechanical sounds inside. He breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Don't let your guard down! Clear out the remaining winged demons, rescue the wounded, and repair the fortifications! Hurry!"

Without pausing for a moment, the Shanghai Pirate King immediately issued orders in a hoarse voice.

The fresh troops he brought were immediately put into the defense and clearing work.

With the addition of these players, the situation on the battlefield quickly stabilized.

The remaining scattered winged demons were quickly dispersed or shot down by the concentrated firepower. The players began to extinguish the flames, repair the damaged defensive walls, and move the wounded to relatively safe locations.

However, the expected follow-up support from the Elf fleet did not materialize.

The elven fleet anchored on the sea was still casting spells towards the city from the waters off Mooncrown City's docks. No ships left or moved closer to provide further assistance or support to the players on the beachhead.

"Long-eared guy...that's it?"

While pouring water to cool down a Tiger Crouching Cannon whose barrel was red-hot, Old Six on the battlefield couldn't help but complain as he looked at the silent Elven fleet in the distance.

"Not a single boat came?"

The Shanghai Pirate King's face darkened; he could roughly guess the elf's concerns.

Mooncrown City itself is also facing immense pressure from the corruption ritual. The main force of the demons has not been fully drawn to the eastern front, and the elves must conserve their strength to guard the core area. They cannot devote their precious fleet and magical power to supporting their allies indefinitely.

"Stop relying on others, rely on ourselves!"

He said solemnly.

"Take stock of casualties and material losses, and get the position back into operation as soon as possible. We still have people in the woods. Once we stabilize this place, we need to find a way to support them!" He looked at the Crystal Song Woods, which was still shrouded in fel energy mist. Gunshots, explosions, and players' roars could still be faintly heard, indicating that they were still fighting.

The demon lord's tactic of besieging the enemy and attacking their reinforcements was brilliant. It not only tied down the elves but also severely damaged the players' offensive momentum and prevented them from converging their forces.

Meanwhile, on the armed merchant ship, Elunor remained silent.

He understood the elves' predicament, but seeing the tragic scene on the beachhead and the players still fighting hard in Crystal Song Forest without receiving effective support, he couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

……

In the afternoon in Crystal Song Woodland, the remaining players had been squeezed into a few last strongholds near the edge of the woodland.

The demons' onslaught was like an ever-flowing tide, wave after wave. With ammunition running out and players nearing their physical limits, every swing of the sword and every pull of the trigger became exceptionally difficult.

"The thief king and his gang escaped, and we're all surrounded!"

"Damn it, is the respawn point still there? I'm going back to my old home in Bagnia..."

"Stop howling, will howling kill the demon?"

A player named Shangganling Hero was hastily retreating while stabbing a small demon with his bayonet. He looked down and saw a bone knife stuck in his thigh. Clearly, he couldn't escape. Suddenly, a crazy idea sprouted in his despair.

"Brothers, protect me! I'm logging off to let the other side know!"

The hero of Shangganling pulled aside a few people and said to them.

"Are you crazy? Why did you log off?"

"Call for artillery! We're only about two kilometers from our hometown. If we just raise the cannons on the ship a little, they can reach us!"

"Are you crazy? We're still here!"

A player next to him retorted in astonishment.

"I can't control that much anymore!"

The hero of Shangganling had bloodshot eyes. After he finished speaking, without waiting for anyone else to react, he suddenly pulled the bone knife stuck in his thigh, then scrambled to hide behind a relatively thick, rotten tree stump. Leaning against the charred wood, his body went limp and his head drooped down...

His character has been logged off and entered a "soul state," but his physical body remains on the battlefield, needing the protection of his comrades.

Seeing this, the surrounding players felt that this method was crazy and risky, but at the moment they really had no better choice.

Several players spontaneously gathered around, forming a fragile defensive line with their bodies and bayonets, desperately blocking the demons that tried to approach.

"Protect Lao Gan's health!"

"Damn it, can this even be reliable...?"

"Stop talking nonsense, hold on!"

Almost three minutes after the hero of Shangganling logged off, a player who had just respawned near the Church of the Mechanical God on the beachhead ran out and quickly found the Shanghai Pirate King, who was urging the repair of the fortifications, and shouted at him.

"King of Thieves, one of our brothers mentioned that they're surrounded at the edge of the forest, about two kilometers from us. They told us to use the cannons on the ship, raise the muzzles, cover the area in front of them, and blast a path through!"

Upon hearing this, the Shanghai Pirate King understood the crazy plan of the players in the forest.

But to bombard our own forward positions with naval gunfire? That's simply...

But he had no time to hesitate. The increasingly sparse gunfire and explosions in the woods indicated that the people inside were about to collapse.

"Notify all players on the armed merchant ships to turn their cannons around and aim them towards the Demon Grove, extending coverage to a distance of about two kilometers... Switch from iron cannonballs to expensive exploding shells, and blast them away!"

He practically roared the order, his voice trembling slightly... The Shanghai Pirate King was clearly in pain.

The prices of exploding shells and cannonballs are basically incomparable, but without exploding shells, what effect can artillery fire from more than two kilometers away have?
If we want the players in the woods to come back alive, we can't skimp on explosive shells, and reinforcements need to be dispatched as soon as possible.

The order was quickly relayed to the more than thirty armed merchant ships stranded on the beach via flag signals and fast-running messengers.

The player gunners on the ship were initially shocked by the order, but soon they burst into laughter and began loading shells and adjusting the muzzle as quickly as possible.

This is truly a rare opportunity!
As for what kind of opportunity it is, children shouldn't ask too many questions; knowing too much won't do you any good.

Driven by excitement, an armed merchant ship quickly opened fire, with several cannons roaring in succession, flames and thick smoke instantly engulfing half of the ship.

Immediately afterwards, more armed merchant ships roared, and soon, a series of exploding shells, accompanied by ear-piercing whistles, pierced the sky and flew toward the edge of the woodland shrouded in fel energy.

At that moment, a familiar yet chilling shriek echoed from the edge of Crystal Song Forest. Several exploding shells fell from the sky almost simultaneously, striking the twisted trees and exploding violently.

Pre-fabricated shrapnel rained down from above like a death storm, tearing apart and sending flying decaying trees, grotesque demons, and players alike.

The sudden explosion stunned both sides in the battle... The players were no exception, because apart from a few people, most of them were busy fighting the demons and knew nothing about the indiscriminate bombardment.

Therefore, when the flashes of light from the explosions appeared one after another, and the deafening roars made the earth tremble, not only did the dense horde of demons suffer heavy losses under this sudden barrage, but even the players' formations were thrown into chaos.

However, in the chaos, when the shells hit them on the head, most players quickly regained their senses amidst the confusion and realized the opportunity.

"Run! Run backwards!"

"Damn it, run!"

Amidst the shouts, the players still alive at the edge of the forest struggled to their feet and desperately ran towards the breach torn open by the artillery fire, heading towards the beachhead.

They walked through the billowing smoke, stepping over the charred and mangled corpses of demons and their companions, with only one thought in their minds... get out of this hellhole!
The whistling and explosions of artillery shells became the most terrifying background noise on this battlefield.

More than thirty armed merchant ships participated in the shelling at the site, while other armed merchant ships were unfortunately unable to participate due to unfavorable positions and angles.

Even so, these thirty-odd ships still unleashed an astonishing level of firepower.

More than eighty large-caliber cannons bombarded the area two kilometers away with nearly fifteen rounds of shelling within half an hour, causing thick smoke to billow from the Devil's Woods.

Around 3 p.m., the players who had "voluntarily" covered the rear in the woods finally limped and crawled back to the beachhead, covered in gunpowder and blood.

Their numbers were nearly half of what they had when they set out, almost all of them were wounded, their equipment was tattered, and many had even left their weapons in the woods.

"This is really messed up..."

Standing on the bow of the Iron Justice, the Pirate King shook his head, seemingly unsure whether he was talking about the players who had died in the woods or about himself... With so many deaths, as the commander, he was going to have a tough time in the meeting tonight.

Just then, the player on lookout suddenly shouted.

"Look! There's movement from the elves!"

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw several dazzling magical rays shooting into the sky from the direction of Mooncrown City. Immediately afterwards, even more intense explosions and the buzzing of magic came from within the city. They could also vaguely hear the angry roars of demons and see the abyssal dragons circling in the sky occasionally swooping down.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know... I should think about how to arrange the player resurrection..."

"What's wrong? Just queue up, won't that solve the problem?"

"It's not a problem of queuing, it's that there aren't enough resources for resurrection... Those with corpses are fine, they only need a few kilograms of flesh, but for the unfortunate ones whose bodies have been completely destroyed, they need at least two hundred kilograms of flesh to be resurrected."

My current headache is wondering where this meat is going to come from!

"Ah, this..."

(End of this chapter)