Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

Chapter 79 Goblins? Goblins!

Inside the council hall of the Lord's Mansion in Jinshi Ridge, a military map was spread out on a long table. Sun Zhengwu pointed heavily at a narrow pass on the sand table—Eagle Beak Gorge.

"Here!" Sun Zhengwu's tone was resolute. "According to the route map and terrain analysis drawn by the sentries, Eagle's Beak Gorge is the only route the Blood Ravens must take from Hidden Valley to my Emberstone Ridge. The gorge is about a mile long, with near-vertical cliffs on both sides. The entrance is narrow, and the exit is slightly wider. To avoid being seen from the direction of Ironrock City and approach us silently, this is the only option!"

He glanced around at the core military personnel and Matthew present, and continued, "Our plan is to wage a brilliant ambush and annihilation battle at Eagle's Beak!"

"Firepower configuration is the core." Sun Zhengwu's baton swept across the sand table. "We've laid mines and large explosive charges along the bandits' likely route. We've also pre-planned concealed firing positions on the cliffs and deployed teams equipped with heavy crossbows and explosive throwers. The explosive throwers can launch five to ten kilograms of explosives from a distance, covering the middle and rear sections of the canyon."

At this point, he moved his finger: "Prepare the last line of defense at the canyon exit, set up a rock barrier with directional explosives, and have a goblin assault team equipped with clay grenades and swords and shields guard the exit, cut off the retreat route, and clear out the remaining enemies."

"The tactic this time can be summed up in one word: bomb! Once the enemy's main force has fully entered the canyon, detonate the mines at the bottom of the valley to disrupt their formation. Then, bombard the cliffs on both sides with crossbow bolts and explosive charges. Finally, the assault team at the valley entrance will throw in grenades and launch an attack! I want to turn Eagle's Beak Canyon into the burial ground of Blood Ravens!"

The entire operations room was filled with high morale. Everyone was excited about this decisive situation that took advantage of the terrain and gunpowder, as if they could already see the bandits dying in fear in the explosion.

With the battle plan finalized, the entire military team mobilized and, led by Sun Zhengwu, headed to Yingzui Gorge for pre-battle preparations.

However, just as everything was ready, a communications soldier rushed in, panting, with the latest surveillance intelligence.

"There's movement in the target valley. About fifteen bandits, armed and led by a minor leader, left their hideout half an hour ago and are rapidly moving towards Ember Ridge. The remaining thirty or so bandits are still in the valley, but they show signs of gathering!"

Upon hearing the news, Sun Zhengwu's face darkened, his brows furrowing: "Only fifteen came? This isn't the main force coming out in full force—this is—"

Sun Zhengwu immediately realized something, raising an eyebrow: "They're testing us. These guys are indeed cunning!"

He immediately understood everything. Clearly, Iron Rock City's clumsy scheme had not completely fooled the bandits. They were worried about being tricked, but they didn't want to give up this piece of fat meat, so they decided to test the waters.

If things go wrong, they'll sacrifice pawns to save the rook; in fact, those fifteen men have already planned their retreat.

They will most likely hide in the Misty Mountains and escape.

After a brief silence, Sun Zhengwu immediately made a decision: "We can't put all our forces into Eagle's Beak Gorge! If we use our main force to ambush these fifteen men in Eagle's Beak Gorge, we can certainly annihilate them, but it will definitely alert them! Once the enemy discovers that their scouts have been wiped out, they will realize there's an ambush and may flee elsewhere, making it much harder for us to find and destroy them!"

He paused, then revealed an even bolder plan: "We'll use their strategy against them and divide our forces into two groups!"

He immediately began issuing orders to dismantle some of the explosive charges; after all, dealing with fifteen bandits didn't require such a large-scale operation.

Then, leave behind twenty elite soldiers to annihilate the enemy using pre-set traps and explosive charges.

"The rest of you, come with me to the enemy's lair with all the ammunition, and take the bait we've prepared!"

Thus, Sun Zheng personally led a team of fifty goblin warriors, carrying clay pot grenades, some landmines and explosives, and set off for the enemy's lair.

Late at night, on the cliff face of Eagle's Beak Gorge, a squad of goblins lay in ambush, peering intently through the cracks in the rocks at the entrance to the gorge.

They lay in wait like stone statues near the pre-designated firing positions and detonation points, their breathing barely audible.

Suddenly, the sentry reported that the enemy was approaching, and everyone immediately prepared for battle. Their keen hearing also picked up the sound of hurried footsteps coming from afar.

Not long after, a dozen or so figures entered Eagle Beak Gorge in a loose formation.

The leader was none other than Man Gu, a man with a burly build like a bear.

He carried a huge machete, his fierce gaze sweeping over the cliffs on either side.

"Damn it, this place is so narrow." Barbarian spat, his voice echoing in the narrow canyon.

"This is the most secluded route. I've scouted it out; it's very safe," said the scout who had previously been to Emberstone Ridge, following behind Barbarian Bone.

Barbarian didn't say much, just grunted in response. It wasn't that he was afraid of enemies lying in ambush, but he felt a strange sense of oppression in the face of this narrow canyon.

The canyon was eerily silent, with only the sound of the wind and their footsteps echoing through it.

The ten people moved closer together, feeling inexplicably nervous. However, when they entered the narrowest part of the canyon, they felt a surge of tension.

Several points of light seemed to flash by in the darkness, followed by a series of earth-shattering explosions that suddenly erupted from beneath their feet!

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Man Gu felt a tremendous force coming from beneath his feet, and he was thrown away.

All he could hear was a deafening roar and the agonizing screams of his men.

A scorching wave of air, mixed with gravel and shrapnel, rushed towards us.

At least four or five bandits behind him were instantly torn to pieces in the explosion.

Limbs and blood fell like raindrops, and many more were knocked down by the shockwave or hit by flying debris and metal fragments, screaming and rolling on the ground.

"what!"

"My legs!"

"An ambush!" Barbarian Bone scrambled to his feet, his ears ringing, his face covered in blood and dust. He was utterly shocked. He couldn't understand what had happened. Was it a magical attack, or some unknown weapon?

However, the nightmare had only just begun!

Before the smoke from the explosion had even dissipated, dozens of smoldering pottery jars were launched from the top of the cliff by a peculiar projectile device, tracing arcs as they landed precisely in the area where they were located.

"What the hell is that?" a bandit asked in horror as the "fire pot" fell from the sky.

However, before the words were finished, the pottery jars exploded one after another, and the flames illuminated the terrified faces.

The flying shards of pottery and the embedded iron nails and rubble, like the scythe of death, mercilessly reaped lives.

The canyon instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse of flying blood and gore.

The sounds of explosions, the robbers' screams, and rocks tumbling down mingled together, creating a symphony of death.

"Retreat! Get out of the canyon quickly!" Barbarian Bone roared, covered in blood. He frantically swung his machete, trying to lead his men out of the canyon, unaware that he was the only one left who could barely stand.

The rest of the people had already fallen to the ground in the explosion, or were even torn to pieces.

At the same time, a chilling, inhuman howl came from above the cliff.

Dozens of green figures, like monkeys, swiftly and nimbly descended the cliff using ropes and natural rock crevices that had been set up beforehand.

They were clad in leather armor, wielding crossbows and finely crafted machetes, their eyes gleaming with a calm light.

It's a goblin!

And they weren't the chaotic, dirty wild goblins they imagined.

These goblins moved in unison, silent and coordinated, like well-trained killing machines.

"Goblins? How could this be?" Bankoskull was completely plunged into despair and chaos; everything before him had utterly overturned his understanding of the world.

He couldn't understand what was going on. He raised his machete, wanting to fight his way out, but as soon as he took a step, he felt his legs give way and he fell to his knees.

Looking down, he saw that his abdomen was bleeding profusely, and even a small section of his intestines had spilled out.

In his panic, he didn't even notice that he himself had been seriously injured in the explosion.

call out-

With a whooshing sound, an arrow pierced his chest. He looked at the goblins surrounding him with resentment, opened his mouth, and finally collapsed to the ground.

The canyon returned to silence, with only the smell of gunpowder and the strong stench of blood lingering in the air.

The twenty goblin warriors silently began cleaning up the battlefield, finishing off the enemies, collecting loot, and dragging the corpses to a designated location for disposal.

Captain Xu Wei came down from the cliff, checked the results of the battle, and nodded in satisfaction.

The entire process was clean and efficient, with zero casualties on our side, perfectly achieving the tactical objective of "annihilating the entire probing team without leaving any survivors".

He looked up and glanced at the other end of the canyon, the direction from which the bandits had come.

"The snake's head has been chopped off. Now, it depends on whether Team Leader Sun can take down the snake's lair," Xu Wei said in a deep voice.