I can evolve everything

Chapter 83 Defense Plan

It was already afternoon when we arrived at our camp in Shattered Tooth Canyon.

Just like when I last came to Rennes, the wind here is much noisier than elsewhere.

The towering cliffs on both sides act as natural bellows, compressing and accelerating the north wind, which constantly pounds against the canyon, producing a heart-wrenching howling sound.

The black stone tower at the encampment still stands on the edge of the cliff, but it is now much more lively than when Renn last came.

Apart from the eighty men brought by Renn, all of the more than four hundred soldiers originally stationed here have entered a state of combat readiness.

"My lord knight! You've finally arrived!"

Sergeant Hank approached with several soldiers. His eyes were bloodshot; he clearly hadn't slept well since the beacon tower was inexplicably activated.

"Sir, what's going on with this beacon tower? And it seems the defensive array has also failed..." Hank was clearly unaware of the specific situation. Seeing Rein was like seeing a savior, and he hurriedly wanted to find out the reason.

After thinking for a moment, Raine gave the same explanation the captain had given to the outside world, without saying much about Hughes and the War Wolf King: "The magic circle of the Northern Fortress is temporarily overloaded, and the beacon towers that are farther away may be out of order for a while. During this time, I will stay here to assist you in resisting the monsters."

"How is the situation?" Ryan didn't let Hank continue asking questions. He dismounted and threw the reins to the soldier next to Hank.

"This is not good, sir." Hank said urgently. "Although there hasn't been a large-scale beast tide yet, the scouts have been reporting that the commotion in the northern wasteland is getting bigger and bigger these past few days. We can even feel the tremors coming from underground sometimes while we're sleeping."

"Also, the warmth provided by the [Eternal Hearth] is diminishing."

Hank pointed to the ground beneath his feet, "The snow here used to melt as soon as it hit the ground, but now—look, it's already covered with a thin layer of ice."

Renn nodded, said nothing more, and walked straight into the stone tower.

They then found an empty room and called in Hank and several other key figures to use it as a temporary operations room.

"Take a headcount." Ryan stood in front of the table, his hands resting on the surface, his gaze sweeping over the key figures present.

Hank, Ella, the female priest Vina, and that mage Thales.

"Reporting, sir." Hank produced the garrison roster. "There were originally 410 troops. Of these, 100 were heavy infantry, 80 were crossbowmen, and the rest were light infantry. Including the ones you brought—"

"Four hundred and ninety-two people," Renn quickly gave the total. "Close to five hundred. It sounds like a lot, but if we really encounter a beast tide of tens of thousands of monsters, holding out will only result in being crushed at the first touch."

Although Raine knew nothing about the military knowledge of this world and was not a qualified commander, the war movies and novels he had seen in his previous life at least gave him some military vision and common sense that were ahead of his time.

"We cannot hold out against the stone tower to the death."

"This tower, though sturdy, is too small to hold five hundred people. If we're surrounded by a horde of beasts, it will become our burial ground. We must use the terrain."

At this point, the mage suddenly retorted to Renn, "Terrain? Hiccup—this lousy place has no terrain whatsoever."

Despite his foul language, Thales then extended a finger and drew a line on the topographical map of [Shattered Tooth Canyon] on the wall.

"here."

His landing point was extremely accurate, suggesting he was quite familiar with the terrain of [Shattered Tooth Canyon].

"The Shattered Tooth Canyon is three kilometers long. Most monsters are unable to climb the cliffs on both sides, so they have to go inside the canyon to get close to the city walls. In the middle section, there is a very narrow section. The rock walls on both sides squeeze inward, and at the narrowest point, it is less than thirty meters wide."

Thales's eyes suddenly cleared a little.

"The winds there are turbulent. If you set a fire there, the flames won't be dispersed; instead, they'll form vortices. For anything trying to rush over, it's a natural crematorium."

"Moreover," he pointed to the rock walls on either side, "the rock structure there is relatively loose. A few blasting spells, or a volley of heavy crossbow bolts, can trigger a small-scale rockfall."

After hearing this, Raine didn't take the mage's rudeness to heart. He first turned to Hank, who was familiar with the terrain, to confirm the accuracy of Thales' words.

Hank quickly nodded.

"very good."

Ryan went straight to Hank and asked, "What's the ground condition there?"

"It's all frozen ground and gravel, sir," Hank replied. "Very hard; digging trenches will be difficult."

"No need to dig too deep." Renn quickly formed a rough plan in his mind. "If the monsters attack, they will mostly be in the canyon below, so the trenches won't be very useful."

He straightened up, looked at the topographical map of [Shattered Tooth Canyon], and continued.

"Listen, I want to build three lines of defense in the canyon."

Ryan held up three fingers.

"The first line of defense is set up at the widest part of the canyon entrance, which is the barricade area."

He looked at Hank and said, "Have your soldiers set up some traps, bury them all in the snow. They don't need to be too dense, but they need to be scattered. Make sure those charging beasts can't run away."

"At the same time, spread oil throughout this area. Thales, this is your responsibility." Renn looked at the mage. "When the first wave of beasts enters this area, I want you to turn it into a sea of ​​fire. Burn as many as you can, mainly to disrupt their formation."

Thales grinned. "I like this."

"The second line of defense is what Thales called the narrow passage."

Ryan's finger moved toward the middle of the canyon.

"This is our main battlefield. If the terrain is clear, I'd like to deploy all one hundred heavy infantrymen here. Erect the tower shields and block the thirty-meter gap. All crossbowmen should climb the rock walls on both sides and fire from above."

"Pastor Vina," Renn said, looking at the female pastor.

"I'm here," Vina replied calmly.

"This is where the casualties are heaviest. I need you to stand behind the heavy infantry. As long as you have a breath left, pull him back."

Vina nodded: "As long as their bones are still intact, I can make them stand up."

"As for the third line of defense—"

Raine's fingers returned to the stone tower.

"This is our last stronghold. If we retreat here, it means the first two lines of defense have collapsed."

He looked around at the crowd, his voice becoming deep and powerful.

"But as long as the first two lines of defense can function, the beast tide will inevitably suffer heavy losses. When they reach the tower, we will have to engage in close combat."

"Remember, our mission is to hold out. Not to kill them all, but to ensure the safety of the walls and wait for reinforcements from other places."

"Is there anything else to add?"

The operations room fell silent for a moment.

Ella, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised her hand.

"Captain, what about us?" She pointed to herself, then to Ryan. "What are we going to do? We can't just stand around watching, can we?"

Renn looked at her, then glanced at the longsword at his waist and the two-handed greatsword on his back.

"We are the strongest individually, so we'll go wherever the collapse is imminent."

"Especially if there are any powerful monsters that we can't deal with—" A cold glint flashed in Rein's eyes, "we'll go and deal with them."

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